over the thing or person named. Accordingly, the name of God was
considered to be the manifestation of His being; by invoking it man could
obtain some of His power; and the place where that name was called became
the seat of His presence. Therefore the name must be treated with the same
reverential awe as the Deity Himself. None dare approach the Deity, nor
misuse the Name. The pious soul realized the nearness of the Deity in
hearing His name pronounced. Finally, the different names of God reflect
the different conceptions of Him which were held in various periods.(136)

2. The Semites were not like the Aryan nations, who beheld the essence of
their gods in the phenomena of nature such as light, rain, thunder, and
lightning,--and gave them corresponding names and titles. The more intense
religious emotionalism of the Semites(137) perceived the Godhead rather as
a power working from within, and accordingly gave it such names as _El_
("the Mighty One"), _Eloha_ or _Pahad_ ("the Awful One"), or _Baal_ ("the
Master"). _Elohim_, the plural form of _Eloha_, denoted originally the
godhead as divided into a number of gods or godly beings, that is,
polytheism. When it was applied to God, however, it was generally
understood as a _unity_, referring to one undivided Godhead, for Scripture
regarded monotheism as original with mankind. While this view is
contradicted by the science of comparative religion, still the ideal
conception of religion, based on the universal consciousness of God,
postulates one God who is the aim of all human searching, a fact which the
term Henotheism fails to recognize.(138)

3. For the patriarchal age, the preliminary stage in the development of
the Jewish God-idea, Scripture gives a special name for God, _El
Shaddai_--"the Almighty God." This probably has a relation to _Shod_,
"storm" or "havoc" and "destruction," but was interpreted as supreme Ruler
over the celestial powers.(139) The name by which God revealed Himself to
Moses and the prophets as the God of the covenant with Israel is JHVH
(Jahveh). This name is inseparably connected with the religious
development of Judaism in all its loftiness and depth. During the period
of the Second Temple this name was declared too sacred for utterance,
except by the priests in certain parts of the service, and for mysterious
use by specially initiated saints. Instead, _Adonai_--"the Lord"--was
substituted for it in the Biblical reading, a usage which has contin