God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?

by David T. Lamb

The Bible first calls God simply “God,” elohim (Gen 1:1). He is referred to by this name frequently throughout the Old Testament (approximately 2,600 times).[18] God is also called either adon or adonai, “Lord” (Gen 15:2), over four hundred times in the Old Testament. God’s personal name, however, in the Old Testament is Yahweh (in Hebrew, hwhy). Traditionally, it has been spelled “Jehovah” in English, but more recently it might be spelled without vowels as YHWH. In modern English Bibles, this name is typically translated as “the LORD.”[19] While the Bible includes a variety of divine names, God is called Yahweh far more than any other name in Scripture, over 6,800 times. When he introduced himself to Moses, God basically said, “Please, call me Yahweh” (Ex 3:15).[20] It is significant that God tells his people to call him by a name (Yahweh) and not a title (the LORD). So, when speaking about the God of the Old Testament, I will refer to him by his name, Yahweh. Jesus is referred to in many ways in the New Testament, including “Son of Man” (Mt 8:20), “Son of David” (Mt 1:1), “Immanuel” (Mt 1:23) and “Lord” (Mt 7:21). More than five hundred times in the New Testament, Jesus is called “Christ,” but his personal name, lest we forget, is simply “Jesus,” and he was called this far more than either “Lord” or “Christ,” almost a thousand times (958). So, when speaking about the God of the New Testament, I will use the name Jesus.

Nice names of God summary