''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

, in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times it refers to deities in the plural. Morphologically, the word is the plural form of the word ''

eloah ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...

'' and related to '' el''. It is cognate to the word ''l-h-m'' which is found in

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...

, where it is used as the

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

for Canaanite gods, the children of El, and conventionally vocalized as "Elohim". Most uses of the term ''Elohim'' in the later Hebrew text imply a view that is at least monolatrist at the time of writing, and such usage (in the singular), as a proper title for the supreme deity, is generally not considered to be synonymous with the term ''elohim'', "gods" (plural, simple noun). Rabbinic scholar

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definiti ...

s. One theory suggests that the notion of

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

underwent radical changes in the early period of

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

identity and development of

Ancient Hebrew religion The origins of Judaism lie in the Bronze Age amidst polytheistic ancient Semitic religions, specifically evolving out of the polytheistic ancient Canaanite religion, then co-existing with Babylonian religion, and syncretizing elements of Babylo ...

. In this view, the ambiguity of the term ''elohim'' is the result of such changes, cast in terms of "vertical translatability", i.e. the re-interpretation of the gods of the earliest recalled period as the

national god A national god is a guardian divinity whose special concern is the safety and well-being of an ethnic group (''nation''), and of that group's leaders. This is contrasted with other guardian figures such as family gods responsible for the well-be ...

of monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...

and during the Babylonian captivity, and further in terms of

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfo ...

by the emergence of

Rabbinical Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

in the 2nd century CE.

Grammar and etymology

The word ''elohim'' or'' 'elohiym'' (''ʼĕlôhîym'') is a grammatically plural

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...

for "

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

" or "deities" or various other words in Biblical Hebrew. In Hebrew, the ending '' -im'' normally indicates a masculine plural. However, when referring to the Jewish God, ''Elohim'' is usually understood to be grammatically singular (i.e. it governs a singular verb or adjective). In

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the H ...

, it is often referred to in the singular despite the ''-im'' ending that denotes plural masculine nouns in Hebrew. It is generally thought that ''Elohim'' is derived from ''eloah'', the latter being an expanded form of the

Northwest Semitic Northwest Semitic is a division of the Semitic languages comprising the indigenous languages of the Levant. It emerged from Proto-Semitic in the Early Bronze Age. It is first attested in proper names identified as Amorite in the Middle Bronze A ...

noun il''. The related nouns ''eloah'' () and ''el'' () are used as proper names or as generics, in which case they are interchangeable with ''elohim''. The term contains an added '' heh'' as third radical to the biconsonantal root. Discussions of the etymology of ''elohim'' essentially concern this expansion. An exact cognate outside of Hebrew is found in Ugaritic ''ʾlhm'', the family of El, the

creator god A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatris ...

and chief deity of the

Canaanite pantheon The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some case ...

, in

Biblical Aramaic Biblical Aramaic is the form of Aramaic that is used in the books of Daniel and Ezra in the Hebrew Bible. It should not be confused with the Targums – Aramaic paraphrases, explanations and expansions of the Hebrew scriptures. History During ...

''ʼĔlāhā'' and later

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

''Alaha'' ("God"), and in Arabic ''

ʾilāh ' ( ar, إله; plural: ') is an Arabic term meaning "god". In Arabic, ilah refers to anyone or anything that is worshipped. The feminine is ' (, meaning "goddess"); with the article, it appears as ' (). The Arabic word for God (') is thought ...

'' ("god, deity") (or '' Allah'' as "The ingleGod"). "El" (the basis for the extended root ''ʾlh'') is usually derived from a root meaning "to be strong" and/or "to be in front".

Canaanite religion

The word ''el'' (singular) is a standard term for "god" in Aramaic, paleo-Hebrew, and other related Semitic languages including Ugaritic. The Canaanite pantheon of gods was known as '''ilhm'', the Ugaritic equivalent to ''elohim''. For instance, the Ugaritic

Baal Cycle The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE. The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...

mentions "seventy sons of

Asherah Asherah (; he, אֲשֵׁרָה, translit=Ăšērā; uga, 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, translit=ʾAṯiratu; akk, 𒀀𒅆𒋥, translit=Aširat; Qatabanian: ') in ancient Semitic religion, is a fertility goddess who appears in a number of ancient ...

