Jehovah (Yahweh) is referred to as the El above all elohim (Ps 95:3). But isn’t there just one God?
Clearly one of the main messages of the Hebrew Scriptures is this: There is only ONE God. Most famous is the Jews’ daily prayer called the Shema. It begins, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut 6:4). Other nations worshiped multiple gods, but not the Jewish people! Now Psalm 82 seems to complicate the issue. Here’s the first statement: “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods” (v 1). We might say the psalmist is only telling us that there is just one true God, and He, not the nations’ make-believe gods, makes all the decisions in the universe. But the psalm continues: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High’” (v 6). The Jewish people are called gods? By God? To complicate things further, Jesus quotes this very verse in John 10:34! Do you know His point? The Jewish leaders strenuously objected when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Well, aren’t you called gods? He asked. Let’s notice the word translated as “gods.” It’s the Hebrew elohim, meaning “mighty ones” and can be used for anyone considered to have moral influence. It’s used of God, idols, angels, and humans—even demons. Jesus called the Jewish people elohim because “the word of God came” to them (v 35). His point was this: My being Son of God is not an absolute problem; it’s a relative problem. You see the works I do—are they like God? Then come partway to Me and accept My works. If you do, you will soon accept Me, too. The psalm stresses that the only thing keeping men from acting like animals is their willingness to accept God’s moral judgments. Only God has the right to decide what is right, and some day the whole world will finally agree (Ps 82:8).