Plural God-Language in The Hebrew Bible by Trent R. Wilde

 

 Plural God-Language God-Language in the Heb Hebrew rew Bible  An Examination of the basis basis for the doctrine of D Divine ivine Plurality in B Branch ranch Davidian Theology by Trent R. Wilde -

 Plural Nouns with Singular Verbs, Verbs, Pr Pronouns, onouns, and Modifiers

 Introduction: One of the most, if not the the most,  most, controversial teachings of the Branch is its position on divine  plurality.. Much can and will be said on this subject in later publications, but for now,  plurality now, we'll be addressing just one aspect. First though, let us briefly define what we're talking about. The vast majority of purported Bible believers hold to “the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.”1  While While the three three monothe monotheist istic ic faiths faiths (Judai (Judaism, sm, Christ Christian ianity ity,, and Isl Islam) am) differ differ in their their understandings of Deity, they all agree, with slight variations, on this one point. Conversely, Branch Davidians, for reasons too multitudinous to delineate in this paper, embrace the idea of multiple Gods. What's more, is that they give credence to the Bible as the source of this belief. Within the framework of monotheism, there are a number of theological constructs which allow for some form of divine plurality. Most noted among these is trinitarianism, but also to be included are  binitarianism and emanationism,2  among among others others.. All these, these, though though admitt admitting ing to various various forms forms of  plurality,, are still confined within the limitations of monotheism. We say “limitations” because the  plurality adherent to monotheism is compelled to view the various persons, or aspects, within their plurality as still constituting only one being. Branch theology, on the other hand, takes liberty in recognizing the divine persons as separate beings, and thus separate and distinct Gods. One of the most frequen frequently tly pointed pointed to eviden evidences ces in suppor supportt of this distinct   plurality is the Hebrew word Elohim (  ‫)אלה‬. This word, commonly translated “God,” is indeed plural. 3 Though the  plurality of the word is acknowledged by all, the more educated of monotheists, in response to the word's use as evidence for distinct plurality, will offer this sort of reply: “Well my friend, if only you knew Hebrew, you would know that while the word Elohim (   ‫ )אלה‬is grammatically plural, it is really only a 'plurality of majesty' 4 and thus, when in reference to the God of Israel, is to be understood only as a singular.” singular.” In justification of this reasoning, the monotheist may point to a number of passages in which the word Elohim (  ‫ )אלה‬occurs with its correspondent verbs, pronouns, and modifiers all being singular. A common example of this is found in Genesis 1:1 1 Oxford American Dictionary; def. Monotheism 2 An example example of ema emanatio nationism nism is the the conte contempora mporary ry Kabb Kabbalis alistic tic vie view w of Ein Sof (‫סוף‬ ‫ )א‬and the ten Sephirot (  ‫יר‬ ‫פ‬‫ס‬ ). The idea is that Ein Sof is the one undefinable, incomprehensible God; and the ten Sephirot are divine emanations which  proceed from Ein Sof into into the world, allowing its inhabitants to relate relate to the divine. 3 Elohim (  ‫ )אלה‬is based off the root word El ( ‫)אל‬, meaning God (singular masculine), with the plural masculine / ‫) אל‬, which is the ending “im” (   ). The letter “hey” ( ‫ )ה‬is added to El ( ‫ )אל‬to form the word Elah/Eloah ( ‫ו‬ ‫האל‬ feminine form of El ( ‫)אל‬. In summation, Elohim (  ‫ )אלה‬is both masculine and feminine as well as plural. 4  Plurality of Majesty is Majesty is the use of plural pronouns in reference to a single individual holding high office; for example: the royal “we.”

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I N the beginning God God created  created the heavens and the earth.

‫הארץ‬ ‫ את‬  ‫שמ‬  ‫ה‬ ‫את‬   ‫בר אלה‬ ‫ת‬ ‫ש‬  ‫ברא‬

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and d in th this is fo form rm,, it li lite tera rall lly y mean meanss The word The word he here re trans transla late ted d “crea “create ted” d” is ba bara ra ( ‫ ;)ברא‬an he~created . This This diss dissona onanc ncee of a plur plural al no noun un wi with th a si sing ngul ular ar verb verb is known known as su subj bject ect-v -ver erb b disagreement; and it is our aim in the remainder of this article to examine how this works in the Hebrew language as well as what the theological implications are as a result of the findings of this study.

