Does the name â??Elohimâ?� mean Gods?

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I was reading a book by a non-LDS author who said the word can be translated â??Godsâ?.

Also McConkie said the same in Mormon Doctrine, he said Gods or God of Godsâ?

Then I found this in an online dictionaryâ?¦

Elohim

a name of God in the Bible, 1605, from Heb., pl. (of majesty?) of Eloh "God," a word of unknown etymology, perhaps an augmentation of El "God," also of unknown origin. Generally taken as singular, the use of this word instead of Yahveh is taken by biblical scholars as an important clue to authorship in the O.T.

Online Etymology Dictionary,

[maklelan]

The term is found in the plural but with singular subjects and verbs throughout the Northwest Semitic languages, so it's not unique to Hebrew. It was originally an abstract plural. That is to say, the original word, el, was rendered an abstract by pluralizing it (elohim). This is common in Hebrew. The abstraction of "father," ab, is abot (fatherhood), the plural. So this means elohim was originally "divinity," or "deity." It can also be used as a simple plural ("gods"). After a long time being used as a reference to a particular deity, it became "concretized," or the abstract quality was largely lost. This is how it is used almost as a personal name for Israel's god (the God). Its generic and abstract sense, however, was not totally lost. It can still be used in the sense of "divinity," or "deity," but it can also be used adjectively, "divine." The exegete has to use the syntax, the context, and the historical usage to determine if the word should be translated "God," "gods," "divinity," "deity," or "divine."

[Olavarria]

Depends on the context...

^{א וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים, אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֵאמֹר. {ס}}

1 And God spoke all these words, saying: {S}

^{ב אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים: לֹא-יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים, עַל-פָּנָי.}

2 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

The term is found in the plural but with singular subjects and verbs throughout the Northwest Semitic languages, so it's not unique to Hebrew. It was originally an abstract plural. That is to say, the original word, el, was rendered an abstract by pluralizing it (elohim). This is common in Hebrew. The abstraction of "father," ab, is abot (fatherhood), the plural. So this means elohim was originally "divinity," or "deity." It can also be used as a simple plural ("gods"). After a long time being used as a reference to a particular deity, it became "concretized," or the abstract quality was largely lost. This is how it is used almost as a personal name for Israel's god (the God). Its generic and abstract sense, however, was not totally lost. It can still be used in the sense of "divinity," or "deity," but it can also be used adjectively, "divine." The exegete has to use the syntax, the context, and the historical usage to determine if the word should be translated "God," "gods," "divinity," "deity," or "divine."

So in Gen 1: 1 If it read "In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth". Would it be "Gods" (as noted in the BoA, or "God" as noted in the Bible?

[maklelan]

So in Gen 1: 1 If it read "In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth". Would it be "Gods" (as noted in the BoA, or "God" as noted in the Bible?

Well, the verb is singular, so it would be "God," but if we turn to verse 26 it uses some plural verbs and pronouns, meaning God wasn't alone in the creation (specifically of humanity). The problem is that the text most likely has several layers of redaction executed over several centuries, so we don't know for sure what the text originally said. According to other Near Eastern cosmogonic myths, it was plural gods that created the earth and humanity. In Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation myth, Marduk killed the chaos monster Tiamat and split her body in half, with half being set up as the heavens, and the other half as the earth. Then the gods convened a council to decide how to create humanity. They had to kill a god to do it. One god offered his own blood, so they killed him, and by mixing his blood with the dirt, created humanity. There are a bunch of cool stories like that in the literature of the ancient Near East.

[Lightbearer]

So can one of you pundit (or anyone from the Brain trust) types help?

I am not a pundit or a "brain trust" type but I have heard the following reference:

