# Why the spelling restrictions with the word "god"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334 "2008-12-09T00:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/1 "2008-12-09T00:51:34Z")
This is a series of little questions but here goes: Why is “god” capitalized? Isnt it a title, rather than his name? Isnt his name YHWH? Is the reason for the above the same reason why people capitalize “Him”, “His”, and “He”? Did he ever tell people to capitalize the word, or is it just something people have come to do as a sign of respect? I can only read english, so I only know that in the bible, “Lord” is capitalized. Did the original bible even have capitalization rules? Why are some people reluctant to write “YHWH” or “Yahweh”? If its his name, and you’re referring to him, it seems simple logic that you spell it out. Is that disrepectful? How about if you say “The great super fantastic all divine Yahweh the exalted”? I noticed that some people say “g-d”. Why is this done? Somebody once told me that you’re not supposed to erase the word “god” once you have written it, and that it applies to electronic mediums too. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/2 "2008-12-09T01:07:44Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I noticed that some people say “g-d”. Why is this done? > > Somebody once told me that you’re not supposed to erase the word “god” once you have written it, and that it applies to electronic mediums too. Is that true? Generally it’s Orthodox and Conservative Jews doing that - in Judaism, you’re not supposed to write out the full word “god” in a permanent form, on the chance that it could be treated with disrespect and/or destroyed, even accidentally. This is interpretation of a passage in Deuteronomy, when the Israelites were commanded to destroy all the idols and representations of the other gods. According to [this](http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm) site, the prohibitions against typing the word are falling out of style, unless it’s a document intended to be printed (and thus rendered permanent). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/3 "2008-12-09T01:35:30Z")
God - The only one that is a proper noun, because he’s one of a kind. god - Any of the deities of a different religion. They all belong to the same group so it’s a common noun. That was from the minister at school. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/4 "2008-12-09T01:48:35Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > God - The only one that is a proper noun, because he’s one of a kind. > > god - Any of the deities of a different religion. They all belong to the same group so it’s a common noun. > > That was from the minister at school. This is very much on target. Compare usual American English: the Lions Club, the Board of Selectmen, and the high school debate club all have presidents, but the President is the guy in the White House in Washington. All religions have gods, but ours, being the One True Faith, worships God Himself. (Not witnessing but giving the frame of mind behind the usage.) Pronouns are capitalized by many if not most believers referring to God as a mark of respect for Him – and also for clarity: “The convert was told that to avoid sin, he should obey His commandments and walk in His ways.” The capitals quickly disambiguate a sentence full of pronouns. Translations that do not use YHWH, Yahweh, or Jehovah for the Four-Letter Name render it as “the LORD” or occasionally “GOD” or “the Lord GOD” (sometimes typeset as initial cap. and small caps. following) – clarifying that it renders YHWH rather than Elohim (God) or Adonai (Lord), two of His descriptives. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/5 "2008-12-09T01:51:00Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Why is “god” capitalized? Isnt it a title, rather than his name? Isnt his name YHWH? No, God is his name, just like George. A god is different from _the_ God. Just depends who you’re referring to. A flower is different from my aunt Flower. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/6 "2008-12-09T02:17:53Z")
It is a rule. It is easier for readers if writers follow the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/7 "2008-12-09T02:31:35Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > It is a rule. It is easier for readers if writers follow the rules. it’s an asinine rule, and a bigoted one at that. The Christian god HAS a proper name, and using the capitalized version of the word is nothing more than a subtle religious propaganda tactic. Just because we’ve done something for a while doesn’t make it correct, rules are meant to be revised. Acid-Who doesn’t believe in any God, god, gods, or other permutations of the word. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/8 "2008-12-09T02:41:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Did the original bible even have capitalization rules? I don’t think Hebrew has capital and lower-case letters, no. There are different ways to gramatically express the distinction expressed in English as “god” vs. “God”. In Hebrew _el_ means “god”; Hebrew sometimes uses a plural form as an intensifier, so _elohim_, the plural of _el_, which in other contexts would be rendered as “gods”, can also be the equivalent of the English “God”. (This use of the plural form as a kind of “upper case” can also be found in the Behemoth mentioned in the Book of Job; _behemoth_ is the plural of _behemah_, or “beast”; but from the context it seems clear a singular rather Godzilla-esque beast is intended: “the Beast” or “Beast”, not “beasts”.) In Arabic, _ilah_ is “god”; _al-ilah_–“god” plus the definite article, i.e., “the God”–or _Allah_ expresses the concept of the English God-with-a-capital-“G”. Idiomatically, “the God” sounds reasonably natural in English; the Hebrew usage of (literally) “Gods” sounds kind of weird, but Hebrew and English are very different languages from entirely different language families. (Although actually Hebrew and Arabic are pretty closely related; _el_ and _ilah_ come from the same root.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/9 "2008-12-09T03:12:52Z")
