Hebrew Name Interpretation 2

“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob...”

— Exodus 6:3

EL • ELOHIM • EL ELYON • EL SHADDAI • COVENANT • BLESSING • FRUITFULNESS

1. Before Moses, the God of the Fathers Was Already Speaking#

Packet 1 ended with a question. When YHWH told Moses that He had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, what had the fathers already known of Him? The answer begins before Sinai and before the burning bush. Genesis does not present the patriarchs as men searching for an unnamed deity. It records the same God appearing, speaking, blessing, covenanting, and identifying Himself with several distinct divine titles.

The titles must remain distinct. “El,” “Elohim,” “El Elyon,” and “El Shaddai” are not interchangeable syllables, and they do not all mean the same thing. But Genesis repeatedly places them around the same divine speaker. That is the first fact to follow.

2. Abram Names YHWH as El Elyon#

Genesis 14 introduces a figure who will become important much later in this study. For now, resist the temptation to follow him. Listen first to the title of the God he serves—and then to Abram’s own confession.

Genesis 14:18–22 — KJV

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God [אֵל עֶלְיוֹן — El Elyon, “God Most High”].

19 And he blessed [וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ — vayvarekhehu, “and he blessed him”] him, and said, Blessed [בָּרוּךְ — barukh, “blessed”] be Abram of the most high God [אֵל עֶלְיוֹן — El Elyon], possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God [אֵל עֶלְיוֹן — El Elyon], which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD [יהוה — YHWH], the most high God [אֵל עֶלְיוֹן — El Elyon], the possessor of heaven and earth,

Verse 18 gives the title El Elyon. Verse 22 gives Abram’s confession: YHWH, El Elyon. The ordinary English reader sees “the LORD” and “the most high God” as two English expressions. The Hebrew lets the identification stand in full view: יהוה אֵל עֶלְיוֹן — YHWH, El Elyon.

3. YHWH Appears to Abram and Says, “I Am El Shaddai”#

Three chapters later the identification becomes even more direct. This time there is no need to compare two speakers. The verse names YHWH as the One who appears, and the One who appears says, “I am El Shaddai.”

Genesis 17:1–8 — KJV

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD [יהוה — YHWH] appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God [אֲנִי־אֵל שַׁדַּי — ani El Shaddai, “I am El Shaddai”]; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant [בְּרִיתִי — beriti, “my covenant”] between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God [אֱלֹהִים — Elohim] talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, behold, my covenant [בְּרִיתִי — beriti, “my covenant”] is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful [וְהִפְרֵתִי — vehifreti, “I will make fruitful”], and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant [בְּרִיתִי — beriti, “my covenant”] between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God [אֱלֹהִים — Elohim] unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God [אֱלֹהִים — Elohim].

Read the identity sequence without rushing past it: YHWH appears. He says, “I am El Shaddai.” Then the narrator says Elohim speaks with Abram. The words remain distinct, but the speaker does not fragment into three gods.

The same passage also attaches COVENANT [בְּרִית — berit], FRUITFULNESS [פרה — p-r-h, the fruitful word-family], nations, kings, seed, land, and an everlasting relationship to El Shaddai. The title is not floating by itself. It stands inside covenant history.

4. Jacob Hears the Same Title and the Same Covenant Vocabulary#

The pattern does not stop with Abraham. When God appears to Jacob after his return from Padanaram, Genesis again gives the speaker a title, and the familiar covenant vocabulary returns with it.

Genesis 35:9–15 — KJV

9 And God [אֱלֹהִים — Elohim] appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed [וַיְבָרֶךְ — vayvarekh, “and he blessed”] him.

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty [אֲנִי אֵל שַׁדַּי — ani El Shaddai, “I am El Shaddai”]: be fruitful and multiply [פְּרֵה וּרְבֵה — pereh u-reveh, “be fruitful and multiply”]; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

13 And God went up from him [וַיַּעַל מֵעָלָיו אֱלֹהִים — vayyaʿal meʿalav Elohim, “and God went up from him”] in the place where he talked with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel [בֵּית־אֵל — Bet-El, “house of El / house of God”].

