The verse often used by those who do not accept the trinity or divinity of Christ. translated: Deut. 6,4 "Hear O Isreal, the Lord our God , the Lord is One". But is that the real translation?....
"But when we look more closely, we see that Adonai, often translated “LORD,” is plural, “my Lords.” Eloheynu, often translated “God,” is also plural, “our Gods.” A literal translation of the Shma would be, “… my Lords our Gods my Lords one.” Three mentions of God. A perfect representation of the Blessed Trinity. The second mention of God, moreover, is Eloheynu, “our Gods,” not Elohai, “my Gods,” suggesting the Second Person, who would open the Torah to the whole world. “One” reminds us that God is one Blessed Trinity."
http://www.secondexodus.com/html/jewishcatholicdialogue/shma.htm
2007-09-04 09:47:30 · 7 answers · asked by THEHATEDTRUTH 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"Elohim." (Elohim is the plural rendering of the word "GOD")
Deuteronomy 6:4
"The Lord (Jehovah) our God (Elohim) is One Lord (Jehovah)."
The word translated "one" is "echad". It is the same Hebrew word translated "one" in Genesis 2:24
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be ONE."
The husband and wife are still TWO separate persons, yet the Bible says they shall be ONE.
In the same way God the Father and God the Son are separate personalities yet they constitute (with the Holy Spirit) "ONE JEHOVAH". "Echad" is a very common word for "one" and means "one in unity", "one in plurality" as well as the numerical number one. If Moses would have wished to emphasize one singular God he would have used "yachid" as in Genesis 22:2. Instead he used "echad in order to allow for a plurality.
2007-09-05 05:02:40 · update #1
AMEN. Genesis ........"Let US create man in OUR image."
Yes the one there is Eghad which means unified not literally one. Hebrew people know this but choose to dismiss it. Sad!
2007-09-04 09:52:54 · answer #1 · answered by K in Him 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol. how ridiculous. apparently, hundreds of the pagan gods were a trinity too!
1 Sam 5:7 - the philistine god Dagon is referred to as an elohim
1 Kings 11:33 - the zidionian goddess Ashtoreth is referred to an an elohim
1 Kings 11:33 - the moab god Chemosh is referred to as an elohim
1 Kings 11:33 - the ammonite god Milcom is referred to as an elohim
and so on and so forth.
wow, either all these peoples - the ammonites, the moabites, the zidionians, etc - believed that their patron god was actually one-god-in-three-persons, or the word elohim, while having a pluralized ending, nevertheless is singular in meaning. just like all the other words in hebrew that have a plural ending but are actually singular in meaning.
maybe my own face is secretly a trinity as well, because the hebrew word for face is "panim" and has a plural ending! i wonder which of my faces i should use to eat dinner with tonight...
2007-09-04 17:06:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The older religion of tribal Hebrews was polytheistic. They were a patriarchy, but they even had female deities that functioned as seconds or concubines to the male gods. Often, in older traditions you will find ascetic jews especially referring to the Sabbath as an entity that is female. They say Shabbat, but they call her Queen Shabbat and say "Queen Shabbat is coming" in inviting the sabbath into their homes.
The gender pleuralism of old hebrew speech is a vestige of the polytheism. Some of the diety words actually are feminine words and this is not an accident. It is a remnant of female deity.
JVH, which became Jehova or Yahweh and german translators and then other interposed vowels into a system of writing without vowels, was a masculine hebrew god of war. They obtained freedom and eventual power in envoking JVH and so he obtained prominance.
Note it is said that JVH is a jealous god, not that he was the only god. He forbade the worship of other gods, not denying their existance because the oldest hebrew understanding of the pantheon involved a pantheon of gods of place. Different places were sacred to different gods. JVH was a god of a tent. They packed the tent and the god went with them so they had a patron god in him that was specific to the children of Israel. This was during one of the final points of transition from a polytheistic religion which very naturally lays the groundwork for the entry of the image of the trinity into the judeo-christian understanding of their god. Father-son-and holy ghost.
So we see the separation between father and son, but where does the holy ghost come in? Well, I think that is a question best left to the polytheists.
2007-09-04 17:05:44 · answer #3 · answered by pippinstar 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It gets tricky, doesn't it? One little slip and it's off to correcting yourself or falling right into heresy.
I like what you said. I've done a bit of axiomatic study with the 'trinity' concept. It's true, but how accurate is our ability to conceptualize it? It can be exacted from the scriptures, but it's just amorphic enough to get the unbelieving Jews off the track.
I am glad that you are not one of those. Shalom!
2007-09-04 16:58:01 · answer #4 · answered by Christian Sinner 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is One. In the Trinity He is One-we only have one God.
Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Achad
2007-09-04 16:52:15 · answer #5 · answered by Makemeaspark 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ad___ is not plural. It is singular. If it had a Patach under the Nun, it would be plural.
2007-09-04 17:09:50 · answer #6 · answered by ysk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry, you need to get a better source.
