Dual Nature Of God In The Garden Of Eden

The Dual Nature of Elohim

In Hebrew, the word for Israel’s “God” is אלהים  (Elohim). However, the term is a dual construction that can also be read as plural “gods!” 

Often, the only determining factor as to the correct rendering is the biblical context. In most translations, the serpent tells Eve, “For God (אלהים) knows that on the day you eat from [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God (אלהים), knowing good and evil”. It would be understandable for English readers to conclude that since the first use of אלהים refers to the one God, the second use should be read in the same way (as most translations have it).

Genesis' Reference to "Gods"

However, there are two contextual clues to suggest that the primordial pair will become like “gods.” The first is only visible in the original Hebrew: when the snake says, “you eat” (אכלכם), “your eyes will be opened” (ונפקחו עיניכם), and “you will become” (והייתם), the serpent speaks in the plural, addressing both Adam and Eve. Therefore, the meaning of the statement should be that the two people will become like two “gods” rather than the one God. 

Second, after the couple eat the fruit, God declares, “Behold, the human has become like one of us (כאחד ממנו; k’echad mimmenu), knowing good and evil”. The divine statement about humans becoming like “us” once after "knowing good and evil" echoes the snake’s statement about Adam and Eve “knowing good and evil” after they eat the fruit. Therefore, the serpent must be referring to multiple “gods.” 

Singular and Plural Usage in Creation Narrative

This is not the first time that Genesis speaks of several gods. “Let us make humanity in our image, according to our likeness”. Already in Genesis 1, Scripture affirms the existence of multiple deities. Yet these other heavenly beings do not engage in the creation of human beings (or any other creative act in Genesis 1); instead, the Bible states that "God (אלהים) created humanity in his image”. The Hebrew for “created” (ברא; bara) is singular, which means that only one God is the Creator of humanity. 

This shift in number is in fact how Scripture shows the superiority of Israel’s God as the only deity worthy of worship