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The divine name which meets us first in Scripture is that of "God:"- "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).
Without denying that the word אלחים (Elohim, God); may be significant (according to the meaning of the root) from which it is and ought by us to be derived), of certain things which it is more particularly the pleasure of God to present, as connected with Himself, when He so names Himself,-I do question the propriety of deriving our first and leading thoughts about this, or any other divine name or title, from the root from which we sups pose the word derived. The subject is too high, and we are too foolish for such a process; and, moreover, He who is the subject, in gracious consideration to us in our littleness, has made the understanding of His names and titles to hang upon faith in His word (which all His people have), and not on skill in the analysis of Hebrew words. Man loves to define; but He who made man, if) He would teach man concerning Himself, gives, not a definition of His being, or various displays of Himself, but presents to man a record of His actions and doings, and they teach to faith its lessons. Let us, at all events; examine the Scriptures first, even plain passages of Scripture, in the light of their contexts, before attempting to analyze the meaning of the name. There are passages enough for our instruction, if we find grace to be teachable and, in trust upon God, expect His Spirit's guidance.
The whole of the first chapter of Genesis speaks only of the title "God," or Elohim; so also the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd verses of chapter ii. In this portion we have the origin of the world traced up to Elohim; and we may say, boldly, " that which may be known of God is manifest to men; for God has spewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead;" so that men are without excuse. But the portion which follows, flews us other truth; for in Gen. 2:4, and onward, man is not looked at, as in the preceding portion, as merely a part of creation, but man's distinctive position, as a center in a system, is the subject, his position and relationship in Eden with Elohim; and here a new and another name is added, and Jehovah-Elohim (יהוה אלהים) is the name in the Garden of Eden. It is no longer "Elohim," nor is it "Jehovah," but "Jehovah-Elohim," that the scene presents.
Much learning, and no little reading, would it require ere a simple mind could feel that it understood at all what the meaning of the words Elohim and Jehovah might be, according to the words whence they are respectively derived;-very little observation does it suppose to say, I see that Gen. 1:1, to Gen. 2:3, present A Subject, A Part of which is taken up in Gen. 2:4, and onwards in a different aspect; the shoot of this latter portion, found folded up in the former portion, is here A Subject, germinating, and has peculiarities distinctive to itself-it is man's portion and place in Eden, the center of a system, as distinguished from-the rest of creation; and if Elohim's glory is proclaimed by the six days' work, and the rest of the seventh day.... Eden's tale, speaks forth something concerning Jehovah-Elohim, or LORD-God.
If any one doubt whether there is weight in this remark, let him consider what it is which his doubt implies? To me it seems to be nothing short of this,-a doubt of the accuracy and intelligence of the Spirit in the use of the language of man as his medium of presenting truth. I know the Spirit's accuracy and intelligence must be perfect, with them that are "perfect"-I observe that this use of names has varied. Is there not a reason? What is that reason? To any inquirer pausing at this step, I would suggest two questions for examination.
1st. What is the difference of Psa. 14 and Psa. 53?
2nd. Why is it the rule in the Gospels to speak of "Jesus," and in the Epistles to call the same person "The Lord Jesus?" By the rule I mean the common and more frequent custom, one from which indeed the exceptions are comparatively few.
To my own mind, the invariable use and oft-repeated occurrence of " God" in the portion Gen. 1:1 to 2:3, i.e. in the history of the creation or origination of the world, and of " Lord God" in Gen. 1;14-25, i.e., in the account of the owning and placing of man in his peculiar sphere in Eden, has great weight, as pointing to a difference between the two names.
To look, now, more closely at our subject, as presented in the former portion, the history of the creation or origination of the world-
1. ORIGINATION seems the peculiarity of the chapter. " By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water" (2 Peter 3.5). This passage is distinct. So, perhaps, on the same subject, is, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3).
That which human wit could never ascertain with certainty [though one may have argued, from creation works, of One first great Cause of all, and written with the clearness of a Paley upon it, and sealed it with his blood, too, though he forgot not, ere he died, to pay his vow of a cock to Aesculapius, and though many may have had traditions of the same, the corrupted reports of that which was truth] God here reveals to us. And He reveals it, not as solving the riddle, "Whence are we?" but, in revealing part of His own glory, as the Creator, to us: that so, knowing what was done, and how it was done, we may see and learn about the God from whom the world proceeded, and consider whether or not we are to Himward now as His glory requires.
