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
Kaalah and Kaalistic meditation. !any of these
mystical Names were derived from the "criptures usin#
methodolo#ies developed in ancient $aylonia.
WARNING: The Name of the %&'( represents )is power, actions, and
reputation in the universe. *lmi#hty God cannot e +con,ured+ or treated as an
o,ect, since )e is the !aster of the -niverse and su,ect to no one. It is chilul
HaShem to attempt to invoke the Name of God for selfish or manipulative purposes
(./odus 0123).
The material provided here is for educational purposes only and is N&T an
endorsement of any form of occultism or Kaalah. The mystical approach to
interpretin# "cripture often leads to duious interpretations and serious errors.
Methods of Derivation
The Jewish mystical tradition had two primary #roups that were interested in esoteric
meanin#s of the )erew Names of God2
4. Theoretical Kabbalists meditated on the Names of God for spiritual insi#ht.
&ften this took the form of studyin# +permutations+ of the divine Names to #ain
esoteric knowled#e aout God. This is a form of Gnosticism or +theosophy.+
2. ractical Kabbalists attempted to use the Names of God to +ma#ically+ affect
the physical and supernatural worlds. &ften this took the form of inscriin# the
Names on protective amulets and other artifacts. This is a form of occultism
that is plainly condemned in the Torah (%eviticus 452647 01287 01203).

!any alternate Names of God were derived throu#h various methodical formulas
applied to $ilical verses and already e/istin# Names of God. These methods include2
4. Notari!on 9 The initial or final letters of the words of a verse or verses are used
to make an acronym. :or e/ample, the name Tzamarkhad is derived from the
final letter of the first five verses of Genesis2
0. Tem"ra 9 %etters are sustituted with other letters. -sin# At Bash, each letter
(of a word or phrase) is e/chan#ed with its +opposite+ letter and then the result
is calculated. +&pposite+ letters are determined y sustitutin# the first letter of
the )erew alphaet (*leph) with the last letter (Tav), the second letter ($et)
with the ne/t to last ("hin), and so on.
Thus (y At Bash)2 ;od )ey <av )ey 9= !em Tsade >ey Tsade2
6. Gematria 9 * type of numerolo#ical study that may e defined as one of more
systems for calculatin# the numerical e?uivalence of letters, words, and phrases
in a particular )erew te/t. These systems are used for the purpose of #ainin#
insi#ht into interrelatin# concepts and for findin# correspondences etween
words and concepts. -sin# this method, the supposed an#el !etatron was
thou#ht to e particularly powerful ecause numerically this name is e?uivalent
to "haddai.

@. Kabbalah 9 The kaalah of Names usually involves some permutation of the
"acred Name (;)<)) or the association of the Ten "efirot of the +Tree of
%ife+ with certain attriutes of God.
M#stical Hebrew Names of God
Mono$rammata
The letter )ey ( ) commonly appears on Aestern .uropean amulets (i.e., charms or
talisman), either alone or repeated five times to represent the Name of God.
*ccordin# to the Jewish mystics, )ey represents the divine reath or revelation. &n the
fifth day, the %&'( created ruach (+livin# creatures+) and this corresponds to the letter
)ey. "ince the numerical value of )ey is five, this corresponds on a physical level to
the five fin#ers, the five senses, and the five dimensions. &n a spiritual level it
corresponds to the five levels of soul2
Nefesh 9 instincts
Ruach 9 emotions
Neshamah 9 mind
Chayah 9 rid#e to transcendence
Yechidah 9 oneness
+$y the word of the %&'( were the heavens made7 and all the host of them y the
reath of his mouth+ (>salm 6628). In the Talmud !e"achot #$%& it is said that the
+reath of )is mouth+ refers to the sound of the letter )ey 9 the outreathin# of "pirit.
The letter *leph is the +father+ of the *leph9$et, whose ori#inal picto#raph represents
an o/, stren#th, and leader. ItBs numerical value is one (and also 4,111) and it is a silent
letter. *leph therefore is preeminent in its order and alludes to the ineffale mysteries of
the oneness of God. Indeed, the word alu'h (derived from the very name of this letter)
means +!aster+ or +%ord.+
In the classical )erew script ketav Ashurit& used for writin# Torah scrolls, *leph is
constructed with two ;ods (one to the upper ri#ht and the other to the lower left) that
are ,oined y a dia#onal <av. Ketav *shurit was the script that Jesus would have read
ketav (vri was an older script, similar to ancient >hoenician, ut was not the script used
when !oses received the Torah from the %&'( on "inai. Ketav Ivri is also sometimes
called the Temple "cript ecause samples of it are e/tant dated to the time of "olomonBs
Temple).
