Why did ESV translate elohim differently in Exodus 32:4 (gods) and in Nehemiah 9:18 (God)?

[TonyChanYT]

Exodus 32:

4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods [אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā G430], O Israel, who brought [plural, הֶעֱל֖וּךָ he·‘ĕ·lū·ḵā] you up out of the land of Egypt!”

Nehemiah 9:

18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God [אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā G430] who brought [singular, הֶעֶלְךָ֖ he·‘el·ḵā] you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,

The two Hebrew noun forms of G430-elohim are identical. Why did ESV translate one as "gods" and the other as "God"?

In Ex, G430 is followed by a plural verb. In Neh, it is followed by a singular verb.

See also Is "elohim" singular or plural?.

 

[Wick Stick]

Here is how I understand ancient Hebrew words in a nutshell... Each Hebrew word represents a picture. When written, the word can take on any meaning related to that picture.

For example, the word qadesh pictures the ritual animal sacrifice. Put it in a sentence, and it might refer to the sacrificial animal, but it also might be "dedication" as sacrifices are dedicated to God, or it can mean "pure" since sacrifice is about purification, or it can mean "awful" or "holocaust" since sacrifices are not pretty affairs.

What picture does Elohim evoke? As nearly as I can tell, it pictures a pantheon of gods. Where it refers to a single God, this is because God has laid claim to the whole pantheon. Jehovah Elohim means "I AM ALL THE GODS YOU GET" - a pantheon of one.

 

[Randy Kluth]

In a culture in which a plurality of gods is the religious reality, "God" might not exist in singular form. Ultimately, the word "gods" might not prohibit it from being applied to a more novel sense of a singular God.

Exodus 32:


Nehemiah 9:


The two Hebrew noun forms of G430-elohim are identical. Why did ESV translate one as "gods" and the other as "God"?

In Ex, G430 is followed by a plural verb. In Neh, it is followed by a singular verb.

See also Is "elohim" singular or plural?.

That's curious. I'll ask my brother.

 

[Davy]

See...

The ESV is a post-1880s translation using the NEW Greek text done by Wescott and Hort in the 1800's, and also includes the Novum Testamentum Graece text done by the later United Bible Societies (UBS), which ALL DEPART FROM THE TRADITIONAL GREEK TEXT used for English Bible translations PRIOR to the 1880's.

Thus the ESV is to be trusted no more than other modern New Testament translations because of using the so-called "Critical Texts" of supposed older Greek manuscripts and Alexandrian texts from the Alexandrian, Egypt school which was surrounded with pagan philosophy of the early Gnostics.

Bible translations PRIOR to the 1800's were based on the "Traditional Greek texts", which make up the Majority Text (majority of existing Greek manuscripts, 2000+), but the 'higher critics' reject because they 'believe' the Codex Vaticanus (only discovered in the Vatican in 1475), and Codex Sinaiticus (which only a portion was discovered in a Greek monastery in a trash bin, in the 1840's by Tischendorf, who a few years later went back and claimed he mysteriously found the rest of it). Neither Vaticanus nor Sinaiticus have been confirmed to be older than the Traditional Greek text, but that is 'hype' believed by many scholars today, their having been fooled, of which some of them are not even Christian believers.

Thus there is major... evidence starting in the 1800's of a concerted effort by the school of 'higher criticism' to corrupt the Traditional Greek text of The Word of God handed down by the Apostles.

 

[Deborah_]

See...

The ESV is a post-1880s translation using the NEW Greek text done by Wescott and Hort in the 1800's, and also includes the Novum Testamentum Graece text done by the later United Bible Societies (UBS), which ALL DEPART FROM THE TRADITIONAL GREEK TEXT used for English Bible translations PRIOR to the 1880's.

Thus the ESV is to be trusted no more than other modern New Testament translations because of using the so-called "Critical Texts" of supposed older Greek manuscripts and Alexandrian texts from the Alexandrian, Egypt school which was surrounded with pagan philosophy of the early Gnostics.

Bible translations PRIOR to the 1800's were based on the "Traditional Greek texts", which make up the Majority Text (majority of existing Greek manuscripts, 2000+), but the 'higher critics' reject because they 'believe' the Codex Vaticanus (only discovered in the Vatican in 1475), and Codex Sinaiticus (which only a portion was discovered in a Greek monastery in a trash bin, in the 1840's by Tischendorf, who a few years later went back and claimed he mysteriously found the rest of it). Neither Vaticanus nor Sinaiticus have been confirmed to be older than the Traditional Greek text, but that is 'hype' believed by many scholars today, their having been fooled, of which some of them are not even Christian believers.

Thus there is major... evidence starting in the 1800's of a concerted effort by the school of 'higher criticism' to corrupt the Traditional Greek text of The Word of God handed down by the Apostles.

How is this relevant to a discussion on the Old Testament?

 

[TonyChanYT]

Ultimately, the word "gods" might not prohibit it from being applied to a more novel sense of a singular God.

