El Shaddai: Difference between revisions

Some have begun with shad as the first concept to be considered; its meaning is “breast, pap, or teat,” and it is considered by them as a metaphor of God who nourishes, supplies, and satisfies.  However, the root of shad (shadah) in Semitic usage, is to moisten; this meaning is not the preferred one in the context in which El Shaddai appears; nor is shed (demon), which some scholars have sought to use because it appears in Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106:37 speaking of Israel’s idolatry. In addition to the fact that shed is spelled differently, the connection between the concept of demon and God as all-powerful is difficult to establish.<ref>Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 882–883.</ref>

[[William Branham]] got his reference to the breasted god from his Scofield Bible.  Scofield was not a Hebrew scholar.  It is interesting to note that the recent Scofield revision (1967) recognizes the error of the the earlier emphasis and assigns more weight to “all sufficient” and to the usual translation of EL SHADDAI as “God Almighty.” <ref>Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation, and Authority, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 193.</ref>