The names of God in the Bible are not a single list printed on one page of Scripture. They are scattered through the story, and almost every one was spoken by a real person at a real moment: a runaway servant at a spring, a shepherd on a hillside, a prophet watching his city burn. This page gathers 70 of them in the order of the book, which runs roughly from Genesis to the prophets. Each row gives the name, the King James verse where you can read it, and one line on what it shows about God.
Some entries are God's own personal name. Others are titles, the way you might call a judge "Your Honor." Many are pictures that people reached for when they needed help: a rock, a tower, a fountain. The Bible never gives an official count of God's names, so 70 is not a magic number. It is the number Maurice Johnson chose for his book, and it is a good place to begin. If you want the longer answer about counting, read how many names God has.
Names 1 to 4: who God is
The list opens with the words the rest of the Bible stands on. The first is the plain word for God. The second is His personal name, the one He told Moses to use for ever (Exodus 3:15). These four come up again inside many of the names that follow.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| God (Elohim) | Genesis 1:1 | The first word for God in the Bible: the One who made everything. |
| The LORD (Jehovah) | Exodus 6:3 | God's own personal name, printed LORD in capitals in the King James. |
| Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah) | Genesis 15:2 | Abram speaks to God as Master while asking Him for a son. |
| I AM THAT I AM | Exodus 3:14 | The answer Moses heard at the burning bush when he asked God's name. |
Names 5 to 15: the names from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Genesis is where people first start naming God out of their own experience. Abraham, Hagar and Jacob each met God in a hard place, and each walked away with a new way to speak of Him. Several of these names were attached to an altar, a well or a place, so that anyone passing by would remember what God had done there.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| The Most High God (El Elyon) | Genesis 14:18 | Melchizedek's title for the God who is above every other power. |
| The Possessor of Heaven and Earth | Genesis 14:19 | God owns it all, so Abram would not take a reward from the king of Sodom. |
| Thou God Seest Me (El Roi) | Genesis 16:13 | Hagar's name for God after He found her alone in the desert. |
| Almighty God (El Shaddai) | Genesis 17:1 | The name God used when He promised a family to Abram, then 99 years old. |
| The Everlasting God (El Olam) | Genesis 21:33 | Abraham called on this name at Beer-sheba after planting a grove of trees. |
| The Judge of All the Earth | Genesis 18:25 | Abraham pleads for Sodom and trusts God to do what is right. |
| The Fear of Isaac | Genesis 31:42 | Jacob's name for the God his father Isaac held in deep awe. |
| Elelohe-Israel | Genesis 33:20 | The altar Jacob named when he came home: God, the God of Israel. |
| The Mighty God of Jacob | Genesis 49:24 | From Jacob's last blessing: the strong One who held Joseph up. |
| The Shepherd, the Stone of Israel | Genesis 49:24 | Two pictures in one line: a guide who leads and a stone that stays put. |
| The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob | Exodus 3:6 | How God introduced Himself to Moses: the God of real, flawed families. |
Names 16 to 18: above every power
As Israel left Egypt and headed for the promised land, Moses and Joshua needed the people to understand that the gods of the nations around them were nothing next to the LORD.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| God of Gods | Deuteronomy 10:17 | No power that people call a god comes anywhere close to Him. |
| Lord of Lords | Deuteronomy 10:17 | Every master and ruler on earth answers to Him in the end. |
| The Living God | Joshua 3:10 | Joshua's name for the God who acts, spoken just before the Jordan crossing. |
Names 19 to 27: the LORD and a promise