Other Occurrence of Plural Nouns with Singular Verbs, Pronouns, and Modifiers In order to better understand how singular verbs, pronouns, and modifiers affect plural nouns we will need to look at some more occurrences of this sort of linguistic disagreement in the Hebrew Bible. Let us keep in mind that we are examining the truth-value of the monotheist claim that a singular correspondent to a plural noun makes that noun act as though it were singular. Genesis 1:14 lights in  in the firmament And God said, Let there be lights of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

‫שמ‬  ‫ה‬ ‫ע‬ ‫ברק‬ ‫ ה מארת‬  ‫אלה‬ ‫אמר‬ ‫לאתת‬   ‫ ה‬ ‫הל לה‬ ‫ן‬ ‫ ב‬  ‫ה‬ ‫ן‬ ‫ב‬ ‫ל‬ ‫להבד‬  ‫׃‬ ‫שנ‬    ‫ ל מ‬  ‫למ עד‬

In this this inst instan ance ce,, the the word word tran transl slat ated ed “l “let et ther theree be be”” is y'hi y'hi (‫ה‬ and d li lite tera rall lly y mean meanss   ) an 6 he~will~become or he~will~exist ;  the he being he being in reference to the lights. To translate the phrase ultraliterally liter ally in English syntax, it would read, “And Gods, he said, 'lights 'lights,, he will exist;'” exist;'” the first he  he  in reference to “Gods,” and the second he in he in reference to “lights.” Question: Is the word “lights” in this passage to be understood as being plural only insofar as its grammatical word form, or is it to be understood as being a real plural, 7 regardless of the correspondent singular pronoun? The immediate context will give us the answer: Genesis 1:14-16 And God said, Let there be lights lights in  in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights lights in  in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. also.

5 Throughout this this article we will be using blue blue font tto o identify the subject and yellow high-lighting for for verbs etc. they~will~become.. 6 The author author o off this passag passagee could have have us used ed the Hebre Hebrew w word y'hiu y'hiu ( ‫ו‬ ‫) ה‬, meaning they~will~become 7 The phrase “real plural” plural” in this article article is in reference reference to n nouns ouns that descri describe be more than one distinct it item. em. This is in contrast to the phrases “grammatical plural” and “true plural.” A “gramma “grammatical tical plural” is a word that is plural by its grammatical word form. A “true plural” is a word which itself, along with its correspondent verbs, pronouns, and modifiers, is plural.

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The passage is quite clear that the lights being referred to are the sun, moon, and stars. Evidently then, the singular pronoun he did he did not indicate that the plural noun (lights) was to act as a singular. Nor was there any intimation of a plurality a  plurality of majesty, majesty, but rather, the text leaves no room to doubt that there is more than one distinct light in reference. So we can see that the monotheistic assumption that a singular correspondent to a plural noun makes that noun act as though it were singular is inconsistent with this passage, and as we shall see, with many others. Moreover, would it not  be equally fair to assume that tha t a plural noun no un with singular correspondents makes those correspondents act as if they were plurals? If one holds that the “Elohim (  ‫ ”)אלה‬of Gen. 1:1,14 refers to only one God because of the singular pronouns, must not that one also hold that the “lights” of Gen. 1:14 refers only to one light  because of its singular pronoun? Similarly, Similarly, if one admits that the singular pronoun pronou n in reference to the lights does not suggest only one light, then that one must also admit that the singular pronouns in reference to Elohim (   ‫ )אלה‬do not suggest only one God.  Now we shall consider a number of other examples of plural nouns with singular verbs,  pronouns, and modifiers. These examples follow the same format as the first with the addition of a literal English translation of the most relevant part of the passage below each example:

Genesis 35:11 And God said unto him, I am am God  God Almighty: be ‫ קהל‬  ‫ג‬ ‫ רבה‬ ‫פרה‬  ‫שד‬   ‫אל‬  ‫אנ‬  ‫אלה‬ ‫ ל‬ ‫מר‬‫א‬ְַ   fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of ‫ צ א‬ ‫ך‬ ‫מחלצ‬  ‫ מלכ‬ ‫ממך‬  ‫ ה‬  ‫ג‬ nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of nations shall thy loins; “a nation and a company of nations, he~will~exist of you” 8

Exodus 10:24 ‫עבד‬ ‫ל כ‬ ‫ אמר‬ ‫שה‬  ‫אל־מ‬ ‫פרעה‬ ‫ קרא‬  And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, ֽ  ‫ צג‬  ‫ בקרכ‬  ‫צאנכ‬ ‫רק‬ ‫ה‬ָ‫ה‬ּ‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ ‫א‬ serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds ‫ לך‬  ‫־טפכ‬ ‫ג‬ ‫׃‬ ‫כ‬ ֽ ‫עמ‬  be stayed: let your little ones also ones also go with you. “your children, he~will~walk with you”

