In context, Elohim in Genesis 1 (and in other passages where Elohim refers to YHWH) must be understood as singular rather than plural. However,
Elohim is indeed a plural noun form. Also, Genesis records God using plural
pronouns when it reveals divine internal speech (that is, God says “us/our/let
us” in verses like Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 although God also often uses first person singular verbs to
describe divine action [as in Genesis 1:29-30; 3:11, 15-17]). Given the
teaching of God’s self-revelation as a whole, we must always affirm that there
is only one God. However, God’s use
of a plural noun and plural pronouns in the early chapters of the Bible should begin
to raise questions about what the one true God is like. With subsequent
revelation, the faithful reader begins to see there is a specific sense in
which our relationship to God (and God’s internal relations) involve more than
one divine person.
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