The Tri-Unity of God

In the Old Testament

by Stanley Rosenthal

The term “trinity” had been used to explain evidence of plurality within the unity of God.
the nature of God for approximately 1,600 years.
Choosing this particular word was unfortunate Plurality in the Shema
and incorrect. When Christians use the term
“trinity” (which simply means three), they Jewish people often object to thc tri-unity of
unconsciously communicate the concept of God because of what they believe is taught in
polytheism (belief in or worship of a plurality of the Shema. For most Jewish people, the Shema
gods). The word “trinity” was coined to refer to is the very center of Judaism. It is that founda-
the plurality of God, and yet maintain the tional passage which is found in the book of
thought of unity. Unfortunately, it was a well in- Deuteronomy:
tended but ill-advised choice. “Shema Yisroel Adonai Elohenu Adonai
Today, many non-Christians assume that this Echad…”
doctrine means Christendom believes in three “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
gods, not one. At its heart, howeve r, this And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine
teaching is really no different than the central heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might
Jewish doctrine of the unity of God. To properly (Dt. 6:4,5).”
understand the true biblical concept of the
nature of God, the term triunity should be used The word Shema is thc first Hebrew word in
in place of trinity. Triunity conveys the idea that this passage and means “hear”. The accepted
God is one, but at the same time consists of premise among Jewish people views this as
three persons. saying that God is indivisibly one. Conse-
This in no way indicates a belief in three quently, the objection is raised: I cannot believe
gods, but rather a belief which is in total in this person, Jesus, who Christians claim to be
agreement with the teachings of the law and the God. For them, the Shema appears to have
prophets. While it is beyond our ability to silenced forever the argument which embraces
experience, or in many respects even to compre- the historic Christian belief in the deity of Jesus.
hend this phenomenon fully, it is, nonetheless, However, a careful examination of D e u t e ronomy
the biblical position. In order to understand it in 6:4 actually establishes, rather than refutes, the
any measure, we must turn to the Scriptures plurality of God. A thorough review of the
with the simple question: Hebrew text reveals this beyond any reasonable
“What saith the Lord?” (All Scripture texts doubt. Incredibly, the Shema is one of the
used are taken from the New Scofield Reference strongest statements in support of the tri-unity of
Bible.) God found in the entire Bible. The very word
which allegedly argues against the tri-unity of
The Compound Unity of God God actually states that God is a plurality. The
last word of the Shema is e ch a d, which is a
The unity of God is taught throughout the compound-unity noun – that is to say, a noun
Old Testament. Scores of passages in the law which demonstrates oneness or unity, but at the
and the prophets converge to provide irrefutable same time contains several entities. A number of

