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Hebrew Names of God

Esoteric Hebrew Names of God

In addition to the many Names of the God of Israel

revealed in the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim (i.e.,
the Tanakh), the Jewish mystical tradition coined
some other Names for God, primarily for use in the
study of Kabbalah and Kabbalistic meditation.
Many of these mystical Names were derived from

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the Scriptures using methodologies developed in
ancient Babylonia.

 WARNING:The Name of the LORD represents His power, actions, and

reputation in the universe.  Almighty God cannot be "conjured" or treated as an
object, since He is the Master of the Universe and subject to no one. It is chilul
HaShem to attempt to invoke the Name of God for selfish or manipulative
purposes (Exodus 20:7).

The material provided here is for educational purposes only and is NOT an
endorsement of any form of occultism or Kabbalah. The mystical approach to
interpreting Scripture often leads to dubious interpretations and serious errors.

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Methods of Derivation

The Jewish mystical tradition had two primary groups that were interested in
esoteric meanings of the Hebrew Names of God:

1. Theoretical Kabbalists meditated on the Names of God for spiritual

insight. Often this took the form of studying "permutations" of the divine
Names to gain esoteric knowledge about God. This is a form of
Gnosticism or "theosophy."
2. Practical Kabbalists attempted to use the Names of God to "magically"
affect the physical and supernatural worlds. Often this took the form of
inscribing the Names on protective amulets and other artifacts. This is a
form of occultism that is plainly condemned in the Torah (Leviticus 19:31;
20:6; 20:27).
 

Many alternate Names of God were derived through various methodical

formulas applied to Biblical verses and already existing Names of God. These
methods include:

1. Notarikon - The initial or final letters of the words of a verse or verses

are used to make an acronym. For example, the name Tzamarkhad is
derived from the final letter of the first five verses of Genesis:

2. Temura - Letters are substituted with other letters. Using At Bash, each
letter (of a word or phrase) is exchanged with its "opposite" letter and
then the result is calculated. "Opposite" letters are determined by
substituting the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph) with the last
letter (Tav), the second letter (Bet) with the next to last (Shin), and so on.

Thus (by At Bash): Yod Hey Vav Hey -> Mem Tsade Pey Tsade:

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 3. Gematria - A type of numerological study that may be defined as one of
more systems for calculating the numerical equivalence of letters, words,
and phrases in a particular Hebrew text. These systems are used for the
purpose of gaining insight into interrelating concepts and for finding
correspondences between words and concepts. Using this method, the
supposed angel Metatron was thought to be particularly powerful
because numerically this name is equivalent to Shaddai.

 
4. Kabbalah - The kabbalah of Names usually involves some permutation
of the Sacred Name (YHVH) or the association of the Ten Sefirot of the
"Tree of Life" with certain attributes of God.

Mystical Hebrew Names of God

Monogrammata
The letter Hey ( ) commonly appears on Western European amulets (i.e.,
charms or talisman), either alone or repeated five times to represent the Name
of God.

According to the Jewish mystics, Hey represents the divine breath or

revelation. On the fifth day, the LORD created ruach ("living creatures") and this
corresponds to the letter Hey. Since the numerical value of Hey is five, this
corresponds on a physical level to the five fingers, the five senses, and the five
dimensions. On a spiritual level it corresponds to the five levels of soul:

Nefesh - instincts
Ruach - emotions
Neshamah - mind
Chayah - bridge to transcendence
Yechidah - oneness

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by
the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6). In the Talmud (Menachot 29b) it is said
that the "breath of His mouth" refers to the sound of the letter Hey - the
outbreathing of Spirit.

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The letter Aleph is the "father" of the Aleph-Bet, whose original pictograph
represents an ox, strength, and leader. It's numerical value is one (and also
1,000) and it is a silent letter. Aleph therefore is preeminent in its order and
alludes to the ineffable mysteries of the oneness of God. Indeed, the word aluph
(derived from the very name of this letter) means "Master" or "Lord."

