CLAIM: “The Hebrew word for God (elohim) shows a distinction in the Godhead”

ANSWER:  Some Trinitarians have said that the Hebrew word for God, elohim, which carries the plural ending “im”, denotes the existence of more than one person in the Godhead.  But does the plural form of the word elohim (translated in English as God, god, or gods) really require a plurality of gods, or that the God of the Bible is himself made up of more than one personality?  To make such an inference, without doubt, is to overstep the bounds of Scripture.  As a respected Trinitarian scholar affirms, “To conclude a plurality of persons from the name itself is dubious" (Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, 1999. p. 58).

While elohim is used in the Hebrew Scriptures to refer to multiple divine beings (Jer. 25:6), it also is used of divine beings that are singular in number.  The Philistine god Dagon, who was not a trinity, is called elohim: “His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god (elohim)” (1 Sam 5:7).  (See: Souvay, Charles. "Dagon." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.)

Elohim is not the only noun in Hebrew that can exist in plural form but carry a singular meaning.  Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar presents several examples: “zequim” (זְקֻנִ֖ים)– “old age” (Gen 44:20),  “panim” (פָּנִים) – “face” (Num 6:25), and “ne’urim” (נְּעוּרִֽים) – “youth” (Psalm 127:4).  These words all carry the plural ending “im” but describe singular subjects.  We understand the meaning of these rare plural forms by the singular adjectives which surround them.  Speaking specifically about elohim, Gesenius comments: “The language has entirely rejected the idea of numerical plurality in 'elohim’ (whenever it denotes one God).... [This] is proved especially by its being almost invariably joined with a singular attribute" (Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, ed. E. Kautzsch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910. p.398-399.)

"Elohim" cannot be taken out of its context and be expected to retain the writer’s intended meaning.  The strict unity of the one God, not the plurality, has always been the hallmark of the biblical Deity (Deut 4:35, Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29, Gal. 3:20, etc).