Reading Runes: The Sons of Elohim

[wayfriend]

This is a look at the origins of the word Elohim, and it’s bearing on The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.
- Genesis 1:1

In the Chronicles the Elohim have ever been an enigma. Each fact that Donaldson reveals about them is freighted with one mystery and two conundrums. Why are they so opposed to Covenant? What do they fear in Vain’s purpose? Why did Findail let the Isle of the One Tree happen? The addition of the Elohim harbingers and Esmer in The Runes of the Earth only add fuel to the fire of perplexity.

It only makes sense to start as far back to the beginning as one can get.

The Book of Genesis is pretty far back – let’s go there.

The word “Elohim” was not an invention of the author. Therefore, it has a meaning outside of Chronicles that could shed light upon the author’s inspiration and intent. In the Gradual Interview, Donaldson reveals his source.

My source for the word "Elohim" was the Bible. Like Yahweh and Adonai, Elohim is one of the Bible's indirect references to God.
(Gradual Interview, 05/10/2004)

Characteristically, the author leaves it at that. However, there is a significant amount of biblical debate about that word – interesting stuff, as we shall see. As the scholarly son of a preacher, we can only assume that Donaldson was aware of this controversy to some extent, and that the Chronicles was informed thereby. But, as in his writings, the author leaves us with only a crumb of information, and we are left to discover that it is actually the trailhead of a long path to discovery.

[Note: I am not a biblical scholar myself. My sources of information on this topic are whatever can be found by googling – there is an astounding amount of Bible information on the web. Therefore, I cannot make any claims about the veracity or the authority of my sources. I hope you will find that this is sufficient to make for interesting thinking if nothing else. And the advantage of this method is that I can provide links to my sources – feel free to check them out.]

Elohim is a Hebrew word, of course.

Elohim is the plural of both El and Eloah. El and Eloah mean "mighty One," "strong One," or "powerful One" according to Brown, Driver, and Briggs. Elohim, being either of these two words in the plural, therefore means "strong Ones," "mighty Ones," or "powerful Ones."
(bibletools.org)

There is now no mistaking that the Bible was an inspiration for the character of the Elohim as well as the word. The Bible’s “powerful Ones” are the Chronicles “Earthpower incarnate”.

As Donaldson pointed out above, Elohim is only one of the words for God. There are several:

Yahweh is used wherever the Bible stresses God's personal relationship with his people and the ethical aspect of his nature. Elohim, on the other hand, refers to God as the Creator of the whole universe of people and things, and especially of the material world: he was the ruler of nature, the source of all life.
(answering-islam.org.uk)

The Elohim are associated with the creation of the Earth in the Bible as well as in the Chronicles. In the Bible, Elohim is the only word used for God during the first four chapters of Genesis, which means, as the quote at the top of this column points out, Elohim is credited with the creation of heaven and earth in the very first sentence. In the Chronicles, this is granted to us in the Würd of the Earth myth:

As if in answer, Daphin concluded, "Sun-Sage, we are the Würd - the direct offspring of the creation of the Earth. From it we arose, and in it we have our being. Thus we are the heart, and the center, and the truth, and therefore we are what we are. We are all answers, just as we are every question.

Of particular interest is that the word Elohim is plural. The Christian God, plural? you may well ask. Indeed, this seems to be a controversial point, based on how many different lengthy and contradictory explanations you can find on this topic.

Even before leaving the first verse, a serious student of the Bible is confronted with a difficulty—unless he is willing to believe what the Bible consistently shows from the beginning to the end. The fourth word in the Bible is "God," Elohim in Hebrew. But that takes some explaining. Elohim is God—plural. "In the beginning Gods created the heaven and the earth."
(bibletools.org)

Elohim may be plural word, but it is used throughout the Bible as a singular entity, muddling matters further. To some, this proves that God existed as Father and Holy Spirit (and later, Son) at the dawn of time. Others just overlook it. There are some that believe that God was “reproducing himself” in preparation for the creation of, and subsequent impregnation of, man! In fact, you may be able to trace back the tradition of “the royal we” to this biblical fact.

The clearest heads seem to agree that this term merely refers to “the Heavenly Host” – God and the angels. And so it acts as a singular entity.

