Good article Byrd, great to see some fresh input
There are two main aspects to see here, one is God using the plural of himself to include his Holy Spirit and possibly Jesus...
The second is that there are other gods ... ie: worshipped images, or even demonic entities... but YHWH is the "Lord of Lords"
In the Old Testament times, a name was not only identification, but an identity as well. Many times a special meaning was attached to the name. Names
had, among other purposes, an explanatory purpose.
In the OT God is known as 'el el-yone'
The Most High God. It expresses the extreme sovereignty and majesty of God and His highest preeminence. When the two words are combined ó El Elyon ó
it can be translated as "the most exalted God."(Psa 57:2)
We are not talking of smaller gods, like the demonic gods of Egypt, but of the Greatest God.. (el o-lawm') The Everlasting God, The God of Eternity,
The God of the Universe, The God of Ancient Days
There is a part in the OT where the Ark is placed in a pagan temple with a pagan statue, and each morning when the people go out there the pagan
statue has fallen over on its face.
That is the relationship between YHWH and the other gods... BTW there is no evidence that other 'gods' create, only YHWH does that.
[Edited on 11-11-2002 by Netchicken]