Names of God in Lech Lecha

FOCUS: What's in a name? How do names impact the way we see ourselves and the way we see our world? How do names impact our relationships?

בראשית י״ד:כ׳

(כ) וּבָרוּךְ֙ אֵ֣ל עֶלְי֔וֹן אֲשֶׁר־מִגֵּ֥ן צָרֶ֖יךָ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וַיִּתֶּן־ל֥וֹ מַעֲשֵׂ֖ר מִכֹּֽל׃

Genesis 14:20

(20) And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your foes into your hand.”
And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything.

In noun elyon, from the root AYIN-LAMED-HAY (ascend) expresses absolute transcendence.
-Etz Hayim Commentary p81

בראשית ט״ו:ז׳

(ז) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑יו אֲנִ֣י יהוה אֲשֶׁ֤ר הוֹצֵאתִ֙יךָ֙ מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים לָ֧תֶת לְךָ֛ אֶת־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃

Genesis 15:7

(7) Then He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.”

“…in truth [these four letters] are unutterable. Not because of the holiness they evoke, but because they are all vowels and you cannot pronounce all the vowels at once without risking respiratory injury. The word is the sound of breathing. The holiest name in the world, the Name of the Creator, is the sound of your own breathing...that these letters are unpronounceable is no accident.”
-Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

בראשית ט״ז:י״ג

(יג) וַתִּקְרָ֤א שֵׁם־יהוה הַדֹּבֵ֣ר אֵלֶ֔יהָ אַתָּ֖האֵ֣ל רֳאִ֑י כִּ֣י אָֽמְרָ֗ה הֲגַ֥ם הֲלֹ֛ם רָאִ֖יתִי אַחֲרֵ֥י רֹאִֽי׃

Genesis 16:13

(13) And she called the LORD who spoke to her, “You Are El-roi,” by which she meant, “Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!”^-d

רש"י על בראשית ט״ז:י״ג:א׳

אתה אל ראי. נָקוּד חֲטַף קָמָץ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא שֵׁם דָּבָר, אֱלוֹהַּ הָרְאִיָּה, שֶׁרוֹאֶה בְעֶלְבּוֹן שֶׁל עֲלוּבִין:

Rashi on Genesis 16:13:1

אתה אל ראיTHOU ART A GOD OF SEEING — The word is punctuated with a Chataph Kametz because it is a noun, and the meaning is “a God of seeing” — One who sees the humiliation to which people are subjected by others (Genesis Rabbah 45:10)

בראשית י״ז:א׳

(א) וַיְהִ֣י אַבְרָ֔ם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְתֵ֣שַׁע שָׁנִ֑ים וַיֵּרָ֨א יהוה אֶל־אַבְרָ֗ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ אֲנִי־אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י וֶהְיֵ֥ה תָמִֽים׃

Genesis 17:1

(1) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless.

אבן עזרא על בראשית י״ז:א׳:א׳

אל שדי. שם התואר וטעמו תקיף וכן כקול שדי. והיה שדי בצריך כי טעמו כטעם ושית על עפר בצר. ושדי על משקל לבי דוי. ורבים פירשוהו מגזרת שודד. שהוא מנצח והתגבר. וטעם להזכיר השם הזה בפרשה הזאת לירא אברהם וימול. והנכון כי השם הנכבד והנורא נקרא כנגדו. וזה שם התאר כנגד המעשה כי העולם עומד על אלה שני השמות. והמבין סוד השם יאמין:

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 17:1:1

GOD ALMIGHTY. Shaddai is an adjective meaning mighty. Shaddai in like a mighty voice (ke-kol shaddai) (Ezek. 1:24) is similar. Also, Shaddai in And mighty will be thy silver (shaddai betzarekha) (Job 22:25) is similar because the word betzarekha (thy silver) has the same meaning as the word betzer (silver) in And lay thy treasure (or silver) (betzer) in the dust (Job 22:24). The word Shaddai follows the paradigm of davvai (faint), in And my heart is faint (davvai) (Lam. 1:22). Many derive Shaddai from the same root as shoded (overpowering), meaning, He is victorious and overpowering. The reason God used this name at this time was to impress upon Abraham the fear of God so that he would circumcise himself. The correct interpretation of the divine names is as follows: Shaddai is an adjective describing God’s power over creation. The Tetragrammaton, God’s revered and awesome name, stands in contrast to it. The world exists by virtue of these two names. Whoever understands the secret of God’s name will accept my interpretation.

In one parasha, we have four different names of God. It seems as though Abrah(am) is not the only one on a journey in these chapters. God is also on a trek to discover and uncover various parts of God's identity. Throughout early Genesis, we think we are reading the story of people growing, learning and exploring - but we are also seeing that of God.
How might this idea of God's change and development impact our theology and faith? How might it impact our own self exploration?