THE TRINITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND EARLY JEWISH WRITINGS
1). INTRODUCTION
In an earlier Post I established that the deity of Christ and doctrine of the Trinity long predated Constantine and the Council of Nicea, and indeed was understood and taught by all the early church fathers and the Apostles and Jesus before them.
https://apologetics.stevenson.cc/nicea/neither-constantine-nor-the-council-of-nicea-invented-christianity/neither-constantine-nor-the-council-of-nicea-invented-christianity
This Post will demonstrate that God has always presented Himself in three persons, throughout the pages of history, by focusing on the Old Testament and Second Temple era Rabbinic thought.
2). GOD AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD
In the very first 2 verses of the Bible we are given the first mention of God and it’s a strong hint of God having plurality. We find God (verse 1) and the Spirit of God (verse 2).
This is a good place to show how the law of first mention can be used retrospectively. Where the doctrine of the Trinity, as expounded by Jesus Himself and the rest of the New Testament authors, is contested one can go back to the first mention of God in the Bible and test the Trinity Doctrine against the first mention of God and see if it stands up to scrutiny. Indisputably it does. Right from the start God is described pluralistically. “Elohim” is a compound word meaning a singular “God” with a plurality of power.
3). THE COMPOUND UNITY OF ELOHIM
The first name for God ever used in the Bible in Genesis is ELOHIM:
Hebrew: אלהים Transliteration: ‘ĕlôhîym Pronunciation: el-o-heem’ Definition: Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural {thus} especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
(It’s used over 30 times in Genesis chapter 1 alone)
From this first mention we can note:
□ The plurality of the name Elohim
□ When used of the one true God, Elohim is always accompanied by verbs and adjectives in the singular.
□ When describing the actions and words of God we find plural pronouns:
“And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of US, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” (Genesis 3:22)
“Go to, let US go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:7)
Now I am not one of those who suggests this indication of plurality is explained as an early form of “pluralis majestatis.” The earliest known use of this poetic device is somewhere in the 4th century AD, during the Byzantine period, nevertheless scholars as Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842) and Aaron Ember (1878-1926) and Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), claim that Elohim is a form of majestic plural in the Torah. The fact is when Genesis was written there is zero evidence of such a literary device. Genesis 1:26 quotes God (Elohim) as saying, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (HCSB) This first person plural can hardly be a mere editorial or royal plural that refers to the speaker alone, for no such usage is demonstrable anywhere else in biblical Hebrew. Therefore we must face the question of who are included in this ‘us’ and ‘our.’ It could hardly include the angels in consultation with God, for nowhere is it ever stated that man was created in the image of the angels, only God. Verse 27 then affirms: “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” (HCSB)
God – the same God who spoke of Himself in the plural – now states that He created man in His image. In other words, the plural equals the singular. This can only be understood in terms of the Trinitarian nature of God. The one true God subsists in three Persons, Persons who are able to confer with one another and carry their plans into action together – without ceasing to be one God.
So the royal plural idea is simply bad interpretation misappropriating a later philosophy to a much earlier time, and breaks the basic rules of hermeneutics.
4). GOD’S UNFOLDING SELF REVELATION
The Trinity is present in Genesis 1 “in a manner of revelation appropriate to that time,” on a need to know basis.
The self-revelation of the Trinity in Scripture unfolds according to a twofold economy. There is that which comes before Jesus’s appearance in the flesh (the self-revelation of the Trinity in the Old Testament) and that which comes after Jesus’s appearance in the flesh (the self-revelation of the Trinity in the New Testament). The contrast between these two forms of revelation is not absolute. It’s not that the Trinity is absent in the Old Testament and present in the New Testament. The contrast is relative. Both testaments are modes of the Trinity’s presence, but they are different modes of the Trinity’s presence. The Trinity is “hidden” in the Old Testament and “manifest” in the New.
