Yahweh is an Elohim, but no other Elohim is Yahweh - Dr. Michael Hesier
One of the challenges modern readers of the Bible have is our worldview. Some certain concepts and topics come up in Scripture that can feel uncomfortable or simply foreign to us. The easiest thing to do is either write them off with some easily explainable rationale that fits nicely into our 21st-century worldview. Or, we just ignore it and move on. Act like it was never there in the first place.
One of these topics is in relationship to the God of creation in comparison to the gods of the nations. Is it possible that there is room for more than one god in Christianity? You may be surprised at my answer – yes.
In the Hebrew Bible, the word translated as “God” or “gods” is ʾĕlōhîm. We find the word occurring around 2,570x with a variety of meanings.[1] This is where we have to lay aside our modern worldview and put on the worldview of the Ancient Near Eastern Israelites. The language of "Elohim" can't be reduced. We need to see how ancient Israelites understood the word and how the categories in which they used it were common to them even though it may be surprising to us.
The Israelites understood this world to have a variety of meanings including
1. Yahweh – Gen 1:1; Pss 42
2. Foreign gods (gods of the nations) – Ex 12:12; 18:11; Josh 24:20, 23.
3. Angelic beings (Sons of God) – Ps 29:1; Job 1:6
4. Demons – Deut 32:17
5. Disembodied human dead – 1 Sam 28:13
6. The Angel of the LORD – Gen 35:7
7. Rulers or Judges – This is rare but is found in Exod 21:6; 22:7-8 about a court case.
Elohim as a place of residence:
The usage of this word connects 6 of these 7 categories. The simple fact is that the 7th category is extremely rare and is isolated to a specific situation that is not found elsewhere. Thus, when we remove this category and simply view the 6 that are left – the commonality is that all these “Elohim” have a residence in the supernatural realm. As Dr. Michael Heiser says, “In that realm, there is rank, hierarchy, and differentiation of attributes.”[2] Another important note on the connection must be made. Yahweh is an Elohim, but no other Elohim is Yahweh. In the words of Heiser, “Yahweh was not one among equals; he was species unique.”[3]
One of the ways that the Israelites emphasized that they were monotheistic and NOT polytheistic is by placing the definite article prefixed to the Hebrew ʾĕlōhîm. The definitive article attached to Yahweh emphasizes the uniqueness of Yahweh “The God” amongst the Elohim “gods”. In the same way, a college may emphasize its name as "The Ohio State" as an emphatic tone that communicates there is no other Ohio State.
Conclusion:
What does this all tell us about the worldview of the Israelites? We find that ʾĕlōhîm was used in a variety of ways in the Hebrew Bible with the primary connection point being residence in the supernatural realm. This means the Israelites had a both/and view of the supernatural. God was unique, THE God/ ʾĕlōhîm of heaven and earth. The King of all creation. And, the supernatural realm included ʾĕlōhîm that were NOT Yahweh but were legitimate supernatural beings. One of the descriptions of the ʾĕlōhîm is also the “son of God.” These were the supernatural beings that were allotted to the nations after human rebellion at Babel in Genesis 11 which sets the stage for cosmic geopolitical warfare as seen in Daniel 10. These are the same beings that are at war with God and His people. These are the gods of the pagan nations that Yahweh warns Israel not to worship. Why? Because they are legitimate supernatural beings, bent on the destruction of God’s people because they are well aware that they will not destroy or win the battle against God. The next best thing for the cosmic enemy of God and humanity is to rob God of the family that he created and established in Eden.
[1] K. van der Toorn, “God (I),” ed. Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Leiden; Boston; Köln; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: Brill; Eerdmans, 1999), 352.
[2] Michael S. Heiser, “Does Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible Demonstrate an Evolution from Polytheism to Monotheism in Israelite Religion?,” Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1 (2011–2012): 6.
[3] Michael S. Heiser, “Does Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible Demonstrate an Evolution from Polytheism to Monotheism in Israelite Religion?,” Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1 (2011–2012): 6.
Great read. “Yahweh is an Elohim, but no other Elohim is Yahweh.” This point sure does resonate.