“In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.”This sentence may sound strange to many readers because the word “Elohim” is unpopular to many. Yet, “Elohim” is the name of the Creator as has been revealed in Hebrew—the language He chose to make Himself known to mankind—through the righteous men He inspired to write the Hebrew Holy Scriptures!
Readers who are familiar with the English Bible can trace the opening sentence in the above paragraph to Genesis 1:1. In this verse, all English Bibles have the word “Elohim” deleted and replaced with “God”!
Did translators of the Hebrew Holy Scriptures scheme to mislead readers into believing and accepting that the word “God”, which they used in place of “Elohim”, is an alias acceptable even to Him? Is “God”man’s alias for “Elohim” such that the two may be used interchangeably?
The question is: If the two appellations do indeed mean the same and, if their values are also the same, why then was there the need for translators to bring about the second at all? Think about this.
It may not be that errors detected in the many translations of the English Bible were done deliberately by translators to confuse salvation seekers and thus deny them the very salvation they seek.
This notwithstanding, it must be known that no well-intended person trying to please the Creator, or seeking to do good to mankind, will ever be left to himself without the arch enemy of the Almighty—Lucifer—trying to impede, frustrate, and even pollute his mind in his efforts, as in such work as translation of the Holy Scriptures.
The writers of the Hebrew Holy Scriptures were under the direct supervision of Elohim as they wrote these scriptures on scrolls of parchment long ago (Second Timothy 3:16, Second Peter 1:21) and never made the minutest error in their writings in this language since, one could say, they wrote with His finger.
For translators, who decided without the mandate of Elohim to translate the Hebrew Holy Scriptures into other languages, insulation from error while they worked could not be guaranteed.
Readers of the English Bible must understand it was translated from Greek, which was first translated from Hebrew, and therefore, not consider it as “Thus sayeth the Most High One” in every one of its words, verses, chapters, and books, since it is bound to have errors.
While searching for truth from the Holy Scriptures we must understand that names and titles of people are unique words that give identity to these people. Names and titles are the embodiment of those who bear them.
Names are also sounds meant to be responded to by those who bear them when pronounced by others, and so must always be properly uttered to bring about the desired attention and effect. Would the word“God”, therefore,have the same effect as “Elohim” when uttered? I doubt this can ever be so.
Note: The words “God” and “god”, when written, show a difference between them, but not in sound when pronounced. Because names are also sounds meant to be responded to when properly pronounced, one can imagine the resulting confusion anytime and wherever either “God” or “god” is uttered to the hearing of the two beings that are so named by man, whose response he desires.
Another question to ask is: Do the appellations, “God” and “god”, put the two beings, called as such by mankind, in the same class? Is the Creator in the same class as idols, with the only difference between them being that He is the superior one because He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent? How could one ever think in such a manner at all?
Clearly, the most serious error committed by all bible translators lies in their translation of names and titles of people they found in the Hebrew Holy Scriptures. While names of locations and landmarks have remained essentially the same in the English Bible, as in the Hebrew Holy Scriptures, albeit in corrupted pronunciations, such great names as Elohim and Yeshua, and other human names, have been translated!
This is not only ridiculous but is also completely unacceptable. Titles and names of people, the world over, despite whatever cultures they emanate from, must remain the same. They must never be translated. They should only be transliterated.
If translators had adhered to this basic practice, and not translated the Hebrew names and titles of the Creator and His Son, all the confusion among bible-believers about what the true name that must be believed for salvation is would have been avoided.
As the Savior’s return to judge the world is now imminent, bible-believers must begin asking themselves questions relating to many things they have believed. They must, for instance, ask to know what name to call the Creator: Is it “Elohim” or “God”?
Shalom.
The writer is a Bible expositor and an author. Website: http://sbpra.com/ChrisBapuohyele
