One God or many Gods?
Question: In the Garden of Eden , the serpent told Eve that if she and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they would be “as gods” (Gen. 3:5 KJV). Then in Genesis 3:22 God says, “Behold, the man has become like one of us” ( NASB ). Does “gods” and “us” imply the existence of more than one God? Answer: Not at all. The usual Hebrew term for “God” is ʾelōhím, which is the plural of ʾelôah. It is occasionally used as a true plural, referring to the imaginary gods of the heathen. But usually it refers to the one true God, and the plural ending is known to Hebrew grammarians as the “plural of majesty.” Like ʾadōním (“lords” or “Lord”) and beʿālím (plural of baʿal, “lord,” “master,” “owner,” “husband”), ʾelōhím also may be used to give a heightened impressiveness of majesty to God. As such, this plural is modified by adjectives in the singular and takes a singular verb. In the case of the serpent, serving as Satan’s mouthpiece, his previous uses of ʾelōhím (3:1,5a) are unquestionably...