The use of the word “Elohim” in Gen 20:13

Generally speaking, the word ‘elohim’ takes a singular form of the verb although it itself has a plural form. For example, ‘And God said…’ uses the third person singular form of the verb ‘to say’. However, there are exceptions to this rule and one such exception is Gen 20:13,

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. Gen 20:13 (KJV)

English versions render ‘elohim’ as ‘God’ here even though ‘caused…to wander’ is a third person plural form of the verb ‘to wander’. The plural form of the verb is linked to ‘princes’ in Isa 19:13, so it is unclear why versions can resist a plural for ‘elohim’ in Gen 20:13 and translate the Hebrew as “And it came to pass, when gods caused me to wander…”.

That Abraham would have spoken to the pagan Abimelech in this way illustrates nothing more than the use of language in a way with which Abimelech would have been familiar—he would have been familiar with the gods directing the ways of men. What the English translators neglect is the dimension of speaking to a pagan and how close the narrative is reflecting the conversation. The implied narrator is conforming his description of the encounter to the terms used in the actual speech of Abraham at this point.

While Abraham was not a pagan and would have understood the concept of angelic involvement in the lives of men, angels are not the referent of ‘elohim’ in this record of Abraham’s speech; rather, Abraham is using Abimelech’s own framework of understanding in order to execute a successful (ordinary) conversation.[1]