JEWISHNESS AND THE TRINITY
By Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Founder/Director of Ariel Ministries
“Shema Yisroel Adonai Elochenu Adonai Echad”
(Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.)
Rabbi Stanley Greenberg of Temple Sinai in Philadelphia wrote:
“Christians are, of course, entitled to believe in a Trinitarian conception of God.but their effort to base this conception on the Hebrew Bible must fly in the face of the overwhelming testimony of that Bible. Hebrew Scriptures are clear and unequivocal on the oneness of God The Hebrew Bible affirms the one God with unmistakable clarity Monotheism, an uncompromising belief in one God, is the hallmark of the Hebrew Bible, the unwavering affirmation of Judaism and the unshakable faith of the Jew.”
Whether Christians are accused of being polytheists or tritheists and whether or not it is admitted that the Christian concept of the Tri-unity is a form of monotheism, one element always appears: one cannot believe in the Trinity and be Jewish. Even if what Christians believe is monotheistic, it still does not seem to be monotheistic enough to qualify as true Jewishness. Rabbi Greenberg’s article tends to reflect that thinking.
He went on to say, “… under no circumstances can a concept of a plurality of the Godhead or a trinity of the Godhead ever be based upon the Hebrew Bible.” It is perhaps best to begin with the very source of Jewish theology and the only means of testing it: Hebrew Scriptures. Since so much relies on Hebrew Scripture usage, then to the Hebrew we should turn.
GOD IS A PLURALITY
The Name Elohim
It is generally agreed that Elohim is a plural noun having the masculine plural ending “im.” The very word Elohim used of the true God in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is also used in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods (Elohim) before Me,” and in Deuteronomy 13:2, “Let us go after other gods (Elohim)… .” While the use of the plural Elohim does not prove a Tri-unity, it certainly opens the door to a doctrine of plurality in the Godhead since it is the word that is used for the one true God as well as for the many false gods.
Plural Verbs Used With Elohim
Virtually all Hebrew scholars do recognize that the word Elohim, as it stands by itself, is a plural noun. Nevertheless, they wish to deny that it allows for any plurality in the Godhead whatsoever. Their line of reasoning usually goes like this: When “Elohim” is used of the true God, it is followed by a singular verb; when it is used of false gods, it is followed by the plural verb. Rabbi Greenberg states it as follows:
“But, in fact, the verb used in the opening verse of Genesis is “bara,” which means “he created” – singular. One need not be too profound a student of Hebrew to understand that the opening verse of Genesis clearly speaks of a singular God.”
The point made, of course, is generally true because the Bible does teach that God is only one God and, therefore, the general pattern is to have the plural noun followed by the singular verb when it speaks of the one true God. However, there are places where the word is used of the true God and yet it is followed by a plural verb:
Genesis 20:13: And it came to pass, when God (Elohim) caused me to wander (Literally: THEY caused me to wander) from my father’s house …
Genesis 35:7: … because there God (Elohim) appeared to him … (Literally: THEY appeared to him.)
2 Samuel 7:23: … God (Elohim) went … (Literally: THEY went.)
Psalm 58 Surely He is God who judges … (Literally: THEY judge.)
Content retrieved from: https://ariel.org.nz/the-divine-names-of-the-messiah/?fbclid=IwAR1pN9NIXxctWOsEPWEGgdNp1gcR4mXwUithhgpPAjF1_w-JG8CECQxUQwA.
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