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Throughout Parshat B'reishit, Hashem (God) is referred to in the plural multiple times. This includes in B'reishit 1:26: ויאמר אל-קים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו... And God said: We will make a man in...
#1: Initial revision
by
Mithical
·
2020-10-18T07:58:06Z (about 4 years ago)
Why does the text in B'reishit refer to God in the plural?
Throughout Parshat B'reishit, Hashem (God) is referred to in the _plural_ multiple times. This includes in B'reishit 1:26: > ויאמר אל-קים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו... > > And God said: We will make a man in our form and our likeness... Or in 3:22: > ויאמר ה' אל-קים הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו לדעת טוב ורע ועתה פן ישלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעלם > > And God said: Now the man is like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he cast his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and live forever. <sub>(both translations my own)</sub> There's also the fact that "Elokim" (in its non-censored form) is in itself plural; in other contexts, it means "gods" plural, and the -ים suffix is... plural. So why does the text repeatedly refer to God in the plural throughout especially Parshat B'reishit (and less so in other parts of the Torah)?