In the classical Hebrew script (ketav Ashurit) used for writing Torah scrolls,
Aleph is constructed with two Yods (one to the upper right and the other to the
lower left) that are joined by a diagonal Vav. Ketav Ashurit was the script that
Jesus would have read (ketav Ivri was an older script, similar to ancient
Phoenician, but was not the script used when Moses received the Torah from
the LORD on Sinai. Ketav Ivri is also sometimes called the Temple Script
because samples of it are extant dated to the time of Solomon's Temple).

The basic gematria for the letter Aleph is one, indicating the One and only God
who is the Master of the universe. Note, however, that the gematria for the parts
of the letter Aleph add up to 26 (Yod+Yod+Vav). This is the same number as the
sacred Name YHVH, also indicating a link between the Aleph and God Himself.
This is also demonstrated in Exodus 3:14-15, where the LORD reveals His
Name (I AM THAT I AM) to Moses.

Digrammata

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"Digrammaton" means "two letters" and refers to a two-letter Name of God. In
the Scriptures, there are two main digrammata:

The Name (Aleph-Lamed) comes from a root word meaning "might, strength,
power" and probably derives from the Ugaritic term for god. In Scripture, the
primary meanings of this root are "god" (pagan or false gods), "God" (the true
God of Israel), and sometimes "the mighty" (referring to men or angels). When
used of the true God of Israel, El is almost always qualified by additional words
that further define the meaning that distinguish Him from false gods. These
other Names or Titles for God are sometimes called "construct forms."

Another digrammaton is the Name (yah). It is generally thought that Yah is a

shortened form of YHVH. This Name of God occurs about 50 times in the
Tanakh. In Psalm 68:4 [5, H] this Name is particularly stressed. The Name YAH
is also found in the construct word "hallelu-YAH," which means "you [pl.] praise
the LORD," as well as in many Biblical proper names (e.g., Eliyahu).

The Talmud states that God used the letter Hey to create the present world
(olam hazeh) and Yod to create the world to come (olam habah). The sages
derive this idea from the Name (yah) found in Isaiah 26:4:

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How did they come up with this?  Well, they consider b'yah in the text as
meaning "with Yod-Hey" instead of referring to the Name Yah.

In most Siddurim (prayerbooks) and other Jewish religious literature, you will
often see the Sacred Name written in an abbreviated manner as Yod-Yod:

This is done to avoid casually reading, writing or saying the sacred Name of
God. Some mystics claim that this convention is also a Name of God, though
that is unlikely.

The Tetragrammaton

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In the Tanakh, YHVH is the personal name of God and his most frequent
designation, occurring over 5,200 times. This is the Ineffable Name or
Unutterable Name of the God of Israel. Because it is composed from the four
Hebrew letters Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey, it is also referred to as the
"Tetragrammaton," which simply means "the four letters." Kabbalists use the
Name (and permutations of it) in their meditations.

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Though we do not know how to pronounce the sacred Name, we can be
confident that the letters derive from the Hebrew verb "to be" (hayah) and
indicate God's utter transcendence as the Source and Ground of all being. For
more information about the Sacred name, click here.

The Octagrammaton

"Octagrammaton" means "eight letters" and refers to an eight-letter Name of

God created by interspersing the letters for Adonai with the letters for the
Tetragrammaton:

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The Decagrammaton
The so-called "Ten Letter Name of God" is derived from running
together the names of the first three Sefirot (divine emanations
or attributes of God which are said comprise the mystical "Tree
of Life"): Keter (Crown), Chokhmah (Wisdom), and Binah
(Understanding):

The Twelve Letter Name of God

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There are two forms of this Name. The first form of the twelve letter Name is
simply YHVH three times: YHVH YHVH YHVH:

This comes from the prayer liturgy: Adonai Melech, Adonai Malchah, Adonai
Yimlokh L'Olam Va'ed – "YHVH is King, YHVH was King, YHVH will be King
forever and ever."

A second form of the 12-letter Name consists of the initials of the twelve tribes
of Israel. These are recited in reverse order according to the breastplate of the
Urim and Thumim: Reuven, Shimeon, Levi, Yehudah, Issachar, Zevulon, Dan,
Naftali, Gad, Asher, Yosef, and Benyamin:

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The Fourteen Letter Name of God
The Fourteen Letter Name was derived from the phrase Adonai Eloheinu
Adonai from the Shema, and was sometime written on the backs of mezuzot.
The Name is formed by the simple method of substitution known as At Bash:

The 22 Letter Name of God

The 22 Letter Name is sometimes considered part of the 72 Letter Name (see
below) that includes reference to the 12 tribes of Israel (considered as
Jeshurun):

Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, the tribes of Yeshurun

(i.e., the upright).

