Esoteric Hebrew Names of God (Printer Version)

1/4/2015
Esoteric Hebrew Names of God (Printer Version)
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 Kabbalah
and Kabbalistic meditation. Many of these mystical Names
were derived from the Scriptures using methodologies
developed in ancient Babylonia.
WARNING: The Name of the LORD represents His power, actions, and reputation in
the universe. Almighty God cannot be "conjured" or treated as an object, since He is
the Master of the Universe and subject to no one. It is chilul HaShem to attempt to
invoke the Name of God for selfish or manipulative purposes (Exodus 20:7).
The material provided here is for educational purposes only and is NOT an
endorsement of any form of occultism or Kabbalah. The mystical approach to
interpreting Scripture often leads to dubious interpretations and serious errors.
Methods of Derivation
The Jewish mystical tradition had two primary groups that were interested in esoteric
meanings of the Hebrew Names of God:
1. Theoretical Kabbalists meditated on the Names of God for spiritual insight. Often
this took the form of studying "permutations" of the divine Names to gain esoteric
knowledge about God. This is a form of Gnosticism or "theosophy."
2. Practical Kabbalists attempted to use the Names of God to "magically" affect the
physical and supernatural worlds. Often this took the form of inscribing the Names
on protective amulets and other artifacts. This is a form of occultism that is plainly
condemned in the Torah (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; 20:27).
Many alternate Names of God were derived through various methodical formulas applied
to Biblical verses and already existing Names of God. These methods include:
1. Notarikon - The initial or final letters of the words of a verse or verses are used to
make an acronym. For example, the name Tzamarkhad is derived from the final
letter of the first five verses of Genesis:
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2. Temura - Letters are substituted with other letters. Using At Bash, each letter (of
a word or phrase) is exchanged with its "opposite" letter and then the result is
calculated. "Opposite" letters are determined by substituting the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet (Aleph) with the last letter (Tav), the second letter (Bet) with
the next to last (Shin), and so on.
Thus (by At Bash): Yod Hey Vav Hey -> Mem Tsade Pey Tsade:
3. Gematria - A type of numerological study that may be defined as one of more

systems for calculating the numerical equivalence of letters, words, and phrases in
a particular Hebrew text. These systems are used for the purpose of gaining
insight into interrelating concepts and for finding correspondences between words
and concepts. Using this method, the supposed angel Metatron was thought to
be particularly powerful because numerically this name is equivalent to Shaddai.
4. Kabbalah - The kabbalah of Names usually involves some permutation of the

Sacred Name (YHVH) or the association of the Ten Sefirot of the "Tree of Life" with
certain attributes of God.
Mystical Hebrew Names of God

Monogrammata
The letter Hey (
) commonly appears on Western European amulets (i.e., charms or
talisman), either alone or repeated five times to represent the Name of God.
According to the Jewish mystics, Hey represents the divine breath or revelation. On the
fifth day, the LORD created ruach ("living creatures") and this corresponds to the letter
Hey. Since the numerical value of Hey is five, this corresponds on a physical level to the
five fingers, the five senses, and the five dimensions. On a spiritual level it corresponds
to the five levels of soul:
Nefesh - instincts
Ruach - emotions
Neshamah - mind
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Chayah - bridge to transcendence

