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The Ten Divine Names

eh-ser-AH shem-OHT ha-kah-doh-SHEEM (ten divine/holy names)

Ten biblical names for God, each expressing a different quality of divine action, studied deeply by medieval Jewish philosophers and kabbalists alike.

Jewish tradition recognizes a set of ten names used for God in the Hebrew Bible, each conveying something distinct about how God relates to the world and to humanity. Names like *Eheyeh* ("I Am") suggest pure, self-existent being; *Adonai* ("Lord") points to God's sovereign presence in the world; others emphasize qualities like might, compassion, or eternity. Scholars and commentators from the rabbinic period onward paid close attention to which name appears where in scripture, since the choice of name was understood to carry meaning about the mode of divine activity in a given passage.

Over time, these names became a major focus of Jewish philosophical and mystical thought. Medieval philosophers like Maimonides examined them carefully, arguing that all such names describe God's actions rather than God's essence. Kabbalists, especially in the circle that produced the Zohar and later in the school of Joseph Gikatilla, mapped the ten names onto a diagram of ten divine emanations (sefirot), creating an elaborate system in which each name marked a different level of God's relationship to creation. That kabbalistic mapping became enormously influential, but it built on a much older tradition of careful, reverent attention to the words the Bible uses when speaking about God.

How it traveled

Heikhalot Rabbati
Jerusalem · 400
explains
Rasag on Sefer Yetzirah
Sura (Babylonia) · 931
explains
Ramban on Sefer Yetzirah
Girona · 1225
explains
Beur Eser Sefirot
Girona · 1240
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Sha'arei Orah
Guadalajara · 1260
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Sefer HaCheshek
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1260
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Sha'arei Tzedek
Castile · 1265
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Get HaShemot
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1269
explains
Zohar
Guadalajara · 1280
explains
Tikkunei Zohar
Guadalajara · 1280
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Ra'avad on Sefer Yetzirah
Posquières (Provence) · 1280
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Idra Zuta
Guadalajara · 1280
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Ohr HaSekhel
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1285
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VeZot LiYehuda
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1285
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Gan Naul (Abulafia)
Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1289
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Zohar Chadash
Guadalajara · 1290
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Ma'arekhet HaElokut
Guadalajara · 1295
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Recanati on the Torah
Recanati · 1300
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Sefer HaKanah
Castile · 1380
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Avodat HaKodesh (Ibn Gabbai)
Cairo · 1523
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Maggid Meisharim
Tzfat · 1545
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Ohr Ne'erav
Tzfat · 1550
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Ketem Paz on Zohar
Tzfat · 1561
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Sha'ar HaMitzvot
Tzfat · 1565
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Sha'ar HaPesukim
Tzfat · 1570
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Sha'ar HaKavanot
Tzfat · 1570
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Sha'ar Ma'amarei Rashbi
Tzfat · 1570
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Sha'ar Ma'amarei Razal
Tzfat · 1570
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Pri Etz Chaim
Tzfat · 1572
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Sha'arei Kedusha
Damascus · 1572
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Key passages(20)

Introduction to Sulam Commentary 2:1↗explains

Introduction to Sulam Commentary · Yehuda Ashlag · 1943 CE