4. The Oneness of G-D
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In the beginning G-d (Elokim) created the heavens and the earth. In the Hebrew Bible, G-d is called by several Names, each denoting a different attribute (mercy, strictness, anger, etc.). By knowing what each Name signifies, one can fathom the Divine intention of a given verse. For instance: Exodus 6:2-3 And G-d [Elokim] spoke to Moses, and said to him: "I am the L-rd [A-noy]. And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as G-d Al-mighty [Kel Shad-i], but by My Name A-noy, I was not known to them." Elokim is the only plural Name of G-d in the Hebrew Bible. Lest this Name be mistranslated as G-ds, it states that Kel (a singular Name of G-d) created the universe: Isaiah 42:5 Thus says G-d [Kel], the L-rd, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth. Elokim signifies G-d as the Supreme Judge over all creation. Likewise, a human judge is also called elokim: Exodus 7:1 And the L-rd said to Moses: "See, I have made you a judge [elohim] against Pharaoh; and Aaron, your brother shall be your Prophet." I Samuel 28:12-13 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice....and the woman said to Saul, "I saw a god-like being [elokim] ascending out of the earth." It is not uncommon in Hebrew for plural words to have singular meanings. For example: Genesis 3:22 ...lest [Adam] put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life [hayim], and eat and live forever. Hayim, a plural noun, means life, not lives. Genesis 24:13 Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water [mayim]. Mayim, a plural noun, means water, not waters. Exodus 33:11 And the L-rd spoke to Moses face to face [panim el panim]. Panim, a plural noun, means face, not faces.
Furthermore, in the Hebrew, all the verbs and pronouns referring to Elokim in the creation story are singular: Genesis 1:1 In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:3 And G-d said: "Let there be light, and there was light." Genesis 1:5 And G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night. Genesis 1:7 And G-d made the firmament. Genesis 1:27 So G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 2:2 And by the seventh day G-d finished His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Certain words pertaining to Elokim appear in both plural and singular forms: 1. Genesis 35:7 And he [Jacob] built an altar there, and called the place "Kel Beth Kel" because there G-d appeared to him. "Appeared" is in the plural, niglu. Genesis 35:9 And G-d appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-Aram, and blessed him. "Appeared" is in the singular, vayera. 2. Joshua 24:19 And Joshua said to the people: "You cannot serve the L-rd, for He is a holy G-d." "Holy" is in the plural, kedoshim, even though "He" is singular. I Samuel 6:20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said: "Who can stand before the L-rd, this holy G-d, and to whom shall the Ark go up from us?" "Holy" is in the singular, kadosh. 3. Psalms 58:12 ...there is a G-d Who judges on earth. "Judges" is in the plural, shofetim, even though "is" is singular. Psalms 82:8 Arise, O G-d, judge the earth. "Judge" is in the singular, shoftah (as is "arise," kumah). 4. Jeremiah 10:10 He is the living G-d and the everlasting King. "Living" is in the plural, hayim. II Kings 19:16 ...hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt the living G-d. "Living" is in the singular, hai.
Yet Elokim is always used with a definite singular intent: Exodus 3:14 And G-d said to Moses: "I am that I am." Joshua 2:11 ...for the L-rd, your G-d, is G-d in heaven above and on earth below. I Kings 18:39 And when all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said: "The L-rd, He is G-d; the L-rd, He is G-d." Psalms 46:11 Be still and know that I am G-d; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on earth. Isaiah 37:15-16 And Hezekiah prayed before the L-rd, saying: "O L-rd of hosts, G-d of Israel, Who sits upon the cherubs, You are G-d, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth." Despite these and other proof texts, missionaries interpret the Name Elokim as "G-ds," thus "proving" the trinity.
