The Elohim are not Gods

Psalm 82:1 in its original Hebrew version literally reads, “Elohim stands in the council of El. He judges among elohim”. English translators of the Bible have usually rendered el or eloah and elim or elohim as “god” and “gods”, respectively. Eloah is the long variant of el, and it might have referred to a member of a group of elim.

The appearances of such words in the original Hebrew version of the Bible have been perplexing Christian translators for centuries, since translating them as “god” and “gods” would undermine the cornerstone of Christian belief, monotheism or recognition, belief, and worship of only one God.

To believe in a Bible that acknowledges the existence of many deities is unpalatable, but this need not be the case. The author would take his cue from the works of biblical scholar Michael S. Heiser to formulate a resolution to the dilemma.

Elohim in Hebrew is plural, especially when the plural form of a verb antecedes it, but its grammatical number is still unsure when a singular one does. Most commentators have been regarding it as a plurality of “majesty” or “excellence”, but the author would contend that elohim functions as a collective noun when the singular form of a verb antecedes it. Such a function has a precedent in the Hebrew word for Egyptians: Mizraim.

Mizraim means “Egyptians” when the plural form of a verb antecedes it, but “Egypt” or “Egyptian people” when a singular one does. Therefore, the Hebrew Scriptures have indicated that a divine council (not a pantheon) headed by Yahweh guides the course of the universe, as Heiser argued in his studies.

How would English translators of the Bible render the words el and eloah, as well as, elim and elohim? They must keep in mind that only Yahweh can be God, so what would such words mean? Heiser argued that the words refer to any dweller of the dimension of spirits. He included angels, souls of dead persons, and daemons in his description of elohim.

Linguists have traditionally derived el and eloah from a proto-Semitic root that meant, “To be strong”, conjuring the ideas of leadership and power. Therefore, the author would define an el as a divine master, eloah as a divine manager, and elohim with the singular form of a verb as a divine management.

In the end, Christian believers need not despair whenever they encounter supposedly unpalatable passages in the Bible. Nobody except Yahweh is God. There is only a divine management consisting of divine masters headed by Yahweh.