5.b.2 - יהוה is
One When
studying about the divine essence of יהוה and the relationship between Father
and Son, one ought to take the many verses which proclaim his oneness into close
consideration and prayerful scrutiny. For, it is written:
Hear this, Israel,
יהוה our Elohym is one יהוה. Deuteronomy 6:4
Is is really impossible to discern
what the "one" in this context really means? Does it mean:
Three Elohym holding
hands in agreement?
Two Elohym holding hands in agreement?
Three persons in a
compound unity of one El?
Two persons in a compound unity of one El?
One El,
period, with no division of persons within Him?
[Note: Some claim that
Deuteronomy 6:4 has nothing to do with the number of persons within יהוה, but
rather that no other compound unities exist. We will look at this claim to see
if it matches the rest of Scripture.]
Scripture declares that there is no other
El dwelling beside יהוה:
… for יהוה is Elohym; there is none beside Him.
Deuteronomy 4:35 [There is no more by His side.] The Hebrew word for "beside" is
milbad, which is a compound word that breaks down like this:
Bad – separation
(from other parts); thus "part" L'bad – alone (to its parts), in its separation
Milbad – apart from; thus "beside"
The Hebrew phrase for "none" ["no more"] is
eyn owd: Eyn – no, not, none Owd – repetition; thus 'more' Thus,
יהוה alone is
Elohym, and there is no other El who stands next to Him.
Again, it is written:
For I am Elohym, and there is no other [eyn owd]. I am Elohym, and there is none
like Me. Isaiah 46:9
For יהוה, He is Elohym in heaven above and upon the earth
beneath, [there is] no more [eyn owd]. Deuteronomy 4:39
There is no other El
anywhere besides יהוה; there exist no other Elohym. Again, it is written:
To
cause them to know, from the rising of the sun unto its going down, that there
is none besides Me [no, none added, no repetition, not another]. I am יהוה, and
there is not other [eyn owd]. Isaiah 45:6
In this context, the Hebrew word for
"besides" is the compound word, biladay [#1107]: Bal – #1077 – none, nothing,
not Ad – #5749 uwd #5750 owd – repetition, repeating, going over again, added,
additional In this context, the idea of repetition, or additional, cannot be
taken any other way except "of persons", that is "there is none, not any other,"
that is, "no more." When the additional negation is added in context, this
becomes, "No, there is not any other," or "no, not another," or "No, none other
than Me!" Again, it is written:
Surely I am יהוה, and there is no Savior besides
Me. Isaiah 43:11
Thus says יהוה, King of Israel, and their Redeemer, יהוה of
Hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides Me, there is no Elohym.
Isaiah 44:6
In these verses, the word, "besides", is translated from the Hebrew
word, mibaladay, which has the mi [מ] attached to baladay, which is also
translated as "besides", in Isaiah 45:6. Thus, the entire word must be looked at
again, in order to see the slight variation in meaning intended in the original:
Mi – from (apart from), near, out of, above Bal – not, none, no Ad – going over
again, repetition, more, added, additional Ay – me Therefore, we should also
understand it this way: There is no Savior apart from, or in addition to, Me.
