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DOES ELOHIM SUPPORT THE TRINITY DOCTRINE - THAT GOD IS A 'MULTI-PERSONAL' BEING?
The most frequently used Hebrew word in the Old Testament that is translated "God," is elohim. For example, "elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush" (Ex. 3:4).
Since it has the plural suffix im, the noun elohim is plural in form. Plural nouns usually denote multiple instances of that noun. This is also true of elohim. In the Bible, elohim is applied to pagan gods more than 400 times. It is then translated as "gods" and has plural verbs and plural adjectives modifying it. For example, "There shall not be to you other gods [elohim] before me" (Exodus 20:3).
Since elohim is commonly used to refer to the God of the Bible, many Christians think that the writers of the Old Testament used this plural term because they believed that God exists as a multi-personal Being. If this was true, it would validate the Trinity doctrine. The purpose of this article is to show that this is not true.
SummaryThe following is a summary of the arguments in the remainder of this article to show that elohim, when used for God, is not a plural referring term:
The noun elohim is consistently used with singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns, which means that the noun is also singular.
The Hebrew people pluralized nouns when they desired to express greatness. The plural ending is a plural of majesty. It is not intended as a numerical plural when used of God.
The Canaanite world, in which Judaism originated, employed a plural form to magnify one of their gods as the 'totality of gods.'
The pervasive monotheism of the Old Testament denies any proposal that the Jews thought of God as existing in multiple Persons.
The New Testament, which was written in Greek, never uses the plural form of theos to refer to God. Also when it quotes from the Hebrew Bible, it translates elohim with the singular noun theos.
The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) similarly also always translates elohim, when used for God, with the singular theos.
ConclusionOn the basis of this ample evidence, dictionaries define elohim as a plural of majesty.
But some still attempt to show that elohim "allows for" a plurality of divine Persons within God. To support this claim, they point to a few instances where the Old Testament uses PLURAL VERBS, PRONOUNS, ADJECTIVES, PARTICIPLES etc. with elohim. But a handful of such instances cannot negate the evidence from more than 2500 instances where the Old Testament uses elohim with singular verbs, etc. to refer to God. It is much more probable that the few plural verbs, etc. are part of the Jewish practice of using plurals to express greatness.
These points will now be discussed in more detail.
Single VerbsThe Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Volume 1, page 44, reads:
"The plural ending is usually described as a plural of majesty and not intended as a true plural when used of God. This is seen in the fact that the noun 'elohim is consistently used with singular verb forms and with adjectives and pronouns in the singular."
For example, the first verse in the Bible reads,
"In the beginning, God [elohim] created the heavens and the earth."
The Hebrew verb for "created" in this verse is in a form that expects a singular subject. This means, according to Hebrew grammar, that the noun performing the action, namely, elohim (God)-must be a singular entity.
Plural of MajestyThe Hebrew people pluralized nouns when they desired to express greatness. The plural ending is usually described as a plural of majesty. It is not intended as a numerical plural when used of God. A plural of majesty expresses fullness in the sense of excellence or majesty. It denotes the fullness of Yahweh's character and attributes, being perfect, infinite and incomprehensible.
AdonimElohim is not the only word that functions in this way. Hebrew has several nouns with plural endings which nevertheless take singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns. For example, Baalim, Adonim and Behemoth.
The Hebrew word 'adon means "lord" or "master." It has a plural form adonim which frequently refers to a single person in an exalted position. It is, for instance, used to refer: - To Abraham, as the servant's adonim (Genesis 24:9, 10, 51) - To Potiphar, as Joseph's adonim (Genesis 39:2, 3, 7, 8, 16, 19, 20) - To the master of a concubine, as her adonim (Judges 19:26, 27) - To King David, as Nathan's adonim (1 Kings 1:11).
'Adon has another special plural form with a first-person singular suffix ('adonay ) which appears in about 300 passages and always refers to God. It also is the plural of majesty, emphasizing His greatness.
Holy OnesThe word "holy" in the phrase "holy God" in Joshua 24:19 is translated from "Qadoshim hu", which literally means "He (singular) is the Holy Ones (plural)." The sentence continues in singular form: "He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions."
Qadoshim hu (Holy Ones) is therefore equivalent to elohim and 'adonay . They are plural in form, but take singular verbs, pronouns, etc. Answering-Islam.org (and much of the professed Christian world) takes this as evidence that God exists as one Being but three Persons, but it is proposed here that these simply are plurals of majesty.
Canaanite WorldIn the Canaanite world (in which Judaism developed) there was an increasing tendency to employ the plural form with Canaanite deities. This was an attempt to magnify one of their gods by addressing him as the 'totality of gods.' (William F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, 2d ed., p. 213)
MonotheismThe Jews always have the understanding that the true God is only one God, not two or three. Take a look at these verses from Deuteronomy and Mark:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6:4)
"Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one Lord; and there is none other but HE" (Mark 12:28-29,32)
So the Hebrew mind had a firm understanding that there is only one God, not three. And Jesus identified God as the Father:
"If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God" (John 8:54).
The pervasive monotheism of the Old Testament refutes any idea that the authors of the Old Testament used elohim because they thought of God as existing in multiple Persons.
New TestamentIn the New Testament, which was written in Greek, the word for "god" is theos. The plural form of theos is theoi, which is used to refer to multiple "gods," for example:
"Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods [theoi] " (Acts 19:26 ESV).