Exodus 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel ‫ הנה‬  ‫ה‬ ‫נ‬ ‫את־ע‬ ‫שראל‬ִ‫־‬ ‫בנ‬ ‫א‬ ‫ ש‬ ‫ב‬ ‫הקר‬ ‫ פרעה‬   ‫בנ‬  ‫ צעק‬ ‫מאד‬ ‫ר א‬   ‫ה‬ ‫אחר‬ ‫מצר ׀ נסע‬ lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and ‫ה׃‬  ֽ‫ה‬ּ‫־‬‫ל‬ֶ ‫א‬ ‫שראל‬ the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. “Egyptians, he~marched”

8 Schol Scholar arss rreco ecogni gnize ze that that tthe he he in he in this example is syntactically in reference to the nations. See Gesenius' Hebrew Hebrew Grammar  §145.

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Exodus 20:18 ‫ד‬ ‫ את־הלפ‬ ‫את־הק לת‬  ‫רא‬  ָ ‫ כל־הע‬  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the ‫ ע‬ ָ ‫ ר הע‬  ‫ש‬  ‫ע‬  ‫ את־הה‬ ‫שפר‬  ‫ה‬ ‫ק ל‬ ‫ את‬  lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw people saw it , ‫מרחק׃‬  ‫עמד‬ they removed, and stood afar off. “the people, he~will~see”

Deuteronomy 1:39 Moreover your little ones, ones, which ye said should be ‫כ‬ ‫ בנ‬  ‫לבז ה‬  ‫אמרת‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬  ֶ ‫טפכ‬ ‫שמה‬   ‫ ב א‬ ‫המה‬ ‫ רע‬ ‫ט ב‬ ֹ ְַ ‫ה‬  ‫דע‬ָ‫־‬‫א‬ֹ ‫ל‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬  a prey, and your children, which in that day had no ‫ה׃‬ְ‫רש‬   ‫ ה‬ ‫אתננה‬  ‫לה‬ knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither,, and unto them will I give it, and they shall thither  possess it. “your little ones, of  whom  whom you said, 'he~will~become a prey'”

Joshua 24:16 And the people answered people answered and said, far beit that we ‫ה‬ ָ ּ‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ ‫א‬ ‫מע ב‬ ‫נ‬ should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; “and the people, he~answered and he~said”

Joshua 24:21 people said  said unto Joshua, Nay; but b ut we will ‫נעבד‬ ‫הה‬ ָ ּ‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ And the people serve the LORD. “and the people, he~said”

Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

‫ל‬ ‫לה‬ ‫חל‬  ‫ אמ‬ ָ ‫ען הע‬ ‫׃‬ ‫אחר‬  ‫אלה‬ ‫לעבד‬

‫א‬  ‫כ‬ ‫לא‬ ‫שע‬  ֹ‫ה‬ּ‫־‬‫ל‬ֶ ‫א‬  ‫אמר הע‬

‫שמ‬  ‫ה‬  ‫ תרך ע‬ ‫בהמ ת‬ ‫שאל־נא‬    ‫ל‬ְ‫א‬ֽ ‫גד־לך‬

Andthee: fowls of the air, and they shall tell the fowls of “the fowls of the heavens, and~he~will~tell you”

1 Samuel 13:19  Now there was no smith found throughout all the ‫־אמ‬ ‫כ‬ ‫שראל‬ ‫ת‬ ‫חנ‬  ‫א‬ ‫חרב‬  land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them them swords  swords or spears: “for the the Philistines,  Philistines, he~said”

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‫ארץ‬ ‫בכל‬ ‫ מצא‬ ‫לא‬ ‫ש‬  ‫ חר‬  ‫העבר‬  ‫ עש‬ ‫פן‬  ‫ת‬‫פלש‬

 

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1 Samuel 14:32 And the people flew people flew upon the spoil, and took ‫ בנ‬ ‫ בקר‬ ‫צאן‬  ‫קח‬ ‫׃‬ ‫ד‬ ֽ ‫על־ה‬  ‫הע‬ ‫אכל‬ sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them them on  on the ground: and the people did eat them them with  with the blood. “and the people, he~is~doing to loot”

‫שלל‬  ‫ אל־‬ ָ ‫ש הע‬  ‫ ע‬   ‫ארצה‬‫־‬ְ‫ט‬ֲ‫שח‬   ‫בקר‬

 

