Creation/evolution3

[Davka]

Both writers make use of that device. In the first creation account, god says "let us make man in our image." There is no similar use in the second creation account, but in the story of the fall (which is written in the style of the writer of the second creation account) god laments that "man has become like one of us." No reference is made to any other specific being, and so it could refer to a pantheon of gods, but could also refer to spirit beings such as angels. The creation accounts do not mention angels, but at the end of chapter three we are told that god places a cherubim at the entrance of the path to the tree of life. That is the first specific reference to any other spiritual being in the Bible, since the serpent is not identified as anything but a serpent.

The whole question of using plural v. singular is probably just a translation misunderstanding. Hebrew is weird when it comes to plural forms - sometimes the plural is the only form of a word. For example, the word for "water" is ma-yeem, which is a plural form (the "eem" or "im" ending is like "s" in English). In Hebrew, the plural form doesn't always indicate plural in the English sense.

Elohim is a plural noun. The singular form, El, is used in the Bible with a descriptive term, such as El Olam, "eternal god," or El Rofeh, "God-who-heals." Elohim is used as the generic "god," and can refer to YHVH or to the god or gods of other religions.