Elohim

"And Elohim created Adam" by William Blake . Elohim ( אֱלהִים ) is a Hebrew word which expresses concepts of divinity or deity , notably used as a name of God in Judaism . Its Arabic equivalent is Elohiah ( إلوهية ). It is related to the Northwest Semitic word ʾēl ( אֱל ) "god". Within Hebrew, it is morphologically a plural, in use both as a true plural with the meaning "angels, gods, rulers" and as a "plural intensive" with singular meaning, referring to a god or goddess, and especially to the single God of Israel . The associated singular Eloah ( אלוה ) occurs only in poetry and in late Biblical Hebrew, in imitation of Aramaic usage. The notion of divinity underwent radical changes throughout the period of early Israelite identity. The ambiguity of the term Elohim is the result of such changes, cast in terms of "vertical translatability" by Smith (2008), i.e. the re-interpretation of the gods of the earliest recalled period as the national god of the monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BC in the Kingdom of Judah and during the Babylonian captivity , and further in terms of monotheism by the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century AD.

Elohim ( Hebrew : אֱלֹהִים) is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and Biblical Hebrew . Despite the -im ending common to many plural masculine nouns in Hebrew, the word is grammatically singular, and takes a singular verb in the Hebrew Bible when referring to God . When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God . When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or "powers". It is usually translated as " God " in the Hebrew Bible , referring with singular verbs both to the God of Israel , and in a few examples to other singular pagan deities . With plural verbs the word is also used as a true plural with the meaning "gods". It is generally thought that Elohim is a formation from eloah , the latter being an expanded form of the Northwest Semitic noun il ( אֵל , ʾēl ). The related nouns eloah ( אלוה ) and el ( אֵל ) are used as proper names or as generics, in which case they are interchangeable with elohim . The notion of divinity underwent radical changes throughout the period of early Israelite identity. 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 of monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the Kingdom of Judah and during the Babylonian captivity , and further in terms of monotheism by the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century CE. The word is identical to the usual plural of el meaning gods or magistrates, and is cognate to the ' l-h-m found in Ugaritic , where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods , the children of El and conventionally vocalized as "Elohim". Most use 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). Hebrew grammar allows for this nominally-plural form to mean "He is the Power (singular) over powers (plural)", or roughly, "God of gods". Rabbinic scholar Maimonides wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be homonyms . Glinert Modern Hebrew: An Essential Grammar Routledge p14 section 13 "(b) Agreement of verbs Verbs agree with their subject, and not only in gender and number but also in person.

Deity or deities in the Hebrew Bible This article is about the Hebrew word. Elohim in Hebrew script. The letters are, right-to-left: aleph - lamed - he - yud - mem . In the Hebrew Bible , elohim ( Hebrew : אֱלֹהִים ‎ ) sometimes refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel , at other times it refers to deities in the plural. The word is the plural form of the word eloah and related to el , which means gods or magistrates, and it is cognate to the word ' l-h-m which is found in Ugaritic , where it is used as the pantheon 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 wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be homonyms . The notion of divinity underwent radical changes in the early period of Israelite identity and development of Ancient Hebrew religion . 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 of monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the Kingdom of Judah and during the Babylonian captivity , and further in terms of monotheism by the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century CE. Elohim The Hebrew word usually translated "God," though its plural form is sometimes also translated "gods." It is originally a common noun (a god), though it is often used as a proper noun for the God of Israel, even though it is a plural form.

Word for deity or deities in the Hebrew Bible This article is about the Hebrew word. Elohim in Hebrew script. The letters are, right-to-left: aleph - lamed - he - yud - mem . Elohim ( : ), the plural of אֱלוֹהַּ‎ ( ʾĔlōah ), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural , in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly the God of Israel in the majestic plural . In other verses it refers to the singular gods of other nations or to deities in the plural. Morphologically , the word is the plural form of the word eloah and related to el . It is cognate to the word ' l-h-m which is found in Ugaritic , where it is used as the pantheon 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 Deity, is distinct from generic usage as elohim , "gods" (plural, simple noun). Rabbinic scholar Maimonides wrote that Elohim "Divinity" and elohim "gods" are commonly understood to be homonyms . One modern theory suggests that the notion of divinity underwent radical changes in the early period of Israelite identity and development of Ancient Hebrew religion . 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 of monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the Kingdom of Judah and during the Babylonian captivity , and further in terms of monotheism by the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century CE. Another theory, building on an idea by Gesenius, argues that even before Hebrew became a distinct language, the plural elohim had both a plural meaning of "gods" and an abstract meaning of "godhood" or "divinity", much as the plural of "father", avot , can mean either "fathers" or "fatherhood". Elohim then came to be used so frequently in reference to specific deities, both male and female, domestic and foreign (for instance, the goddess of the Sidonians in 1 Kings 11:33), that it came to be concretized from meaning "divinity" to meaning "deity", though still occasionally used adjectivally as "divine". New York : Oxford University Press . p. The Hebrew word usually translated "God," though its plural form is sometimes also translated "gods." It is originally a common noun (a god), though it is often used as a proper noun for the God of Israel, even though it is a plural form. Edinburgh : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 20 July 1998 . Elohim , singular Eloah , (Hebrew: God), the God of Israel in the Old Testament. 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 shofeṭim ), and the Messiah —is 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.). When referring to Yahweh, elohim very often is accompanied by the article ha- , to mean, in combination, "the God," and sometimes with a further identification Elohim ḥayyim , meaning "the living God." Though Elohim is plural in form, it is understood in the singular sense. 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. The Israelites probably borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in meaning in their cultic practices and theological reflections.

Word for deity or deities in the Hebrew Bible This article is about the Hebrew word. Elohim in Hebrew script. The letters are, right-to-left: aleph - lamed - he - yud - mem . Elohim ( Hebrew : אֱלֹהִים , romanized : ʾĔlōhīm [(ʔ)eloˈ(h)im] ) is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural in form, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity , particularly but not always the God of Judaism . In other verses it takes plural agreement and refers to gods in the plural. Morphologically , the word is the plural form of the word אֱלוֹהַּ ( ʾĔlōah ) and related to el . It is cognate to the word ʾl-h-m which is found in Ugaritic , where it is used as the pantheon 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 Deity, is distinct from generic usage as elohim , "gods" (plural, simple noun). Rabbinic scholar Maimonides wrote that Elohim "Divinity" and elohim "gods" are commonly understood to be homonyms . One modern theory suggests that the notion of divinity underwent radical changes in the early period of Israelite identity and development of Ancient Hebrew religion . 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 of monolatrism as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the Kingdom of Judah and during the Babylonian captivity , and further in terms of monotheism by the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century CE. Another theory, building on an idea by Gesenius, argues that even before Hebrew became a distinct language, the plural elohim had both a plural meaning of "gods" and an abstract meaning of "godhood" or "divinity", much as the plural of "father", avot , can mean either "fathers" or "fatherhood". Elohim then came to be used so frequently in reference to specific deities, both male and female, domestic and foreign (for instance, the goddess of the Sidonians in 1 Kings 11:33), that it came to be concretized from meaning "divinity" to meaning "deity", though still occasionally used adjectivally as "divine". There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).