The presence of the Trinity in the Old Testament, like a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44; Colossians 2:2–3), is a “hidden presence,” one we can only fully appreciate in light of the Trinity’s “manifest presence” in the New.
5). THE HIDDEN PRESENCE IN GENESIS 1
With this clarification in place, we’re better prepared to address our question: how is the Trinity present in Genesis 1 “in a manner of revelation appropriate to that time”? Genesis 1 exhibits at least three traces of the Trinity’s hidden presence. These traces provide essential building blocks for the full edifice of Trinitarian revelation manifest in the New Testament.
# Genesis 1 exhibits several instances of subject-verb disagreement.
In Genesis 1:1, the plural noun “Elohim” (“God” in the ESV) is joined with the singular verb “created”: “In the beginning, [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” The pattern is repeated in Genesis 1:27: “So [Elohim] created man in his own image, in the image of [Elohim] he created him; male and female he created them.”
These examples of subject-verb disagreement seem to be intentional on the part of the author. What is he emphasizing? That God alone created all things by means of his singular agency. Creation wasn’t the work of a committee of heavenly beings partnering together. God alone created heaven and earth, without any guides (Isaiah 40:13–14) or helpers (Isaiah 44:24; Jeremiah 10:12; 27:5).
# Creation wasn’t the work of a committee of heavenly beings.
In emphasizing this point, Genesis 1 provides the first and fundamental building block of trinitarian theology: monotheism. One God created all things, rules all things, and directs all things to himself. Apart from monotheism, belief in the Trinity would be a form of polytheism. Only in the context of monotheism is faith in the Trinity faith in one God in three persons.
# Genesis 1 includes God’s Word and Spirit within God’s singular agency.
The preceding examples teach us that God alone created heaven and earth. They also help us appreciate the place of God’s Word and Spirit within God’s work of creating.
According to Genesis 1, God’s Word and Spirit are the means whereby God produces, forms, and fills all things. God speaks creatures into existence (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). God names the various creatures he brings into existence (Genesis 1:5, 8, 10). And God blesses the creatures he brings into existence (Genesis 1:22, 28). Along with God’s speech, God’s Spirit is also active in the work of creation, hovering like a mother bird (Genesis 1:2; cf. Deuteronomy 32:11) over the unformed, unfilled world God produced, ready to endow it with life, energy, intelligence, and fullness by means of his life-giving presence (Exodus 31:3; 35:31; Numbers 24:2).
In identifying God’s Word and Spirit as the means whereby God produces, forms, and fills all things, Genesis 1 includes God’s Word and Spirit within God’s singular agency. To say that God creates by his Word and Spirit is another way of saying that God creates by himself and not by the agency of another (Psalms 33:6–9; John 1:3; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).
Whatever distinctions Scripture later reveals between Elohim, his Word, and his Spirit, they should not be taken as distinctions between the one God and something that is not God. They should be taken as distinctions within the one God himself.
Genesis 1 doesn’t yet indicate the full significance that the names “Word” and “Spirit” will have for trinitarian theology. The full significance of these names only comes with the appearance of the Word made flesh and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Nevertheless, by including God’s Word and Spirit within God’s singular agency, Genesis 1 puts another fundamental building block of trinitarian theology in place.
6). MORE ON THE PLURAL PRONOUNS
As already noted, Genesis 1 repeatedly identifies God by the plural noun “Elohim.” Some biblical commentators have taken this plural noun as an indication of God’s tripersonal fullness. Still others have taken God’s plural self-address in Genesis 1:26 (“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”) as an indication that the work of creation is the work of one God in three persons. Are these plural forms also signs of the Trinity’s hidden presence? Let’s return to Genesis 1:26:
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 HCSB)
God’s plural self-address cannot be the so-called “royal we,” an idiomatic expression applied to royalty which, as already observed, would not appear for hundreds more years. Other anti-Trinitarians see it as an example of God addressing the heavenly assembly of angels (Job 1:6; 2:1), but this contradicts the overarching message of Genesis 1 and Scripture as a whole. When it comes to God’s work of creating, God does not operate in a committe or enlist the help of angels, which at best serve as an accompanying chorus (Job 38:7). God alone acts by means of His singular, sovereign agency: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself” (Isaiah 44:24).
