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[Anonymizes]

Why is the word elohim used at Exodus 12:12, for the Egyptian gods? Isn’t elohim just for Yahweh?

Exodus 12:12: For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods (elohim) of Egypt I will execute judgments

[jimwalton]

"Elohim" is a generic word for deity, much like our English word "God." It doesn't specify which god, a true or false god, an extant or pretend god. The root meaning of it is "power; strength; glory."

In those days it was used generally to refer to any spiritual being not in the human realm, and therefore applied to any being considered to be divine by the people. In Babylonian thinking (later than Exodus), even the stars or idols (images of the gods) were "elohim" because they were believed to be manifestations of divine beings.