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b-hebrew - Re: Gen 12:8 Beth'el

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  • From: Yigal Levin <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Gen 12:8 Beth'el
  • Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 10:47:47 -0400


At 01:21 AM 8/22/2002 EDT,
>Dr Levin writes:
>Without intending to get into a theological debate with Shoshanna, her last
>sentance made me wonder: DOES the Bible use "El" as a proper name for YHWH
>as it certainly does use "Elohim", or does it only use it as a generic
>"god"? Any thoughts?

Jamiejohns AT aol.com wrote:
>I believe that you will find "El" used as a proper name for "YHWH" at
several
>places in the Hebrew Bible. An interesting instance is in Psalm 16. There,
>"El" is used along with "YHWH" and "Adonai."
>
Thank you, Jamie. Actually, in vs. 2 "YHWH Adonai", I don't think that
"Adonai" is intended as a proper name. Rather it's "YHWH my lord", with the
plural used for respect. As for "El", in the first verse, it could go
either way. Which brings me to another thought: to a totally monotheistic
mind, could "god" be anything but "God"? (In English of course we can use
the capital to distinguish the generic noun from the proper name, but that
distinction doesn't exist in Hebrew.)

Yigal






Dr. Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
U.S.A.




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