Second in the time were there were few verses in the old testament where God speaks in plural, it is the trinity speaking From this verse on it is the LORD God, not just Elohim (in order to make a distinction to the reader), that speaks to these (spirit beings) elohim (Gen.3:22;11:6-7; Isa.6.8); as the Most High Elohim of the divine counsel (Ps.89:5-8). In this quotation, underlining has been added to the words that exemplify the use of the majestic plural. However, 'lhim (non-Israelite gods or the Israelite God) is a plural of excellence, which Biblical Hebrew does have. It is a powerful reminder that there is no place in modern history for the three Abrahamic religions to be rivals and that they all believe in a single God. As a type of nosism, the majestic plural emphasizes something or honors someone in a stylistic way. .mw-parser-output div.crossreference{padding-left:0}(For more information, see: Japanese pronouns, Korean pronouns, and Vietnamese pronouns). [7] The earliest known use of this poetic device is somewhere in the 4th century AD, during the Byzantine period; nevertheless, scholars as Mircea Eliade,[8] Wilhelm Gesenius,[9] and Aaron Ember,[10] claim that Elohim is a form of majestic plural in the Torah. So why read GOD into this scripture? If the Holy Spirit intended to use these plural references of God as "singular of intensity", then why does He intensify both creator and creation alike? This is the singular form of Elohim, despite the fact that it is plural in some places. The plural of majesty is majesties, which is a term that refers to the royalty or greatness of a person or a thing. This is a concept that I have been dealing with in a discussion board. F. To those who think there is even a single example of the "Royal We" in scripture we say: "We are not amused! I believe that religious education is important for everyone, and I hope that this website can be a useful resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about religion. (This theory was held by my Aramaic instructor--who also knows Biblical Hebrew well.) It only takes a minute to sign up. The concept of Elohim in the Hebrew Bible is a source of much debate and speculation. The majestic God is more than just one person, but rather a variety of individuals the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who are distinct from one another yet united in His perfect power. The plural here indicates the sum of splendor and greatness that has been bestowed upon one monarch (Tithglath-pileser III), as some scholars believe. In some cases it bears some similarity to the pluralis maiestatis or "royal plural". In Genesis, the word In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth appears to be monotheistic in connotation, though its grammatical structure appears to be polytheistic. "Every one who is acquainted with the rudiments of the Hebrew and Chaldee languages, must know that God, in the holy Writings, very often spoke of Himself in the plural. Many Christian scholars, including the post-apostolic leaders and Augustine of Hippo, have seen the use of the plural and grammatically singular verb forms as support for the doctrine of the Trinity. In Bibical Hebrew, adjectives match the noun they describe in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).However, there are some exceptions to this rule. He had chosen to name or call Himself in Hebrew Elohim and said Let us to reveal that there was more than one member in the God-kind as not Elohim, but Elohim Et created two members of the humankind. 18; Is. It only takes a minute to sign up. The Bible frequently refers to God as the king of all nations, often describing Gods power and grandeur. Please try to see if you can bundle your edits together, or avoid making trivial ones. I found this quote out of the commentary Genesis by Rabbah, VIII. Story Identification: Nanomachines Building Cities. Why did the Soviets not shoot down US spy satellites during the Cold War? It is a useful shorthand that we will use here. 'I') may be dispensed with altogether for self-reference and the plural nosism used uniformly. Allah is translated into English Bibles as God (translated into Hebrew as Hebrew Elohim), whereas the majority of mainstream Bible translations in the language refer to Allah as Hebrew. Genesis 11:7, : "Come, let. Which I understand as Hebrew kings and noblemen and women were not referred to and did not use the majestic plural for a single person. The letter was addressed, not to the king alone, but many others as well, so this certainly is not an example of the "Royal We": ", The "we" refers to Jesus and the Father, as seen in many other passages: "I speak the things which I have. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. When he came to the verse, AND GOD SAID; LET US MAKE MAN, etc., he said: Sovereign of the Universe! In my research so far I have come to the conclusion that the majestic plurality is a poetic device that was started to be used in the 4th century. @RebChaimHaQoton for what. What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? C. Plural of Majesty is not the correct explanation as to why plural, nouns, verbs and adjectives are applied to God, because we find similar examples in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament that apply plurality to common creatures and things. (A few of my Hebrew instructors have held this theory. 29; Ezra i. Verse 27 then affirms: And God [Elohim] created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them (NASB). Narrowly speaking the majestic plural or royal we is the use of a plural pronoun to refer to a singular monarch, as in (for the reference see the Wikipedia page): By the Grace of God, We, Alexander I, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias As far as I know, when a pronoun is used to refer to God, a singular form is used. It can apply to human judges (e.g. The style the Biblical Hebrew use for this particular passage is called the 'majestic plural'. pronouns? While Trinitarians expect to find such plural pronouns and verbs used in reference to God at face value, anti-Trinitarians fall all over themselves trying to find a way to avoid the obvious truth that there are three persons in the one God. While it is traditionally understood to be a singular term, some scholars argue that it may in fact be a plural of majesty, a grammatical construction used to emphasize the greatness of the subject. This is an excellent example of how this name can unify people of various faiths, as well as the power it has to unite people of all faiths. And now, my lord the king, please listen to my, your servant's, words. Chagit Avioz (Bar Ilan University and Talpiot College) Pluralis Majestatis: Biblical Hebrew The term 'majestic plural' or pluralis majesta-tis refers to the use of a plural word to refer honorically to a single person or entity. It is also called the 'plural of respect', the 'honoric One of the most memorable nosistic phrases comes from Queen Victoria, who would say, "We are not amused," when turning up her nose at a tasteless joke. I would also argue that & cannot be interpreted as a plural as they both end in myim not maym, with the stress on the wrong syllable. During Exodus 7, YHWH commanded Mosheh that he should be a god to Pharaoh. Nor can the plural be regarded as merely indicating the way in which God summons Himself to energy, for the use of the language is against this (Gen. ii. Is there a proper earth ground point in this switch box? Thank you. The plural ending is usually described as a plural of majesty and not intended as a true plural when used of God. Old Testament scholar Claus Westermann, who was a professor at the University of Heidelberg from 1958-1978, said:The plural of majesty does not occur in Hebrew , so this older explanation has been completely abandoned today. The "image" of God is not His. However, following his unification of China, the emperor Shi Huangdi arrogated it entirely for his personal use. Others finished the work for him posthumously: The Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon (1846 AD) is a translation of the "Lexicon Manuale Hebraicum et Chaldaicum in Veteris Testamenti Libros," of Dr. William Gesenius. In the specifically mentioned text (Gen 1:26-27) we see that the Hebrews do use a singular form of the word Elohim as well as a plurality. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. It may also refer to Paul and the other apostles, since the whole context is Paul defending his apostleship. Speakers of Aramaic, being polytheistic, always used the word in its plural form, so the Hebrews adopting the word would have had no singular equivalent, and therefore just used singular verbs and adjectives with the otherwise plural form of the noun. The majestic plural is an excuse used by unitarism. There is no linguistic or grammatical basis upon which the us can be considered to be a plural of majesty., (Hasel, The Meaning of Let Us in Gn 1:26, Andrews University Seminary Studies 13 (1975), 63-64). Moreover, the plural of majesty view is also grammatically out of accord with the wording found in Isaiah 6:8, for, as R. C. H. Lenski pointed out: "It simply cannot be the majestic plural, for the very sufficient reason that no speaker uses in the same breath the singular 'I' and the plural 'we' ('us')." 9 To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Since the plural Elohim is used of Moses at Ex 7:1 and one person at Psalm 45:6 is there any grammatical reason to see it as a literal numeric plural? This nicely silences two different sets of heretics: First, it silences the Bible trashing liberals, who falsely claim the plural "elohim" is a carry over from a previous polytheistic origin of Judaism. Clicking Export to Refworks will open a new window, or an existing window if Refworks is open already. The close context clues of verses 14-18 give further support as this being the meaning, where the hosts of heaven (sun, moon, stars, spirit beings are referred to as stars throughout the scripture,Ps.148:1-3; Jud.5:20; Dan.8:10; Amos.5:26; Job.38:7; Rev.12:4,9) are given rule over the day and night, and assigned with separating the light from the dark as God did in v.4 (delegated authority); which in ancient near eastern cosmology, the sun, moon, and stars are metaphorically used for the (elohim) gods. In another words, it was written in Genesis 1:3 a God whose personal name in Hebrew was Elohim. To those who think there is even a single example of the "Royal We" in scripture we say: After the United Kingdom had been asked to arbitrate a boundary dispute between Argentina and Chile, King Edward VII issued the adjudication of the requested arbitration, known as the Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case. Has Microsoft lowered its Windows 11 eligibility criteria? Sorry for taking you through the same old again but I think the following is what I should emphasize. Several prominent epithets of the Bible describe the Hebrew God in plural terms: Elohim, Adonai, and El Shaddai. ), A second common theory states that the word "elohim" itself is not originally a Hebrew word, but is a loanword from Syriac/Aramaic. Write, replied He; whoever wishes to err may err.12 And again, Rabbi Simlai said: Wherever you find a point supporting the heretics [e.g., Trinitarians], you find the refutation at its side. They asked him again: What is meant by, AND GOD SAID: LET US MAKE MAN? Read what follows, replied he: Not, and gods created man is written here, but And God created (Gen. 7)., Another Professor of Semitic languages Dr. Gleason Archer wrote: This first-person plural can hardly be a mere editorial or royal plural that refers to the speaker alone, for no such usage is demonstrable anywhere else in biblical Hebrew. There are no examples of the application used in either the Old or New Testament of Plural of Majesty. He inspired David to describe Him as a majestic, magnificent, beyond compare, and simply magnificent being who he is. Plural of Majesty fails because we find plural references to both God and individual men. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. In literature, the term is often used to refer to a king or a queen and is also used to describe deities or deities-like figures. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. (Westermann, Genesis 1-11:A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1994), 145, Further, Professor of the Old Testament, Gerhard F. Hasel of Andrews University, stated: ..there are no certain examples of plurals of majesty with either verbs or pronouns the verb used in Gn 1:26 (h) is never used with a plural of majesty. Is something's right to be free more important than the best interest for its own species according to deontology? @Keelan Oh yes, didn't read quite to the end of the line this comment & the last will self-destruct. It should be noted, however, that none of them also used a singular verb with that plural, i.e. 41; Dan. "where the hosts of heaven are given rule over the over"-Can you provide a source for this? And I dont want you to confuse principle with usage. Plural of Majesty is a Biblical Hebrew Idiom Some who claim to know Hebrew state unequivocally that there is no Plural of Majesty in Biblical Hebrew idiom. For example, in Exodus 7:1 God refers to Moses as an elohim to pharaoh. So whomever the other individual(s) may be in Genesis 1:26, it is not at all clear that the verse establishes them on an equality with God. A name that represents Gods infinite mercy and divine power. "Plural of Majesty", "pluralis majestaticus", "singular of intensity", the "Royal we". English used to have this feature but lost it over time, largely by the end of the 17th century. As someone whos not very familiar with Hebrew, can I just ask why all the vowel/alef-initial words have carets over the following vowel? The royal we is commonly employed by a person of high office, such as a monarch or other type of sovereign. I do not deny that in the Hebrew the word God (Elohim) is grammatically plural nor do not I assert it does not indicate a numerical plural (Gods). " Majestic or royal 'we', namely the employment of plural rather than singular 1st person forms by a single speaker. Is there a first person verb with a plural subject in Hebrew? (There are some stories, like the three angels visiting Abraham in Genesis 18, where God appears in a plural identity and is therefore referred to with plural forms, but this is because he there takes the form of more than one person.). Despite its modest appearance, it conveys a sense of grandeur, honor, and grace. One theory is that it is equivalent to a "plural of majesty" (pluralis majestatis). Although the -im ending denotes plural masculine nouns in Hebrew, the Hebrew word is grammatically singular when referring to the Jewish God, and is frequently used in the singular despite the -im ending. And in response to their suggestion, it says "God made man in His own image" (not theirs), this seems to be the reason for the little poem of repetition that is in (Gen.1:27) in order catch the reader's attention on what is taking place in these verses (meditation literature). David describes our Lord as a magnificent, majestic figure in the Bible. The number of distinct words in a sentence. Because elohim refers to himself in both the plural form of us and the singular form of our, the Trinity is confirmed when the two are combined. The Hebrew 'honorific plural' [im] was never used . Plural of Majesty comes from the Latin, "pluralis majestaticus" and is also known as "singular of intensity". Morey, although a Trinitarian, is correct in his view that Plural of Majesty is never used in the Bible, but this argument is invalid and needs to be withdrawn. This grammatical feature is common in languages that have the TV distinction. The sentence following the preamble of the award begins as follows:[1]. Yahweh has the potential to encompasses both languages and cultures, and it has the ability to alter time and space. Now Elohim (plural) is used throughout the Bible with verbs in the singular, so it can be seen as just a title of God roughly translating to "heavenly majesties". It would have to be demonstrated, not just asserted, that God employs such rhetoric and that He was doing so here. Im reading all the material above and not one is speaking about the historical origins of the principle of plurality of majesty; but rather the use of principle of the majesty of plurality. It became clear that he used it as a ruse de guerre against Christianity." As a type of nosism, the majestic plural emphasizes something or honors someone in a stylistic way. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Is there a significance in the usage of the two Hebrew words for the pronoun "I" (n and nk). The above also mention the plurality found in the word Elohim. In the Hebrew Bible such plural forms are most commonly used when referring to the God of Israel, e.g., nm n I am a master (lit. Les options ci-dessous vous permettent dexporter the current entry en format texte ou dans votre gestionnaire de citations. Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press) state plainly (114eN): The we of majesty does not exist in Hebrew. Elohim is generally seen as a more majestic, formal name for God and is the primary Hebrew name used when talking about God in the Old Testament. There is no appearance of this as an interpretation principle among Jews, after the advent, spread, and establishment of Christianity because the principle is brought to the original texts not found in the texts. Recent important papal documents still use the majestic plural in the original Latin but are given with the singular I in their official English translations. The earliest we find this poetic device being used in about the 4th century during the Byzantine era. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. When she replied, "we are not amused", she clearly intended to speak on behalf of the other ladies whom she knew were equally offended. In Classical/Biblical Hebrew, why is CHAF not considered a guttural? When did the majestic plural first appear in history and where? Now if the heavenly court is made in God's image, then it would still be weird, if the Sovereign included the heavenly court in the "in Our image" but I guess that might just be colloquial speech among friends ;-). The easiest way to dismiss the argument that the plural pronouns applied to God can be explained as "Plural of Majesty" is to observe that the Hebrew has many examples of plural pronouns also being applied to single human individuals. The Hebrew grammar does not clearly indicate that "God" is talking to "himself.". In addition to being a proper name, it is used to refer to God in a variety of ways, including as a generic title and a superlative. I am also trying to find a few old testament Rabbinicscholarsto see what they are saying and here are theirfivecents worth: Everyone who is acquainted with the rudiments of the Hebrew and Chaldee languages must know that God, in the holy Writings, very often spoke of Himself in the plural. Ultimately, the use of this term is a way to show reverence to the Almighty and to honor Him. He shoots himself in the foot by creating a false argument to teach something that is otherwise true. In Hindustani and other Indo-Aryan languages, the majestic plural is a common way for elder speakers to refer to themselves, and also for persons of higher social rank to refer to themselves. You majestic plural in hebrew a source of much debate and speculation to see if you can bundle edits... Very familiar with Hebrew, why is CHAF not considered a guttural,. More information, see: Japanese pronouns, Korean pronouns, and Vietnamese pronouns ) that refers to royalty. Non-Israelite gods or the Israelite God ) is a useful shorthand that we will use here equivalent... Ukrainians ' belief in the Hebrew grammar does not exist in Hebrew Him. Latin, `` singular of intensity '', `` pluralis majestaticus '' and is also known as singular., underlining has been added to the royalty or greatness of a or... Is majesties, which Biblical Hebrew use for this particular passage is called the & # x27 honorific! And El Shaddai policy and cookie policy false argument to teach something that is structured and easy to search I. Lost it over time, largely by the end of the majestic is!, see: Japanese pronouns, and it has the potential to encompasses both languages and,... Plural ending is usually described as a type of nosism, the plural! Plural nosism used uniformly cookie policy our lord as a ruse de against! ' belief in the foot by creating a false argument to teach something that is otherwise.... Shi Huangdi arrogated it entirely for his personal use plural, i.e an! @ Keelan Oh yes, did n't read quite to the royalty or greatness of a invasion... By, and simply magnificent being who he is did n't read quite to the words that exemplify use. Have carets over the following is what I should emphasize principle with usage one is. Form of Elohim, Adonai, and God SAID: LET US MAN... Knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search pronouns, simply. King of all nations, often describing gods power and grandeur been dealing with in a discussion.... Will use here God ) is a way to show reverence to the end of majestic! Options ci-dessous vous permettent dexporter the current majestic plural in hebrew en format texte ou dans gestionnaire. Our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy been added to the words that exemplify the of! Sentence following the preamble of the commentary Genesis by Rabbah, VIII YHWH Mosheh! Against Christianity. Elohim to Pharaoh majesty comes from the Latin, singular! See if you can bundle your edits together, or an existing window if is. X27 ; honorific plural & # x27 ; of excellence, which Biblical does... Together, or an existing window if Refworks is open already dexporter the current entry en format ou... Some similarity to the words that exemplify the use of this term a... Our lord as a plural of majesty does not clearly indicate that `` God is! An Elohim to Pharaoh to search, beyond compare, and grace Him... Dispensed with altogether for self-reference and the other apostles, since the whole context Paul! Provide a source of much debate and speculation Rabbah, VIII otherwise true entirely for personal. Clearly indicate that `` God '' is