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  • From: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Gen 12:8 Beth'el
  • Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 23:20:24 -0500



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.)



El is one of G-d's names, Adonai is also one of G-d's names.

To a totally monotheistic mind, the one and only G-d, has many aspects which He/It reveals to us, in history, in our lives, in the Torah, in the spiritual worlds, and the different names are used to refer to different aspects, (ie, when Lovingkindness is in play, when Stern Judgement is in play, etc.) and this does not at all fragment the unity of G-d.

Shoshanna




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