The Triune God
THE THEOLOGY OF YAHWEH
The Old Testament Roots of The Doctrine of The Trinity
In our previous study called Elohim, we began to take specific notice of the Old Testament use of terms and titles applied to Yahweh. We also posed a question as to how Torah observant believers would have understood Yahweh (The LORD) as being incomparable to any other gods (elohim). We found that His attributes set Him apart. Yahweh, the Almighty Eternal God was the incomparable Elohim. This Elohim is The Creator of Heaven and Earth and the fullness thereof.
In this session we will look closely at several Old Testament titles connected to the LORD God.
The God of Abraham and The Word of (The LORD) Yahweh
We will begin with the call of Abraham as recorded in both the Old and New Testament. Acts 7:2-4; Genesis 11:31-32; 12:1-3, 6-7
Acts 7:2-4 And Stephen said, “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God Theos (Elohim) of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.”
Genesis 11:31-32 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD (YHWH) said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:6-7 Then the LORD (YHWH) appeared (H7200) to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD (YHWH), who had appeared (H7200) to him.
The Numbers are from the Strong’s Concordance and are for your convenience. I encourage you to always check and see if these things are so yourself. These study tools are available free online, through apps like The Blue Letter Bible or The Step Bible.
Notice, Yahweh said to Abram,…And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land” And he built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. Twice in these two verses we read that Yahweh appeared to Abraham. The Hebrew grammar indicates that this is called the Niphal tense of the Hebrew word ra’ah (H7200) which means to present oneself, to be seen, to be visible.
Read Genesis 15:1-6. Notice these phrases. “After these things the Word of the LORD (Yawheh) came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great… 6 And he believed the LORD (Yahweh), and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
—Side Point—
This is not the language we would use if we were only having an impression in our spirit, or hearing an audible sound. This is describing what Abram saw and experienced. This is the language and the background to John’s language in his gospel.
The Word Was In The Beginning
This is not a departure from our study, rather I want to include this additional information as we consider how both Old and New Testament writers handle and convey the knowledge of Who God Is by the terms they use. We are focusing on the phrase “the word of the LORD” and seeing how it was understood as biblical title. Biblical writers used the phrase “the word of the LORD” and later shorten it to simply “The Word” to refer to God Himself.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
The Greek translation uses the word theos for elohim. The Greeks used this word to refer to their gods or goddess. It was a general name used to refer to deities or divinities. However, when the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles the New Testament writers used it to refer to Yahweh, to The Godhead—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14
“Only Begotten”
John 1:14,18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9 These are scriptures you may want to read and study on your own. The word we are focusing on is identified by the Strong’s number G3439. The G let’s you know this is a Greek word and is found in the New Testament. This Greek word #3439 has often been translated as “only begotten.” It is the Greek word Monogenes and it means single of it’s kind (one of a kind).
To translate this word as Begotten leads to a wrong impression because it implies there was a time when the son did not exist—that he had a beginning. Early translators assumed the right word should be Monogenas, since Jesus is the Son of God. It was not until the late 19th century when papyri were found that clearly gave the etymology of this word. It was not mono = only + gennao = to bear which they translated as “only begotten.” The etymology was mono = only + genos = class/kind.
Jesus was Monogeses: mono = one + gene = kind: “Unique”
Jesus is one with Yahweh. Jesus is unique among the elohim that serve God. He is the Unique Son of God. He was not created, there was not a time he did not exist. He always was with God, and is God. God is One.
Here is another example where this word was mistranslated.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.” monogenes. Hebrews 11:17
Other translations: “to offer his only son.” Was Isaac Abraham’s first son? Was Isaac Abraham’s only son? No, Isaac was Abraham’s “unique” son. Who came by promise and supernatural intervention.
—Back To Abraham—
Yahweh Appears To Abraham
Turn to Genesis 18 and read verses 1-2. This is the introduction to the account of the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Yahweh (The LORD) appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.
One of the three men Abraham sees is Yahweh. He is physical. He has feet that can be washed. He can eat bread. The other two are angels. We know this from Genesis 19. The writer knows one is Yahweh, but does Abraham? Lets keep reading.
Genesis 18:25-26a "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the LORD (Yahweh) said…
The fact that Abraham addresses the One with the title “The Judge of all the earth” indicates that Abraham did know who he was speaking with. Abraham had heard His Voice before. He had seen His form before. Finally in the 27th verse Abraham calls this One “my Adonay.” The Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon says this title “Adonay” is only used of God where He is submissively and reverently addressed.
