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139:19; and Prov. 30:5. Although
as a divine name is rarely used outside Job, its
literary history extends from at least the second millennium B.C. (as in Deut. 32:15) to
the fifth century B.C. (as in Neh. 9:17).
( , 410,
, 7706), “God Almighty.” This combination of with a
qualifying term represents a religious tradition among the Israelites that was probably in
existence by the third millennium B.C. A few centuries later,
appeared in
Hebrew personal names such as Zurishaddai (Num. 1:6) and Ammishaddai (Num. 1:12).
The earliest Old Testament appearance of the appellation as a title of deity (“God
Almighty”) is in Gen. 17:1, where “God” identifies Himself in this way to Abraham.
Unfortunately, the name is not explained in any manner; and even the directions
“walk before me, and be thou perfect” throw no light on the meaning of
!
Scholars have attempted to understand the word relating it to the Akkadian
$
(“mountain”), as though “God” had either revealed His mighty power in association with
mountain phenomena such as volcanic eruptions or that He was regarded strong and
immutable, like the “everlasting hills” of the blessing of Jacob (Gen. 49:26). Certainly the
associating of deity with mountains was an important part of Mesopotamian religion. The
“gods” were believed to favor mountaintop dwellings, and the Sumerians constructed
their staged temple-towers or ziggurats as artificial mountains for worship. It was
customary to erect a small shrine on the uppermost stage of the ziggurat so that the patron
deity could descend from heaven and inhabit the temple. The Hebrews began their own
tradition of mountain revelation just after the Exodus, but by this time the name
had been replaced by the tetragrammaton of Yahweh (Exod. 3:15, 6:3).
,
served as the patriarchs’ covenant name for “God,” and continued as
such until the time of Moses, when a further revelation took place (Exod. 6:3). The
Abrahamic covenant was marked by a degree of closeness between “God” and the human
participants that was distinctive in Hebrew history. “God Almighty” revealed Himself as
a powerful deity who was able to perform whatever He asserted. But the degree of
intimacy between
and the patriarchs at various stages shows that the
covenant involved God’s care and love for this growing family that He had chosen,
protected, and prospered. He led the covenant family from place to place, being
obviously present with them at all times. His covenant formulations show that He was not
preoccupied with cultic rites or orgiastic celebrations. Instead, He demanded a degree of
obedience that would enable Abraham and his descendants to walk in His presence, and
live blameless moral and spiritual lives (Gen. 17:1). The true covenantal service of
, therefore, was not cultic or ritualistic, but moral and ethical in character.
In the early Mosaic era, the new redemptive name of “God” and the formulation of
the Sinai covenant made
largely obsolete as a designation of deity.
Subsequently, the name occurs about 35 times in the Old Testament, most of which are in
the Book of Job. Occasionally, the name is used synonymously with the tetragrammaton
of Yahweh (Ruth 1:21; Ps. 91:1-2), to emphasize the power and might of “God” in
characteristic fashion.
( , 410,
, 5769), “God of eternity; God the