". Each "son of god" was held to be the originating deity for a particular people ( KTU 2 1.4.VI.46).

Usage

''Elohim'' occurs frequently throughout the Torah. In some cases (e.g. , "''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. In other cases, ''Elohim'' acts as an ordinary plural of the word ''Eloah'', and refers to the

polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the ...

notion of multiple gods (for example, , "You shall have no other gods before me"). The word ''Elohim'' occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible, with meanings ranging from "gods" in a general sense (as in , where it describes "the gods of Egypt"), to specific gods (the frequent references to

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

as the "elohim" of Israel), to

seraph A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christ ...

im, and other supernatural beings, to the

spirits of the dead ''Spirits of the Dead'' (french: Histoires extraordinaires, lit=Extraordinary Tales, it, Tre passi nel delirio, lit=Three Steps to Delirium), also known as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'', is a 1968 horror anthology film comprising three ...

brought up at the behest of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

in , and even to kings and prophets (e.g., ). The phrase ''

bene elohim Sons of God ( he, בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm, literally: "sons of the Elohim") is a phrase used in the Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in Kabbalah where ''bene elohim'' ...

'', translated "sons of the Gods", has an exact parallel in

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

ic and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n texts, referring to the council of the gods. Elohim occupy the seventh rank of ten in the medieval rabbinic scholar

Jewish angelic hierarchy In Judaism, angels ( he, ''mal’āḵ'', plural: ''mal’āḵīm'', literally "messenger") are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish li ...

. Maimonides said: "I must premise that every Hebrew owknows that the term Elohim is a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of countries, ..."

Moses Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...

.
Guide for the Perplexed
' (1904 translation by Friedländer). Starting from the beginning of chapter 2.

With plural verb

In the Hebrew Bible, , ''elohim'' is used with a plural verb. The

witch of Endor The Witch of Endor ( he, ''baʿălaṯ-ʾōḇ bəʿĒyn Dōr'', "she who owns the ''ʾōḇ'' of Endor") is a woman who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was consulted by Saul to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Saul wished to receive ad ...

told

that she saw ''elohim'' ascending (''olim'' , plural verb) out of the earth when she summoned the spirit of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Samuel at Saul's request. Regarding this, the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

, Chagigah 4b:9 states: “''Olim'', in the plural form, indicates that there were two of them. One of them was Samuel, but the other, who was he? The Gemara states that Samuel went and brought Moses with him. He said to Moses: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I was summoned for judgment by

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

; stand with me and testify on my behalf that there is nothing that you wrote in the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

that I did not fulfill".

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

also gives this interpretation in his commentary on the verse. Regarding this Sforno states that "every disembodied creature is known as elohim; this includes the soul of human beings known as he"Image of God". In ,

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

, before the polytheistic Philistine king

Abimelech Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, i ...

, says that "Elohim (translated as God) caused (, plural verb) me to wander". Whereas the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

(LXX) has a singular verb form (ἐξήγαγε(ν), aorist II), most English versions usually translate this as "God caused" (which does not distinguish between a singular and plural verb). Regarding this, the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

, Megillah 1:9:17 states: "All Names written regarding our father Abraham are holy except one which is profane, ''it was when the gods made me err from my father’s house".'' But some are saying, this one also is holy, “for unless God, they already would have made me err.” This is also stated in the

, Tractate Soferim 4:6; where R. Hanina is identified as one of those who maintained that it was holy. The reference to "gods" here, may also refer to the idols of the house of Abraham’s father

Terah Terah or Terach ( he, תֶּרַח ''Teraḥ'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Gen ...

, a view held by figures such as

Onkelos Onkelos ( he, אֻנְקְלוֹס ''ʾunqəlōs''), possibly identical to Aquila of Sinope, was a Roman national who converted to Judaism in Tannaic times ( 35–120 CE). He is considered to be the author of the Targum Onkelos ( 110 C ...

