Elohim definition and meaning collins english dictionary. All of that is to state that the word elohim isnt automatically plural. The concept of elohim and theos in an urhobo cosmological. Professor seixas, the hebrew bible, and the bookof abraham michael t. The meaning of elohim in hebrew curious about the meaning of elohim in hebrew. Gesenius hebrew grammar palmer theological seminary. He found that his fear that he would violate the image of god inside of him gave the. While the word elohim may be in the plural form, all the verbs in genesis 1 are in the singular, showing that elohim is referring to only one god. Each hebrew letter represents a different ideogram, and thus. So in hebrew when one noun, for example, king, is in construction with a second noun, for example, israel, we could translate this phrase, king of israel. Pictured here is the word elohim as it would appear in the hebrew bible.
Eloah, which can used to stress the oneness even more then the seemingly plural elohim, without the limitations and manyness of each individual power which could be inferred by. There are some scholars who argue that elohim in reference to yahweh must be a grammatical plurality only. The name elohim occurs over 2,500 times in the tanakh. Professor seixas, the hebrew bible, and the bookof abraham. Yahweh is a singular entity yahweh is a lone and single entity1 and in reference to him, hundreds of verses use the word elohim as a singular title as follows.
Hebrew actually uses elohim since its a generic word for god for foreign goddesses see i kings 11. Annotated key to lambdins introduction to biblical hebrew jsot manuals, issn 02621754. Part 1 by nehemia gordon in the beginning, elohim created the heavens and the earth. The hebrew word elohim is usually translated god in english and is the first name for god used in the bible in the beginning god elohim created the heavens and the earth genesis 1. Natan sharansky in the following excerpt, natan sharansky talks about his struggle to understand what it means to be created in the image of god. Maxwell institute for religious scholarship, 2011, 135 since the word elohim never occurs in any of our english. The word elohim can mean either plural gods or singular god or god as a proper name. In our modern culture we tend to view god in masculine terms and imagery.
Elohim, the archetype original pattern of the universe 1. Using pluralform nouns for singular subjects and objects is not uncommon in hebrew grammar. Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew, always mean. In genesis 1, for example where the reader is first introduced to elohim the creator the hebrew verb form is.
In the beginning, god elohim created the heavens and the earth genesis 1. In the beginning, god elohim created the heavens and the earth, gen. In addition, when elohim refers to the true god, it is singular and so translated god and not gods. Translated into english, the word is god capital or lowercase g, and oddly enough can refer to either yahweh god, or to humans.
Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew. Ithe plural elohim is in several passages judges 11, 24. In the beginning, god elohim created singular the heavens and the earth. If you do a cursory study on this word, you will find that this word is used 2606 times, but it is not always translated as god. All occurrences of elohim in the hebrew bible results in hebrew. The masculine plural ending does not mean gods when referring to the true god of israel, since the name is mainly used with singular verb forms and with adjectives and pronouns in the singular e. The contemporary square script letters of the hebrew alphabet were likely introduced into israel by ezra the scribe after the babylonian exile. Since adonai and elohim are plural nouns, some christians have used this as a foundation on which to build the christian doctrine of the trinity. The masculine plural ending does not mean gods when referring to.
How does orthodox judaism explain the pluralistic meaning. Biblical hebrew has its own ways of telling us if elohim means one person or many gods. The nature of god ahrc ancient hebrew research center. The second elohim must be plural, since the preposition in front of it in the midst of requires more than one. Aug 30, 2016 from the very beginning, the ancient hebrew language has had a conventional understanding, but also a pictographic and numeric value. Elohim is used repeatedly in that passage thirtyfive times. Usage of the title elohim religious studies center. Several other nouns are found in the plural form even though they refer to a single subjectobject. The phrase, yahweh your elohim, is like, john your doctor, where elohim, and doctor, are not names, but titles. In the beginning elohim created the heavens and the earth genesis 1. A plural of majesty, the term elohim though 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 shofe.
On the occasions when elohim is attached to verbs that are in the plural form, we must understand that as referring to a group. It matches the noun elohim to singular or plural verbs, or with singular or plural pronouns to use sheep again as an. At times the meaning is ambiguous there are no certain grammaticalcontextual clues, but. The grammar in context will tell us if it is definitely singular or plural. How does orthodox judaism explain the pluralistic meaning of. Most of the time, whenever the word elohimis used of the true god, the verb. Normally, one would expect that with the plural noun elohim, a plural verb form would be used. Elohim, the archetype original pattern of the universe 1 introduction. In the same passage, the word translated firmament in the king james literally means expanse in. Well this is true when only looking at the hebrew grammar one cannot still know for certain if. It is one of the most common names for god in the old testament, starting in the very first verse. In hebrew, verbs also take singular and plural forms that help clarify meaning.