> [@](#): > > This is very much on target. Compare usual American English: the Lions Club, the Board of Selectmen, and the high school debate club all have presidents, but the President is the guy in the White House in Washington. All religions have gods, but ours, being the One True Faith, worships God Himself. (Not witnessing but giving the frame of mind behind the usage.) Compare also, say, “moon”. The Moon orbits the Earth once a month, but Jupiter has dozens of moons. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/10 "2008-12-09T05:10:42Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > I don’t think Hebrew has capital and lower-case letters, no. There are different ways to gramatically express the distinction expressed in English as “god” vs. “God”. In Hebrew _el_ means “god”; Hebrew sometimes uses a plural form as an intensifier, so _elohim_, the plural of _el_, which in other contexts would be rendered as “gods”, can also be the equivalent of the English “God”. (This use of the plural form as a kind of “upper case” can also be found in the Behemoth mentioned in the Book of Job; _behemoth_ is the plural of _behemah_, or “beast”; but from the context it seems clear a singular rather Godzilla-esque beast is intended: “the Beast” or “Beast”, not “beasts”.) In Arabic, _ilah_ is “god”; _al-ilah_–“god” plus the definite article, i.e., “the God”–or _Allah_ expresses the concept of the English God-with-a-capital-“G”. Idiomatically, “the God” sounds reasonably natural in English; the Hebrew usage of (literally) “Gods” sounds kind of weird, but Hebrew and English are very different languages from entirely different language families. (Although actually Hebrew and Arabic are pretty closely related; _el_ and _ilah_ come from the same root.) Neither Hebrew nor Aramaic has letter cases. I think, though I’m not certain, that the upper/lower case distinction is a relatively recent development in written languages - which makes some sense, that as the ability to both print and read became more and more common, the importance of the meaning of words being more visually self-evident would likewise increase. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/11 "2008-12-09T05:37:51Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Acid-Who doesn’t believe in any God, god, gods, or other permutations of the word. I don’t believe in the Easter Bunny, but I still capitalize the final word. There’s nothing bigoted here, it’s simply a convention. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/12 "2008-12-09T13:47:37Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I don’t believe in the Easter Bunny, but I still capitalize the final word. There’s nothing bigoted here, it’s simply a convention. The Easter Bunny doesn’t have a proper name, his descriptor IS his proper name. The Christian deity has a proper name, and there is no reason to use that spelling quirk other than to take a snide poke at other faiths. The use of Him, His, etc is even more obnoxious and less justifiable grammatically. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/13 "2008-12-09T15:20:37Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > I don’t think Hebrew has capital and lower-case letters, no. There are different ways to gramatically express the distinction expressed in English as “god” vs. “God”. In Hebrew _el_ means “god”; Hebrew sometimes uses a plural form as an intensifier, so _elohim_, the plural of _el_, which in other contexts would be rendered as “gods”, can also be the equivalent of the English “God”. (This use of the plural form as a kind of “upper case” can also be found in the Behemoth mentioned in the Book of Job; _behemoth_ is the plural of _behemah_, or “beast”; but from the context it seems clear a singular rather Godzilla-esque beast is intended: “the Beast” or “Beast”, not “beasts”.) In Arabic, _ilah_ is “god”; _al-ilah_–“god” plus the definite article, i.e., “the God”–or _Allah_ expresses the concept of the English God-with-a-capital-“G”. Idiomatically, “the God” sounds reasonably natural in English; the Hebrew usage of (literally) “Gods” sounds kind of weird, but Hebrew and English are very different languages from entirely different language families. (Although actually Hebrew and Arabic are pretty closely related; _el_ and _ilah_ come from the same root.) An excellent analysis. However, a small correction - the plural of \*el \*is _elim_. _Elohim_ is, I believe, the plural of _eloha_, a more obscure term for God. The theory I’ve heard is that the additional letters (VH) are supposed to represent the YHVH, marking God as the Hebrew god. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/14 "2008-12-09T18:25:52Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > it’s an asinine rule, and a bigoted one at that. The Christian god HAS a proper name, and using the capitalized version of the word is nothing more than a subtle religious propaganda tactic. Just because we’ve done something for a while doesn’t make it correct, rules are meant to be revised. > > Acid-Who doesn’t believe in any God, god, gods, or other permutations of the word. No, it’s not asinine; it’s perfectly consistent with English usage, where we capitalize titles refering to specific people (like Christ or Buddha or Batman). You’d be more justified to protest the capitalizations of pronouns refering to God; but that has largely fallen out of fashion anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/15 "2008-12-09T18:37:24Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Why is “god” capitalized? Isnt it a title, rather than his name? Isnt his name YHWH? > > Is the reason for the above the same reason why people capitalize “Him”, “His”, and “He”? > > Did he ever tell people to capitalize the word, or is it just something people have come to do as a sign of respect? I can only read english, so I only know that in the bible, “Lord” is capitalized. Did the original bible even have capitalization rules? If by “the original Bible” you mean the original Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) texts, then my understanding is that it did not. In fact, the Hebrew was written without vowels, which is why “YHWH” is used for God (and we can only guess at how it was pronounced). By the way, a “bible” is simply a book. When referring to _the_ Bible, meaning the Jewish or Christian scriptures, it’s commonly capitalized, as being the title of that specific volume. You may want to read the Wikipedia article: [Names of God in Judaism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_god_in_judaism) ---
