The Many Names of God: Divine Epithets in the Talmud
In the Talmudic literature, language serves not only to convey ideas but to evoke awe, mystery, intimacy, and power. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the diverse epithets used to refer to God. A single sugya may deploy multiple divine names.
This piece discusses the major divine epithets found in Talmudic passages, with attention to their linguistic, theological, and historical significance.1
Outline
The Nine Sacred Names of God That Must Not Be Erased and the Ten Divine Descriptives Permitted to Erase (Shevuot 35a)
YHWH (יהוה) - "the Lord"
In the Dead Sea Scrolls
In the Septuagint
In the Vulgate
In Post-biblical Judaism
Ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu (הקדוש ברוך הוא) – "The Holy One, Blessed be He"
Ha-Shem (השם) – "The Name"
Ribono Shel Olam (רבונו של עולם) – "Master of the World"
Shekhina (שכינה) - “[Divine] Presence”
Ha-Makom (המקום) – "The Place / (Omni)present"
Raḥmana (רחמנא) - “the Merciful”
Kono (קונו) – “His Creator”
Shalom (שלום) - “Peace”
‘He Who Spoke and the World Came into Being’ (מי שאמר והיה העולם)
"King of Kings(s) of Kings” (מלך מלכי המלכים)
Ha-Gevurah (הגבורה) - “The (Al)mighty / Power”
Bat Kol (בת קול) - "Voice [of God] / [Divine] Voice"
Ruaḥ Ha-Kodesh (רוח הקודש) -"Holy Spirit / Divine Spirit"
Throne of God / Glory (כסא הכבוד)
The Nine Sacred Names of God That Must Not Be Erased and the Ten Divine Descriptives Permitted to Erase (Shevuot 35a)
See my discussion here, in the Appendix. The focus there is on epithets for God used in the Bible, from the perspective of the Talmudic literature. My focus in this piece is on epithets for God used in the Talmudic literature itself.
YHWH (יהוה) - "the Lord"
‘The Lord’ is the traditional / archaic translation used in Bible translations (including in the Bible translation used in Talmud ed. Steinsaltz) , for translating God’s name: YHWH.
See Wikipedia, “Tetragrammaton”:
Common substitutions in Hebrew are אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, lit. transl. "My Lords", pluralis majestatis taken as singular) or אֱלֹהִים (Elohim, literally "gods" but treated as singular when meaning "God") in prayer, or הַשֵּׁם (HaShem, "The Name") in everyday speech.
And ibid., section “Yahweh”:
The scholarly consensus is that the original pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was Yahweh (יַהְוֶה) [...]
When in the late first millennium Jewish scholars inserted indications of vowels into the Hebrew Bible, they signalled that what was pronounced was "Adonai" (Lord) [...]
And ibid., section “Hebrew Bible”, sub-section “Masoretic Text”:
[YHWH] occurs 5,410 times in the Hebrew scriptures [...]
The following graph shows the absolute number of occurrences of the Tetragrammaton (6828 in all) in the books in the Masoretic Text, without relation to the length of the books.
In the Dead Sea Scrolls
And see ibid., section “Dead Sea Scrolls”:
In the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Hebrew and Aramaic texts the Tetragrammaton and some other names of God in Judaism (such as El or Elohim) were sometimes written in paleo-Hebrew script, showing that they were treated specially.
Most of God's names were pronounced until about the 2nd century BCE.
Then, as a tradition of non-pronunciation of the names developed, alternatives for the Tetragrammaton appeared, such as Adonai, [as well as the Greek] Kurios and Theos.
The 4Q120, a Greek fragment of Leviticus (26:2–16) discovered in the Dead Sea scrolls (Qumran) has ιαω ("Iao"), the Greek form of the Hebrew trigrammaton YHW [...]
The preserved manuscripts from Qumran show the inconsistent practice of writing the Tetragrammaton, mainly in biblical quotations:
in some manuscripts is written in paleo-Hebrew script, square scripts or replaced with four dots or dashes (tetrapuncta).
In the Septuagint
And ibid., “Septuagint”:
Editions of the Septuagint Old Testament are based on the complete or almost complete fourth-century manuscripts Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus and consistently use Κ[ύριο]ς (=Kurios), "Lord", where the Masoretic Text has the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew.
