[3], Elohim occupy the seventh rank of ten in the famous medieval Rabbinic scholar Maimonides' Jewish angelic hierarchy. I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High. This was the Bible, not Greek mythology. 24:16; Pss. 7:23; Ps. Smith said that the ambiguity of the term Elohim is the result of such changes, cast in terms of "vertical translatability" by Smith (2008); i.e. [4] A different version was produced by Morton Smith. The psalm refers to Yahwehs administration as a council. K. van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst (eds), Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible, , The Biblical Repositor p. 360 ed. 29:25). It has nothing to do with a specific set of attributes. [6] If she is correct, then the lack of distinction between Elohim and Jehovah evident in the Old Testament as it stands today is a deviation from an earlier tradition which matches with modern LDS usage. Psalm 82 is perhaps the clearestand perhaps the most startling. The witch of Endor told Saul that she saw "gods" (elohim) ascending (olim , plural verb) out of the earth. Marti Steussy, in Chalice Introduction to the Old Testament, discusses: The first verse of Psalm 82: Elohim has taken his place in the divine council. Here elohim has a singular verb and clearly refers to God. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Discussions of the etymology of elohim essentially concern this expansion. were being jews nazi germany where jewish memory holocaust kingdom lost he down seek yisrael bible there faith both around However, in Abraham 4 (which was likely based on a different textual tradition) the term "gods" plural is used throughout the creation account. The word Elohim occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible, with meanings ranging from "god" in a general sense (as in Exodus 12:12, where it describes "the gods of Egypt"), to a specific god (e.g., 1 Kings 11:33, where it describes Chemosh "the god of Moab", or the frequent references to Yahweh (Jehovah) as the "elohim" of Israel), to demons, seraphim, and other supernatural beings, to the spirits of the dead brought up at the behest of King Saul in 1 Samuel 28:13, and even to kings and prophets (e.g., Exodus 4:16). ), which is constructed with the plural adjective, Elohim Hayiym but still takes singular verbs. The elite staffing of the kings governing bureaucracy typically came from Pharaohs household. taking a plural verb or adjective) when used of pagan divinities (Psalms 96:5; 97:7). Elohim occurs frequently throughout the received texts of the Torah. [3] The phrase bene elohim, usually translated "sons of God", has an exact parallel in Ugaritic and Phoenician texts, referring to the council of the gods. Moses 2:1 follows this interpretation. [3] The related nouns eloah () and el () are used as proper names or as generics, in which case they are interchangeable with elohim.[3]. 
Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The problem is rooted in a mistaken notion of what exactly the word elohim means. We all have watershed moments in life, critical turning points where, from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same. In the Septuagint and New Testament translations Elohim has the singular even in these cases, and modern translations follow suit in giving "God" in the singular. To a biblical writer, the Most High (elyon) was the God of Israel. Id been to seminary. Theyd left no stone unturned in ferreting out parallels between the psalm and its ideas and the literature of other civilizations of the biblical worldin some cases, matching the psalms phrases word for word. El is used in many names like Bethel (house of God), Michael (who is like God), Daniel (a judge is God), and Israel (to prevail with God). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This led the King James translators to use the following tradition when translating references to God in the old Testament: It should be pointed out that in the Hebrew Old Testament as it stands today, the term Elohim was not used as the name of a separate individual. According to the documentary hypothesis these variations are the products of different source texts: Elohim is used as the name of God in the Elohist (E) and Priestly (P) sources, while the name Yahweh is used in the Jahwist source. The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible defines "elohim" as a plural of eloah, an expanded form of the common Semitic noun "'il" (l). Rather it is simply the Hebrew word used to mean the generic term god and sometimes as an adjective meaning divine. For instance, in the Ugaritic Baal cycle we read of "seventy sons of Asherah". The idea of elohim ruling the nations under Gods authority is a biblical concept that is described in some detail in The Unseen Realm. You see why the psalm threw me for a loop. What all the figures on the list have in common is that they are inhabitants of the spiritual world. But since Psalm 82 generates questions and controversy, we need to spend some time on what it teaches and what it doesnt teach, along with other passages that inform us about the divine council. My friend handed me his Hebrew Bible, open to Psalm 82. Ive indicated the Hebrew wording that caught my eye and put my heart in my throat. For now, its sufficient that you see clearly that the sons of God are divine beings under the authority of the God of Israel. Even though when we see G-o-d we think of a unique set of attributes, when a biblical writer wrote elohim, he wasnt thinking that way. fried deep bible theatre books israel jewish take torah globe holy glasgow lamb then seek priest being ancient power treasure "Chalice Introduction to the Old Testament", What does "Maccabee" mean? Humans are also not by nature disembodied. 