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אֱלָהּ

𐤀𐤋𐤄

ʼĕlâhh

H426 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Divine being or deity; primarily refers to a god or the God worshiped by a particular group, often in the absolute sense in reference to the supreme God (the deity of Israel) within Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible, but also used for other gods in a general or plural sense. Conveys the idea of a powerful supernatural entity worthy of worship.

Semantic Range

god, deity, divine being; the God of Israel; idol; gods of other nations

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root אלה (aleph-lamed-heh), meaning 'to be strong, powerful.' The form אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlâhh) is Aramaic and corresponds to the Hebrew אֱלוֹהַּ (ʼĕlôah), which is cognate with Northwest Semitic terms for 'god' or 'deity' (cf. Ugaritic il, Akkadian ilu). This noun's form reflects Aramaic rather than Hebrew morphology.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term appears only in the Aramaic sections of the Hebrew Bible (notably Daniel and Ezra), where it functions both as a generic noun for any god or gods and as the specific term for the God of Israel worshiped by the Judahites and Israelites. In some contexts, the definite state is used to denote the supreme God, distinct from local deities. Unlike the Hebrew terms אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlōhîm) and אֵל (ʼēl), which are used extensively throughout the Tanakh (often in plural or as a title), אֱלָהּ is restricted to Aramaic and thus has a more limited biblical attestation. English translations often render it as "God" (capitalized) when referring to the deity of Israel, and "god" (lowercase) in reference to pagan gods, but the Aramaic term itself does not intrinsically distinguish between singular and plural or supreme and lesser deities without contextual cues. In later periods, as Aramaic became lingua franca, אֱלָהּ influenced religious vocabulary among Judeans and other Near Eastern peoples, contributing to the term Allah in Arabic.

Translation Consistency

primary "god" 47 occurrences

'god' is the most natural, common English equivalent for אֱלָהּ in the SILEX range (divine being, deity, the God of Israel or other gods). It matches the majority corpus renderings and is the simplest, most consistent choice; capitalization can be handled in context to indicate the God of Israel versus other gods.

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"mighty-one" (3x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to אֱלוֹהַּ; God; God, god.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

אלה (Ela) — to point out, to designate, to indicate demonstratively

Root אלה to be strong, to be mighty, to be powerful
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H412 אֵל toward
H414 אֵלָא Elah
H422 אָלָה he ascended
H424 אֵלָה her strong oak
H425 אֵלָה Elah

Word Forms

22 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H426-03 אֱלָהָ/א֙ elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god 29
H426-02 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god 20
H426-13 אֱלָהִ֔ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones gods 9
H426-06 אֱלָהָ֗/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god 8
H426-14 לֶ/אֱלָ֥הּ leelah ATo/Ncmsc the God to a mighty-one of to god of 5
H426-11 אֱלָהֵֽ/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms God-his his Mighty-One his god 4
H426-04 אֱלָהֲ/הֹ֗ם elahahom ANcmsc/Sp3mp of their God their mighty-one of their God 2
H426-05 אֱלָהֲ/הוֹן֙ elahahon ANcmsc/Sp3mp God-of-them their mighty-one their God 2
H426-07 אֱלָהֲ/כֹ֖ם elahakhom ANcmsc/Sp2mp your-God your Mighty One your God 2
H426-12 אֱלָהִ֔/י elahi ANcmsc/Sp1cs My God my Mighty One my god 2