What, then, should we make of the “riddle” of God’s plural self-address in Genesis 1:26? As Robert Jenson somewhere observes, God’s Word and Spirit are the only candidates Genesis 1 actually presents as potential objects of God’s plural self-address in Genesis 1:26. If a conclusive judgment remains difficult to reach it is only because we need the later revelations to be able to fully interpret this verse with confidence.
The difficulty of arriving at conclusive judgments when interpreting Old Testament revelation of the Trinity should not surprise or bother us – if we are sensitive to the twofold economy of scriptural revelation of the Trinity. The riddles of Old Testament revelation of the Trinity are only resolved by New Testament revelation of the Trinity.
# Genesis 1 Sets the Stage
Traces of the Trinity’s presence in the Old Testament provide the foundation for the full edifice of trinitarian revelation that follows in the New. Genesis 1 introduces us to the main character of the scriptural drama: the one God who rules all things by his Word and Spirit. Genesis 1 sets the stage on which the scriptural drama unfolds: the world produced, formed, and filled by the triune God. And Genesis 1 introduces us to the main object of the triune God’s sovereign self-commitment: the creature made in God’s image.
In doing so, Genesis 1 serves the main purpose of holy Scripture, which is to promote union and communion between the holy Trinity and the people created, redeemed, and perfected for Himself.
7). MORE PROOF OF A TRIUNE GOD FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
OT prophetic writings identify Yahweh as the ‘go’el’ (kinsman/redeemer) of his people!
“Do not remove an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer (go’alam) is strong; he will plead their cause against you.” (Proverbs 23:10-11)
“Their Redeemer (go’alam) is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.” (Jeremiah 50:34)
As his people’s strong go’el Yahweh not only rescues them from oppression,
“Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.’” (Exodus 6:6-7)
“Thou hast led in thy steadfast love the people whom thou hast redeemed (ga’lata), thou hast guided them by thy strength to thy holy abode.” (Exodus 15:13)
Psalm 33:6 reads, ‘By the Word of Yahweh were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Spirit (ruah) of His mouth.’ Here again we have the same involvement of all three Persons of the Trinity in the work of creation: the Father decrees, the Son as the Logos brings the Father’s decree into operation, and the Spirit imparts His life-giving dynamic to the whole process…
He also ransoms them from death by atoning for their sins:
“They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer (go’alam). But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he atoned for their iniqu ities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.” (Psalm 78:35-39)
“I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you (ga’alatika). Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed (ga’al) Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer (go’aleka), who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who made all things, who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread out the earth — Who was with me?’” (Isaiah 44:22-24)
“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5 – cf. 19:14; 69:18; 72:14; 74:2; 77:15; 106:10; 119:154)
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them (‘ega’alem) from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.” (Hosea 13:14)
When we read the Hebrew Bible we discover that Israel’s heavenly go’el is actually tri-personal, consisting of Yahweh, the Angel of his Presence/Face, and his Holy Spirit!
“I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, ‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me’; and so he became their Savior. (lemoshi’a) (Strongs H3467 Hebrew: ישׁע Transliteration: yâsha‛ Pronunciation: yaw-shah’) In all their distress he too was distressed, and the Angel of his Presence/Face saved them (hoshi’am). In his love and mercy he redeemed them (ga’alam); he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name. Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us. But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer (go’alenu) from of old is your name.” (Isaiah 63:7-16)
In all of the above references “Redeemer” is defined by Strongs (H1350) as:
Hebrew: גּאל Transliteration: gâ’al Pronunciation: gaw-al’ Definition: A primitive {root} to redeem (according to the Oriental law of {kinship}) that {is} to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative´s {property} marry his {widow} etc.): – X in any {wise} X at {all} {avenger} {deliver} ({do} perform the part of {near} next) kinsfolk ({-man}) {purchase} {ransom} redeem ({-er}) revenger. KJV Usage: redeem (50x), redeemer (18x), kinsman (13x),
Yahweh became Israel’s Savior and Redeemer by sending both his Angel and Spirit to give Israel deliverance and rest.
8). THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
In addition to the examples given above of Old Testament verses that cannot be made sense of except through the Trinitarian nature of the Godhead, there are repeated instances of the activity of the ‘Angel of the Lord (Yahweh)’ who becomes equated with Yahweh Himself. Consider the passages:
Interestingly, we are told that while Yahweh’s Spirit gave the people rest by leading them into the promised land, it is stated elsewhere that Yahweh gave them rest by promising to send his very own Presence/Face ahead of them:
“Moses said to the LORD, ‘See, thou sayest to me, “Bring up this people”; but thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee and find favor in thy sight. Consider too that this nation is thy people.’ And he said, ‘My Presence/Face will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If thy Presence/Face will not go with me, do not carry us up from here.’” (Exodus 33:12-15)
We are further informed that it was Yahweh’s Angel who was sent to redeem them from Egypt:
“Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, ‘Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the adversity that has befallen us: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers; and when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an Angel and brought us forth out of Egypt; and here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.’” (Numbers 20:14-16)
We are even told that this specific Angel is actually Israel’s go’el!
“And he [Jacob/Israel] blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has led me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed (ha go’el) me from all evil, may HE bless (yebarecha) the lads; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’” (Genesis 48:15-16)
Amazingly, Jacob uses the singular verb, “may He bless,” as opposed to the plural (yebarechu) even though he clearly refers to both God and the Angel in his invocation! The singular obviously indicates that Jacob knew that God and his Angel were somehow connected even though they were personally distinct.
In fact, God and his Angel are so intimately related with each other that elsewhere it is said that this particular Angel actually bears Yahweh’s very own Name.
“Behold, I send an Angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my Name is in him. But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. When my angel goes before you, and brings you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Per’izzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jeb’usites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.” (Exodus 23:20-24)
To have Yahweh’s Name within him basically means that the Angel bears the very essence and characteristics of Yahweh, which explains why He is able to either forgive sins or not – an exclusively divine function (cf. 1 Kings 8:46-52; Psalm 103:2-3, 10-14; 130:4; Isaiah 43:25; Micah 7:18-19) – and have His mediation accepted by Yahweh:
“The Angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, “I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.” Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’ When the Angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.” (Judges 2:1-5)
“Then the Angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these seventy years?’ And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the Angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’” (Zechariah 1:12-17)
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?’ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the Angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ And to him he said, ‘Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel.’” (Zechariah 3:1-4)
The Angel is not a creature but is a fully Divine Being who is personally distinct from Yahweh and therefore can intercede before him.
This also helps us to better understand the meaning of the phrase, “Angel of his Face,” i.e., he is the Angel who fully bears the Divine essence and therefore perfectly expresses the Divine Being to others. This also ties the Angel with Yahweh’s very own Presence/Face which he sent ahead of the Israelites, e.g., the Angel is Yahweh’s personal Presence/Face that went before the people of God!
Therefore, it is apparent that the OT teaching concerning the Angel of Yahweh and the Holy Spirit conclusively proves that Israel’s heavenly go’el is not uni-personal but is Triune in nature. The OT evidence shows that the true prophets of Yahweh knew and proclaimed that the one true God of all is a tri-personal Being.
No wonder the prophet David spoke of Gods coming to redeem Israel!
