PatriarchinityChapter 1: Elohim vs. God - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

Patriarchinity Chapter 1: Elohim vs. God
By Chris Jacob (Yaacov) Schaefer ©2009

In thousands of places throughout the mainstream bibles, the generic term “God” is used for the Creator. But where did this word “God” come from? What does it sound like to the Hebraic ear? There is a verse that marks a very clear distinction.

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 65:11
11 But you are they that forsake YHWH,
that forget My kadosh (set apart) mountain,
that prepare a table for God* ** ,
and that furnish the drink offering to Mani #.

*RSTNE note: G-d’s Table, or the “lord’s table,” from the Hebrew
letters gimel, daled.
**RSTNE note: Name of a pagan deity of strength, or “troop
strength.” Yisraelites (Israelites) would forsake YHWH to worship
what they thought was real carnal power. The Hebrew
is spelled gimel, daled, with masoretic vowel-pointing
making it sound like God, not Gad, in Hebrew. This is
close enough of a condemnation of using Gd, or G-d in
place of YHWH to be too close for comfort, and as
such it is best and safer to stay away from worshiping
a generic Gd, especially in light of clarion calls that
demand that as Yisrael, we call on YHWH and His true
Name alone.
# RSTNE Note: Luck. A [pagan] deity of good fortune, or luck.

Now as a disclaimer, it is obvious that most believers who use the term “God” nowadays are not thinking of or worshiping the Babylonian deity of troop strength. Translated language plays all sorts of weird tricks. Most of the time, proper names are supposed to be transliterated rather than translated, but strange things can and do occasionally happen for varying reasons. Even in the Semetic language of Aramaic (which the book of Daniel is supposed to have been written), the Name of YHWH is pronounced “Marah”, which in Hebrew, means “bitterness” Obviously the Aramaic speaking Hebrew believers didn’t worship “bitterness” when they uttered what they believed to be the Father’s name. So obviously YHWH is looking on the heart.

So, in English we have adopted the more common meaning of “Mighty One” to the word “God. ” However the word "God" is still a singular noun. On the other hand, in the Hebrew Scriptures, “Elohim” is the most commonly used pronoun title for the Creator. (With all fairness, it should be mentioned that “El”, “Elah” and “Eloah” are also used, but far less frequently and of course do not negate “Elohim”). Now it should also be mentioned that the –im ending to Elohim is sort of equivalent to the pluralizing “-s” or “-es” in English—So Elohim literally means “Mighty Ones.”. However, it is also a little bit different than the “-s” that we put on words to make them plural. In some respects, the plural –im ending can indicate greatness.
Nevertheless, the –im ending in many passages by necessity must indicate some kind of plurality. Some passages can only be coherent when Elohim is understood as a plurality rather than the singularity of "God."

Beresheeth/Genesis 1:26a
26 And Elohim said, "Let Us make man in Our image,
after Our likeness:"

Beresheeth/Genesis 11:6-7
6 And YHWH said, "See, the people are echad [compoundly unified], and they all
have one language; and this they begin to do: and now
nothing will be restrained from them, which they have
imagined to do.
7 Come, let Us
go down, and there confound their
language, that they may not understand one another's
speech."

“Us” is plural. Now some might try to say that the “Us” represents only YHWH and angels (Yet In Yahshar 9:32, the “Us” is Elohim (plural) along with the 70 angels that went down to confound the language of the people.) More importantly, in Beresheeth 1:26, the “Us” of Elohim cannot include angels, because we are not made in the image of angels, nor are angles ever spoken of as creators!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6:8a
8 Also, I heard the voice of YHWH, saying, Whom shall I
send, and who will go for Us?

Some have argued that that the use of “Us” is the similar “majestic sense” as when the Queen of England said “We are not amused.” Totally wrong. Scripture was not initially written in English, and it makes absolutely no sense to impose the idiosyncrasies and milieu of the British Monarchy upon Scripture.

Now, some others might claim that the “Us” is referring to YHWH and the angels. Well if we check out the verses preceding verse 8, that should give some context.

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6:1, 5
1 “In the year that king Uziyahu died I also saw YHWH
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the hem of
His robe filled the Temple...
5 Then I said, ‘Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am
a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people
of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the Melech
YHWH tzevaoth [King YHWH of Heaven’s armies].’”

