God Has A Name

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

People have given names to G-d.  The most important names of these are the names used in the Bible (Tanakh) or Old Testament.  Other came later as a result of rabbinic, Philosophical and Kabbalistic usage.  Many word are not proper names but circumlocutions or epithets they use instead of a proper name.  Circumlocutions are:  the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive."His admission came after years of circumlocution." Epithets are: an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned."old men are often unfairly awarded the epithet “dirty.”"

"El" was used in all Semitic languages .  In the Bible it appears rarely for G-d but is an element in proper names like Eleazar, Nathanel, Eloah.  Elohim is plural form which is used for gods, idols, etc. and singular (G-d).  In the Hebrew Bible, El (אל, ʾel) appears very occasionally alone (e.g. Genesis 33:20, el elohe yisrael, "Mighty God of Israel", and Genesis 46:3, ha'el elohe abika, "El the God of thy father"), but usually with some epithet or attribute attached (e.g. El Elyon, "Most High El", El Shaddai, "El of Shaddai", El 'Olam " ...

YHVH is a Tetragrammation or Shem ha-Mephorash.  It was the particular name of the G-d of Israel and occurs nearly 7,000 times in the Bible.  Its original pronunciation is unknown.  (Yahweh is used by others). 

Ptolemy I Soter (also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC), was one of the generals of Alexander the Great and his friend and later one of the Diadochi and founder of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic-Dynasty in Egypt. Woodcut engraving from the book "Illustrierte Weltgeschichte. Ein Buch für's Volk, Band 1: Das Altertum (Illustrated history of the world. A book for the people, Volume 1: The Antiquity)" by Held und Corvin. Published by Hartknoch, Leipzig in 1864

                                        Ptolemy II--on a coin

 By 2nd century BCE), time of Septuagint (Latin for 70 (LXX) -a Greek translation of the Bible called this because the oldest part of the Bible was translated at the command of Ptolemy II in 285-246 BCE, 1st Macedonian king of Egypt-started a dynasty of kings using this name, and conquered Palestine in 319-308 BCE but withdrew in 315BCE,  by 70 Jewish scholars who worked independently and translations agreed. Ptolemy II and perhaps Hezekiah, Jewish High Priest, went with him to Egypt in 311BCE after a 2nd invasion.  He later retook Jerusalem and deported a large number of Jews to Egypt, then subjected Palestine in 301BCE.  He also settled Jews in Cyrenaica. By this time it was no longer pronounced except by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, but read by the congregation as Adonai (Hebrew "My Lord(s).  From this we get the "Lord" YeHoVaH.  The vowel points of this latter word were inserted in the name (thereby creating the English misnomer, Jehovah).    

Ha -Shem (The Name)

We Jews have an absolute obsession with avoiding uttering G‑d’s name. (Notice that we don’t even spell it out fully when writing the English word for G‑d. See: Why Don’t You Spell G‑d’s Name?) Actually, we are careful not to pronounce G‑d’s names except when reading the Torah or prayers.  Our caution is founded on an understanding of the third of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not take His name in vain.” 

Although this verse is classically interpreted as referring to a senseless oath using G‑d’s name, the avoidance of saying G‑d’s name extends to all expressions, except prayer and Torah study. In the words of Maimonides, the great Jewish codifier: 

Reference:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism#:~:text=In%20the%20Hebrew%20Bible%2C%20El,Shaddai%22%2C%20El%20'Olam%20%22

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1443443/jewish/Why-Dont-Jews-Say-Gds-Name.htm