Elohim - The Strong One

ELOHIM - THE STRONG ONE For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph
Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. (Psalms 81:1). On the day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Temple Choir Director would issue this summons to call the people for this special day of worship and celebration. Their voices would echo over the city walls and out across the hills of Judah. From all over the country, the people would come to Jerusalem. The call was for the people of Israel to come and to worship Elohim. The Various Uses of Elohim. The use of the Hebrew term Elohim is not used exclusively for the One True God, although the vast majority of times it is used in the Old Testament it does refer to the Deity.

Refers to God|Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth|
Refers to false gods|Exodus 34:17. You shall make for yourself no molten gods.

Numbers 25:2. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods|
Moses is said to stand in the place of God to Pharaoh|Exodus 7:1. Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.” Note that the word “as” may be understood, but is not a part of the original text.|
Possibly a reference to human judges|Exodus 22:7-9. If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the man's house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor's property. 9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,' the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

Psalms 82:6. I said, “You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.”|
Used of something that is great|Jonah 3:3. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city (~yhil{ale hl'AdG>-ry[i), a three days' walk.| In each of these instances, there is an underlying idea of strength and majesty, even when it is wrongly ascribed as in the case of the false gods. The Various Forms of Elohim. The Hebrew language has three different forms of the word “God.” Each one is correctly translated “God” in our English Bibles, yet each has a slightly different connotation.

• El (lae). This is the Hebrew word for “strength” It describes one who is strong. In this way, it is often used of God. Of the 250 times it is used of God in the Old Testament, 55 are in the book of Job. Many of the other instances take place in early poetic sources.

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “Thou art a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” (Genesis 16:13).

• Eloha (h;Ala/). This is a compound name made up of the joining together of El (lae), the word for “God” and Alah (hl'a'), “to swear or take an oath.” This form is used about 57 times in the Old Testament, most often in the book of Job amidst the dialogues of Job and his three friends. May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. (Job 3:4).

• Elohim (~yhil{a/). This is the most commonly used of these three forms. It is found 2570 times in the Old Testament. It is the plural form of h;Ala/. This has been generally explained as a “plural of majesty” or “plural of intensity.” But all the related ancient Near Eastern cultures use the singular form El without a single case of Elohim -- there are no ancient Near Eastern parallels to support this usage. Furthermore, each time the Old Testament speaks of a single false god, it uses the term El instead of Elohim. On the other hand, it should be recognized that plural nouns with singular verbs may also be applied to humans: But Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord (WnynEdoa] is the plural form of !wOda', “lord”) King David has made Solomon king.” (1 Kings 1:43).

We should also add that when Elohim is used to refer to the true God, it is almost always accompanied by a singular verb and pronoun: In the beginning God (~yhil{a/) created (literally, “HE created”) the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1). Another suggested translation could read: “In the beginning Elohim Himself created the heavens and the earth.” This means that we should probably not see the plural form of Elohim as an evidence for the Trinity. We do not believe in three gods. There is only one God. The plural use of Elohim seems instead to be a plural of majesty and immensity. This is indicated by the fact that it nearly always is used with a singular verb.

One notable exception to this rule is found in Genesis 1:26 where we see Elohim used in the context of a plural pronoun.

Then God (Elohim) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26).

It has been suggested that the plurality pictured here and again in Genesis 11:7 is that of the Trinity. This is grammatically possible from the text. On the other hand, this could also be a similar usage to the plural of majesty and immensity. The world today has become very irreverent toward God. He is called “the man upstairs.” Others wish to think of Him as an impersonal force. Philosophers have declared that God is dead or at least irrelevant. These are all false concepts of God. They miss some of the majesty of God. They do not describe the Elohim — the Strong One. They do not describe the Creator of heaven and earth. They do not describe the One who holds the universe together by His own strength. In the same way, our own thoughts of God are often too human. We tend to put our own attributes into our concept of God. Have you ever thought to yourself: “I don't know how God puts up with me”? This is a wrong concept of God. God does not put up with anyone. He is absolutely righteous and holy. He does not put up with sin. He deals with sin. He sent His Son to die for sin. He judged sin on the cross. Have you ever prayed: “Lord, if you are able to bring this to pass...” To whom do you think you are praying? It is the Strong One -- the God who can accomplish anything and for whom nothing is impossible. Your concept of God is important. It will determine your response to God. It is only as you have a proper concept of God that you will be able to produce proper fruit in your life. A shallow, plastic knowledge of God will result in shallow, plastic fruit in your Christian life. Have you ever seen plastic fruit? It looks good. It is shiny and polished. It is only when you try to bite into it that you find out that it is false. It is only an illusion of the real thing. You need to know the real God and have a real relationship with Him so that He can produce real fruit in your life. You need to recognize the God who is there. You need to get to know the Strong One.