When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless, that I may make My covenant between Me and you, and may multiply you greatly" (Gen 17:1-2)Translated there as "God Almighty", the Hebrew term behind it is El Shaddai. It is used some 30 times in the Old Testament and typically translated "God Almighty". I think, though, that we could use some clarification.
We know what El means. We already got that part. What about Shaddai? The word can be difficult to chase down. The root word appears to be shad, which translates to "destroy". You can find these together in Isa 13:6 where Isaiah warns "destruction from the Almighty it will come!" That is shad from El Shaddai. But it doesn't seem to make sense in the Gen 17 context. "I am God the Destroyer; I will multiply you greatly." Huh? Some say that it comes from sadu (not found in the Old Testament) which refers to a mountain. This approach takes it to a related concept, the Hebrew word for "breast". The Hebrew concept derived from this term is "sufficient, enough". You see, it's quite clear in human terms that a mother's breasts are sufficient to provide what her baby needs. And this seems to be the idea in the name, El Shaddai.
In this case, perhaps "God Almighty" isn't quite the best. Perhaps "God All-Sufficient"? It is, then, the God that supplies all you need (which, of course, requires "almighty"). This is the God introduced to Abraham at 99 years old when God was promising to multiply him greatly. "Don't worry about it, Abraham. I am all you need." It is this God in Gen 35:3 that tells Jacob, "I am El Shaddai: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body." "I'm all you need." It is this God about whom the psalmist says, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'" (Psa 91:1-2). He is all the refuge and fortress you need.
El Shaddai, God Almighty, God All-Sufficient. It is almost an intimate name with the images it casts. It is a commentary on the sufficiency of God. He is, indeed, all we need.
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