10:20), Pauls comments follow the history of the Israelites described in Deuteronomy 32. Among the elohim he pronounces judgment:[27], In Hulsean Lectures for, H. M. Stephenson discussed Jesus argument in John 10:3436 concerning Psalm 82. Spiritual beings are spirits (1 Kgs. The Samaritan Torah has edited out some of these exceptions. [11], In Gen 20:13 Abraham, before the polytheistic Philistine king Abimelech, says that "the gods (elohim) caused (plural verb) me to wander". As I explained earlier, the word elohim is a place of residence term. This is not to say that an elohim could not interact with the human world. Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of God,ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due his name(Psalm 29:12). Faithlife Both Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon and the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon list both angels and judges as possible alternative meanings of elohim with plural verbs and adjectives. Several Old Testament passages describe this administrative structure existing in the heavenly realm, as well. But I couldnt picture him running around with other real gods, either. 7:17; 18:13; 47:2). You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. He warns believers against fellowship with demons on the basis of Israels failure in worshiping other gods. This, however, is not universally accepted as later literary scholarship seems to show evidence of a later "Elohist redaction" (post-exilic) during the 5th century BCE which sometimes makes it difficult to determine whether a given passage is "Elohist" in origin, or the result of later editor. If he were, hed never have used the term elohim to describe anything but Yahweh. bible fried deep jewish been kingdom battered fat israel answers questions babylon vs were temple torah glasgow rome ancient fad But Ill never forget how it ended. Their research brought to light other biblical passages that echoed the content of Psalm 82. But whatever the correct understanding of shedim might be, they are not pieces of wood or stone. J presents Yahweh anthropomorphically. Michael S. Heiser is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., Ancient History) and the University of Wisconsin- Madison (M.A., Ph.D., Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies). Exodus 3:4, " Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush "), it behaves like a singular noun in Hebrew grammar, and is then generally understood to denote the single God of Israel. The Greek New Testament (NT) quotes Psalm 8:4-6 in Hebrews 2:6b-8a, where the Greek NT has "" (angelos) in vs. 7,[19] quoting Ps. [16] These passages then entered first the Latin Vulgate, then the English King James Version (KJV) as "angels" and "judges", respectively. He has a dozen years of classroom teaching experience on the college level and another ten in distance education. The word elohim is a place of residence term. 6), but that is not our normal plane of existence. Likewise, The sheep are lost informs us that the status of more than one sheep is being discussed. These Akkadian figures were often cast as guardians or protective entities, though the term was also used to describe the life force of a person. Verse 6 of the psalm declares that these elohim are sons of God. Elohim, singular Eloah, (Hebrew: God), the God of Israel in the Old Testament. 9:6; cf. Everyone in the system was part of the government, but authority and status were tiered. Elohim (Hebrew: ) is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. In the ancient Near East, the term shedu was neutral; it could speak of a good or malevolent spirit being. You no doubt noticed that the word elohim occurs twice in this verse. Wilhelm Gesenius and other Hebrew grammarians traditionally described this as the pluralis excellentiae (plural of excellence), which is similar to the pluralis majestatis (plural of majesty, or "Royal we").[10]. 1:14; Rev. This human view is as flawed as the Trinitarian view. The Elohist often presents Elohim as more distant and frequently involves angels. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections. "El" (the basis for the extended root lh) is usually derived from a root meaning "to be strong" and/or "to be in front".[3]. Job 38:7; Deut. The word elohim occurs twice in this short verse. The word el (singular) is a standard term for "god" in other related Semitic languages including Ugaritic. The meaning of the verse is inescapable: the singular elohim of Israel presides over an assembly of elohim. [17] Hengstenberg stated that the Hebrew Bible text never uses elohim to refer to "angels", but that the Septuagint translators refused the references to "gods" in the verses they amended to "angels."