H430 — אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H430
- Original: אֱלֹהִים
- Transliteration: ʼĕlôhîym (elohim)
- Pronunciation: el-o-heem'
- Part of Speech: Masculine noun (morphologically plural, grammatically often singular)
- Root: Plural of H433 אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôwahh); cognate with H410 אֵל (ʼêl) "God, strength, mighty"
- Occurrences: 2,689 tokens in 2,246 unique verses
- Books: 35 of 39 OT books
- First Occurrence: Gen 1:1 — "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth."
- Hapax Legomenon: No — the second most common noun in the OT
Lexicon Definition¶
Strong's: Plural of אֱלוֹהַּ (H433); gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:—angels, exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), (very) great, judges, mighty.
Morphologically a masculine plural (-im ending), but functions grammatically as either singular or plural depending on referent. The plural form with singular agreement is widely classified by grammarians as a "plural of majesty," "plural of intensity/fullness," or "honorific/abstract plural" (GKC §124; Joüon-Muraoka §136d).
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation Group | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| God / the God / O God / a God (singular referent) | ~1,100 | 49% |
| thy God / your God / our God / my God / his God / her God / their God (singular, suffixed) | ~830 | 37% |
| gods / the gods / thy gods / their gods / other gods (plural referent) | ~240 | 10.7% |
| goddess / the goddess | 2 | 0.1% |
| judges / the judge / the judges | 4 | 0.2% |
| angels ("than the angels") | 1 | 0.04% |
| mighty / great / exceeding / godly (superlative) | 5 | 0.2% |
| Function-word renderings (of, the, and, unto, etc.) | ~65 | 2.9% |
(Compiled from 164 distinct KJV rendering strings in the lookup.)
Semantic Range Summary¶
| Referent Class | Approximate Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The true God (God of Israel / YHWH) | ~90% | Overwhelming majority; nearly always with singular verb/adj |
| Pagan / foreign deities (plural or singular) | ~3.8% | e.g., Dagon, Chemosh, Baal, Ashtoreth, Milcom |
| Angels / heavenly beings | <0.5% | e.g., Ps 8:5 per LXX; Ps 97:7; 138:1 (disputed with "judges") |
| Human judges / magistrates / rulers | <0.5% | Exo 21:6; 22:8–9, 28; Ps 82:1, 6 (debated) |
| Human figures by deference/comparison | <0.2% | Moses "as God" to Pharaoh (Exo 7:1); Samuel's ghost (1Sa 28:13) |
| Superlative / intensive ("mighty," "great") | ~0.2% | Gen 23:6 "mighty prince"; Jonah 3:3 "exceeding great city" |
Distribution by Book (sorted by density per 100 verses)¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy | 312 | 32.5 |
| Jonah | 14 | 29.2 |
| 2 Chronicles | 167 | 20.3 |
| Ecclesiastes | 36 | 16.2 |
| Ezra | 45 | 16.1 |
| Nehemiah | 64 | 15.8 |
| Joel | 10 | 13.7 |
| Psalms | 322 | 13.1 |
| Malachi | 7 | 12.7 |
| Genesis | 190 | 12.4 |
| Hosea | 23 | 11.7 |
| 2 Kings | 83 | 11.5 |
| 1 Samuel | 90 | 11.1 |
| 1 Kings | 90 | 11.0 |
| 1 Chronicles | 101 | 10.7 |
| Joshua | 65 | 9.9 |
| Judges | 61 | 9.9 |
| Amos | 14 | 9.6 |
| Jeremiah | 128 | 9.4 |
| Zephaniah | 5 | 9.4 |
| Exodus | 111 | 9.2 |
| Micah | 9 | 8.6 |
| 2 Samuel | 48 | 6.9 |
| Isaiah | 86 | 6.7 |
| Leviticus | 47 | 5.5 |
| Habakkuk | 3 | 5.4 |
| Daniel | 19 | 5.3 |
| Haggai | 2 | 5.3 |
| Zechariah | 11 | 5.2 |
| Ezekiel | 34 | 2.7 |
| Nahum | 1 | 2.1 |
| Numbers | 23 | 1.8 |
| Job | 17 | 1.6 |
| Proverbs | 5 | 0.5 |
Note: Deuteronomy's density (32.5/100) reflects its covenant-sermon genre ("the LORD thy God" formula). Ezekiel prefers the alternative "Lord GOD" (Adonai Yhwh) construction. Job preferentially uses H433 (Eloah) and H410 (El). The word is absent from Ruth, Obadiah, and Song of Songs.
