THE NAMES OF GOD

NAMES OF GOD IN THE BIBLE: A DISPENSATIONAL APPROACH : PROF. M. M. NINAN
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DERIVED NAMES
Some Names of God come directly from the Torah, or are abbreviations of God’s personal name to
avoid writing or reading them. Many Names were developed over the centuries by the Jewish mystics
sometimes using various tricks and formulas on the alphabets and verses from the scripture. These
were initially used to avoid "chillul Ha-Shem," profanation of The Name. These principles include:
Notarikon,
Short Hand Writings
Notarikon is a method of deriving a word, by using each of its initial (Hebrew: ראשי תיבות ) or final
letters תיבות)‏ ‏(סופי to stand for another, to form a sentence or idea out of the words. Another variation
uses the first and last letters, or the two middle letters of a word, in order to form another word. The
word "notarikon" is borrowed from the Greek language ( νοταρικόν), and was derived from the Latin
word "notarius" meaning "shorthand writer.
The word is derived from the system of stenographic shorthand used by the notarii in recording the
proceedings in the Roman courts of justice.
1. One kind interprets every letter in a particular word as the abbreviation of a whole word,
and considers that "the words of the Torah are written as notarikon" (Mekh. Ba-Ḥodesh,
8).
The basic assumption is that the Torah as given by God himself contains not just the plain meaning
but also encoded mystical deep meanings that are to be gained by the study of the words.
The first and clearest example is the new name that God gave to Abraham:
“No longer shall you be called ‘Abram.’ Your name will be ‘Abraham,’ for I have made you the father of
many nations.” (Gen. 17:5)
God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, explaining that this new name indicates his new identity and
mission.
The name Avraham is short for “av hamon goyim,” ‘the father of many nations.’
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