Shaddai

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Pronunciations

Shaddai (shah-DYE) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A name for God.

Example Sentences

  • "Popularized in the English-speaking world by the eponymous Amy Grant song, El Shaddai appears in the Bible seven times, or as just Shaddai an additional forty-one times." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • שַׁדַּי

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      Shadai, Shadday, Shaday, Shaddei, Shadei

Notes

  • Also known as El Shaddai.

    "The three letters that form the word Shaddai—shin, dalet, yud—are a synonym for God. The word Shaddai appears on the parchment that is placed inside a mezuzah case. Sometimes, mezuzot are designed with openings that allow the word to be visible. Other times, the letter shin appears on the outside of the case. When laying tefillin, the word Shaddai is formed by the retzuot." (JPS)

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