Defining the word Elohim: A Bible-Only Definition of “God”
What does “god” mean from the Bible alone? A text-driven argument that “god” tracks authority within a hierarchy, not species or metaphysics.
What does “god” mean from the Bible alone? A text-driven argument that “god” tracks authority within a hierarchy, not species or metaphysics.
What does the word “god” (or Elohim) actually mean when we read the Bible on its own terms, without importing later theology? The following argument is grounded strictly in textual usage: we infer from what the text says, not from what we assume it should mean.
Psalm 82:1
“God stands in the assembly of God; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.”
Yahweh stands among beings called “gods” and judges them.
Several things follow from the text alone. First, the verse depicts a gathering — an assembly or council. The “gods” are beings that can be gathered in a place. Second, these “gods” are capable of being judged. You cannot judge a metaphor, an emotion, or a statue; only entities treated as responsible agents. From the verse alone:
Verse 2 shows they judge unjustly and show partiality; verse 6 calls them “sons of the Most High”; verse 7 states: “Nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
If they will die “like men,” two possibilities exist: they are men called “gods” metaphorically because of their authority, or they are non-human beings compared to men in mortality. The text does not resolve this. So Psalm 82 does not clearly specify whether these “gods” are humans or non-humans — and it is illegitimate to label them “spiritual beings” as if the text said that.
What we can safely say: In Psalm 82, “gods” refers to beings who exercise judicial authority over others, who can be judged by Yahweh, and who are ultimately mortal. If “gods” can be mortal, then being called “god” in the Bible does not mean “immortal divine being.” It means something about role, power, or status.
Exodus 7:1
“See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.”
Moses does not become non-human; he becomes the supreme authority over Pharaoh.
Moses remains human, yet he functions as god because he has superior authority. Pharaoh must obey him; plagues flow at his word. “God” here means one who stands above another in power and command. This passage alone undermines any definition of “god” based on species, spirit, or immortality. It is purely about hierarchy.
Yahweh is unique not because he is the only one called “god,” but because he is the highest authority over all others:
Psalm 95:3
“For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
The Bible’s map of reality looks less like “one God vs nothing else” and more like a hierarchy of powers with Yahweh at the summit.
Genesis 1 — Creation is an act of command: “Elohim said… and it was so.” Light, sea, land, and creatures obey. That fits: god as the highest authority whose will shapes reality. Genesis never explains what kind of being Elohim is; it shows what Elohim does.
Deuteronomy 32:8 describes how the nations were arranged:
“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance… he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.”
A structured order of powers under the Most High.
Isaiah can sound monotheistic (“I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no God” — 45:5), yet elsewhere asks: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?” (40:18). Isaiah’s logic is not that other gods do not exist, but that none rival Yahweh in authority, power, or reliability. Idols are mocked because they are powerless, not because they are metaphysically impossible. The issue is lack of authority.
Working definition (OT): In the Bible, a “god” is any being placed in a position of superior authority over others, such that it can judge, command, govern, or decisively shape outcomes — with Yahweh portrayed as the highest authority over all others.
Genesis 3:5
“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The serpent does not promise that humans will become non-human. The promise is specific: like God in knowing good and evil. In the ancient world, “knowing good and evil” is not morality in a modern sense; it is the right to decide, judge, and define reality for others — power. Kings determine law; judges decide guilt and innocence; parents set boundaries over children. So the serpent is saying: you will move up the hierarchy of authority.
God’s response after they eat:
Genesis 3:22
“Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”
God does not say they have become divine beings; he says they are “like one of us.” That is position, not nature.
The reaction is about control of access to life: “Lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and live forever…” So the issue is not sin as rule-breaking alone; it is a crisis of power distribution. The man now has god-like authority (knowledge) but not god-like immortality. That combination is dangerous.
Genesis 3 shows humans trying to climb the ladder of authority without being granted it. They want to be self-legislating. That reframes the fall not as “eating fruit” but as a political move in the cosmic hierarchy. The Bible’s deepest drama is who gets to decide reality — who defines good and evil. “Being like God” means claiming that role.
If the Hebrew Bible uses “god” as a marker of authority within a hierarchy, where does Jesus sit? The New Testament answers in terms of delegated authority, not inherent supremacy. One crucial correction: “God” in biblical logic does not automatically mean supreme authority. It marks authority within a hierarchy. Supremacy belongs to the top of that hierarchy — a title repeatedly reserved for the Father.
Jesus receives authority. The one who receives cannot be greater than the one who gives. Jesus himself says: “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and “The Son can do nothing of himself, but only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19). Yet he also says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Notice the grammar: given. Authority is conferred, not inherent.
Paul makes the hierarchy explicit:
1 Corinthians 15:24–28
“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father… When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”
The Father remains the ultimate source and final authority. The Son exercises total delegated authority and remains in submission.
The Father as supreme source. The Son as the fully authorized agent exercising total delegated authority. Unity not by collapsing identities, but by total alignment of will. Philippians 2 sharpens the contrast: Adam grasped at equality with God; Jesus, though in “form of God,” did not grasp — he emptied himself. Therefore he was exalted. Authority flows downward by obedience, not upward by seizure.
Jesus represents the Father: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) — not because he is the Father, but because he perfectly represents him. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30); the context shows “one” in purpose and action: “The Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:38). Relational unity, not hierarchical erasure.
In Revelation 22:3: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” Singular throne, shared rule — yet the Lamb remains distinct from “God.” In the New Testament’s own logic, only the Father stands as the ultimate source: the one who gives, sends, exalts, and finally receives the kingdom back. That does not diminish Jesus’ authority; it situates it within a relational hierarchy that remains intact even at the end.
From the texts alone: