God: Compound Names

The Israelites frequently gave their children Hebrew compound names that included a name of God plus another grammatical component such as a noun or verb. Scholars call these compound names theophoric (Greek: “bearing the name of God”) names. There are approximately 450 theophoric names in the Bible, of which about four hundred are personal names and the other fifty are place names.[1] Biblical scholar Dana Pike wrote, “The very fact that so many of the names in ancient Semitic societies, including the Israelites, were of a theophoric nature demonstrates a strong disposition toward the role of the divine in the lives of these people. These names indicate what attributes and qualities were associated with a specific deity by the general populace of a society.”[2]

A common theophoric name includes the name El, which is generally translated in English as “God.” El may appear at the beginning of the name (as in Elidad, Eliezer, Elijah, Elisha, Elkanah, Elnaam, Elnathan) or at the end of the name (as in Ariel, Jezreel, Joel, Michael, Samuel, Uriel). In addition to the name El, theophoric names include a verb, a noun, or another grammatical component that serves to describe God or one of His divine characteristics, attributes, or qualities. For example, the name Uzziel (“God is my strength”) shows that God is strength; Elnaam (“God is gracious”) sets forth God’s divine grace; Daniel (“God is my judge”) presents God’s judgeship; and Uriel (“God is my light”) reveals that God is our light. A few names describe aspects of the Atonement and Resurrection. These include Elkanah (“God has purchased”), Elisha (“God is salvation”), Elishua (“God is salvation”), Paltiel (“God is my deliverance”), Meshezabel (“God saves”), Eliakim (“May God raise up”), Mehujael (“God causes to live”), and Raphael (“God has healed”).

Theophoric names were popular in Israelite communities. For example, about thirteen biblical personalities had the name Joel; eleven persons possessed the name Eliezer; and another eleven had the name Michael.

There are many other El names in the Old Testament, but space limitations preclude listing them all in this chart.

* The meanings of some names are subject to dispute.