Biblical Context: Names of God

The woman says, “I know that the Messiah is coming – called the Christ – and when he comes, he’ll tell us everything.”

Then Jesus says, “I, speaking to you, am.”

— The Story of Jesus 5.7 

[adapted from Jn 4:25-26]

In the Old Testament, the most common name of God was designated by four Hebrew letters (ההוי), commonly transliterated into Latin letters as “YHWH.” It comes from the Hebrew verb hayah, which means “to be.” God introduced himself to Moses this way, as recorded in the book of Exodus, “I Am who I Am…. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to generations and generations.” (Exodus 3:14,15b)  Hebrew originally didn’t include any vowels in its written form, so “YHWH” could have been pronounced any number of ways in ancient times, depending on the vowel sounds added. The terms Yahweh and Jehovah were the most common renderings. In English, YHWH is usually translated “Lord” (all capital letters), as it became tradition for Jews to substitute the word adonai (Hebrew for “lord”) instead of YHWH. However, the original name for God is literally “I Am.”

El is another common name for God, which is translated as “god,” and could refer to the Jewish God or any pagan god. This name is incorporated into the name Israel, which translates to “God strives.” Alternately, Elohim is the plural form of El, which is thought to convey an intensified version of the word, or refer to the three-part nature of God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), or even describe God together with his angels. 

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. The word was God... The word became a body and lived with us. We saw his glory, glory like the only one born of the Father, full of grace and truth.

— The Story of Jesus 1.2

[adapted from Jn 1:1-14]

Logos is the Greek word for "speech" or "word,” but John uses this term to refer specifically to God's word personified as Jesus. No other Gospel writer uses logos like this. However, since Heraclitus first used the term around 500 BC, ancient Greek philosophers used logos to mean wisdom in general, particularly pertaining to divine order and reasoning.

Many Bible translations capitalize "word" when referring to Jesus. Similarly, pronouns ("he" or "his") referring to God or Jesus are typically capitalized throughout Scripture. However, there was no concept of capitalization in the original languages of the Bible. Over time, church tradition has capitalized any titles or pronouns referring to God, but this practice isn't directly biblical. 

“Truly truly, I tell you, you’ll see the skies open up and the angels of God rising and descending on the Son of Man.”

— The Story of Jesus 5.4

[adapted from Jn 1:51]

“What’s easier to tell a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your cot, and walk’? But now, so you’ll know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins –” then he tells the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, pick up your cot, and go home.”

— The Story of Jesus 7.6

[adapted from Mt 9:5-6]

In the Old Testament, the phrase “son of man” refers to man in general. It comes from being a descendant of Adam, the first man, whose name serves as the Hebrew word for “man” or “mankind.” Adam’s name is derived from the Hebrew word for ground (adamah), so “son of man” is also a reference to men’s origin, being formed in the beginning from dirt. Of note, the prophet Daniel described a vision where “someone like the son of man” (Daniel 7:13) approached God (the “Ancient of Days”) to be given sovereignty over everything forever. In this sense, it was used in reference to the coming Messiah. However, the predominant understanding of “son of man” was likely related to its original meaning, as a reference to a man or mankind in general. Ezekiel recorded being called “son of man” by God numerous times, but Jesus is the only person in the Bible to refer to himself in the third person in this way. 

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