It is one thing, to be "creating;" another to be blessing Abram, as he wandered a pilgrim and a stranger, seeking a city which bath foundations whose builder and maker is God, amid a people amongst whom he was as a sojourner; and it is a third thing to take up a people under circumstances of oppression and resourcelessness, and to make them an irresistible and successful people, under relationship to a self-existent Blesser, as was the picture of those whose exodus from Egypt, led to a march through a waste-howling wilderness, into a land flowing with milk and honey. And there were three names for these three displays: "Elohim" (God); "El Shaddai" (God Almighty); and "Jehovah" (Lord).
Surely the variety in the way pursued during the process of originating is observable:-
Ver. 1. "God created the heavens and the earth;" ver. 3. "God said, Let there be light;" and ver. 6. "Let there be a firmament," etc.; and ver. 26. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
In all that bursts into being, while it bespeaks the Eternal power of its Originator, how do Wisdom and Beneficence likewise find their place of testimony? "He saw that it was good" (vers. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25); "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1.31);- "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2.2, 3); -bespeak his goodness; and the little phrase, "and it was so," after his "let there be," was spoken, presses home his power; and the testimony of Wisdom-is it not, as in other things, so in the marvelous oneness of the whole.
POWER IN ORIGINATING is the first thought of this Elohim character, of whom are all things. But, then, not only was the plan, the counsel, the originating OF Him, but all also was through him likewise; for no power, save His own, was used, He subserved himself of none that we read of. His Spirit brooded on the face of the waters, and by His word it was-all was through him. And, further, it was all for Himself: "The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun; which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof" (Psa. 19.1-6).
And, more than this, His sympathies were in His works of creation; and he rested and blessed, and set apart on it, a season for His own honoring; when man, in its weekly return, remembering His joy, rest, and blessing of the earth, might rest in hallowed remembrance of it. " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Power, eternal power, displaying itself wisely towards the end sought and beneficently, combined with an exclusion of all power save itself, and having the honor of Him from whom the new scene flowed-is my thought of the name Elohim (God), as derived from this Scripture. I would presently show how this harmonizes with one derivation of the word Elohim, though not the one most commonly, perhaps, adopted. But first I would desire to say a little upon the first verse, more in detail.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (verse 1).
How important a clue, context is in interpretation, may be seen by comparing, "In the beginning," as here found, with the same expression in John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In Genesis, "the beginning" is limited by "creation of the heavens and earth;" in John there is no action or thing done to limit, and the "In the beginning" (of John 1:1), refers to the being of the Word. "In the beginning was the Word." The same remark is confirmed by a comparison of Luke 1:2, " from the beginning," with 1 John 1:1, "from the beginning,"-the beginning of Christ's course here below in the former, but in the latter we are out of time, in eternity; out of humanity, in deity.
On the word "God" see below: only let me remark here, 1st, that the three persons in the godhead were all engaged in this, as in every other of their works. The plan and counsel may, in the Divine economy, be attributed to One Person; the agency to bring forth that counsel to another; and the accomplishment of the work be ascribed to the agency of the third. The eighth of Proverbs with John 1:3, "all things were made by," (or rather through δἰ αὐτοῦ), refers it to God (even the Father) as to counsel; the -rest of John 1:3, " All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made;" and Col. 1:16, " For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him," attributes it to the second person in the Trinity, and other Scripture to the Holy Spirit; as says Job; " By His Spirit He bath garnished the heavens" (Job 26:13). " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psa. 33:6). 2nd. And further, in answer to a question thus put to' me, " Does the plural form of the word Elohim' (the Hebrew word rendered by God) mean the Trinity?" I would make a remark or two.