2 Samuel 7:23 And what one nation in the earth is is like  like thy people, ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫בארץ‬ ‫אחד‬  ‫ג‬ ‫כ שראל‬ ‫כעמך‬  ‫ מ‬  even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a even like ‫ש‬   ‫ ל‬  ‫ לש‬  ‫לע‬ ֹ‫ל‬‫־‬‫ת‬ֹֽ ‫לפד‬  ‫אלה‬‫־‬ְֽ‫הלכ‬   people to himself, and to make him a name, and to ‫עמך‬  ‫מפנ‬ ‫לארצך‬ ‫ת‬ֹ‫א‬ָ‫ נר‬ ‫לה‬ְ‫ד‬ְ‫הג‬  ‫לכ‬ ‫ לעש ת‬   ‫ אלה‬  ‫ממצר ג‬ ‫לך‬ ‫ת‬ ‫פד‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ do for you great things and terrible, for thy land,  before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from Egypt, from the  the nations and nations and their gods? “nations and his gods”

2 Samuel 21:4 Gibeonites said  said unto him, We will have no ‫שא‬  ‫־‬ ‫ע‬ ִ  ‫ הב‬ ‫כסף‬  ‫ן ל‬ ‫א‬   ‫הגבענ‬ ‫ ל‬ ‫אמ ר‬ And the Gibeonites silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; hou se; neither for ‫ אמר‬ ‫ב שראל‬ ‫ת‬ ‫להמ‬ ‫ש‬   ‫א‬ ‫ן־ל נ‬ ֽ‫ א‬ ‫תו‬ ‫־ב‬ ‫ע‬ ִ   us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, ‫׃‬ ֽ‫לכ‬ ‫אעשה‬  ‫אמר‬  ‫מה־את‬ What ye shall say, that  will  will I do for you. “and the Gibeonites, they~are~saying to him, 'there is none of Saul's silver and gold to~me'”

1 Kings 9:9 they forsook  forsook the ‫ש‬  ‫א‬  ‫אלה ה‬ ‫הה‬ ָ ּ‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ ‫א‬  ‫ע ב‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫על‬  ‫אמר‬ And they shall answer, an swer, Because they ‫באלה‬ ‫ ח ק‬  ִַ ‫מצר‬ ‫מארץ‬   ‫את־אבת‬ ‫א‬ ‫הצ‬ LORD their  God,  God, who brought forth their  fathers  fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon ‫ה‬ָ‫ה‬ּ  ‫א‬ ‫הב‬ ‫על־כן‬  ‫ עבד‬  ‫לה‬  ‫תח‬‫ ש‬  ‫אחר‬ ‫׃‬‫ת‬‫א‬ַֽ‫ה‬ ‫כל־הרעה‬ ‫את‬  ‫ה‬ ‫על‬ other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. “because they... and~he~is~worshiping”

1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir ‫ללכת‬ ‫ש‬  ‫ש‬  ‫תר‬ ‫אנ ת‬ ‫עשר‬ ‫שפט‬  ֹ‫ה‬ּ    ‫בעצ‬  ‫שבר אנ‬  ‫־נ‬ ‫כ‬ ‫הלך‬ ‫ לא‬ ‫ל הב‬ ‫רה‬ ‫אפ‬ for gold: but they went not; for the ships were ships were ‫גבר׃‬  broken at Ezion-geber. “the the ships,  ships, she~is~broken”

2 Kings 24:10 At that time the servants of servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

‫מלך‬ ‫נבכדנאצר‬  ‫על עבד‬ ‫א‬ ‫הה‬ ‫בעת‬ ‫׃‬‫ר‬ֹֽ‫במצ‬ ‫ר‬ ‫הע‬ ‫ תבא‬  ‫ל‬‫ש‬ְ‫ר‬ּ  ‫בבל‬

“the the servants...  servants... he~came~up” 5

May 30, 2013

 

Isaiah 2:18 And the idols, he idols, he shall pass away completely. “and the idols, he~shall~pass~away completely”

Jeremiah 2:15 The young lions roared upon him, and  yelled,  yelled, and cities are  are ravished they made his land waste: his cities without inhabitant.

