Theophory in the Bible

Theophory is the practice of embedding the name of a god or a deity in, usually, a proper name. Much Hebrew theophory occurs in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). The most prominent theophory involves names referring to:

  • El, a word meaning might, power and (a) god in general, and hence in Judaism, God and among the Canaanites the name of the god who was the father of Baal.
  • Yah/Jah, a shortened form of Yahweh/Jahweh, the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton‎ YHWH (יהוה).
  • Levantine deities (especially the storm god, Hadad) by the epithet baal, meaning lord. In later times, as the conflict between Yahwism and the more popular pagan practices became increasingly intense, these names were censored and baal was replaced with bosheth, meaning "shame".
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