Yechidah - oneness
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6). In the Talmud (Menachot 29b) it is said that the
"breath of His mouth" refers to the sound of the letter Hey - the outbreathing of Spirit.
The letter Aleph is the "father" of the Aleph-Bet, whose original pictograph represents an
ox, strength, and leader. It's numerical value is one (and also 1,000) and it is a silent
letter. Aleph therefore is preeminent in its order and alludes to the ineffable mysteries of
the oneness of God. Indeed, the word aluph (derived from the very name of this letter)
means "Master" or "Lord."
In the classical Hebrew script (ketav Ashurit) used for writing Torah scrolls, Aleph is
constructed with two Yods (one to the upper right and the other to the lower left) that
are joined by a diagonal Vav. Ketav Ashurit was the script that Jesus would have read
(ketav Ivri was an older script, similar to ancient Phoenician, but was not the script used
when Moses received the Torah from the LORD on Sinai. Ketav Ivri is also sometimes
called the Temple Script because samples of it are extant dated to the time of Solomon's
Temple).
The basic gematria for the letter Aleph is one, indicating the One and only God who is the
Master of the universe. Note, however, that the gematria for the parts of the letter Aleph
add up to 26 (Yod+Yod+Vav). This is the same number as the sacred Name YHVH, also
indicating a link between the Aleph and God Himself. This is also demonstrated in Exodus
3:14-15, where the LORD reveals His Name (I AM THAT I AM)
to Moses.
Digrammata
"Digrammaton" means "two letters" and refers to a two-letter Name of God. In the
Scriptures, there are two main digrammata:
The Name
(Aleph-Lamed) comes from a root word meaning "might, strength, power"
and probably derives from the Ugaritic term for god. In Scripture, the primary meanings of
this root are "god" (pagan or false gods), "God" (the true God of Israel), and sometimes
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"the mighty" (referring to men or angels). When used of the true God of Israel, El is
almost always qualified by additional words that further define the meaning that
distinguish Him from false gods. These other Names or Titles for God are sometimes called
"construct forms."
Another digrammaton is the Name
(yah). It is generally thought that Yah is a shortened
form of YHVH. This Name of God occurs about 50 times in the Tanakh. In Psalm 68:4 [5, H]
this Name is particularly stressed. The Name YAH is also found in the construct word
"hallelu-YAH," which means "you [pl.] praise the LORD," as well as in many Biblical proper
names (e.g., Eliyahu).
The Talmud states that God used the letter Hey to create the present world (olam hazeh)
and Yod to create the world to come (olam habah). The sages derive this idea from the
Name
(yah) found in Isaiah 26:4:
How did they come up with this? Well, they consider b'yah in the text as meaning "with
Yod-Hey" instead of referring to the Name Yah.
In most Siddurim (prayerbooks) and other Jewish religious literature, you will often see
the Sacred Name written in an abbreviated manner as Yod-Yod:
This is done to avoid casually reading, writing or saying the sacred Name of God. Some
mystics claim that this convention is also a Name of God, though that is unlikely.
The Tetragrammaton
In the Tanakh, YHVH is the personal name of God and his most frequent designation,
occurring over 5,200 times. This is the Ineffable Name or Unutterable Name of the God of
Israel. Because it is composed from the four Hebrew letters Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey, it is
also referred to as the "Tetragrammaton," which simply means "the four letters."
Kabbalists use the Name (and permutations of it) in their meditations.
Though we do not know how to pronounce the sacred Name, we can be confident that
the letters
derive from the Hebrew verb "to be" (hayah) and indicate God's utter
transcendence as the Source and Ground of all being. For more information about the
Sacred name, click here.
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The Octagrammaton
"Octagrammaton" means "eight letters" and refers to an eight-letter Name of God
created by interspersing the letters for Adonai with the letters for the Tetragrammaton:
The Decagrammaton
The so-called "Ten Letter Name of God" is derived from running
together the names of the first three Sefirot (divine emanations or
attributes of God which are said comprise the mystical "Tree of Life"):
Keter (Crown), Chokhmah (Wisdom), and Binah (Understanding):
The Twelve Letter Name of God

There are two forms of this Name. The first form of the twelve letter Name is simply YHVH
three times: YHVH YHVH YHVH:
This comes from the prayer liturgy: Adonai Melech, Adonai Malchah, Adonai Yimlokh L'Olam
Va'ed "YHVH is King, YHVH was King, YHVH will be King forever and ever."
A second form of the 12-letter Name consists of the initials of the twelve tribes of Israel.
These are recited in reverse order according to the breastplate of the Urim and Thumim:
Reuven, Shimeon, Levi, Yehudah, Issachar, Zevulon, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, Yosef, and
Benyamin:
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The Fourteen Letter Name of God

