“Windows To Spirituality”
Tetragrammaton The tetragrammaton (meaning “[consisting of] four letters”), יהוה in Hebrew and YHWH in Latin script, is the four-letter biblical name of the God of Israel. The books of the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible (with the exception of Esther and Song of Songs) contain this Hebrew name. Religiously observant Jews...
What Is Ilah? Ilah (إله; plural: آلهة ʾālihah) is an Arabic term meaning “deity” or “god“. The feminine is ʾilāhah (إلاهة, meaning “goddess“); with the article, it appears as al-ʾilāhah – الإلاهة. The Arabic word for God (al-Lāh) is thought to be derived from it. Ilah is cognate to Northwest Semitic ʾēl and Akkadian ilum. The...
Elohim Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) in the Hebrew Bible refers to deities, and is one of the many names or titles for God in the Hebrew Bible. The word is identical to the usual plural of el, meaning gods or magistrates, and is cognate to the ‘l-h-m found in Ugaritic, where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods, the children of El, and...
El Shaddai El Shaddai (אֵל שַׁדַּי) or just Shaddai is one of the names of the God of Israel. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as God Almighty (Deus Omnipotens in Latin) but the construction of the phrase fits the pattern of the divine appellations in the Ancient Near East and as such can convey...
Elyon Elyon (עליון; Elyōn) is an epithet of the God of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible. ʾĒl ʿElyōn is usually rendered in English as “God Most High”, and similarly in the Septuagint as ὁ Θεός ὁ ὕψιστος (“God the highest“). The term also has mundane uses, such as “upper” (where the ending in both roots is a locative, not superlative or comparative),...
El (deity) El (’Il, אל; إل or إله, ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic archaic biliteral ʾ‑l, meaning...
Orisha Orisha or Òrìṣà (original spelling in the Yoruba language), known as orichá or orixá in Latin America, are the human form of the spirits (Irunmọlẹ) sent by Olodumare, Olorun, Olofi in Yoruba traditional identity. The Irunmọlẹ are meant to guide creation and particularly humanity on how to live and succeed on Earth (Ayé). Most Òrìṣà are said to be deities previously...
How Many Names Does God Have? This article covers the answer to the question: “How Many Names Does God Have?” The Bible’s answer God has just one personal name. It is written יהוה in Hebrew and is usually rendered “Jehovah” in English. * Through his prophet Isaiah, God stated: “I am Jehovah....
What are The Different Names of God and What do They Mean? Each of the many names of God describes a different aspect of His many-faceted character. Here are some of the better-known names of God in the Bible: EL, ELOAH [el, el-oh-ah]: God “mighty, strong, prominent” (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19) –...
Bhagavan Bhagavan (भगवान्, Bhagavān) or Bhagwan (sometimes translated as “Lord“) is an epithet for deity, particularly for Krishna and other avatars of Vishnu in Vaishnavism, as well as for Shiva in the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism, and is used by Jains to refer to the Tirthankaras, more particularly Mahavira and is used by...
Goddess A goddess is a female deity. Goddesses have been linked with virtues such as beauty, love, motherhood and fertility (Mother-goddess cult in prehistoric times). They have also been associated with ideas such as war, creation, and death. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship....
Love Of God In Christianity The love of God is a prevalent concept both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Love is a key attribute of God in Christianity, even if in the New Testament the expression “God is love” explicitly occurs only twice and in two not too distant verses: 1 John 4:8,16. The...
Love Of God In these bleak and inauspicious days, when our hearts are overwhelmed with enmity, when our spirits are sickened, when hatred and antagonism are out of control, it is crystal clear that we need love and mercy as we need water or air. We seem to have forgotten...
Supreme Being Is There Really A Supreme Being? or Is It Just An Illusion? One time two men were washing in a pool. Under some extraordinary influence they lost their senses and when they opened their eyes, they saw that it had transported them to a strange land. It was...
Sumerian Religion Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders. Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials....
Religion In Ancient Rome Religion in Ancient Rome includes the ancestral ethnic religion of the city of Rome that the Romans used to define themselves as a people, as well as the religious practices of peoples brought under Roman rule, in so far as they became widely followed in Rome and Italy. The Romans thought of themselves...
Inca Religion the Inca religion was a large melting pot of beliefs. Since the Sapa Inca was a god, religion and government were in many ways intertwined. In the heterogeneous Inca Empire, polytheistic religions were practiced. Some deities, such as Inti, Pachamama and Viracocha, were known throughout the empire, while...
Maya Religion The traditional Maya religion of the extant Maya peoples of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and the Tabasco, Chiapas, and Yucatán states of Mexico is part of the wider frame of Mesoamerican religion. As is the case with many other contemporary Mesoamerican religions, it results from centuries of symbiosis with Roman Catholicism. When its pre-Spanish antecedents are taken into account,...
Ancient Mesopotamian Religion Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general was not particularly influenced by the movements of...
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is Judaism between the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, c. 515 BCE, and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE. The development of the Hebrew Bible canon, the synagogue, Jewish apocalyptic expectations for the future, and the rise of Christianity, can...
