Elohim,

Elohim, Heb., plural of Eloah (only used in poetry; cf. Arab. Ilâh, Chald. Elâh, Syr. Alôh), night, power; in plur., great beings, kings, angels, gods, Deity. As a pluralis excellentiae or majestatis, and joined to the singular verb, it denotes, with very rare exceptions, the One, true God. Joined to the plural verb, however, it usually means gods in general, whether including the One or not. It is mostly used (in the singular sense) for or together with Jehovah; but some portions of the Scriptures employ exclusively either the one term or the other. This circumstance has given rise to endless discussions, and suggested the opinion that Genesis is by different authors (see BIBLE, JEHOVAH). It was very probably Peter Lombard who first tried to prove the Trinity out of this plural form—an attempt which, although unanimously and scornfully rejected by almost all scholars, from Calvin, Calixtus, the younger Buxtorf, &c., to our times, was revived by Rudolf Stier.