“What other nation on earth is like thy people Israel, whom God(s) have gone (halachu elohim) to redeem to be his people, making himself a name, and doing for them great and terrible things, by driving out before his people a nation and its gods?” (2 Samuel 7:23)
9). THE TEACHINGS OF THE TARGUMS
When the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity 450 years before the birth of Jesus, they had adopted Aramaic as their native language. Although it is a dialect of ancient Hebrew, Aramaic is about as different from it as modern Italian is from its classical Latin ancestor. Consequently, during the first and early second centuries AD, Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Old Testament were made.
These translations, called Targums, were The Living Bibles of their day, an interpretive paraphrase of Scripture. They help us see how these first-century Jews understood their Old Testament.
One of the striking things these Targums show is that first century Jews had come to understand the phrase “the Word of God” as referring to a divine entity within God Himself, yet distinguishable at times from God. J.W. Etheridge, in the introduction to his translations of the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, has given us a number of examples of this Jewish understanding of the term, “the Word” (Aramaic: ‘Memra’).
Strikingly, on Genesis 1:1. Targum Neofiti reads, aymç ty llkç yyyd arb hmkjb ˆymdqlm a[ra tyw (“In the beginning, with wisdom, the Son of Yahweh created the heavens and the earth”).
The Targum is not alone in its indication of wisdom as the means by which God created. Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15 says that he estab- lished the world (lbt) by his wisdom (wtmkjb).
In Psalm 104:24 the psalmist says, “How great are your works, O LORD! All of them you have made with wisdom (hmkjb).”
Proverbs 8:22–31 says that wisdom was at the LORD’s side as a “master-workman” (ˆwma) when the heavens were established.
The Targum also finds support within the book of Proverbs for its understanding of the Son’s role in creation. Proverbs 30:4 reveals that the one who established all the ends of the earth has a Son. It is difficult to say what the relationship of the Targum to Proverbs 30:4 is, but what does seem certain is that the Targum is engaged in a fascinating exegesis of ‘arb’. In the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1, ‘arb’ clearly means “he created.” But in Aramaic ‘arb’ can also be rb (“son”) plus the suffixed definite article a (“the”). The Targum features this Aramaic option and adds llkç for “he created” (or “he finished/decorated”)
Turning to Genesis 3:15, The Fragmentary Targum, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and Targum Neofiti all cast Genesis 3:15 as an opposition between the descendants of the woman and the descendants of the serpent, in which the woman’s descendants strike the serpent’s head in keeping the commandments of the law, and in which failure to keep the commandments is identified with the woman’s descendants being bit in the heel. There is no cure for the serpent, but there is a cure for the heel “in the day of King Messiah” (ajyçm aklm amwyb). It is noteworthy that, while this Palestinian tradition does not identify the seed as an individual in accordance with the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 12:1–7; 27:29; 49:8; Numbers 24:9), nevertheless, it does read Genesis 3:15 messianically.
In Genesis 18:1, where the Hebrew Bible says Yahweh (Jehovah) appeared to Abraham, the Targum says, “The Word of the Lord appeared to Abraham.” Further on, where the Hebrew reports “Yahweh rained down upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven,” the Targum states that “the Word of the Lord sent down upon them sulphur and fire from the presence of the Lord out of heaven.” (Genesis 19:24)
In Genesis 16, when Hagar sees “the Angel of the Lord,” the Targum says she saw “the Word of the Lord.” After seeing this “Word” (Memra) she says, “Here has been revealed the glory of the Shekineh of the Lord.” Then, according to the Jerusalem Targum, “Hagar returned thanks and prayed in the name of the Word of the Lord, who had appeared to her.” Thus the Word not only is regarded as the presence of deity, but is in some manner personally distinguishable from the Lord.
In Genesis 28:20 the Targum of Onkelos paraphrases Jacob’s vow, “If God will be with me… then Yahweh will be my God” with the words, “If the Word of the Lord will be my help… the Word of the Lord shall be my God.” Again, the Angel of Yahweh who spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) is designated by the Jerusalem Targum as “the Word of the Lord.”