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examples may be cited. a matter of fact, 42,360 Israelites made up the
In Genesis 1:5, Moses used the word when he company.
describes the first day of creation: “And God Jeremiah, the Jewish prophet, in chapter 32 of
called the light Day, and the darkness he called his Spirit-inspired treatise, employs this same
Night. And the evening and the morning were word echad, to denote a compound unity. Verses
the firsday.” This “one day” or “first”day is the 38 and 39 read: “And they shall be my people,
Hebrew word ech a d. The one day referred to and I will be their God: And I will give them one
consisted of both light and darkness – evening heart, and one way…” Jeremiah’s reference to
and morning. “one heart” and “one way” encompasses
In Ge nesis 2:24, God revealed what was the entire nation of Israel. Again, many are seen
necessary for a happy marriage. He instructed as one.
the husband and the wife to become “one I n t e re st i n g l y, however, there is another
flesh”, indicating that those two persons should Hebrew wo rd which signifies an absolute
be joined in perfect harmony as a unity. Here oneness. That word is yachid. In Genesis 22:2,
again, the word one is e chad. The point is clear Abraham is told: “Take now thy son, thine only
– echad is used to indicate oneness in a son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into
compound sense. the land of Moriah: and offer him therefor a
In Nu m b e rs 13, Moses recorded the account burnt offering…” The term “only” is yachid. It is
of the twelve Hebrew spies sent to view the land used again in verses 12 and 16 of the same
of Canaan. As they returned from the mission, chapter. There is just one son whom God
according to verse 23, they paused at Eshcol to recognizes. Isaac is the son of promise – there is
“cut down...a branch with one cluster of none other. In this sense, yachid sets forth
grapes…”. “The word “single”, often translated absolute singularity – one and only one.
“one”, is again our word ech a d, Obviously, this Similarly, in Proverbs 4:3, Solomon states:
single cluster of grapes consisted of more than “For I was my father’s son, tender and only
one grape. beloved in the sight of my mother.” In P s a l m
Likewise, in E z ra 2:64, the Bible records: 2 2 : 2 0, David wrote: “Deliver my soul from the
“The whole congregation together was forty and sword; my o n l y one from the power of the dog…”
two thousand, three hundred and three score.” Also, we find written in Ju dges 11:34, “And
The words translated “whole congregation” in Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and,
English are derived from the single Hebrew word behold, his daughter came out to meet him with
ech a d. It is obvious that this one congregation timbrels and with dances, and she was his only
was comprised of more than one individual. As child: beside her he had neither son nor
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daughter.” Jeremiah 6:26 states, “O daughter of example. In this passage Moses is relaying the
my people, gird thyself with sackcloth, and Ten Commandments from God to Israel.
wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as J e h ovah declares, “I am the LORD thy
for an only son…” Again, in Amos 8:10, “...and God…Thou shalt have no other gods before me”
I will make it like the mourning for his (vv2,3). In this statement “God” and “gods” are
only son..” identical Hebrew words. Both are the word
We see then that the Spirit-inspired penmen Elohim. The variance in translation comes to us
of the Bible had two words from which to choose because the translators, while giving gods its
communicating the truth about the nature of proper plural form, chose in the other case to
God. It is clear that Jehovah selected the word render E l o h i m in the singular.
which identifies Himself as a plurality. The Grammatically, it would be equally accept-
compound-unity noun is always chosen over the able to say, “I am rhe LORD thy Gods…Thou
absolute singular. The choice of e ch a d, instead shalt have no other gods before me.” Thus, this
of yach i d, leaves no doubt as to what God matter of plurality in the name of God should be
intended to transmit. recognized as a major question which must be
re ckoned with. Genesis p rovides a prime
Plurality in the Name of God i l l u stration. In the account of the creation alone,
Elohim is used some 32 times in reference to
In our English Bible the translators capital- God’s work in forming the heavens and the
ized “g” in God when translating the Hebrew earth.
words for God – E l and E l o h i m. In the Hebrew Another instance is found in the Shema.
language these words mean “the all-powerful, Here the noun “God” is the Hebrew Elohenu.
almighty One.” Elohenu reflects both the plural pronoun “our”
Both of these nouns are actually the same God, as well as the plural form E l o h i m.
word. One, however, El, is the singular form, Again the question is raised: Why would
while the other, Elohim, is the plural. Of God consistently select the plural form, E l o h i m,
particular importance is the fact that of the to demonstrate His unity? Would not the use of
2,750 times these words are used in the Old a singular form clearly establish the singular
Testament. Elohim, the plural form, is employed unity concept? The fact is, God chose to
in 2,500 cases. communicate, through Moses, the idea of
Exodus, chapter 20 provides an excellent plurality within His unity.

