Why Is “God” Plural in Genesis 1?
Where your Bible says “God”, the Hebrew is usually Elohim, and Elohim is a plural word. In this course, whenever you read “God”, read it as the judges and rulers.
- The word is plural. It grows from El, which means power. The ending -im is the plural ending, the same one that turns “king” into “kings”. Strong’s says Elohim is the plural of H433, and its meanings include “judges” and “rulers”.
- The text speaks in the plural. “Let us make man in our image, like us” (Genesis 1:26, BBE).
- It acts as one team. It is one court, speaking as one, made of many voices.
What it means. Elohim is the many inner voices of your own mind that judge, weigh and decide what is real. Man is made in the image of this court, so you already carry it.
Why the Bible says “he”. The Bible does not stop at “us”. The same court is also spoken of as one person:
And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them. — Genesis 1:27 (BBE)
And on the seventh day God came to the end of all his work; and on the seventh day he took his rest from all the work which he had done. — Genesis 2:2 (BBE)
Read these as yourself. The “he” is the one person reading. The “us” is the many voices inside that one person, working together as a single team. Both are true at once, and this is the part most people miss: the court is many, and it speaks and acts as one. Because the text says “he”, many readers picture a person standing outside themselves. In this course the “he” is you.
Translate as you read:
| You read | The Hebrew | Read it as |
|---|---|---|
| the Lord | YHVH | You, aware right now. “The existing One” |
| God | Elohim | The judges and rulers: your inner court |
| the Lord God | YHVH Elohim | You, aware right now, working together with the court (Genesis 2) |
Try it on Genesis 1:1.
At the first God made the heaven and the earth. — Genesis 1:1 (BBE)
With the meaning put in:
At the first the Judges and Rulers made the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1 names Elohim on its own, and the court gives its orders. In Genesis 2 the words “the Lord God” appear, and the court now works inside what it has made. See Elohim: the judges and rulers of I AM and the multitude.
Names Carry the Court Too
Look at how many Bible names start or end with El, the root Elohim grows from. That is the court showing up inside the names of the people in the story.
- Daniel means “God is my judge” (Strong’s H1840, from Dan, judge, and El).
- Elijah begins with El and ends with Yah, a short form of YHVH (Strong’s H452). It means “my God is YHVH”, or “Yah is God”.
- Joel is the same two parts the other way round: “YHVH is God”.
Read a name like Daniel as: the court is my judge. The judges are not only in the creation story. They are built into the people who walk through it.
The same goes for YHVH. Many names end in -iah or -jah, or begin with Jo-. Those carry YHVH, the existing One, you aware right now. So a name like Elijah holds both halves: the court (El) and you, aware right now (Yah).
What it means. The people in the Bible are not outsiders watching the court. Their names say the court and the one aware right now are already part of who they are, and so part of who you are.
Remember: “God” is not one outside person. It is the court of judges inside you, and it is called “he” because it acts as one.