The following post was in part a response to the topic What is the Fathers Name at Puritan Belief. See link at right.
It started getting good to me so I worked it up into a post here.
"In the beginning God created heaven and earth" (Genesis 1:1).
God here is Elohim. It's the first of the three primary names of Deity. It is always plural as is backed up in Genesis 1:26 which demonstrates the plurality of the name,
"And God said, Let us....".
The following verse, Genesis 1:27 demonstrates the unity of the name.
"So God created man in his own image...."
Where did the US go? It's in the plural name Elohim.
In Exodus 3:14 we have God, Elohim, saying I AM THAT I AM.
In Exodus 3:15 we have Elohim still speaking and He says His name is Yahweh which means to be, subsist, signifies "He who is", or "subsists", i.e., eminently and in a manner superior to all other beings; and is essentially the same with eheyeh, "I AM", in the preceding verse.
When Elohim speaks saying that He is Yahweh and that it is His Name forever He is saying that He is the self existent one and that He is in that position forever.
If one looks at "this is MY NAME" in Exodus 3:15 you will find that the word rendered "my name" in Hebrew means position.
The third primary name for God is Adonai. The name Adonai, translated "Lord" (only the "L" capitalized), occurs approximately 300 times in the Old Testament. It's interesting to note that it is almost always used in the plural possessive form meaning "My Lords".
So we have Elohim which is a plural name for One God. We have Elohim calling Himself Yahweh which literally means I AM, and we have Adonai which again is a plural name of Lords.
Seems to me God is saying. I AM LORD!
"the LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4).
9 comments:
Very good Michael. This is good evidence for the truth of the Trinity.
fantasitc michael,
I love getting more insight into the original language, so many subtlties are lost in translation.
MDM
WOW!!!!, I have to share this, thanks Michael, this is good!
Now that the mystery of Gods name is revealed there is only one name.
"...even to them that believe on his name:" John 1:12
When you were born again did God reveal His name to you as Elohim?
One of the first things I learned was the name Elohim. When I told God I was listening if He had anything else to say I bought a bible and started reading from Genesis to Revelation.
Right of the bat I was like, "What with this US stuff?". So I asked some questions and got an answer.
I have relearned this truth numerous times before it stuck. I just learned the plurality of Adonai when I was writing this post.
I love Genesis 1:1 aswell.
ENG: In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
HEB: Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'arets.
Bereshit - having the meanings of "birth", "creation", "cause", "beginning", "source" and "origin"
bara - primarily: to create out of nothing, to make without using pre-existing material).
Elohim - Plural (more than 2) form of 'God'.
These are just the first three words!
keep up the good work michael.
MDM
Why couldn't you answer me with Jesus?
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Puritan,
I guess I misunderstood your question. I thought you were asking when I learned the name Elohim.
Translators of the Hebrew Bible for thousands of years, beginning with the Greek Septuagint before the birth of Christ, have translated Hebrew plural titles and terms as singular. Virtually all the translators of English Bibles over hundreds of years, themselves Trinitarian, have not translated as the some here suggest. Why? This is because in Hebrew, and other Semitic languages, the plural form of a noun may indicate an intensive or majestic quality, not just a plural quantity as we would commonly have in English.
My friends, you are missing basic information about the Hebrew language and would be obviously inconsistent in your reasoning. Whether "creator", "god" or "lord;" there are unique uses of the plural in Hebrew for titles, referring to both God and to men. "Elohim"(God), and "Adonai"(Lord) are both plural. If we are to consistently follow the suggested implications of plural, then the literal translation of all these common titles should be "Gods" and "Lords." Would the authors say, "Thus, because God is tri-personal He can be described as "Gods" and "Lords" in any passage of scripture?"
Would he have us translate Genesis 1:1 as, "In the beginning Gods [Elohim] created the heaven and the earth?"
Would he have us translate Genesis 15:2 as, "And Abram said, O Lords [Adonai] Jehovah, what wilt thou give me…?"
But, of course, not. The authors do not do this since it would not quite fit with Trinitarian theory. This is obviously an inconsistent application of a premise, and a wildly unorthodox premise: a scholarly blunder.
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