, Rabbeinu Bahya, R.

Jacob ben Asher Jacob ben Asher (c. 1269 - c. 1343), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher), was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Master of the Columns"), after ...

, Sforno and R. Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg. Although others such as Chizkuni interpret it as a reference to wicked rulers such as

Amraphel In the Hebrew Bible, Amraphel ( he, אַמְרָפֶל, translit=’Amrāp̄el; el, Ἀμαρφάλ, Amarphál; la, Amraphel) was a king of Shinar (Hebrew for Sumer) in Book of Genesis Chapter 14, who invaded Canaan along with other kings unde ...

(often equated with

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

). I
Genesis 35:7
''elohim'' is also used alongside a plural verb when referring to

Jacob's Jacob's is a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, part of Valeo Foods, which produces snacks for the Irish market. ...

vision at El-Bethel.

Targum Jonathan Targum Jonathan (), otherwise referred to as Targum Yonasan/Yonatan, is the official eastern (Babylonian) targum (Aramaic translation) to the Nevi'im ("prophets"). It is not to be confused with "Targum Pseudo-Jonathan", an Aramaic translation of ...

renders this as "''because there had been revealed to him the angels of the Lord, in his flight from before Esau his brother.''" In his commentary on the

, Ibn Ezra states: " ecause there God(s) was/were revealed to him.''Elohim''

od(s) OD or Od may refer to: Education * Old Diocesan, a former pupil of Diocesan College * Old Dunelmian, a former pupil of Durham School Medicine * OD or o.d., an abbreviation used in medical prescriptions for or "once daily" both meaning "take o ...

refers to angels. Compare, "''And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it"'' (Gen. 28:12). In this verse and others related to it, the literal term "מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים" (''malʾăḵēy ʾĔlōhīm'') meaning "a''ngels/messengers of God"'' is used instead. Showing us that both the "

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

" and the "elohim" referred to with the plural verb regarding Jacob's vision are one and the same in this instance. Chizkuni states in agreement with Ibn Ezra: "האלו־הים, the angels (according to Ibn Ezra) scriptural proof: (Genesis 32:2): ויפגעו בו מלאכי אלוהים, “angels of God met him there.” Also: (Genesis 28:12): והנה מלאכי אלו הים, “and lo here there were angels of God.” (in his dream).

Radak ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical comme ...

also states that this is a reference to the angels ascending and descending the ladder whom Jacob had seen in his dream. Yet also presents the alternative view that the plural in the verse is a

majestic plural The royal ''we'', majestic plural (), or royal plural, is the use of a plural pronoun (or corresponding plural-inflected verb forms) used by a single person who is a monarch or holds a high office to refer to themselves. A more general term fo ...

. Citing for comparison Psalms 149:2: ישמח ישראל בעושיו, “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker (plural)." Along with Job 35:10: איה אלו-ה עושי, “Where is God (singular), My Maker (plural)?". Both of which use such a plural. Elohim can also be seen in use referring to the

in a variety of other cases in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Psalms 8:6 (8:5 in Christian Bibles): ''וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְּ֭עַט מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְכָב֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ׃'' ''For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour."'' As well as Psalms 82:1-6: "''מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים נִצָּ֥ב בַּעֲדַת־אֵ֑ל בְּקֶ֖רֶב אֱלֹהִ֣ים יִשְׁפֹּֽט׃ A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine assembly; among the divine beings He pronounces judgment... אֲֽנִי־אָ֭מַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִ֣ים אַתֶּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֖י עֶלְי֣וֹן כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃ I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you."''

With singular verb

''Elohim'', when meaning the God of Israel, is mostly grammatically singular, and is commonly translated as "God", and capitalised. For example, in , it is written: "Then Elohim (translated as God) said (singular verb), 'Let us (plural) make (plural verb) man in our (plural) image, after our (plural) likeness. In the traditional Jewish understanding of the verse, the plural refers to

taking council with His

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

(who He had created by this point) before creating Adam. It should also be noted that in the following verse of Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in his wnimage, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."; the singular verb בָּרָא (bārāʾ), meaning "He created" is used as it is elsewhere in all the acts of creation featured in Genesis. This shows us that the actual creation of man (and everything else) in Genesis was a singular act by God alone.

Wilhelm Gesenius Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic. Biography Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he became ...

and other Hebrew grammarians traditionally described this as the

pluralis excellentiae The ''pluralis excellentiae'' is the name given by early grammarians of Hebrew, such as Wilhelm Gesenius, to a perceived anomaly in the grammatical number and syntax in Hebrew. In some cases it bears some similarity to the ' or "royal plural". How ...

(plural of excellence), which is similar to the

pluralis majestatis The royal ''we'', majestic plural (), or royal plural, is the use of a plural pronoun (or corresponding plural-inflected verb forms) used by a single person who is a monarch or holds a high office to refer to themselves. A more general term fo ...

(plural of majesty, or "Royal we"). Gesenius comments that the singular Hebrew term ''Elohim'' is to be distinguished from ''elohim'' used to refer to plural gods, and remarks that: There are a number of notable exceptions to the rule that ''Elohim'' is treated as singular when referring to the God of Israel, including , , and , and notably the epithet of the "Living God" ( etc.), which is constructed with the plural adjective, ''Elohim ḥayyim'' () but still takes singular verbs. The treatment of ''Elohim'' as both singular and plural is, according to Mark Sameth, consistent with a theory put forth by

Guillaume Postel Guillaume Postel (25 March 1510 – 6 September 1581) was a French linguist, astronomer, Christian Kabbalist, diplomat, polyglot, professor, religious universalist, and writer. Born in the village of Barenton in Normandy, Postel made his w ...

(16th century) and Michelangelo Lanci (19th century) that the God of Israel was understood by the ancient priests to be a singular, dual-gendered deity. In the Septuagint and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

translations, ''Elohim'' has the singular even in these cases, and modern translations follow suit in giving "

" in the singular. The

Samaritan Torah The Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ''Tōrāʾ''), also called the Samaritan Pentateuch, is a text of the Torah written in the Samaritan script and used as sacred scripture by the Samaritans. It dates back to one of the ancient versions o ...

has edited out some of these exceptions.

Angels and judges

In a few cases in the Greek Septuagint (LXX), Hebrew ''elohim'' with a plural verb, or with implied plural context, was rendered either ''angeloi'' ("angels") or ''to kriterion tou Theou'' ("the judgement of God"). These passages then entered first the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

, then the English

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

(KJV) as "angels" and "judges", respectively. From this came the result that James Strong, for example, listed "angels" and "judges" as possible meanings for ''elohim'' with a plural verb in his '' Strong's Concordance'', and the same is true of many other 17th-20th century reference works. 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. Gesenius and

Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg Ernst Wilhelm Theodor Herrmann Hengstenberg (20 October 1802, in Fröndenberg28 May 1869, in Berlin), was a German Lutheran churchman and neo-Lutheran theologian from an old and important Dortmund family. He was born at Fröndenberg, a Westpha ...

have questioned the reliability of the

translation in this matter. Gesenius lists the meaning without agreeing with it. 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". The Greek New Testament (NT) quotes in Hebrews 2:6b-8a, where the Greek NT has "ἀγγέλους" (''angelous'') in vs. 7, quoting (8:6 in the LXX), which also has "ἀγγέλους" in a version of the Greek Septuagint. In the KJV, ''elohim'' (Strong's number H430) is translated as "angels" only in Psalm 8:5. The KJV translates ''elohim'' as "judges" in
Exodus 22:8
twice i

and as "judge" i

cited in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' ''ʾĒl'' () in their

theophoric A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or God's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that deit ...

names such as

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

Other plural-singulars in biblical Hebrew

The

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

has several nouns with ''-im'' (masculine plural) and ''-oth'' (feminine plural) endings which nevertheless take singular verbs, adjectives and pronouns. For example, ''