This corresponds with the Jewish practice of replacing the Tetragrammaton with "Adonai" when reading the Hebrew word [...]
Scholars differ on whether in the original Septuagint translations the Tetragrammaton was represented by Κύριος (Kurios), by ΙΑΩ (Iao), by the Tetragrammaton in either normal or Paleo-Hebrew form, or whether different translators used different forms in different books.
In the Vulgate
And ibid., “Vulgate”:
The Vulgate (Latin translation) made from the Hebrew in the 4th century CE, uses the word Dominus ("Lord"), a translation of the Hebrew word Adonai, for the Tetragrammaton.
The Vulgate translation, though made not from the Septuagint but from the Hebrew text, did not depart from the practice used in the Septuagint.
Thus, for most of its history, Christianity's translations of the Scriptures have used equivalents of Adonai to represent the Tetragrammaton.
In Post-biblical Judaism
And ibid., section “Usage in religious traditions”, sub-section “Judaism”:
Especially due to the existence of the Mesha Stele, the Jahwist tradition found in Exod. 3:15, and ancient Hebrew and Greek texts, biblical scholars widely hold that the Tetragrammaton and other names of God were spoken by the ancient Israelites and their neighbours.
By at least the 3rd century BCE, the name was not pronounced in normal speech, but only in certain ritual contexts.
The Talmud relays this change occurred after the death of Simeon the Just (either Simon I or his great-great-grandson Simon II) [...]
Rabbinic sources suggest that the name of God was pronounced only once a year, by the high priest, on the Day of Atonement.
Others, including Maimonides, claim that the name was pronounced daily in the liturgy of the Temple in the priestly blessing of worshippers, after the daily sacrifice; in synagogues, though, a substitute (probably "Adonai") was used.
According to the Talmud, in the last generations before the fall of Jerusalem, the name was pronounced in a low tone so that the sounds were lost in the chant of the priests.
Since the destruction of Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the Tetragrammaton has no longer been pronounced in the liturgy. However the pronunciation was still known in Babylonia in the latter part of the 4th century.
The vehemence with which the utterance of the name is denounced in the Mishnah suggests that use of the name Yahweh was unacceptable in rabbinical Judaism. "He who pronounces the Name with its own letters has no part in the world to come!"
Such is the prohibition of pronouncing the Name as written that it is sometimes called the "Ineffable", "Unutterable", or "Distinctive Name", or "Explicit Name" ("Shem HaMephorash" in Hebrew) [...]
Ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu (הקדוש ברוך הוא) – "The Holy One, Blessed be He"
This is arguably the most iconic rabbinic epithet for God. Composed of two adjectives—kadosh (holy) and barukh (blessed)—it emerged prominently in the Tannaitic and early Amoraic periods. It is often abbreviated in rabbinic writing as הקב״ה.
See Hebrew Wikipedia, “שמות של אלוהים ביהדות”, section “שמות אחרים”, my translation:
In Talmudic literature, the designation “the Holy Blessed One”2 appears frequently.
One of the meanings of “holy” (kadosh) in the Bible is angel, but God Himself is also described as holy.
The literal meaning of kadosh is separate or set apart.
Scholars have argued that the original expression was “the Holy” or “the Holy Name”, and that the biblical-style epithet “blessed is He” was added later.
Example from sugya of Achan:
בשעה שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא ליהושע:
״חטא ישראל״
"When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Joshua:
'Israel has sinned'"
This epithet projects transcendence, sanctity, and separateness, yet its rhythm and formulaic use lend a sense of familiar reverence.
Ha-Shem (השם) – "The Name"
Ha-Shem is a circumlocution for the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), used to avoid pronouncing the divine name explicitly. While its common use in modern Hebrew developed later, its rabbinic antecedents are well established.
See Hebrew Wikipedia, ibid., my translation:
In everyday language, when referring to God, it is customary to say "Hashem" ("the Name").
This appellation appears in the Torah and in the Mishnah, and is usually written in abbreviated form as ה'.
Example from sugya of Achan:
ה׳ אלהי ישראל
"Ha-Shem, the God of Israel"
In written form, especially when quoting verses, rabbinic published words typically use ה׳ as a replacement for YHWH.