Grammatical Agreement Patterns¶
This section is central. Morphologically, אֱלֹהִים is a masculine plural noun (-îm ending, like melakhim "kings," devarim "words"). But grammatical agreement — the actual number of accompanying verbs, adjectives, and pronouns — varies by referent.
Pattern A: Elohim = true God → SINGULAR agreement (the overwhelming norm)¶
When Elohim refers to the God of Israel, accompanying verbs, adjectives, and pronouns are almost always grammatically singular, even though the noun itself is morphologically plural.
| Reference | Elohim form | Governing verb/pronoun | Parse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:1 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | בָּרָא bara "created" | Qal Perf 3ms (singular) |
| Gen 1:3 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | וַיֹּאמֶר va-yomer "and he said" | Qal Wayq 3ms |
| Gen 1:5 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | וַיִּקְרָא va-yiqra "and he called" | Qal Wayq 3ms |
| Deut 4:35 | הָאֱלֹהִים (mp + art) | הוּא hu "he is" | PersPron 3ms |
| Deut 6:4 | אֱלֹהֵינוּ eloheinu (mp + 1cp) | אֶחָד echad "one" | adj ms |
| Isa 45:5 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | אֲנִי ani "I [am]" | PersPron 1s (God's self-predicate) |
| Ps 7:10 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | שׁוֹפֵט shofet "judging" | Qal Ptc ms |
| 2Ki 19:15 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | אַתָּה־הוּא atta-hu "thou art he" | PersPron 2ms + 3ms |
Diagnostic example — Deut 4:35: יְהוָה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים — "YHWH, he (3ms) is the Elohim (mp)." The singular pronoun hu governs the plural noun.
Across the ~2,000 verses where Elohim refers to YHWH, the verb is singular in virtually every case.
Pattern B: Elohim = pagan gods (plural referents) → PLURAL agreement¶
When Elohim refers to actual multiple deities, agreement is plural, matching the morphology.
| Reference | Elohim form | Governing verb | Parse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exo 20:3 | אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים | אֲחֵרִים acherim "other" | adj mp |
| Exo 32:4 | אֱלֹהֶיךָ "thy gods" | הֶעֱלוּךָ he'elukha "brought thee up" | Hiph Perf 3p |
| Exo 32:8 | אֱלֹהֶיךָ | הֶעֱלוּךָ | Hiph Perf 3p |
| Deut 13:2 | אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים | אֲחֵרִים | adj mp |
| Jdg 10:14 | אֱלֹהִים | בְּחַרְתֶּם "ye have chosen" — context plural | plural |
| Jer 10:11 | אֱלָהַיָּא (Aram. plural, ref. pagan gods) | יֵאבַדוּ "shall perish" | plural |
Diagnostic contrast — Exo 32:4 vs Gen 1:1: Same noun form (elohim), but in Exo 32:4 the verb is he'elukha (3p plural), while in Gen 1:1 it is bara (3ms singular). The difference is referential, not theological: plural verb = actually-multiple deities; singular verb = one God.
Pattern C: The anomalous plural-verb cases with the true God (the famous crux verses)¶
A small handful of passages use Elohim of the true God with a plural verb or plural modifier. These are the verses most frequently adduced in Trinity arguments.
| Reference | Elohim form | Plural element | Parse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:26 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | נַעֲשֶׂה na'aseh "let us make" | Qal Impf 1cp (cohortative) |
| Gen 3:22 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ "as one of us" | PersPron 1cp |
| Gen 11:7 | (YHWH speaks) | נֵרְדָה neredah "let us go down" | Qal Impf 1cp |
| Gen 20:13 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | הִתְעוּ hit'u "caused to wander" | Hiph Perf 3p |
| Gen 35:7 | הָאֱלֹהִים (mp + art) | נִגְלוּ niglu "were revealed" | Niph Perf 3p |
| 2Sa 7:23 | אֱלֹהִים (mp) | הָלְכוּ halkhu "went" | Qal Perf 3p |
| Josh 24:19 | אֱלֹהִים קְדֹשִׁים | קְדֹשִׁים qedoshim "holy (ones)" | adj mp, followed by הוּא hu 3ms |
| Ps 58:11 | אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפְטִים | שֹׁפְטִים shoftim "judging" | Qal Ptc mp |
Josh 24:19 is notable: the adjective is plural (qedoshim) but the pronoun in the same clause is singular (hu) — mixed agreement within one sentence. The "plural of majesty" / "concord by sense" grammatical analyses both attempt to explain this.