1. While there may be in Hebrew what is called "a plural of excellence," by which the use of a plural form in connection with a subject in the singular number would be justified, such a theory would not, in Gen. 1, meet the difficulty. Because, while all the verbs, "created," "moved on," "said," "saw," "made," etc., etc., are in the singular number, we have, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (ver. 26), in the plural number. Now, instances cannot be adduced from Scripture, I think, that royalty or dignity was wont to express itself in the plural by such expressions as, " we will," or " it is our pleasure that," etc. The contrary, I think, is the- ease, viz., dignity loved to individualize itself as much as possible. See Pharaoh in Egypt in the Book of Genesis, and the language of the heads of the Gentile image, in Daniel, or that of Cyrus, 2 Chron. 36.23, and Ezra 1.1, 2, etc.
(2) For the sake of emphasis, the Hebrews commonly employed most of the words which signify Lord, God, etc., in the plural form, but with the sense of the singular. This is called the pluralis excellentice.
" Examples- Lord, in all the forms of the plural except my masters [as in Gen. 19:2, and perhaps also 19:18 the same, only in pause-En.]; the form is always used, with the sense of the singular, for God. (b) God, in all the forms of the plural. (c) lord, in all its forms. (d) the most Holy One (Hos. 12:1; Prov. 9:10; 30:3; Josh. 24:9). (e) the Almighty, is probably of the plural form, § 325, b. (f) household god, as singular (1 Sam. 19:13,16). (g) Occasionally, in a few other words, as Job 35:10, God, my Maker '; (Eccl. 12:1) thy Creator.' (See also Isa. 22:11; 42:5; Psa. 149:2; comp. § 484).
(3) The plural, especially in poetry, is not infrequently used where we might expect the singular.
E.g. Job 6:3, 'The sand of the seas'; i.e., of the sea. Even where only one can possibly be meant, is this the case; as Judg. 12:7, he was buried, 'in the towns of Gilead; i.e., in a town. Gen. 8:4, the ark rested, 'on the mountains of Ararat,' i.e., on the mountain; Job 21:32, 'the graves,' i.e., the grave."
The references in the above are these:-
1. " § 325, b. [Under unusual forms of the plural], (b) Jer. 22:14… which coincides 'with the Chaldee and Syriac plurals.' The word in Jer. 22:14, is rendered my windows.'
2. "§ 484, [The article is headed, "Anomalies in the concord of verbs"-Ed.] 1. As to number. The pluralis excellentice commonly, but not always, takes a verb in the singular. § 437, b.
E.g. Gen. 1:1, God created; Ex. 21:29, his owner shall be put to death. But, in a few cases, the pluralis excellentice takes a verb in the plural; e.g., Gen. 20:13;31. 53; 35:7; Ex. 32:4, 8; 2 Sam. 7:23."
But he adds-
§ 425. Plural nominatives of the feminine gender (which relate to beasts or things, and not to persons, frequently take a verb singular, whether it precedes or follows them."
E.g., Ezek. 26:2, broken is [are] the gates; Joel 1:20, the beasts cries [cry]; Gen. 49:22; Jer. 4:14; 48:41; 51:29, 56; Psa. 119:98; 87:3; Job 27:20, etc."
* This construction of the feminine plural with a verb singular is technically called the pluralis inhuntanis. (Compare, in Greek, the neuter plurals joined with the verbs singular.)
2. To suppose that the Trinity is so alluded to here, as to be legible' without further Scripture, would be to underrate the value of Scripture, and to overrate the measure of illumination vouchsafed by the Spirit to the reader of Scripture. He, the Holy Ghost, had not here revealed that truth, neither was the time come to do so. On the other hand, though this blessing on the word to those that have it, is a secondary blessing, quite distinguishable, and to be kept distinct in our minds, from His grace in giving Scripture, for the written word is the alone perfect standard of truth,-it does seem to me,
3rd. That he so wrote as knowing what is now a matter of revelation to us; namely, that the persons in the Trinity were, though One, yet more than one; and all interested in Creation.
Passages might be adduced, showing the term אלהים used as equivalent to Deity, as contrasted with humanity, or to other beings of a spiritual nature. " Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of' man.; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it" (Deut. 1:17). " There is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me... tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me" (Isa. 45:6 and 21). "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me" (chap. 46:9). So also I think, that passages may be adduced in which this term is predicated of each of the respective persons in the blessed Trinity. E.g. compare Psa. 45:7, which is quoted in Heb. 1:9. "God, thy God, anointed thee;" i.e. the Redeemer spoken of; also Psa. 78:56, with 1 Cor. 10:9, and Ex. 6; and 2 Sam. 23:2, with 3.