‫אר צ‬ ‫ת‬ ‫ש‬ 

 

‫ חל‬   ‫כל‬  ‫ל‬ ‫האל‬

‫ קל‬  ‫נתנ‬  ‫כפר‬  ‫שאג‬   ‫ו‬ ‫על‬  ‫ב‬‫ ש‬  ‫מבל‬  ‫ נצת‬ ‫שמה ער‬  ‫ל‬

“his cities, she~is~ravished”

Jeremiah 50:6 people hath  hath been lost sheep:  ‫הר‬  ‫התע‬  ‫ה‬ ‫רע‬  ‫ת ה עמ‬ֹ‫ד‬ּ‫אב‬ ‫צאן‬ My people Their shepherds have caused them to go ‫׃‬ ֽ‫רבצ‬  ‫שכח‬   ‫הל כ‬ ‫אל־גבעה‬ ‫מהר‬  ‫בב‬ֹ‫ש‬ astray,, they have turned them away on astray the mountains: “my people, he9~became lost”

What is notable about each of these passages is the fact that regardless of the singular verbs,  pronouns, and modifiers, the meaning of the text is that there is more than one distinct item in reference, as evidenced by the plural nouns. One might ask, “Why then use singular verbs, pronouns, and modifiers at all?” One consistent motif strung throughout all these examples which may go a ways in answering this question is the idea of a collective unit. That is, in each example, the individual items, whether persons, ships, lights, or some other, were either acting or being acted upon as a unit. Another example which amplifies this point is found in Deuteronomy 28. In that passage, Moses refers to the children of Israel in the 2 nd person masculine singular over two hundred times; and yet, there is no doubt that each being was distinct from the others and that they were not all male. 10  It should now be evident that the word “Elohim (   ‫)אלה‬,” in instances where it is connected with singular correspondents, is still a real plural. Another important facet of plural God-language which must be taken into consideration is the occurrences of true plurals in reference to Deity.

True Plurals - Elohim (  

‫אלה‬ )

There are a number of instances throughout the Hebrew Bible in which the word Elohim (  ‫ )אלה‬occurs as a true plural. These occurrences could be placed into the two following categories: (1) occurrences of the word with no correspondent verbs, pronouns, or modifiers; 11 and (2) occurrences of the word with plural correspondent verbs, pronouns, and modifiers. 9 It is apparent apparent fr from om a number number of these exampl examples es that the the singular singular ma masculi sculine ne he he is  is used to designate groups of multiple individuals, not all of whom are male. In Hebrew, the grammatical gender corresponds to social gender as follows:   Grammatical Grammatical Feminine = Specificall Specifically y Feminine | Grammatical Grammatical Masculine = Not Specifically Feminine For more on how gender works in the Hebrew Language, see the works of David E.S. Stein (http://davidess (http://davidesstein.name/) tein.name/) 10 See Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 28:68. That verse, verse, while still referring referring to Israel Israel in 2 nd person masculine singular, specifies the audience to be both male and female, and thus distinct beings. 11 Items in category category (1) must be true plural pluralss since the noun itself is tthe he only determining fa factor. ctor.

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May 30, 2013

 

One example of the first category is the phrase commonly translated “man of God.” Throughout the Masoretic Text12 this takes a couple of forms; ‫האלה‬  ‫ש‬   ‫א‬  (man of the the Gods)  Gods) which occurs 64 times,13 and ‫אלה‬ ‫ש‬ ‫א‬ (man of Gods) which occurs 6 times. 14 In all seventy occurrences, there are no correspondent verbs, pronouns, and/or modifiers for the word “ha Elohim (   ‫)האלה‬,” or for the word “Elohim (  ‫)אלה‬.” Here are some examples of “Elohim” as a true plural with plural correspondents (2 nd category): Genesis 1:26 And God God said,  said, Let us make man in our image, after ‫ רד‬ ‫ת נ‬ְ‫מ‬ּ‫כד‬ ‫בצלמ נ‬  ‫אד‬  ‫ נעש‬ ‫אלה‬ ‫אמר‬ ‫ בכל־הארץ‬ ‫ בבהמה‬  ‫שמ‬  ‫ה‬ ‫ בע ף‬  ‫ה‬ ‫בדגת‬  our likeness: and let them have dominion over the ‫על־הארץ׃‬ ‫ש‬  ‫הרמ‬ ‫ש‬  ‫בכל־הרמ‬ fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. “And Gods said, We~will~make” We~will~make”

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know kno w good and evil: and now n ow,, lest

‫ה ה כאח‬  ָ ‫האד‬ ‫הן‬   ‫אלה‬ ‫ הה‬ ‫ אמר׀‬  ‫ג‬ ‫ לקח‬ ‫ דו‬ ‫שלח‬  ִ‫־‬‫ן‬ְ‫פ‬ ‫ עתה׀‬ ‫ רע‬ ‫ט ב‬ ‫לדעת‬  ‫ממנ‬

he forth andever: take also of the tree of ‫׃‬ life,put and eat,his andhand, live for “Gods said, behold, the man is become as of us”

