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THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study PaperAppendix DThe Issue of Plurality in Jewish WritingsIn the book Beyond the Cosmos, the Extra Dimensionality of God. written by Hugh Ross,Ph.D., the author claims that there are over 500 scriptures in the Old and New Testaments thatshow plurality when referring to God. While this may be somewhat of a stretch, it is clear thatthe use of plural terms when discussing God is not an obscure practice among the writers of theHebrew Scriptures. This is a quote from chapter 9 of the book:More than five hundred Scripture verses, Old and New Testament refer to God as bothsingular and plural. Genesis opens with a reference to God the Creator… When thenarrative zooms in on the creation of humans, the writer assigns both singular and pluralpronouns for God: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” “So God createdman in His own image.” Several other Bible verses refer to God with both singular andplural pronouns. One of God’s names in Scripture, Elohim, is the Hebrew plural form forEl [Eloah], the word for God, or god, in the widest possible sense. Elohim used as aplural in Scripture can denote pagan images and the imaginary or demonic deities theyrepresent (Deuteronomy 4:28 and 12:2). Yet in verses such as Genesis 1:1, the pluralform denotes the singular supreme deity. The Bible declares emphatically there is onlyone Savior, one Creator, one Redeemer, and one Resurrectionist. The one name Godassigns to Himself is the unpronounceable YHWH. In one paragraph of Scripture, bothGod the Father and God the Son lay claim to this name.” 62Rabbi Tzvi Nassi, a lecturer in Hebrew at Oxford University in England in the 18 thcentury quotes numerous sources from ancient Hebrew writings that confirm this idea ofplurality outside the Bible. He is the author of a book entitled The Great Mystery or How CanThree Be One? He credits Maimonides with the emphasis on singularity as an answer toChristianity in the Middle Ages. Nassi was a Trinitarian and attempts to show that these pluralreferences are proof of such a belief among the first-century Jews and Christians. In spite of hisTrinitarian beliefs he does provide some interesting quotes from these ancient sources. Here is anabbreviated list of the sources he quotes:• The Zohar, which is a book believed by Nassi to have been written by Rabbi Simon benJochai and his son Rabbi Eliezar in the years following the Roman destruction of theTemple in A.D. 70. Zohar is the Hebrew term for “brilliance.” The book was a mysticalcommentary on the Torah. Late research has raised questions about the true author. Butthere are a number of references to a belief in plurality among the Jews. The book at leastshows that not everyone could be considered in agreement with the idea of “strictmonotheism” among the Jews of the first century.• The Propositions of the Zohar is another book written by Rabbi Simeon that builds on theplural references found in ancient Jewish writings.62 Hugh Ross, Ph.D., Beyond the Cosmos, the Extra-Dimensionality of God, NavPress Publishing Group, 1999.Page 56September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study Paper• Rabbi Eliezar Hakkalir in A.D. 70 taught God as a plural based on his understanding ofGenesis 1:1. This is found in his book entitled The Book of Creation.• Rabbi Bechai in his commentary on Genesis 1:1 explained that the Hebrew word forelohim is a compound of two words. He refers to the term as “These are God.”• Jewish Targums. The term Targum refers to the Aramaic versions of the Old Testamentalong with commentary. (Targum was a term later used for translations of the JewishBible in other languages as well.) During the Babylonian captivity Aramaic replaced theHebrew language. As a result, a paraphrase and commentary was written on the Torah sothe people could be instructed. The two major Targums were the Targum of Jonathan andthe Targum of Onkelos, both written by Jonathan ben Uziel. Genesis 19:24 in the HebrewScriptures reads, “Then YHWH rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire fromYHWH out of heaven.” The Targum describes YHWH in this passage as “the Word ofthe Lord.”• Jerusalem Targum, also written by Jonathan ben Uziel before the time of Christ. InExodus 3:14 the Hebrew Scriptures read, “And Elohim said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO IAM;’ and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yehovah has sent me toyou.’” The Targum on Exodus 3:14 uses the same title: “the Word of the Lord” todescribe God. The verse reads as follows: “and the Word of the Lord said unto Moses: Iam He who said unto the world, Be! and it was: and who in the future shall say to it, Be!and it shall be. And He said ‘Thus thou shalt say to the Children of Israel: ‘I Am hath sentme unto you.’”• The Works of Philo Judaeus. Philo was from a wealthy Jewish family in Alexandria. Hewas a contemporary of Christ, Paul and Josephus. He is mentioned in the writings ofJosephus as a “man of the highest honor” (Ant. XVIII, 259).These are a few of the sources that Nassi quotes in support for plurality in the Godhead.Each one confirms the evidence of a plural concept of God among Jews and Christians duringthe first century. For the most part individuals simply accept that the Jews were strictlymonotheistic during the time of the New Testament without any questions. This idea must bequestioned in light of the evidence that is now available.Adam Clarke in his comments on Revelation 19:13 and the use of the term “Word ofGod” refers to the Targums and makes a definitive statement that these references to the “Word”always mean a person. This may help explain John’s references to the “Word” in his Gospel (andin Revelation). Here is the quote from Clarke:Written in the Targum, and in other Jewish writings, meimera daiya, “The word ofJehovah;” by which they always mean a person, and not a word spoken. 6363 Adam Clarke’s Commentary (abridged by Ralph Earle), World Bible Publishing Co., 1997.Page 57September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
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