Is Elohim one? Yes! It is one institution, one family, one kingdom in which everybody agrees. It acts as one, and because it acts as one, even though it consists of many, it takes a singular verb.
(bibletools.org)

This is enlighteningly reminiscent of the Elohim of the Chronicles! They aver that each of them contains the same wisdom and truth, as if they are all divergent manifestations of the same core essence. And when they act, they Appoint one among their number to act on behalf of all. Many beings; one will.

"We are a people united by our vision. I have spoken of this. The truths which Morninglight finds within himself, I also contain […] whensoever there is a need upon the Earth which requires us, one is Appointed to be our wisdom. […]”

As you can see, there is quite a bit about the nature of the Elohim that traces back to the Bible. What is even more surprising is that the author was thinking along these lines when the first Chronicles was written! Consider this passage from The Illearth War:

[Amok] sang long songs which he claimed to have learned from the faery Elohim - songs so alien that Covenant could distinguish neither words nor sentences, and yet so curiously suggestive, so like moonlight in a forest, that they half entranced him. And Amok told intimate tales of the stars and heavens, describing merrily the sky dance as if he had pranced in it himself.

Doesn’t that sound as if Amok attended an Elohimfest? The association of Elohim and stars will be seen to arise from the Würd of the Earth creation myth, revealed in The One Tree. But Donaldson was thinking along these lines much earlier. In the myth of the Wounded Rainbow, stars are associated with the Earth’s creation; and the Elohim are associated with the stars, even then.

Most surprising of all is that there is a biblical correspondence to the tale of Kastenessen and Esmer. This correspondence can be found in Genesis 6:

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And Yahweh said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And Elohim saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented Yahweh that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And Yahweh said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.
(Genesis 6)

Just sit back and parse that for a while. (If you need it spelled out more plainly: Some beings known as “the sons of Elohim” lusted after some human women, and so they took them as wives. They had offspring, who were mighty men, giants even. But God took a dislike to this situation, and tried to clean up the mess. Enter Noah, stage left.)

This passage contains controversy upon controversy for biblical scholars. Did God have sons, plural? Did angels come to earth and fornicate with humans? Scholars explain away these Sons of Elohim variously as “sinning angels”, “fallen angels”, “righteous men”, “those of the lines of Seth”, “nobles”, and more. Angels are elsewhere reputedly unable to procreate or take a wife, yet here they are spoken of as if they have. “We call the verses that require further research and explanation ‘difficult scriptures’” … indeed!

However, what concerns us is the unmistakable resonance with the story of Kastenessen.

Kastenessen could be considered a son of the Elohim, and he did indeed take to wife a mortal. His offspring were indeed mighty – Esmer, by way of the Merewives. The Elohim did consider Kastenessen wicked, even “fallen”, and they strove to rectify his actions.

(Also curious: the offspring of the Sons and the daughters are seemingly called “giants” = Nephilim in Hebrew. Giants! This may be a mere curiosity. On the other hand, the Giants are associated with the Elohim at odd times.)

It is not unreasonable to conclude that the Bible has inspired Donaldson’s Chronicles more than he has let on. (Of course, we cannot be sure, but it is a valid conjecture.) Some may consider this unfortunate. Others may consider his adaptation of the subject matter into a meaningful and even beautiful story an ingenious creation. For it appears he has not only used the text of the Bible, but also the myriad disparate arguments about what the Bible means, as a font of inspiration – creating a story in which the amiguities of our creation proceed directly from the nature of our creators.

As The Runes of the Earth unfolds, it will be interesting to see if futher “Bible connections” appear. After all, in the Bible God wiped out everything on the face of the earth to undo the harm of the Sons of the Elohim – what will happen to the Earth of the Final Chronicles to undo the harm of Kastenessen and Esmer?

[Thaale]

Interesting. I also Googled elohim and found this:

According to Renan (Histoire du peuple d'Israel, I, p. 30) the Semites believed that the world is surrounded, penetrated, and governed by the Elohim, myriads of active beings, analogous to the spirits of the savages, alive, but somehow inseparable from one another, not even distinguished by their proper names as the gods of the Aryans, so that they can be considered as a confused totality.

which continues,

Marti (Geschichte der israelitischen Religion, p. 26), too, finds in Elohim a trace of the original Semitic polydemonism; he maintains that the word signified the sum of the divine beings that inhabited any given place.

www.newadvent.org/cathen/05393a.htm

It seems that early Semites who were not yet monotheists may have blended various spirits into one meta-spirit, the name of which eventually became applied to YHVH as well.

