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Elohim (Hebrew: אֱלֹהִים, romanized: ʾĔlōhīm: [(ʔ)eloˈ(h)im]), the plural of אֱלוֹהַּ (ʾĔlōah), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is grammatically plural, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly the God of ...
When the Hebrew Bible uses elohim not in reference to God, it is plural (for example, Exodus 20:2). There are a few other such uses in Hebrew, for example Behemoth. In Modern Hebrew, the singular word ba'alim ('owner') looks plural, but likewise takes a singular verb.
A common title of God in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim (Hebrew: אלהים). The root Eloah (אלה) is used in poetry and late prose (e.g., the Book of Job) and ending with the masculine plural suffix -im ים creating a word like ba`alim ('owners') and adonim ('lords', 'masters') that may also indicate a singular identity.
ʾel is a generic word for god that could be used for any god, including Hadad, Moloch, or Yahweh. In the Tanakh, ʾ e lōhîm is the normal word for a god or the great God (or gods, given that the 'im' suffix makes a word plural in Hebrew).
In Isaiah 63:16, God is directly addressed and called "our Father". "Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name." (ASV) To God, according to Judaism, is attributed the fatherly role of protector. He is called the Father of the poor, of the orphan and the widow, their guarantor of justice.
Hebrew distinguishes grammatical number by endings in nouns, verbs and adjectives. A grammatical phenomenon occurs with a small number of Hebrew nouns, such as elohim 'great god' and behemoth 'giant beast', whereby a grammatically redundant plural ending (-im, usually masculine plural, or -oth, usually feminine plural) is attached to a noun, but the noun nevertheless continues to take singular ...
The first words of the Old Testament are B'reshit bara Elohim—"In the beginning God created." [1] The verb bara (created) agrees with a masculine singular subject.[citation needed] Elohim is used to refer to both genders and is plural; it has been used to refer to both Goddess (in 1 Kings 11:33), and God (1 Kings 11:31; [2]).
The closest corresponding term in the classical and modern languages of Jewish scholarship is אלוהות (elohút), meaning deity (essential nature of a god) or divinity. [citation needed] Max Kadushin notes that "The plural 'Elohim, gods, must not be confused with 'Elohut, Godhead. The latter is used with reference to God". [1]