 

 

‫ל‬ ֽ ‫אכל ח לע‬

 

 

‫מעץ הח‬

Genesis 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused God caused me to  ‫אב‬ ‫ת‬ ‫מב‬  ‫ אלה‬ ‫את‬  ‫התע‬ ‫שר‬  ‫כא‬  ‫ה‬ ‫כל־‬ ‫אל‬  ‫עמד‬  ‫תעש‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫חסדך‬ ‫ ה‬ ‫לה‬ ‫אמר‬ wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, ‫׃‬‫א‬ְֽ‫ה‬  ‫אח‬  ‫־ל‬ ‫אמר‬ ‫שמה‬   ‫נב א‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ֹ ‫ק‬ This is thy is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto  ‫המ‬ me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my is my brother. “Gods, They~caused~ me ~to~stray”15

Genesis 35:7 And he built there an altar, and called the place El‫ת־אל‬ ‫ב‬ ֽ  ‫אל‬  ‫למק‬ ‫קרא‬ ‫ו‬ ‫אח‬  ‫מפנ‬ ‫בברחו‬  ‫ו האלה‬  beth-el: because there God appeared God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. “the Gods, They~appeared to him”

‫מ בח‬    ‫ש‬ ‫ש‬ ‫ בן‬  ‫אל‬  ‫ש נגל‬   ‫כ‬  

12 The Masoretic Text Text (MT) is the standard family of manuscripts manuscripts which compose the Hebrew Bible. Bible. 13 Dt 33:1; Jos 14:6; Jdg 13:6, 8; 1 Sa 9:10; 1 Ki 12:22; 13:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 11, 12, 14, 21, 26, 29, 31; 17:18; 20:28; 2 Ki 1 1:9, :9, 11, 12, 13; 4:16, 21, 22, 25, 27, 40; 5:8, 14, 15, 20; 6:6, 9, 10, 15; 7:2, 17, 18, 19; 8:2, 4, 7, 8, 11; 13:19; 23:16, 17; Ezr 3:2; Ne 12:24, 36; 1 Ch 23:14; 2 Ch 8:14; 11:2; 25:9; 30:16; Ps 90:1; Je 35:4 14 1 Sa 2:27; 9:6; 9:6; 1 Ki 13:1; 17:24; 17:24; 2 Ki 1:10; 1:10; 4:9 15 The format of “words~ “words~ word ~words” is is to illustrate that tthe he word in the middle is a se separate parate word from the word on either side of it. In this example the Hebrew word ( ‫ )הת ע‬means “they~caused~to~stray” and the word (  ‫ )את‬means “me.” It is written in this format to keep with English syntax.

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May 30, 2013

 

Deuteronomy 5:26 For who is there of  all  all flesh, that hath heard the  ‫אלה‬ ‫ קל‬ ‫שמע‬   ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫כל־בשר‬  ‫מ‬  ‫כ‬   ‫ ח‬ ‫כמ נ‬ ‫ש‬  ‫מת ך־הא‬ ‫מדבר‬  ‫ח‬ voice of the living God speaking God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have have,, and lived? “the16  Gods, the living~Ones”

Joshua 24:19 ‫לעבד‬ ‫ת כ ל‬ ‫לא‬  ‫אל־הע‬ ‫שע‬  ֹ‫ה‬ּ  ‫ אמר‬  And Joshua said unto the people, Ye Ye cannot serve is a  a jealous ‫ה‬ ‫אל־קנ א‬ ‫ה א‬   ‫ש‬  ‫ קד‬ ‫־אלה‬ ‫כ‬ ‫ה‬ָ‫ה‬ּ‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ ‫א‬ the LORD: for he is an is an holy God; God; he is God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor ‫׃‬ ‫כ‬ ֽ  ‫ לחטאות‬  ‫שעכ‬  ‫לפ‬ ‫שא‬ִ‫־‬‫א‬ֽ‫ל‬ your sins. “the Gods, the  Holy~Ones” the Holy~Ones”

1 Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, ‫עמ‬  ‫העמד‬  ‫ש‬  ‫אל־האנ‬ ‫ד ד‬ ‫ אמר‬  ‫שת‬  ‫הפל‬‫־‬‫ת‬ֶ‫א‬ ‫ כה‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫ש‬   ‫לא‬ ‫עשה‬ְ‫ה־‬  ַ‫מ‬ ‫לאמר‬  saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth ‫ת‬‫הפלש‬  ‫מ‬  ‫כ‬ ‫ שראל‬ ‫מעל‬ ‫חרפה‬ ‫ר‬ ‫ הס‬ ‫הלז‬  this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this is this uncircumcised Philistine,   ‫ ח‬ ‫מערכ ת אלה‬ ‫חרף‬  ‫כ‬ ‫ה ה‬ ‫הערל‬ that he should defy the armies of the living God? God? “the the Gods,  Gods, the living~Ones”

