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The Doctrine of the Trinity:
P White


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The purpose of this and the following chapters is to demonstrate that no basis may be assumed for any countenance of this doctrine of the Trinity, in the mere appearance of the words "God" and "Lord" in the Scriptures.

The word "God" is of pure Anglo-Saxon origin, having as its root meaning, "good." Dr. Adam Clarke acknowledges this primary meaning in his Commentary on Genesis. He says:

"Many attempts have been made to define the term God: as to the word itself, it is pure Anglo Saxon, and among our ancestors signified, not only the Divine Being, now commonly designated by the word, but also good; as in their comprehensions it appeared that God and good were correlative terms; and when they thought or spoke of Him, they were doubtless led from the word itself to consider Him as the GOOD BEING, a fountain of infinite benevolence and beneficence towards His creatures."

 

A translation in this form is to be discovered in the 80th Psalm, verses 8-10:

"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. . . . the hills were covered with the shadows of it, and the boughs thereof was like the goodly cedars."

 

The margin notes the literal translation from the Hebrew as "the cedars of God."

While in other languages several words are used to convey the different aspects and the different stations of the high and exalted ones; in English there is this sole word, "God" -- if the word "Deity " is excluded, which is of no more analytical or distinguishing character -- by which to denote all divine, or exalted ones; i.e., the deities of the heathen are designated by the same term "god" as the True God of the Christian religion.

In the Hebrew language, there are two words entirely devoted to the Great Increate. Firstly, JEHOVAH, or more properly YAHWEH, the name by which God has chosen to be known; and secondly, SHADDAI, which is expressive of the supremacy and mightiness of God. Jehovah is translated into English by two words, LORD and GOD. In both of these words the centralising identity of the supreme Creator is lost, for they are used indiscriminately of the deities of the heathen and the God of the Christians; it would be far better if in the authorised Version of the Scriptures this "name of God" had been transferred untranslated. "Shaddai" is invariably translated "Almighty," in which word again the identity is lost; for the word "Almighty" is merely a word in common usage as a name of God, and for the designation of the ordinary powers of the universe.

It should be remembered that it was in this Hebrew language that God revealed Himself; and accordingly, any peculiar phases which God limits to Himself are entirely lost in their translation by words bearing general meanings; thus partially or entirely eclipsing several phases of the revelation.

In Greek, all words which in Hebrew were peculiar to God, are merged into and lost in the one word THEOS, which bears in common with the True God, the names of the heathen deities.

As to the "name of God,"

"This glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD" (Deut. xxviii. 58),

the name which God first revealed to man for the deliverance of Israel: the

"I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus iii. 14).

 

or JEHOVAH, or as the Revised Version more accurately translates this name in the margin to that book:

"I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE,"

 

is a memorial name:

"This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exodus iii. 15).

 

This name is descriptive of what God purposes to accomplish through that nation to whom He revealed this name as a memorial. God will accomplish what He has determined. Accordingly, this premier name of God is not a title, or means of identification as names are given in current times, but it is designatory of the Great Supreme by what He has willed to perform.

God has no name properly. Names that appear designatory of this Great One are descriptive of either His attributes or His purpose. The truth of this statement will appear in the analysis of the names to be found in the Scriptures.

To allow of this analysis in an orderly manner, and to enable all words used as names to pass under review, a set of tables has been compiled, in which appear all words which that eminent authority and lexicographer, Dr. Robert Young has included in his Analytical Concordance of the Bible. All these words will be examined in rotation, and the full and proper meaning ascertained in each instance.

Original words translated "LORD."

 

The words from which "Lord" has been translated will first be reviewed:

ADON

Dr. Young gives as the meaning, "Lord, sir, master;" and is a word which appears a great many times in the Old Testament, but in comparatively few instances is this form of the word used to denote the Supreme God. More frequently it is used as the first quotation under this head in the summary:

" . . . his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt " (Gen. xl. 1).

 

but in some cases the word has been used for God Himself as in the second quotation,

"Our Lord is above all gods" (Psa. cxxxv. 5).

 

However, in all these instances the reference is purely to the character of God as a "lord," a "ruler," or a "master," and no reference is discoverable where a more comprehensive meaning is at tributable.

