The phrase “LORD your God” in Hebrew includes two of the primary names for God: the personal name Yahweh, and a form of ’Elohim, the generic name that means “God.”
LORD your God (Yahweh Eloheikha) in the Hebrew text of Exodus 20:2
Hebrew Words for the LORD your God:
Yahweh ’Eloheikha (“your” is a singular word)
Strong’s Concordance numbers: 3068, 430
Bible references: Ex. 20:2, 5, 7, 10, 12
These verses are all part of the Ten Commandments. God was speaking to the newly formed nation of Israel as a collective unit and perhaps addressing the law to each individual too. In these examples, “your” is a singular word in the Hebrew.
Then God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me. but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
(Exodus 20:1-7)
A slightly different form of this name of God includes the word “your” as a plural Hebrew word. The Bible verses that include this name seem to emphasize that the people relate to God as a nation, not just as individuals.
Yahweh ’Eloheikhem (“your” is a plural word)
Strong’s Concordance numbers: 3068, 430
Bible references: Lev. 19:3 and elsewhere.
Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:3)
