Elohim

Elohim (אלהים) is a Hebrew word related to deity, but whose exact significance is often disputed. It is the third word in the Hebrew text of Genesis and occurs frequently throughout the Hebrew Bible. In some cases (e.g. Ex. 3:4 ...Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush...), is generally understood to denote the God of Israel but from a neutral point of view there is no evidence proving that this originally meant one rather than several acting in accord. In other cases (e.g. Ex. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.), it refers to the polytheistic notion of multiple gods. In still other cases (e.g. Gen. 6:2 the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them for wives...), the meaning is not clear from the text, but may refer to powerful beings.

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Genesis - Hebrew Bible - God - Israel

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In most English translations of the Bible (e.g. the King James Version), the letter G in "god" is capitalized when the first meaning is implied, but there is no distinction between upper and lower case in the Hebrew text.

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