El Shaddai

Occurrences in Scripture

The name first appears in Genesis 17:1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him and said, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." God then established a covenant promising descendants and land and changed his name to Abraham.

The name recurs in several later scenes:

• When Isaac blesses Jacob (Genesis 28:3)
• When God appears to Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 35:11)
• When Jacob sends his sons to Egypt (Genesis 43:14)
• When Jacob recounts past events to Joseph (Genesis 48:3)

In most of these passages, the name is accompanied by promises of numerous descendants and blessing.

In Exodus 6:2–3, God tells Moses that He appeared to the fathers "by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." The name also appears in Ezekiel 10:5. The form "Shaddai" ("the Almighty") used alone, without "El," is especially frequent in the Book of Job.

Meaning of the Term

"El" is the common Semitic word for a deity and is considered related to Elohim. The etymology of "Shaddai" is uncertain, and several views have been proposed:

• A connection with the Akkadian word for "mountain," yielding "God of the mountain"
• Derivation from a verb meaning "to be strong" or "to destroy"
• A connection with the Hebrew word for "breast" (shad)
• The Jewish rabbinic tradition interpreting it as "the One who is self-sufficient"

The rendering "Almighty" is generally understood to follow a tradition in which the Septuagint translated the term in some passages as pantokratōr ("ruler of all") and the Latin Vulgate rendered it omnipotens ("all-powerful").

Significance Across Scripture

In the patriarchal narratives, this name reveals God as the One who fulfills promises that human strength cannot accomplish, such as the promise that the aged Abraham and Sarah would have a child.

In the New Testament, God is called "the Almighty" (pantokratōr) in passages such as 2 Corinthians 6:18, Revelation 1:8, and Revelation 4:8. However, the Septuagint also frequently used this word to translate "the LORD of hosts." It is therefore difficult to conclude that the New Testament expression derives from El Shaddai alone.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

Because the name Jehovah (Yahweh) already appears many times in Genesis, the interpretation of Exodus 6:3 has long been debated.

• Traditional interpretation: The patriarchs knew the name Jehovah itself. The verse is understood to mean that the character expressed by that name—God as the One who faithfully fulfills His promises—was first fully experienced through the events of the Exodus.
• Critical interpretation: Scholars who regard the Pentateuch as a compilation of multiple sources see this verse as a trace of a separate tradition holding that only the name El Shaddai was used in the patriarchal era.

Some sermons appeal to the "breast" etymology to describe God as "the God who nurtures" or "the All-Sufficient God." Such explanations rest on only one of several etymological hypotheses and are not what the text itself directly states.

In the Korean Church

Korean believers know this name mainly through its translation, "Almighty God." Prayers in public worship commonly begin with "Almighty God our Father." The word "Almighty" in the opening confession of the Apostles' Creed likewise derives from the Latin omnipotens and belongs to the same translation tradition.