ALHYM (Elohim) and AL (El)

Pronounced Elohim this is one of the more interesting names of god. Eloh means god and is treated as a male word but the ending of the word in H would indicate it is feminine. It is the same word as Allah, but in another language (Semitic based languages are unpointed and will often throw around vowels a bit and Arabic has a tendency to double letters). ‘-im’ is the Hebrew equivalent of where we would add an ‘-s’ to the end of a word to make it plural, but this plural is only used for masculine nouns. Again the word is treated as though it were a singular word and not a plural. It also gets used to mean “gods” sometimes in the monotheistic bible too. So this word hides femininity and plurality in it, but is often treated as male.

This name almost definitely derives from the supreme god of the Canaanite pagan pantheon, but translated into a monotheist culture and as we will see, very badly covered up translation. Despite being the name of a specific “God” it also becomes the word for any singular “god”. This was likely because an El was a child of El.

The pagan god El was considered the father of the gods and husband to Asherah (the great lady who strides the ocean). El is mostly a tent dwelling god of nomads.

Okay so this next bit makes me wonder about a grand conspiracy to cover up polytheism in Israel by translators. Elohim is also the same word which is used to mean “gods” in early copies of 1 Samuel chapter 28 verse 13 where the Witch of Endor summons “the gods (plural) out of the Earth”. Genesis chapter 20 verse 13 which is translated singularly as “God”, but reads in the original Hebrew with a plural verb “gods (they) caused him to wander”. Genesis 35:7 we see the same in the vision of Jacob’s ladder, “gods revealed themselves to him” is translated “God appeared”.

In Psalm 82 we see Elohim used to refer to a singular god in the opening, but by verse 6 suddenly it means a plural of gods. Luckily this gets left in for modern translations such as NIV. Sorry about the cheesy added words here, but I often add ‘guys’ or ‘lot’ to indicate when a “you” is plural.

“I said, ‘You guys are “gods”; you guys are all sons of the Most High.’ But you lot will die like mere mortals; you guys will fall like every other ruler.”

Also in the famous 10 commandments

“You shall have no other gods (elohim) before me”.

So we can conclude even throughout the bible we see Elohim used to mean “the gods” in plurality.

Elohim is contained within the name associated with Geburah Elohim Gebor, which means “God is Great (there isn’t really a word for is in Hebrew it’s implied). I’m not a huge fan of this interpretation because the same argument could be made for Binah which frequently appears with the name YHVH ELHYM. In Agrippa’s 3 Books of Occult Philosophy it is noted in the section on the number 5 that this is one of very few names that have 5 characters. The other being YHShVH. It is possible that ties it once again Geburah. Also the name is pronounced in the LBRP with the name El and I believe that the LBRP may be an invocation of Adam lifted up on the tree of life with his hands crucified to Geburah and El and here the name may be tied to Geburah. In Book 4 Crowley talks about Elohim as the formula of consecration. This is the action of the Dadouchos in the early Hermetic Order Golden Dawn who does so with fire. Also the fire is related to geburah in the knowlege lecture concerning the rivers that flow out of eden.

El is the divine name associated with Chesed which in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is associated with Water through the lecture about the Rivers that flow out of eden.

A theologian once postulated that the first 5 books of the bible come from a few different fragmentary types of texts. Like it was cobbled together from different sources and presented as one whole. While this view is disputed it gives us interesting unique knowledge concerning the names. This is called the documentary hypothesis. The sources are referred to as the deutronomist source, the pirestly source and two others which reflect the names of God. the “Jahwist” literature preferring the name YHVH for god and “Elohist” literature preferring the names El and Elohim for God at least until the point Moses goes up the mountain where it changes to YHVH. It is worth noting that scholars have noticed a connection between scriptures that refer to God using El and Elohim with a more abstract idea of God. In the Elohist scripture after Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son, the son never appears again in the text suggesting he was actually sacrificed and in the Jahwist scripture he does. An early Midrash tale has the son killed.

Elohist scripture is more magical. Angels appear more in Elohist scripture where Jahwist scripture would have God walking around as in the garden of eden. Scripture which uses the name Elohim and El more frequently has Moses bring down the plagues on pharaoh where Jahwist version he just prays and God does it. Elohist literally is more descriptive the vision known as the Ladder of Jacob has a ladder and angels going up and down it. In Jahwist scripture it is simply a dream with God above him.

Also the choir of angels known as the Benei Elohim are described as angels in translations of the bible, but the words actually mean sons of God, or in pagan Ugaritic or pagan Canaanite it would means descendents of El (the supreme god of their pantheon). It is worth noting that in some versions (as above) it appears rendered as BeNeY HaELoHYM which means the son of the THE Elohim. Suggesting that here it is not used as a name, but to mean “the sons of the gods”. The above is taken from Genesis 6:2.

In his work Liber ABA Book 4, Aleister Crowley introduces Elohim as the exoteric name for god. This means it would be the name that is openly shared with the public, so it is not surprising that scripture that called god using this name would have a more vague, discarnate image of god. He calls it the laws of nature.

Aleister Crowley also sees all the elements in the name. I can see Aleph which is associated with Air, Mim which is associated with water, Yod which Crowley often related to the initial fire that created the universe. The letters that remain L and H when put through gematria relate to 35 just like AGLA which contains Adonai the name closely related to Adon ha-aretz (Lord of the Earth) so there is a connection to the final element but it is VERY tenuous. In Book 4 he tries to justify the connection saying He is spirit and L through some connection to Venus related to earth, but that doesn’t seem right to me since Lamed is associated with Libra an air sign.

In book 4 Crowley relates AL as follows: Aleph is the whirling force of the thunderbolt, the lightning which flameth out of the East even into the West. This might be related to the flaming sword which is sometimes called the thunderbolt. The pentagram is referred to as the firey sword bound up. Crowley relates this to Zeus or Indra, gods he associates with air which is related to Aleph.

Crowley refers to “Lamed” as “the Ox-goad, the driving force; and it is also the Balance, representing the truth and love of the Magician. It is the loving care which he bestows upon perfecting his instruments, and the equilibration of that fierce force which initiates the ceremony.”

Crowley indicates that “AL” is important in Thelema and I couldn’t write it more simply myself.

The letters Aleph and Lamed are infinitely important in this Aeon of Horus; they are indeed the Key of the Book of the Law. No more can be said in this place than that Aleph is Harpocrates, Bacchus Diphues, the Holy Ghost, the “Pure Fool” or Innocent Babe who is also the Wandering Singer who impregnates the King’s Daughter with Himself as Her Child; Lamed is the King’s Daughter, satisfied by Him, holding His “Sword and Balances” in her lap. These weapons are the Judge, armed with power to execute His Will, and Two Witnesses “in whom shall every Truth be established” in accordance with whose testimony he gives judgment.