Yeshua Is Lord.com

The Incommunicable Name was pronounced “Adonai,” and where Adonai and Yhwh occur together the latter was pronounced “Elohim.”

After the destruction of the Second Temple there remained no trace of knowledge as to the pronunciation of the Name. The commentators, however, agree as to its interpretation, that it denotes the eternal and everlasting existence of God, and that it is a composition of the Hebrew words meaning “a Being of the Past, the Present, and the Future”).

The name Ehyeh  denotes His potency in the immediate future, and is part of Yhwh. The phrase “ehyeh-asher-ehyeh” (Ex. 3:14) is interpreted by some authorities as “I will be because I will be,” using the second part as a gloss and referring to God’s promise, “Certainly I will be [ehyeh] with thee” (Ex. 3:12). Other authorities claim that the whole phrase forms one name.

The Targum Onḳelos leaves the phrase untranslated and is so quoted in the Talmud (B. B. 73a). The “I AM THAT I AM” of the Authorized Version is based on this view.

The name Yah is composed of the first letters of Yhwh. There is a difference of opinion between Rab and R. Samuel as to whether or not “hallelujah” is a compound word or two separate words meaning “praise ye Yah” (Yer. Meg. i. 9; Pes. 117a). The name Ho is declared to be the middle part of Yhwh and an abridged form of the Name (Shab. 104a; Suk. iv. 5).

Elohim denotes multiplied power, that is, the Almighty, and describes God as the Creator of nature. R. Jacob Asheri, the author of the “Ṭurim,” in his annotations to the Pentateuch, says the numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew word “Elohim” equals the value (86) of those in the word for “nature”.

Elohim represents the force of “din” (fixed laws), while Yhwh is the modification of the natural laws and the elements of “raḥamim” (mercy and leniency) as reflected in the developed state of mankind.

In the Zohar, R. Simeon says the Divine Name (Yhwh) was mentioned only when the world was perfected, and quotes Gen. 2:4 (Hebr.)—”in the day that Yhwh made the earth and the heavens.” The word “‘asot” is interpreted as “perfected,” after the Creation (Zohar, Yitro, 88a, ed. Wilna, 1882).

El is part of Elohim, meaning simply “power” (= “mighty”). “Shaddai” is explained as “the selfsufficient” (”she-dai hu lo”).

The sacredness of the divine names must be recognized by the professional scribe who writes the Scriptures, or the chapters for the phylacteries and the mezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine names he prepares mentally to sanctify them. Once he begins a name he does not stop until it is finished, and he must not be interrupted while writing it, even to greet a king. If an error is made in writing it, it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled, and the whole page must be put in a genizah and a new page begun.

Halakha requires that secondary rules be placed around the primary law, to reduce the chance that the main law will be broken. As such, it is common Jewish practice to restrict the use of the word Adonai to prayer only. In conversation, many Jewish people, even when not speaking Hebrew, will call God “Hashem“, השם, which is Hebrew for “the Name” (this appears in Leviticus 24:11).

Many Jews extend this prohibition to some of the other names  and will add additional sounds to alter the pronunciation of a name when using it outside of a liturgical context, such as replacing the ‘h’ with a ‘k’ in names of God such as ‘kel’ and ‘elokim’.

While other names of God in Judaism are generally restricted to use in a liturgical context, Hashem is used in more casual circumstances.

Hashem is used by Orthodox Jews so as to avoid saying Adonai outside of a ritual context. For example, when some Orthodox Jews make audio recordings of prayer services, they generally substitute Hashem for Adonai; others will say Amonai. On some occasions, similar sounds are used for authenticity, as in the movie Ushpizin, where Abonai Elokenu  is used throughout.