In Judaism, God has many names, and some are considered so holy that they should not be erased. These names include יהוה (YHWH), אֲדֹנָי (Adonai), אֵל (El, transl. God), אֱלֹהִים (Elohim, transl. God, a plural noun), אֵל שַׁדַּי (El Shaddai, transl. God Almighty), שַׁדַּי (Shaddai, transl. Almighty), יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת (Adonai Tzevaoth, transl. Lord of Hosts), and צְבָאֽוֹת (Tzevaoth, transl. . It is common Jewish practice to restrict the use of the names of God to a liturgical context. In casual conversation, some Jews, even when not speaking Hebrew, will call God HaShem (השם), which is Hebrew for "the Name". When written, it is often abbreviated to ה׳. Likewise, when quoting from the Tanakh or prayers, some pious Jews will replace Adonai with HaShem. The name Yahweh, which represents the biblical pronunciation of "YHWH," is the name for the God of the Israelites. However, after the Babylonian Exile, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. As Judaism became a universal rather than merely a local religion, the more common Hebrew noun Elohim, meaning "God," tended to replace Yahweh to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israel’s God over all others. At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered.