Elohim is a commonly misunderstood Hebrew word. It is pronounced El, like elephant, O like, oh no, heem ,like seem: EL-O-HEEM. Typically with an ending like -EEM or -OAT a Hebrew word would be considered a plural. This means that at first glance Elohim means Gods not God. Sus is the word for horse, add –im and it is susim horses, par is bull or ox, parim is bulls. Here is the fun twist, typically Hebrew verbs match the plural nature of the noun. However, the word to create in genesis 1:1 is singular. Bara the word for create should be baraim if this verse was to mean gods. From this, we can conclude three things. One is taking Joseph Smith Jr. perspective that some old Jew altered the text. He would be right that the Jew would have been very old to change this text since in the Dead Sea Scrolls it is the same structure as it is in out text. Another option is that Elohim is a title, representing a characteristic of God. This is what the most mainstream Christians and rabbis interpret this word, Another option is that Elohim is a proper name like Billy, Julie, Rick or Salazar. Regardless, this is the title used at the beginning for Heavenly Father in the beginning of the torah (first 5 books of the Hebrew bible).