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith Section Six 1843-44, p.371-372) "Some say I do not interpret the Scripture the same as they do. They say it means the heathen's gods. Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many; and that makes a plurality of Gods, in spite of the whims of all men. Without a revelation, I am not going to give them the knowledge of the God of heaven. You know and I testify that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods. I have it from God, and get over it if you can. I have a witness of the Holy Ghost, and a testimony that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods in the text. I will show from the Hebrew Bible that I am correct, and the first word shows a plurality of Gods; and I want the apostates and learned men to come here and prove to the contrary, if they can. An unlearned boy must give you a little Hebrew.Berosheit baurau Eloheim ait aushamayeen vehau auraits, rendered by King James' translators, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." I want to analyze the word Berosheit. Rosh, the head; Sheit, a grammatical termination; the Baith was not originally put there when the inspired man wrote it, but it has been since added by an old Jew. Baurau signifies to bring forth; Eloheim is from the word Eloi, God, in the singular number; and by adding the word heim, it renders it Gods. It read first, "In the beginning he head of the Gods brought forth the Gods," or, as other have translated it, "The head of the Gods called the Gods together." I want to show a little learning as well as other fools. The head God organized the heavens and the earth. I defy all the world to refute me. In the beginning the heads of the Gods organized the heavens and the earth. Now the learned priests and the people rage, and the heathen imagine a vain thing. If we pursue the Hebrew text further, it reads, "The head one of the Gods said, Let us make a man in our own image," I once asked a learned Jew, "If the Hebrew language compels us to render all words ending in heim in the plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural?" He replied, "That is the rule with few exceptions; but in this case it would ruin the Bible." He acknowledged I was right. I came here to investigate these things precisely as I believe them. Hear and judge for yourselves; and if you go away satisfied, well and good."

At least that is what the Prophet Joseph taught.

[Cold Steel]

So in Gen 1: 1 If it read "In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth". Would it be "Gods" (as noted in the BoA, or "God" as noted in the Bible?

Keep in mind that we don't have any of these books in their originals; they've all been altered and revised over time. The best commentary I can find is still Joseph Smith's commentary in the King Follett Discourse.

.

[jkfrost]

I was reading a book by a non-LDS author who said the word can be translated â??Godsâ?.

Also McConkie said the same in Mormon Doctrine, he said Gods or God of Godsâ?

Then I found this in an online dictionaryâ?¦

Elohim

a name of God in the Bible, 1605, from Heb., pl. (of majesty?) of Eloh "God," a word of unknown etymology, perhaps an augmentation of El "God," also of unknown origin. Generally taken as singular, the use of this word instead of Yahveh is taken by biblical scholars as an important clue to authorship in the O.T.

Online Etymology Dictionary,

[urroner]

Michael Heiser has a little article about Elohim and its meaning here. I believe that some of his beliefs are wrong, but you'll catch me trying to correct him. He'd mop the floor with me after stealing my lunch and eating it.

Also, this is from the Mormonwiki:

Modern LDS Usage

The name Jehovah is today used to represent the premortal Jesus Christ who came to earth as a son of Mary while the term Elohim is used almost exclusively as a name for God the Father, although this is not the way it is used in the Old Testament as we now have it. It seems as if this LDS traditional usage began with the Endowment when Joseph Smith needed a distinct name for God the Father and chose to use the term Elohim to refer to Him. Although this name is appropriate for God the Father, it is important to not retroactively apply this usage to the Old Testament (For example, see Genesis 2:9 where the term Elohim is applied to Jehovah).

Although the Old Testament as we have it today does not use the term Elohim as the name of a distinct individual from Jehovah, Margaret Barker, a non-LDS Biblical scholar has proposed that the earliest Biblical traditions differentiated between El (the Father) and Jehovah (the Son)[1]. If she is correct, then the lack of distinction between Elohim and Jehovah evident in the Old Testament as it stands today is a deviation from an earlier tradition which matches with modern LDS usage.

This page in the Mormonwiki has a footnote in it, but I can't find the footnote anywhere. Can anybody help me here?

[maklelan]

Michael Heiser has a little article about Elohim and its meaning here. I believe that some of his beliefs are wrong, but you'll catch me trying to correct him. He'd mop the floor with me after stealing my lunch and eating it.

Also, this is from the Mormonwiki:

This page in the Mormonwiki has a footnote in it, but I can't find the footnote anywhere. Can anybody help me here?

El and Yahweh were indeed originally conceived of as distinct deities, irrespective of Heiser's position. That is not even really debatable anymore. The main question now is when and how they were conflated. Yahweh is generally recognized as a Hebrew cognate to the Syro-Palestinian storm god Baal (see Psalm 29 for a very archaic psalm about Yahweh as a storm god), who was the son of the higher god El. Originally Yahweh was cast in that role, but they were later conflated, probably when Saul institutionalized Yahwism (bringing it from his hometown in the south).