What Does El Shaddai Mean in the Bible? | El Shaddai definition & meaning | Short Bible Study

Pastor Marc Brown answers the question "What does El Shaddai mean in the Bible?" He gives examples of where El Shaddai shows up in the Bible. He also explains the meaning of the Hebrew words Elohim, Shad, and Shadad.
Marc Brown is the pastor for Fort Hill United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, VA. He is the co-author of four books on Christian transformational leadership and strategic planning. Learn more about Marc at www.forthillum...
What does El Shaddai mean in the Bible?
The Bible contains many names for God that describe the essence of God’s nature.
El Shaddai is one of these names. El Shaddai is a compilation of several Hebrew words. El is likely derived from Elohim the name by which God is identified in the beginning verse of the Bible, “In the beginning, God Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” In the beginning, Elohim created the heaven and the earth.”
Affirming Elohim as the creator, El is joined with the word, Shaddai, to show how the God of creation is also the sustaining God of faith. Shaddai is the compilation of two Hebrew words, shad, which is the Hebrew word for a woman’s breast, and shadad which means to have the power to destroy. The combination of these words can be interpreted as “The God Who is More Than Enough” or “God Almighty” as El Shaddai describes the creative essence of God’s nature like a nurturing mother caring for and protecting her children.
The name of El Shaddai is first heard in Genesis 17:1-2 as God calls Abram and Sarai, to trust in God’s all-powerful, creative, and nurturing presence as God promises to make them the ancestors of a multitude of nations. Here is how Genesis 17:1-2 reads, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord, appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; El Shaddai, walk before me and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”
Sometimes, only Shaddai is used when describing the essence of God as Almighty. Whether Shaddai or El Shaddai is used, the nature of God remains the same as God’s covenant with Abram and Sarai is realized through the ongoing biblical generations of faith. It is a covenant to walk before God and to live with blameless trust in the all-powerful, creative, and nurturing presence of El Shaddai.