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...

im'', '' Adonim'', '' Behemoth''. This form is known as the "honorific plural", in which the pluralization is a sign of power or honor. A very common singular Hebrew word with plural ending is the word ''achoth'', meaning sister, with the irregular plural form achioth. Alternatively, there are several other frequently used words in the Hebrew language that contain a masculine plural ending but also maintain this form in singular concept. The major examples are: '' Sky/Heavens (שמים - ''shamayim''), Face (פנים - panim), Life (חיים - ''chayyim''), Water (מים - ''mayim'')''. Of these four nouns, three appear in the first sentence of Genesis (along with ''elohim''). Three of them also appear in the first sentence of the Eden creation story (also along with ''elohim'')''.'' Instead of "honorific plural" these other plural nouns terms represent something which is constantly changing. Water, sky, face, life are "things which are never bound to one form."

Jacob's ladder "gods were revealed" (plural)

In the following verses ''Elohim'' was translated as God singular in the King James Version even though it was accompanied by plural verbs and other plural grammatical terms. Here the Hebrew verb "revealed" is plural, hence: "the gods were revealed". A

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

Bible note claims that the KJV wrongly translates: "God appeared unto him". This is one of several instances where the Bible uses plural verbs with the name ''elohim''.

The Divine Council

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. But in verse 6 of the Psalm, God says to the other members of the council, 'You luralare elohim.' Here ''elohim'' has to mean gods." Mark Smith, referring to this same Psalm, states in ''God in Translation'': "This psalm presents a scene of the gods meeting together in divine council ... Elohim stands in the council of El. Among the elohim he pronounces judgment: ..." In ''Hulsean Lectures for...'', H. M. Stephenson discussed Jesus' argument in concerning Psalm 82. (In answer to the charge of blasphemy Jesus replied:) "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods. If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" – "Now what is the force of this quotation 'I said ye are gods.' It is from the Asaph Psalm which begins 'Elohim hath taken His place in the mighty assembly. In the midst of the Elohim He is judging.

Sons of God

The Hebrew word for "son" is ''ben''; plural is ''bānim'' (with the

construct state In Afro-Asiatic languages, the first noun in a genitive phrase of a possessed noun followed by a possessor noun often takes on a special morphological form, which is termed the construct state (Latin ''status constructus''). For example, in Arabi ...

form being "benei"). The Hebrew term ''benei elohim'' ("sons of God" or "sons of the gods") in compares to the use of "sons of gods" (Ugaritic: ''b'n il'') sons of El in

Ugaritic mythology The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases, ...

Karel van der Toorn Karel van der Toorn (born 8 March 1956 in The Hague) is a Dutch scholar of ancient religions. From 2006 to 2011 he was chairman of the Board at the University of Amsterdam, where he was a professor since 1998 and until he became the chairman of th ...

states that gods can be referred to collectively as ''bene elim'', ''bene elyon'', or ''bene elohim''.

Elohist

Documentary Hypothesis Sources Distribution English

The Hebrew Bible uses various names for the God of Israel. According to the documentary hypothesis, these variations are the products of different

source text A source text is a text (sometimes oral) from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language. Description In historiography, distinctions are commonly m ...

s and narratives that constitute the

composition of the Torah The composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) was a process that involved multiple authors over an extended period of time. While Jewish tradition holds tha ...

: ''Elohim'' is the name of God used in the Elohist (E) and Priestly (P) sources, while ''

'' is the name of God used in the Jahwist (J) source.

