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אֱלָהּ

𐤀𐤋𐤄

ʼĕlâhh

H426 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אלה to be strong, to be mighty, to be powerful

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.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

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

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אלה (ʾ-l-h) — strength, might, power

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H412 אֵל these
H414 אֵלָא Elah
H422 אָלָה you swore an oath
H423 אָלָה solemn curse-oath
H424 אֵלָה her strong oak

Word Forms

22 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H426-03 אֱלָהָ/א֙ elaha ANcmsd/Td of God the Mighty Deity 29
H426-02 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity 20
H426-13 אֱלָהִ֔ין elahin ANcmpa of gods mighty divine ones 9
H426-06 אֱלָהָ֗/ךְ elahakhe ANcmsc/Sp2ms of your God your Mighty One 8
H426-14 לֶ/אֱלָ֥הּ leelah ATo/Ncmsc the God to a mighty-one of 5
H426-11 אֱלָהֵֽ/הּ elaheh ANcmsc/Sp3ms God-his his Mighty-One 4
H426-05 אֱלָהֲ/הוֹן֙ elahahon ANcmsc/Sp3mp God-of-them their mighty-one 2
H426-07 אֱלָהֲ/כֹ֖ם elahakhom ANcmsc/Sp2mp your-God your Mighty One 2
H426-04 אֱלָהֲ/הֹ֗ם elahahom ANcmsc/Sp3mp of their God their mighty-one 2
H426-16 לֵֽ/אלָהָ/ךְ֙ lelahakhe AR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms your god your mighty deity 2

Occurrences in Scripture

97 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H426-10 Jeremiah 10:11 אֱלָ֣הַיָּ֔/א elahaya ANcmpd/Td the gods the mighty gods
H426-13 Daniel 2:11 אֱלָהִ֔ין elahin ANcmpa gods mighty divine ones
H426-02 Daniel 2:18 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity
H426-14 Daniel 2:19 לֶ/אֱלָ֥הּ leelah ATo/Ncmsc the God to a mighty-one of
H426-03 Daniel 2:20 אֱלָהָ/א֙ elaha ANcmsd/Td God the Mighty Deity
H426-02 Daniel 2:23 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc O God Mighty Deity
H426-02 Daniel 2:28 אֱלָ֤הּ elah ANcmsa a God Mighty Deity
H426-02 Daniel 2:37 אֱלָ֣הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity
H426-02 Daniel 2:44 אֱלָ֨הּ elah ANcmsc God Mighty Deity
H426-02 Daniel 2:45 אֱלָ֥הּ elah ANcmsa God Mighty Deity
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