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The Hebrew name of God Elyon  occurs in combination with El, YHWH or Elohim, and also alone.

It means “the  Most High” (from to go up”) or “the exalted One” (Gen.14:17-20;  Ps. 18:13 Is.14:13,14).

It appears chiefly in poetic and later Biblical passages. The modern Hebrew adjective “`Elyon” means “supreme” (as in “Supreme Court”) or “Most High”. The Phoenicians used what appears to be a similar name for God, Έλιον. It is cognate to the Arabic `Aliyy.e

El Elyon has been traditionally translated into English as ‘God Most High’.

See Dt. 26:19;  32:8   Ps. 18:13;  78:35;  7:17;  18:13;  97:9;  56:2;  78:56;  18:13  Dan. 7:25,27   Is.14:14

The Greek counterpart: Hupistos

The NT Greek uses the form hupistos meaning “highest” or “most exalted”. Jesus was known as, and called, the Son of the Most High God (Mk.5:7 Lk. 1:32,33; 6:28)

The Holy Spirit is the power of the Most High (Lk. 1:35).

John the Baptist would be known as a prophet of the Most High God (Lk. 1:76)

Jesus taught his disciples to “love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back”, because in so doing, their reward will be great and they will prove that they are “sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Lk. 6:35).

The Most High God is far too great and magnificent to be limited to houses made by men ( Ac. 7:48-50)

The early apostles were known as servants of the Most High God (Ac. 16:17).

Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God (Heb.7:1 with Gen.14:17-20).

The Names of God used in the Bible act as a roadmap for learning about the character of God. Since the Bible is God’s Word to us, the names He chooses in scripture are meant to reveal His true nature to us.

The most common of the originally appellative names of God is Elohim , plural in form though commonly construed with a singular verb or adjective. This is, most probably, to be explained as the plural of majesty or excellence, expressing high dignity or greatness.

The Hebrew form Eloah  (which looks as though it might be a singular form of Elohim) is comparatively rare, occurring only in poetry and late prose (in the Book of Job, 41 times) as a reference to God, but without referring to him as the “God of Israel”. In other references it is usually synonymous in meaning with Elohim (Ps. 50:22-23) or Yahweh (Ps.139:19,21) or Adonai (Ps. 114:7)

What is probably the same divine name is found in Arabic (Ilah as singular “a god”, as opposed to Allah meaning “The God” or “God”) and in Aramaic (Elaha).

This unusual singular form also appears in the exilic and postexilic periods and is used in six places for heathen deities (examples: 2 Chronicles 32:15; Neh. 9:17 and Daniel 11:37, 38;).

The normal Elohim form is also used in the plural a few times, either for gods or images (Exodus 9:1, 12:12, 20:3; and so forth) or for one god (Exodus 32:1; Genesis 31:30, 32; and elsewhere). In the great majority of cases both are used as names of the One God of Israel.

The root-meaning of the word  Eloah, Elohim is unknown. The most probable theory is that it may be connected with the old Arabic verb “alih” (to be perplexed, afraid; to seek refuge because of fear).

Eloah, Elohim, would, therefore, be “He who is the object of fear or reverence,” or “He with whom one who is afraid takes refuge” (comp. the name “fear of Isaac” in Gen. 31:42, 53; see also Isa. 8:13; Ps. 76: 12).

Another theory is that it is derived from the Semitic root “uhl” meaning “to be strong”. Elohim then would mean “the all-powerful One”, based on the usage of the word “el” in certain verses to denote power or might (Genesis 31:29, Nehemiah 5:5).

The predominance of this name in the later writings, as compared with the more distinctively Hebrew national name Yhwh, may have been due to the broadening idea of God as the transcendent and universal Lord.

In many of the passages in which elohim [lower case] occurs in the Bible it refers to non-Israelite deities, as in Chemosh, the god of the Amorites (Jdg 11:24), or Ashtoreth (Ishtar), the goddess of Sidon  (1Ki 11:5), or Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron (2Ki 1:2), but is used overwhelmingly (over 2300 times) in the OT to refer to Israel’s God, meaning “the true God”. In some instances the term refers to powerful men or judges, and even angels (Exodus 21:6, Psalms 8:5).

ELOHIM: God - a plural noun, meaning more than two and as we have already mentioned, it has the unusual characteristic of being commonly used with singular verb or adjective.

Elohim occurs more than 2,300 times in the OT and 32 times in Genesis 1 alone -  God as Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong.

It is also found in Ecclesiastes, Daniel and  Jonah where  Elohim is used almost exclusively.

See also  Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24; I Kings 8:23; Jer. 31:33; Isa. 40:1.

“ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible.

In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.”

Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible.

Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples:

Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Elohay Mishpat - God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18).

Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17).

Elohay Marom - God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6).

Elohay Mikarov - God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23).

Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2).

Elohay Tehilati - God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1).

Elohay Yishi - God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:47, 25:5).

Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19).

Elohim Chaiyim - Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10).

Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17).

THEOS is the NT counterpart of Elohim (Mt 22:32 with Ex.3:6) It usually refers to the true God, but can refer to pagan deities (Ac 17:18   1 Co 8:5).

EL is the generic Semitic name for “God” or “deity”. El is one of the oldest designations for deity in the ancient world. The word is found in several Semitic languages such as, Akkadian, Phoenician and Old South Arabian and, as in Hebrew, it is often used as an element in proper names. In northwest Semitic texts it often appears to be used of one single god, perhaps the head of the pantheon, sometimes specifically said to be the creator.

