Nov 27, 2022 6 min read

GOD: A NAME OF IDOLS!

There are many spirits being called upon in the world: 1Co 8:5

For though there be that are called Elohim (God), whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be Elohim (Gods) many, and Adonai (lords) many,) 1Co 8:6

But to us there is but one Elohim (God), the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Adon Yehoshua Hamashiach (Lord Jesus Christ), by whom are all things, and we by him.

There are evil spirits in the world that men consider to be Elohim (God) and they go by many names:

Testament of Solomon 58

And I Solomon did as she enjoined me, and restrained myself because of the wisdom dwelling in me in order that I might hear of her deeds, and reprehend them, and manifest them to men. And I sat down, and said to the demon: "What art thou?" And she said: "I am called among men Obizuth; .........For I am a fierce spirit of myriad names and many shapes."

Testament of Solomon 64

And there came before my face another spirit, as it were a woman in the form she had. But on her shoulders she had two other heads with hands. And I asked her, and said: "Tell me, who art thou?" And she said to me: "I am Enepsigos, and who also have a myriad of names."

There are many names evil spirits go by, yet we're not to call upon the names of other deities {Exo 23:12} in prayer or reverence {Psa 44:20} because if we forget the name of our Elohim (God) or stretch our hands out to a strange deity, Yehovah will search the transgression out {Psa 44:21} because He does not give his glory to another. {Isa 42:8}:

Exo 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other Elohim (God), neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Psa 44:20 If we have forgotten the name of our Elohim (God) or stretched out our hands to a strange deity;

Psa 44:21 Shall not Elohim (God) search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Isa 42:8 I am Yehovah: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

The names of the idols of the heathen are not to be called upon by precept and for good reason because the deities being sacrificed unto amongst the Gentiles are devils:

1Co 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to Yehovah: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

In this simplicity of understanding we are not to have fellowship with devils, so if we find out a word is the name of an heathen deity, we do not make mention of that name in reference to Yehovah (Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit, the Messiah) in prayer or reverence as commanded.

IN "GOD" WE TRUST - THE GOD OF **FORTUNE**!

Understanding the word "god"

One of the devils worshiped among the Gentiles was "Gad" among the Babylonians:
Definition: H1408
גּד :Original
Transliteration: gad
Phonetic: gad
Strong's Definition: A variation of H1409; Fortune, a Babylonian deity: - that troop

The idol, "Gad" among the Chaldeans was worshipped among the Canaanites known as "Baal Gad," among them by evidence of the Canaanites naming their cities after their idols:

Jos 13:5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

Definition:
H1171 (Strong)
בַּעַל גָּד / ba‛al gâd
bah'-al gawd
From H1168 and H1409; Baal of Fortune; Baal Gad, a place in Syria: - Baal-gad

H1409
גּד :Original
Transliteration: gâd
Phonetic: gawd

Strong's Definition: from H1464 (in the sense of distributing); fortune: - troop.

Notice the pronunciation of גד among the Canaanites is "gawd" which is better transliterated in English as "god." Now, not only were we commanded in the law not to make mention of other Elohim (G-ds), but Joshua specifically commanded us not to make mention of the deities of the nations round about us in Israel as well:

Jos 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
Jos 23:7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their Elohim (God), nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:
Jos 23:8 But cleave unto Yehovah your Elohim (God), as ye have done unto this day.

Thus we see, "GOD," an Elohim (God) of the Canaanites that were among us, should not have been made mention of nor served by the Israelites. Unfortunately, the Israelites transgressed and learned to serve the idols of Canaan and they forsook Yehovah by preparing a table (meal) for the idol
"God:"

Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake Yehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop,

The etymology of "god" in English

The Germanic languages have had a major influence on the English language hence "god" in English is etymologically derived from Germanic roots by evidence of the pronunciation of the word and the etymological information on the word. According to world information, "god" was not only an idol amongst the Canaanites, but was also a title for beings of heathen myth among the Germanic people as well:

Under Gad: Apart from Gad, the son of Ya'aqob, there was another "Gad". The astrologers of Babel called Jupiter by the name "Gad". He was also well know among the Canaanites (Kena'anites) where his name was often coupled with Ba'al, Ba'al Gad, which according to Massoretic vowel pointing in the Book of Yehoshua is pronounced Ba'al God. This same name is discovered in the ancient Germanic languages as Gott, Goda, Gode, God, Gud, Gade....."

The Babylonian,"Gad" is known to the Romans as "Jupiter"="Yohweh" (Greek "Zeus") and the Canaanites as, "God," to help confirm that devils are known by different names among the heathen.

The Encyclopedia American (1945 Edition) has this definition for the topic of "GOD";

"GOD (god) Common Teutonic word for personal object of religious worship, formally applicable to superhuman beings of heathen myth: on conversion of Teutonic races to Christianity, term as applied to Supreme Being."

The Germanic (Teutonic) people applied their deities of myth's titles to the Supreme Being, the Lord Almighty which was unlawful to do as Yehovah does not give his glory unto another nor his praise to graven images. From scripture and world history, "god" was the name of a heathen deities adopted by the Germanic people and transitioned into the English language causing us to transgress the commandment by making mention of other deities in prayer and reverence because we are not to take up their names into our lips {Psa 16:4} in prayer or reverence.

Psa 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another Yehovah: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

Hence, we do not call upon "god" in prayer, reverence, or use the word in reference to the Elohim (God) so as not to give His glory unto another. The word "god" cannot be used as a general term for deities because it is the specific name of a heathen deity already according to scripture as "God" the idol of the Canaanites that derived from the Babylonian, "Gad,",the deity of Fortune. In truth, the Hebrew word גד in itself is a general Hebrew word that means "troop or fortune" and doesn't denote the idol when not being used in reference to a deity like in the case of גד H1410 the son of Jacob, known in English as Gad. {Gen 30:11} Yet when one uses the word גד in reference to deities, because it is the name of a heathen deity according to scripture, it is against the law.

In closing, the English word "GOD" comes from Germanic etymological roots stemming from the ancient worship of "superhuman beings of heathen myth" among the Germanic people and "Baal God" of the Canaanites and does not just mean "deity or superhuman being" because it is the actual name of the strange deity that the Israelites forsook Yehovah for in the past. It is important not to forget the name of our Deity, Yehovah Elohim to make mention of any strange deity such as "god."