Elohim = "אֱלֹהִים" = "God"
The ancient paleo-hebrew symbols reveal greater depth and interconnectivity of the Biblical text than is immediately apparent on the surface.
Click Image to Expand
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"
Genesis 1:1
Using the same principles I've used in the other Hebrew language studies on this site, below I look at the associated meanings of the hebrew letters in the word "Elohim" to see connection of the revelations of God to the meaning hidden within the Hebrew letters of the word.
Hebrew Letter Meanings
Aleph
Ancient
Modern
Image Association: Ox, Oneness, Unity, Power, God the Father
Associated Nature: Beginning, Authority, Leadership, Source, Master, Oneness
Lamed
Ancient
Modern
Image Association: Shepherd, Wisdom, Knowledge, Word
Associated Nature: Guidance, Direction, Destination, Possession
Hey
Ancient
Modern
Image Association: Spirit, Man Raising Arms
Associated Nature: Look, Behold, Breath, Sigh, Revelation
Yud
Ancient
Modern
Image Association: Hand, Arm
Associated Nature: Hand, Work, Throw, Worship
This letter also has some association with an instance in time, particularly a beginning. As in God bringing something into existence with his hand.
Mem
Ancient
Modern
Image Association: Water
Associated Nature: Chaotic, change, transformation, ever-changing, people, nations, languages, tongues, knowledge
The association of water is where the other meaning associations come from. Man is predominantly water in chemistry and therefore the nations too are made up of predominantly water. Knowledge in its many forms is produced from a thirst for understanding by which the waters of God's knowledge & wisdom satisfy. We find this is directly applicable to statements in the ministry of Jesus in which He self-describes as both "The Word" and "the source of living water" indicating that He is the source of life-giving truth — the Gospel.
Also noteworthy, Mem has two forms - an open and a closed which represent revealed truth & heavenly mysteries
Elohim - God
"And God said, 'Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.' So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day."
Genesis 1:6-8
Elohim is a singular noun, but has "im" at the end which is typically plural form. This nature of the name agrees with the trinity present in the first three letters of the word. In the word, God's creative nature is revealed just as described in Genesis. We see that the trinity in the first three letters is attributed to creative action or a new beginning associated with the water, which is exactly what we see in the creation story in Genesis 1. In addition to creation, Elohim also reveals an aspect of the story of God's work throughout the Bible - revelation through water. God being revealed through acts associated with water is a theme that is repeated throughout the Bible from the literal beginning. The spirit of God hovers over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Many miraculous old testament events happen with water - Noah's flood, water to blood plague, hailstones plague, dividing of the Red Sea, water sourced from rock in the wilderness, stones from water used to defeat Goliath, etc. Likewise, in the New Testament Jesus is revealed through acts associated with water: water into wine miracle, calming the storm, walking on water, baptism, identification of Jesus to living water, etc. So, we see a connection of God revealing Himself beginning with this word in the Bible with a consistent pattern of revelation with water depicted in the meaning assocaited with the letters in this first word referring to Him in His Word.