The asic #ematria for the letter *leph is one, indicatin# the &ne and only God who is
the !aster of the universe. Note, however, that the #ematria for the parts of the letter
*leph add up to 08 (;odC;odC<av). This is the same numer as the sacred Name
;)<), also indicatin# a link etween the *leph and God )imself. This is also
demonstrated in ./odus 624@94D, where the %&'( reveals )is Name (I *! T)*T I
*!) to !oses.
Di$rammata
+(i#rammaton+ means +two letters+ and refers to a two9letter Name of God. In the
"criptures, there are two main di#rammata2
The Name (*leph9%amed) comes from a root word meanin# +mi#ht, stren#th, power+
and proaly derives from the -#aritic term for #od. In "cripture, the primary meanin#s
of this root are +#od+ (pa#an or false #ods), +God+ (the true God of Israel), and
sometimes +the mi#hty+ (referrin# to men or an#els). Ahen used of the true God of
Israel, )l is almost always ?ualified y additional words that further define the meanin#
that distin#uish )im from false #ods. These other Names or Titles for God are
sometimes called +construct forms.+
*nother di#rammaton is the Name yah&* It is #enerally thou#ht that ;ah is a
shortened form of ;)<). This Name of God occurs aout D1 times in the Tanakh. In
>salm 8E2@ FD, )G this Name is particularly stressed. The Name ;*) is also found in
the construct word +hallelu9;*),+ which means +you Fpl.G praise the %&'(,+ as well as
in many $ilical proper names (e.#., .liyahu).
The Talmud states that God used the letter )ey to create the present world olam hazeh&
and ;od to create the world to come olam ha%ah&* The sa#es derive this idea from the
Name yah& found in Isaiah 082@2
)ow did they come up with thisH Aell, they consider %'yah in the te/t as meanin# ++ith
Yod,Hey- instead of referrin# to the Name ;ah.
In most Siddurim (prayerooks) and other Jewish reli#ious literature, you will often see
the "acred Name written in an areviated manner as ;od9;od2
This is done to avoid casually readin#, writin# or sayin# the sacred Name of God. "ome
mystics claim that this convention is also a Name of God, thou#h that is unlikely.
The Tetra$rammaton
In the Ta"akh, ;)<) is the personal name of God and his most fre?uent desi#nation,
occurrin# over D,011 times. This is the Ineffale Name or -nutterale Name of the God
of Israel. $ecause it is composed from the four )erew letters ;od, )ey, <av, and )ey,
it is also referred to as the +Tetra#rammaton,+ which simply means +the four letters.+
Kaalists use the Name (and permutations of it) in their meditations.
Thou#h we do not know how to pronounce the sacred Name, we can e confident that
the letters derive from the )erew ver +to e+ hayah& and indicate GodBs utter
transcendence as the "ource and Ground of all ein#. :or more information aout the
"acred name, click here.
The %cta$rammaton
+&cta#rammaton+ means +ei#ht letters+ and refers to an ei#ht9letter Name of God
created y interspersin# the letters for *donai with the letters for the Tetra#rammaton2
The Deca$rammaton
The so9called +Ten %etter Name of God+ is derived from runnin#
to#ether the names of the first three Sefirot (divine emanations or
attriutes of God which are said comprise the mystical +Tree of
%ife+)2 Keter (Irown), Chokhmah (Aisdom), and Bi"ah
(-nderstandin#)2
The Twelve &etter Name of God
There are two forms of this Name. The first form of the twelve letter Name is simply
;)<) three times2 ;)<) ;)<) ;)<)2
This comes from the prayer litur#y2 Ado"ai !elech, Ado"ai !alchah, Ado"ai Yimlokh
.'/lam 0a'ed J +;)<) is Kin#, ;)<) was Kin#, ;)<) will e Kin# forever and
ever.+
* second form of the 409letter Name consists of the initials of the twelve tries of
Israel. These are recited in reverse order accordin# to the reastplate of the -rim and
Thumim2 Reuve", Shimeo", .evi, Yehudah, (ssachar, 1evulo", 2a", Naftali, 3ad,
Asher, Yosef, and Be"yami"4
The 'o"rteen &etter Name of God
The :ourteen %etter Name was derived from the phrase Ado"ai )lohei"u Ado"ai from
the "hema, and was sometime written on the acks of meKuKot. The Name is formed y
the simple method of sustitution known as *t $ash2
The (( &etter Name of God
The 00 %etter Name is sometimes considered part of the 30 %etter Name (see elow)
that includes reference to the 40 tries of Israel (considered as Jeshurun)2
Avraham, Yitzhak, a"d Yaakov, the tri%es of Yeshuru"
(i.e., the upri#ht).
