Following on the heels of yesterday’s discussion about God’s formal name, one good question a lot of folks have is…
…when exactly did the Jewish people start using the title “Elohim” to refer to the Almighty?
The answer to that question is…
…usage of “Elohim” began around 500 BC after the Babylonian Exile.
It was around this time that whenever they came across the word יהוה while reading Scripture, they started saying Elohim out loud instead of how they normally pronounced God’s real Name (the pronunciation of which has since been lost to history).
Many scholars believe (and I agree with them) that the term Elohim was used because it was a very common word throughout the whole Middle East that simply meant god or gods.
Remember El was originally a Mesopotamian word so the Hebrews likely borrowed it from Babylonian culture (Babylonia was in Mesopotamia).
Two important points here.
FIRST, if the Hebrews didn’t start using the term Elohim until around 500 BC, that means up until that point in time, they were referring to God as YHVH and NOT Adonai or Hashem or some other nickname they deemed appropriate.
Did you catch that?
Let me say that again.
If the Hebrews didn’t start using the word Elohim until 500 BC, that means they were calling on the real Name of the Lord (which Scripture commands us to do by the way) up until that point in time.
SECOND, the truth be told, the word Elohim is plural.
Therefore, in the English language it would not be a mistake to translate Elohim as gods in the plural.
However, don’t overlook the fact that in Hebrew in the case of Elohim, the plural form does NOT always mean more than one.
The word Elohim could also be referring to the preeminence or greatness of God.
And no this plural form is not indirectly referring to some ridiculous trinity teaching.
There are actually many titles of God beginning with the Mesopotamian title EL such as…
…EL-ELYON (God most high)...
…or…
…EL ROI (God sees me)…
…or…
…EL SHADDAI (God of the mountain)…
…and tons more.
However, what’s interesting is that when we come to the last books of the “Old” Testament, we’ll see the usage of EL becoming less and less.
Why?
Because when we get into the latter books of the OT, Mesopotamian influence on Hebrew culture diminished considerably.
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