The shift to “Ha-Shem” reflects evolving sensitivities around the sacred name, already evident in the Second Temple period (e.g., the Septuagint uses Kyrios for YHWH, see earlier).
Ribono Shel Olam (רבונו של עולם) – "Master of the World"
This is a vocative epithet, used almost exclusively in direct address to God. It frequently appears in supplicatory contexts, particularly when a rabbinic figure is portrayed as interceding or pleading.
Example from sugya of Achan:
אמר לפניו:
רבונו של עולם!
מי חטא?
"He said before Him:
'Master of the Universe!
Who sinned?'"
The phrase evokes both cosmic grandeur. It echoes older Near Eastern titulature for deities as “lord of heaven and earth,” and likely reflects influence from Mesopotamian and Persian courtly language.
In rabbinic literature, it is striking how often Ribono Shel Olam introduces moments of theological tension—where sages dare to question or argue with God.
Its recurring form, "אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם", marks a rhetorical space in which the protagonist plays the role of intercessor or even critic.
Shekhina (שכינה) - “Divine Presence”
See Hebrew Wikipedia, ibid., my translation:
At times, God is referred to by the Sages as the Shekhinah, and this is the only name of God in Judaism that appears in the feminine form.
The word derives from the Hebrew root sh-kh-n (to dwell), and the traditional explanation is that it refers to the divine presence revealed in the world.
In Kabbalah, the Shekhinah (the sefirah of Malkhut, "Kingship") is depicted as uniting with the Kudsha Brikh Hu3 (“The Holy Blessed One,” associated with the sefirah of Yesod, "Foundation").
It is explained that the commandments are performed for the sake of this union between the Holy Blessed One and His Shekhinah.
The Arabic form of the word ("Sakīnah") is also mentioned in the Qur’an.
And see Wikipedia, “Shekhinah”:
Shekhinah (Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה [...]) is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place.
This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature [...] It [...] appears in the Mishnah, the Talmud, and Midrash. The word shekhinah is first encountered in the rabbinic literature [...]
In classic Jewish thought, the shekhinah refers to a dwelling or settling in a special sense, a dwelling or settling of divine presence, to the effect that, while in proximity to the shekhinah, the connection to God is more readily perceivable [...]
The prophets made numerous references to visions of the presence of God, particularly in the context of the Tabernacle or Temple, with figures such as thrones or robes filling the Sanctuary.
The shekhinah is referred to as manifest in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem throughout rabbinic literature.
It is also reported as being present in other contexts [...]
While shekhinah is a feminine word in Hebrew, it primarily seemed to be featured in masculine or androgynous contexts referring to a divine manifestation of the presence of God, based especially on readings of the Talmud [...]
There is no occurrence of the word "shekhinah" in pre-rabbinic literature such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is only afterwards in the targums and rabbinic literature that the Hebrew term shekhinah, or Aramaic equivalent shekinta, is found, and then becomes extremely common
Ha-Makom (המקום) – "The Place / (Omni)present"
Ha-Makom is somewhat common in rabbinic literature. Its origin is often linked to Genesis 28:11, where Jacob encounters God at "the place" (הַמָּקוֹם) and declares: “This is none other than the house of God.”
See Wikipedia, ibid. (“Tetragrammaton”) section “Spoken prohibitions” (with slight adjustments):
While "HaShem" is the most common way to reference God’s name, the terms "HaMaqom" (lit. "The Place", i.e. "The Omnipresent") [...] used in the phrases "HaMaqom y'naḥem ethḥem" ("may The Place / Omnipresent console you"), the traditional phrase used in sitting Shiva [...]
Example from sugya of Achan:
ואמר רב נחמן:
בא וחבטן לפני המקום
“And Rav Naḥman said:
He brought them and struck them before the Place.”
In rabbinic theology, Ha-Makom is traditionally understood to convey divine omnipresence. It famously appears in the traditional consolation formula “Ha-Makom yenachem etchem”.
Raḥmana (רחמנא) - “the Merciful”
See ibid.:
"Raḥmana" (Aramaic, "Merciful") [...] used in the Mishnah and Talmud [...in] "Raḥmana litzlan" ("may the Merciful save [us / you]" i.e. "God forbid").
