What is the name of God?

Answer  
  

The name of God, as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, is [*YHWH*](YHWH-tetragrammaton.html) (the closest English equivalents to the Hebrew letters). Ancient Hebrew did not have vowels, so the exact pronunciation of *YHWH* is uncertain. The majority of Hebrew and Christian scholars believe the name to be *Yahweh*, pronounced /ˈyä\-wā/, with *Yehowah*, pronounced /yi\-ˈhō\-və/, being the second most popular possibility.  
  

There are movements that strongly emphasize using God’s name in the context of prayer and worship (and, of course, only the name of God that they believe to be correct). However, there is no biblical command that limits our vocabulary to *Yahweh* when addressing God. Anyone who says that God must be addressed only by the name *YHWH* is speaking without biblical warrant.  
  

Moses himself refers to God as “Elohim” in Exodus 3:15\. Later, in Exodus 4:13, Moses addresses God directly as “Adonai.” So, God’s personal name, or His covenant name, is not the only acceptable way to refer to Him or to address Him. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God inspired the human authors of Scripture to refer to Him using generic terms for “God” and “Lord.” Beyond *YHWH*, God chose to reveal Himself using many other [names and titles](names-of-God.html). Clearly, using God’s personal, covenant name is not required in every context.  
  

*YHWH* is as close to a personal name as God has revealed to us. The Divine Name was revealed to Moses and was unknown before his time: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord \[*YHWH*] I did not make myself fully known to them” (Exodus 6:3\). The name *YHWH* seems to refer to God’s self\-existence, being linked to *I AM THAT I AM* in Exodus 3:14\.  
  

God told Moses that “this is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15; cf. Exodus 15:3\). This name would distinguish Israel’s God from all false gods. It is the unique name of Israel’s God throughout Jewish history. Israel was not to be tricked into thinking that God’s name might actually be Molech or Dagon or Baal Peor.  
  

All other “names” for God, such as *Elohim*, *Adonai*, *El\-Gibhor*, and *Our Father*, are probably best viewed as titles, rather than personal names, per se. It is quite proper to address God by His titles, as they in no way supplant His personal name, *YHWH*. References to “the name of our God” (in Psalm 44:20, for example), are oblique references to God’s personal name, *YHWH*.  
  