Right. See The lexical meanings of "elohim"

 

[Lambano]

Notice that the demonstrative pronoun ("these") in Exodus is plural (Strongs H428, אֵלֶּה), while Nehemiah uses the singular "this" (Strongs H2088, זֶה). The verb has to match the subject, i.e. "these are" (plural) in Exodus, "this is" (singular) in Nehemiah. This context determines the translation of אֱלֹהֶיךָ as gods (plural) or god (singular).

Another related question: Since there was only one golden calf mentioned in the Exodus account, I'm wondering why ol' Mo decided to use the plural demonstrative pronoun "these".

 

[Ziggy]

Maybe because they took all the gold among them (these) and cast them into the fire and it became (this)

One body made up of many..

Exo 32:19
And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exo 32:20
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exo 32:21
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exo 32:22
And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Exo 32:23
For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:24
And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
Exo 32:35
And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

Isa 13:12
I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

1Pe 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:9
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Moses asked if he himself could atone for the people, but God said no, the people will answer for themselves.

Exo 32:30
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Exo 32:31
And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exo 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Jesus is the atonement for man.
Rom 5:11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Two bodies. One of flesh one of Spirit. And many bodies together we call a church.
One in the wilderness and the other in Jerusalem.

James chapter 5.. interesting..

Just thinking..
hugs

 

[Randy Kluth]

Right. See The lexical meanings of "elohim"

Tony, my brother is not a self-proclaimed expert at this, but is fairly knowledgeable on biblical language questions, so I asked him about this. This is his response. It was a personal response to me, so nobody should take this as assuming a position for the sake of argument...

I don't know why in Exodus the people refer to "gods" while in Nehemiah "god" is used. My suspicion is that it is a matter of focus and genre or occasion, the first as historical narrative and the second as intercessory prayer. Exodus quotes the people verbatim perhaps to emphasize the horror of their breaking both the first and second Commandments (already!), while Nehemiah in his prayer was using a list of the sins of Israel to emphasize the compassion and grace of God for which he was pleading. That's just a quick guess on my part.

Exodus 32 quotes the people as saying, "Make us gods who will go before us" (NIV) in verse 1. That seems to me to be a good translation, because the decision to translate elohim (a plural form) as "god", "gods", or "God" relies entirely on context. In verse 1, the verb translated "will go" describes the action taken by elohim, and it is in the plural, suggesting a plural head noun ("gods") for the relative clause that follows (beginning with "who"). In verse 4, where it reads, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up," The word "These" is a plural demonstrative pronoun and "brought" is also plural. So, "gods" appears warranted as a translation on both counts.
What puzzles me is that the NIV footnote indicates that "god" would be a possible translation for vv. 1, 23, and 31. I don't get that. For vv. 4 and 8, another footnote in the NIV says that the phrase may be translated "This is your god." The fact that the NIV sees some latitude in translating elohim here as either "god" or "gods", or the plural demonstrative pronoun as a singular "this" makes me think that I'm forgetting something about my Hebrew grammar. That would be my question.

In Nehemiah 9:18, where it reads, "This is your god, who brought you up" (NIV), "This" is a singular demonstrative pronoun in the Hebrew and "brought" is a singular verb, so "god" as a translation seems a good translation.

So, the way the NIV translates makes perfect sense to me, though their footnotes in Exodus 32 make me cautious as to saying their alternative translation in the margin is wrong.

If your question is whether the online friend is accurate in pointing out that there is a difference in the Hebrew of Exodus 32 and Nehemiah 9, he's correct. What to make of it is another matter. The NIV Study Bible typically comments in their notes if there is an apparent contradiction, a controversy among scholars, a difference identified in the textual tradition, etc. However, they are silent on it in both Exodus and Nehemiah. A good Hebrew-based commentary would probably address it and provide an answer, but I no longer have those. My hunch is that Nehemiah felt it was his prerogative to speak of the calf as one god (it was one calf, after all), though theologically and historically the people apparently regarded it as representing more than one god. To make more of it seems like stirring up a tempest in a teapot.

 

[TonyChanYT]

I don't know why in Exodus the people refer to "gods" while in Nehemiah "god" is used.

When G430 is followed by a singular verb, without exception, it always refers to God.

When G430 is followed by a plural verb, most of the time, it refers to gods. The context will tell whether it should be translated as "God" or "gods" in these exceptional cases.

 

[Davy]

How is this relevant to a discussion on the Old Testament?

Because if you can't trust the translators with the New Testament, can't trust 'em with the Old Testament either.

 

[Jay Ross]

The two Hebrew noun forms of G430-elohim are identical.

I would disagree with this understanding. The Hebrew words found in these two passages are not quite the same. This is what the BibleHub provides for each case:-

Exodus 32:4
430 [e]
’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙
your gods

Nehaniah 9:18
430 [e]
’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā,
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ
your god

The difference between the two Hebrew words is very plain to see.