Summary
The article examines the relationship between Divine names in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an, explaining how many attributes describing God’s mercy, power, and sovereignty appear in both scriptures, reflecting shared monotheistic understanding while preserving the Qur’an’s emphasis on Allah’s most beautiful names.
I dedicate this essay to the Muslims of Spain, who on July 12, 2025, suffered a devastating act of Islamophobia in Piera, Spain, when the Piera Mosque, was set on fire in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
Although some of the names of God are unique to each of the three Abrahamic religions (for example Al Shakur— “The Appreciative One); all three would agree that the One who created the universe is central: “He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. (Quran 59:24) The best of names refers to the many appellations; titles and attributes of the the one and only imageless God.
Monotheists call God by may names because we believe that the Divine One is not an impersonal, universal force or power like gravity; for the Divine One is a personality. A unique, disembodied, undying, always creative personality, who cares about all the created worlds. We even use a pronoun of gender, although God includes both genders, because we do not wish to refer to the Divine One, as it.
The Qur’an tells us (17:110) “Say, “Call upon Allah or call upon Ar-Rahman/Ha Rakhaman, the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call – to Him belong the best names.” And do not recite your prayer [too] loudly or [too] quietly, but seek a way in between.”
For those religions that trace their prophets back to Prophet Abraham, and his two Prophet sons Ishmael and Isaac; the many names or appellations (titles and descriptions) of God simply describe different aspects or attributes of the one God’s multifaceted personality. Thus, to say that God is a King or a Judge describes one of many ways God acts. To say that God is the Merciful-Compassionate One is to describe one of many character or personality traits of the One and only God.
While each name is only one of the many appellations of the One universal creator of space and time; both Islam and Judaism also have one Divine name that is always deepest within the believer’s heart and soul. “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” (Psalm 105: 1-3)
There are many names for God in the Hebrew Bible. These four are my most beloved ones.
The Holy One of Israel name is “YHVH of hosts (who) is exalted in justice, God the Holy One, is sanctified in righteousness.” (Isaiah 5:16) and “The humble will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 29:19)
For more than twelve centuries, the only ongoing monotheistic religious community in the world existed within the Jewish People, God’s universal attributes were frequently expressed in the Hebrew Bible in terms of His activity and relationship to Israel.
For example, Elohei kol basar, the God of all flesh (Jeremiah 32:27) is usually referred to as Elohei Yisrael or Elohei of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:15)
Thus, Prophet Isaiah refers to both The Holy One (Isaiah 40:25) and The Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 1:4, 5:19) and Prophet David refers to both El Yisrael The God of Israel (Psalm 68:36) and El HaShamayim The God of the Heavens (Psalm 136:26).
Although in every generation there could have been many individuals who worshipped the One God, who was indeed the God of all humans; yet for very many generations only one group of people maintained a continuous monotheistic community. This is why all of the Biblical prophets speak of Elohei Yisrael- the God of Israel, or Elohei-God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Of course, just as one parent can love, protect, and judge many children, the One God of Israel is also the one God of the whole world, So Ezra, the most narrowly focused of prophets, uses both Elah Yisrael-God of Israel (Ezra 5:1) and Elah Sh’maya V’Arah- God of Heaven and Earth (Ezra 5:11).
One name of God that very few Christians, Jews or Muslims even know, much less use today, is a name that I believe will become more important in the future as Christians, Jews and Muslims learn more about each other’s religions. This name, El Ro’ee, only appears twice in the Hebrew Bible and, as far as I know, is not used at all in the Talmud or Midrash as a Divine appellation.
El Roee: The God Who Sees Me; is based on the wonderful personal experience of an Egyptian woman named Hagar, banished by Prophet Abraham (under duress), and yet Hagar is blessed by the God of Abraham. “Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees, for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.” (Genesis 16:13-14)
This revelation of God’s character as ‘El Roee’ which means ‘the God who sees me’ only appears twice in all of Scripture. The preface El describes the one God, and Roee reveals personal relationships, and caring qualities for communities.
God revealed this aspect of His character to a woman in distress showing His care and compassion to Hagar, Abram and Sarai’s Egyptian servant, who had fled into the wilderness due to mistreatment. God saw her tears and brought her words of hope. Knowing that God saw her situation enabled Hagar to return home and face the future without fear. El Roi is the God who sees and cares about the needs of individuals.
Next is El Shaddai. Exodus (6:2-3) relates: God also said to Moses, “I am YHVH. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name YHVH I did not make myself fully known to them.”
In the whole Hebrew Bible the full appellation ‘El Shaddai’ is used only in connection with Prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Shaddai by itself appears 31 times in the ancient book of Prophet Job, who was not Jewish, and in a few other poetic passages.