The )) &etter Name of God
This Name is derived from the Torah and is comprised of nine Names of God run
to#ether2 *donai, .l, .loah, .lohim, "haddai, TKevaBot, .hyeh, ;ah, and ;)<)2
The *( &etter Name of God
The @09%etter Name (like many of the others) has no known pronunciation, and
perhaps was derived from the 0nd9century prayer +*na $ekoach.+ It is mentioned in
the Talmud and many of the Jewish "a#es have speculated aout its si#nificance2
The +( Names of God , -or the (./ &etter Name of God0
The 0489%etter Name of God is really a 309part Name, since it is a se?uence of 30
triads of letters all of which are derived from permutations on ./odus 4@245904 (which
itself is composed of three verses of 30 letters each).
To create the first triad, you put to#ether the first letter of verse 4@245, the last letter of
verse 4@201, and then the first letter of 4@204. To create the ne/t triad, you put to#ether
the second letter of 4@245, the second to last of 4@201, and the second letter of 4@204.
This continues until all the letters are used up. %ike so2
-sin# the al#orithm, you will find the followin# 30 triads of letters emedded in
./odus 4@2459042
Theoretical Kaalists will look at each of the 30 triads and consider them as one of the
+( Names of God. They will perform various forms of #ematria and other analysis of
these names in order to elicit spiritual insi#ht and transformation (this is sort of thin# that
;ehuda $er# does in his ook, The 5# Names of 3od, Tech"olo6y for the Soul&.
>ractical Kaalists create amulets usin# the 048 %etter Name. The Name is divided into
two #roups of thirty9si/ which the scrie writes on two amulets. &ne amulet is worn on
one arm and the other on the other arm.
The )1*2314 &etter Name of God
Ahat is the +est+ )erew Name of GodH "ome of the Jewish sa#es have said that it is
revealed y recitin# all 789,:8; letters of the Torah i" a series* That is, strin# to#ether
all 61@,E1D letters of the Torah 9 from the first letter of Bereshit ($et) throu#h the last
letter of 2evarim (%amed) 9 and +read+ this as a sin#le +Aord.+
&f course, we should also add the letters for the >rophets "eviim& and the Aritin#s
ketuvim& to the TorahBs 61@,E1D letters, not to mention the 46E,101 words of the Greek
New Testament. Ahen we do so, we have the 6,111,111 letter name of GodL
&viously this +Name+ of God is intended to humle us and to remind us that God
)imself is )i" Sof 9 without .nd or limitation of any kind. God is always #reater than
our #reatest thou#hts aout )im, even if we attempt to e/press )is transcendence y
means of the sacred letters of the Torah.
Abba
Takin# a different approach, we learn from the teachin#s of ;eshua the !ashiach that
the Name of God is est understood as +:ather.+ In fact, ;eshua used the common
*ramaic word for +father+ a%%a& to refer to )is relationship with God, and )e wanted
his talmidim (disciples) to do likewise.
Ae do not need #nostic awareness or ethereal speculations to help us understand the
Name of God our :ather. )e relates to us intimately as a #ood earthly father relates to
his children. Ae do not need incantations or aracadara to con,ure up feelin#s to help
us overcome the e/istential void that haunts us 9 we can trust that the love of our :ather
in heaven as e/emplified in the #racious sacrifice of )is "on for us. Ae do not trust in
emanations of spiritual forces hidden in )erew letters, since we can know the +Aord
that is ehind the word+ as e/perienced in the life and love of ;eshua our "avior.
It is well and #ood to understand the meanin# of the hundreds of Names and Titles of
God as revealed in the "criptures, of course, ut in the end we need to trust in )im as a
small child trusts in the love of his father....
Hebrew for 5hristians
Iopyri#ht John J. >arsons
*ll ri#hts reserved.
www.herew@christians.com

MM 'eturn