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What Does Elohim Mean?
Elohim is the ordinary Hebrew word for God, first in Genesis 1:1. It is plural in form, takes a singular verb for the God of Israel, and also means false gods, angels, or judges.
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Elohim (Hebrew אֱלֹהִים, Strong’s H430) is the ordinary Hebrew word for God. It is the word in Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The form is plural, but when it means the God of Israel it takes a singular verb, and the King James Version translates it “God.” When it means the gods of the nations it is translated “gods.”
Key Points
- Elohim is Strong’s H430, from Eloah (H433), the singular. (1)
- In Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:1 · King James Version
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source “God created” is a plural noun with a singular verb. - Genesis 1:26Genesis 1:26 · King James Version
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26 · King James VersionOpen source has God say, “Let us make man in our image.” - The same word means other gods in Exodus 20:3Exodus 20:3 · King James Version
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3 · King James VersionOpen source, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and judges or rulers in Psalm 82:1Psalms 82:1 · King James VersionGod standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Psalms 82:1 · King James VersionOpen source and Psalm 82:6Psalms 82:6 · King James VersionI have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Psalms 82:6 · King James VersionOpen source. - Psalm 45:6Psalms 45:6 · King James Version
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Psalms 45:6 · King James VersionOpen source, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,” is quoted of the Son in Hebrews 1:8Hebrews 1:8 · King James VersionBut unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Hebrews 1:8 · King James VersionOpen source. - Elohim is joined to the divine name as “the LORD God,” first in Genesis 2:4Genesis 2:4 · King James Version
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Genesis 2:4 · King James VersionOpen source.
Elohim in the Hebrew Bible
| Hebrew | |
|---|---|
| Strong’s Number | H430 |
| Strong’s Definition | elohim: gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative |
| Meaning | The ordinary Hebrew word for God. It is plural in form and takes a singular verb when it means the God of Israel. |
| King James Version | God, and gods when the subject is not the true God |
| Verses in the Hebrew Text | elohim (H430): 2,246 |
| First Occurrence | elohim: Genesis 1:1 |
| Reference | King James Version |
|---|---|
| Genesis 1:1 | In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. |
| Genesis 1:26 | And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. |
| Genesis 17:7 | And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. |
| Exodus 20:2 | I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
| Exodus 20:3 | Thou shalt have no other gods before me. |
| Deuteronomy 6:4 | Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: |
| Psalm 45:6 | Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. |
| Psalm 82:1 | God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. |
| Isaiah 40:3 | The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. |
| Isaiah 45:22 | Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. |
| Hebrews 1:8 | But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. |
The verse count is too long to print here. Every verse is on the Elohim word page.
Eloah, the Singular
| Hebrew | |
|---|---|
| Strong’s Number | H433 |
| Strong’s Definition | eloha: a deity or the Deity |
| Meaning | The singular of Elohim. Forty-one of its verses are in Job. |
| King James Version | God |
| Verses in the Hebrew Text | eloha (H433): 59 |
| First Occurrence | eloha: Deuteronomy 32:15 |
| Reference | King James Version |
|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 32:15 | But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. |
| Job 3:4 | Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. |
| Psalm 18:31 | For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? |
| Isaiah 44:8 | Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. |
Plural Form, One God
The plural form does not make Israel’s God more than one God. Deuteronomy 6:4Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen source says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD,” and “our God” there is Elohim. Christians have read the plural form and the “us” of Genesis 1:26Genesis 1:26 · King James VersionAnd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26 · King James VersionOpen source alongside the Trinity; that teaching is set out in What Is the Trinity?.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elohim Plural?
The form is plural. When it means the God of Israel it takes singular verbs and adjectives, as in Genesis 1:1Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source.
Does Elohim Ever Mean Something Other Than God?
Yes. It means the gods of the nations in Exodus 20:3Exodus 20:3 · King James VersionThou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3 · King James VersionOpen source, and it is used of judges in Psalm 82:6Psalms 82:6 · King James VersionI have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Psalms 82:6 · King James VersionOpen source, which Jesus quotes in John 10:34John 10:34 · King James VersionJesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
John 10:34 · King James VersionOpen source.
Keep Reading
References
- James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary (1890. Public domain. The Strong’s numbers and definitions on this site’s Hebrew word pages.)
- Book of Genesis, 1:1; 1:26Genesis 1:1 · King James Version
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Book of Psalms, 45:6; 82:1Psalms 45:6 · King James Version
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Psalms 45:6 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Letter to the Hebrews, 1:8Hebrews 1:8 · King James Version
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Hebrews 1:8 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version
See Also
- The Jehovah Compound Names — Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah-tsidkenu, Jehovah-shammah, and the other names that join the divine name to a word, with the Hebrew, Strong’s numbers, and every King James verse.
- The Names of God in Hebrew — Elohim, El, Eloah, El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Olam, El Roi, Adonai, YHWH, Yah, the LORD of hosts, and the Jehovah compound names, with the Hebrew, Strong’s numbers, meanings, first occurrences, and King James verses.
- What Does Adonai Mean? — Adonai is the Hebrew title Lord, used of God alone. Every King James verse with Adonai, how Lord GOD is printed, and why Psalm 110:1 has a different word.
- What Does El Elyon Mean? — El Elyon is God Most High, first in Genesis 14:18 where Melchizedek is priest of the most high God. Every King James verse that calls God the most High, with the Hebrew and Strong’s numbers.
- What Does El Shaddai Mean? — El Shaddai is God Almighty, the name God gives Abram in Genesis 17:1. Every King James verse with Shaddai, its Hebrew, its Strong’s number, and where the New Testament uses Almighty.
External Links
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament — The standard public-domain Hebrew lexicon (1906).