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God/Elohim

Discussion in '2003 Archive' started by wopik, Dec 20, 2003.

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  1. wopik

    wopik New Member

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    Is "God" the name of the one supreme being or the name of a kind of being, or both?
     
    #1 wopik, Dec 20, 2003
  2. Ransom

    Ransom Active Member

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    wopik said:

    Is "God" the name of the one supreme being or the name of a kind of being, or both?

    Both. What kind of being is God? He's a god.

    This is a peculiarity of the English language; in Hebrew, God's proper name is spelled by four Hebrew letters usually transliterated YHWH in English and generally thought to be pronounced "Yahweh." That is who God is. What God is, in Hebrew, is an elohim (the plural is intentional, even when referring to the singular one true God).
     
    #2 Ransom, Dec 20, 2003
  3. ChurchBoy

    ChurchBoy New Member

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    So is "Yahweh" God's name?
     
    #3 ChurchBoy, Dec 20, 2003
  4. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    God said that His special, private ("nickname" may be too flippant) name is YHWH. He made that clear to Moshe back in Exodus 6 -
    Other Hebrew words for "god (elohim), lord (adonai)" etc could apply to demons and false gods. But in combination - like el elyon or Adonai YHWH - even the words like these because "names" or "titles" of God.
     
    #4 Dr. Bob, Dec 20, 2003
  5. Charles Meadows

    Charles Meadows New Member

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    YHWH is God's name - we really don't know how to pronounce it (although we have some good guesses) as the Jews were shy about saying it! Even today when a conservative rabbi incants the scriptures in Hebrew he will substitute "adonai" for YHWH. Adonai means lord; in the KJV "lord" not in all capitals is usually "adonai" in Hebrew where as LORD is YHWH.

    Elohim is a little different. The root word "El" (Elohim is actually a masculine plural form) is a primitive Canaanite word which means "god". When the Old Testament speaks of "other gods" the word is usually Elohim.

    It is an interesting question as to whether it is a name or a descriptor of Him. Although ancient pagans knew what a "god" was they did not have any "gods" who were ever depicted as being all-powerful. The pagan flood story (called Enuma Elish) depicts the "gods" wailing in fear as water covered the earth! The book of Genesis is very concerned about showing how much more of a "god" YHWH is than any pagan pseudodeities. Truly there was and is none like YHWH! [​IMG]
     
    #5 Charles Meadows, Dec 20, 2003
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