The distinct personality of this Divine Word is seen pointedly in Jonathan’s Targum of Isaiah 63:7-10. There, where the Hebrew text speaks of Yahweh being their Savior, the Targum reads, “the Word (Memra) was their Redeemer.” (vs. 8) When the Israelites continued to disobey, then “His Word (Memra) became their enemy, and fought against them” — an action ascribed to Yahweh in the Hebrew text. Again in Isaiah 45:22 the Targum of Jonathan exhorts, “Look unto My Word and be saved.”
While this personalizing of the Word was being expressed in Palestine in the Targums of Jesus’ day, Philo, an Egyptian Jew and contemporary of Jesus, was expressing similar thoughts in even more distinct words. In his essay “On the Creation,” Philo states that man was not made in the image of some creature, but in the image of God’s own uncreated Word. He wrote: “for the Creator, we know, employed for its making no pattern taken from among created things, but solely, as I have said, His own Word.”
Philo continues: “Man was made a likeness and imitation of the Word, when the Divine Breath was breathed into his face. (“On the Creation,” XLVIII: 139, Loeb Edition I, pp. 110-111)
In his work on Noah, Philo again expresses the teaching that man is made by “the First Cause” (that is, God) in the image of “the Eternal Word:” “Our great Moses likened the fashion of the rea- sonable soul to no created thing, but averred it to be a genuine coinage of that dread Spirit, the Divine and Invisible One, signed and impressed by the seal of God, the stamp of which is the Eternal Word.”
He continues: “…man has been made after the Image of God (Genesis 1:27), not however after the image of anything created… man’s soul having been made after the image of the Archetype, the Word of the First Cause.” (“Noah’s Work as a Planter,” I:18-20, Loeb III, pp. 222-223)
Thus, the eternal Word is in some sense distinguishable from God, and yet at the same time is, like God, uncreated, rational and the bearer of the divine image. This comes very close to the teaching of the New Testament that the Word was distinguishable from God, and yet was God. As John 1:1 expresses it, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It also appears similar to Paul’s teaching that the Son is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15); and the writer of Hebrews statement that the Son “is the exact representation of His being.” (Hebrews 1:3)
Philo, however, goes further. He says that God is the king and shepherd of all creation, but rules and controls it through his eternally existing Word, whom Philo calls God’s “First-born Son.”
His “hallowed flock” of created things God directs by his divine laws, setting over it His true Word and first-born son, who shall take upon Him its government like some viceroy of a great king. (“On Husbandry,” I:51, Loeb III, pp. 134-135)
Philo has God expressing Himself in this manner: “I alone… sustained the Universe to rest firm and sure upon the Mighty Word, who is My viceroy.” (“On Dreams,” I:241, Loeb V, pp. 424- 425)
Therefore this eternal Word, God’s first-born Son, is the upholder of the whole creation, “the everlasting Word of the eternal God is the very sure and staunch prop of the Whole. He it is, who extending Himself from the midst to its utmost bounds… keeps up through all its length Nature’s unvanquished course, combining and compacting all its parts. For the Father who begat Him constituted His Word such a Bond of the Universe as nothing can break.” (“Noah’s Work as a Planter,” I:8-9, Loeb III, pp. 216-217)
This reflects the same thought that Paul expressed about the Son as being the one “in whom all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17) It also reminds also reminds us of Hebrews 1:3, which depicts the Son as “sustaining all things by his powerful Word.”
