I always wanted to figure out distinctions between various names of God in the original Hebrew bible, but I do not know Hebrew. And now I’ve got literal English translation of Genesis (Tabor, James D. The Book of Genesis: A New Translation from the Transparent English Bible Genesis 2000. Kindle Edition) made from the oldest scrolls of Torah. The uniqueness of the translation is that it preserves the names of God.
One of the most common words associated with God is the word Elohim. The difficulty here is that the word is in plural. I knew about the issue for a long time, since I started to learn Hebrew many years ago. Rabbis preferred not to answer my question about it. And I did not progress in the study of the language much.
The fragment which opened my eyes on the meaning of the word is a funny story in the “New Translation” about Abraham’s servant who was sent to find the wife for Isaac.
Here is the beginning (Chapter 24, section 1)
«And Abraham said toward his servant—the old one of his house, who ruled in all that was to him, “Place, please, your hand, under my thigh,417 3 and I will make you swear by YHVH, ELOHIM of the skies, and ELOHIM of the land, that you will not take a woman for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose midst I am sitting,.." (pp. 73-74).
Abraham makes his servant to swear, that he will not get the wife for Isaac in the Canaan, where Abraham lives.
The text continues:
“6 And Abraham said toward him, “Be guarded for yourself, lest you return my son there! 7 YHVH, ELOHIM of the skies, who took me from the house of my father, and from the land of those brought forth of mine, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land,’ he will send his messenger before your face, and you will take a woman for my son from there.” (p. 74).
Abraham demands that the servant does not return the son there. He mentions that “YHVH, ELOHIM of the skies and the land” promised this land to Abraham’s descendants. Abraham tells the servant that YHVH, ELOHIM of the skies and the land will make the servant know what to do, sending a messenger.
It appears that YHVH is the personal name of one in the community of ELOHIM, Abraham believes YHVH to be ELOHIM of the skies and the land. And this is the same ELOHIM YHVH who “took him from the house of his father”, who promised the Canaan to descendant of Abraham.
But the servant understood it in his own way.
He came to the place where Abraham was born and stopped at a well. Then he addresses ELOHIM YHVH directly:
“YHVH, ELOHIM of my master Abraham, make it meet, please, before my face today, and do loyal-kindness with my master Abraham. 13 Look!—I am positioned by the spring of waters, and the daughters of the men of the city are going out to draw waters, 14 and may it be—the young woman whom I say toward her, ‘Make your jar stretch out please, that I may drink;’ and she will say, ‘Drink, and your camels I will make drink also’—she is whom you have made to be judged for your servant, for Isaac; and in this I will know that you have done loyal-kindness with my master.” (pp. 74-75)
The servant did not believe that YHVH is ELOHIM of skies and the land. The servant thinks YHVH is ELOHIM of Abraham. Instead of waiting for a messenger, he sets up rules himself. The servant explains, how will he know that a particular young woman is intended as a wife for Abraham’s son. Or, may be, he just lets ELOHIM know, that he will take the first young woman, who offers him water.
It is interesting how the attitudes toward ELOHIM are different between Abraham and his servant. Abraham never asked ELOHIM YHVH directly anything, he always waited for ELOHIM to initiate the contact. One can tell that Abraham is in awe of ELOHIM YHVH, but the servant is not. Abraham feels the obligation to fulfil his side of agreement with ELOHIM YHVH, even though his son is estranged from him, they live separately (since Abraham tried to kill him). But the servant behaves a little bossy toward ELOHIM.
However, it appears that both Abraham and his servant consider YHVH to be one of a kind, but not the only ELOHIM.
To understand the relationship between ELOHIM YHVH and Abraham let us consider the fragment, when ELOHIM YHVH made a pact with Abraham.
“Chapteã17:1 And Abram was a son of ninety years and nine years, and YHVH was seen toward Abram, and said toward him, “I am el shaddai, walk about before my face and be whole; and I will give my pact between me and between you, and I will make you abundant, in exceedingly, exceedingly measure.” 3 And Abram fell upon his face, and ELOHIM spoke to him saying, 4“I—look!—my pact is with you, and you will become father of a crowd of nations. 5 And not still will your name be called Abram—and your name will be Abraham, for father of a crowd of nations I have given you. 6 I will make you bear fruit, in exceedingly, exceedingly measure, and I will give you to be nations, and kings from you will go out. 7 And I have made rise, my pact between me and between you, and between your seed after you, for their life-cycles, for a pact age-lasting, to be to you for ELOHIM, and to your seed after you.”
(pp. 58-59).
ELOHIM YHVH makes a pact with Abraham. His requirement is “to be to you for ELOHIM, and to your seed after you”.
I understand it to mean that ELOHIM YHVH wants to be considered an exclusive family ELOHIM for Abraham and his children. He does not say that any other Elohim does not exist. Otherwise, there would not be a point to request it.
My understanding is that Abraham did not necessarily believe that ELOHIM YHVH is the only Elohim. But he did believe that ELOHIM YHVH is the only Elohim he has to be faithful to, the only one he has to obey because of this pact.