The pluralis excellentiae is the name given by early grammarians of Hebrew such as Gesenius to a perceived anomaly in the grammatical number and syntax in Hebrew. In some cases it bears some similarity to the pluralis majestatis

Pluralis majestatis

The majestic plural , is the use of a plural pronoun to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a monarch, bishop, or pope...

 or "royal we". However the idea of excellence is not necessarily present:
Hebrew distinguishes grammatical number by endings in nouns, verbs and adjectives. A grammatical phenomenon occurs with a small number of Hebrew nouns, such as elohim

Elohim

Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...

"great god" and behemoth

Behemoth

Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...

"giant beast" where a grammatically redundant plural ending -im (usually masculine plural) or -oth (usually feminine plural) is attached to a noun, but the noun nevertheless continues to take singular verbs and adjectives.

Abstract plurals with feminine singular

Abstract plurals with -im endings such as "uprightness," "blessedness," "sweetness," "youth," "strength," etc. take feminine singular verbs and adjectives.

Behemoth - beasts or great beast

Sometimes the normal plural of a noun and the intensive plural are the same. For example behem, "beast" singular, conjugates with the common feminine plural -oth, and behemoth + plural verb in, for example, the Genesis account of Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...

 indicates "beasts" plural. But in the Book of Job

Book of Job

The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...

 behemoth + singular verb indicates "giant beast", "Behemoth

Behemoth

Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...

." Leviathan

Leviathan

Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...

 is also intensive: "You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You gave it as food for people, for(?) beasts".

Intensive plurals with masculine or feminine singular

An adjective qualifying a noun in the plural of excellence is more often found in the singular than in the plural. Examples of the singular include

• Deuteronomy 5:23
• 1 Samuel 17:26, 36
• 2 Kings 19:4, 16 Elohim hay "living God".
• Psalm 7:10 "a just God"
• Isaiah 19:4 adonim qaseh "a hard master,"
• Isaiah 37:4, 17
• Jeremiah 10:10, 23:36

Objections

Against this are objections such of that of the grammarian and Messianic Jewish

Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism is a syncretic religious movement that arose in the 1960s and 70s. It blends evangelical Christian theology with elements of Jewish terminology and ritual....

 missionary C. W. H. Pauli (1863) that Gesenius had misunderstood the grammar and perpetuated a hoax.