The 33 Letter Name of God

This Name is derived from the Torah and is comprised of nine Names of God
run together: Adonai, El, Eloah, Elohim, Shaddai, Tzeva'ot, Ehyeh, Yah, and
YHVH:

The 42 Letter Name of God

The 42-Letter Name (like many of the others) has no known pronunciation,
and perhaps was derived from the 2nd-century prayer "Ana Bekoach."  It is
mentioned in the Talmud and many of the Jewish Sages have speculated
about its significance:

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The 72 Names of God - (or the 216 Letter Name of God)
The 216-Letter Name of God is really a 72-part Name, since it is a sequence
of 72 triads of letters all of which are derived from permutations on Exodus
14:19-21 (which itself is composed of three verses of 72 letters each).

To create the first triad, you put together the first letter of verse 14:19, the last
letter of verse 14:20, and then the first letter of 14:21. To create the next triad,
you put together the second letter of 14:19, the second to last of 14:20, and
the second letter of 14:21. This continues until all the letters are used up. Like
so:

Using the algorithm, you will find the following 72 triads of letters embedded
in Exodus 14:19-21:

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Theoretical Kabbalists will look at each of the 72 triads and consider them as
one of the 72 Names of God. They will perform various forms of gematria and
other analysis of these names in order to elicit spiritual insight and
transformation (this is sort of thing that Yehuda Berg does in his book, The 72
Names of God, Technology for the Soul).

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Practical Kabbalists create amulets using the 216 Letter Name. The Name is
divided into two groups of thirty-six which the scribe writes on two amulets. One
amulet is worn on one arm and the other on the other arm.

The 304,805 Letter Name of God

What is the "best" Hebrew Name of God? Some of the Jewish sages have said
that it is revealed by reciting all 304,805 letters of the Torah in a series. That is,
string together all 304,805 letters of the Torah - from the first letter of Bereshit
(Bet) through the last letter of Devarim (Lamed) - and "read" this as a single
"Word."

Of course, we should also add the letters for the Prophets (neviim) and the
Writings (ketuvim) to the Torah's 304,805 letters, not to mention the 138,020
words of the Greek New Testament. When we do so, we have the 3,000,000
letter name of God!

Obviously this "Name" of God is intended to humble us and to remind us that

God Himself is Ein Sof - without End or limitation of any kind. God is always
greater than our greatest thoughts about Him, even if we attempt to express His
transcendence by means of the sacred letters of the Torah.

Abba

Taking a different approach, we learn from the teachings of Yeshua the

Mashiach that the Name of God is best understood as "Father." In fact, Yeshua
used the common Aramaic word for "father" (abba) to refer to His relationship
with God, and He wanted his talmidim (disciples) to do likewise.
 

We do not need gnostic awareness or ethereal speculations to help us

understand the Name of God our Father.  He relates to us intimately as a good
earthly father relates to his children. We do not need incantations or
abracadabra to conjure up feelings to help us overcome the existential void that

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haunts us - we can trust that the love of our Father in heaven as exemplified in
the gracious sacrifice of His Son for us. We do not trust in emanations of
spiritual forces hidden in Hebrew letters, since we can know the "Word that is
behind the word" as experienced in the life and love of Yeshua our Savior.
 

A debate raged among the disciples as to which was the most difficult
task of all: To know how to pronounce the sacred Name of God (YHVH)
revealed in Scripture, to understand the inner secrets of the sacred name
revealed in Scripture, or to properly explain the sacred Name of God to
others so they could understood it. Said the Master, when asked his
opinion, "I know of a more difficult task than any of those three." "What is
it?" "Trying to get you blockheads to see reality as it is."

It is well and good to understand the meaning of the hundreds of Names and
Titles of God as revealed in the Scriptures, of course, but in the end we need to
trust in Him as a small child trusts in the love of his father....

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