COMPOUND NAMES/TITLES OF GOD IN THE 23RD PSALM
This a little different study in the "Shepherd Psalm." God has several compound names found throughout scripture. Ps. 23 has quite a few of them. It is my desire that after you go through this study, in the future, you will study closer His names and attributes. New revelations will come to you on just how much He loves you and what He's done for you! I will also be showing how each of these names applies to Jesus. With our premise set, let's look at Ps. 23.
Below on the left Is a verse by verse, phrase by phrase list. On the right, is the compound name of GOD derived from it. After these lists, I began with the first compound name and gave a little food for thought for each of the names. This is not intended to be an all out commentary. My purpose is to get you excited to do a personal study on the names of GOD. Perhaps you may do a study in the Psalms to find other places where His titles are evident.
v. 1 The LORD is my shepherd. Jehovah Rohi
v. 1 I shall not want Jehovah Jireh
v. 2 Lie down in green pastures v. 4 Thy rod and staff comfort me Jehovah Shalom
v. 3 He restoreth my soul Jehovah Ropheka
v. 3 Paths of righteousness Jehovah Tsidkenu
v. 4 Thou art with me Jehovah Shammah
v. 5 Preparest a table before me Jehovah Nissi
v. 5 Thou anointest my head with oil Jehovah M'Kaddesh
Jehovah Rohi How interesting it is that David, a shepherd by trade, calls and recognizes the LORD as his Shepherd. We read in 1 Sam 16 that David
was the family shepherd. While his brothers were off fighting Goliath and the Philistines, youngest sibling David was tending sheep.
As a shepherd, David learned and acquired many skills. There were also gifts God had placed inside him which began to manifest. He
learned how to lead those that did not want to be led. This would become useful as king. He learned to kill invading beasts with
seemingly inferior weapons. His sheep trusted in his protection. He learned how to scope out good feeding ground. The sheep trusted
in his provision. The sheep learned to follow him. He had their best interest at heart. Now, David is telling the LORD he knows how it
feels to be a sheep. To be completely dependent on GOD for everything, to trust that GOD would be a good shepherd-in fact, The
Good Shepherd. Ps. 80:1 is another place where David calls the LORD a shepherd. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the
cherubims, shine forth
Here is the well known verse where Jesus lays His claim to being the Good Shepherd. Jn. 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and
am known of mine.
Jehovah Jireh The word "Jireh" actually means to see. But it's more than that. It means to see a need in advance and to provide. In a sense, GOD's
pre-vision constitutes His pro-vision. We see the name in Gen. 22:14 where Abraham names the place on Mt Moriah Jehovah Jireh
because God saw and knew that a sacrifice was needed and He provided one. In the first 2 verses of Gen. 22, it is Elohim who
commanded the sacrifice. It is Jehovah Jireh who provided the sacrifice.
In a portion of Jesus' response on how we should pray, Jesus said this in Mt. 6:31-33.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus tells us that our Shepherd Father knows what we need. He knows it before we ask. And we have this familiar verse from Philip. 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Below, are a couple of verses to show that before the foundation of the world, Jesus knew we would sin and He would have to give His life for ours.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
1 Pet. 1:19,20 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
There are more verses (like Rev. 13:8 for example) but that is your homework in your continued study!
Jehovah Shalom This also appears in Jdg. 6:24. It is in the account of God telling Gideon that he(Gideon) will be used by God to defeat Israel's
enemies and bring peace back to the nation. In honor of this, Gideon makes an altar to the LORD and calls it Jehovahshalom.
Jehovah Shalom can mean: GOD [of peace], [is peace], [brings peace] and several other variations of the same ilk. There are many verses dealing
with this, so I'll only give you a few. This ought to be an easy study for you! Your concordance, chain reference, center margin
reference, or whatever you choose to use will get you much further.
Rom. 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
1 Thes. 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the last of many I could give, here is one from the Old Testament proclaiming Jesus is God and the Prince of Peace.
