Elokhim Gibor (אלהים גבור) — the divine name assigned to Geburah, the fifth Sephirah on the Tree of Life. The literal rendering is “God the Strong” or “Mighty God,” a direct invocation of severity, judgment, and martial power. The plural form Elohim (אלהים) connotes the full array of divine forces acting in judgment, while Gibor (גבור) intensifies this with the sense of heroism, strength, and even warfare. In the Qabalistic schema of Assiah—the World of Action, the lowest of the Four Worlds—this name governs the harshest, most purgative expressions of divine will.

Position on the Tree of Life

Elokhim Gibor occupies the fifth Sephirah, Geburah (גבורה), whose name itself means “strength” or “severity.” Geburah stands at the left pillar of the Tree, opposite Chesed (Mercy), and together they form the moral axis of divine judgment and kindness. As the God-name of Geburah in Assiah, Elokhim Gibor operates at the most material level of that Sephirah’s influence—where pure force is manifested in physical events, wars, executions, and the breaking of forms. The path connecting Binah (Understanding) to Geburah—numbered 27 in the Thirty-Two Paths—is also attributed to this same name, underlining its role as a bridge between transcendent structure (Binah) and immanent judgment (Geburah).

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Geburah is the sphere of Mars—the planet of aggression, fire, and cutting action. Elokhim Gibor therefore directly channels Mars-energy into the material world. The name’s consonants evoke sharp, percussive sounds, and its meaning aligns with the astrological glyph for Mars: the spear and shield of the god of war. Mutable, transformative, and unyielding, this name is called upon in rituals requiring protection against enemies, the destruction of obstacles, or the imposition of rigorous discipline. In planetary magic, it is the name that binds the red ray to the operations of the Lesser Key or the Pentacles of Mars.

Historical context

Elokhim Gibor appears in the Hebrew Bible predominantly in contexts of divine judgment and military strength. Deuteronomy 10:17 proclaims YHWH as “the great God, the mighty (הגבור), and the awesome.” Isaiah 9:6 famously names the messianic child “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (אל גבור),” but in the Qabalistic tradition, this epithet is detached from Messianism and fixed to the fifth Sephirah. The Zohar (II, 175b) describes Elokhim Gibor as the “left hand of the Holy One,” which punishes the wicked and purifies the souls of the righteous through suffering. In the Bahir, the name is linked to the fifth Sefirah as the power that “chastises the children of men.” Moshe Cordovero, in Pardes Rimonim, systematized the attribution: each Sephirah receives a God-name in each of the Four Worlds, and for Geburah in Assiah he fixed Elokhim Gibor, distinguishing it from the milder Elokhim of the Yesod path. Later Hermetic Qabalists, particularly in the Golden Dawn, adopted this exact attribution for the Geburah position on the Tree of Life. They associated it with the fifth Pentacle of Mars in the Key of Solomon, and with the Conjuration of the Fifth in their grade ceremonies. MacGregor Mathers, in The Kabbalah Unveiled, translates it as “God the Strong and the Powerful,” and notes its use in evocations for attaining victory and vengeance. Aleister Crowley, in Liber 777, preserves the traditional assignment in Column V (God-Names in Assiah) but also emphasizes, in his commentary, that this name represents the “violent aspect of the Elohim,” which must be balanced by the mercy of the El name on Chesed to avoid cosmic imbalance.

Position in Liber 777

In the table of Liber 777, Elokhim Gibor appears as the God-name for Geburah in the World of Assiah (Table V, step 5). It is flanked by El (Chesed) and Yehovah Eloah va-Daath (Tiphereth), forming the triad of judgment, equilibrium, and mercy. This entry falls under the overarching category of God-Names in Assiah, but the singular focus is this name—the one that binds the red sphere of Geburah to the material world, where its force may be wielded with precision and fear.