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Concept
Names of God in Judaism
Summary
Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: יהוה (), אֲדֹנָי (Adonai), אֵל (El ), אֱלֹהִים ( , a plural noun), אֵל שַׁדַּי ( ), שַׁדַּי (Shaddai ), יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת ( ) and צְבָאֽוֹת ( ); some also include I Am that I Am. Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mere epithets or descriptions of God, and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely. Some moderns advise special care even in these cases, and many Orthodox Jews have adopted the chumras of writing "G-d" instead of "God" in English or saying Ṭēt-Vav (טו, () "9-6") instead of Yōd-Hē (יה, () "10-5" but also "Jah") for the number fifteen or Ṭēt-Zayin (טז, () "9-7") instead of Yōd-Vav (יו, () "10-6") for the Hebrew number sixteen.
The names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness are the Tetragrammaton, Adonai, El, Elohim, Shaddai, Tzevaot; some also include I Am that I Am. In addition, the name Jah—because it forms part of the Tetragrammaton—is similarly protected. The tanna Jose ben Halafta considered "Tzevaot" a common name in the second century and Rabbi Ishmael considered "Elohim" to be one. All other names, such as "Merciful", "Gracious" and "Faithful", merely represent attributes that are also common to human beings.
TetragrammatonYahweh and Lord#Religion
Also abbreviated Jah, the most common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton, יהוה, that is usually transcribed as YHWH. Hebrew script is an abjad, so that the letters in the name are normally consonants, usually expanded as Yahweh in English.
Modern Rabbinical Jewish culture judges it forbidden to pronounce this name. In prayers it is replaced by the word אֲדֹנָי (, ʾăḏōnāy, , Pluralis majestatis taken as singular), and in discussion by HaShem "The Name". Nothing in the Torah explicitly prohibits speaking the name and the Book of Ruth shows it was being pronounced as late as the fifth century BCE.
Official source
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