The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-06-08
For the Central Presbyterian.
Elohim and Jehovah.

The first of these names of God is rem
dered by "God" and. the second usually
by "the Lord in our version of the
Bible. Let us suppose that we come to
the study of the Bible without any theory
about the use of these names, and that
our purpose is, as we meet them, simply
to find out precisely what they mean.
We begn with Genesis. In the first
sentence of the first chapter we find, elm
the beginning Elohim created the heaven
and the earth" And Elohim is used as
the name of God throughout the whole
account of the creation to its completion
and the day of rest following, viz, to
chap. ii; 8. Elohim is, then, the proper
name for God as in relation to His whole
creation. From chap. ii: 4, to the end,
Jehovah Elohim is used as uniformly as
Elohim before. What does the new name
of God added Indicate? For in view of
its being Gods word, He could not give
Himself new name without thereby in
dicating some new character or relation
ship in which He would have us regard
himself. The chapter is brimful Of re-
ationships. That between the earth and
man is indicated in verse 5, there being
a felt want because there was not man
to till the ground. Mans peculiar rela-
ton to God in contrast with the rest of
the creation is shown by his receiving
life in peculiar way. Jehovah Elohim
breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life and he became living soul. This
peculiar relationship involves special re-
sponsibility, shown in the prohibition to
eat of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil. Mans headship over the other
animals is shown by the bringing of them
to Adam to name them There is also
found help-meet for man himself. This
brings out the remarkable relationship
between the man and the woman, and
their union-the type, as we learn in
Ephesians, of the highest blessings of the
Church in union with Christ.
We have, therefore, in the I'd chapter.
Elohim of the heaven and earth of the
LIST chapter, establishing and revealing
special relationships between Himself and
man, man and the earth, man and the
animals, man and woman, and shadowing
forth as we now know from the complete
word Of God the most exalted relation
ship between Christ and the Church.
Is not mans relation to God, here re-
vealed, with its accompanying moral re-
sponsibility, the reason why Elohim here
gives Himself the new name Jehovah?
This name, then, signifies Elohim's stand
ing in this special relationship to man,
with all the other subordinate relation
ships included under this highest one.
This view of the scene Of mans exist
ence, with this use of the name Jehovah
Elohim, is kept before us in chapter iii
with three notable exceptions. In the
temptation scene, the serpent twice, and
the woman once, drops Jehovah, using
Elohim alone. Is it not significant Of
Satan, and the womans putting out of
sight responsibility to Jehovah in that
scene, and is not their failure to escape
that responsibility by shutting their eyes
to it as significantly shown by the imme-
date resumption Of Jehovah's name in
the narrative? In chapter iv Elohim is
dropped and Jehovah used, the scope Of
the narrative not being SO wide as in the
preceding chapters, but mans response
bility to Jehovah being all the while in
view. One remarkable exception is EYES
use Of Elohim in verse 25 Tt would
seem that she received Cain, at his birth.
as the seed promised Of Jehovah to bruise
the serpent's head, but after she tasted
the sorrowful fruits Of her sin in Gains
history, and another seed is given her in
Seth, she accepts him as simply from
Elohim in the course Of nature instead of
as in the line Of Jehovah's promise.
Chapter gives us the generations of
men originally created in the image Of
Elohim, but begotten in Adams likeness
after his fall Ehoch walk with Eloh:m
and Elohim's taking him, stand out in
such shining contrast with the other de-
scendants Of Adam as to receive special