“For the pastor, biblical languages are like your underpants. They are there for support but shouldn’t really be worn on the outside”. This was a statement one of my seminary professors frequently made. I’ve taken it to heart, and it’s true. There is seldom a need for a pastor to show off his understanding of the Greek by mentioning tenses and foreign words. Yet, one area in which the biblical languages might be of benefit is in using the names of God.
Each of these different names of God highlights one aspect of His character. There is only one God, but the biblical writers referred to this one God with many different monikers. One of these names is Elohim. Elohim is one of the most frequently used names for God in the Scriptures. It is this word which is used in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” In fact the word appears some 2,750 times in the Old Testament.
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