1 Samuel 17:36  ‫ת‬‫הפלש‬ ‫ ה ה‬ ‫עבדך‬ ‫הכה‬ ‫־הד ב‬ ‫ְג‬   ‫את־האר‬  ‫ג‬  Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of  ‫מערכת אלה‬ ‫חרף‬  ‫כ‬  ‫מה‬ ‫כאחד‬ ‫ה ה‬ ‫הערל‬  ‫ח‬ them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. God. “the the Gods,  Gods, the living~Ones”

2 Samuel 7:23 ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫בארץ‬ ‫אחד‬  ‫ג‬ ‫כ שראל‬ ‫כעמך‬  ‫ מ‬  And what one nation in the earth is is like  like thy people, God went  went to redeem for a ‫ש‬   ‫ ל‬  ‫ לש‬  ‫לע‬ ‫ לפד ־ל‬ ‫הלכ אלה‬  even like even  like Israel, whom God  people to himself, and to make him a name, and to ‫עמך‬  ‫מפנ‬ ‫לארצך‬ ‫ת‬ֹ‫א‬ָ‫ נר‬ ‫לה‬ְ‫ד‬ְ‫הג‬  ‫לעש ת לכ‬ ‫ו׃‬ ‫ אלה‬  ‫ג‬  ‫ממצר‬ ‫לך‬ ‫ת‬ ‫פד‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ do for you17 great things and terrible, for thy land,  before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from Egypt, from the  the nations and their gods? “whom Gods, They~went to They~redeem”

16 In the the literal translation translation below each example, italics denote denotess words supplied for syntactical purposes. purposes. 17 Pl Plura urall “you. “you.””

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May 30, 2013

 

Psalm 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a is a reward for  ‫ש־אלה‬   ‫אך‬ ‫ק‬ ‫לצד‬  the righteous: Verily he is a God God that  that judgeth in the earth. “Gods, Ones~judging in the earth”

‫אך־פר‬  ‫אד‬ ‫מר‬‫א‬ֹּ   ‫בארץ‬  ‫שפט‬ 

Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the is the true God, ‫ מלך‬    ‫ ח‬ ‫־אלה‬‫א‬ְֽ‫ה‬ ‫אמת‬   ‫אלה‬ ‫הה‬ ‫ עמו׃‬  ‫ ג‬ ‫כ ל‬ָ‫־‬‫א‬ֽ‫ ל‬ ‫הארץ‬ ‫ש‬  ‫תרע‬  ‫מקצפ‬  ‫על‬ He is the is the living God, God, and an everlasting king: At his wrath the earth shall tremble, And the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. “the  Gods, the living~Ones” the Gods,

Jeremiah 23:36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no ‫ש‬ ‫לא‬ ‫ ה ה‬ ‫המשא‬  ‫כ‬ ‫ע ד‬‫־‬ְ‫ר‬ְ‫ת כ‬ ‫לא‬ ‫ הה‬ ‫ משא‬  more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ‫צבא‬ ‫ הה‬    ‫ ח‬ ‫ אלה‬ ‫את־דבר‬  ‫ הפכת‬ ‫דברו‬ ‫׃‬ְ‫נ‬ ‫אלה‬ ye have perverted the words of the living God, God, of the LORD of hosts our God. “the the Gods,  Gods, the living~Ones”

Other True Plurals for Deity Considering the examples thus far, even the strictest monotheist should be able to see that the word “Elohim (   ‫)אלה‬,” rather than acting as a singular, is descriptive of multiple distinct beings; and that, regardless of whether or not its correspondents are singular, plural, or absent. In broadening our view of divine plurality, especially in the present context, it will doubtless be of value to review some more examples of true plurals. This time, the passages listed are not centered on any one particular divine title. Genesis 11:6-7 thee LORD said, Behold, the people is is one,  one, and ‫לכל‬ ‫אחת‬ ‫ שפה‬ ‫אחד‬  ‫ע‬ ‫הן‬  ‫ ה‬ ‫אמר‬ And th they have all one language; and this they begin to ‫ר‬‫אש‬ ‫כל‬  ‫מה‬ ‫בצר‬ִ‫־‬‫א‬ֽ‫ל‬ ‫ עתה‬ ‫לעש ת‬  ‫החל‬ ‫ ה‬  do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, ‫׃‬‫ת‬ֹ‫לעש‬  ‫מ‬ ‫שמע‬   ‫לא‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬  ‫שפת‬  ‫ש‬   ‫ נבלה‬  ‫נרד‬ ‫הבה‬ which they have imagined to do. ‫׃‬ְ‫ה‬ֽ‫רע‬ ‫שפת‬ ‫ש‬  ‫א‬ Go to, let us go down, down, and there there confou confound nd their lang langua uage ge,, that that they they may may no nott unde unders rsta tand nd on onee another’s speech. “Yahweh said, ... We~shall~descend”