“I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to my Adonay.”—Genesis 18:27
The Word of Yahweh (The LORD) to Samuel
In each of these sections, we really want to read the scripture for ourselves and pay attention to words the Biblical writers choose to communicate God’s message. To begin with we will read 1 Samuel chapter 3: 1-7 in the English Standard Version.
“The boy Samuel was serving the LORD (Yahweh) under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD (Yahweh) was rare; visions were infrequent. “
The NKJV reads “there was no widespread revelation.” Using Biblical tools like an Interlinear and the Strong’s Concordance we read, “And the word (H1697 dabar - speaking, word, utterance) of the LORD (Yahweh) was precious or rare (H3368 yaqar) in those days “there was no.” This is the Hebrew word parats number H655, the verb tense is Niphal which means “to be broken through” which the KJV translates as “open”. The last word of this sentence is H2376 chazonwn “vision.”
2 One-night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. 3 The lamp in Elohim’s temple hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of Elohim was kept. 4 Then the LORD (Yahweh) called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down. 6 The LORD (Yahweh) called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I didn’t call you, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” 7 Samuel had no experience (NKJ “did not yet know the LORD”) with the LORD (Yahweh), because the Word of Yahweh (the LORD) had not yet been revealed (H1540 galah the Niphal tense which points directly at the person of God-to reveal himself) to him.”
Samuel was not having a vision of a scroll. Nor is this the way you would describe a dream or impression of the spirit. This is speaking of an encounter with the “person” of Yahweh Himself. Let’s continue in this chapter, read 1 Samuel 3: 8-21. I will highlight a few of the verses.
1 Samuel 3:10 The LORD (Yahweh) came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
1 Samuel 3:19 Samuel grew up. Yahweh (The LORD) was with him and didn’t let any of his words go unfulfilled.
1 Samuel 3:21 Then the LORD (Yahweh) appeared [H7200 (Niphal tense) present oneself, to be seen, to be visible]again in Shiloh. For the LORD (Yahweh) revealed [H1540 (Niphal tense) to uncover, show oneself] Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord (Yahweh).
What these specifically inspired terms communicate is that The Word of God, which is Yahweh, revealed Himself to Samuel as a visible person which came and stood near to Samuel and spoke to him.
The Word of YHWH (The LORD) to Jeremiah
We don’t want to make a doctrine or draw a conclusion based on only one passage of scripture. So we will consider how the Bible communicates Jeremiah’s experience with the God of Israel. We will begin with Jeremiah chapter one.
Jeremiah 1:4-9 Then the Word (H1696 - speaking) of the Lord (Yahweh) came to me, (Language experts say this literally could be translated: “Then the speaking Yahweh came to me”)
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” 6 I, Jeremiah, said, “Adonay (H136 my Lord —an emphatic form of H113 used as a proper name of God only) Yahweh, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!” 7 But Yahweh (the LORD) said to me, “Don’t say that you are only a boy. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I command you to say. 8 Don’t be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh (the LORD).
9 Then Yahweh (the LORD) stretched out (H7971 verb tense Qal: it means to extend, to stretch out) his hand (H3027 it means hand, hand of a man) and touched (H5060 verb tense Hiphil it means to touch and reach) my mouth (H6310 it means mouth of man, mouth as the organ of speech) And the Yahweh said to me…”
This is the language of embodied presence. What I want you to understand is that long before the New Testament, the Old Testament believers in Yahweh would not have been troubled by the concept of Yahweh invisible in Heaven, and Yahweh manifest on earth in a variety of visible forms, including that of a man. When the New Testament writers think about Jesus as The Word made flesh, they embrace passages like this.
Here are a few questions:
In the Scriptures we have read, did the followers of Yahweh imagine that Yahweh was localized in only one place? Would they have thought Yahweh was no longer in heaven? In other words, would this mean Yahweh was no longer omnipresent? Maybe, before you answer we should consider scriptures where more than one Yahweh figure is found together in the same scene.
I hope you found Part One of our three part study of God in Three Person helpful or at least worthy of consideration and will continue with the rest of this study.
The Angel of the LORD (YHWH): This is Part Two of our study of God in Three Persons. In this study we will examine the text that tell us of Abraham’s spiritual journey. This includes a divine figure that is integral to the way an ancient Israelite would think about Yahweh. This study will Isaac and Jacob.
The Word Made Flesh: This is Part Three and we are still studying God as He has made himself known through the Biblical narrative. In this section we will be focusing three areas (1) how New Testament writers used Old Testament scripture (2) the record of Jesus speaking of himself (3) the use of Old Testament Titles such as: The Son of Man; The Word; The Cloud Rider and The Son of David.