Sermon Tone Analysis

Acknowledging the Supernatural View of the Bible: Is Yahweh the only God?

Compare to and

Psalm 82:1 is especially interesting since elohim occurs twice in that single verse.

In Psalm 82:1, the first elohim must be singular, since the Hebrew grammar has the word as the subject of a singular verbal form (“stands”).

The second elohim must be plural, since the preposition in front of it (“in the midst p 27 of”) requires more than one.

You can’t be “in the midst of” one.

The preposition calls for a group—as does the earlier noun, assembly.

The meaning of the verse is inescapable: The singular elohim of Israel presides over an assembly of elohim.

Word Study: Elohim and Elim

The Gods of the Old Testament

The writers of the OT primarily use two plural nouns for a plurality of gods: elohim and elim.

Here is a sampling of the many passages in which these terms occur.

elohim

elim

Deut 32:17; Pss 82:1; 86:8; 95:3; 96:4; 97:7, 9; 136.2; 138:1

Exod 15:11; Psa 89:5–7 [Heb: vv.

6–8]; Psa 29:1

Deuteronomy 32:17 describes the gods (elohim) worshiping in disobedience as “demons” (shedim, low-ranking divine beings known in other ancient Near Eastern texts).

They are not merely idols of wood and stone.

Elsewhere in Deuteronomy, the writer describes these “other gods” (acherim elohim) as the heavenly host (Deut 17:3).

And the same heavenly host terminology also is used in references to actual spirit beings assembled in Yahweh’s presence (1 Kgs 22:19–23).

Deuteronomy 4:19–20 and its explicit parallel, Deut 32:8–9, together demonstrate that the heavenly host terminology designates more than celestial objects:

Lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, whom the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day (Deut 4:19–20).

These celestial objects are the gods of Deut 17:3 and 32:17.

In Deut 32:8–9, the writer of Deuteronomy calls them “sons of God.”

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage (Deut 32:8–9).

Deuteronomy 32:8 describes Yahweh’s dispersal of the nations at Babel and his resultant disinheriting of those nations, giving them over to other, lesser gods (elohim).

Psalm 82, in turn, describes Yahweh’s end-times punishment of these gods for their corrupt rule of the nations.

These passages are central to the OT‘s explanation for the existence of other nations’ pantheons.

The starry host description of Deut 4:19–20 also occurs in Job 38:7, which refers to the presence of the “sons of God” at the creation of the foundations of the earth.

“Sons of God” is a common designation for divine beings (compare Job 1:6; 2:1), and in Psa 82:6, the psalmist explicitly refers to the “sons of the Most High” as gods (elohim, compare Pss 82:1; 89:5–7).

A. The Hebrew text of the OT uses the term elohim to refer to five different entities—even though this distinction is rarely clear in English translations:

B. Yahweh, the God of Israel (more than 2,000 times)

C. The gods of Yahweh’s heavenly council, both loyal and disloyal (Pss 82; 89; compare Deut 32:8–9, 43; Psa 58:11)

D. The gods of foreign nations (e.g., 1 Kgs 11:33)

E. Demons (Deut 32:17)

F. Spirits of dead people (1 Sam 28:13)

G. Angels (see note on Gen 35:7)

The writers of the OT primarily use two plural nouns for a plurality of gods: elohim and elim.

Old Testament affirmations such as (“Hear, O Israel, Yahweh our God is one”) and the prophets’ repeated statements that “there is none besides Yahweh,” can easily lead to the assumption that the OT Israelites did not believe in the existence of other gods.

According to this assumption, the definition of monotheism rules out the existence of other gods.

In light of many OT passages, these assumptions cannot be sustained.

Rather than producing contradictions within the biblical text, these passages that are often set aside demonstrate how godly Israelites thought about Yahweh and provide a more accurate picture of Israelite monotheism.

The Gods of the Old Testament

The writers of the OT primarily use two plural nouns for a plurality of gods: elohim and elim.

Here is a sampling of the many passages in which these terms occur.

elohim

If the biblical writers could use elohim to refer to entities besides the God of Israel, then they did not equate the term “god” with only one entity.

The biblical writers knew there was more than one elohim because they did not reserve the term only for the God of Israel: The faith of the biblical writers allowed for the existence of other gods (elohim).

This also means that the modern term “monotheism” does not accurately capture the beliefs of the biblical writers.

This disconnect is caused by the desire of modern readers to reserve the word god for one being, whereas the biblical writers did not necessarily share this desire.

elim

; ;

describes the gods (elohim) worshiping in disobedience as “demons” (shedim, low-ranking divine beings known in other ancient Near Eastern texts).

They are not merely idols of wood and stone.

Lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, whom the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day ().

These celestial objects are the gods of and 32:17.

In , the writer of Deuteronomy calls them “sons of God.”

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage ().

describes Yahweh’s dispersal of the nations at Babel and his resultant disinheriting of those nations, giving them over to other, lesser gods (elohim).

, in turn, describes Yahweh’s end-times punishment of these gods for their corrupt rule of the nations.

These passages are central to the OT‘s explanation for the existence of other nations’ pantheons.

The starry host description occurs in , which refers to the presence of the “sons of God” at the creation of the foundations of the earth.

When God laid the foundations of the earth, the “sons of God” were there, shouting for joy.

But who are the sons of God? Obviously, they aren’t humans.

This is before the creation of the world.

In the ancient Semitic world, sons of God (Hebrew: beney elohim) is a phrase used to identify divine beings with higher-level responsibilities or jurisdictions.

The term angel (Hebrew: malʾak) describes an important but still lesser task: delivering messages.

A. The Hebrew text of the OT uses the term elohim to refer to five different entities—even though this distinction is rarely clear in English translations:

B. Yahweh, the God of Israel (more than 2,000 times)

C. The gods of Yahweh’s heavenly council, both loyal and disloyal (; ; compare , ; )

D. The gods of foreign nations (e.g., )

E. Demons ()

F. Spirits of dead people ()

G. Angel of Yahweh

If the biblical writers could use elohim to refer to entities besides the God of Israel, then they did not equate the term “god” with only one entity.

The biblical writers knew there was more than one elohim because they did not reserve the term only for the God of Israel: The faith of the biblical writers allowed for the existence of other gods (elohim).

The Uniqueness of Yahweh

What the biblical writers say about Yahweh—they never say about another elohim.

The biblical writers speak of Yahweh in ways that telegraph their belief in his uniqueness and incomparability:

“Who is like you among the gods [elim], Yahweh?” ()

“ ‘What god [el] is there in the heaven or on the earth who can do according to your works and according to your mighty deeds?’ ” ()

“O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god [elohim] like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath” ().

For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth.

You are highly exalted above all gods [elohim] ().

With All of the Different Religions, How Can I Know Which One Is Correct?

Testing various truth claims using a good framework:

This being the case, why should theology—the study of God—be any different?

Why believe it can be approached in a haphazard and undisciplined way and still yield right conclusions?

Unfortunately, this is the approach many take, and this is one of the reasons why so many religions exist.

That said, we now return to the question of how to reach truthful conclusions about God.

What systematic approach should be used?

First, we need to establish a framework for testing various truth claims, and then we need a roadmap to follow to reach a right conclusion.

Here is a good framework to use:

1. Logical consistency—the claims of a belief system must logically cohere to each other and not contradict in any way.

As an example, the end goal of Buddhism is to rid oneself of all desires.

Yet, one must have a desire to rid oneself of all desires, which is a contradictory and illogical principle.