El Shaddai
אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י
Genesis 35:11-12
[God to Jacob:] “I am God Almighty [A’ni El Shaddai אֲנִ֨י אֵ֤ל שַׁדַּי֙]; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a multitude of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from you. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
In many ways, Biblical Hebrew is a beautifully simplistic language. Hebrew is made up of a three letter root word system. Words that share a root are typically connected in some way. A single word will bring to mind all its sibling root words which gives a richer understanding to its overall meaning.
Take a look at the word Shaddai (Strong’s 7706), for example; it has been regularly translated in English as Almighty. A careful look at this word shows that mighty strength or mighty power isn’t reflected in the etymology of Shaddai in any way.
Shaddai is used as a descriptor of YHWH. It is a multi-layered noun that shares a root word with a bevy of other words, allowing us to see a multifaceted description of YHWH. Here are some of the words that share a root with Shaddai:
- Shad שַׁד, meaning the feeding breast (Strong’s 7699)
- Showd שֹׁד, meaning destruction, devastation, ruin (Strong’s 7701)
- Sadeh שָׂדֶה, meaning field or land (Strong’s 7704, 7709)
None of these shared root words directly express great (gadol), mighty (gibbor), power (koakh), so how did it get to be translated as “Almighty”?
Although Shaddai is represented as a proper name, it is also a personalized (possessive) noun. This is “My Shad”. When the writers spoke of El Shaddai it was a claim that their God (El) was the Creator who provided the fertile field from which they would grow. He was the Great Nourisher (feeding breasts), and the Righteous Judge (who would bring ruin to the promoters of evil). YHWH was a Life Supporter as the Cultivator, the Great Grower, the Farmer, the Provider, and the Nourisher, He was equally the Destroyer of Evil and the Antidote to death. All these images come out of the word Shaddai.
Shedim
Another word connected to Shaddai is the Shedim (Strong’s 7700). Appearing only twice in the Tanakh (Psalm 103:20 and Deuteronomy 32:17), the Shedim are usually translated as “demons”.
The Assyrians and Babylonians had a very similar word, shedu, which was a deity that was usually represented as a winged bull with a human head. The Biblical Hebrew authors likely borrowed this word from their pagan neighbours to describe dark spiritual entities:
Psalm 106:35-38
But they got involved with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons [la-shedim לַשֵּֽׁדִים], and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with the blood.
In Deuteronomy 32 (identified as the Song of Moses) the Shedim were clearly identified as “not God”.
Deuteronomy 32:17-21
“They sacrificed to demons [la-shedim לַשֵּׁדִים֙], who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new (gods) [ha-dashim] who came lately, whom your fathers did not know.
You forgot the Rock who fathered you, and forgot the God who gave you birth. YHWH saw this, and spurned them because of the provocation by His sons and daughters.
Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, sons in whom there is no faithfulness. They have made Me jealous with what is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols emptiness/vanities.’”
There is some clever word play being used here to make a point: these supernatural entities (shedim) were “new ones” (dashim) and not the established God of the Universe. El Shaddai would be THE God of the heavenly realm over anything and everything that claimed to have power.
Shaddai and the Septuagint
In the Greek New Testament Pantokrator is translated into English as Almighty. It is, almost exclusively (apart from one instance in 2 Corinthians 6:18), found in the Book of the Revelation, where YHWH seizes control and reveals His power:
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty [Greek: Pantokrator].”
The Greek word Pantokrator, meaning All (Panto) Mighty/Strong/Seizing Control (krator), certainly gives the impression of an All-Strong One, but is it the best interpretation of the Hebrew word Shaddai?
The Septuagint (by Seventy scholars) is the Hebrew Bible translated into Koine Greek, around the 3rd century BCE. It gives us a clue of the contemporary understanding of Shaddai.
For the most part the Septuagint translated El Shaddai simply as “My God” (without any mention of almightiness) inferring that Shaddai was a personalized (possessive “my”) Deity.
In Genesis 17:1 we read: “I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless”, but the Septuagint simply translated this as, “I am your God; walk before me and be blameless”. El Shaddai was rarely translated as God Almighty, but when Shaddai stood alone (without its attachment to El) the Septuagint translated it sometimes as Almighty (Pantokratoros), sometimes as Lord (Kyrios), and sometimes as Lord Almighty (Kyrios Pantokratoros).
English translations seem to have been highly influenced by the Septuagint rendering of Shaddai as Almighty, rather than the use of Shaddai as a comparison word between neighbouring views of God. Essentially, the Hebrew authors were saying, “My Shad” is the True life-giving Spiritual Being.
It is worth noting that El Shaddai was used as God’s name by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was their El Shaddai. When God revealed His true name to Moses, He said:
Exodus 6:2-3
“I am YHWH; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai [בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י], but by My name, YHWH, I did not make Myself known to them.”
YHWH as Shaddai wasn’t like the Shedu/Shedim of the neighbouring pagan people in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; this was THEIR Shaddai, the Great Creator, Nourisher, and final Victor of the ongoing cosmic battle. YHWH was the Gardener, Grower, and Nourisher of His people, as well as the Defeater of evil and death. The people who called on Shaddai were claiming Him as their personal Provider (land sadeh giver), Sustainer (breast shad feeder) and Defender (destroyer showd of evil).
This image of God as a Shaddai (Provider/Sustainer/Defender) is beautifully highlighted in the following Psalm of David:
Psalm 103
[David:] Bless YHWH, my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless YHWH, my soul, and do not forget any of His benefits; who pardons all your guilt, who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with favour and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
YHWH performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the sons of Israel.
YHWH is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He will not always contend with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so YHWH has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our form, He is mindful that we are nothing but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; like a flower of the field [ha-sadeh], so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place no longer knows about it.
But the mercy of YHWH is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, and His justice to the children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts, so as to do them.
YHWH has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Bless YHWH, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word! Bless YHWH, all you His angels, you who serve Him, doing His will. Bless YHWH, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless YHWH, my soul!
Almighty isn’t a terrible translation of Shaddai because it is all encompassing of some mighty wonderful things. YHWH is Provider, Sustainer, Defender, as well as, Pardoner, Redeemer, Healer, and Crown-giver. He is Compassionate and Merciful, a Champion of Justice and an Everlasting Sovereign of Mighty Strength who lives by His Word and fulfills His Promises. That is what mightiness looks like. It’s so much more than mere physical strength. YHWH is the full package of perfection and like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I claim Him as my own!
To read the original posting on Shaddai, please click below:
Shaddai/Almighty
Next week: Let there be…
Hebrew Word Lessons 