Is. 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jehovah Ropheka Ropheka is a form of the word translated "restoreth." It is translated many ways in the Old Testament. Heal, repair, cure, make
whole are the ways its root word [rophi or rapha] are translated. Though the Hebrew word in this verse is different, the two can
be very similar in meaning.
Jehovah Ropheka is the healer or restorer of our souls. It is of note that the word healer is only used once in scripture (Is. 3:7) and that time it is not
a good thing! But, that God heals is found throughout both testaments. Check out the last part of this verse.
Ex. 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to
his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I
am the LORD that healeth thee.
Ps. 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Ps. 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Is. 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the
day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Now, let's see a few places where this appellation/attribute applies to Jesus. Staying in the Old Testament for a minute, we can point to:
Is. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.
And now just a couple of the over abundant texts in the New Testament.
Mt. 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and
those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Lk. 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
So we see that He heals physical and spiritual needs in us. And now we take a look at our next name.
Jehovah Tsidkenu The GOD of righteousness. Or, the righteous GOD. Another place where a form of this name appears is in Gen. 14:18. It is the
passage dealing with Melchizedek and Abram's (his name not yet changed to Abraham) homage to Him. Melchizedek's name
means:
Mel = king
Chi = of, for, by
Zedek = right, righteousness
The word zedek is found over 200 times in the Old Testament and is translated just, lawful. and righteous. They are used to describe men and God. Some examples are:
Gen. 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Dt. 32:24 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he
Is. 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Dan. 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he
doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
As you would expect, the New Testament is loaded with verses of this nature as well. A handful are below.
Gal. 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. A quote of Hab. 2:4.
Mt. 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Lk. 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jehovah Shammah We see this appellation in Ez. 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that
day shall be, The LORD is there.
The word shammah and its variations occur throughout the Old Testament over 800 times. It is either always in the present tense or in the present continuing into the future. Hence, God IS and will be wherever He needs to be. He IS there in the green pastures. He IS there beside the still waters. He IS there in the paths of righteousness. He IS there through the valley of the shadow of death. Wherever you are, God IS there. Wherever you will be, God IS there. He IS there in heaven. He IS there in hell. Consider Ps. 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Note as well the words of Jesus in Jn. 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
God IS omnipresent all the time!
Jehovah Nissi "...A table before me in the presence of my enemies..." suggests that there is nothing the enemies can do about it. God is bragging
about himself to the enemies. "Look at my people! They are feasting in
front of you and you are powerless. I go before them and you can't touch
them!
Ex. 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: Moses built this altar after God gave the Hebrews victory over the
Amalekites and promised to go before them in future battles with this
evil nation.
Nissi is translated pole in Num. 21:8,9. This is the familiar narrative of God commanding Moses to fashion a serpent of brass, put it on a pole, and let
it be carried in front of the nation of Israel as they marched through the desert. As long as the sojourners
kept their eyes on the pole, the venomous vipers, asps, and cobras hiding just below the sand would not hurt
them It does not say that the serpents would not bite. It says their bite would be ineffective. . (of note here is
that God did not remove the serpents. He made a way for the Hebrews to be victorious over them.)There is a
prophecy in Isaiah 11:10 about a coming ensign(banner). It reads: And in that day there shall be a root of
Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of
the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:
and his rest shall be glorious
As the fiery serpent pole is a banner going before the people, so too is Jesus Himself a banner. He said in Jn. 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be
lifted up:
And again in Jn. 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.
This brings us to our last compound name we will be looking at in this study.
Jehova M'Kaddesh We first come across this in Ex. 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for
it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I
am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
The word is translated consecrate, hallow, make holy and in many other ways. To anoint with oil is to consecrate, ordain, or make holy. It is to set apart for a purpose, example, or both. We read all through the Bible and see in churches where men are anointed with oil by men. This is usually done with a prayer for God's blessing on that individual toward a particular service, journey, or vocation. In our Psalm, it is the LORD Himself who is doing the anointing! When God is doing the anointing, your cup will definitely run over! Of the many New Testament references I can give, here are just a few. The first is a paraphrase of Is. 61:1,2
Lk. 4:18,19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
2 Cor. 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
Your job now is to find and study:
1. Other people in the Bible the LORD has anointed.
2. People that were anointed by men (either as directed by God or not) and the results thereof.
Below on the left Is a verse by verse, phrase by phrase list. On the right, is the compound name of GOD derived from it. After these lists, I began with the first compound name and gave a little food for thought for each of the names. This is not intended to be an all out commentary. My purpose is to get you excited to do a personal study on the names of GOD. Perhaps you may do a study in the Psalms to find other places where His titles are evident.
