Why does God have so many names in Judaism?

Question

Why does the lord have so many names in Judaism and what are they ? This stuff confuses me

Answer 1

Divine Names
Shaddai (Almighty)
Ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu (Holy ONe, Blessed Be He)
Ribono Shel Olam (Master of the Universe)
Ha-Makom (The Place)
Ha-Rahman (The Merciful)
Shekhina (Divine Presence)
En Sof (The Infinite)
Gevurah (The Mighty)
Tsur Yisrael (Rock of Israel)
Shomer Yisrael (Guardian of Israel)
Melekh Malkhe Hamalakhim (Supreme King of Kings)
.

Answer 2

I always find it amusing when non-Jews (most of the answerers so far) answer questions which are uniquely Jewish.

Like other Hebrew proper names, the name of G-d is more than a mere distinguishing title. It represents our conception of the divine nature or character and of the relation of G-d to Israel and the Jewish people. It represents the Deity as G-d is known to us and also stands for all those attributes which G-d bears in relation to us and which are revealed to us through G-d's activity on our behalf. Skip the Christian sites for this one since G-d's names have ***nothing*** to do with Jesus.

Answer 3

Each name of God points to a different aspect of God. each aspect of God highlights his supremacy in a different area and emphasises a particular trait

For example:
Elohim: This si the name of majesty- it is in a plural form since it shows that all kingship, all creative power comes form him- all kings and powers are merely reflective and part of his glory
Adonai (the pronunciation used for the teragamatton since we do not pronounce it): This name is reflective of his aspect of rachamin (mercy)
Shalom - literally peace. Yep- guess what aspect this refers to
Ahavah- literally love- once again what it refers to is obvious
the 42 letter name- this one is understood in many ways, and derived from kaballistic sources- so you'll have to find someone who actually understand skaballah to explain it to you :-)
The longest name is over 300,000 letters- essentially it is taking the full five books of the Torah and removing all the spaces from between the letters. This leaves his name (all 342000 letters of it). of course it is impossible for us to read and pronounce- for God it could be pronounced as a single word in puff of breath- it is there to illustrateto us the gap between God and ourselves- and even this is merely a hint and connat convey the full difference between God and us.

There are other names as well- but the same applies to them- each name is their for a purpose and to teach us a specific thing about God.

Answer 4

Actually, answer #2 was correct. The tetragrammaton is the only actual Hebrew name of God. Other words used to refer to him are titles (El, Elohim, Sabaoth, El-Elyon, Adonai). There are also references to his name (e.g. HaShem, "the ineffable name"). All of these words are regular words that have meanings appropriate for God, but are sometimes used in other contexts. For example, we use God in English:

God is the creator of all

God of the underworld, Pluto was the brother of Zeus.

Notice the same word with the same *general* meaning, but 1 referring to "God", while 2 refers to "a" god.. The same is true of all of these words in Hebrew - except for the tetragrammaton.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 5

Many of the names are revelations of His nature.

The Lord who Sees Me, The Provider, The Lord has become my Savior, The God if Impossibilities ( Jehovah Pela ) , The Lord is my Healer, etc.

They are all revelations of His nature. His children are the recipients of that nature, they are inheritors of what He does. The point being, God can be trusted to be the God to His people, He can be trusted to fulfill all His promises.

To that we say , "AMEN" , which is a state of mind. A state of mind which is doubtless. When we are saying. "Amen" we are saying "doubtless" , "Faith without any doubt".

Answer 6

I'm not sure of an exact count however each name draws upon a particular aspect or characteristic of Adonai. Adonai for example means Lord. HaShem means "the Name."

Answer 7

When you love someone, or at least have a broad, well-rounded relationship with them, you come to appreciate different aspects of the other party. Most couples have multiple names and nicknames for one another.

Same for the Jews with G-d. Each different name relates to a different aspect of our relationship with him.

Answer 8

Because Judaism did not start out as a Monotheist religion--it just evolved into one.

Answer 9

He has many names. All of them have a purpose.
http://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html
Jesus is God, and He also has many names.
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/names-of-jesus.htm
This is a good one: http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/jesustitles.htm

Be aware, for the Devil also has many names.
http://www.searchgodsword.org/con/ttt/view.cgi?number=T570

Answer 10

in Islam he has 100 names..how many does judaism give him?...I thought he only had one in that one