Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Hi all,
recently I suggested that Elohim may be used as a proper name in the
creation account and not just as a title. I also suggested that THWM in the
creation account was used as a proper name for the ocean that covered the
land at that time. My basis for this suggestion was their use with the
absence of the definite article. Obviously, in English, it is easy to spot a
proper name because we capitalise it and never use it with the definite
article (I know, never say never, I'm sure there are some exceptional
counter-examples). But is this the case in B-Hebrew. Can we determine proper
name usage by using the absence of the definite article as an indicator? In
Florentine Italian, for example, it is common to speak of 'La Sara' when all
participants know which Sara we are talking about. What generalisations can
we make about proper names and the significance of the definite article in
B-Hebrew? If titles can be used without definite articles in B-Hebrew under
what circumstances can they be used? What are the contextual clues that
Elohim is a title in the creation account if that is the way it is to be
understood?

James Christian