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May 30, 2013

 

Exodus 33:14 thee, and I And he said, My presence shall presence shall go with thee, will give thee rest. “my~faces, They~will~go”

Exodus 33:15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go presence go not with ‫אל־תעלנ‬  me,, carry us not up hence. me “your~faces, the Ones~ not ~going”

‫לך‬  ‫ הנחת‬  ‫ לכ‬  ‫פנ‬ ‫מר‬‫א‬ְַ

 ‫ך הלכ‬ ‫פנ‬ ‫ן‬ ‫־א‬ ‫א‬ ִ  ‫ו‬ ‫אל‬ ‫אמר‬ ‫׃‬‫ה‬ִֽ‫מ‬

Job 35:10 But none saith, Where is is  God God my  my maker, ‫בל לה‬ ‫ מר ת‬ ‫נתן‬  Who giveth songs in the night; “God,18 Ones~making~of~me/my Makers”

‫א ה אל ה עש‬ ‫לא־אמר‬

Psalm 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: ‫ל‬ ‫ ג‬ ‫־צ ן‬ ‫בנ‬   ‫ שראל בעש‬ ‫שמח‬ ‫׃‬ ‫כ‬ ֽ ‫במל‬ Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. “Israel, he~shall~rejoice in~Ones~making~of~him/his Makers”

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator  in  in the days of thy ‫ב א‬ָ‫־‬‫א‬ֹ‫ל‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬ ‫עד‬ ‫ך‬ ‫רת‬ְ‫ח‬ְ‫ב‬  ‫בה‬  ‫ן־ל‬ ‫א‬ ֽ  ‫תאמר‬ ‫שר‬  ‫א‬  youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; “remember your Creators”

‫מ‬ ‫ב‬ ‫ך‬ ‫את־ב רא‬ ‫כר‬ ‫נ‬‫ש‬ ‫ע‬ ‫ הג‬ ‫הרעה‬  ‫ מ‬  ‫חפץ׃‬

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, Lord, saying, Whom  ‫ מ‬ ‫לח‬‫אש‬  ‫את־מ‬ ‫אמר‬ 19 ‫ ה‬ ‫את־ק ל‬ ‫שמע‬  ‫א‬  ‫שלחנ‬    ‫הננ‬ ‫ אמר‬  ‫לך־לנ‬ shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am am I;  I; send me. “Yahweh, “Y ahweh, saying... who will go for~us”

18 As explain explained ed in foo footnote tnote 3, 3, Eloa Eloah h ( ‫ה‬ֹ‫ל‬ֱ‫ )א‬is the feminine form of El (‫)אל‬. A feminine variation of the same word (Eloah/ ‫ )אלה‬is correctly translated “goddess” in 1 Kings 11:5. 19 This is one of the 134 instances the Massorah lists where the name “Y “Yahweh” ahweh” was changed to “adonai.” The Massorah is the set textual notes made by the creators of the Masoretic text (the Masoretes).

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May 30, 2013

 

Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine is thine husband; The LORD of hosts is is his  his name; And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

‫קד ש‬ ‫ גאלך‬ ‫מו‬‫ש‬ ‫צבא ת‬ ‫ הה‬ ‫כ בעל ך עש ך‬ ‫ קרא׃‬ ‫כל־הארץ‬  ‫אלה‬ ‫שראל‬

“for the the Ones~making~you,  Ones~making~you, the the Ones~possessing~you/your  Ones~possessing~you/your Makers, your Possessors”

Conclusion: So, what have we found? In short, short, we have learned that the prevalent theology theology of monotheism monotheism has informed our understanding of the text more than the text itself has informed our theology. If we only allow the text to say what it says, and allow ourselves to admit to what it says, we are left with the twofold realization that (1) the monotheistic position is untenable; and (2) distinct divine plurality, though unpopular, is simply the truth.

The Branch www.the-branch.org

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May 30, 2013