v. 1 The LORD is my shepherd. Jehovah Rohi
v. 1 I shall not want Jehovah Jireh
v. 2 Lie down in green pastures v. 4 Thy rod and staff comfort me Jehovah Shalom
v. 3 He restoreth my soul Jehovah Ropheka
v. 3 Paths of righteousness Jehovah Tsidkenu
v. 4 Thou art with me Jehovah Shammah
v. 5 Preparest a table before me Jehovah Nissi
v. 5 Thou anointest my head with oil Jehovah M'Kaddesh
Jehovah Rohi How interesting it is that David, a shepherd by trade, calls and recognizes the LORD as his Shepherd. We read in 1 Sam 16 that David
was the family shepherd. While his brothers were off fighting Goliath and the Philistines, youngest sibling David was tending sheep.
As a shepherd, David learned and acquired many skills. There were also gifts God had placed inside him which began to manifest. He
learned how to lead those that did not want to be led. This would become useful as king. He learned to kill invading beasts with
seemingly inferior weapons. His sheep trusted in his protection. He learned how to scope out good feeding ground. The sheep trusted
in his provision. The sheep learned to follow him. He had their best interest at heart. Now, David is telling the LORD he knows how it
feels to be a sheep. To be completely dependent on GOD for everything, to trust that GOD would be a good shepherd-in fact, The
Good Shepherd. Ps. 80:1 is another place where David calls the LORD a shepherd. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the
cherubims, shine forth
Here is the well known verse where Jesus lays His claim to being the Good Shepherd. Jn. 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and
am known of mine.
Jehovah Jireh The word "Jireh" actually means to see. But it's more than that. It means to see a need in advance and to provide. In a sense, GOD's
pre-vision constitutes His pro-vision. We see the name in Gen. 22:14 where Abraham names the place on Mt Moriah Jehovah Jireh
because God saw and knew that a sacrifice was needed and He provided one. In the first 2 verses of Gen. 22, it is Elohim who
commanded the sacrifice. It is Jehovah Jireh who provided the sacrifice.
In a portion of Jesus' response on how we should pray, Jesus said this in Mt. 6:31-33.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus tells us that our Shepherd Father knows what we need. He knows it before we ask. And we have this familiar verse from Philip. 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Below, are a couple of verses to show that before the foundation of the world, Jesus knew we would sin and He would have to give His life for ours.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
1 Pet. 1:19,20 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
There are more verses (like Rev. 13:8 for example) but that is your homework in your continued study!
Jehovah Shalom This also appears in Jdg. 6:24. It is in the account of God telling Gideon that he(Gideon) will be used by God to defeat Israel's
enemies and bring peace back to the nation. In honor of this, Gideon makes an altar to the LORD and calls it Jehovahshalom.
Jehovah Shalom can mean: GOD [of peace], [is peace], [brings peace] and several other variations of the same ilk. There are many verses dealing
with this, so I'll only give you a few. This ought to be an easy study for you! Your concordance, chain reference, center margin
reference, or whatever you choose to use will get you much further.
Rom. 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
1 Thes. 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the last of many I could give, here is one from the Old Testament proclaiming Jesus is God and the Prince of Peace.
Is. 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jehovah Ropheka Ropheka is a form of the word translated "restoreth." It is translated many ways in the Old Testament. Heal, repair, cure, make
whole are the ways its root word [rophi or rapha] are translated. Though the Hebrew word in this verse is different, the two can
be very similar in meaning.