These names join God's personal name to a word about what He does. Three of them, Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-nissi and Jehovah-shalom, appear in the King James text exactly in that Hebrew form. The others are printed in English, such as The LORD Is There, and two of those carry the Hebrew form in the margin notes of many King James Bibles. The Jehovah names of God page takes this group further.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Jehovah-jireh | Genesis 22:14 | The LORD will see to it, named on the mountain where God provided a ram. |
| The LORD That Healeth Thee (Jehovah Rapha) | Exodus 15:26 | Spoken soon after the bitter water at Marah was made sweet. |
| Jehovah-nissi | Exodus 17:15 | The LORD my banner: Moses' altar after the battle with Amalek. |
| The LORD That Doth Sanctify You | Exodus 31:13 | God sets His people apart as His own, with the Sabbath as the sign. |
| Jehovah-shalom | Judges 6:24 | The LORD is peace: Gideon's altar after he feared he would die. |
| The LORD Is My Shepherd (Jehovah Rohi) | Psalm 23:1 | David's name for the God who leads, feeds and protects. |
| The LORD Our Righteousness | Jeremiah 23:6 | A name promised for a coming King from David's family line. |
| The LORD Is There | Ezekiel 48:35 | The name of the city at the very end of Ezekiel's vision. |
| The LORD of Hosts | 1 Samuel 1:3 | The LORD of heaven's armies, first found in the story of Hannah's family. |
How to use this list
You do not have to start at number 1. Look for the name that fits the day you are having. Feeling unseen? Read El Roi. Worried about money or the future? Read Jehovah-jireh. Afraid at night? Try Thy Keeper or My Hiding Place. Grieving a parent? Read A Father of the Fatherless.
Then read the verse in your own Bible, slowly, and say the name out loud in a prayer. That is how the people in these stories used them. The writer of Proverbs put it this way: The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe
(Proverbs 18:10).
Names 28 to 35: what God is like
This group sounds serious, and it is meant to. These names come from the law, from Hannah's prayer, from Samuel's hard words to King Saul, and from Jeremiah in the last days before Jerusalem fell. They tell you God is holy, truthful and fair.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Jealous (a jealous God) | Exodus 34:14 | A love that will not share His people with false gods. |
| A Consuming Fire | Deuteronomy 4:24 | Moses' warning picture of a holiness that burns up idols. |
| A God of Truth | Deuteronomy 32:4 | From the song of Moses: God never lies and never fails. |
| A God of Knowledge | 1 Samuel 2:3 | Hannah's prayer: God knows all and weighs what people do. |
| The Strength of Israel | 1 Samuel 15:29 | Samuel tells Saul that God will not lie or change His word. |
| The God of Heaven | Nehemiah 1:5 | Nehemiah's prayer name, heard often in Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel. |
| The God of All Flesh | Jeremiah 32:27 | God asks Jeremiah whether any thing is too hard for Him. |
| The LORD God of Recompences | Jeremiah 51:56 | The God who repays wrong, named over the fall of Babylon. |
Names 36 to 47: safe places and shields
Here the list turns into a set of pictures, mostly from the Psalms. David spent years hiding in caves and wilderness strongholds, and he named God after the things that kept him alive. A buckler, by the way, is a small round shield held in the hand.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| The Rock | Deuteronomy 32:4 | Solid ground that does not shift under your feet. |
| My Fortress and My Deliverer | Psalm 18:2 | A stronghold to run into and the One who gets you out. |
| My Buckler | Psalm 18:2 | The shield that takes the blow meant for you. |
| My High Tower | Psalm 18:2 | A high place out of the enemy's reach. |
| Our Refuge and Strength | Psalm 46:1 | Shelter and strength that are close by when trouble hits. |
| My Hiding Place | Psalm 32:7 | After he was forgiven, David hid in God instead of from Him. |
| Our Dwelling Place | Psalm 90:1 | Moses' prayer: God has been home to His people in every age. |
| Thy Keeper | Psalm 121:5 | The One who watches over you and never falls asleep. |
| A Sanctuary | Ezekiel 11:16 | God Himself as a holy place for exiles far from the temple. |
| A Strength to the Poor, a Refuge from the Storm | Isaiah 25:4 | Isaiah's praise for the God who shelters the needy. |