[18]. The second elohim must be plural, since the preposition in front of it (in the midst of) requires more than one. He was species-unique among all residents of the spiritual world. Other plural-singulars in biblical Hebrew, Jacob's ladder "gods were revealed" (plural), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Other than the covenant name, Yahweh, its the most common word in the Old Testament for God. Consequently, there is no warrant for concluding that plural elohim produces a pantheon of interchangeable deities. [23] This is one of several instances where the Bible uses plural verbs with the name elohim.[24][25]. It has other flaws. Many Christians who object to the plain meaning of the Hebrew text of Psalm 82 assert that this psalm is actually describing God the Father speaking to the other members of the Trinity. For that very reason, many English translations obscure the Hebrew in this verse. 1:17). People shouldnt be protected from the Bible. [34], Further information: El (deity), Ilah, Alaha, and Allah, Further information: Names of God in Judaism. How was it possible that Id never seen that before? 24). [22], Sometimes when elohim occurs as the referent or object (i.e. Although the Old Testament as we have it today does not use the term Elohim as the name of a distinct individual from Jehovah, Margaret Barker, a non-LDS Biblical scholar has proposed that the earliest Biblical traditions differentiated between El (the Father) and Jehovah (the Son). 
Rabbinic scholar Maimonides wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be homonyms.[5]. Psalm 82 states that the gods were being condemned as corrupt in their administration of the nations of the earth. 32:17; Psa. In that realm there is hierarchy. The opposite is truethey were to be separate from other nations. Despite the -im ending common to many plural masculine nouns in Hebrew, the word when referring to the Name of God is grammatically singular, and takes a singular verb in the Hebrew Bible. I reject that idea, along with any other explanations that seek to hide the plain reading of the text. 8:5 (8:6 in the LXX), which also has "" in a version of the Greek Septuagint. 8: 5, and Ps. In the context of Deuteronomy 32:17, shedim were elohimspirit beings guarding foreign territorywho must not be worshiped. That is evident when we observe how they used the word. I soon discovered that the ground I was exploring was a place where evangelicals had feared to tread. The text is not clear whether all of the elohim are under judgment or just some. The God of Israel isnt part of a group of idols. 11:33), Angels or the Angel of Yahweh (Gen. 35:7), O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god [, For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth. Although this name is appropriate for God the Father, it is important to not retroactively apply this usage to the Old Testament (For example, see Genesis 2:9 where the term Elohim is applied to Jehovah). during the early period of the Kingdom of Judah). I immediately set to work trying to find answers. A quick read of Psalm 82 informs us that God has called this council meeting to judge the elohim for corrupt rule of the nations. The choices of words for God varies in the Hebrew Bible. In all such cases, the thinking is misguided. Copyright 2021 Corrections? The noun elohim is used with a plural verb in 1 Samuel 28:13. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. ", NET Bible with Companion CD-ROM W. Hall Harris, 3rd, none - 2003 - "35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him.30 He poured out a 20tn Heb "revealed themselves." Paul knew his Hebrew Bible and didnt deny the reality of the shedim, who are elohim. We can be confident that Yahweh stands above the elohim by once again observing what the biblical writers say about himand never say about another elohim. Each "son of god" was held to be the originating deity for a particular people. The language is unmistakable. When we see the word God, we instinctively think of a divine being with a unique set of attributesomnipresence, omnipotence, sovereignty, and so on. Yahweh is: In fact, Nehemiah 9:6 explicitly declares that Yahweh is uniquethere is only one Yahweh (You alone are Yahweh). It is not the biblical picture. You also probably recognize elohim as one of Gods names, despite the fact that the form of the word is plural. With respect to Scripture, one need look no further than Deuteronomy 32:17: They [the Israelites] sacrificed to demons [shedim], not God [eloah], to gods [elohim] whom they had not known.. 32:4, 8; 2 Sam. Since elohim is so often translated as God, we look at the Hebrew word the same way we look at capitalized G-o-d. As easy and comfortable as that explanation was, it didnt make sense here. [33] The correlating Torah verse, The song of Moses and the Children of Israel by the Sea, makes a reference to elim, but more with a mundane notion of natural forces, might, war and governmental powers. God says to them: I have said, You are gods [elohim],and sons of the Most High [beney elyon], all of you. Pharaohs typically had large, extended families. The end of the psalm makes it evident that the elohim being chastised were given some sort of authority over the nations of the earth, a task at which they failed. 