•So elohim was a plural form denoting multiple arcane beings.
•It also came to be used as a shorthand for a large collection of such beings
•The name was eventually applied to YHVH as well.

However, within the Covenant series, it seems as if the earliest meaning of elohim pertains, as they are certainly distinct beings.

As for Amok, it seems that he was a construct made of Earthpower, and thus akin to the elohim. Note the way in which he was completely dissolved by the Earthblood – this does not happen to Elena, because Elena has a mundane nature.

But I don’t think the many Biblical influences on the series have ever been hidden or denied, by the author or anyone else. For one thing, Biblical influences permeate all of literature first- and second-hand and so on down the line.

And Donaldson certainly wasn’t trying to hide anything when he named his doubting protagonist Thomas and had him form a Covenant, or agreement, with the Land, as the Israelites formed a covenant with YHVH.

[lurch]

...I took Lord Bezelbub's gloating hint to Linden of his corrupting the Elohim,,with a grain of humorous salt...as related in another thread somewhere at this site,,in the same vain as Oral Roberts pleading for money or he'll have to take the trip to meet his maker...
...Sure, The Imperial Impacted Hemmorhoidness just drops a hint here and there, with devastaing effect, but,,SRD does also say in the Gradual Interview,,that he is More interested in Spiritualality than religion...kinda looks like we're back to the literal versus figurative interpertation of the Good Book.
...I look foward to the exploration of the depth and width of the corruption of the Elohim.,,as in,,manifested in the Raynyhym?( Lindens questioning of " only two" in Will of The Raynyhym chapter. ) Of course , one of many loose ends SRD has created in Runes. Point being, SRD is the Ultimate Creator. His art expotentially grows or expands as each of us reads and ponders his works. The same can be said, and hopefully does,,about the Bible,,about Shakespearre,,etc, etc, etc. Seeings how the ancient Israelites were disciplined to write everything down,,its very difficult not to trace every thing written up to today, back , in some shape manner or form,,to the old testaments. Just be careful.....allow the author and his/her works,,to be viewed in a non-prejudiced way. The Universal aspects of the works,,are what makes it Classical.......MEL

[dlbpharmd]

Wayfriend, that's alot of food for thought. I will have to think on this a while.

[drew]

Is it possible to 'Sticky' this Thread?
Just because Wayfriend put sso much thought and effort into it, and there's not much else anyone can add!!
I'd hate to see this magnificent piece of research, and thought just drift down to the bottom of the Rune's Forum.

[wayfriend]

I also Googled elohim and found this:

According to Renan (Histoire du peuple d'Israel, I, p. 30) the Semites believed that the world is surrounded, penetrated, and governed by the Elohim, myriads of active beings, analogous to the spirits of the savages, alive, but somehow inseparable from one another, not even distinguished by their proper names as the gods of the Aryans, so that they can be considered as a confused totality.

You can also find this:

So why does Elohim have a plural suffix if it is numerically singular with a singular verb and singular adjective? It turns out there is a special type of plural in Hebrew that has a plural suffix even though it is numerically singular with a singular verb and singular adjective. These nouns are called majestic plurals. The meaning of the plural suffix in the majestic plural is not that there is more than one of the noun, but that the noun is "great, absolute, or majestic".
(Elohim: Plural or Singular?)

and this:

The first half of this book contains the messages that were dictated to a young French journalist called Rael on the 13th of December 1973 by an Eloha (singular of Elohim) from another planet. The messages, which are addressed to the whole of humanity, explain how: In the book of Genesis of the original bible, it does not say "God", in fact it uses the words "Elohim", which in ancient Hebrew is a plural and means "those who come from the sky". Thus Genesis is a written account of how people from another planet created all life on earth. The messages dictated to Rael explain how the Elohim used their mastery of genetics to scientifically create life from inert chemicals using DNA.
The Messages of the Elohim

- - All written with the air of utmost authority.

All I can think to do is, don't accept anything without a throat-clogging lump of salt.

But thanks for the pointer. It sounds very closely related to those who purport the following:

However, in contrast to its use to refer to the true God, biblical writers use elohim [(without initial capital)] more than 200 times to refer to pagan idols and gods whom the pagans feared and worshipped (Exodus 12:12; 23:24; Leviticus 19:4).