With this broad range of usage of elohim in the hebrew bible in mind, we can now turn to beginnings of the usage of elohim in latterday saint. Just one elohim did what the greeks thought hundreds of gods would have done. Besides this evidence from the hebrew bible, i have also posted examples from ancient mesopotamian texts akkadian from the famous elamarna texts where the plural word for gods ilanu refers to a single person or god just as in the case of hebrew elohim. In the hebrew bible, the word elohim sometimes refers to a single deity, particularly but not. Angels may also be called elohim, depending on how one takes a text or two. Basic biblical hebrew grammar hebrew for christians. Any hebrew grammar book, whether of biblical or modern hebrew, would demonstrate that echad, not yachid, is the everyday. Oconnor, an introduction to biblical hebrew syntax winona lake, ind eisenbrauns, 1990 impf imperfect with reference to the yiqtol verb form impv imperative indef indefinite inf infinitive. The fact that the greek uses the singular theos where the hebrew scriptures use the plural elohim of the true god settles any question as to the singularity. The form of the verb used in hebrew when elohim the true god is the subject is also instructive. Elohim is plural in hebrew, as we can see from h430. However, when referring to the jewish god, elohim is usually understood to be grammatically singular i. The verb must modify the plural noun, elohim, to a singular usage.
It is virtually always singular in form throughout the tanakh. It matches the noun elohim to singular or plural verbs, or with singular or plural pronouns to use sheep again as an example. After reading this article, you will have a clearer understanding of what elohim means in hebrew, and how that affects us as sons and. The problem with yhwh elohim is that hebrew grammar does not permit a proper noun to be put in construction with a common noun, so yhwh elohim cannot mean yhwhlord of gods. As mentioned previously, since adonai and elohim are plural nouns, many christians have used this as a foundation on which to build the christian doctrine of the trinity.
The name elohim is unique to hebraic thinking it occurs only in hebrew and in no other ancient semitic language. The masculine plural ending does not mean gods when referring to the true god of israel. In point of fact, the hebrew bible doesnt even have a word for goddess. The word elohim occurs more than 2500 times in the hebrew bible, with meanings ranging from gods in a general sense as in exodus 12.
Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew, always mean gods plural. Bad grammar at least the way we understand it and all, elohim is awesome. And over 2,000 additional references of elohim to the one god. The pdf files below illustrate from the hebrew that elohim often refers to a god or god proper name. All of this is just basic grammar and every language has grammar. Understanding elohim, the hebrew word most often translated. Grammatical rules in hebrew that are true in the language as a whole. Reprinted, with minor changes, from bountiful harvest. The modern western perspective of god ignores the hebraic concept of balance, which is an integral part of the ancient hebrews perspective of who god is. It was a pleasant surprise to find that each had adhered to the same basic philosophy of teaching hebrew grammar. If we dont come to grips with just what an elohim is, it can create a lot of confusion. The hebrew rendition says, breishit bara elohim et hashamyim vet haeretz.
Both adonai and elohim are plural hebrew nouns adonai is the plural form of adon, meaning my lord. From the very beginning, the ancient hebrew language has had a conventional understanding, but also a pictographic and numeric value. Not invariably, there are other names or references used. Since both the hebrew and the greek are inspired, if the point of elohim, when used of the true god, was to indicate god is more than one, the greek would use the plural form of the noun. Besides this evidence from the hebrew bible, i have also posted examples from ancient mesopotamian texts akkadian from the famous elamarna texts where the plural word for gods ilanu refers to a single person or god just as in. Knowing gods personal name, we can have revelation about who he is. This is a strange grammatical irregularity inasmuch as hebrew grammar requires that a plural subject must always have a plural verb. However, while these names are written in the plural form, they regularly employ singular verbs in hebrew grammar and are singular in usage. The hebrew bible also does not distinguish in person or being between this elohim and jehovah, and therefore, elohim was used as the name or title that was given to jehovah, the elohim of israel. Both the context and the grammatical construction show tha.
Contrary to zechariah sitchin and others, the answer to both questions is no. Prior to this, israelite writers used the paleohebrew pictographic script, which is continue reading. Sep 10, 2012 the most common hebrew word translated as god in the old testament is the word elohim. Demons and the spirits of the human dead are also called elohim in the hebrew text. When used of the true god, elohim denotes what is called by linguists a plural of majesty, honor, or fullness.
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