58:11, and notably the epithet of the "Living God" (Deuteronomy 5:26 etc. Other Christians who see the problems with this first idea try to argue that the sons of God are human beingsJews to be specific. In Jewish tradition, the Torah verse, that was the battle-cry of the Maccabees (Hebrew: Machabi, ), "Mi chamocha ba'elim YHWH" ("Who is like You among the heavenly powers, YHWH"[31]),[32] is an acronym for "Machabi" as well as an acronym for "Matityahu Kohen ben Yochanan". In other cases, Elohim acts as an ordinary plural of the word Eloah, and refers to the polytheistic notion of multiple gods (for example, Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me."). - Ask the Rabbi. And there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed [plural verb] himself to him when he fled from his brother. In the Jahwist tale Yahweh is simply stationed in the sky, above the clouds without the ladder or angels. []. What Really Happened at the Tower of Babel? 32:17, 27; Pss. Its also illogical and shows a misunderstanding of the rationale of idolatry. The Canaanite pantheon of gods was known as the elohim (the gods [plural]). The first use of the word in this verse worked fine. For example, in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God [in Hebrew, Elohim] created the heaven and the earth. In this case we can tell that Elohim should be translated as a singular because the Hebrew word for create in this verse is masculine singular. Religion Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. It is sometimes used to describe the Israelite King as a mighty or divinely mandated ruler (and thus as a type of Jesus Christ, the true divine king). It seems as if this LDS traditional usage began with the Endowment when Joseph Smith needed a distinct name for God the Father and chose to use the term Elohim to refer to Him. 7:23 and Ps. The biblical writers speak of Yahweh in ways that telegraph their belief in his uniqueness and incomparability: Biblical writers also assign unique qualities to Yahweh. | Privacy, Satan in the Bible: 14 Sobering Facts about the Devil, God Wasnt Alone before He Created the World (Says the Bible). It was in church on a Sunday morning while still in graduate school. Omissions? When we see sheep by itself, we dont know if we should think of one sheep or a flock of sheep. Id taught for five years at a Bible college. He said simply, Here, read that . Israel was supposed to worship her own God (here, eloah; cf. [7] A memory of this myth is contained in Genesis, describing the "sons of God" who lay with the "daughters of men". In the midst of the Elohim He is judging. These observations alone should make any Christian who cares about the doctrine of God abandon this idea. The reliability of the Septuagint translation in this matter has been questioned by Gesenius and Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg. it governs a singular verb or adjective) when referring to the Hebrew God, but grammatically plural elohim (i.e. Grammar guides us. What Psalms 82 and 89 describe is completely consistent with what we see in Job 38:7a group of heavenly sons of God. What did this do to my theology? For example, the NASB translates it as: God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.. Thus, in Genesis the words, In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth, Elohim is monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure seems polytheistic. Theres no need to camouflage what the Hebrew text says. A plural of majesty, the term Elohimthough sometimes used for other deities, such as the Moabite god Chemosh, the Sidonian goddess Astarte, and also for other majestic beings such as angels, kings, judges (the Old Testament shofeim), and the Messiahis usually employed in the Old Testament for the one and only God of Israel, whose personal name was revealed to Moses as YHWH, or Yahweh (q.v.).
Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The problem is rooted in a mistaken notion of what exactly the word elohim means. We all have watershed moments in life, critical turning points where, from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same. In the Septuagint and New Testament translations Elohim has the singular even in these cases, and modern translations follow suit in giving "God" in the singular. To a biblical writer, the Most High (elyon) was the God of Israel. Id been to seminary. Theyd left no stone unturned in ferreting out parallels between the psalm and its ideas and the literature of other civilizations of the biblical worldin some cases, matching the psalms phrases word for word. El is used in many names like Bethel (house of God), Michael (who is like God), Daniel (a judge is God), and Israel (to prevail with God). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This led the King James translators to use the following tradition when translating references to God in the old Testament: It should be pointed out that in the Hebrew Old Testament as it stands today, the term Elohim was not used as the name of a separate individual. According to the documentary hypothesis these variations are the products of different source texts: Elohim is used as the name of God in the Elohist (E) and Priestly (P) sources, while the name Yahweh is used in the Jahwist source. The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible defines "elohim" as a plural of eloah, an expanded form of the common Semitic noun "'il" (l). Rather it is simply the Hebrew word used to mean the generic term god and sometimes as an adjective meaning divine. For instance, in the Ugaritic Baal cycle we read of "seventy sons of Asherah". The idea of elohim ruling the nations under Gods authority is a biblical concept that is described in some detail in The Unseen Realm. You see why the psalm threw me for a loop. What all the figures on the list have in common is that they are inhabitants of the spiritual world. But since Psalm 82 generates questions and controversy, we need to spend some time on what it teaches and what it doesnt teach, along with other passages that inform us about the divine council. My friend handed me his Hebrew Bible, open to Psalm 82. Ive indicated the Hebrew wording that caught my eye and put my heart in my throat. For now, its sufficient that you see clearly that the sons of God are divine beings under the authority of the God of Israel. Even though when we see G-o-d we think of a unique set of attributes, when a biblical writer wrote elohim, he wasnt thinking that way. fried deep bible theatre books israel jewish take torah globe holy glasgow lamb then seek priest being ancient power treasure "Chalice Introduction to the Old Testament", What does "Maccabee" mean? Humans are also not by nature disembodied. 10:20), Pauls comments follow the history of the Israelites described in Deuteronomy 32. Among the elohim he pronounces judgment:[27], In Hulsean Lectures for, H. M. Stephenson discussed Jesus argument in John 10:3436 concerning Psalm 82. Spiritual beings are spirits (1 Kgs. The Samaritan Torah has edited out some of these exceptions. [11], In Gen 20:13 Abraham, before the polytheistic Philistine king Abimelech, says that "the gods (elohim) caused (plural verb) me to wander". As I explained earlier, the word elohim is a place of residence term. This is not to say that an elohim could not interact with the human world. Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of God,ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due his name(Psalm 29:12). Faithlife Both Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon and the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon list both angels and judges as possible alternative meanings of elohim with plural verbs and adjectives. Several Old Testament passages describe this administrative structure existing in the heavenly realm, as well. But I couldnt picture him running around with other real gods, either. 7:17; 18:13; 47:2). You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. He warns believers against fellowship with demons on the basis of Israels failure in worshiping other gods. This, however, is not universally accepted as later literary scholarship seems to show evidence of a later "Elohist redaction" (post-exilic) during the 5th century BCE which sometimes makes it difficult to determine whether a given passage is "Elohist" in origin, or the result of later editor. If he were, hed never have used the term elohim to describe anything but Yahweh. bible fried deep jewish been kingdom battered fat israel answers questions babylon vs were temple torah glasgow rome ancient fad But Ill never forget how it ended. Their research brought to light other biblical passages that echoed the content of Psalm 82. But whatever the correct understanding of shedim might be, they are not pieces of wood or stone. J presents Yahweh anthropomorphically. Michael S. Heiser is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., Ancient History) and the University of Wisconsin- Madison (M.A., Ph.D., Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies). Exodus 3:4, " Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush "), it behaves like a singular noun in Hebrew grammar, and is then generally understood to denote the single God of Israel. The Greek New Testament (NT) quotes Psalm 8:4-6 in Hebrews 2:6b-8a, where the Greek NT has "" (angelos) in vs. 7,[19] quoting Ps. [16] These passages then entered first the Latin Vulgate, then the English King James Version (KJV) as "angels" and "judges", respectively. He has a dozen years of classroom teaching experience on the college level and another ten in distance education. The word elohim is a place of residence term. 6), but that is not our normal plane of existence. Likewise, The sheep are lost informs us that the status of more than one sheep is being discussed. These Akkadian figures were often cast as guardians or protective entities, though the term was also used to describe the life force of a person. Verse 6 of the psalm declares that these elohim are sons of God. Elohim, singular Eloah, (Hebrew: God), the God of Israel in the Old Testament. 