Translated into english, the word is god capital or lowercase g, and oddly enough can refer to either yahweh god, or to humans. In the hebrew bible, the word elohim sometimes refers to a single deity, particularly but not. Basic biblical hebrew grammar hebrew for christians. 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. In genesis 1, for example where the reader is first introduced to elohim the creator the hebrew verb form is. From the very beginning, the ancient hebrew language has had a conventional understanding, but also a pictographic and numeric value. Reprinted, with minor changes, from bountiful harvest. The form of the verb used in hebrew when elohim the true god is the subject is also instructive. In hebrew, verbs also take singular and plural forms that help clarify meaning. Elohim is plural in hebrew, as we can see from h430. Both the context and the grammatical construction show tha. In the beginning, god elohim created the heavens and the earth, gen. Ithe plural elohim is in several passages judges 11, 24.
However, while these names are written in the plural form, they regularly employ singular verbs in hebrew grammar and are singular in usage. The grammar in context will tell us if it is definitely singular or plural. 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. Any hebrew grammar book, whether of biblical or modern hebrew, would demonstrate that echad, not yachid, is the everyday. 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. Sep 10, 2012 the most common hebrew word translated as god in the old testament is the word elohim. Grammatical rules in hebrew that are true in the language as a whole. 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. Not invariably, there are other names or references used. Angels may also be called elohim, depending on how one takes a text or two. Gesenius hebrew grammar palmer theological seminary. Using pluralform nouns for singular subjects and objects is not uncommon in hebrew grammar. The concept of elohim and theos in an urhobo cosmological.
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. In the beginning elohim created the heavens and the earth genesis 1. Demons and the spirits of the human dead are also called elohim in the hebrew text. In our modern culture we tend to view god in masculine terms and imagery. Professor seixas, the hebrew bible, and the bookof abraham michael t.
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. Most of the time, whenever the word elohimis used of the true god, the verb. Usage of the title elohim religious studies center. The verb must modify the plural noun, elohim, to a singular usage.
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 second elohim must be plural, since the preposition in front of it in the midst of requires more than one. Understanding elohim, the hebrew word most often translated. Contrary to zechariah sitchin and others, the answer to both questions is no. In the same passage, the word translated firmament in the king james literally means expanse in. Prior to this, israelite writers used the paleohebrew pictographic script, which is continue reading. Several other nouns are found in the plural form even though they refer to a single subjectobject. The meaning of elohim in hebrew curious about the meaning of elohim in hebrew. In point of fact, the hebrew bible doesnt even have a word for goddess.
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 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. Elohim is used repeatedly in that passage thirtyfive times. Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew, always mean gods plural. The phrase, yahweh your elohim, is like, john your doctor, where elohim, and doctor, are not names, but titles. The masculine plural ending does not mean gods when referring to the true god of israel. Elohim as the subject of a singular predicator results in hebrew and english elohim as the subject of. 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. After reading this article, you will have a clearer understanding of what elohim means in hebrew, and how that affects us as sons and. It was a pleasant surprise to find that each had adhered to the same basic philosophy of teaching hebrew grammar. 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 masculine plural ending does not mean gods when referring to. Well this is true when only looking at the hebrew grammar one cannot still know for certain if. When used of the true god, elohim denotes what is called by linguists a plural of majesty, honor, or fullness. The hebrew rendition says, breishit bara elohim et hashamyim vet haeretz. Each hebrew letter represents a different ideogram, and thus. It matches the noun elohim to singular or plural verbs, or with singular or plural pronouns to use sheep again as an example. Normally, one would expect that with the plural noun elohim, a plural verb form would be used. 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.
This is a strange grammatical irregularity inasmuch as hebrew grammar requires that a plural subject must always have a plural verb. 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. 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. Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew. The contemporary square script letters of the hebrew alphabet were likely introduced into israel by ezra the scribe after the babylonian exile. Just one elohim did what the greeks thought hundreds of gods would have done. He found that his fear that he would violate the image of god inside of him gave the. 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.
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. Professor seixas, the hebrew bible, and the bookof abraham. If we dont come to grips with just what an elohim is, it can create a lot of confusion. 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. Both adonai and elohim are plural hebrew nouns adonai is the plural form of adon, meaning my lord. Bad grammar at least the way we understand it and all, elohim is awesome. It is virtually always singular in form throughout the tanakh. The most common hebrew word translated as god in the old testament is the word elohim. In addition, when elohim refers to the true god, it is singular and so translated god and not gods.
The word elohim can mean either plural gods or singular god or god as a proper name. The pdf files below illustrate from the hebrew that elohim often refers to a god or god proper name. Knowing gods personal name, we can have revelation about who he is. Elohim definition and meaning collins english dictionary. How does orthodox judaism explain the pluralistic meaning. It matches the noun elohim to singular or plural verbs, or with singular or plural pronouns to use sheep again as an. On the occasions when elohim is attached to verbs that are in the plural form, we must understand that as referring to a group. All occurrences of elohim in the hebrew bible results in hebrew. Part 1 by nehemia gordon in the beginning, elohim created the heavens and the earth. How does orthodox judaism explain the pluralistic meaning of. 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. There are some scholars who argue that elohim in reference to yahweh must be a grammatical plurality only.
In the beginning, god elohim created the heavens and the earth genesis 1. Elohim, the archetype original pattern of the universe 1 introduction. Maxwell institute for religious scholarship, 2011, 135 since the word elohim never occurs in any of our english. And over 2,000 additional references of elohim to the one god. Elohim, the archetype original pattern of the universe 1. Biblical hebrew has its own ways of telling us if elohim means one person or many gods. Hebrew actually uses elohim since its a generic word for god for foreign goddesses see i kings 11. 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. The name elohim occurs over 2,500 times in the tanakh. It is one of the most common names for god in the old testament, starting in the very first verse. All of this is just basic grammar and every language has grammar. Annotated key to lambdins introduction to biblical hebrew jsot manuals, issn 02621754. 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.
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. The name elohim is unique to hebraic thinking it occurs only in hebrew and in no other ancient semitic language. The vocabulary and selected sentences presented by seixas included examples from most of genesis, part of exodus, and several of the psalms. In the beginning, god elohim created singular the heavens and the earth. The nature of god ahrc ancient hebrew research center.
However, when referring to the jewish god, elohim is usually understood to be grammatically singular i. At times the meaning is ambiguous there are no certain grammaticalcontextual clues, but. Aug 30, 2016 from the very beginning, the ancient hebrew language has had a conventional understanding, but also a pictographic and numeric value. All of that is to state that the word elohim isnt automatically plural. Does elohim, since it is structurally plural in hebrew, always mean.
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