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 A Point From Genesis E ve had transgressed against Jehovah. The
divine response was expulsion from the Garden
Plurality in personal pronouns, when used of Eden. God observes that since man has
in re f e rence to our Lord, lends additional “become as one of US…” (the personal plural
documentation to verify the tri-unity of God. pronoun), he must be ejected.
Once again we turn to the G e n e s i s record for The third point of emphasis is encountered
evidence. Three passages demonstrate the point. in the scattering of humanity from before the
“And God said, Let us make man in our image. Tower of Babel. “Come, let us go down, and
after our likeness…So God created man in his own there confound their language…So the Lord
image, in the Image of God s c a t t e red them abro a d … ”
created he him; male and female (Gen. 11:7,8). Once more,
c reated he them.” (Gen. the plural personal pronoun
1:26,27) “us” is used, followed by a
At the outset one may reference to God – it was
observe the selection of E l o h i m “the Lord” who executed
as the noun form used in the the decision, “…let US go
verse; E l o h i m is going to create down…”.
man. In concert with this
choice, the plural pers o n a l Tri-Unity or Polytheism?
pronouns “us” and “our”, are
A stark qu e stion rises
inserted.
from the pages of the Old
Dr. David L. Cooper
Testament: Are we to believe
makes a valid point, observing
in a God who consists in
that the Hebrew nouns
more than one person, or
“image” and “likeness” are in
accept polytheism? A quick
the singular person, thus
review of a few passages will
indicating that the speaker
i l l u strate the alternative s
and the person spoken to are
open to us.
one and the same. The
In Psalm 45, Israel’s king is set forth as God.
conclusion is illuminating: Plurality (“us” and
Specifically, in verses 6 and 7 we read: “Thy
“our”) is fused with singular terms (“image” and
throne, O God, is forever and ever: the scepter
“likeness”), thereby displaying what we might
of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest
call a unity-in-oneness. Re i n f o rcement is
righteousness, and hatest wickedness; therefore
p rovided by ve rse 27 when God re f e rs to
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil
Himself in the personal singular pronouns “His”
of gladness above thy fellows.” The query must
and “He”.
be raised: Who is God’s God?
It must be understood that only God can
Again in Psalm 110, verse 1, King David says:
create – this is in evidence throughout the
“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my
Scriptures. Since this is true, who then is
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
referred to in the statement, “Let US make man
footstool.” The question raised here is: Who is
in OUR image, after OUR likeness”? There is
David referring to as Lord? At the time of this
only one logical conclusion.
writing, David was the king of Israel. There was
“Behold, the man is become as one of us...
none greater than David, except God. Who
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
then would be considered David’s Lord? To
garden of Eden...” (Gen, 3:22.23). Adam and
whom was God speaking?
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 In G enesis 18 and 19, Moses records the He is also recognized to be God, for He is a Son
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is given by God. This child and Son is called “The
evident throughout these chapters that the Lord Mighty God”. In addition, He is given several
himself appeared to Abraham as one of the other titles which can only refer to God. He is
three men who visited him. In verse 24 of called “Wonderful, Counselor…the Everlasting
chapter 19, we read: “Then the Lord rained Father, The Prince of Peace.”
upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone J e remiah joins Isaiah to insist that the
and fire from the Lord out of heave n .” Messiah is God in flesh. “Behold, the days
Unquestionably, this reference is identifying two come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David
individual persons. Here again the choice is a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
evident: polytheism or the tri-unity of God. prosper, and shall execute justice and righteous-
We are certain that the Bible does not teach ness in the earth. In his days Judah shall be
polytheism. The gulf between tri-unity and the saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his
concept of many deities is unspannable. To name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD
accuse Christians of believing in three gods is a OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5-6).
baseless assertion. Polytheism projects gods who Without question, this statement refers to
are independent entities gods who consistently the Messiah who will be from the lineage of
act at cross-purposes with one another. Within David. As King of Israel, He will bring justice,
the tri-unity there is always absolute unity in
desire, design and execution. Every biblical
reference shows the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
operating in perfect union. This fact alone will
serve to emphasize the great difference between
the concepts.