The details are dense: Elohim appears; Jacob is named Israel; the speaker says “I am El Shaddai”; fruitfulness, nations, kings, land, and seed return; God goes up; Jacob marks the place; and the place is called Bethel.

Several of those details will become important in their own right. For the present question, one fact is enough: the El Shaddai known to Abraham is not left behind when the promise reaches Jacob. The same title stands inside the same covenant movement—fruitfulness, nations, kings, seed, and land.

5. Near the End of His Life, Jacob Remembers El Shaddai#

Years later Jacob speaks to Joseph. He reaches back past Egypt, past the famine, and past decades of family history to identify the God who appeared to him at Luz.

Genesis 48:3 — KJV

3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty [אֵל שַׁדַּי — El Shaddai] appeared unto me [נִרְאָה אֵלַי — nirʾah elai, “appeared unto me”] at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me [וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתִי — vayvarekh oti, “and blessed me”],

Jacob does not remember an abstract title. He remembers an appearance and a blessing: El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz, and blessed me. Genesis 35 has already told us what was said there. Genesis 48 tells us how Jacob himself remembered the encounter.

6. Jacob’s Final Blessing Stacks the Titles Again#

Genesis 49 becomes even more concentrated. The blessing over Joseph places several divine expressions inside two verses. Two of them will deserve a much closer look later. For now, notice the terms that directly continue this packet’s question.

Genesis 49:24–25 — KJV

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob [אֲבִיר יַעֲקֹב — Abir Yaʿaqov, “Mighty One of Jacob”]; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father [מֵאֵל אָבִיךָ — me-El avikha, “from the El of thy father”], who shall help thee; and by the Almighty [שַׁדַּי — Shaddai], who shall bless thee [וִיבָרְכֶךָ — vivarechekha, “and he shall bless thee”] with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

The KJV gives “God of thy father” and “the Almighty.” Underneath the English are El and Shaddai. Here Shaddai stands without El, while the previous appearances used the compound El Shaddai. That difference should be preserved rather than blurred.

And there are two more titles in verse 24—“the shepherd” and “the stone of Israel.” They are sitting in the same blessing field as the Mighty One of Jacob, the El of Jacob’s father, and Shaddai. We will not spend them yet. For now, simply remember where they are.

7. Now Return to Exodus 6#

Packet 1 read Exodus 6 for covenant action: “I will bring you out ... I will redeem you ... I will take you ... I will bring you in ... I will give it you for an heritage.” Now the same passage can be read again for a different reason—the identity of the One who is speaking.

Exodus 6:2–3 — KJV

2 And God [אֱלֹהִים — Elohim] spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD [אֲנִי יהוה — ani YHWH, “I [am] YHWH”]:

3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty [אֵל שַׁדַּי — El Shaddai], but by my name JEHOVAH [יהוה — YHWH] was I not known to them.

The sentence identifies continuity, not replacement. The speaker says, “I am YHWH,” and then, “I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob ... El Shaddai.” The God of the Exodus does not introduce Himself as a new God replacing the God of the patriarchs. He identifies Himself with the One who had already appeared to them.

There is also a question worth allowing to remain visible. Genesis itself has already recorded Abram saying “YHWH, El Elyon,” while Exodus 6 says, “by my name YHWH was I not known to them.” Whatever full force “known” carries in Exodus 6:3, it cannot erase the identity statements we have just read. The chapter immediately moves into covenant remembrance and acts by which Israel will “know that I am YHWH.” The Name is not treated merely as a sound to pronounce; it is bound to who this God is and what He brings to pass.

8. The Question Has Become More Specific#

The investigation began with the Name. It has now moved backward into the lives of the fathers. The Hebrew Scriptures have already joined YHWH to El Elyon, YHWH to El Shaddai, Elohim to the same covenant speech, and Jacob’s own memory to the God who appeared and blessed him.

But another feature is about to complicate the picture. In several patriarchal stories, the One who speaks with divine authority is introduced not simply as God, El, Elohim, or YHWH, but as a messenger—an Angel. Sometimes the Messenger speaks for God. In other passages the wording becomes much harder to separate.