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אֱלֹהַּ

God

‘God’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓

H433 Strong's Hebrew
ʼĕlôwahh Transliteration
/el-o'-ah/ Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible 60 appearances

Compare with another word →

About this entry

At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.

The Hebrew name אלוה centers on the idea of “God.” Job dominates its distribution — 41 of 59 verses. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 59 verses — moderately common. First canonically at Deuteronomy 32:15, it enters the text early. For the data behind this summary, explore 59-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.

Gloss history

Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship

Strong's · 1890
God
Modern gloss
God
Strong's 1890 agrees
Strong's 1890 and current BDB scholarship align on this entry's primary sense — a good signal that the gloss above is unambiguous and stable. Download share card

About this word

Strong's H433 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.

These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →

59
distinct verses
The word appears in 59 distinct verses.
10 / 39
OT books
The word appears in 10 of 39 Old Testament books.
Deuteronomy 32:15
first appearance
The earliest occurrence is in Deuteronomy 32:15.
Habakkuk 3:3
last appearance
The latest occurrence is in Habakkuk 3:3.
#639
by frequency
Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 639 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).

View all 59 occurrences in the concordance →


Most concentrated in

By section of the Old Testament

  • Pentateuch 2 · 3%
  • Historical 3 · 5%
  • Wisdom 49 · 83%
  • Prophets 5 · 8%

By traditional corpus

Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 59 distinct verses.

  • Writings (Ketuvim) 54 verses · 92%
  • Prophets (Nevi'im) 3 verses · 5%
  • Torah (Pentateuch) 2 verses · 3%

How translations render this word

Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).

  • King James Version: God 46×, Is god 2×
  • American Standard Version: God 36×, Is god 2×
  • Berean Standard Bible: God 46×, Is god 2×
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text: God 52×, God of 4×

King James Version Public Domain

Renders H433 across 57 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “God” 46×
  • “Is god” 2×

Plus 9 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

American Standard Version Public Domain

Renders H433 across 57 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “God” 36×
  • “Is god” 2×

Plus 19 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

Berean Standard Bible Public Domain

Renders H433 across 58 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “God” 46×
  • “Is god” 2×

Plus 10 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Renders H433 across 62 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

  • “God” 52×
  • “God of” 4×

Plus 6 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.


Senses in the full BDB

What do BDB’s symbols mean?

BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:

Symbol Meaning
𝔊 the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX)
𝔙 the Vulgate (the Latin translation)
𝔖 the Syriac version (the Peshitta)
𝔗 the Targum (the Aramaic translation)
ψ the Psalms
√ root (the underlying root or stem)
‖ parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel)
† the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited

The 2 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.

  • 1. a heathen god, late usage
  • 2. God, used in ancient poems

Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.


Word origin

אֱלֹהַּ 67; elsewhere אֱלוֹהַּ n.m. god, God

— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.

Derived from אל (ʼêl) (H410) — God.

Part of speech: Noun Masculine TWOT: 93b


Jastrow Dictionary

A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.

אַלְוָה

  • , pl. אַלְוִים (v. אַלְוָא) aloe-wood. Y. Keth. VII, end, 31ᵈ; Gen. R. s. 15, v. אַלְמוּג. V. also אַלְוִוין.

אֱלוֹהַּ

  • v. אֵל) God. Pl. majest. אֱלֹהִים, cmp. אֵל.—האלהים by God! Sabb. 145ᵃ; a. fr. [ד is freq. substituted for ה as אלדים, אלדי, ידוד esp. in Targ. Y. ed. Sab.] אלקים, ch. אלקא, adopted in order to avoid uttering the divine name. B. Kam. 106ᵃ; cmp. אלעיקי, איפופי &c.—Pl. אֱלוֹהוֹת
  • 1. deities, powers. Y. Ber. IX, beg. 12ᵈ. Lev. R. s. 4.
  • 2. biblical verses containing the word El, Elohim &c. Y. R. Hash. IV, 59ᶜ.

A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.


Forms in the corpus

The 24 distinct written forms H433 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.