ADONAI

This word is but the plural form of the preceding word, and precisely the same definition is applicable. With but very few exceptions this word may be discovered in the Authorised Version by the type used to represent it. To distinguish this word from JEHOVAH (invariably appearing in capitals), "Adonai" is printed in ordinary lower case with a capital initial letter. For example, Isa. x. 16:

"Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts send . . . . "

 

is an instance where the first word is ADON and the second is ADONAI, both which appear in lower case. When reviewing JEHOVAH or YAHWEH the peculiarity of the capitals will be illustrated.

Suffice it to point out that the word is used for both God and the lords of the earth: as the following will show:

"And he cried, A lion: my lord" (Isa. xxi. 8).

 

No ground is discoverable in this word for basing any doctrinal significance upon at all. God, truly, is a lord, a ruler, a master, and only in this phase of His character is this word applicable.

BAAL

The mere perusal of the quotations in the summary will suffice to illustrate the meaning of this word: it is never applied to God Himself.

GEBIR

"A mighty or strong one" is only to be discovered twice in all Scripture, both of which instances are given in the summary, and is in neither case applied to God.

YAHWEH OR JEHOVAH

The great name of the eternal God, invariably applied to Himself or to messengers with direct commissions, who are declared to bear His name, as Bishop Burnet observes:

"Angels carry the name of God, when they went on special deputations from Him, the angels being called Jehovah." -Exposition of Thirty-nine Articles, p. 43.

 

For an example of an instance of this "name bearing" the occasion when God delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt might be quoted; He gave them divers laws and instructions, and to guard and to guide them He sent an angel before them, saying:

"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way. . . . Beware of him, and obey his voice. . . . for My name is in him" (Exodus xxiii. 20, 21).

 

Occasionally the word Jehovah is transferred untranslated to the Authorised Version, as in the case of Psalm lxxxiii.18:

"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth."

 

In all cases, the word "LORD," when used in translation of it has been printed in capitals:

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images" (Isaiah x1ii. 8).

 

The word itself is a symbolic memorial name, given to Moses just prior to those terrible plague visitations upon Egypt, and is descriptive of the work which God wished to assure Moses that He had determined to accomplish. The nearest translation is given in the margin of the Revised Version:

"I will be that I will be" (Exodus iii. 14).

 

Accordingly, no basis is discoverable in this name for the doctrine of the Trinity. The word is essentially that of a supreme and simple Unity, declaring to man His work with the earth.

JAH

A contraction of the word JEHOVAH, and used principally for praise. The remarks passed on the previous word are applicable to this abbreviated word.

MARE

This word appears but four times in the whole of the Old Testament, all of which instances are quoted in the summary: the meaning is easily discoverable as "one high or exalted" from an examination of them.

SEREN

"A Prince," invariably applied to lords of countries, an example of which has been given. In no case has the word been used to designate God.

RAB

"A great one." Only once has the word been translated "lord," and in that case is applied to a ruler of a country.

SAR

The sole instance of the appearance of this word has been recorded in the summary as "lords," the meaning from which is obviously in accordance with Dr. Young's definition: "A Prince, head, chief, captain."

SHALISH

The quotations are very representative, and will illustrate the meaning. It is never applied to God Himself.

RABREBAN

Precisely the same comment may be passed upon this word as upon the previous words; it is not used as a name of God.

This completes the examination of all words translated "lord." From this examination it must be obvious that no authority for the doctrine of the Trinity exists in the mere appearance of the word "Lord" in the Authorised Version of the Old Testament.

 

Original words translated "God."

 

The examination of the words from which God "has been translated, will proceed upon the same lines as in the case of "Lord." The first original word to notice is:

EL

A singular noun, which Dr. Young defines as meaning "mighty one." Gesenius gives the following definition in his Hebrew-English Lexicon:

EL.-"Strong, mighty, a mighty one, a hero. In sing. (Ezek. xxxi. 11), 'the mighty one of the nations' used of Nebuchadnezzar (Isaiah ix. 5), mighty hero."