**Author:** ![schindler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@schindler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schindler)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/16 "2008-12-09T18:46:32Z")
I can’t speak for Christian practice, but as for Conservative and Orthodox Jews, well, GOD or God functions as a proper noun, but is treated in Jewish Law (which includes prohibitions against erasing the name of God) as a Kinuy, which means “nickname”. It is a description (the hebrew word, Adonai, means something along the lines of “my Lord”, with lord pluralized for the sake of exaltation) of the deity who goes by the name of YHWH, which may not be pronounced under any circumstances and may only be written under certain circumstances. almost no circumstances allow destruction of a scroll with that name on it. Kinuyim, though they are quite a step down from the actual name, are also treated with considerable respect, and are not pronounced in vain or written lightly. God and LORD, in an English translation, are translations that usually correspond to Elohim and YHWH, but neither is a name, and both serve as descriptions, and translated ones at that, and in the latter case, badly translated ones at that. The Eternal is also a fairly common translation of YHWH, which is probably a better one because the name shares a hebrew root with verbs that mean “to exist” (the same root as the “am” in “I am that I am, which is more accurately rendered I continue to be that which I continue to be”). Translations of God’s nicknames, thus, are treated with a modicum of respect, though it is deemed unnecessary by most to hyphenate G-D. It has everything to do with respect for the deity and his name, the Tetragrammaton, which is not to be uttered, and nothing at all to do with bashing other deities or religions. They simply do not factor into the legal rulings concerning Hebrew (and later, translated) writing and pronouncing of the names and kinuyim of God. As for capitalizing God vs. writing gods, well, a similar distinction manifests itself in Jewish law. I cannot vocalize “Elohim” when referring to God out of the context of prayer or Torah study. Were I to find myself needing to refer to Elohim, I would pronounce it “elokim”. however, if i were referring to pagan deities, I would say elohim (plural, not referring as the other Elohim does to one single being) because it is simply a word, not a name or ‘nickname’. hope that was somewhat helpful. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/17 "2008-12-09T20:32:09Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > The Easter Bunny doesn’t have a proper name, his descriptor IS his proper name. The Christian deity has a proper name, and there is no reason to use that spelling quirk other than to take a snide poke at other faiths. The use of Him, His, etc is even more obnoxious and less justifiable grammatically. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalization) does a decent job of explaining it: > [@](#): > > The names of gods are capitalized, including Allah, Vishnu, and God. The word god is generally not capitalized if it is used to refer to the generic idea of a deity, nor is it capitalized when it refers to multiple gods, e.g., Roman gods. There may be some confusion because the Judeo-Christian god is rarely referred to by a specific name, but simply as God (see Writing divine names). Other names for the Judeo-Christian god, such as Elohim, Yahweh and Lord, are also capitalized. Makes sense to me. From where I sit, the only snide poke would be insisting on a non-capitalized use of “god” or “bible” when referring to the Christian God or Bible. It seems to me a juvenile gesture, on a par with George Bush’s intentional mispronunciation of “Saddam.” RR ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/18 "2008-12-09T20:44:00Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > This is a series of little questions but here goes: > > Why is “god” capitalized? Isnt it a title, rather than his name? Isnt his name YHWH? > > Did he ever tell people to capitalize the word, or is it just something people have come to do as a sign of respect? It’s a show of respect and to differentiate between God and other gods. God is a unique term referring to the Creator, and not to be confused with the word god used for Zeus. > [@](#): > > I can only read english, so I only know that in the bible, “Lord” is capitalized. Did the original bible even have capitalization rules? In the OT The Word LORD is used in many English translations (Cap L, Cap but smaller font ‘ORD’) For YHWH, while ‘Lord’ is used for the term for ‘Lord’ ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/19 "2008-12-09T20:45:41Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > it’s an asinine rule, and a bigoted one at that. I would caution you that the path you’re on leads to the madness of spelling reform. Better you should write correctly so the reader can quickly understand your meaning. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334/20 "2008-12-09T20:51:46Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > God - The only one that is a proper noun, because he’s one of a kind. > > god - Any of the deities of a different religion. They all belong to the same group so it’s a common noun. > > That was from the minister at school. As a pagan, I struggle with this. 😉 Not that you’re wrong, you’re quite right. I mean that I struggle with my own usage of God(s), god(s), Goddess(es) and goddess(es). I do find it insulting that only one god gets the capital letter, yet I understand that it’s common practice and why. Generally, I personally use lower case if I’m speaking of them in a literary or mythic sense, and upper case if I’m speaking of Them devotionally or personally. But I won’t even claim to be consistent on that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-spelling-restrictions-with-the-word-god/476334.md?page=2)