Form criticism Form criticism as a method of biblical criticism classifies units of scripture by literary pattern and then attempts to trace each type to its period of oral transmission."form criticism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica ...

postulates the differences of names may be the result of geographical origins; the P and E sources coming from the North and J from the South. There may be a theological point, that God did not reveal his name, ''Yahweh'', before the time of Moses, though

Hans Heinrich Schmid Hans Heinrich Schmid (22 October 1937 in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich – 4 October 2014) was a Swiss Protestant Reformed theologian, University Professor and University Rector. Life He was the son of the Zurich pastor Gotthard Schmid (1909-1968) ...

showed that the Jahwist was aware of the prophetic books from the 7th and 8th centuries BCE. The Jahwist source presents Yahweh anthropomorphically: for example, walking through the Garden of Eden looking for Adam and Eve. The Elohist source often presents Elohim as more distant and frequently involves

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s, as in the Elohist version of the tale of

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of th ...

, in which there is a ladder to the clouds, with angels climbing up and down, with Elohim at the top. In the Jahwist version of the tale, Yahweh is simply stationed in the sky, above the clouds without the ladder or angels. Likewise, the Elohist source describes Jacob wrestling with an angel. The classical documentary hypothesis, first developed in the late 19th century among biblical scholars and

textual critics Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

, holds that the Jahwist portions of the

were composed in the 10th-9th century BCE and the Elohist portions in the 9th-8th century BCE, i.e. during the early period of the

. This, however, is not universally accepted as later literary scholarship seems to show evidence of a later "Elohist redaction" (

post-exilic The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...

) during the 5th century BCE which sometimes makes it difficult to determine whether a given passage is "Elohist" in origin, or the result of a later editor.

Latter Day Saint movement

In the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

and

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

, ''Elohim'' refers to God the Father. Elohim is the father of Jesus in both the physical and the spiritual realms, whose name before birth is said to be Jehovah. In the belief system held by the Christian churches that adhere to the Latter Day Saint movement and most Mormon denominations, including

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), the term ''God'' refers to Elohim (the Eternal Father), whereas '' Godhead'' means a council of three distinct gods: Elohim (God the Father), Jehovah (the Son of God, Jesus Christ), and the

Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...

, in a non-trinitarian conception of the Godhead. In Mormonism, the three persons are considered to be physically separate beings, or personages, but united in will and purpose; this conception differs significantly from mainline Christian

trinitarianism The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

. As such, the term ''Godhead'' differs from how it is used in mainstream Christianity. This description of God represents the orthodoxy of the LDS Church, established early in the 19th century. The

Book of Abraham The Book of Abraham is a collection of writings claimed to be from several Egyptian scrolls discovered in the early 19th century during an archeological expedition by Antonio Lebolo. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pu ...

, a sacred text accepted by some branches of the Latter Day Saint movement, contains a paraphrase of the first chapter of Genesis which explicitly translates ''Elohim'' as "the Gods" multiple times; this is suggested by

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

James E. Talmage to indicate a "plurality of excellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number".

Raëlism

The

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

and

UFO religion A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfar ...

International Raëlian Movement International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, founded by the French journalist Claude Vorilhon (who later became known as "Raël") in 1974, claims that the Hebrew word ''Elohim'' from the Book of Genesis actually means “those who came from the sky” and refers to a species of extraterrestrial aliens.

Gnosticism

In the

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

text known as the

Secret Book of John The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by ...

, Elohim is another name for

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

, whose parents are

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

and

Yaldabaoth Yaldabaoth, Jaldabaoth, or Ildabaoth is an evil deity and creator of the material world in various Gnostic sects and movements, sometimes represented as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent. He is identified as the Demiurge and false god who ke ...

. He rules over the elements of water and earth, alongside Cain, who is seen as

ruling over the elements of fire and wind. However, the 2nd century Gnostic teacher

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

proposed a cosmological model with three original divinities. The first is a transcendental being called the Good, the second is Elohim, appearing here as an intermediate male figure, and the third is an Earth-mother called Eden. The world along with the first humans are created from the love between Elohim and Eden, but when Elohim learns about the existence of the Good above him and ascends trying to reach it, he causes evil to enter the universe.

Notes

References

General bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* (), Strong's Concordance (1890). * * {{Names of God Angels in Judaism Angels Creator gods Deities in the Hebrew Bible God Hebrew Bible topics Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity Magic words Middle Eastern gods Names of God in Christianity Names of God in Judaism West Semitic gods