Video’s Elohim–regin “powerful ones” comparison is overstated

VIKING TERRAFORMING!
Source: VIKING TERRAFORMING! by Viking Superpowers

The video’s proposed linguistic parallel between Hebrew “Elohim” and Old Norse “regin” is a loose analogy, not an established equation. Elohim is plural in form and means “gods” or “godhood”; much of the Hebrew Bible uses it with singular verbs for the one God, so translations often read “God.” “Powerful ones” is not its literal Hebrew meaning. Old Norse regin refers to ruling or council powers associated with the Aesir and Vanir.

Genesis 6 says the bene elohim (“sons of God”) had children with human women, but their identity remains debated; the video’s hybridization reading is an interpretation. Psalm 82 depicts God judging among a divine council, while Deuteronomy 32 mentions divine beings without describing human-divine hybrids.

Exodus 20:3 and Joshua 24 mention other gods, but 1 Kings 2 refers to “Yahweh God of Israel,” not a class of beings rivaling Yahweh; 1 Samuel 28 does not clearly establish that reading. Translators follow each passage’s context and Hebrew agreement rather than uniformly replacing a plural Elohim for monotheistic reasons. ⚡📜

Key facts

  • Elohim is plural in form and means “gods” or “godhood”; when used with singular verbs for the one God, it is translated “God.” “Powerful ones” is not its literal Hebrew meaning.
  • Old Norse regin refers to ruling or council gods associated with the Aesir and Vanir, but it is not a literal equivalent of elohim.
  • Genesis 6 says the bene elohim had children with human women, but their identity is disputed; Psalm 82 depicts a divine council, and Deuteronomy 32 mentions divine beings. The claim that all three describe human-divine hybridization is misleading.
  • Exodus 20:3 and Joshua 24 refer to other gods, but 1 Kings 2 says “Yahweh God of Israel”; 1 Samuel 28 does not clearly identify elohim as beings rivaling Yahweh.
  • Translators render elohim according to context and grammatical agreement; its plural form with singular verbs is already in the Hebrew, so there was no uniform monotheistic substitution.

Sources

Who Are the Elohim? The Answer Might Rattle Your ...logos.com
In Hebrew, plurals of masculine nouns end with -im. While the word elohim is plural in form, its meaning can be either plural or singular. Most often (over ...
Why is Elohim in the plural | Rabbi Ari Shvat | Ask the Rabbiyeshiva.co
Shalom, dear Rabbi ! A Christian missionary mentioned a text in Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema Yisrael, and told me that the Hebrew text used ...
Elohimen.wikipedia.org
Elohim is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural in form in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or ...
Did Someone Find the Doctrine of the Trinity In the Name ...outreachjudaism.org
The word Elohim possesses a plural intensive syntax and is singular in meaning. In Hebrew, the suffix ים (im), mainly indicates a masculine plural. However ...
What “Elohim” Means in the Biblelearn.ligonier.org
Elohim is the plural form of the name El or Eloha, both of which have the same translation of “God.” Occasionally, the plural form Elohim ...
Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?nas.org
Elohim by itself is simply the Hebrew common noun used to refer to the true God in an honorific way. cannot mean “Lord of Gods.”
The Names of God: Elohim ~ God, Mighty Creatorchristianwomenonline.net
Beyond the first chapter of Genesis, Elohim is accompanied with the word Yahweh; we see Yahweh Elohim translated in Scripture as the LORD God.
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