Mon 22 May 00 20:45
STEVE KEMP
Elohim

Elohim

The genus of which ghosts, Chemosh, Dagon, Baal, Jahveh, etc., were species. The ghost or spectre which appeared to Saul (1 Sam. xxviii. 14-20) is called Elohim. "I see Elohim coming up out of the earth," said the witch; and Saul asked, "What is HE like?" (Huxley: Nineteenth Century, March, 1886.)

Elohistic and Jehovistic Scriptures.

The Pentateuch is supposed by Bishop Colenso and many others to have been written at two widely different periods, because God is invariably called Elohim in some paragraphs, while in others He is no less invariably called Jehovah. The Elohistic paragraphs, being more simple, more primitive, more narrative, and more pastoral, are said to be the older; while the Jehovistic paragraphs indicate a knowledge of geography and history, seem to exalt the priestly office, and are altogether of a more elaborate character.

Excerpted from: THE DICTIONARY OF PHRASE AND FABLE BY E. COBHAM BREWER

ELOHIM

As most of the book of Genesis comes from Egypt, Babylon and Persia, the word probably derives from Egyptian Ali, Babylonian ili, or the 7 Gods of the original Cosmos. The names of the original seven Hebrew, pre- Judaic elohim were probably, Ialdabaoth, Jehovah, Sabaoth, Adonai, Oreus, Eloeus and Astanphaeus. The last three have obviously been altered through Gnosticism, which explains their anomalous Graeco-Latin endings.

Excerpted from: THE MAGICIAN'S DICTIONARY BY E.E. REHMUS

(posted TO: Steve Kemp)

FTN-Posted-By: Mark Kimes
FTN-Posted-By: Steve Kemp

FYI, the following sources all define "Elohim" as "the gods." The singular version is "El" or "Eloi."

Browning, W.R.F. A Dictionary of the Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Cross, F.L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.

Freedman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. vol. 4. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

"The collection of texts and stories which characteristically use 'Elohim' to refer to God are referred to as the 'E,' or 'Elohist,' texts of the OT. So too, those that characteristically use 'Yahweh' are referred to as the 'J' or 'Yahwist' texts (in Hebrew, the letters 'j' and 'y' are interchangeable)."

It is generally accepted by all but fundamentalists that early Hebrews were polytheists, but early on gave their special allegiance to Yahweh, while recognizing that other gods existed. This is "monaltry." Monotheism, in which the existence of other gods is denied (Christianity is a bastard-monaltry, not just because of its three-headed god, but because of its _other_ gods, like Satan -- actually a step "backward" from Judaism as far as monotheism is concerned), came considerably later. For example, in the tale of Moses, the gods of Egypt perform miracles through their priests, just as did Moses, and the commandment reads "Thou shalt have no other gods _before me_," not "There are no other gods."

Hec
http://www.hectorplasmic.atfreeweb.com

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