This epithet is often used in the Talmud when introducing verses.
Compare the cognate Arabic / Muslim epithet for God: Al-Raḥman. See Wikipedia, “Ar-Rahman”:
Ar-Rahman (Arabic [...] meaning: the Merciful; Most Gracious; Most Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (Surah) of the Qur'an [...]
The title of the surah, Ar-Rahman, appears in verse 1 and means "The Most Beneficent".
The divine appellation "ar-Rahman" also appears in the opening formula which precedes every surah except Sura 9 ("In the Name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy").
English translations of the surah's title include "The Most Gracious", "The All Merciful", "The Lord of Mercy", "The Beneficent", and "The Mercy-Giving".
In the fourth century CE south Arabian pagan inscriptions started to be replaced by monotheistic expressions, using the term rahmān.
And compare Rahmanan - Wikipedia, with slight adjustments:
Raḥmānān ([...] rḥmnn, "the Merciful") was an epithet and theonym predominantly used to refer to a singular, monotheistic God from the fourth to sixth centuries in South Arabia (though the term originates much earlier in Syria), beginning when the ruling class of the Himyarite Kingdom converted to Judaism and replacing invocations to polytheistic religions [...]
The root r-ḥ-m and its derivative words, originally referring not to a deity but just the notion of mercy, appears in:
Akkadian (sometimes an epithet for the god Ninurta),
Hebrew (occurring in the Hebrew Bible),
Old Aramaic (especially as an epithet for the Mesopotamian god Hadad),
in addition to many other dialects of post-biblical Aramaic including:
Samaritan Aramaic,
Christian Palestinian Aramaic,
Palmyrene Aramaic,
the Aramaic dialects of the Babylonian Talmud and the Palestinian Talmud (as the term appears in these texts too),
Syriac.
Kono (קונו) – “His Creator”
Example from sugya of Achan:
מלמד:
שעשה פלילות עם קונו.
בא וחבטן לפני המקום
“This teaches that:
he argued (עשה פלילות) with his Creator (קונו).
He brought them and struck them before the Place.”
The term Kono draws on the root ק-נ-ה, which can mean to acquire, to create, or to possess. It may allude to Genesis 14:19, where God is called “koneh shamayim va’aretz” (creator of heaven and earth).
Shalom (שלום) - “Peace”
See Hebrew Wikipedia, ibid., my translation:
Another name for God that appears in Talmudic literature is "Shalom" (Peace).
According to the Talmud, this name possesses sanctity and therefore may not be spoken in a bathhouse [...]
‘He Who Spoke and the World Came into Being’ (מי שאמר והיה העולם)
‘King of Kings(s) of Kings’ (מלך מלכי המלכים)
Often combined with Ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu (הקדוש ברוך הוא) – "The Holy One, Blessed be He".
See earlier, in section “Ribono Shel Olam (רבונו של עולם) – "Master of the World"“.
See the note in my previous piece on the comparative context of the term “King of the World/Universe”, in my piece “Ahasuerus and the Kingship of the World (Esther 1:1; Megillah 11a-b)”, on section “Three Kings Who Ruled the Entire World: Ahab (I Kings 18:10), Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:8), and Ahasuerus”.
Ha-Gevurah (הגבורה) - “The (Al)mighty / Power”
See ibid.:
especially in the phrase "From the mouth of the Power" (מפי הגבורה)
Bat Kol (בת קול) - "Voice of God / Divine Voice"
See Wikipedia, “Voice of God”:
In the Abrahamic religions, the voice of God is a communication from God to human beings through sound with no known physical source.
In rabbinic Judaism, such a voice was known as a bat kol (Hebrew: בַּת קוֹל baṯ qōl, literally "daughter of voice"), and was a "heavenly or divine voice which proclaims God's will or judgment".
It differed from prophecy in that God had a close relationship with the prophet, while the bat kol could be heard by any individual or group regardless of their level of connection to God [...]
The phrase bat kol appears in many Talmudic stories to represent a heavenly or divine voice to human beings.
It proclaims God's will or judgment, his deeds and his commandments to individuals or to a number of persons, to rulers, communities, and even to whole nations [...]