Even though the derivation of the word is uncertain, the root meaning is “power and authority” (Ge.1:1  Ps.19:1)

EL - the name for God  meaning “mighty, strong, prominent”  is used some  250 times in the OT.

See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22; Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5.

The word  El  appears in Assyrian (Akkadian)  as ilu and  in Phoenician, as well as in Hebrew, as an ordinary name of God. It is found also in the South-Arabian dialects, and in Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic, as also in Hebrew, as an element in proper names.

El (Hebrew: אל) is used in both the singular and plural, both for other gods and for the God of Israel. As a name of God, however, it is used chiefly in poetry and prophetic discourse, rarely in prose, and then usually with some epithet attached, as “a jealous God.”

El is the simple form arising from Elohim, and is often combined with other words for descriptive emphasis. Some examples

El HaNe’eman - The Faithful God: (Deuteronomy 7:9).

El HaGadol - The Great God: (Deuteronomy 10:17).

El HaKadosh - The Holy God: (Isaiah 5:16).

El Yisrael - The God Of Israel: (Psalm 68:35).

El HaShamayim - The God Of The Heavens: (Psalm 136:26).

El De’ot - The God Of Knowledge: (1 Samuel 2:3).

El Emet - The God Of Truth: (Psalm 31:6).

El Yeshuati - The God Of My Salvation: (Isaiah 12:2).

El Elyon - The Most High God: (Genesis 14:18).

Immanu El - God Is With Us: (Isaiah 7:14).

El Olam - The God Of Eternity (Genesis 21:33).

El Echad - The One God: (Malachi 2:10).

Other examples  of its use with some attribute or epithet are:

El Shaddai (”God Almighty”)

El Ḥai (”living God”)

El Ro’i (”God of seeing”)

El Elohe Israel (”God, the God of Israel”)

El Gibbor (”Hero God”).

In addition, names such as Gabriel (”Strength of God”)

Michael (”Who is like God?”)

Raphael (”God’s medicine”)

Ariel (”God’s lion”)

Daniel (”God is My Judge”/”God’s Judge”)

Israel (”one who has struggled with God”)

Immanuel (”God is with us”), and

Ishmael (”God Hears”/”God Listens”) use God’s name in a similar fashion.

“ELAH” is another name for God, used about 70 times in the Old Testament. Again, when combined with other words, we see different attributes of God.

Some examples:

Elah Yerush’lem - God of Jerusalem: (Ezra 7:19). Elah Yisrael - God of Israel: (Ezra 5:1).

Elah Sh’maya - God of Heaven: (Ezra 7:23).

Elah Sh’maya V’Arah - God of Heaven and Earth: (Ezra 5:11).

El is linguistically equivalent to the Moslem “Allah,” but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews.

ELAH is Aramaic, “god.” Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer. 10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, “gods”). In Daniel (the Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also plural.

Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; The origin of Eloah is obscure. Eloah is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere in the OT

Elohim is three or more. The gods of the nations are called “elohim.” Elohim is the more common plural form of El.

ADON, ADONAI AND KURIOS

Adon  or Adonai is a title for God that emphasizes his sovereignty, that is, His Lordship…He is “Lord,” He is “Master.” In our English bibles it is  Lord.

Adon is basically a title of honour. Out of respect one might address a superior with this title in the same way that we would say “sir” or “your honour”. It would be used by a subject addressing a kin ( I S.24:8), a wife to her husband (Gn.18:12), a daughter or son to their father (G.31:35), a slave to his master (Gn. 24:12; Ex. 21:5) a subordinate to his leader (Nu.11:28).

It therefore refers to one’s position of authority and prestige (Gn. 23:6; 45:8).

The special spelling Adonai belongs pre-eminently to Yahweh, because He alone is the “Lord of the earth” (Jos. 3:11,13; Ps. 97:5; Mic. 4:13; Zec. 4:14; 6:5).

Adon is singular, Adonai is  plural. This name when referring to God, appears some 300 times in the OT and is always plural. If used in the singular it is a reference to a human lord.

In the years after the Exile (after 538 B.C.), with reverence for the name of God increasing, the name Yahweh began to be pronounced as Adonai in the reading of the Scriptures. The LXX translators, out of fear of profaning the name of God, were led to translate Yahweh as kurios (Greek) or “Lord”.

In the eight century CE the Massoretic pronunciation of the Hebrew text continued this tradition by using vowels of Adonai with the consonants of Yahweh as a signal that the proper name of God should be pronounced Adonai. Later Biblical scholars mistook this vowel substitution for the actual spelling of YHWH and interpreted the name of God as Jehovah.

The Sephardi translators of the Ferrara Bible go further and substitute Adonai with A.

The first use of Adonai is Gen.15:2 (Ex.4:10; Judges 6:15; 2 Sam. 7:18-20; Ps. 8; 109:21-28; 114:7;  135:5; 141:8;

Kurios is the NT counterpart of both Adonai (Mt.22:44 with Ps. 110:1) and Yahweh (Mt. 4:10 with Dt.6:13) It is used as a term of respect (Mt. 13:27) and submission (Jn. 13:16; 15:20) as well as the title “Lord”. (Mt. 1:20,22)