Core guide
What Are the 72 Names of God?
The 72 Names of God are 72 three-letter Hebrew sequences traditionally derived from Exodus 14:19–21 through a later Jewish mystical method. The verses are biblical; the 72-triplet construction and its later interpretations developed afterward.
Definition
What are the 72 Names in simple terms?
They are 72 three-letter Hebrew sequences, or triplets, traditionally derived from three consecutive verses in Exodus 14. The biblical verses are the textual base; the arranged list of 72 triplets belongs to later Jewish mystical interpretation.
Each triplet contains three Hebrew letters. The sequence begins with והו and continues through 72 units.
Where do the 72 Names come from?
The source verses are Exodus 14:19, 14:20 and 14:21, in the narrative of the crossing of the sea. Medieval Jewish commentators such as Rashi and Rabbeinu Bahya explicitly describe the three verses as having 72 letters each and explain how the triplets are extracted.
The second verse is reversed between the first and third, producing a boustrophedon-like arrangement: first row forward, second row reverse, third row forward.
Why are they called “Names”?
In the later Jewish mystical tradition, the resulting three-letter units are treated as divine names or components of a 72-part divine Name. “Name” here does not mean an ordinary personal name or a dictionary word.
What is ancient, and what came later?
The Exodus verses are biblical. The extraction method is documented in later Jewish commentary. The 72-angels system belongs to later Western esoteric development. The Ava Lux titles and meditations are contemporary.
Exodus 14:19–21.
The 72-triplet derivation and interpretation.
Later angelic and occult correspondences.
Contemporary focus titles and meditations.
How are the Names used today?
Contemporary practices vary. On this site, the practice used in this edition combines visual attention to the Hebrew letters, breath and a specific meditation theme, while keeping that modern practice clearly separate from historical claims.
You can explore the complete list, choose a Name by contemporary focus, or move through the sequence from 1 to 72.
Quick answers
Direct answers.
Are the 72 Names of God actually written as a list in Exodus?
No. Exodus 14:19–21 supplies the three source verses. The list of 72 triplets comes from a later interpretive method applied to those verses.
Are the 72 Names the same as the Tetragrammaton?
No. The Tetragrammaton is the four-letter divine name יהוה. The 72 triplets are a different construction, although later terminology around divine Names can overlap.
Do the individual triplets have literal meanings such as healing or prosperity?
Not as dictionary translations. On this site those themes are labeled as contemporary focuses by Ava Lux.
Where can I see all 72?
The Complete List shows all 72 triplets in order with their letter names and contemporary focus.
Sources used on this page
Trace the claim.
- Exodus 14:19–21 — Sefaria / JPS ↗
Biblical source text for the three verses used in the later 72-triplet derivation.
- Rashi on Sukkah 45a:2 ↗
Medieval commentary explicitly describing 72 names embedded in the three 72-letter verses and the first/reversed-middle/last extraction pattern.
- Rabbeinu Bahya on Exodus 14:21 ↗
Medieval commentary stating that the three verses contain 72 letters each and explaining the forward/reverse/forward arrangement into three-letter units.
- Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed I.61 ↗
Important evidence that Shem ha-Meforash can specifically denote the four-letter Tetragrammaton.
- Jewish Encyclopedia — “Shem Ha-Meforash” ↗
Historical overview of the term and its changing use for divine names of different letter counts.