Commenting on the development of “inclusive monotheism”:
As a result of the adoption of the new category “godhead of the
heavens,” אלהי השׁמים, the major active gods and goddesses tended to be
collapsed into the couple that constituted the highest authority; the two upper
tiers of the pantheon came to be merged into one. The title אלהי השׁמים was used
to designate the male head of the pantheon who was now especially conceptualized
as the creator of the universe. The plural form of the word for god in this new
title might well be a deliberate attempt to express the multiple specific
manifestations that the abstract category of head of pantheon could take. (Diana
Vikander Edelman, “Introduction,” in The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to
Judaisms, ed. Diana Vikander Edelman [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995],
22)
