The first occurrence.
Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us: in the choicest of our sepulchres bury your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his sepulchre, but that you may bury your dead. Gen 23:6
The primitive root.
Strong’s H430 elohiym, a concrete noun usually referring to “God, the true God” (see its word picture here); however, sometimes translated in Scripture to mean, “gods,” that is, false gods, or “angels,” or “judges, rulers,” or “the mighty.”
“I am YHVH your God (Elohiym, Strong’s H430), which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods (elohiym, Strong’s H430) before Me.” Deu 5:6-7
Ashamed be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of things of nought; bow down to Him, all you gods (elohiym, Strong’s H430). Psa 97:7
For You have made him a little lower than the angels (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430), and have crowned him with glory and honor. Psa 8:5
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: then his master shall bring him to the judges (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430); he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. Exo 21:5-6
If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430), to see whether he has put his hand to his neighbor’s goods. For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challenges to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430), and whom the judges (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430) shall condemn, he shall pay double to his neighbor. Exo 22:8-9
God stands in the congregation of the mighty (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430); in the midst of the judges (ha’elohiym, Strong’s H430) He judges. Psa 82:1
Gesenius says on Strong’s H430 אלהים elohiym,
Note. Not a few interpreters, both ancient and modern, have regarded אלהים elohiym as also denoting angels (see Psa 8:6, the LXX. and Ch.; Psa 82:1; 97:7; and 138:1), and judges (Exo 21:6; 22:7, 8); this opinion is discussed and refuted at length in Thes. page 95. (But Hebrews, chaps. 1:6, and 2:7, 9 shew plainly that this word sometimes means angels, and the authority of the N. T. decides the matter.)
How do the translators know when to translate elohiym to “God,” or “gods” (i.e., false gods), or “angels,” or “judges”? The plural noun Elohiym is always paired with a singular verb in Hebrew when the meaning is God, the true God, Creator of heaven and earth, for God is one. When the meaning is “gods” or “angels” or “judges,” the plural noun is paired with a plural verb.
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