The Nugget:
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
The Question:
Can you explain the trinity?
My Answer:
Yes I can!
My Explanation, Part One
The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but that does not mean that the Trinity is not taught in the Bible.
Many who do not believe in the Trinity quote a verse like Deuteronomy 6:4 to support their claim:
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (KJV, King James Version)
Deu 6:4 Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; (Darby translation)
In the Hebrew text the word for God is Elohim, the same word used in Genesis 1:1.
In the Hebrew text the word for “one” is echad. Echad means “one” in our numerical sense, as at Ecclesiastes 4:8,
Ecc 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. (KJV)
The word echad is also used to express a compound unity, as in Deuteronomy 6:4. It is used as a compound unity in Genesis 2:24 where it refers to one made up of two in the expression “one flesh”:
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The word echad is used in Genesis 3:22 to refer to one made up of three in the expression “one of us”:
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
The word echad is used in Numbers 13:23 to refer to a bunch or a cluster of grapes. Many grapes made up the cluster:
Num 13:23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
In Hebrew, another word, yahed, is used to refer to a single or only one.
It is used in Genesis 22:2 to refer to Isaac as the unique and only son of promise, in the expression “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac”:
Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Yahed is used to refer to a single or only son in Proverbs 4:3 in the expression “tender and only beloved”:
Pro 4:3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
Therefore, Deuteronomy 6:4 does not exclude the idea or concept of the Trinity, but carefully affirms it by the Hebrew word choice echad instead of yahed when stating “our God is one Jehovah”:
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: (ASV, American Standard Version)
This confirms there is more than one person in the Godhead.
For example, there are TWO Jehovahs on the scene at the same time at Genesis 19:24,
Gen 19:24 Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven; (ASV, American Standard Version)
One Jehovah is upon earth who rained brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.
Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; (KJV, King James Version)
More to come! This is just the start of my answer to your question, “Can you explain the trinity?” to which I answered, “Yes I can. I will come back later and do so for you.”
Thank you in advance for carefully reading my answer so far.