However, what I think is the important thing is that it is this argument itself which inspired Donaldson's Elohim, resulting in beings who have aspects of singularity, plurality, and even majesty, all at the same time.

[duchess of malfi]

Wayfriend, I just wanted to thank you for such a great topic.

Very interesting, and very well researched.

[Creator]

Is it possible to 'Sticky' this Thread?
Just because Wayfriend put sso much thought and effort into it, and there's not much else anyone can add!!
I'd hate to see this magnificent piece of research, and thought just drift down to the bottom of the Rune's Forum.

DONE!

It is a great post!!!

[ur-bane]

If there were a Hall of Fame at the Watch, this thread should definately be an inductee.
An excellent thread, Wayfriend. I have probobly read it 6 times already.
As drew pointed out, there is really nothing to add.

[wayfriend]

(Thanks to everyone who has responded so kindly.)

[Menolly]

I wholeheartedly agree with everyone saying the topic has been well researched and well written. Very interesting reading.

However, I would also like to point out that various translations of the Bible will translate the quoted passages differently. I personally like The Stone Edition TANACH, which explains the usage of Elohim thusly:

The Four-Letter name of HaShem (Yud-Hay-Vov-Hay) indicates that G-d is timeless and infinite, for the letters of this Name are those of the words (Hebrew letters I don't have the font to duplicate but translate as) <i>He was, He is, and He will be</i>. This name appears in some editions with vowel points (Hebrew font with the vowels underneath the Yud-Hay-Vov-Hay) and in others, such as the present edition, without vowels. In either case, this Name is <i>never</i> pronounced as it is spelled.

During prayer, or when a blessing is recited, or when a Torah verse is read, the Four-Letter Name should be pronounced as if it were spelled ADONAI (again written in Hebrew font, but I used english transliteration) --the Name that identifies G-d as the Master of All. At other times, it should be pronounced Hashem, literally, 'the Name.'

In this work, the Four-Letter Name of G-d is translated "HaShem," the pronunciation traditionally used for the Name to avoid pronouncing it unnecessarily.

The following gives the pronunciations of the Name when it appears with a prefix.

ba-do-nai
va-do-nai
ka-donai
la-do-nai
ma-a-do-nai
she-a-do-nai

<b>Sometimes the Name appears with the vowelization.</b> (Hebrew font of Yud-Hay-Vov-Hay with different Hebrew vowels than mentioned earlier) <b>This version of the Name is pronounced as if it were spelled e-lo-him --the Name that refers to G-d as the One Who is all-powerful. When it appears with the a prefix</b> (Hebrew font of Lamed yud-Hay-Vov-Hay) <b>it is pronounced la-lo-him. We have translated this Name as HaShem/Elohim to indicate that it refers to the aspects inherent in each of those Names.

So, it is possible in actual Torah scrolls, elohim may not even appear. And that the word as written in the Torah would be Yud-Hay-Vov-Hay with the vowelization talked about above. If that is the case, the translation of elohim as given above may not apply, and it may not mean G-d in a plural sense at all.

Another site that is interesting regarding the Name of Hashem is at Judaism 101: The Name of G-d

[Variol Farseer]

I'd just like to throw in some words of pedantic caution here, so that people don't jump to conclusions based on unreliable sources.

So, it is possible in actual Torah scrolls, elohim may not even appear.

The word Elohim occurs very frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures. As mentioned upthread, it is a 'majestic plural' of El or Eloah, meaning roughly 'the Most Mighty' or 'the Supreme One'. It is generally represented by the English word 'God'.

The Name of God, transliterated YHWH or YHVH, is a completely different word. In spoken Hebrew it is usually represented by Adonai, otherwise by Elohim, HaShem, or other circumlocutions. In the Authorized Version and many other English translations of the Bible, the Name is represented by the word LORD (in all capitals). When the First Commandment says, 'I am the LORD your God', the Hebrew uses both words: 'YHWH Elohim'.

Interesting. I also Googled elohim and found this:

According to Renan (Histoire du peuple d'Israel, I, p. 30) the Semites believed that the world is surrounded, penetrated, and governed by the Elohim, myriads of active beings, analogous to the spirits of the savages, alive, but somehow inseparable from one another, not even distinguished by their proper names as the gods of the Aryans, so that they can be considered as a confused totality.