now the L-rd, G-d, has sent me, and His Spirit. After delivering stern admonitions to the people, the Prophet Isaiah warns them that he is speaking not of his own volition but as a messenger of G-d, under His influence. The Hebrew Bible calls this influence "Spirit." G-d's Spirit imbues His Prophets with clairvoyance, courage, and the ability to decipher complex Divine messages: Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants: "Can we find such a one as [Joseph], a man in whom the Spirit of G-d is?" Numbers 11:25 And the L-rd came down in a cloud and spoke to [Moses], and took of the Spirit that was upon him and placed it upon the seventy elders; and it came to pass that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did not continue. I Samuel 10:6 And the Spirit of the L-rd will come mightily upon you [Saul], and you shall prophesy with them and be transformed into another man. Just as G-d can cause His Spirit of holiness to rest on an individual. So also in the opposite direction: Judges 9:23 And G-d sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem.... I Samuel 18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow that an evil spirit from G-d came mightily upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Yet missionaries claim that the "me" in our verse under discussion represents Jesus, the "Spirit" is the "holy ghost," and "the L-rd, G-d" makes it a trinity! Besides the obvious absurdity of asserting that Jesus, and not Isaiah spoke these words, this interpretation contradicts another alleged proof of the trinity: "Hear, O Israel: the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4). For in this verse, missionaries contend that L-rd, G-d, and L-rd are three separate entities, whereas in the verse under discussion they agree that L-rd and G-d are One!
The L-rd appeared to [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and saw and behold, three men were standing over him.... These three "men" were angels, for after they departed from Abraham we read: Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, the angels hastened Lot.... Therefore, Abraham called their leader "L-rd": Genesis 18:2-3 ...and he saw and ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground. And he said: "My L-rd, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant." As Abraham spoke with this chief angel, the other two angels departed for Sodom: Genesis 18:20-22 Then the L-rd said: "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done according to its outcry which has come to Me; and if not, I will know. So the men turned from there and went to Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the L-rd". Genesis 19:1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom.... Although the Hebrew Bible states that the three "men" were angels, missionaries say they were G-d appearing as the trinity. However, G-d and the angels were clearly separate entities: Genesis 19:13 ...for we [angels] are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become great before the L-rd, and the L-rd has sent us to destroy it.
Wherever G-d employs the term "us" in the Hebrew Bible, He is referring to Himself and His angels, who act as His heavenly court: Job 33:23-24 If there be for him an angel, one intercessor among a 1000 to declare to man his uprightness; then He is gracious to him, and says: Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom. Daniel 4:14 The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones.... "Watchers" and "holy ones" are angels, as we see elsewhere: Daniel 4:10 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. Zechariah 14:5 ...and the L-rd, my G-d, shall come and all the holy ones with You. The Prophet Daniel envisioned G-d presiding over a court of angels (as always, visions depict conceptual truths but all physical attributes are only metaphorical).
I beheld till thrones were thrown down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, and its wheels burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before Him; a thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; they sat in judgment, and books were opened. "Thrones" is in the plural to symbolize both harsh and lenient verdicts. These verdicts are then recorded in "books" containing all mankind's merits and sins. These "books" are also spoken of elsewhere: Psalms 69:29 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. Daniel 12:1 ...and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book.
And I heard the voice of the L-rd saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?...." Isaiah heard G-d asking His angels this question, for he was also envisioning a heavenly court in session: Isaiah 6:1-2 The year King Uzziah died, I saw the L-rd sitting upon a throne high and borne aloft, and His train filled the Temple. Above Him stood the seraphim [angels]; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Then the L-rd G-d, said: "Behold the man has become as one of us, knowing good and evil." Here, also, G-d was addressing His court of angels, for immediately afterward we read what action the court took against Adam: Genesis 3:24 He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubs, and the flaming swords, which turned every way, guarding the way to the tree of life. It is written that "He drove out" and "He placed," and not they, because the final action was taken by G-d alone. 1. And G-d said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis 1:27 So G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d He created him; male and female He created them. Isaiah 45:12 I have made the earth and created man upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. 2. And the L-rd said: ..."Come, let us go down and confound their language there, that they may not understand one another's speech." Genesis 11:8 So the L-rd scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the earth; and they ceased to build the city. Even though all of the above italicized verbs in the Hebrew are singular, missionaries maintain that the term "us" is to be understood as G-d speaking to Jesus and the "holy ghost." Yet the Hebrew Bible insists that G-d is One, Unique and Alone: Deuteronomy 4:39 ...know, therefore, this day, and consider it in your heart, that the L-rd is G-d in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is none else. Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no G-d besides Me.... The New Testament precludes the possibility of Jesus being part of an eternal trinity. It says he was created: Colossians 1:15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible G-d, the first born of all creation. |