| A Wall of Fire | Zechariah 2:5 | God's promise to guard a rebuilt Jerusalem that had no walls. |
| A Sun and Shield | Psalm 84:11 | Light and warmth on one side, protection on the other. |
Names 48 to 52: the King
Ancient people understood kings. These names say that God is the King behind every throne, and that His rule does not end when a dynasty does.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| The King of Glory | Psalm 24:7 | The King who comes in through the ancient gates. |
| King of Nations | Jeremiah 10:7 | King over every people, not only over Israel. |
| An Everlasting King | Jeremiah 10:10 | The true and living God, whose reign has no end date. |
| Our Lawgiver | Isaiah 33:22 | Judge, lawgiver and king, all named in one verse. |
| The Ancient of Days | Daniel 7:9 | Daniel's vision of God on a throne, His clothing white as snow. |
Names 53 to 58: Maker and Father
Isaiah uses the name the Holy One of Israel far more than any other book does, 25 of its 31 times in the King James. Alongside it, the prophets reach for family words. God is Maker, Husband, Father and Potter, names that speak of closeness rather than distance.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| The Holy One of Israel | Isaiah 43:3 | Set apart from everything else, yet bound to one people. |
| The Creator of the Ends of the Earth | Isaiah 40:28 | The Maker of the whole world, who never grows tired. |
| Thy Maker, Thine Husband | Isaiah 54:5 | A promise to a people who felt like an abandoned wife. |
| Our Father | Isaiah 63:16 | A prophet's prayer calling God Father when the nation felt alone. |
| Our Potter | Isaiah 64:8 | We are the clay, and He is still shaping us. |
| A Father of the Fatherless | Psalm 68:5 | God's own care for children without a father and for widows. |
Names 59 to 66: rescue and joy
Most of these begin with the word "my." They come from people in pain, Job sitting among the ashes and David running from his own son Absalom, who still found a reason to sing.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| My Redeemer | Job 19:25 | Job, in deep pain, says he knows his Redeemer is alive. |
| Thy Savior | Isaiah 43:3 | The One who rescues, in Isaiah's promise to a people who felt forgotten. |
| My Light and My Salvation | Psalm 27:1 | With God as his light, David asks whom he should fear. |
| My Song | Exodus 15:2 | Sung by Moses and Israel on the far shore of the Red Sea. |
| God My Exceeding Joy | Psalm 43:4 | The writer's deepest gladness is God Himself. |
| My Glory, the Lifter Up of Mine Head | Psalm 3:3 | David, on the run from Absalom, says God lifts his head. |
| The Health of My Countenance | Psalm 42:11 | The God who brings the light back to a downcast face. |
| My Portion | Psalm 73:26 | When everything else fails, God is the share that remains. |
Names 67 to 70: the last four
The list ends in Jeremiah and Isaiah with two promises, one claim about all of time, and one very honest prayer.
| Name | Where to read it | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| The Fountain of Living Waters | Jeremiah 2:13 | Fresh, flowing water, set against cracked cisterns that hold nothing. |
| The Hope of Israel | Jeremiah 17:13 | The One His people wait for and lean on. |
| The First and the Last | Isaiah 44:6 | Before all things and after all things, with no God beside Him. |
| A God That Hidest Thyself | Isaiah 45:15 | Isaiah's honest words for the times God seems hidden. |
Where the list goes from here
All 70 of these come from the Old Testament, but they do not stay there. Several of them turn up again in the New Testament, some word for word. In Revelation, the last book of the Bible, a name is written on the robe of the rider on the white horse: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS
(Revelation 19:16). That is name 17 on this list, still being used at the very end of the story.
Each name has its own page with the story, the Hebrew in plain words, the key verses and what it can mean for you today. If you would rather read all 70 in one place, with the Greek, the hard questions and a prayer for each name, the full chapters are in the 70 Names of God book. And if you want to carry the list with you, the 70 Names of God shirt is printed with Proverbs 18:10.