When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
There is so much depth in the Hebrew names of God, and the English has a hard time capturing it succinctly.
Yes, “El Shaddai” means “God Almighty.” But it also means so much more.
Shaddai is a word that has several meanings. The root is assumed to be SH-D-D, related to power, force, and destruction. The related Hebrew word “shadad” means to devastate, ravage, or plunder.
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Proverbs 11:3 (NIV)
The scriptures use this word as power against unrighteousness. Divine judgement.
But some scholars suggest that the root of “El Shaddai” may be something else. Focusing on the last part of the word (dai), the Hebrew meaning becomes “sufficient” or “enough.”
Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
Exodus 36:6-7 (NIV)
In this, they see El Shaddai as:
The God who is self-sufficient.
The God who is enough.
The God who says ‘it is enough.’
And it’s from this third name (The God who says ‘it is enough’) that we arrive at this teaching that says “with the name יְהֹוָה (I AM), God creates the world and it expands; with the name אֵל שַׁדַּי (God Almighty), God stops the expansion, so the world is contained.”
As the rabbis explored this name, they also saw something special about this covenant of Genesis 17.
Abram was already given a promise of land and progeny in Genesis 15; this new covenant can’t seal those two things which were already unconditionally promised.
So what is new?
God uses this Hebrew word “olam” four times in this chapter, which means “everlasting.”
It’s not the first time the word shows up. Previously, God mentions the “everlasting covenant” with all humanity after the flood.
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7 (NIV)
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Genesis 9:16 (NIV)
But what’s different here is this promise of **relationship.**
In Genesis 9, God promises not to destroy the world by flood, but in Genesis 17, God promises to always be Abram’s God and the God of Abram’s descendants.
But this is conditioned on circumcision. An outward sign.
This is the nature of relationships: It has to go both ways. God is not merely “out there” keeping the universe from flying apart. He’s right here, desiring intimacy with us. He wants us to be whole hearted with Him as He is with us.
And if we will not? If Abram refused?
The rabbis see something else in the “sufficient” part of El Shaddai: Perhaps God says if we will not participate with Him, then there is no point to any of it. The world could end in fire and God will still be holy and have kept His word: “shadad = destroyer.”
To be “self-sufficient” is to need nothing. God can do it all himself.
And yet… God desires to engage the world with us, through us, in relationship. He wants us involved. He loves us. Though He is self-sufficient, God *wants* us.
To love God back is to respond.
In this way, our “works” in response earn us nothing. It doesn’t save us from fire or elevate us in righteousness. It is purely the manifestation of relationship: to be circumcised is to dedicate ourselves in relationship. To be circumcised of heart is to belong to God.
There is another meaning of “El Shaddai,” and it is tied to nurturing. It is the word “shad,” or “breasts.”
… because of your father’s God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
Genesis 49:25 (NIV)
In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his sons, and “shaddai” and “shad” are tied together here.
And there is both a meaning of blessing of progeny and of comfort, like a mother holding her child against her body. Nurturing. Compassion.
El Shaddai cares deeply for you.
All of this in a name of our God: mighty, sufficient, nurturing, compassionate… for us. For you.
Come and meet my God.
