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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Elohim
| A B C D E G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U Y Z |
Eber Eden Edom Egypt Ekron El Elam Eldaah Eleasah Eleazar Eliab Eliezer Elijah Elisha Elishah Elizabeth Elkanah Elohim Elyon En-gannim Enoch Enosh Ephah Epher Ephraim Erech Esau Esther Euphrates Eve Ezekiel Ezer Ezra Ezri |
Elohim
Elohim is one of three Divine Names by which the Creator is known as He creates. The creation account is probably the most difficult and most enigmatic passages in Scriptures. It starts at the beginning and it doesn't really end. |
As told by Joel M. Hoffman Ph.D. in his delightful and riveting book In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language - read our review - the Hebrews were the first to incorporate vowels in their written text, and by doing this the previously esoteric art of writing and reading became available to the masses. The seemingly casual command to 'write' something on doors or foreheads included the invention of a writing system that could be learned by everybody. A very big deal, and resulting in the most powerful tool of data preservation up to this common age. Hebrew theology is by far the most influential ever, and this is in part due to the Hebrew invention of vowel notation. This power (this theology) contrasted others by use of the vowel notation, using symbols that were already used and until then only represented consonants: the letters  (waw),  (yod) and  (heh), and to give an example: the word  is either the word dod, meaning beloved (and the is a vowel), or it is the word dud, meaning jar (and the is again a vowel), or it is the word dawid, which is the name David (and the is a consonant).These letters became markers for both the Hebrew identity and the Hebrew religion, including the various names for God. One of these names is the famous Tetragrammaton  - YHWH - which actually exists only of vowels, and is utterly exceptional in many ways, including the fact that it can not be pronounced.The word  (El) was the name of the prominent Canaanite god, whose name was either derived of or became the common word for god in general. The plural of this word is  ; gods. With the addition of the letter , creating the word  , the Hebrews not only stated essential monotheism (by naming a single God after the plural word "gods") but also marked their God as theirs: Elohim is the singular pantheon of the vowel-people.Something similar occured when the name of patriarch Abram (  ) was expanded with the heh into  (Abraham), and the name of matriarch Sarai ( ) was expanded with the heh to Sarah ( ). |
:In TWOTOT , Professor of OT at Covenant T. Sem, R. Laird Harris Ph.D. states, "Most frequently mentioned suggestions for an original meaning are "power" or "fear" but these are widely challenged and much disputed. It may be noted that even if the origin of the word in Canaanite or proto-Semitic is from a root meaning power, this by no means indicates the connotation in Hebrew religious usage. Our word "deity" comes from a root in Sanskrit to mean "sky" but we do not worship a sky-god."
The Abarim Publications Editorial Team feels compelled to reluctantly oppose professor Harris' point of view and subsequent logic. If we do not worship a sky-god, why is in our culture the sky still so strongly associated with heaven? And if the word El originates in a root that means power, the explicit loss of this meaning must be proven (and if proof fails the meaning stands). That the Judaic tradition supports the idea that the most rudimentary experience of God has to do with power is argumentated by Luke 1:49, "For the Mighty One has done great things for me," and Matt 26:64, "...you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right of Power..."
The particle
occurs often in names, and in our attempts to translate, we should also take the following words in account: ('al 90), particle of negation; not, no, neither. ('el 91) preposition that expresses motion towards someone or something; unto, into, besides, in reference to.
('elleh 92), these. ('ala 94), to swear; derivative means oath. ('ala 95) to wail (Jon 1:8).Then there are
('alla 100a), oak, from the assumed and unused root 
, and ('ela 45h), terebinth, from the root 
.It is impossible to combine all these words and seek for a fundamental meaning without beaching on the banks of triviality, but it must be noted that the general form of
is much more common in Hebrew than our word "god" is in Germanic. It seems to be charged with a firmness and fixedness (oak, terebinth, God, these, oath) but also with the notion of seperatedness and disparateness (no/ not, God), as well as a rudimentary sense of transfinity (unto, into, God).However the Hebrews saw God, the name Elohim was far more rich in definate meaning than our abstract word "god."
Though certainly much debated, this Name (still most probably) has to do with the first God-experience that people had; awe or fear for the powers of nature. This word is used for God Himself, but also so-called gods, the wooden or stone images people worshiped. Elohim is even used to (probably) mean 'angels' and even 'judges'. Bottom line: the Name Elohim has something to do with powers: The Powers That Be; The Many Powered. To indicate the Living God this word can be accompanied by YHWH or any description like Elyon, or Shaddai.
For a list of occurrences where the word elohim does not mean God, see our article on the First Commandment.
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