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For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods (elohim).
Psalm 97: 9 (NIV)
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INTRODUCTION
“You shall have no other gods before me”, said the Most High in Exodus 20: 3. To a Christian mind that translates to there being only one God. Yet the passage in Psalm 97: 9 and other similar passages attest to there being other gods. Many times named as elohim. They are divine beings inhabiting the spiritual realm and operating under YAHWEH’s authority or in rebellion against it.
THE ELOHIM, THE DIVINE BEINGS
“The word Elohim occurs more than two thousand five hundred times in the Hebrew Bible” (2)
The expression itself is a bit of an enigma. Its hebrew -im ending indicates to its plural muscular form, yet the word can be either singular or plural in meaning. (2, 3) Actually, in the Hebrew Torah and Holy Bible it usually describes the God of Israel. (3)
It means god or godhead nd is considered as the plural form of the word eloah. (2) But in the Bible it is used to describe also other outwordly entities. To put it simply, it means “divine beings”. In the Bible it has been used to denote:
YAHWEH
YAHWEH’S divine counsel
gods and goddesses of other nations
demons (Hebrew word shedim)
deceased Samuel
angels or angel of YAHWEH (3)
THE BENE-ELOHIM, GOD’S FAMILY
The Bene-Elohim, Sons of God, are divine beings of higher levels of responsibilities or jurisdictions. Per Moses Maimonides they occupy the seventh rank in the Jewish angelic Hierarchy (2).
Elohim occupy the seventh rank of ten in the medieval rabbinic scholar Maimonides' Jewish angelic hierarchy. Maimonides wrote: "I must premise that every Hebrew [now] knows that the term Elohim is a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of countries ..." (2)
In Job 8 the Sons of God are described as the Morning stars. They are not human and they inhabit the spiritual realm. (3)
These Sons of God are the divine counsel of the Most High. They were given jurisdiction to rule over Earth under the authority of Yahweh. (3)
While some claim that they are humans assigned, appointed and anointed to lead mankind in spiritual and other affairs, Michael S. Heiser begs to differ. They are divine non-human intelligent beings. They were created before men and even Earth whose creation they observed. (3)
Though assigned great power and responsibilities, at least some of them deviated away from the righteous rulership of YAHWEH as the Bible states in Psalm 82:6. As judgment they were to die as humans. (3)
YESHUA, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON
Have you ever felt as though the Bible contradicted itself in some places? My faith has been tested numerous times when I encountered such places. My spirit was stirred up. I caught myself wondering, ‘Why? How come? That makes no sense.’
In the past I shied away from such questions that arose, nowadays I am not so afraid. If such a question arises, my Abba is merely trying to bring down a stronghold or reveal some hidden thing. It is a good thing.
We have established that God has an invisible family, the bene elohim - the Sons of God. How come then does the Bible claim Yeshua as the only begotten son?
The problem arose because of the wrongful interpretation and translation of the greek word monogenes into latin. The scholars presumed that it originated from two roots: mono (only) and genes (born, begotten). Rather the word originates from the roots mono (only) and genos (species, kind, category). So the expression actually means the only of his kind. (2, 3)
Yeshua is a Morning Star. He is among the Sons of God and unique. He is YAHWEH made flesh and in so is one of a kind. There is no one like Him.
YAHWEH IS ELOHIM ABOVE ALL
The word Elohim is used in different places and as established denotes a diverse variety of divine beings. But as stated already, in the Bible it actually is mostly used to describe the God of Israel.
Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
Exodus 15: 11 (NIV)
YAHWEH is not the only god. He is unlike any other though, or rather other Elohim are not like Him. He is one of a kind and the strongest and mightiest of them all.
He is the supreme authority above all and everything. He is the Elohim above all.
CONCLUSION
The word Elohim can have a plural or singular meaning. While it is most commonly used in reference to the God of Israel, it can denote a wide variety of divine beings, from the Sons of God, gods and goddesses of other nations, demons and angels.
The expression Bene-Elohim specifically talks about God's divine council consisting of non-human divine beings, His Sons, also known as Morning stars. They are His family, in the spiritual places, the invisible family. And Yeshua is part of that family. He is one of the Sons of God. He is YAHWEH embodied, YAHWEH made flesh.
Application
Dear Heavenly Father, Adonai, in the upcoming week, reveal to us all the misconceptions regarding the word Elohim and your Heavenly Sons we might be believing in. Amen!
SOURCES
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Wikipedia: Elohim. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim#cite_note-DDD-17
Michal S. Heiser. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. September 1, 2015. Available at https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Realm-Recovering-Supernatural-Worldview/dp/1577995562
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