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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" 46 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 (1 occurrence):
"mighty one" (1x)

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
H426-12 Daniel 6:23 אֱלָהִ֞/י elahi ANcmsc/Sp1cs My God my Mighty One my god
H426-01 Daniel 6:24 בֵּ/אלָהֵֽ/הּ belaheh AR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms in his God his Mighty-Deity in his God
H426-11 Daniel 6:27 אֱלָהֵ֣/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms God-his his Mighty-One his god
H426-03 Daniel 6:27 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God-the the Mighty Deity the God
H426-03 Ezra 4:24 אֱלָהָ֔/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-02 Ezra 5:1 אֱלָ֥הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-03 Ezra 5:2 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 5:2 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha-2 ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-04 Ezra 5:5 אֱלָהֲ/הֹ֗ם elahahom ANcmsc/Sp3mp of their God their mighty-one their god
H426-03 Ezra 5:8 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God-the the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-02 Ezra 5:11 אֱלָ֨הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-14 Ezra 5:12 לֶ/אֱלָ֣הּ leelah ATo/Ncmsc the God to a mighty-one of the God of
H426-03 Ezra 5:13 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 5:14 אֱלָהָ/א֮ elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 5:15 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 5:16 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 5:17 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:3 אֱלָהָ֤/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:5 אֱלָהָ/א֮ elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:5 אֱלָהָֽ/א elaha-2 ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:7 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:7 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha-2 ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:8 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of-God the Mighty Deity the God
H426-14 Ezra 6:9 לֶ/אֱלָ֪הּ leelah AR/Ncmsc to-god to a mighty-one of to god of
H426-14 Ezra 6:10 לֶ/אֱלָ֣הּ leelah AR/Ncmsc to the God to a mighty-one of to god of
H426-20 Ezra 6:12 וֵֽ/אלָהָ֞/א velaha AC/Ncmsd/Td and-the-god and the Mighty One and the Mighty One
H426-03 Ezra 6:12 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of-god the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-02 Ezra 6:14 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc of God Mighty Deity of God
H426-03 Ezra 6:16 אֱלָהָ֥/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:17 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-03 Ezra 6:18 אֱלָהָ֖/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-02 Ezra 7:12 אֱלָ֧הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-06 Ezra 7:14 אֱלָהָ֖/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god
H426-14 Ezra 7:15 לֶ/אֱלָ֣הּ leelah AR/Ncmsc to the God to a mighty-one of to god of
H426-04 Ezra 7:16 אֱלָהֲ/הֹ֖ם elahahom ANcmsc/Sp3mp of their God their mighty-one of their God
H426-07 Ezra 7:17 אֱלָהֲ/כֹ֖ם elahakhom ANcmsc/Sp2mp your-God your Mighty One your God
H426-07 Ezra 7:18 אֱלָהֲ/כֹ֖ם elahakhom ANcmsc/Sp2mp your-God your Mighty One your God
H426-06 Ezra 7:19 אֱלָהָ֑/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god
H426-02 Ezra 7:19 אֱלָ֥הּ elah ANcmsc the God Mighty Deity god
H426-06 Ezra 7:20 אֱלָהָ֔/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god
H426-02 Ezra 7:21 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Ezra 7:23 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity god
H426-02 Ezra 7:23 אֱלָ֣הּ elah-2 ANcmsc God Mighty Deity of God
H426-03 Ezra 7:24 אֱלָהָ֣/א elaha ANcmsd/Td of-God the Mighty Deity the Mighty god
H426-06 Ezra 7:25 אֱלָהָ֤/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god
H426-06 Ezra 7:25 אֱלָהָ֑/ךְ elahakhe-2 ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One your god
H426-06 Ezra 7:26 אֱלָהָ֗/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms your God your Mighty One your god
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