Title: Elohim and Yahweh
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-18
Lectionary, Year A, Proper 8
Author: Christopher B. Harbin
Knowing where something is coming from can make a big difference in how we view and interpret it. Sometimes, we identify something as coming from God, when perhaps we should take a closer look. Sometimes we assume something is not of God, while it actually is. If it is of God, it should be stamped with God's character. Do we really know Whom we are following or claiming to follow? Do we understand God's character? How else will be discern what is or is not of God?
We have seen in Genesis how different terms are used in referrence to God. Today's passage is one which shifts from one way of referencing God to another, then another. In our English translations of the Bible, this is not always clear, though where our translations use the phrase, "the LORD" with all capital letters, that tells us the underlying Hebrew term is God's personal name, Yahweh. Most of the time, there is little reason to know which specific term is used. In other cases, there are very specific reasons for using one term rather than another. This appears to be one of the latter cases.
The chapter starts out with an unusual construction of the term Elohim. The term normally does not carry an article, but in this case, it reads "The Elohim." As the verb is singular, this would not be a reference generically to "the gods." It refers to one specific deity, assumed to be the God of Israel. Even so, the rest of the passage reverts to using Elohim without the article. It is as though we have cracked a window for some uncertainty as to the identity of this deity Abraham thinks is Yahweh. The interpretation here is uncertain. We know something different is afoot, but what is not spelled out for us.
This Elohim initiates dialogue with Abraham, calling him by name. Abraham is to take his son Isaac to a faraway mountain, there to offer him t ...
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-18
Lectionary, Year A, Proper 8
Author: Christopher B. Harbin
Knowing where something is coming from can make a big difference in how we view and interpret it. Sometimes, we identify something as coming from God, when perhaps we should take a closer look. Sometimes we assume something is not of God, while it actually is. If it is of God, it should be stamped with God's character. Do we really know Whom we are following or claiming to follow? Do we understand God's character? How else will be discern what is or is not of God?
We have seen in Genesis how different terms are used in referrence to God. Today's passage is one which shifts from one way of referencing God to another, then another. In our English translations of the Bible, this is not always clear, though where our translations use the phrase, "the LORD" with all capital letters, that tells us the underlying Hebrew term is God's personal name, Yahweh. Most of the time, there is little reason to know which specific term is used. In other cases, there are very specific reasons for using one term rather than another. This appears to be one of the latter cases.
The chapter starts out with an unusual construction of the term Elohim. The term normally does not carry an article, but in this case, it reads "The Elohim." As the verb is singular, this would not be a reference generically to "the gods." It refers to one specific deity, assumed to be the God of Israel. Even so, the rest of the passage reverts to using Elohim without the article. It is as though we have cracked a window for some uncertainty as to the identity of this deity Abraham thinks is Yahweh. The interpretation here is uncertain. We know something different is afoot, but what is not spelled out for us.
This Elohim initiates dialogue with Abraham, calling him by name. Abraham is to take his son Isaac to a faraway mountain, there to offer him t ...
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