StrongerBible

elah

אֱלָהּ

AramaicH0426“God, god”

Appears 95 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Ezr 4:24Ezr 5:1Ezr 5:2 (2×)Ezr 5:5Ezr 5:8Ezr 5:11Ezr 5:12Ezr 5:13Ezr 5:14Ezr 5:15Ezr 5:16Ezr 5:17Ezr 6:3Ezr 6:5 (2×)Ezr 6:9Ezr 6:10Ezr 6:12Ezr 6:14Ezr 7:12Ezr 7:14Ezr 7:15Ezr 7:16Ezr 7:17Ezr 7:18Ezr 7:19 (2×)Ezr 7:20Ezr 7:21Ezr 7:23 (2×)Ezr 7:25 (2×)Ezr 7:26Jer 10:11Dan 2:11Dan 2:28Dan 2:45Dan 2:47 (2×)Dan 3:12Dan 3:14Dan 3:15Dan 3:17Dan 3:18Dan 3:25Dan 3:28 (3×)Dan 3:29 (2×)Dan 4:8(5) (2×)Dan 4:9(6)Dan 4:18(15)Dan 5:4Dan 5:11 (2×)Dan 5:14Dan 5:23 (2×)
Word studyeh-LAHnoun

What elah means

God: the supreme divine being; also used for the gods of the nations.

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary Aramaic word for God, used throughout the Aramaic chapters of Daniel and Ezra. It is closely related to the Hebrew word for God and shares its range: it can name the one true God or a so-called god of the nations.

In these books it is overwhelmingly the true God, named in grand terms: the God of heaven, the Most High, the living God who rules over kingdoms and reveals mysteries. Even pagan kings end up confessing him.

But the same word also labels the idols of gold and silver that Babylon worshiped, and the powerless gods that, as the lone Aramaic verse in Jeremiah declares, did not make heaven and earth and so will perish.

Nuances

1athe one true God: the God of heaven, the Most High, the living God who rules the nations.
Ezr 4:24Ezr 5:2 (2×)Ezr 5:8Ezr 5:11Ezr 5:13Ezr 5:14Ezr 5:15Ezr 5:16Ezr 5:17Ezr 6:3Dan 2:28Dan 3:17
1ba god of the nations, including the lifeless idols of Babylon.
Jer 10:11Dan 2:11Dan 3:12Dan 3:14Dan 3:18Dan 3:25Dan 4:8(5) (2×)Dan 4:9(6)Dan 5:4Dan 5:11 (2×)Dan 5:14Dan 5:23 (2×)

What scholars say about elah

The Biblical Aramaic lexica (HALOT's Aramaic section, BDB's Aramaic section, and Vogt) give one word for God, cognate with Hebrew Eloah/Elohim, used both for the true God (the dominant use in Daniel and Ezra) and for the gods of the nations. There is no separate homonym.

Sources

  • HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner), Aramaic section, s.v. אלהlexicon
  • BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), Aramaic section, s.v. אלהlexicon
  • Vogt, A Lexicon of Biblical Aramaic (ed. Fitzmyer), s.v. אלהlexicon

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of אֱלָהּ

c s determined

אֱלָהָא, וֵאלָהָא, וְלֵאלָהָא

Ezr 4:24, Ezr 5:2, Ezr 5:2, Ezr 5:8, Ezr 5:13, Ezr 5:14, Ezr 5:15, Ezr 5:16

c s construct

אֱלָהּ

Ezr 5:1, Ezr 5:11, Ezr 5:12, Ezr 6:9, Ezr 6:10, Ezr 6:14, Ezr 7:12, Ezr 7:15

c s construct

אֱלָהָךְ, לֵאלָהָךְ

Ezr 7:14, Ezr 7:19, Ezr 7:20, Ezr 7:25, Ezr 7:25, Ezr 7:26, Dan 6:16, Dan 6:20

m p absolute

אֱלָהִין

Dan 2:11, Dan 2:47, Dan 3:25, Dan 4:8, Dan 4:9, Dan 4:18, Dan 5:11, Dan 5:11

c s absolute

אֱלָהּ, אֱלָה

Dan 2:28, Dan 2:45, Dan 3:15, Dan 3:28, Dan 6:7, Dan 6:12, Dan 3:29

c s construct

אֱלָהֲהוֹן, אֱלָהֲהֹם, לֵאלָהֲהוֹן

Dan 3:28, Dan 3:29, Ezr 5:5, Ezr 7:16, Dan 3:28

c s construct

אֱלָהֵהּ, בֵּאלָהֵהּ

Dan 6:5, Dan 6:10, Dan 6:11, Dan 6:26, Dan 6:23

c s construct

אֱלָהֲכֹם, אֱלָהֲכוֹן

Ezr 7:17, Ezr 7:18, Dan 2:47

c s construct

אֱלָהִי

Dan 4:8, Dan 6:22

m p construct

וְלֵאלָהֵי, לֵאלָהֵי

Dan 5:23, Dan 5:4

c s construct

אֱלָהַנָא

Dan 3:17

m p construct

לֵאלָהַי

Dan 3:14

m p determined

אֱלָהַיָּא

Jer 10:11