Page 66 - Countering Trinitarian Arguments With Historical Reference

The Oxford Companion To The Bible, 1993, page 548, Under: Names of God in the Hebrew Bible. “The usual word for God is Elohim another plural of majesty with a singular meaning when used of [God] Yahweh. The singular form Eloah appears, mainly in the book of Job, but the most common singular noun for God is EL, which has cognates in other Semitic [pagan] languages and whose Ugarite counterpart is used both for the chief god and as a general word for any god. The Israelites adopted this common [pagan] Semitic word (cf. Gen. 33:20: El-Elohe-Israel, “El the God of Israel”), and some of the divine names compounded with El in the Hebrew Bible were probably originally used of non-Israelite [Idol Pagan Devils] deities. In Genesis 14:18-20, 22, we find El Elyon, “God Most High,” whose priest is Melchizedek but who is identified by Abram with Yahweh. The word Elyon is used of Yahweh in other places in the Bible (e.g., Psa. 18:13; 87:5).
The Aramaic cognate of Elyon is lyn (perhaps elyan), and a [pagan] god with this name appears alongside El in a treaty of the eighth century BCE from Sefire Syria.”
The Revised Edition of Hastings Dictionary of the Bible 1963, on page 334. Informs us that Elohim does not mean that there are three persons in the Godhead. “Elohim: The plural form has always excited great curiosity. It should not be treated as a discernment of a plurality within the being of God,”
Elohim according to Rabbi Joel David who understands the Hebrew religion and terms well tells us this about the term Elohim. “The Jewish understanding of the word “Elohim”, is a plural form of the word EL, (God), Jews understand that Genesis refers to the One God in a number of different ways. This collective form, Elohim, is only one of God’s many titles or Names. If one is looking for a way to translate this plural, there’s no reason to believe that it represents the number three anymore than it might represent the number one hundred.” The Rabbi also tells us this about Genesis 1:26, or the “Let us,” in the Bible. “The Jewish understanding of this verse is that the One God is talking to His angels and not to another Deity. No other Deity exists for God to communicate with. The Jewish use and understanding of Elohim is for a single Deity not a trinity.”
Nelsons New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1995, page 504 tells us this about EL. “EL. Another important root name for God in the OT is EL. By itself refers to a god in the most general sense. It was widely used in ancient eastern cultures whose languages are similar to Hebrew and therefore may refer to the true God or to false gods. The highest Canaanite god was EL, whose son was Baal.” El and Elohim were originally terms invented and used by the Pagans. When Trinitarians try to make Elohim = Trinity they are going back to Paganism for this meaning and not the Biblical Hebrew meaning for these terms.
A Dictionary of the Bible by William Smith, Under God, page 220 states. “The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it referred to the trinity of persons in the Godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call a plural of majesty, or it denotes the fullness of strength, the sum of the powers displayed by God.”
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