The orignial hebrew reads:
Heb., Yehwah′ ’Elo·heh′nu Yehwah′ ’e·chadh′.
Lit., “Jehovah our God [is] Jehovah one.”
“Jehovah is our God, Jehovah is one [or, there is one Jehovah].”
As you can see, 'Adonai' is not used
==
Why is '’Elo·heh′nu ' translated God and not Gods?
Oxford Bible Commentary:
“Jehovah (YHWH) is the God, throughout the OT as the God who created the world.”
“But all our texts imply or affirm that for Israel, there can in the end be only Jehovah (YHWH).”
“(Gen 1:1 – 2:4c) in the OT there is only one God”
“(Deut 6:4) The audience is being admonished and confesses that Israel stands in an exclusive relationship with Jehovah. This excludes the worship of any other deities, as well as a consort of Jehovah.”
Elohim when it applies to Jehovah, the only true God of Israel
http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=0430
Elohim (singular meaning)
2) (plural intensive - singular meaning)
a) god, goddess
b) godlike one
c) works or special possessions of God
d) the (true) God
e) God
Elohim: DOES NOT MEAN YAHWEH GODS, BUT YAHWEH the true (d) GOD.
==
Jesus confirmed this when he quoted Deut. 6:4
Mark 12:29 New King James Version (NKJV)
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ (Notice LORD is in caps, for Jehovah's name.)
New World Translation (NWT)
Jesus answered: “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah,
The Greek Jesus used is God, singular not plural.
Theos (singular) and not Theoi (plural)
==
If it's okay with you, I'm going to believe Jesus.
*********************************************
edit:
Elohim when applied to Jehovah does NOT mean Gods.
It means 'God' or 'True God'
When Moses is called Elohim (Ex 7:1) it doesn't mean there are three Moses.
You are still disagreeing with Jesus' understanding of this verse.
Please note:
==
Oxford Bible Commentary:
“Jehovah (YHWH) is the God, throughout the OT as the God who created the world.”
“But all our texts imply or affirm that for Israel, there can in the end be only Jehovah (YHWH).”
“(Gen 1:1 – 2:4c) in the OT there is only one God”
“(Deut 6:4) The audience is being admonished and confesses that Israel stands in an exclusive relationship with Jehovah. This excludes the worship of any other deities, as well as a consort of Jehovah.”
==
I enjoyed the comment, "THIS EXCLUDES THE WORSHIP OF ANY OTHER DEITIES, AS WELL AS A CONSORT OF JEHOVAH"
Elohim when it applies to Jehovah, the only true God of Israel
Please note these translations.
New International Version (NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
4"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
4`Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God [is] one Jehovah;
Amplified Bible (AMP)
4Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].
American Standard Version (ASV)
4 Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:
The Message (MSG)
4 Attention, Israel! GOD, our God! GOD the one and only!
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
4Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
4Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God!
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 "Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
In All these bibles, you have
‘ONE,
ONLY TRUE GOD,
ALONE,
THE ONE AND ONLY!,
ONE LORD (THE ONLY LORD)’
No where do you have “united” in any of these bibles at Deut. 6:4
The opposite is true, Jehovah is alone, the only!
Numero UNO!
Lexicon Results for 'echad (Strong's H259)
1) one (number)
a) one (number)
b) each, every
c) a certain
d) an (indefinite article)
e) only, once, once for all
f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one
g) first
Moses didn't need a better word of 'ONE' or 'ONLY'
Mark 12:29:
New Life Version (NLV)
29 Jesus said to him, "The greatest Law is this, 'Listen, Jewish people, The Lord our God is one Lord!
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
29 The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29 "This is the most important," Jesus answered:
Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
29 "This is the most important," Jesus answered:
Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One.
New Century Version (NCV)
29 Jesus answered, "The most important command is this: 'Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord.
New World Translation (NWT)
29 Jesus answered: “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah,
When Jesus quoted this verse from the Greek Septuagint, the Greek for God is NOT Plural.
The Greek word for one means:
Lexicon Results for heis (Strong's G1520)
1) one (numeral)
Again Jesus doesn’t agree with you, therefore I have to go with his understanding of this verse.
==
At Ex 7:1 Moses is called Elohim (God)
At Judges 13:21,22 an angel is called Elohim. (God)
At Ps 82:6 human judges are called Elohim (gods)
Does this mean Moses, the human judges, and the angel are false gods or part of the Godhead?
Definitions are not accumulative
Example: Fast in English means,
to move quickly “The fox ran fast.”
not move at all “The rabbit was held fast in fear”
to not eat for a period of time “Thus ending the fast of the fox”
The correct definition of only one, not all three.
Elohim when applied to Jehovah is singular God.
I have yet found one Bible that agrees with you.
"Yahweh our Gods are united Gods."
If you have a bible that says this at Deut 6:4, please share it with me.
.
2007-09-05 11:29:30 · answer #7 · answered by TeeM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