9:6; cf. Everyone in the system was part of the government, but authority and status were tiered. Elohim (Hebrew: ) is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. In the ancient Near East, the term shedu was neutral; it could speak of a good or malevolent spirit being. You no doubt noticed that the word elohim occurs twice in this verse. Wilhelm Gesenius and other Hebrew grammarians traditionally described this as the pluralis excellentiae (plural of excellence), which is similar to the pluralis majestatis (plural of majesty, or "Royal we").[10]. 1:14; Rev. This human view is as flawed as the Trinitarian view. The Elohist often presents Elohim as more distant and frequently involves angels. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections. "El" (the basis for the extended root lh) is usually derived from a root meaning "to be strong" and/or "to be in front".[3]. Job 38:7; Deut. The word elohim occurs twice in this short verse. The word el (singular) is a standard term for "god" in other related Semitic languages including Ugaritic. The meaning of the verse is inescapable: the singular elohim of Israel presides over an assembly of elohim. [17] Hengstenberg stated that the Hebrew Bible text never uses elohim to refer to "angels", but that the Septuagint translators refused the references to "gods" in the verses they amended to "angels."[18]. The second elohim must be plural, since the preposition in front of it (in the midst of) requires more than one. He was species-unique among all residents of the spiritual world. Other plural-singulars in biblical Hebrew, Jacob's ladder "gods were revealed" (plural), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Other than the covenant name, Yahweh, its the most common word in the Old Testament for God. Consequently, there is no warrant for concluding that plural elohim produces a pantheon of interchangeable deities. [23] This is one of several instances where the Bible uses plural verbs with the name elohim.[24][25]. It has other flaws. Many Christians who object to the plain meaning of the Hebrew text of Psalm 82 assert that this psalm is actually describing God the Father speaking to the other members of the Trinity. For that very reason, many English translations obscure the Hebrew in this verse. 1:17). People shouldnt be protected from the Bible. [34], Further information: El (deity), Ilah, Alaha, and Allah, Further information: Names of God in Judaism. How was it possible that Id never seen that before? 24). [22], Sometimes when elohim occurs as the referent or object (i.e. Although the Old Testament as we have it today does not use the term Elohim as the name of a distinct individual from Jehovah, Margaret Barker, a non-LDS Biblical scholar has proposed that the earliest Biblical traditions differentiated between El (the Father) and Jehovah (the Son). Rabbinic scholar Maimonides wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be homonyms.[5]. Psalm 82 states that the gods were being condemned as corrupt in their administration of the nations of the earth. 32:17; Psa. In that realm there is hierarchy. The opposite is truethey were to be separate from other nations. Despite the -im ending common to many plural masculine nouns in Hebrew, the word when referring to the Name of God is grammatically singular, and takes a singular verb in the Hebrew Bible. I reject that idea, along with any other explanations that seek to hide the plain reading of the text. 8:5 (8:6 in the LXX), which also has "" in a version of the Greek Septuagint. 8: 5, and Ps. In the context of Deuteronomy 32:17, shedim were elohimspirit beings guarding foreign territorywho must not be worshiped. That is evident when we observe how they used the word. I soon discovered that the ground I was exploring was a place where evangelicals had feared to tread. The text is not clear whether all of the elohim are under judgment or just some. The God of Israel isnt part of a group of idols. 11:33), Angels or the Angel of Yahweh (Gen. 35:7), O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god [, For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth. Although this name is appropriate for God the Father, it is important to not retroactively apply this usage to the Old Testament (For example, see Genesis 2:9 where the term Elohim is applied to Jehovah). during the early period of the Kingdom of Judah). I immediately set to work trying to find answers. A quick read of Psalm 82 informs us that God has called this council meeting to judge the elohim for corrupt rule of the nations. The choices of words for God varies in the Hebrew Bible. In all such cases, the thinking is misguided. Copyright 2021 Corrections? The noun elohim is used with a plural verb in 1 Samuel 28:13. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. ", NET Bible with Companion CD-ROM W. Hall Harris, 3rd, none - 2003 - "35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him.30 He poured out a 20tn Heb "revealed themselves." Paul knew his Hebrew Bible and didnt deny the reality of the shedim, who are elohim. We can be confident that Yahweh stands above the elohim by once again observing what the biblical writers say about himand never say about another elohim. Each "son of god" was held to be the originating deity for a particular people. The language is unmistakable. When we see the word God, we instinctively think of a divine being with a unique set of attributesomnipresence, omnipotence, sovereignty, and so on. Yahweh is: In fact, Nehemiah 9:6 explicitly declares that Yahweh is uniquethere is only one Yahweh (You alone are Yahweh). It is not the biblical picture. You also probably recognize elohim as one of Gods names, despite the fact that the form of the word is plural. With respect to Scripture, one need look no further than Deuteronomy 32:17: They [the Israelites] sacrificed to demons [shedim], not God [eloah], to gods [elohim] whom they had not known.. 32:4, 8; 2 Sam. Since elohim is so often translated as God, we look at the Hebrew word the same way we look at capitalized G-o-d. As easy and comfortable as that explanation was, it didnt make sense here. [33] The correlating Torah verse, The song of Moses and the Children of Israel by the Sea, makes a reference to elim, but more with a mundane notion of natural forces, might, war and governmental powers. God says to them: I have said, You are gods [elohim],and sons of the Most High [beney elyon], all of you. Pharaohs typically had large, extended families. The end of the psalm makes it evident that the elohim being chastised were given some sort of authority over the nations of the earth, a task at which they failed. 58:11, and notably the epithet of the "Living God" (Deuteronomy 5:26 etc. Other Christians who see the problems with this first idea try to argue that the sons of God are human beingsJews to be specific. In Jewish tradition, the Torah verse, that was the battle-cry of the Maccabees (Hebrew: Machabi, ), "Mi chamocha ba'elim YHWH" ("Who is like You among the heavenly powers, YHWH"[31]),[32] is an acronym for "Machabi" as well as an acronym for "Matityahu Kohen ben Yochanan". In other cases, Elohim acts as an ordinary plural of the word Eloah, and refers to the polytheistic notion of multiple gods (for example, Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me."). - Ask the Rabbi. And there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed [plural verb] himself to him when he fled from his brother. In the Jahwist tale Yahweh is simply stationed in the sky, above the clouds without the ladder or angels. []. What Really Happened at the Tower of Babel? 32:17, 27; Pss. Its also illogical and shows a misunderstanding of the rationale of idolatry. The Canaanite pantheon of gods was known as the elohim (the gods [plural]). The first use of the word in this verse worked fine. For example, in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God [in Hebrew, Elohim] created the heaven and the earth. In this case we can tell that Elohim should be translated as a singular because the Hebrew word for create in this verse is masculine singular. Religion Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. It is sometimes used to describe the Israelite King as a mighty or divinely mandated ruler (and thus as a type of Jesus Christ, the true divine king). It seems as if this LDS traditional usage began with the Endowment when Joseph Smith needed a distinct name for God the Father and chose to use the term Elohim to refer to Him. 7:23 and Ps. The biblical writers speak of Yahweh in ways that telegraph their belief in his uniqueness and incomparability: Biblical writers also assign unique qualities to Yahweh. | Privacy, Satan in the Bible: 14 Sobering Facts about the Devil, God Wasnt Alone before He Created the World (Says the Bible). It was in church on a Sunday morning while still in graduate school. Omissions? When we see sheep by itself, we dont know if we should think of one sheep or a flock of sheep. Id taught for five years at a Bible college. He said simply, Here, read that . Israel was supposed to worship her own God (here, eloah; cf. [7] A memory of this myth is contained in Genesis, describing the "sons of God" who lay with the "daughters of men". In the midst of the Elohim He is judging. These observations alone should make any Christian who cares about the doctrine of God abandon this idea. The reliability of the Septuagint translation in this matter has been questioned by Gesenius and Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg. it governs a singular verb or adjective) when referring to the Hebrew God, but grammatically plural elohim (i.e. Grammar guides us. What Psalms 82 and 89 describe is completely consistent with what we see in Job 38:7a group of heavenly sons of God. What did this do to my theology? For example, the NASB translates it as: God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.. Thus, in Genesis the words, In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth, Elohim is monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure seems polytheistic. Theres no need to camouflage what the Hebrew text says. A plural of majesty, the term Elohimthough sometimes used for other deities, such as the Moabite god Chemosh, the Sidonian goddess Astarte, and also for other majestic beings such as angels, kings, judges (the Old Testament shofeim), and the Messiahis usually employed in the Old Testament for the one and only God of Israel, whose personal name was revealed to Moses as YHWH, or Yahweh (q.v.).