There is no Savior near Me or in addition to Me. There is no El above Me or in
addition to Me. Apart from Me and in addition to Me, there is no El. There is no
Savior or El, which is apart from יהוה, not in addition to Him. Again, it is
written:
I am יהוה, and there is no other [eyn owd]; beside Me, there is no
Elohym … Isaiah 45:5
The Hebrew word for "beside" is zuwl [#2108], which springs
from the idea of pouring out contents and removing all or part of the contents
into another place, that is, next to or beside. From this context, it becomes
obvious that יהוה has not ever poured out a portion of Himself to make another
El to stand next to Him or to be in agreement with Him. In fact, it becomes
apparent, through close examination, that יהוה has never in the past, and will
never in the future, divide Himself up into separate persons. Again, it is
written:
Declare, and bring them near, and let them take counsel together. Who
caused this to be heard from ancient time, declared it from that time. Have not
I, יהוה? And there is no other [eyn owd] El besides Me [mibaladay]. A righteous
El and a Savior, there is none besides Me [zuwl]. Isaiah 45:21
This verse
defines the oneness from several different angles: There is no other El or
Savior apart from יהוה or in addition to יהוה. No other El or Savior has ever
been poured forth from יהוה to stand next to יהוה as a separate person. Why is
this subject so important? Because, it is written:
I am יהוה; that is My name,
and I will not give My glory to another. Isaiah 42:8 Therefore, if a believer
thinks "one" means two or three persons in agreement, then this belief system
is, by its very nature, giving the glory of יהוה to another, even if this system
of belief sees three persons within יהוה. Because, יהוה, our El, is a jealous
El, and His jealousy rages as a consuming fire. [See Deuteronomy 4:24 and
Hebrews 12:29.] When one looks at the word used for "beside" and "besides" יהוה
in their simplest forms in context, it becomes obvious that when יהוה says that
HE IS ONE יהוה, He means just that. Then as one delves deeper into the picture
drawn from these words, used in contrast with one another, as in Isaiah 45:21,
then one wonders how someone could ever come to the conclusion that יהוה is a
compound unity or a trinity or a twinity. Yet many brothers hold to these
teachings. Consider this:
if יהוה is meaning to reveal that He is truly ONE El,
with no division of individual persons within Him, exactly what Hebrew words
were available for Him to make this any more clear than those already used here?
There is a relentless attack on the Hebrew word for "one", as used in
Deuteronomy 6:4:
Listen Israel, יהוה your Elohym, יהוה is one. Deauteronomy 6:4
The Hebrew word for "one" is echad [#258 and #259]. The Hebrews reached the idea
and concept of "one" from the similar thought of "to unite, to join one's self
together, to collect one's self" [Gesenius: see echad.] Yet echad does take on
the numerical power of an adjective, "one". It also means "the same". It is used
to convey the idea of "one of a kind", as in: But He is one [mind], and who can
turn Him… Job 23:13 … behold an evil, and only evil has come. Ezekiel 7:5 My
perfect beloved, she is one, one she is of her mother [the only one]. She is the
chosen [one] unto her that bore her. Song of Solomon 6:9
The fact remains that
the Hebrews did not have a more specific word to use in order to convey the idea
of יהוה's oneness. Some who try to bolster their teaching of the trinity make
the absurd claim that yachad (#3162 Strong's) would have been used if "one" had
been the intended meaning of Deuteronomy 6:4. A believer only has to look up
this word in the Strong's Hebrew lexicon or the Gesenius Hebrew lexicon in order
to realize how wrong this claim is.
Yachad [#3160]: to be joined, united
together to join oneself
Yachad [#3162]: union, junction together in one place
While yachad always takes the meaning as listed above, the word, echad [#259] is
used thus: First Someone (an individual) A certain [person] (an individual) One
only of its kind One time (once) The same
The only question which remains is,
why would an otherwise honest teacher be so intent on proving his point, that he
was willing to tell such a blatant lie? And, the point could be easily refuted
by comparing echad and yachad in a Hebrew dictionary or lexicon. Therefore,
considering the limits of the Hebrew language, a more specific word for "one"
cannot be found that would better express one יהוה with no division within Him,
that would amount to a separate person or persons.
Then, when this "one" [echad]
is compared to the verses which explain and limit our understanding of "one" in
context, a believer can rest confident that "one" means "one", we need no
further explanation. Now, let us examine and reconsider how יהוה, through
Isaiah, has defined His oneness:
And there is no other [eyn owd] El besides Me
[apart from me or in addition to Me (mibaladay)], A righteous El and a Savior;
there is none beside Me [poured out from Me to stand as a separate person next
to Me]. Isaiah 45:21
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