Ask a Hebrew Teacher - Why is the Word פנים (panim) Meaning "face" Plural? 

Absolutely, I see it as one of the big benefits of learning a language. You got a chance to learn how different cultures values things and how they express themselves. Idioms are great as an example God bless Israel 🇮🇱

Dios es palabra plural pero es singular... Trinidad... אלוהים.

The explanation from Christians is that Elohim is plural because of the Holy Trinity - one God who exists as three persons.

There are many theories, some more plausible than others. One compelling theory is that before Israelites became monotheistic, they were polytheistic, like all of their neighbours, the Canaanites, the Hitites, the Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks, etc. Around the 10th to 9th century BCE, the various tribes of Judah and Israel were becoming monolastic, that is showing strong preference to one god out of many, which paved way toward the eventual monotheism in the 8th century BCE. El, in Canaanite and Ugaritic simply meant God, and there were many gods, El of the mountain, El of the Thunder, El the most Powerful, etc. The book of Genesis betrays the polytheistic origins of the Israelites...there are two different creation narratives (compare to Assyrian creation myths), two different names to call God, among them one uses a plural noun "we will make (create) them", etc. The ten commandments also betray the Israelites' origins as rooted firmly within polytheism (though shalt have no other gods before me...not there are no other gods but me), etc. Hence...Elohim, and not simply El.

אלוהים God

@@admirableemanuelaquila1017 I've been (slowly) learning Hebrew. I did recognize that word instantly!

Exactly. Unfortunatey, the "expert" Hebrew teacher does not seem to have studied the etymology from Torah and Talmudic sources. The general rule is when you want to understand the true meaning of a word, look for its first use in Torah or Tanach.

They teach MODERN HEBREW not Biblical

Khai is an adjective or a verb, and it is indeed masculine singular.

Dios אלוהים

Hi nezabarom1, Thanks for commenting! Your question is a good one - but it's not a linguistic one but more of a philosophical... There are many explanations and interpretations for that in the Jewish texts, unfortunately I can't explain it here (: Yours, Roi Team Hebrewpod101.com

Svyatoslav Palenyy The word is used over 2500 times in Tanach with many meanings, including calling idols elohim. According to Maimonides, the word elohim is a homonym when used in different terms other than implying One God. In this case, the plural in God's name Elokim, denotes Power over powers. Plural in Hebrew however, also doesn't mean much, depending on the usage of the word. For example, balim, owner in Hebrew, is also plural but is used as a singular word just like the words in the video. It is much later when people started thinking in technical terms regarding words and languages. In anceint times, languages were just spoken and evolved without being dissected.