The Fourteen Letter Name was derived from the phrase Adonai Eloheinu Adonai from the
Shema, and was sometime written on the backs of mezuzot. The Name is formed by the
simple method of substitution known as At Bash:
The 22 Letter Name of God

The 22 Letter Name is sometimes considered part of the 72 Letter Name (see below) that
includes reference to the 12 tribes of Israel (considered as Jeshurun):
Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, the tribes of Yeshurun

(i.e., the upright).

This Name is derived from the Torah and is comprised of nine Names of God run
together: Adonai, El, Eloah, Elohim, Shaddai, Tzeva'ot, Ehyeh, Yah, and YHVH:

The 42-Letter Name (like many of the others) has no known pronunciation, and perhaps
was derived from the 2nd-century prayer "Ana Bekoach." It is mentioned in the Talmud
and many of the Jewish Sages have speculated about its significance:
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The 72 Names of God - (or the 216 Letter Name of God)

The 216-Letter Name of God is really a 72-part Name, since it is a sequence of 72 triads
of letters all of which are derived from permutations on Exodus 14:19-21 (which itself is
composed of three verses of 72 letters each).
To create the first triad, you put together the first letter of verse 14:19, the last letter of
verse 14:20, and then the first letter of 14:21. To create the next triad, you put
together the second letter of 14:19, the second to last of 14:20, and the second letter
of 14:21. This continues until all the letters are used up. Like so:
Using the algorithm, you will find the following 72 triads of letters embedded in
Exodus 14:19-21:
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Theoretical Kabbalists will look at each of the 72 triads and consider them as one of the
72 Names of God. They will perform various forms of gematria and other analysis of these
names in order to elicit spiritual insight and transformation (this is sort of thing that
Yehuda Berg does in his book, The 72 Names of God, Technology for the Soul).
Practical Kabbalists create amulets using the 216 Letter Name. The Name is divided into
two groups of thirty-six which the scribe writes on two amulets. One amulet is worn on
one arm and the other on the other arm.
The 304,805 Letter Name of God

What is the "best" Hebrew Name of God? Some of the Jewish sages have said that it is
revealed by reciting all 304,805 letters of the Torah in a series. That is, string together all
304,805 letters of the Torah - from the first letter of Bereshit (Bet) through the last letter
of Devarim (Lamed) - and "read" this as a single "Word."
Of course, we should also add the letters for the Prophets (neviim) and the Writings
(ketuvim) to the Torah's 304,805 letters, not to mention the 138,020 words of the Greek
New Testament. When we do so, we have the 3,000,000 letter name of God!
Obviously this "Name" of God is intended to humble us and to remind us that God Himself
is Ein Sof - without End or limitation of any kind. God is always greater than our greatest
thoughts about Him, even if we attempt to express His transcendence by means of the
sacred letters of the Torah.
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Abba
Taking a different approach, we learn from the teachings of Yeshua the Mashiach that the
Name of God is best understood as "Father." In fact, Yeshua used the common Aramaic
word for "father" (abba) to refer to His relationship with God, and He wanted his talmidim
(disciples) to do likewise.
We do not need gnostic awareness or ethereal speculations to help us understand the

Name of God our Father. He relates to us intimately as a good earthly father relates to
his children. We do not need incantations or abracadabra to conjure up feelings to help
us overcome the existential void that haunts us - we can trust that the love of our Father
in heaven as exemplified in the gracious sacrifice of His Son for us. We do not trust in
emanations of spiritual forces hidden in Hebrew letters, since we can know the "Word
that is behind the word" as experienced in the life and love of Yeshua our Savior.
It is well and good to understand the meaning of the hundreds of Names and Titles of
God as revealed in the Scriptures, of course, but in the end we need to trust in Him as a
small child trusts in the love of his father....
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1/4/2015