Philo continues his discussion of the Word by maintaining that to those incapable of seeing the supreme cause, God Himself, He appears to them in the form of His Angel, the Word: “For just as those who are unable to see the sun itself, see the gleam of the parahelion and take it for the sun, and take the halo round the moon for that luminary itself, so some regard the image of God, His Angel, the Word, as His very self.” (“On Dreams,” I:239, Loeb V, pp. 422-423) This sounds very similar to the teaching tha t the Son is “the radiance (or outshining) of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3), the only part of God’s nature that people are allowed to see. This is true because “no one has ever seen God,” but “the only begotten God… He has made Him known.” (John 1:18) Thus, Jesus, the Son, can say, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Philo further explained that God, being light, is “the archetype of every other light.” As such He is “prior to and high above every archetype.” Thus He holds the position of “a model of a model,” that is, He is the model for His Word, which Word becomes the model for creation. The Word, therefore, contains all the qualities of God. As Philo expressed it, “the model or pattern was the Word which contained all His fullness — light, in fact.” (“On Dreams,” I:75, Loeb V, pp. 336-337) Paul expressed a similar thought when he wrote that in the Son all God’s fullness dwells. (Colossians 1:19; 2:9)
To Philo, therefore, the Word of God is the eternal, uncreated Word containing all the fullness of God and bearing His image. That divine image which the Word bears is the image in which man was created. The Word is further the sustainer, upholder and ruler of the world, carrying on the governing of all things, as God’s viceroy, and containing all God’s fullness.
While the Word is not a created thing and carries on all the functions of God, Philo is clear that there are not two gods — although he does not attempt to explain how this can be. Philo’s teaching is, therefore, very close to, and consistent with, the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Philo reached his conclusions without the aid of the New Testament and certainly without deriving his ideas from pagan notions of deity. The Old Testament teaching that the Angel of Yahweh is really the presence of Yahweh Himself seems to have strongly influenced Philo’s ideas.
10). CONCLUSIONS
Even from this incomplete survey, it is transparently clear that the Old Testament is replete with indications of God’s plurality. Genesis 1:26 is the first major stumbling block for strict monotheistic heretical Cults. Then, subsequent teaching concerning the Angel of Yahweh and the Holy Spirit conclusively proves that Israel’s heavenly go’el is not uni-personal but is Triune in nature. The Hebrew Bible itself (not any later Christian inspired writings) clearly establishes that Israel’s heavenly go’el is tri-personal, consisting of Yahweh, the Angel of his Presence/Face, and his Holy Spirit!
Thus the OT evidence shows that the true prophets of Yahweh knew and proclaimed that the one true God of all is a tri-personal Being.
To relegate the doctrine of the Trinity, therefore, to a 4th century adaptation of paganism, as Islam and other heretical cults seek to do is to ignore the conclusions that several Jewish theologians and teachers had reached four centuries earlier, from God’s revelations given to Israel before the time of the coming of Christ. At the very time that the Word was becoming flesh (John 1:1, 14), Jewish writers were already beginning to see that God’s Word could in some way be distinguished from God the Father Himself, yet have all the fullness of God contained in Him.
In exactly the same way as the Antenicean Church fathers destroy the myth of the Trinity being a later invention, not held in the 1st century, so these early Jewish writings are likewise the death knell for Islamic allegations of a later Christian re rendering of the Jewish Scriptures, to insert the Trinity doctrine.
All the above show how ancient Jews were at a minimum of ‘binitarian’. The New Testament authors knew this very well and were building upon these traditions, not conflicting with or departing from them. We should only debunk but otherwise have nothing to do with Cults which seek to rewrite history, of which Islam is the worst example.
See this excellent presentation for more on the Trinity in the Old Testament here:
YouTube Link: “The Trinity in Genesis (Part 1)” by Anthony Rogers https://youtu.be/pc–_opCL3M
□ Further Reading:
“Our God is Triune” by Michael Burgos [ISBN: 9780692422915]
“Two Powers in Heaven” by Alan Segal [ISBN: 9781602585492]
“Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus: How the Torah Fulfills Its Goal in Yeshua” by Seth Postell, Eitan Bar, Erez Soref [ISBN: 9781683593539]
“Is Jesus the Messiah – A Judaism vs. Judaism debate” by Ammi, Ken [ISBN: 9781548114688]
“The Jewish Trinity” by Yoel Natan [ISBN: 9781593301002]
“The Religion of the Apostles – Orthodox Christianity in the First Century ” by Stephen de Young [ISBN: 9781944967550]
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