To some minds a reference to the New Testament uses of the term God, in the highest sense, may be a help here. It is used as of Deity,--(John 4:24) God is a Spirit." And the Father is God,-(Eph. 1:3) "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus:" the Son is God. (John 1:1), "the word was God:" and the Holy Ghost is God (Acts 5:3,4). While, if I may with reverence say it, officially the Father is God, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is the Spirit-that is, God, Lord, and Spirit are the distinctive names, as connected with redemption to the church, of the three persons in the Godhead (see 1 Cor. 8:6, and 12:4).
This may be a good place for me to advertise the mere English reader, that in all the places in the English Bible where he finds "God," he would not, if he turned to a Hebrew Bible, find the word I am now speaking of-Elohim. Part III. of the Englishman's Hebrew Concordance will show him, page 1543:-
1st. That there are three, four, or more Hebrew words rendered "God;" and
2ndly. That the idioms of the two languages so far differ, that there are expressions in English which contain the word God, the equivalent expressions to which do not contain any such word in Hebrew, e.g. "God forbid" in Hebrew חלילה profanity (ad profana i.e. absit) rendered "far be it" (Gen. 18:25: 1 Sam. 2:30). Compare Rom. 3:4. μη γενοιτο (may it not be so) "God forbid!"
As to the word Created:
Observe: 1st, that it is not the order or circumstances of the heavens and the earth--but the heavens and the earth themselves, which were spoken of as created.
Secondly, in Hebrew there are three verbs which appear to be synonymous in meaning, 1. יצר yatzahr, 2. עשה ahsah, and this verb 3. ברא barah. That is, in some contexts they might be interchanged; but yet each has a meaning distinctively peculiar to itself-1. would mean to make or "to mold like a potter," 2. to make or "fashion," as one's beard in trimming, etc. 3. to make or "create." This third verb is sometimes confounded with another in which the last letter is ה (signifying to cut out) and not א. That there are some verbs the third or last letter of which may be ה or א, I do not dispute, but I doubt whether this is the case here. Be this as it may in other occurrences of this verb ברא,-to state that in this passage it means to cut out (so implying that Gen. 1 is not the account of creation, properly so called, but of a remodeling of an old thing) seems to me nonsense. It is contrary to Scriptures before adduced; contrary to the old Hebrew school of lexicography; and to my mind savors of a love of novelty worthy of the neologian German school whence it came the Jews, in their new translation of Genesis, (sold at Bagsters', Paternoster Row), have this note on the word in question: "Create, to produce something out of nothing." If it ever means to "cut," then Josh. 17:15, 18; Ezek. 21:19 (24); 23:47, Piel, are the ensamples: and so our translators, perhaps, thought. But I see not why in Josh. 17:15,18, "cut down" the wood should not be rendered " make it (your portion)." And Ezek. 21:19 (24), "choose thou a place, choose (it)," I should read "make" and Ezek. 23:47, "the company [of the righteous men] shall stone them with stones and dispatch them [Query, why not make them (scil. for a booty and a spoil)?] with their swords."
In the same way, I should have rendered 1 Sam. 2:29, not "to make yourselves fat," but "to make yourselves;" but this others must judge.
That there is peculiar force in the word ברא in many passages, seems to me obvious; take for instance Num. 16:30, " created a new thing," the earth swallowing Korah, etc.; so, in Jer. mod. 22, "a woman compassing a man;" and Isa. 4:5, " a cloud and a smoke by day"; and Isa. 41:20, " trees in incongruous places"; and " a clean heart." Psa. 51:10 (12).
Lastly. With regard to the meaning, by derivation from the root of the word Elohim; the clue to its meaning being taken from the Scriptures, which relate, as I judge, to the scene chosen for its first display as to man, I have no difficulty in supposing it derived from אלה or אול bearing, as many derivatives do, from some such word a sense of Power.