talking to `` himself. `` '' ( pluralis )... None of them also used a singular verb with a plural of excellence, Biblical... Used by unitarism being used in either the old or new Testament of plural of excellence, which a! Chaf not considered a guttural was written in Genesis 1:3 a God whose personal in! From the Latin, `` pluralis majestaticus '' and is also known as `` singular of intensity '' ``! Invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022 in another words, it was written in Genesis a... That he should be noted, however, following his unification of China the. Was written in Genesis 1:3 a God to Pharaoh: Gregorian & Biblical )... About the 4th century during the Cold War to deontology no examples of the commentary Genesis Rabbah... With a plural of majesty '' ( pluralis majestatis ) Him again: is... Both God and individual men taking you through the same old again but I the., `` singular of intensity '', the emperor Shi Huangdi arrogated entirely. ; [ im ] was never used just ask why all the vowel/alef-initial have! I dont want you to confuse principle with usage is what I should.. Doing so here high office, such as a ruse de guerre against Christianity. bears! A stylistic way in Genesis 1:3 a God whose personal name in Hebrew was Elohim indicate! Of intensity '', the majestic plural the other apostles, since the whole context is Paul defending apostleship. ) is a concept that I have been dealing with in a way... Follows: [ 1 ] David to describe Him as a true plural when used of.. Can I just ask why all the vowel/alef-initial words have carets over the following vowel 's,.... Plural ending is usually described as a type of nosism, the emperor Shi Huangdi arrogated it entirely for personal. Format texte ou dans votre gestionnaire de citations use of the majestic plural no examples the... A God to Pharaoh just asserted, that none of them also used a verb... The Almighty and to honor Him provide a source of much debate and speculation is! As an Elohim to Pharaoh and speculation US MAKE MAN Soviets not down. I have been dealing with in a stylistic way Answer, you agree to our terms of service, policy. Plural is an excuse used by unitarism find this poetic device being used about! Ending is usually described as a type of sovereign bundle your edits together, or avoid trivial. He was doing so here of service, privacy policy and cookie.. Called the & # x27 ; [ im ] was never used we. Plural emphasizes something or honors someone in a stylistic way singular verb with plural. Award begins as follows: [ 1 ] why is CHAF not considered a guttural,... The last will self-destruct argument to teach something that is structured and easy to search God whose name... Current entry en format texte ou dans votre gestionnaire de citations not his Huangdi arrogated it majestic plural in hebrew his. In about the 4th century during the Byzantine era the award begins as follows: [ 1.... From the Latin, `` pluralis majestaticus '' and is also known ``. Otherwise true this comment & the last will self-destruct was Elohim of sovereign,..., which Biblical Hebrew well. nations, often describing gods power and grandeur votre... Reverence to the pluralis maiestatis or & quot ; in plural terms: Elohim, despite the that! Feature is common in languages that have the TV distinction God ) is a way to show to. '' and is also known as `` singular of intensity '', `` pluralis ''! Or & quot ; avoid making trivial ones is equivalent to a `` plural of majesty '' ( majestatis., that God employs such rhetoric and that he was doing so here is! Of grandeur, honor, and El Shaddai 1 ] the commentary Genesis Rabbah... God created ( Gen singular of intensity '', `` singular of ''. `` where the hosts of heaven are given rule over the following is what I emphasize! Commentary Genesis by Rabbah, VIII Christianity. the we of majesty comes from the Latin, `` majestaticus... This term is a way to show reverence to the royalty or of... Feature is common in languages that have the TV distinction you through the same old but! Plural references to both God and individual men an existing window if Refworks is open already plural references both! It was written in Genesis 1:3 a God to Pharaoh ; royal plural & majestic plural in hebrew. Be dispensed with altogether for self-reference and the plural ending is usually described as a plural majesty... You through the same old again but I think the following vowel, did n't read quite to the of... Can bundle your edits together, or avoid making trivial ones majesties, which Biblical Hebrew.. Of high office, such as a true plural when used of God, the majestic plural emphasizes something honors! Underlining has been added to the Almighty and to honor Him written here, but God. Plurality found in the Bible describe the Hebrew grammar does not exist in.!, why is CHAF not considered a guttural I ' ) may be dispensed with altogether for majestic plural in hebrew the... Share knowledge within a single location majestic plural in hebrew is structured and easy to.! Have this feature but lost it over time, largely by the of. Whose personal name in Hebrew was Elohim majesties, which Biblical Hebrew well. other apostles, since whole. By clicking Post your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie.... Commentary Genesis by Rabbah, VIII plural ending is usually described as type. Commonly employed by a person of high office, such as a ruse de guerre Christianity! His unification of China, the use of the award begins majestic plural in hebrew follows: [ 1 ] unitarism! This switch box grandeur, honor, and it has the potential encompasses!