How many gods are there?
Claims that no other god exists conflict with descriptions of the Lord judging, outranking, and addressing other gods, though not every plural expression proves multiple deities.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
Denials of other gods conflict with divine assemblies and commands to gods, but the identity and rhetorical status of those gods remain uncertain.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Only one God exists in heaven and earth
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Other passages speak of gods alongside the Lord
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?
And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.
For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.
A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
The Lord will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Understanding the contradiction
Deuteronomy 4:35 declares that there is no god besides the Lord. Isaiah 44:8 similarly has God deny knowing any other god. These are claims about existence, stronger than merely requiring exclusive worship. Against them, Psalms 82:1 describes God judging among gods, and Psalms 97:7 commands all gods to worship him. Exodus 15:11 asks who among the gods resembles the Lord. These passages describe a divine comparison or assembly rather than simply repeating that only one god exists.
The other evidence varies in force. Prohibitions on worshipping other gods establish forbidden religious practices without necessarily establishing that their objects exist. Genesis 1:26 uses plural pronouns but does not identify the addressees. The supplied 1 John 5:7 expressly calls its three witnesses one, so its count cannot simply be converted into three gods. The strongest tension is between categorical denial of other gods and passages that treat gods as subjects who can receive commands or judgments. Counting every occurrence of the word as an identical claim would conceal those differences.