Gen 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 are plural verbs (cohortative "let us") but not predicated of Elohim as subject — they are quotations of God speaking in first-person plural.
Pattern D: Elohim of non-divine humans¶
| Reference | Referent | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Exo 7:1 | Moses ("a god/Elohim to Pharaoh") | Singular context; Moses is one man |
| Exo 21:6; 22:8–9, 28 | Human judges | Debated; LXX renders κριτήριον / θεός |
| 1Sa 28:13 | Samuel's ghost ("I saw elohim coming up") | ὁἐλעֹלִים olim participle mp ("ascending"), though one individual |
| Ps 82:1, 6 | Heavenly assembly / human judges (disputed) | Plural adjectives in immediate context |
1Sa 28:13 is another crux: one figure (Samuel), but the participle olim is plural masc. Some read this as agreement with the plural morphology regardless of referent; others as "a divine being of the kind called elohim."
Summary of the grammatical pattern¶
- The form of Elohim is plural (-im), always.
- The agreement is controlled by referent, not form:
- One true God → singular verb / adj / pronoun (~99% of cases)
- Multiple actual deities → plural agreement
- Individual human/being called elohim → usually singular; sometimes plural
- The plural form with singular agreement is cross-linguistically well-attested as an "honorific / intensive / abstract plural" (compare baalim "master" of one person, adonim "lord" of one, Egyptian royal "we"). It does not of itself indicate plurality of persons.
- The handful of plural-verb cases with the true God (Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; 20:13; 35:7; 2Sa 7:23) are exegetically debated and are the central data for interpretive questions about intra-divine plurality.
Semantic Categories (with representative verses)¶
1. The God of Israel / Creator God (dominant usage — ~90%)¶
- Gen 1:1 — "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth."
- Gen 17:7 — "to be a God (Elohim) unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."
- Deut 6:4 — "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God (Elohim) is one LORD."
- Isa 45:5 — "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God (Elohim) beside me."
- Psa 46:1 — "God (Elohim) is our refuge and strength."
2. Covenant God with Pronoun Suffixes ("thy God," "your God," etc.)¶
- Deut 6:5 — "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God (eloheikha)."
- Exo 20:2 — "I am the LORD thy God."
- Ruth 1:16 — "thy God shall be my God."
3. Pagan / Foreign Deities (true plural referents — ~3.8%)¶
- Exo 20:3 — "Thou shalt have no other gods (elohim acherim) before me."
- Gen 31:30 — Laban: "wherefore hast thou stolen my gods (elohai)?" (of teraphim)
- 1Ki 11:5 — "Ashtoreth the goddess (elohei) of the Zidonians."
- 1Ki 11:33 — "Chemosh the god (elohei) of the Moabites, and Milcom the god (elohei) of the children of Ammon."
- Jdg 16:23 — "Dagon their god (elohehem)" (Philistines).
- Exo 32:4 — golden calf: "These be thy gods (eloheikha), O Israel, which brought thee up (plural verb) out of Egypt."
4. Individual Humans / Extraordinary Beings (rare)¶
- Exo 7:1 — "I have made thee a god (elohim) to Pharaoh" (Moses).
- Exo 4:16 — "thou shalt be to him instead of God (l'elohim)."
- 1Sa 28:13 — "I saw gods (elohim) ascending out of the earth" (Samuel).
5. Human Judges / Magistrates (debated category)¶
- Exo 21:6 — "his master shall bring him unto the judges (ha-elohim)."
- Exo 22:8–9 — "the cause of both parties shall come before the judges (ha-elohim)."
- Exo 22:28 — "Thou shalt not revile the gods/judges (elohim)."
- Psa 82:1, 6 — "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods (elohim)... I have said, Ye are gods."
6. Angels / Heavenly Beings¶
- Psa 8:5 — "thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (elohim)" (LXX: ἀγγέλους; cited in Heb 2:7 as ἀγγέλους).
