Why are there two different names for God?

Genesis chapter 1 refers to God exclusively as Elohim: "In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) From Genesis 2:4 onward, the text uses the compound name Yehovah-Elohim: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yehovah Elohim made the earth and the heavens." (Genesis 2:4) Does this difference in names suggest two gods, or two authors with separate creation accounts?

One God, No Other
First, we need to emphasize that the Scripture is unified in its teaching that there is only one God who exists. The Bible says:

"“Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!"
Deuteronomy 6:4 (ts2009 Bible)

“You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is none. Isaiah 43:10 (ts2009 Bible)

“Thus said יהוה, Sovereign of Yisra’ĕl, and his Redeemer, יהוה of hosts, ‘I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim/God Isaiah 44:6 (ts2009 Bible)

Understand that there’s just one Yehovah God, and there’s just one mediator between God and men… a man, the Messiah-Anointed Yeshua.
1 Timothy 2:5

The Bible teaches that only one Elohim-God has real substance—no other gods exist. If the Torah says only one Elohim-God exists, why are two different names used in the first two chapters of Genesis?

Different Significance
The answer to this often-asked question is straightforward. The Bible uses two separate names for Elohim-God in the first two chapters of Genesis to describe different characteristics of the one Elohim-God. Understanding the reason for the different names requires examining the significance the author intends. In the Tanakh, two main words for God are used: Elohim and YHVH/Yehovah. Let’s explore the distinction.

General Name
Elohim is the general name for God, also the name of the family of God, and is used in the context of God as creator. It emphasizes that God is distant and powerful. It is used to describe God as the awesome and majestic creator. In our English Bibles, Elohim is translated as God.

Personal Name
YHVH/Yehovah (the LORD) is God's personal name and is used in the context of God having a relationship with His people. When God goes about creating humanity, it is YHVH who does this act. When the Adonai/Lord is personally involved with His people, YHVH is the proper way to designate Him. In our English Bibles, YHVH/Yehovah is translated as the LORD with all capital letters.

Avoid Confusion
There is another Hebrew term in the Tanakh/Hebrew Scriptures, Adonai, which means my Lord or master. It is also translated as Lord in our English Bible, but not with all capital letters. Therefore, when we see LORD, that is YHVH or the divine name for God. When we read Lord, this is Adonai, or master. It is easy to see how these two terms can become confused.

Rest Of Scripture
This distinction in the divine names continues throughout the rest of Scripture. The use of different names consistently reflects different emphases on God's character and His interactions with humanity. Whenever the writer chooses to use either Elohim or Yehovah, the context explains the purpose behind the choice.

Summary
In summary, the Scriptures clearly teach that only one Elohim-God exists, even though this one God is described by different names throughout Scripture. These different names reflect different attributes of His character. Therefore, we should not assume any contradiction between the creation accounts in Genesis chapters one and two merely because two different names for God are employed.

By Rabbi HaTzair Francisco Arbas