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hank you for your input JohnLuke. May I add to your perspective without offense?
Please, no discussion is offensive. I want to learn about how you believe in God. I want to tell you how I believe in God. Somehow, I suspect we will not agree on everything, put it is the peaceful discussion that is important. I believe the study of the relationship between God and man is the most important topic to study in the world, I enjoy all that surrounds it. So feel free to say what you know and there will not be offense to it.
I would like to tell you what I know about the very interesting name of Elohim.
1) Elohim is the plural of the name Eloi, or El, which Hebrew and Christian translators have translated into the word "God" or "Gods".
2) Elohim is the first name of God that we are introduced to in Genesis chapter 1. Elohim is the only God mentioned in Genesis chapter 1.
3) Elohim is a mysterious name that has referene to "the Mighty Ones", "Gods" or even "the counsil of the Gods". It also has reference to "judges, "majistrates", and "rulers". Elohim even said that Moses was to be Elohim to his people.
4) Hebrew scholars and doctors for centuries have wrestled with this name because in its plural form It seems to indicate that there was more than 1 God present at the creation. In fact it is a blasphemous problem that they had to explain away and so for centuries they have made up special plural noun rules and noun to verb rules and all sorts of grammar and philosophical metaphoric devises to get around the problem Moses created when he used a plural name for "God".
4) Genesis 1:26 confirms the name of Elohim is appropriate when it says "Let us..." and there are many verses in Genesis that refer to "us" that must be disturbing to "one God" proponents.
5) Hebrew scholars insist that Elohim was talking to angels during the creation. Trinitarian Christians counter by saying Elohim clearly reflects the 3 in 1 God. Hebrew scholars counter that by saying, does that mean Elohim was talking to Himself during the creation process and isn't that kind of nutty.
6) There is a second God introduced in Genesis chapter 2. The name of this God is Yahweh Elohim. In later chapter of Genesis and the OT the Elohim is dropped and only Yahweh is used. The translation of Yahweh Elohim into English is
"LORD God". Elohim is translated into English as "God".
7) Only Elohim in Genesis chapter 1 and both Elohim and Yahweh Elohim in chapter 2.
8) When Jesus was dying on the cross, he called out to his God and asked why his God had forsaken him. The name he used to address his God was "Eloi", the singular form of Elohim.
So here is what I think about all this.
I believe that Elohim being the first to be introduced is equivalent to "God the Father". I believe that His Son is The Lord Jesus Christ (his NT name) who is known in the OT as Yahweh Elohim (LORD God) and later just LORD.
It is God the Father (Elohim) and His Son The LORD Jesus (Yahweh) and the Holy Spirit that make up the Godhead and created the universe. Elohim gave us a first look or rough draft or spiritual creation in chapter 1 of Genesis, but it was Yahweh that did the physical forming and makeing of all that was created. So it was through Elohim and by Yahweh to all things were created.
Yahweh sat on the right side of the Elohim before the world in a spirit form. That spirit was then incarnated into the "only begotten" body that was generated by Elohim and Mary. Jesus was born, taught us the true gospel, and saved us from our sins when he died on the cross. After his resurrection, he went again to sit on the right hand of Elohim and is there today, awaiting the time of his second coming.
The reference of Jesus as Wisdom is a Christian mainstay. It is interesting that you picked up on the feminine/masculine issue. Here is my take on that. As the Hebrew scholars and doctors read the original manuscripts of the OT they became increasingly embarassed by the first advent of their Messiah. They could not reconcile the scriptures that prophecied that the Messiah would be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, subduing their rivals and ruling the earth with other scriptures that prophecied that their Messiah would be a lowly commoner, born in a manjor, crusified on a cross etc. and so over the centuries they systematically esponged scripture that describe the first advent Messiah.
Prophets like Isaiah had to start hiding phophecies of the lowly Messiah in order for them to not be removed.
The writer of Proverbs 8 in my opionion even got more poetic and instead of using the name of a masculine Jesus, he used the feminine name of Wisdom. This had its effect and was saved from scrutiny and we have a very rare picture of Jesus pre-existent with Elohim at the beginning of the creation, which is confirmed in the first 2 chapters of Genesis as Elohim and Yahweh go through the creative process together.
I will respond to other parts of your post later. Thanks again.