The Messiah Recognized as God

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is

given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder; and his name shall he called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The
Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall
be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon
his kingdom, to order it, and to estahlish it with
justice and with righteousness from henceforth
even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will righteousness and peace to the earth. Who will
perform this (lsa. 9:6,7). accomplish all of this? According to this portion
These verses explicitly tell us that the One of God’s Word, He will be the righteous Branch
upon whom the government will rest, and of David (Messiah) – Jehovah -tsidkenu, “THE
through whom justice, peace and righteousness LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Since God
will come to the earth, is at the same time both makes it absolutely clear that there are no gods
man and God. As a child He is born to the beside Himself, how can we understand His
nation Israel. This conveys emphatically the calling His servant, the Messiah, God? It can
Messiah’s humanity. At the same time, however, onlv be understood when we see that this Son of

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God, this righteous Branch, is indeed God. It is important to understand that both the
Old and New Testaments shatter the erroneous
The Messiah is Eternal concept of the physical birth of Jesus as
constituting His beginning or origin. Nowhere
In a limited sense, some of the qualities of in the Scriptures is this taught. Likewise, the
God are exhibited in His creation, particularly Bible never gives credence to the claim that
in mankind. There are, however, many Mary is the mother of God, since God never had
characteristics which are resident only in God a birth – He has always been. What the New
himself. Eternality is among those attributes Testament does reveal, in conjunction with the
ascribed to God alone. Unlike man, or any Old Testament, is that God manifested Himself
substance in the universe, God not only exists in flesh as a human being. Mary was the Jewish
forever, but He has no beginning – He always woman chosen to bring forth this One who was
was. God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM God incarnate – the eternal Son of God.
THAT I AM” (Ex. 3: 14) – a declaration
designed to show His awe-smitten servant the The Messiah Receives Worship
past, present and future existence of His divine
person. Hejust is! Likewise, there are many God alone is the legitimate recipient of
other passages in the Old and New Testaments worship. He forbids directing worship to any
w h i ch inform us that before anything was other being or object in Heaven or on earth. In
brought into existence, God was there. Psalm 118:8 we are instructed in this regard: “It
With this in mind, we turn our attention is better to trust in the Lord than to put confi-
to teachings which touch on the Messiah’s dence in man.” Even more dogmatic is the
pre-existence. Not only was He to be born as a Prophet Jeremiah. He quotes God as saying:
human being at some historical point in time, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and
but also according to Micah, the Messiah (Son maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth
of God) is from everlasting. In chapter 5, verse from the Lord...Blessed is the man who trusteth in
2 of his message, this Jewish prophet writes: the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is” (Jer. 17:5,7).
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou Yet in other portions of Scripture we find the
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of Messiah receiving worship. David makes this
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler clear in the second Psalm. He identifies the
in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, Messiah as the Son of God and then instructs
from everlasling.” that the Messiah-King is to be worshiped (verse

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12). This could be shocking to the true believer tradition-bound beliefs and view the Scriptures
– unless he understands the tri-unity of God. objectively. God’s Word, both the Old and the
Then the admonition to “Kiss (worship) the New Testaments, teaches that the omnipotent
Son…” is both logical and scriptural. Lord is a triune personality. In this, biblical
God makes it abundantly clear that His Son, Judaism (through the Old Testament Scriptures)
the Messiah, is entitled to receive worship, and and biblical Christianity are in precise
He therefore is God. If this were not the case, agreement.
the only alternative would be to believe that B i b l e - b e l i eving Christians are not
God, who wants us not to reverence man, is p o l y t h e i sts, but their doctrine is as truly
contradicting Himself by telling us to do so. Of monotheistic as is biblical Judaism. In fact, with-
course, God is not contradicting Himself, but is out an understanding of the tri-unity of God,
driving home the point once more: The Messiah one would be at a loss to explain much of the
is God. teaching of the Old Testament.
The crux of the entire matter finally settles
A Final Word in an explanation of the impact of the life and
ministry of Jesus Christ. For over two millennia
We have shared together a number of He has captivated hearts and dominated history.
momentous facts – truths that will liberate our To be perfectly candid, how can we explain
minds if we are willing to put off restrictive, Him, apart from the fact that He is God?

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