Form Parsing Example Uses
אֱל֣וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 3:4 20
אֱ֭לוֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 6:9 5
אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 19:21 4
אֱל֣וֹהַ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Deuteronomy 32:15 4
אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 11:6 3
אֱל֑וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 5:17 3
אֱל֨וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 33:26 2
אֱל֨וֹהַ֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Habakkuk 3:3 2
אֱלֽוֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 6:8 2
אֱל֖וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Daniel 11:37 1
אֱל֗וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 21:19 1
אֱל֥וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Psalms 139:19 1
אֱל֨וֹהַּ֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Isaiah 44:8 1
אֱל֫וֹהָ֥/י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 143:10 1
אֱלֹ֔הַ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Deuteronomy 32:17 1
אֱלוֹהֵ֥י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 18:46 1
אֱלוֹהַ֣/י Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct Psalms 145:1 1
אלה Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 2 Kings 17:31 1
וְ/לֶ/אֱל֜וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Daniel 11:38 1
וְ/לֶ/אֱלֹ֨הַּ֙ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct Daniel 11:38 1
וֶ֝/אֱל֗וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 24:12 1
לֶ/אֱל֣וֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 36:2 1
לֶ֭/אֱלוֹהַּ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 12:4 1
מֵ/אֱל֣וֹהַ Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute Job 4:17 1

Same root — word family

Other BDB entries built from the same root as H433, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.

Derives from

Shares the same root

Proper names from this root

People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.

+24 more proper names from this root (not shown).

Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 53 — not the complete family. 51 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.


Bible dictionary

Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (God). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.

Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897

(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1).

The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:

(1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason.

(2.) The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are,

(a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause.

(b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature.

(c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth."

The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in Ex. 34:6, 7. (see also Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num. 16:22; Ex. 15:11; 33:19; Isa. 44:6; Hab. 3:6; Ps. 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are also systematically classified in Rev. 5:12 and 7:12.

God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity, and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness, goodness, etc.

Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863

(good). Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures two chief names are used for the one true divine Being--ELOHIM, commonly translated God in our version, and Jehovah, translated Lord . Elohim is the plural of Eloah (in Arabic Allah); it is often used in the short form EL (a word signifying strength, as in EL-SHADDAI, God Almighty, the name by which God was specially known to the patriarchs. (Genesis 17:1; 28:3; Exodus 6:3) The etymology is uncertain, but it is generally agreed that the primary idea is that of strength, power of effect, and that it properly describes God in that character in which he is exhibited to all men in his works, as the creator, sustainer and supreme governor of the world. The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it referred to the trinity of persons in the Godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call the plural of majesty, or it denotes the fullness of divine strength, the sum of the powers displayed by God. Jehovah denotes specifically the one true God, whose people the Jews were, and who made them the guardians of his truth. The name is never applied to a false god, nor to any other being except one, the ANGEL-JEHOVAH who is thereby marked as one with God, and who appears again in the New Covenant as "God manifested in the flesh." Thus much is clear; but all else is beset with difficulties. At a time too early to be traced, the Jews abstained from pronouncing the name, for fear of its irreverent use. The custom is said to have been founded on a strained interpretation of (Leviticus 24:16) and the phrase there used, "THE NAME" (Shema), is substituted by the rabbis for the unutterable word. In reading the Scriptures they substituted for it the word ADONAI (Lord), from the translation of which by Kurios in the LXX., followed by the Vulgate, which uses Dominus, we have the Lord of our version. The substitution of the word Lord is most unhappy, for it in no way represents the meaning of the sacred name. The key to the meaning of the name is unquestionably given in God's revelation of himself to Moses by the phrase "I AM THAT I AM," (Exodus 3:14; 6:3) We must connect the name Jehovah with the Hebrew substantive verb to be, with the inference that it expresses the essential, eternal, unchangeable being of Jehovah. But more, it is not the expression only, or chiefly, of an absolute truth: it is a practical revelation of God, in his essential, unchangeable relation to this chosen people, the basis of his covenant.

Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.


Septuagint verse parallels

This word appears in 54 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 59 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.

Read these verses in the Septuagint

This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.

Reading settings

Reading text

Shown beneath each verse's original-language words.

Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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