 

It is applied indiscriminately to the false gods of the nations and to the true God of the Bible. The first quotation in the summary confirms Dr. Young's definition; also in Exodus xv. 11 is recorded the song by which Moses, in common with the children of Israel, praised God for their victories; in the course of which the following passage occurs to illustrate the supremacy of their God over the heathen deities:

"Who is like unto Thee, O LORD (YAHWEH), among the gods (marg., mighty ones)."

 

Frequently, however, the word is used of the great God Himself, but only as illustrative of His greatness. A perusal of the quotations in the summary will confirm this statement.

ELAH

Much the same comment may be made on this word as on the foregoing; the word is very similar indeed, and is applied to the true God and to the false gods of the nations, as the extracts in the summary have been selected to show.

ELOHIM

Probably no word has been the subject of so much discussion as this word. Dr. Robert Young, in general with other authorities, defines its meaning as "God, gods, objects of worship"; that is, the word is used designatory of God Himself, of the heathen gods, of angels, and also of the minor positions held among rulers of nations.

One of the greatest authorities on the Hebrew language -- Gesenius -- makes the following comments under the heading of this word in the Hebrew-English Lexicon:

ELOHIM-plural of ELOAH.

"Of gods or deities in general, whether true or false: the gods of the Egyptians (Exodus xii. 12). "Strange gods" (Gen. xxxv. 2-4; Deut. xxix. 18). "New gods" (Deut. xxxii. 17). Sometimes from the more common popular usage, Jehovah and idols are comprehended under this common name (Psalm lxxxvi. 8). "There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Jehovah" (Exodus xviii. 11). Elsewhere the idea of divinity is altogether denied to idols and is attributed to Jehovah alone (Isaiah xliv. 6). "Besides me there is no god" (Isaiah xlv. 5, 14, 21; x1vi. 9). Once applied to kings (Psalm lxxxii. 1, 6)

NOTE.-Not a few interpreters both ancient and modern have regarded Elohim as also denoting angels (see Psalm v. 6; Psalm lii.1; xcvii. 7; cxxxviii. 1), and judges (Exodus xxi. 6; xxii. 7, 8). This opinion is discussed and refuted at length in Thess. p. 95. (But Heb. i. 16, ii. 7-9, shows plainly that this word sometimes means angels, and the authority of the New Testament decides the matter.

"Very often of an idol, a god of the Gentiles" (Exodus xxxii. 1), "make us a god," i.e., an idol (1 Sam. v. 7) "Dagon our god" (2 Kings i., 2,3,6,16). Even used as a goddess (1 Kings xi. 5). The god of anyone is the god whom anyone worships, whom he has as his domestic gods. Jonah i. 5, "Every one called upon his god." (Ruth i. 16; Gen. xvii. 7, 8; xxviii. 2 1). Thus the God of the Israelites is Jehovah."

 

A very comprehensive definition, precisely confirming the definition as given by Dr. Young. Whenever the word "God" as representative of "Elohim" occurs, the meaning, whether applied to the God of Israel or to the gods of the heathen, is simply "mighty ones"; as also in other instances which Gesenius gives, it has been translated "angels" and "judges"; the meaning still is purely "mighty ones."

This definition illustrates the peculiar combination of words by which God has chosen to reveal Himself. Frequently the words "JEHOVAH THY ELOHIM" appear (e.g., Deut. x. 14) and apart from the meaning which Elohim bears, would be quite unintelligible. Jehovah was Israel's mighty one. In precisely the same manner as the heathen had "mighty ones," so Israel had a "mighty one," but their "mighty one" was the Eternal Creator of heaven and earth.

"Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is YAHWEH" (Psalm xxxiii. 12).

"YAHWEH is the true Elohim -- he is the living Elohim, and an everlasting King" (Jer. X. 10).

Several further authorities may be quoted to confirm the meaning of this word. Two representative writers have been chosen:

DEAN STANLEY:

"In the Patriarchal age we have already seen that the oldest Hebrew form by which the most general idea of Divinity is expressed is 'El-Elohim,' 'The Strong One,' 'The Strong Ones,' 'The Strong.' " -Jewish Church, p. 110.