Renan is not considered any kind of authority on the Jews. He was, in fact, one of the founders of so-called 'scientific' racism and antisemitism in the 19th century. His writings on the subject are generally suspect and frequently mendacious. (Even the Catholic Encyclopaedia, in the bit Thaale quoted, cites Renan only to disagree with him.)

The quote from bibletools.org is even further out in left field. That site is run by the 'Church of the Great God', whose teachings are considered heretical by every one of the mainstream Christian churches — I include Pentecostals and Evangelicals as mainstream, as well as Catholics, Orthodox, and old-denomination Protestants. In particular, the CGG has an idea also found in Mormon belief: that God is a 'family' which reproduces by making human beings into gods. This is very far from Christian doctrine in the matter, and still further from Jewish doctrine. (The Jews are the strictest monotheists in the world, and are scandalized by any suggestion that their God could be more than one entity.) Accordingly, it has no bearing on the question of what Elohim actually means, and (probably) no bearing on SRD's usage of the word. He does not seem ever to have been affiliated with the CGG or any similar church.

Wayfriend also quotes this:

However, in contrast to its use to refer to the true God, biblical writers use elohim [(without initial capital)] more than 200 times to refer to pagan idols and gods whom the pagans feared and worshipped (Exodus 12:12; 23:24; Leviticus 19:4).

This is very misleading. There are no capital letters in Hebrew. Actually the distinction is built into Hebrew grammar.

When Elohim is used as a name for the Hebrew God, it takes a singular verb and is therefore not an ordinary plural but a 'majestic plural'. Sometimes the same word refers to pagan gods, but then it takes a plural verb and means 'gods'. The Hebrew text is always very clear on this point.

If this seems strange, we do have something a bit like it in English. Consider these two sentences:

1. Edwards is the president of the company.

2. Edwards are very numerous in England.

In #1, 'Edwards' is a proper name, and the verb is makes it clear that there is only one of him. In #2, it means 'people named Edward', and the verb are shows that it refers to more than one Edward.

All I can think to do is, don't accept anything without a throat-clogging lump of salt.

It helps to find out enough about the subject so that you can salt each portion appropriately. Some statements can be taken with very little salt; some require a lot; and some (like the story at bibletools.org) probably should not be swallowed at all.

The Internet is a useful research tool, but you need a very sensitive and sophisticated BS detector!

[wayfriend]

Thanks for the insight, VF. As I admitted, I am no bible scholar; it seems you are a bit of one.

The quote from bibletools.org is even further out in left field. [...] In particular, the CGG has an idea also found in Mormon belief: that God is a 'family' which reproduces by making human beings into gods.

I am pretty sure I added the bit about reproduction merely as a demonstration as to how far opinions very. I will take your assessment about the veracity of the material I refered to on faith.

(Although I cannot help but remember the South Park episode where everyone dies and goes to hell, and someone asks “Well, who was right? Who gets into Heaven?” and the reply “I’m afraid it was the Mormons; yes, 'the Mormons' was the correct answer”). )

The Internet is a useful research tool, but you need a very sensitive and sophisticated BS detector!

Agreed. In fact, I would go so far to say as it seems to be used as a tool to give odd or even crackpot views an air of authority for gulling the masses.

[Stead]

There's a decent set of resources dealing with early polytheistic Judaic mythilogy at pantheon.org.

This is their paragraph on El, the original boss-god for that region. In some versions of the myth, YHVH is actually a son of El, or some kind of relation.

Leader of the gods. The first Canaanite god, El dwelt on Mount Saphon, and it was under his aegis that Baal married Anat, defeated the sea god Yam and the death lord Mot, and was installed as the divine bestower of life-giving rain. Represented as an aged man, El wore bull's horns, the symbol of strength, and was usually depicted as seated. It is thought that he corresponded to the Hebrew god, Yahweh. He is also known as El 'Elyon, "God Most High."

And Psalm 82 is reported to be a depiction of YHVH speaking at an Elohim-style congregation of gods, apparently speaking to El and the others, rebuking them, and claiming his superiority over them. This depicts Elohim as a sort of parliment of gods, and depicts YHVH as something of a Kastenessen, defying the other gods for his own reasons.

82:1
God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
82:2
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
82:3
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
82:4
Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
82:5
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
82:6
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
82:7
But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
82:8
Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

But of seems as time went on, and the trend swayed towards monotheism, all of these other gods became relagated to lesser things: angels, demons, symbols. Baal, on of the chief fertility gods and favorite son of EL, became Beelzebub 'Lord of the Flies', for instance, once YHVH was chosen for monotheism.

