The most important names of God in the Bible are Elohim, YHWH and Adonai, alongside names such as El Shaddai, El Roi, YHWH Jireh, YHWH Rapha, YHWH Shalom, Elohim Chayim and Abba. Each of them describes one side of who God is: Creator, presence, Lord, the God who sees, provides, heals and brings peace. Many of these names were first spoken at a very specific moment, when people had run out of answers of their own.
At Good-Natured we turned ten of these names into a poster series, collected under Names of God posters. This overview explains what the names mean, where they appear in the Bible and why there are so many of them.
• Core names: Elohim (God, Creator), YHWH (the divine name from Exodus 3), Adonai (Lord).
• Names born from experience: El Roi (Genesis 16:13), YHWH Jireh (Genesis 22:14), YHWH Rapha (Exodus 15:26), YHWH Shalom (Judges 6:24).
• In the New Testament: Abba, the Aramaic word for father (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15).
• In English Bibles: YHWH usually appears as “LORD” in small capitals.
• As posters: all ten names in A3, printed in Germany on FSC-certified paper.
1. Names of God in the Bible: the three core names
Elohim
Elohim is the first name of God in the Bible. It appears in the very first verse: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, KJV). Grammatically, Elohim is a plural form, yet it refers to the one God. The name stands for the Creator, who begins something where there was nothing before. The Elohim poster is available ab 18 €.
YHWH
The four letters YHWH are the personal name of God in the Old Testament. The name is linked to the burning bush, where God says to Moses: “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14, KJV). In Jewish tradition the name is not spoken aloud. Most English Bibles render it as “LORD” in small capitals. The name does not describe a single quality but presence: God is there. Our article on the meaning of YHWH explains this in more detail. Our YHWH poster (ab 18 €) shows nothing but these four letters.
Adonai
Adonai means “Lord”. When the Scriptures are read aloud in Jewish tradition, it is spoken in place of YHWH. The name describes a relationship: there is someone you belong to and can trust. Abraham addresses God this way in Genesis 15:2, for example. What lies behind the name is explained in our article on the meaning of Adonai; the design: Adonai poster.
2. Names born from experience
El Shaddai
El Shaddai is usually translated as “God Almighty”. The exact origin of the word is debated among scholars. The name appears mainly in the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, first in Genesis 17:1, where God promises Abraham a future that seemed humanly impossible. The design: El Shaddai poster.
El Roi
El Roi means “the God who sees me”. The name is spoken by Hagar, a servant on the run, alone in the wilderness: “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16:13, KJV). God meets her, calls her by name and promises protection for her and her child. Precisely because her situation is so hopeless, El Roi remains one of the names that move people most to this day. The full story of Hagar and what the name means today is told in our article El Roi: The God Who Sees Me. If you are looking for words in a similarly hard season, you will find more in our Bible verses for encouragement. The El Roi poster is available ab 18 €.
YHWH Jireh
YHWH Jireh means “the LORD will see” or “the LORD will provide”. Abraham gives this name to the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac and where God showed him a ram instead (Genesis 22:14). The name promises no certainty in advance, but provision at the decisive moment. How another well-known verse about the future and trust can be read is explained in our article on Jeremiah 29:11. The design: YHWH Jireh poster.
YHWH Rapha
YHWH Rapha means “the LORD who heals”: “I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26, KJV). The words come shortly after the exodus from Egypt, when Israel finds no drinkable water in the desert. It means more than physical healing: restoring something that was broken. The design: YHWH Rapha poster.
YHWH Shalom
YHWH Shalom means “the LORD is peace”. Gideon gives this name to the altar he builds after meeting God (Judges 6:24). Shalom is not just the absence of conflict, but a state in which something is whole and in order. The design: YHWH Shalom poster. One of the best-known texts about this peace is the psalm of the good shepherd.
3. The living God and the Father
Elohim Chayim
Elohim Chayim means “the living God”. The name often appears where God is set apart from lifeless idols, for example in Jeremiah 10:10. In the Psalms it becomes a prayer: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:2, KJV). The design: Elohim Chayim poster.
Abba
Abba is not a Hebrew but an Aramaic word, and it means “father”. Jesus prays this way in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36), and Paul takes up the word: “whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15, KJV). What makes it special is the closeness. Abba is not a title but the language of a family. The design: Abba poster.
Because no single name is enough. Each one holds on to an experience people had with God. Together they form a picture that no definition could capture. That is why the names read so well as a series, and why many people find exactly one that fits their own situation.
4. The names of God in everyday life: as posters on the wall
A name on the wall is a reminder you walk past every day. The Good-Natured series shows each of the ten names on its own. The posters come in A3, printed in Germany on FSC-certified paper, either unframed or ready-framed in black, white or light oak. Other designs in our range come in A4, A3, 30 × 40 cm and A2 depending on the motif, all under Posters.
How to choose a design that doesn’t look kitschy is covered in our guide to Bible verse posters. Height, spacing and frames are explained in How to hang posters properly.
Conclusion
The names of God in the Bible are not a list of titles but a collection of experiences: Elohim who creates, YHWH who is present, El Roi who sees, YHWH Jireh who provides, YHWH Rapha who heals, and Abba, the Father. Read side by side, there is almost always one that fits your own situation. At Good-Natured we designed all ten as posters, collected under Names of God posters.
Frequently asked questions
How is YHWH pronounced?
In Jewish tradition the name is not spoken out of reverence; readers say Adonai instead. Scholars commonly use the reading “Yahweh”, but the exact original pronunciation has not been reliably preserved. The form “Jehovah” arose later from combining the consonants YHWH with the vowels of Adonai.
Why do English Bibles write “LORD” in small capitals?
The small capitals signal that the Hebrew text has the divine name YHWH at that point. Where the Hebrew has Adonai, most translations write “Lord” in normal type. That way readers can still see which name is meant.
Is Jesus also a name of God?
The name Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua) means “the LORD saves” and so contains a short form of the divine name itself. In the New Testament Jesus also calls himself “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13, KJV). He addresses God as Abba and invites his followers to do the same.
Which name of God makes a good gift?
That depends on the person’s situation: El Roi for someone who feels overlooked, YHWH Rapha in times of illness, YHWH Jireh before a new beginning, YHWH Shalom for a housewarming. The Good-Natured posters fit a standard A3 frame or come ready-framed.
Ten names, ten prints, on their own or as a gallery wall. For example the Abba poster for ab 18 €, printed in Germany on FSC-certified paper.
View the collection ↗
