Why the Word “God” Makes me Uncomfortable

One of the problems with being a biblical theologian is the discomfort I suffer whenever someone’s question crosses lines between biblical and “Christian” categories. We have our way of talking. Biblical authors had their ways of talking.

A simple question like, “Were the Hebrew prophets monotheists or henotheists?”[1] can be answered according to our labels (causing later confusion if the questioner reads the whole Bible carefully) or according to biblical labels (causing immediate confusion and a lengthy conversation that runs the risk of tarring me with the epitaph “closet-pagan.”)

 One problem is that in English, we invest the word GOD with meaning that is simultaneously less and more than its Hebrew counter-parts’—אל El, אלוה Eloah, אלהים Elohim and other variations connected to the idea of strong.

We use God as our primary personal name for YHWH, representing that category-of-one—deity— as distinct from other spiritual entities. Thus, even though אלהים Elohim is applied to entities possessing no eternal qualities, Christians tend to invest the word God with all the attributes of YHWH: omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, immutability, etc. Anything less just isn’t worthy of the name God… unless we are reading fantasy.

So, using biblical categories, do the Scriptures recognize the existence of other gods?

Yes… and I don’t just mean idols. Other entities fall under the category אלהים Elohim that we would shudder to permit under the category God. YHWH is designated as unmatched & supreme above all these, yet, by the label אלהים Elohim is still one of many. Exo 15:11 makes a comparison that is more than just idol vs. YHWH, saying, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” For while idols are empty nothingness, a dark and insidious joke (Isaiah 44), the reality of other spiritual entities under the rubric of אלהים Elohim is not doubted. Even Paul recognizes a difference. (1 Cor 10:20)

 Using our categories, do the Scriptures recognize the existence of other gods than YHWH?

No… just lesser entities, dependent on YHWH for existence, in willing or unwilling subjection to Him, and the physical representations of idols. The Hebrews seem to ascribed ontological holiness to only one, YHWH, plainly declared in Rev 15:4, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.” YHWH was in a class by Himself; Deu 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” So great by comparison is He, that He may speak of Himself as אלהים Elohim alone (Isaiah 44:6) in spite of the fact that we find within the pages of Scripture the ready recognition of beings, and not just fanciful statues, which are named among the אלהים Elohim.

• Genesis 3:24: כרבים Cherubim
• Deuteronomy 32:8: אלהים בני sons of God
• Psalm 8:5 Man made a little lower than אלהים Elohim
• 1 Sam 16:14  רעה רוח evil spirit
• 1 Kings 22:19ff רוח a spirit, as רוח שׁקר lying spirit
• Job 1:6 השׂטן Satan among  בני אלהים  sons of God
• Mark 3:23: Σατανᾶς Satan is both a single figure and a category.
• Isaiah 6:2ff: שׂרפים Seraphim
• Ezekiel 1:5: The likeness of four  חיות   living creatures.
• Deut 32:17: שׁדים demons?
• Leviticus 17:7 שׂעירם goat demon?
• Matthew 8:31 δαίμονες demons
• Matthew 12:43: ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα unclean spirit
• Daniel 3:28: מלאך  angel
• Jude 1:9: ἀρχάγγελος Archangel
• Daniel 10:13: השׂרים הראשׁנים Chief Princes
• Daniel 10:13: שׂר מלכות פרס prince of the kingdom of Persia
• Ephesians 3:10: ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις Principalities and Powers in heavenly places.

The exact relationship between these diverse entities, represented often by overlapping labels, is not easy to discern, but the tendency to opt for a dismissive modern vocabulary (i.e. God, Angels, Demons) that hammers it simple is less than helpful… almost as unhelpful as our English word God can be when reading the whole of Scripture, but I’ll keep using it anyway.