Jehovah Ropheka is the healer or restorer of our souls. It is of note that the word healer is only used once in scripture (Is. 3:7) and that time it is not
a good thing! But, that God heals is found throughout both testaments. Check out the last part of this verse.
Ex. 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to
his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I
am the LORD that healeth thee.
Ps. 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Ps. 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Is. 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the
day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Now, let's see a few places where this appellation/attribute applies to Jesus. Staying in the Old Testament for a minute, we can point to:
Is. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.
And now just a couple of the over abundant texts in the New Testament.
Mt. 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and
those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Lk. 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
So we see that He heals physical and spiritual needs in us. And now we take a look at our next name.
Jehovah Tsidkenu The GOD of righteousness. Or, the righteous GOD. Another place where a form of this name appears is in Gen. 14:18. It is the
passage dealing with Melchizedek and Abram's (his name not yet changed to Abraham) homage to Him. Melchizedek's name
means:
Mel = king
Chi = of, for, by
Zedek = right, righteousness
The word zedek is found over 200 times in the Old Testament and is translated just, lawful. and righteous. They are used to describe men and God. Some examples are:
Gen. 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Dt. 32:24 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he
Is. 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Dan. 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he
doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
As you would expect, the New Testament is loaded with verses of this nature as well. A handful are below.
Gal. 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. A quote of Hab. 2:4.
Mt. 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Lk. 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
2 Cor. 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jehovah Shammah We see this appellation in Ez. 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that
day shall be, The LORD is there.
The word shammah and its variations occur throughout the Old Testament over 800 times. It is either always in the present tense or in the present continuing into the future. Hence, God IS and will be wherever He needs to be. He IS there in the green pastures. He IS there beside the still waters. He IS there in the paths of righteousness. He IS there through the valley of the shadow of death. Wherever you are, God IS there. Wherever you will be, God IS there. He IS there in heaven. He IS there in hell. Consider Ps. 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Note as well the words of Jesus in Jn. 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
God IS omnipresent all the time!
Jehovah Nissi "...A table before me in the presence of my enemies..." suggests that there is nothing the enemies can do about it. God is bragging
about himself to the enemies. "Look at my people! They are feasting in
front of you and you are powerless. I go before them and you can't touch
them!
Ex. 17:15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: Moses built this altar after God gave the Hebrews victory over the
Amalekites and promised to go before them in future battles with this
evil nation.
Nissi is translated pole in Num. 21:8,9. This is the familiar narrative of God commanding Moses to fashion a serpent of brass, put it on a pole, and let
it be carried in front of the nation of Israel as they marched through the desert. As long as the sojourners
kept their eyes on the pole, the venomous vipers, asps, and cobras hiding just below the sand would not hurt
them It does not say that the serpents would not bite. It says their bite would be ineffective. . (of note here is
that God did not remove the serpents. He made a way for the Hebrews to be victorious over them.)There is a
prophecy in Isaiah 11:10 about a coming ensign(banner). It reads: And in that day there shall be a root of
Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of
the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:
and his rest shall be glorious
As the fiery serpent pole is a banner going before the people, so too is Jesus Himself a banner. He said in Jn. 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be
lifted up:
And again in Jn. 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.
This brings us to our last compound name we will be looking at in this study.
Jehova M'Kaddesh We first come across this in Ex. 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for
it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I
am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
The word is translated consecrate, hallow, make holy and in many other ways. To anoint with oil is to consecrate, ordain, or make holy. It is to set apart for a purpose, example, or both. We read all through the Bible and see in churches where men are anointed with oil by men. This is usually done with a prayer for God's blessing on that individual toward a particular service, journey, or vocation. In our Psalm, it is the LORD Himself who is doing the anointing! When God is doing the anointing, your cup will definitely run over! Of the many New Testament references I can give, here are just a few. The first is a paraphrase of Is. 61:1,2
Lk. 4:18,19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
2 Cor. 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
Your job now is to find and study:
1. Other people in the Bible the LORD has anointed.
2. People that were anointed by men (either as directed by God or not) and the results thereof.