The New Testament uses the plural form of theos (theoi) eight times to refer to men or false gods (John 10:34-35; Acts 7:40, 14:11, 19:26; 1 Cor. 8:5; Gal. 4:8), but ALWAYS USES THE SINGULAR THEOS FOR GOD; NEVER THE PLURAL FORM, for example:
"Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God [theos] and him only shall you serve."'"
Even WHEN THE NEW TESTAMENT QUOTES PASSAGES FROM THE HEBREW BIBLE, the New Testament writers always translated the Hebrew elohim with the singular noun theos. For example, the word for "God" in Deuteronomy 6:4 is elohim, but when Jesus quotes this in Mark 12:29, He used theos.
If elohim really was an indication that the one true god consists in multiple Persons, then the New Testament writers would have also used the plural form of theos. The New Testament writers, therefore, did not perceive the word elohim of the Old Testament to have any notion of numerical plurality.
SeptuagintThe Septuagint is the ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. IT ALWAYS TRANSLATES ELOHIM, WHEN USED FOR THE GOD OF ISRAEL, WITH THE SINGULAR THEOS (the theos = the god). For example, Genesis 1:1:
Hebrew - "In the beginning, God ['elohiym' Plural] created the heavens and the earth." Greek - "In the beginning, God ['theos' Singular] made the heavens and the earth."
Dictionary DefinitionsBelow are some dictionary definitions, all confirming that elohim is a plural of majesty:
"Elohim is a plural form which is often used in Hebrew to denote plentitude of might." - (Hertz, The Pentateuch & Haftorahs)
"The form of the word, elohim, is plural. The Hebrews pluralized nouns to express greatness or majesty." - (Flanders, Cresson; Introduction to the Bible)
"The Hebrew noun elohim is plural, but the VERB is singular, a normal usage in the OT when reference is to the one true God. this use of the plural expresses intensification rather than number and has been called the plural of majesty." - (New International Version Study Bible, Grand Rapids, 1985, p. 6)
"The plural form of elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it referred to the Trinity of Persons in the godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call the plural of majesty, or it denotes the fullness of divine strength, the sum of the powers displayed by god." - (Smith's Bible Dictionary)
Arguments for elohim referring to the TrinityDespite this evidence, some still attempt to show that elohim "allows for" a plurality of divine Persons within God.
Plural VerbsAs a rule, elohim is treated as singular when referring to the God of Israel. To support the claim that elohim allows for a plurality of divine Persons, some point to a handful of exceptions where the Old Testament uses plural verbs, pronouns, adjectives, participles etc. with elohim, for example:
Abraham said to "Abimelech king of Gerar ... And when God (elohim) caused me to wander (plural verb hit'u) from my father's house, I said to her" (Gen. 20:2, 13).
"There God (elohim) had revealed (plural verb) himself to him when he fled from his brother" (Gen. 35:7; cf. Ex. 32:4, 8; 2 Sam. 7:23; Ps. 58:12).
However, a few plural words used with elohim cannot negate the overwhelming evidence from more than 2500 instances where the Old Testament uses elohim with singular verbs, etc. to refer to God. To use plural verbs with a noun in plural form is not a surprise, but it is a surprise when singular verbs are used with plural nouns. It is much more probable that the few plural verbs, etc. are PART OF THE JEWISH PRACTICE OF USING PLURALS TO EXPRESS GREATNESS.
Living GodSome, secondly, point out that, in some instances of the phrase "living elohim," "living" is plural in form (chayyim - Deut. 5:26, Jer. 10:10; 23:36; Samuel 17:26, 36) but singular in other instances (chay - 2 Kings 19:4, 15-19; Is. 37:4, 17). It is then argued that the singular "living" implies that Yahweh is a singular Being, whereas the plural use affirms that God is a Trinity.
However, even when "living" is in plural form, the epithet "Living God" still takes singular verbs. The plural "living" is probably simply part of the practice of using plurals to express greatness.
Specific TextsThis section discusses some specific texts used by 'Answering-Islam.org' to support the claim that God is a Trinity.
Genesis 1:26"God (elohim) said, "Let Us make man in Our image. "
Here plural pronouns are used but the verb "said" is in singular, which implies that "God" is a single Person and that the "Us" and "Our" include individuals other than "God." In the New Testament, we are told that God made the world through His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). "God" therefore refers to the Father, and the "Us" in Genesis 1:26 must include the Son.
Moses"The LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made you a god [elohim] to Pharaoh" (Ex. 7:1).
Many translations render elohim here as "like God" (ESV, NIV, HCSB), as if God was going to cause Moses to resemble the one true God before Pharaoh.
Did God turn Moses into a '3 in 1' being? No. Moses appeared to Pharaoh as himself. But when we understand the word Elohim to be the 'plural of majesty', then this makes sense, because Exodus 11:3 says .. "the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people." In other words, God was telling Moses that He was going to make Moses appear great in the eyes of Pharaoh.
SamuelSaul requested a spirit medium to "bring up Samuel for me." "When the woman saw Samuel" she "said to Saul, 'I see a god [elohim] coming up out of the earth'" (1 Samuel 28:11-14). It is possible to understand elohim here also as a plural of majesty, because the woman saw a great being "coming up out of the earth."
So as you can see, when we take the whole council of God, rather than just taking a verse here and there out of it's context, the truth becomes clear. Elohim does NOT support a '3 in 1' trinity god. So who is the 'one true God'? Please see our page THE ONE TRUE GOD IN THE 3 ANGELS MESSAGE for the truth.