If SRD is still working from Der Ring des Nibelungen, at least as he described it, then the Elohim, and possibly the haruchai (in their new role as Masters) must ultimately fall, to leave man free to work out his own destiny, free of the interference of gods.

[NightBlaze]

WOW! I just want to second the statement this IS a Hall of Fame Inductee.....HOLY SMOKE!

[Froggis0]

I believe that Amok may have been of the appointed, despite his happy nature. In the Illearth War, he merged with the Earthblood of Melenkurion Skyweir and created something. In this case it was a wish, which was used by Elena to destroy the law. In White Gold Wielder, Findail merged with Vain which created the Staff, which restored the Law. Just something that came to me. I'm not really sure if it's true or not.

[dlbpharmd]

Amok was created by Kevin, and was not an Elohim. He dissipated into the Earthblood, which would have given Elena the Power of Command regardless of Amok's fate.

[ur-bane]

...In White Gold Wielder, Findail merged with Vain which created the Staff, which restored the Law. Just something that came to me. I'm not really sure if it's true or not.

Actually, the creation of the new Staff did not restore the Law. The Laws that were broken remained broken.
Linden used the Staff to heal the Land: repair the damage of the Sunbane. She did nothing to repair the Law, and the existence of the Staff is not enough to restore the Law.

Perhaps a better name for this new staff would be the "Staff of Healing," not the "Staff of Law."

[Hellbinder]

I have to disagree here.

Elohim have nothing to do with the earth being destroyed with the Flood.

Elohim is a plural form of a word that is used to describe God in Genesis. It interestingly is only paired in sentences with Singular forms of Verbs. Which is simply not normal. It is an oddity in the language that is found almost no where else. Plural nouns are always paired with plural Verbs and vise versa.

Unless you understand the plural/singular form of the Godead. Father-Son-Holy Spirit. What you have here is really the earliest indication that There really is a Triune nature to God. Also that there are some really interesting things in the Bible if you are willing to Dig and study that make it pretty eye opening.

As far as the Flood,

The Sons of God refers to the Angels, Not to God himself. Some Angels came down and mated with Human women, which resulted in Nephilim. Which resulted in the destruction of the earth by water.

As far as Psalm 82.

Those passages have nothing to do with polytheism. God the real GOD is calling the men gods because they sit in judgment and are acting like gods even though they are not. This is a play on words. You can find other cases similar to this. If The Bible says men are Chickens or that God has wings like an eagle it suddenly does not make it a case for people to build some weird doctrine or accusation against scripture. It simply is what it is. It is a play on words trying to make a point.

But of seems as time went on, and the trend swayed towards monotheism, all of these other gods became relegated to lesser things: angels, demons, symbols. Baal, on of the chief fertility gods and favorite son of EL, became Beelzebub 'Lord of the Flies', for instance, once YHVH was chosen for monotheism.

This is simply not true.

The timeline of Genesis clearly demonstrates that man started out understanding that there was one God. But that they very quickly go their own way and invent many multitudes of "gods" after their own image and desires or based on the earth, sun, moon etc.

The truth is that just like you start a story in a circle and as it slowly goes around the room it changes. The same thing happens here. Men take the Truth and worship of the one True God and twist it and reinvent it and slightly rename it and make things sort of similar. Then God intervenes and snaps things into focus again.

From the time of creation false gods existed parallel to the actual Revelation of God. Baal and others are not renamed or rethought versions of an original polytheism. There are thousands of "gods" that men worship around the world today just like there were then. We say the word "god" as a common word knowing what we mean even though there are literally thousands of variations man has invented. Just like the word "El" was used in the language then and even now in Middle Eastern culture.

YHVH literally means "I am” that “I am" or I am the self existent one. He specifically revealed himself to Noah, Abraham, Moses and others of His own will because of His love for the world He created even though at that time many of the future patriarchs and their families had fallen into worshiping false gods just like 99% of the rest of the world.

[Hellbinder]

I should point out that Islam the only other monotheistic religion to have influence in those areas did not come around until the 7th Century A.D. Early writings in Genesis or Psalms, dating thousands of years before, simply do not support a "trend" in religious thinking towards monotheism.