The bat kol was considered to be divine in origin.
In the course of the narrative in Berachot 3a, "God" is put instead of "bat kol"; and not infrequently God, when using the bat kol, is represented as speaking in the first person.
Sometimes bat kol is identified with the Holy Spirit.
Ruaḥ Ha-Kodesh (רוח הקודש) -"Holy Spirit / Divine Spirit"
See Wikipedia, “Holy Spirit in Judaism”:
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) is conceived of as the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the universe or over God's creatures, in given contexts.
And ibid, section “Rabbinic literature”:
The term ruach haqodesh is found frequently in talmudic and midrashic literature.
In some cases it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it is used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God.
The rabbinical understanding of the Holy Spirit has a certain degree of personification, but it remains, "a quality belonging to God, one of his attributes" [...]
What the Bible generally calls "Spirit of God" is called in the Talmud and Midrash "Holy Spirit" due to the disinclination to the use of the Tetragrammaton.
It is probably owing to this fact that the Shekhinah is often referred to instead of the Holy Spirit.
It is said of the former, as of the Holy Spirit, that it rests upon a person.
The difference between the two in such cases has not yet been determined.
Although the Holy Spirit is often named instead of God, it was conceived as being something distinct.
Throne of God / Glory (כסא הכבוד)
Often (especially stories about Moses): “he said in front of the Throne of Glory”, referring to speaking before God.
See Wikipedia, “Throne of God“:
The throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions: primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The throne is said by various holy books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven which is called Araboth (Hebrew: עֲרָבוֹת ‘ărāḇōṯ) in Judaism […]
The concept of a heavenly throne occurs in three Dead Sea Scroll texts.
Later speculation on the throne of God became a theme of Merkabah mysticism.
And see Hebrew Wikipedia, “כיסא הכבוד“, my translation:
In the Bible, it is written that the prophets Micaiah ben Imlah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel saw a ‘lofty’ (רם) and ‘exalted’ (נישא) throne (כיסא) upon which God sits.
The throne is also mentioned in the Torah by Moses: 'For a hand is on the throne (כס) of Yah', and it appears several times in the book of Psalms.
According to the book of Ezekiel, in the vision of the divine chariot (מעשה מרכבה), the Throne of Glory is borne by four figures: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
In Psalms, the throne is said to be in the heavens: 'YHWH has established His throne in the heavens (שמים)'.
And according to the book of Daniel, the throne is made of sparks of fire.
In rabbinic literature
In tractate Berakhot, a baraita is brought in which R’ Yishmael ben Elisha describes God sitting in the Holy of Holies on a lofty and exalted throne, and Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov expounds that at times God tucks (דוחק - literally: “pushes, shoves”) His feet under the Throne of Glory, causing earthquakes.
On the verse in Genesis 1:2, 'And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters', the sages interpreted this as referring to the Throne of Glory, from which they inferred that the Throne existed before the creation of the world.
A midrash states that God took dust from beneath the throne and threw it into the waters, and thus the earth was created, with its mountains and hills.
The location of the Throne of Glory is in the seventh and highest firmament (רקיע - rakia, i.e. the highest heaven), called Aravot (ערבות).
Its color resembles that of the sky, and engraved upon it is the image ( דיוקנו - “his icon”) of Jacob.
The souls of the righteous are hewn from the treasury of souls located beneath the Throne of Glory, and the soul of Moses dwells there.
During the plague of boils (שחין - at the time of the Exodus), Moses cast ashes that rose up to the Throne of Glory.
Beneath the throne, Moses carved the Tablets of the Covenant, and from there God also took a fiery coin to show Moses an example of the half-shekel (מחצית השקל).
Throughout, I partially use as a case study the sugya of Achan’s sin in Tractate Sanhedrin, which I recently discussed in a 3-part series.
See the parenthetical note there, regarding the exact terms and abbreviations typically used for this epithet:
In Hebrew: ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu; often abbreviated as HKB”H (הקב”ה)
In Aramaic: Kudsha Berikh Hu , often abbreviated as KB”H (קב”ה)
The Aramaic equivalent of Ha-Kadosh Barukh Hu (הקדוש ברוך הוא) – "The Holy One, Blessed be He".