In the Greek translation of the Torah, El Shaddai was erroneously translated Pantokrator, all powerful/omnipotent, instead of ‘The God who is sufficient”. The Greek philosophical idea of omnipotence leads to the false contradiction between God’s power and human free will.
But God is indeed, more than sufficient. God is and will always be YHVH, the God who enables human hopes of future possibilities of improvement to become realized.
El Shaddai can also be translated as the Nourishing God because the Hebrew word Shaddaim means two female breasts. This feminine image may help some women today replace the ancient image of God as an old man with a long beard; with a metaphor more representative of God’s classical attribute of loving concern for His children.
YHVH LORD “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’ “This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” Exodus 3:14-15
The name YHVH LORD is the personal name for God that He revealed to Moses when he was calling him to lead Israel out of Egypt. This was the name by which God wanted to be known by His people and the name Yahweh became forever associated with God’s redeeming acts. He is the God who rescues and saves.
For Israel, YHVH LORD became the sacred covenant name. But in the generations after the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE, the name YHVH was no longer in daily use because people feared misusing the LORD’s name. In Scriptural text, the name Yahweh was replaced with the term Adonai (Lord). Today, in English Bibles the two names are distinguishable. YHVH is translated as LORD, the God who redeems, and Adonai shown as Lord, the One we choose to serve.
For Jews, the most important unique personal name of the one God is the name that God himself reveals to Moses at the burning bush: YHVH, which appears more than 6,800 times in the Hebrew Bible.
In Exodus 3:13-15, Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’—what should I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh”.
Ehyeh is the verb “to be” future tense singular and means I will/could/might/may be/become who I may/could/will/might be/become i.e. Ehyeh is The God of Potentialities, The God of Possibilities, The Living God of Becoming and Transforming, the One who can and will liberate Israel from bondage in Egypt.
Unfortunately, the Greek and Latin translations of this verse were influenced by the Greek philosophical idea that God was similar to a permanent ideal form (like an equilateral triangle) or an unmoved mover; and is not similar to a living personality. Since the Greeks thought God must be a static unchanging being. they mistranslated “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh’ as ‘I am who I am’ rather than its plain Hebrew meaning of ‘I will be whatever I should be to redeem you” i.e. God Unlimited.
The Torah continues, “And God said, “You must say this to the Israelites, “I am” (the usual false translation for God’s self revealed name) has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “You must say this to the Israelites, Ehyeh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’ (Exodus 3:13-15)
When Jews speak of God in the third person, God’s name is pronounced Yehyeh and written YHVH– “the One who stimulates being and becoming, the One who brings potentials into existence.”
The name YHVH was spoken publicly for almost a thousand years, from the time of Moses, throughout the centuries of the 1st Temple of Solomon. But it was ultimately replaced by Adonai (Lord) before the 3rd century B.C.E., because God’s actual Holy name was eventually considered too holy to speak audibly.
In later centuries even the substitution Adonai was considered too holy to utter; and pious Jews till this day do not use any name for God at all (except in prayer); but say only HaShem–the name (of God) when speaking about the one and only God.
Frequently Asked Question
Answering the most relevant questions to help you better understand the article.
The Qur’an teaches that whichever name believers use in calling upon Allah—such as Allah or Ar-Rahman—they refer to the same One God, because all the most beautiful names belong to Him.
The article explains that both scriptures use many descriptive titles for God that express His attributes, demonstrating a shared monotheistic tradition emphasizing divine mercy, authority, power, and sovereignty.
The various names used for God describe His attributes and qualities rather than indicating different gods, affirming that all such names ultimately refer to the same single, supreme Creator.
The article explains that forms such as El, Elah, Elohei, and Elohim appear almost three thousand times in the Hebrew Bible as generic terms referring to God.
The Hebrew Bible frequently refers to God with titles such as the God of Israel or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, emphasizing His relationship with the prophetic tradition.
The Islamic year, based on 12 lunar months, is shorter and shifts relative to the solar calendar each year.
The article clarifies that masculine language used for God in scripture is metaphorical and grammatical, not a literal description of gender, since the Divine transcends human categories.
The Qur’an refers to Allah with the Arabic pronoun huwa meaning “He,” while never using hiya meaning “she,” reflecting established linguistic convention in the scripture.
The article states that although many attributes overlap, Judaism contains several traditional names describing God’s attributes that do not appear among the ninety-nine names recorded in Islamic tradition.
The article notes that the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush—YHVH—is considered the most significant divine name in the Hebrew Bible.