- Psa 97:7 — "worship him, all ye gods (elohim)."
- Psa 138:1 — "before the gods (elohim) will I sing praise unto thee."
- Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 — uses bene ha-elohim "sons of God/Elohim."
7. Superlative / Intensive Usage¶
- Gen 23:6 — "thou art a mighty prince (nesi elohim)" lit. "a prince of God/a God-sized prince."
- Gen 30:8 — "with wrestlings of God (naftulei elohim)" = mighty wrestlings.
- Jonah 3:3 — "Nineveh was an exceeding great city (ir-gedolah lelohim)" = "a city great unto God."
- 1Sa 14:15 — "a very great trembling (cherdat elohim)."
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| יְהֹוָה (YHWH) | H3068 | 1,146x (51%) | "YHWH Elohim" / "YHWH Eloheikha" — the divine-name pairing |
| אֲשֶׁר (asher) | H834 | 696x (31%) | "Elohim, who [did X]" — relative clauses describing God's acts |
| אָמַר (amar) | H559 | 659x (29%) | "And Elohim said" — divine speech formula |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael) | H3478 | 397x (18%) | "Elohei Yisrael" (God of Israel) |
| עָשָׂה (asah) | H6213 | 335x (15%) | "Elohim made/did" — creative and covenantal action |
| אֶרֶץ (erets) | H776 | 304x (14%) | "Elohim... earth/land" — creation / giving the land |
| נָתַן (natan) | H5414 | 274x (12%) | "the LORD thy God giveth thee" (Deuteronomic formula) |
| פָּנִים (panim) | H6440 | 263x (12%) | "before God" / "face of God" |
| עַם (am) | H5971 | 228x (10%) | "people of Elohim" / covenant people |
| שָׁמַע (shama) | H8085 | 199x (9%) | "Elohim heard" / "hear, O Israel... Elohim" |
Related Words¶
Word Family / Cognates¶
- H410 אֵל (ʼêl) — "God, mighty one"; 245 occurrences. Short form; often poetic. Same root family.
- H433 אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôwahh) — "God"; 57 occurrences (41 in Job alone). The singular form of which Elohim is the grammatical plural.
- H426 אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlâhh) — Aramaic cognate, "God"; 95 occurrences, almost all in Ezra and Daniel. Used of both the true God and pagan gods.
- H1008 בֵּית־אֵל (Beth-El) — "house of God," proper name.
- H3068 יְהוָה (YHWH) — the proper name; very commonly paired with Elohim.
Synonyms¶
No clean synonym set returned by search_relationships.py for H430; the tool mainly surfaced semantic-domain metadata for this entry.
Easily Confused Words (share "God" in KJV)¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֵל (El) | H410 | "God" (134v) | Singular form; emphasizes might/strength; often in compound names (El-Shaddai, El-Elyon) and poetry. |
| אֱלוֹהַּ (Eloah) | H433 | "God" (36v) | Singular of Elohim; concentrated in Job; archaic/poetic. |
| אֱלָהּ (Elah) | H426 | "God" (17v) | Aramaic equivalent; used in Daniel/Ezra. |
| יְהוָה (YHWH) | H3068 | rarely "God" (4v) | The proper covenant name; usually rendered "LORD." |
| יְהֹוִה (Yehovih) | H3069 | "God" (290v) | Vocalization of YHWH pointed with vowels of Elohim (to avoid repeating "Adonai Adonai"); rendered "GOD" in KJV when following Adonai. |
| דַּיָּן (dayyan) | H1781 | "judge" | Primary word for human judge; when Elohim = "judges" it is analogical. |
| שָׁפַט (shaphat) | H8199 | "judge" (verb / judge) | Overlaps with Elohim in forensic contexts (Ps 82). |
Antonyms¶
No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H430.
UBS Semantic Domains¶
| Code | Domain Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 001001001 | Deities | Core field for Elohim as God/gods. |
| 003001004 | Names of Deities | Covers titular/name usage in divine formulas. |
| 002001002012 | Great | Matches superlative/mighty uses such as "mighty prince" and "great city." |
| 002001003012 | Intense | Reflects the intensive/superlative fringe where Elohim functions as an amplifier. |
search_relationships.py did not return a stable synonym/antonym set for H430, but it did confirm the deity/title domain and the smaller superlative fringe already reflected in the study.