Occurrences in Scripture

97 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H426-10 Jeremiah 10:11 אֱלָ֣הַיָּ֔/א elahaya ANcmpd/Td the gods the mighty gods the gods
H426-13 Daniel 2:11 אֱלָהִ֔ין elahin ANcmpa gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-02 Daniel 2:18 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-14 Daniel 2:19 לֶ/אֱלָ֥הּ leelah ATo/Ncmsc the God to a mighty-one of the God
H426-03 Daniel 2:20 אֱלָהָ/א֙ elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-02 Daniel 2:23 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc O God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Daniel 2:28 אֱלָ֤הּ elah ANcmsa a God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Daniel 2:37 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Daniel 2:44 אֱלָ֨הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Daniel 2:45 אֱלָ֥הּ elah ANcmsa God Mighty Deity god
H426-08 Daniel 2:47 אֱלָהֲ/כ֗וֹן elahakhon ANcmsc/Sp2mp your God your mighty-one your mighty-one
H426-02 Daniel 2:47 אֱלָ֧הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-13 Daniel 2:47 אֱלָהִ֛ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-19 Daniel 3:12 ל/אלהי/ך llhykh AR/Ncmpc/Sp2ms your gods your mighty ones your gods
H426-16 Daniel 3:12 לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙ lelahakhe AR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms your God your mighty deity your god
H426-17 Daniel 3:14 לֵֽ/אלָהַ֗/י lelahay AR/Ncmsc/Sp1cs to-god-my to my Mighty-One to my Mighty-One
H426-02 Daniel 3:15 אֱלָ֔הּ elah ANcmsa god Mighty Deity god
H426-09 Daniel 3:17 אֱלָהַ֨/נָא֙ elahana ANcmsc/Sp1cp our God our Mighty-One our Mighty-One
H426-19 Daniel 3:18 ל/אלהי/ך llhykh AR/Ncmpc/Sp2ms your gods your mighty ones your gods
H426-16 Daniel 3:18 לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙ lelahakhe AR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms your god your mighty deity your god
H426-13 Daniel 3:25 אֱלָהִֽין elahin ANcmpa the gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-03 Daniel 3:26 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God-the the Mighty Deity the God
H426-05 Daniel 3:28 אֱלָהֲ/הוֹן֙ elahahon ANcmsc/Sp3mp the God of them their mighty-one their God
H426-02 Daniel 3:28 אֱלָ֔הּ elah ANcmsa god Mighty Deity god
H426-15 Daniel 3:28 לֵ/אלָֽהֲ/הֽוֹן lelahahon ATo/Ncmsc/Sp3mp their own God to their deity their God
H426-05 Daniel 3:29 אֱלָהֲ/ה֗וֹן elahahon ANcmsc/Sp3mp God-of-them their mighty-one their God
H426-02 Daniel 3:29 אֱלָ֣ה elah ANcmsa god Mighty Deity god
H426-03 Daniel 3:32 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-12 Daniel 4:5 אֱלָהִ֔/י elahi ANcmsc/Sp1cs of my god my Mighty One my god
H426-13 Daniel 4:5 אֱלָהִ֥ין elahin ANcmpa of the gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-13 Daniel 4:6 אֱלָהִ֤ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-13 Daniel 4:15 אֱלָהִ֥ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones of the gods
H426-03 Daniel 5:3 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-18 Daniel 5:4 לֵֽ/אלָהֵ֞י lelahey ATo/Ncmpc the gods mighty ones of to the gods of
H426-13 Daniel 5:11 אֱלָהִ֣ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-13 Daniel 5:11 אֱלָהִ֖ין elahin-2 ANcmpa the gods mighty divine ones gods
H426-13 Daniel 5:14 אֱלָהִ֖ין elahin ANcmpa of the gods mighty divine ones of the gods
H426-03 Daniel 5:18 אֱלָהָ/א֙ elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Daniel 5:21 אֱלָהָ֤/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-22 Daniel 5:23 וְ/לֵֽ/אלָהֵ֣י velelahey AC/R/Ncmpc and gods and to mighty-ones of and to the gods of
H426-21 Daniel 5:23 וְ/לֵֽ/אלָהָ֞/א velelaha AC/R/Ncmsd/Td but the God and to the Mighty Deity but the God
H426-03 Daniel 5:26 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-11 Daniel 6:6 אֱלָהֵֽ/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms his god his Mighty-One his god
H426-02 Daniel 6:8 אֱלָ֨הּ elah ANcmsa god Mighty Deity god
H426-11 Daniel 6:11 אֱלָהֵ֔/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms his God his Mighty-One his god
H426-11 Daniel 6:12 אֱלָהֵֽ/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms his-God his Mighty-One his god
H426-02 Daniel 6:13 אֱלָ֨הּ elah ANcmsa god Mighty Deity god
H426-06 Daniel 6:17 אֱלָהָ֗/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms your God your Mighty One your god
H426-03 Daniel 6:21 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God-the the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-06 Daniel 6:21 אֱלָהָ֗/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms thy-God your Mighty One your god
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