So, why the plural form if the referent is singular? Answered by Mark D. Futato, Robert L. Maclellan Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. In addition, when Elohim refers to the true God, it is singular and so translated "God" and not "Gods.". And if that knowledge moves into a relationship, Elohim is now identified as Yahweh. Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, whose name was revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragrammaton. Like most words in English, Elohim can mean several things. Notice that the two phrases Yahweh Tseva'ot and Yahweh Elohim are synonyms, one using a feminine plural word meaning "forces," the other a masculine plural word meaning "powers." The implication is that Elohim is a Family of … Why this change of nomination of God? The Name of God: Elohim. In the original Hebrew, the name Yahweh appears to link directly to the meaning, “He was, he is and he is to come”. Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. What Does it Mean to Have Reverence for God? As his knowledge of truth matures Elohim might take upon a specific character, i.e. As written by Mike Leake, another interesting aspect of the name Elohim is that it is, in fact, a plural. How Is the Fear of the Lord the Beginning of Wisdom? ELOHINU means “our Eloah,” as in (Deut. It is only when our knowledge of Elohim becomes personal that we move towards what the Bible calls saving faith. Verse: The Mighty One, God, the Lord (Jehovah), the Mighty One (El), God (Elohim), the Lord! Save me because of your mercy. Let's take a look at the meaning of YHWH Elohim. This means, we morph our Elohim impulse into worship of some lesser god or we slip into vague notions of a higher power. He is the Elohim above all other elohim. NAME OF GOD: Jehovah El Elohim MEANING: The LORD God of gods, the LORD, mighty, powerful, strong One over all. Yahweh is the name for God given by God especially to Israel. So Psalm 8:1 could be translated "O YHWH, our Master….". Click on the link to send us an email, or you may submit questions via Intellectual Takeout's Ask the Professor feature. Our Heavenly Father, Yahweh Elohim, brought forth His Son from the beginning, and the pre-existent Yahshua was the firstborn of all creation. Yahweh was the national god of Ancient Israel. The significance of this can be seen in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Elohim is sort of a generic name for God, but Yahweh is His personal name and appears only in the Bible, no where else. This is because the Hebrews know that there is only one Yahweh. Yahweh. Professor Sandra Stotsky describes Mann's shaping influe...... 420 Madison Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017, Copyright © 2021 National Association of Scholars, Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock in background. ", Excerpt from Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler. It may also (or alternatively) carry some force as a plural of amplication. After the Babylonian Exile (6th century bce ), and especially from the 3rd century bce on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. This is the case for a fundamental grammatical reason. - Psalm 109:26, Elohim is the Hebrew word for God that appears in the very first sentence of the Bible. At other times the referent is singular. Usually found in poetry, this plural is an emphatic statement of the root idea, as might and counsel.”. All rights reserved. Elohim has the basic meaning of “mighty ones” or “strong ones” or “powerful ones”. Though El is used more than 200 times in the Hebrew Bible, Elohim is used more than 2,500 times. and the most common use in the scripture. Many scholars refer to this as a divine plural. | BibleStudyTools.com, Praying the Names of God | Christianity.com. The words Elohim and Adonai are titles. After that the name Yahweh appears as well and is often paired with Elohim and, in the NIV, the two together are translated "the LORD God. In reality, a man drowning in ten feet of water isn’t in much better shape than a man drowning in a hundred feet of water. In Genesis 1 only Elohim is used to refer to deity. What Is Elohim? What does the word Yahweh mean? The meaning hidden in the name Yahweh . The song of Moses is making a comparison between Yahweh and the other Elim, and recognizing that Yahweh is more glorious and holy than the other Elim. Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright © 2021, Christianity.com. Such an honorific plural is used for humans in texts like 1Kings 1:43, where we read, "our lord King David." We especially welcome questions that provide professors the occasion to draw erudite distinctions and incorporate mention of matters you had no idea were connected to the topic at hand. UPDATED 5/6/21: A repository of 172 administrators, professors, and students who have been "canceled" for expressing views deemed unacceptable by higher education ideologue...... A sampling of arguments for the idea that college may not be for everyone.... Nehama R. Bersohn explains the word's possible meanings. It is not only used of the one true God but is also used on occasion to refer to human rulers, judges, and even angels. If a small child sees a furry animal he may very well refer to it as a puppy dog, but as he matures he is able to clearly differentiate between a puppy dog and a kitty. The construct state is the Hebrew way of expressing all the relationships that English expresses with the simple word "of." Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. First, YHWH Elohim cannot mean "Lord of Gods." Elohim occurs thirty-two times in the first chapter of Genesis. Who is YAHWEH? Questions submitted for consideration should call more for educated judgment than for facts that can be found easily with an internet search. In this text "LORD" (small caps) translates YHWH, while "Lord" translates a common noun for "master," which is in this text plural in form though referring to the singular YHWH. At other times it refers to the singular "God," as in "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). When we pray to Elohim, we remember that he is the one who began it all, creating the heavens and the earth and separating light from darkness, water from dry land, night from day. Elohim is actually a plural noun (indicated by the /im/ as in cherubim and seraphim). This is an imperfect illustration of the relationship between Elohim and Yahweh, but perhaps it will capture enough of the thought to be helpful. The text (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) of the Shema reads "yahweh eloheinu", meaning "Yahweh is our god". 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