https://www.amazon.com/dp/1516861396
The book starts off with:
"'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.'
So the Bible begins and right away I have a gripe. The Hebrew word translated here as 'God' is 'elohim' and elohim is plural, so the first verse of the Bible should actually read: 'In the beginning gods created the heaven and the earth.' This is no small thing. The difference between God, capital G, and gods, small g, is the difference between monotheism and polytheism."
My response: So this book begins and right away I have a gripe with it as well. Yes, Elohim is plural, but even Moses, a singular individual is said to be "Elohim/God to Pharoah." (Exodus 4:16; 7:1) That's right, one singular man is said to be Elohim/Gods. Why? The Hebrew, Arabic, and almost all Asiatic languages use the plural form in a singular sense when speaking of power. Even in the Koran, when God is represented as speaking, the plural is often used for the singular. It is however well known that the Koran (and Muslims) strongly denounce the trinity doctrine of a plurality of persons in the Godhead.
"That the language of the O[ld] T[estament] has entirely given up the idea of plurality in . . . [´Elo·him'] (as applied to the God of Israel) is especially shown by the fact that it is almost invariably construed with a singular verbal predicate, and takes a singular adjectival attribute. . . . [´Elo·him'] must rather be explained as an intensive plural, denoting greatness and majesty, being equal to The Great God."-The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. XXI, 1905, p. 208.
Hebrew grammarian Gesenius says of Elohim, "The plural of Majesty...sums up the several characteristics belonging to the idea, besides posing the secondary sense of an intensification of an original idea...that the language has entirely rejected the idea of a numerical plurality in elohim (whenever it denotes one God), is proved especially by its being almost invariably joined with a singular attribute." Gesenius Hebrew Grammar, 398-399
At Psalm 8:5, the angels are also referred to as Elohim. The word Elohim is also used when referring to idol gods. Sometimes this plural form means simply "gods." (Ex 12:12; 20:23) At other times it is the plural of excellence and only one god (or goddess) is referred to. However, these gods were clearly not plural (gods).-1Sa 5:7b (Dagon); 1Ki 11:5 ("goddess" Ashtoreth); Da 1:2b (Marduk). At Genesis 42:30, Joseph is referred to as Adonoi which is a plural word meaning "Lords." At Isaiah 19:4 Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as Adonim, another plural form of Lords. Yet how many Josephs or Nebuchadnezzars were there? Only one!
The very first translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was a Greek version called the Septuagint made by Jews around the 2nd century BCE. When translating the word Elohim, they used the singular word Theos.
Perhaps the best way to understand the word Elohim is to compare it to our word Sheep or Deer. Deer or Sheep can be used to describe one deer, or many deer. One deer was in the forest. Many deer are in the forest. There is a sheep in the pasture. There are sheep in the pasture.
So if the Holy Bible - Best God Damned Version is wrong right on the first page, perhaps it is also an example of "religious stupidity."
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