Search for how many names for God appear in the Bible, and you’ll be amazed at what you find. While there are hundreds of names for God—some used over a hundred times—one name is only used once: El Roi. It was a name given to God by an unlikely source.
But what does it mean? What were the circumstances in which it was said?
What Does the Name El Roi Mean?
El is the root of the Hebrew word “God.” According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, when you add el to the word ro’i (derived from ra’ah, which means “to see” or “that seeth”), the two words mean “the God who sees—personally ‘the God who sees me.’”
It may seem obvious that the God who created the universe and everything in it, who is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, would certainly “see” us. However, we can see some depth in this story when we see who says it.
Who Calls God El Roi in the Bible?
We find the name El Roi amid the dysfunctional family story of Abraham. In the book of Genesis, God chose a man named Abram (later changed his name to Abraham) and told him to “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
God promised that He would make Abram into a great nation, make his name great, and bless all the people of the earth through his lineage—all for God’s glory. As time passed, Abram and his wife Sarai (whom God would later change to Sarah) became concerned that they would need to have children if he was indeed going to have a family line. The problem was that they were getting past Sarai’s child-bearing age and still didn’t have a son.
Sarai second-guessed God and thought that maybe they could have a child through her maidservant Hagar. Based on some similar choices that Rachel and Leah make with their maidservants Bilhah and Zilpah, this seems to be a common practice in Ancient Near Eastern cultures: the maidservant’s child is officially treated like the wife’s child, continuing the family line.
So Abram obliged (without asking God,) and Hagar conceived. Once she realized that she had a life growing in her, she became difficult with Sarai. Rather than being contrite and recognizing her mistake when she didn’t seek God’s face before making this life-altering decision, Sarai told Abram she was suffering because of Hagar’s treatment of her. Abram said to do whatever Sarai wished with her. Abram’s first mistake was listening to Sarai and not God. We don’t see any reference to him asking God’s advice in this situation, either. His second mistake created new problems. Sarai mistreated Hagar, causing Hagar to run away.
When Does Hagar Call God El Roi?
Even though the child she was carrying would not be the one through whom generations would be blessed, God showed His love to Hagar. Her son was a beloved child that God would use in an important way. In His compassion, he sent an angel who “found Hagar near a spring in the desert . . . And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:7-8)
She responded that she was running away from her mistress, Sarai. The angel told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added a promise from God, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.” (Genesis 16:9-10)
The angel then told her that she would have a son named Ishmael and “he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12). Rather than being upset by this alarming news, Hagar thanked God. She gives God a name: “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me, for she said ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Why Is It Important that Hagar Calls God El Roi?
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, Hagar was the first woman who was not part of God’s covenant—a true outsider—that God addressed directly. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Yahweh called out to her. He wanted her to know that she was still part of God’s plan even though Sarai and Abraham treated her poorly.
She calls him El Roi because she feels very “unseen.” She had been used as a pawn in Sarai’s scheme to have a baby outside of God’s plan. She had to sleep with a man that she likely did not want, and then she was treated poorly by her mistress. She thought she could run away and disappear with her problems. But God wanted her to know that there was nowhere she could run where He was not with her . . . fully aware of her pain and problems. Calling Him El Roi meant that this was the most important aspect of divine nature to her at the time.
El Roi means “he sees,” but it was more than that. The meaning has more to do with being acknowledged, loved, and valued than being seen with the eyes. When someone says, “I see you,” they imply that you have worth and purpose and are not alone, no matter what you are going through.
How Did Jesus Act as El Roi When He Was On Earth?
Jesus had so many special encounters with people who were “unseen” that He only came to make people understand the Father as El Roi. Whether He was healing, forgiving sin, or encouraging more faith, He was seeing people and making them feel seen—not forgotten, worthless, or shameful. There are so many examples:
- Zacchaeus, the tax collector who cheated his own people, whom He called out of a tree, telling him that He wanted to dine with him (Luke 19:1-10).
- The woman who had been bent over for 18 years, rejected as having been crippled by a spirit—Jesus called out to her and healed her (Luke 13:11-12).
- The woman with the “issue of blood” for 12 years was definitely not seen by others. She was ceremonially unclean and couldn’t be around others. Jesus healed her without seeing her as she touched the hem of his garment. But He wanted to see and acknowledge her and indicate that her shame had been removed (Luke 8:43-48).
- The demoniac that Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee to show that He was “seeing” him and that He had the power over all spirits.
- The woman at the well didn’t want to be seen by others because of her sin, but Jesus met so that He could tell her he saw her and was her Messiah.
- And many other stories of lepers, prostitutes, the blind man, etc.
How Does God Act as El Roi In Our Lives Today?
In her article “Praying the Names of God,” Ann Spangler said, “Hagar's God is the One who numbers the hairs on our heads and who knows our circumstances, past, present, and future. When you pray to El Roi, you are praying to the one who knows everything about you.”
God acts as El Roi in our lives today as He did with Hagar. His word shows us that He sees and knows everything about us. Psalm 139 says it well when it reads, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…” (Psalm 139:2). Having a relationship with the One who wants to know us better than anyone, seeing all of the good and the bad about us, tells us we have real value. And because El Roi is the one who holds all power in His hands, we are never without hope and certainly never alone.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Vladi333
Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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