Of course Yeshuyahu did not die, so Who did he see since in Shemoth/Exodus 33:19-20, YHWH says to Moshe:

19 ... “I will make all My goodness to pass before you,
and I will proclaim the Name of YHWH before you; And
will show unmerited favor to whom I will, and will show
mercies to whom I will.”
20 And He said, “You cannot see My face: for there shall
no man see Me, and live.”

And furthermore, why is it in Yeshayahu 6:1, that the name YHWH is used, then in 6:5, Yeshuayahu realizes that he’s actually seeing the Melech YHWH tzevaoth [King YHWH of heaven’s armies]?

Yahoshua/Joshua 6:13-15
13 And it came to pass, when Yahoshua was by Yericho,
that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, see, there stood
a Man opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand:
and Yahoshua went to Him, and said to Him, “Are You for
us, or for our enemies?”
14 And He said, “No; but as Captain of the armies
of YHWH I am now come.” And Yahoshua fell on his face to
the earth, and did worship, and said to Him, “What says
My Master to His servant?”
15 And the captain of YHWH's camp said to Yahoshua,
“Loose your sandals from off your feet; for the place
where you stand is kadosh (set apart) ground.” And Yahoshua
did so.

Shemoth/Exodus 3:2-6a
2 And the Malach (Angel of) YHWH
appeared to him in a flame of
fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, see,
the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed.
3 And Moshe said, “I will now turn aside, and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4 And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim
called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
“Moshe, Moshe.” And he said, “Here am I”.
5 And He said, “Draw not near here: put off your sandals
from your feet, for the place on which you stand is
kadosh ground.”
6 Moreover He said, “I am the Elohim of your abba, the
Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the
Elohim of Yaakov.”

Neither Yahoshua nor Moshe died when seeing the Angel/Captain/King of YHWH’s armies, therefore it was not Father YHWH who they saw, but rather Someone who shared the same Name: YeHoshuWaH who has his Father’s name “YHWH” embedded within His Name. (to clarify: Moshe’s assiatant Yahoshua’s name and the Moshiach’s name are spelled with the same consonants. So in Yehoshua 6:14 there is Yehoshua the Savior talking to Yahoshua the mortal who then in turn worships Yehoshua the Savior.)

Yochanan/Jhn 12:47-50
“47 And if any man hears My words, and believes not, I
judge him not: for I came not to judge the wold, but to
save the this world.
48 He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has
One that judges him. The Word that I have spoken, the
same shall judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken by Myself; but the Father who
sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say,
and what I should speak.
50 And I know that His commandment is eternal life:
whatever I speak therefore, even as the Father said to Me,
so I speak.”

So with that all together, it is clear in Yeshayahu 6:8a. that the “Us” is definitely referring to Father YHWH and his Son.

This phenomenon repeats in Yeshayahu 41:22-26 [YHWH speaking about Yisrael and then directly to Yisrael],

“22 Let them bring them forth, and show Us what shall
happen: let them show the former things, what they were,
that We may consider them, and know the latter end of them;
or declare to Us things yet to come.
23 Show the things that are to come from now on, that We
may know that you are elohim: yes, do good, or do evil, that
We may be amazed, and see it together.
24 See, you are nothing, and your work is nothing: an
abomination is anyone that chooses you.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come:
from the rising of the sun shall he call upon My Name:
and He shall come upon rulers as though mortar, and as the
potter tramples clay.
26 Who has declared from the beginning, that We may
know? And ahead of time, that We may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Yes, there is none that declares the future, yes, there is none
that proclaims it, yes, yet there is none that hears Your
words.”

The “We” and “Us” in verses 22, 23 and 26 cannot be referring to the nation of Yisrael because in v. 24 the nation of israel is put in their place by YHWH. So in context, Who is left?

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 41:10 [YHWH talking to the nation of Yisrael]
10” Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am
your Elohim: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I
will uphold you with the Right Hand of My righteousness.”

The “Right Hand of My Righteousness” is an euphemism for Yehoshua, YHWH’s only begotten Son.

Not that much more proof of plurality is needed, but here’s one that Bible translators usually will try to hide.
Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 12:1
1 Remember your Creators *** in the day of your youth.

***(Hebrew: Et Borecha is“your Creators” not just “Creator”).
בוראיך
Eth= Alef Taf
Borecha= Bet + Vav + Resh + Alef + Yud and + Kaf

So Who comprises the Creators? Father. Son. Anyone else?

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