First Thought

עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי־גָדוֹל יְהוָה מִכָּל־הָאֱלֹהִים

Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the Gods (Exodus 18:11)

Back in Unit 2, we touched on how מִן is quite flexible when it comes to meaning. A literal reading of this verse might be, “now I know that great is Adonai from all the gods.” מִן changes this to a comparative or even a superlative use. Comparative would be, “Our God is GREATER THAN all the other gods.” A superlative translation might be, “out of all the gods, I know Adonai is THE GREATEST.”

This lesson will provide some overarching tips on interpretation and translation based on what we have studied so far.

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Figure 23.1: Statue of Elijah on Mount Carmel. This statue is at the traditional location of Elijah’s showdown between our God and the priests of Baal. At this location, our God proved He was greater than Baal! Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands