Elohim

Form and meaning. Elohim is a Hebrew plural form related to eloah and el; in Genesis 1:1 it refers to the God who creates and takes a singular verb. Brown-Driver-Briggs distinguishes this usage from references to foreign gods and other heavenly beings. The Jewish Encyclopedia observes that the word's ultimate root meaning is unknown: comparison with other Semitic divine names does not yield a certain etymology. The lexicon records more than twenty-five hundred occurrences, making “God” a familiar translation, but not one that fits every context. Agreement, accompanying words, and narrative setting must be examined before choosing a singular or plural rendering. The form is a grammatical fact; the identity of its referent remains a question to be answered in each passage. [Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430; Jewish Encyclopedia, “Names of God”]

Genesis at the beginning. Genesis 1:1 pairs the plural form elohim with the singular verb “created.” Throughout the chapter, one divine actor speaks, evaluates, and orders. Genesis 1:26 includes “let us make,” a plural expression explained in different ways: divine deliberation, an address to a heavenly court, or later theological interpretation. The next verse returns to the singular when it says that God created humankind. The noun's plural ending alone cannot establish a Christian doctrine formulated later, although the passage did become important to later Christian readers. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes elohim as a divine designation, while Brown-Driver-Briggs records its actual constructions. The grammatical question and the history of interpretation should therefore be presented separately. [Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430; Jewish Encyclopedia, “Names of God”]

Different referents. Exodus 20:3 forbids “other gods,” using the same word in a clearly plural setting. In Exodus 32:4, the declaration about the calf requires attention to the scene and verbal forms before it is translated. Deuteronomy 10:17 calls Israel's God the “God of gods,” juxtaposing a title and a category. Psalm 82:1 places elohim within an assembly and uses the form again for those addressed by the judgment in 82:6. Whether these figures are divine beings, human judges, or figures understood another way remains disputed. Brown-Driver-Briggs lists possible uses, while the Jewish Encyclopedia discusses the divine names. Treating the word as though it always meant only “the one God” would erase contrasts that the passages themselves make. [Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 82:1, 6; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430]

Name and designation. Elohim can designate God, whereas YHWH is the proper name represented by four consonants in the Hebrew text. Genesis 2:4 combines them as YHWH Elohim. The combination does not make them identical words, nor does it imply two gods whenever both appear. The Jewish Encyclopedia notes that the distribution of divine names became an important question in historical studies of Genesis. Scholars continue to debate how the narratives took shape and what weight should be given to the alternation between names; literary accounts differ. Distinguishing a proper name from a designation remains useful regardless of one's position on the book's composition. A translation such as “Lord God” reflects the pairing, though it may hide the fact that the first element represents the tetragrammaton. [Genesis 2:4; Jewish Encyclopedia, “Names of God” and “Genesis”]

Poetry and wisdom. Psalms use elohim in prayer, praise, and protest; Psalm 42:1-2 voices a desire to approach God. In Job the singular eloah appears especially often, according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, showing that books do not use exactly the same range of divine names. Psalm 8:5 raises a translation problem: Hebrew elohim can be understood as “God” or as heavenly beings, while the ancient Greek version chose angels. Hebrews 2:7 uses that Greek wording in its argument. The comparison shows how a later citation can inherit an earlier translation choice. The Hebrew text, its Greek translation, and a Christian reuse of the verse should remain distinguishable, even when they form part of a connected interpretive history. [Psalm 8:5; 42:1-2; Hebrews 2:7; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430]

Second Temple writings. Later Jewish texts continued to describe Israel's God and a heavenly court, but they did not always preserve the Hebrew word elohim: many circulated in Greek or Aramaic. Jubilees 2:2-3 retells creation and mentions heavenly beings; 1 Enoch 14:18-23 describes a vision of the throne. These are thematic comparisons, not proof that any particular word in those works translates elohim. Psalm 82 acquired different later interpretations, and the identity of its “gods” is still debated. It is better to name a specific passage and its language than to transfer a Hebrew dictionary definition into a book written in another language. Such care also prevents the rich range of heavenly imagery in Second Temple literature from being treated as a single fixed doctrine. [Jubilees 2:2-3; 1 Enoch 14:18-23; Psalm 82:1-6; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430]

The New Testament. Greek authors use theos, “God,” and do not normally write the Hebrew word elohim. Mark 12:29 cites the confession in Deuteronomy 6:4 concerning God's oneness; the Greek wording preserves the argument while changing the vocabulary. John 10:34 quotes Psalm 82:6, “I said, you are gods,” and offers a Christian use of a debated Hebrew passage. Hebrews 2:7, quoting Psalm 8:5, follows the Greek version that speaks of angels. None of these citations automatically gives the original Hebrew every nuance that it has in a new literary setting. Study moves from Hebrew wording to ancient translation and then to the argument of the New Testament author. That sequence makes both continuity and reinterpretation visible. [Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:34; Hebrews 2:7; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430]

Later explanations. Some Jewish interpreters called elohim a plural of excellence or majesty to explain its singular sense when it refers to God. The Jewish Encyclopedia offers this as a probable explanation without claiming that it accounts for every construction. Christian readers have connected the plural to the Trinity, but that doctrine was worked out in later debates and is not a rule of Biblical Hebrew grammar. The same form means “other gods” in Exodus 20:3, so one theological explanation cannot determine every instance. Modern study continues to examine Semitic parallels, heavenly council imagery, and literary composition. The secure observation is narrower: a plural form, different uses, and frequent singular agreement when the God of Israel is meant. [Jewish Encyclopedia, “Names of God”; Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430]

Reading an occurrence. In Genesis 1:1, singular agreement and the creation account support “God”; in Exodus 20:3, “other” and the prohibition support “gods.” Psalm 82 needs an account of its judgment scene and acknowledgment of debate about the participants. Genesis 2:4 calls for a distinction between the designation elohim and the name YHWH, even though they stand together. Overall frequency does not decide the meaning of one sentence. Nor can the matter be settled by counting letters or claiming a certain root meaning that the lexicons do not supply. A translator weighs genre, syntax, and links with other passages. A reader can then appreciate both the continuity of the divine designation and the full range that the Hebrew text actually allows. [Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew 430; Jewish Encyclopedia, “Names of God”]