LXX Mapping (Hebrew → Greek)¶
| Greek Equivalent | Strong's | Co-occurrence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| θεός (theós) | G2316 | 2,027 | Primary — the standard LXX rendering; overwhelmingly dominant. PMI 2.95. |
| κύριος (kýrios) | G2962 | 1,232 | Frequent secondary; often in "YHWH Elohim" pairs where kurios = YHWH. |
| λατρεύω (latreuō) | G3000 | 59 | Collocational (worship/serve Elohim contexts). |
| ἐντολή (entolē) | G1785 | 60 | "commandments of [God]" contexts. |
| ἀλλότριος (allotrios) | G245 | 40 | "strange/foreign gods" idiom. |
| ἕτερος (heteros) | G2087 | 48 | "other gods" idiom. |
LXX translators overwhelmingly render Elohim with the singular θεός (G2316), regardless of the plural morphology of the Hebrew. The few plural-verb Hebrew cases are rendered with plural Greek when referring to pagan gods (θεοί) and with singular θεός (or paraphrased) when referring to the God of Israel. This translational choice reflects the ancient Jewish translators' reading of Elohim-for-YHWH as semantically singular.
Key Verses (canonical data points)¶
- Gen 1:1 — First occurrence; Elohim + singular verb bara.
- Gen 1:26 — "Let us make (na'aseh, 1cp) man in our image (tsalmenu, 1cp suffix)."
- Gen 3:22 — "as one of us (ke-achad mimmenu)."
- Gen 11:7 — "let us go down (neredah, 1cp)."
- Gen 20:13 — "Elohim caused me to wander (hit'u, 3p plural)."
- Gen 35:7 — "Elohim were revealed (niglu, 3p plural)."
- Exo 7:1 — Moses "made Elohim" to Pharaoh.
- Exo 20:2–3 — "I am YHWH thy Elohim... no other elohim."
- Exo 21:6; 22:8–9, 28 — Elohim = judges.
- Exo 32:4 — golden calf "thy elohim... brought thee up" (plural verb, pagan referent).
- Deut 4:35 — "YHWH hu (3ms) ha-Elohim (mp)."
- Deut 6:4 — Shema: "YHWH Eloheinu YHWH echad."
- Josh 24:19 — "Elohim qedoshim (mp) hu (3ms)."
- 1Sa 28:13 — Samuel's ghost: "elohim (mp) ascending (mp ptc)."
- 2Sa 7:23 — "Elohim went (halkhu, 3p)."
- Psa 8:5 — "lower than elohim" (LXX: angels).
- Psa 45:6 — "Thy throne, O Elohim."
- Psa 82:1, 6 — "Elohim... among the elohim... ye are elohim."
- Isa 45:5 — "I am YHWH, and there is no Elohim beside me."
Grammatical Classification Notes¶
The standard grammars classify Elohim-for-YHWH as one or more of:
- Plural of majesty / excellence (GKC §124g–i; Joüon-Muraoka §136d) — a plural noun with singular reference intensifying quality, not quantity. Compare baalim "master" (singular person), adonim "lord" (singular person, e.g., Gen 24:9–10), qedoshim "the Holy One" (Prov 9:10; 30:3).
- Plural of abstraction / intensity — "godness," "the fullness of deity."
- Honorific / royal plural — comparable to "we" in royal decrees.
- Numerical plural (only when referring to actual multiple deities, angels, judges, etc.).
Whether the plural form carries additional theological weight (intra-divine plurality, proto-Trinitarian hinting) is an interpretive question beyond grammatical classification. The grammar itself requires only that plural-for-one-referent be read as honorific/intensive unless the context (plural verb + plural adjectives + plural referents) indicates otherwise.
See Also¶
- H410-el.md — singular cognate and frequent poetic equivalent
- H433-eloah.md — singular form behind the plural morphology
- H3068-yhwh.md — covenant name most commonly paired with Elohim
- WG-god.md — word group: words translated "God"
Generated from: gather_word_data.py H430, hebrew_parser.py (Gen 1:1; 1:26; 20:13; 35:7; Exo 7:1; 22:8; 32:4; Deut 4:35; 6:4; Jos 24:19; 1Sa 28:13; 1Ki 11:5; Isa 45:5; Ps 82:6), lexicon DB, search_relationships.py. Last updated: 2026-04-27