Biblical Images of God
God is called the Eternal God El Olam first in Genesis 21:33, when we are told that “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.” This is the only time this phrase occurs is the Bible, although it is part of a series of names for God beginning with El, such as El Shaddai, meaning God Almighty and El Elyon, God most High. To find out about God’s image throughout history see http://wordsonlove.com/2011/02/20/images-of-god/.
A common name for God in the Bible is Elohim. This noun is plural and emphasizes the plurality of the majesty and potentiality of God. It occurs first in the very first verse of the bible, Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Later on in Genesis we are told that “When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” he is called Lord God, which is pronounced Yahweh in Hebrew, which emphasizes God’s role as being the covenant Lord of Israel and Redeemer of Israel. In Genesis it states that “The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.” The name of God here is not mentioned again in Genesis in the similar way as the full flood is released on sinful mankind.
Moving on in the Old Testament we come to Ecclesiastes. 1:13 tells us “What a heavy burden God has laid on men.” God in this sense is Elohim, used 30 times in Ecclesiastes, showing God’s absolute sovereignty. The name Yahweh does not occur in this book, perhaps because the author is not talking about God in relation to Israel but rather is talking about God’s relationship to every man. The images of God throughout history are at http://wordsonlove.com/2011/02/20/images-of-god/.
God Almighty, called El Shaddai occurs in the phrase, “Blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty” which is Job 5:17. This is the first of 31 times the term Shaddai is used in Job. Shaddai also appears in Genesis, when the Lord says “I am God Almighty” to Abram, who he appeared to when Abram was ninety-nine years old. El Shaddai means “God, the mountain one” either depicting God’s symbolic home or his magnificent power.
Next comes the name for God called God Most High or El Elyon. God says in Genesis “Blessed be Abram by God Most High.” In ancient times the terms “most high”, “lord of heaven” and “creator of earth” were often applied to the ancient Canaanite deity, but Abram identifies “the god most high” with God alone, showing his power as the one true God. The “Most High” is used for when “the Most High gave the nations their inheritance” in Deuteronomy 32:8. The Lord here as Most High is Lord over all creation.
The history behind the depicting of God throughout history can be found at http://wordsonlove.com/2011/02/20/images-of-god/.