In Daniel 11:37, is it possible to translate god of his father with "god" lowercase in the singular form?

[orion87]

Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. (Daniel 11:37 - King James Version)

‎וְעַל־אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹתָיו֙ לֹ֣א יָבִ֔ין וְעַל־חֶמְדַּ֥ת נָשִׁ֛ים וְעַֽל־כָּל־אֱל֖וֹהַּ לֹ֣א יָבִ֑ין כִּ֥י עַל־כֹּ֖ל יִתְגַּדָּֽל׃ (Daniel 11:37 - Leningrad Codex)

I know that there is some verse in the Old Testament which contains the plural and the translation is not "God" in uppercase and neither "gods". For example 1 Kings 11:3, where we can find "god" and "goddess" translated from the plural construct. Is it possible that the translation can be "god" lowercase in the singular form? Am I wrong or is it a matter of the accent < placed under the letter of the lemma "אֱלֹהֵ֤י" which makes the difference?

[Jason Hare]

Shalom, orion87. Could you please make an intro post so that we know something about you and your background in Hebrew? Also, it is normal etiquette here to put your name in your signature. We don’t allow anonymous posting on the forum. See our policy on usernames. If you have any issues with compliance, please let me know. Welcome to B-Hebrew!

As to your question, obviously אֱלֹהֵי (construct of אֱלֹהִים) could refer either to a single deity (normally, the patron deity of a people group is in the plural) or to multiple deities. In this case, אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתָיו would raise the question of whether or not his progenitors were mono- or polytheists. In the first case, it would necessarily be singular; in the latter, it could be singular (referring to their patron deity) or plural (referring to whichever of the various gods they worshiped).

[orion87]

Thanks for your reply. Therefore are you confirming me that "אֱלֹהֵ֤י" in Daniel 11:37 might be singular and in lower case? That is "god" or "goddess"?

‎וְלֶאֱלֹ֙הַּ֙ מָֽעֻזִּ֔ים עַל־כַּנּ֖וֹ יְכַבֵּ֑ד (Dan. 11:38 - Leningrad Codex)

As to the plural, regarding Daniel 11:37 I found that it must necessarily be singular, because in Daniel 11:38 (in the verse I placed above) there is "in his place" which refers obviously to "God of his father". "‎עַל־כַּנּ֖וֹ" is noun common masculine singular construct suffix 3rd person masculine singular. So, it is to be excluded that in Daniel 11:37 can be "gods of his fathers"; and that it is to be excluded that it can can be "goddess of his fathers", since as said before is masculine and not feminine. Can you confirm this?

[Jason Hare]

Thanks for your reply. Therefore are you confirming me that "אֱלֹהֵ֤י" in Daniel 11:37 might be singular and in lower case? That is "god" or "goddess"?

Maybe you’re asking if it could be understood as indefinite and improper when translating into English? It is certainly wrong to suggest that אֱלֹהִים ʾĕlōhîm is singular. It is plural in Hebrew and cannot be parsed otherwise. However, it could be translated using a singular. So far as you think that Chemosh כְּמוֹשׁ Kəmôš (for example) was a false god and doesn’t merit capitalization, you could say that Chemosh was אֱלֹהֵי מוֹאָב ʾĕlōhê Môʾāḇ “the god of Moab.” Don’t mistake English renderings in the singular with the grammatical number in Hebrew, however. Also, note that it is policy on B-Hebrew to discuss the meaning of the Hebrew rather than how translations might or might not render something—which is less important to our goal: the promotion of Hebrew learning and dissemination of information about the Hebrew language and the text of the Hebrew Bible.

‎וְלֶאֱלֹ֙הַּ֙ מָֽעֻזִּ֔ים עַל־כַּנּ֖וֹ יְכַבֵּ֑ד (Dan. 11:38 - Leningrad Codex)

As to the plural, regarding Daniel 11:37 I found that it must necessarily be singular, because in Daniel 11:38 (in the verse I placed above) there is "in his place" which refers obviously to "God of his father". "‎עַל־כַּנּ֖וֹ" is noun common masculine singular construct suffix 3rd person masculine singular. So, it is to be excluded that in Daniel 11:37 can be "gods of his fathers"; and that it is to be excluded that it can can be "goddess of his fathers", since as said before is masculine and not feminine. Can you confirm this?

Daniel 11:36-38 𝔐

וְעָשָׂ֨ה כִרְצֹונֹ֜ו הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וְיִתְרֹומֵ֤ם וְיִתְגַּדֵּל֙ עַל־כָּל־אֵ֔ל וְעַל֙ אֵ֣ל אֵלִ֔ים יְדַבֵּ֖ר נִפְלָאֹ֑ות וְהִצְלִ֨יחַ֙ עַד־כָּ֣לָה זַ֔עַם כִּ֥י נֶחֱרָצָ֖ה נֶעֱשָֽׂתָה׃ וְעַל־אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹתָיו֙ לֹ֣א יָבִ֔ין וְעַל־חֶמְדַּ֥ת נָשִׁ֛ים וְעַֽל־כָּל־אֱלֹ֖והַּ לֹ֣א יָבִ֑ין כִּ֥י עַל־כֹּ֖ל יִתְגַּדָּֽל׃ ‬וְלֶאֱלֹ֨הַּ֙ מָֽעֻזִּ֔ים עַל־כַּנֹּ֖ו יְכַבֵּ֑ד וְלֶאֱלֹ֜והַּ אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא־יְדָעֻ֣הוּ אֲבֹתָ֗יו יְכַבֵּ֛ד בְּזָהָ֥ב וּבְכֶ֛סֶף וּבְאֶ֥בֶן יְקָרָ֖ה וּבַחֲמֻדֹֽות׃

Without any speculation about how v. 37 should be translated, it is clear that the masculine singular of v. 38 has אֱלוֹהַּ ʾĕlôah as its antecent. We could understand this as referring to the same god as v. 37, but we should not look to that verse to justify the masculine singular of v. 38.

[orion87]

Ok, thanks.