 

CALMET:

"Angels, princes, great men, judges, and even false gods are sometimes called Elohim. It is the same as Eloa: one being singular, the other plural." -Dictionary of the Bible, Article "Elohi, Eloi, Elohim."

 

Many are the instances which could be quoted to prove that no basis may possibly be discovered in this word to support the doctrine of the Trinity: but a few will be noted of the hundreds available, and the famous instance in Gen. i. 26 urged by Trinitarians will be examined.

The gods of the heathen, "of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron" (2 Kings i. 2), "Dagon their god" (Judges xvi. 23), "Ashteroth the goddess of the Zidonians" (1 Kings xi. 5), and the "gods ascending out of the earth " (1 Sam. xxviii. 13) that the witch of Endor declared she saw; all illustrate how general this word is applied. . . In some two hundred and forty cases it is applied to heathen deities.

In the account of Creation as given in Genesis this word "Elohim" is the original of the word "God." This is a plural noun, and in a few instances a plural verb occurs in conjunction with it, but in a great many cases the verb is singular.

The passage referred to of Gen. i. 26 so frequently quoted in all its solitariness is:

"And Elohim said, Let us make man in our image."

 

From this expression Trinitarians assume support for their doctrine of Three Persons in the Godhead. The reason of assuming Three Persons is not apparent, for the word may convey the idea of any number. However, a close examination, even when the evidence of the almost innumerable statements against the doctrine are ignored, reveals that the verse supports no such doctrine, but is indeed a simple account of the Creation work at the hands of the angels of God. That the translation of the word "angel" from Elohim is fully authorised there can be no doubt in view of the testimony of Gesenius and the confirmation of the New Testament, which he alludes to; and if they be not accepted then the translation by the word itself in Psalm viii. 5 must finally decide the question.

The work of Creation is described many times in the Old Testament. One of the most picturesque accounts is recorded in the Book of Job, chapter xxxviii.:

"Then the LORD (YAHWEH) answered Job, and said. . . . Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding (or knowledge). Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God (Elohim) shouted for joy."

 

Obviously the "us" of Gen. i. 26, were the Elohim, and the Elohim were the "sons of God," the angels who worked God's will.

Further evidence that this passage in Genesis i. 26, cannot allow of the Trinity, is apparent at the time of the Fall of Man, when the Elohim of Yahweh declare:

"Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil" (Gen. iii. 22).

 

Who would affirm that God -- the Trinity -- knew (i.e., had experienced) evil?

Truly the meaning of the word Elohim is apparent and simple; it stands for the angels of God, who now await the commands of their Creator; and of those in the future, who at the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, shall by reason of their redemption in Him, be "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter i. 4), and will then be "equal unto the angels" (i.e., become Elohim) (Luke xx. 36), to be the "ministers of their God" for evermore (Psalm ciii. 21).

Many scholars not only affirm that this word gives no countenance to the doctrine of the Trinity at all, but ridicule the arguments for it based thereon. The following are a few instances:

DR. SIR WM. SMITH, Dictionary of the Bible, Art., "Jehovah":

"With regard to Elohim, the other chief name (than Jehovah) by which the Deity is designated in the Old Testament, it has been held by many, and the opinion does not even now want supporters, that in the plural form of the word was shadowed forth the plurality of persons in the godhead, and the mystery of the Trinity was inferred therefrom. Such, according to Peter Lombard, was the true significance of Elohim. But Calvin, Mercer, Drusius, and Bellarmine, have given the weight of their authority against an explanation so fanciful and arbitrary. Among the Jewish writers of the middle ages the question much more nearly approached its solution. R. Jehuda Hallevi (12th century) the author of the book Cozri, found in the usage of Elohim a protest against idolators, who call each personified power Eloah, and all collectively Elohim. He interpreted it as the most general name of the Deity, distinguishing Him as manifested in the exhibition of His powers, without reference to His personality or moral qualities, or to any special relation which He bears to man. Jehovah, on the contrary, is the revealed and known God."

 

BISHOP COLENSO. The Pentateuch, part ii. p. 256:

"The word Elohim is a plural noun; it is the general name for Deity in the Hebrew language, and may be used, accordingly, for a heathen god. Upon this word KUENEN observes, p. 62:

"' . . . It is enough that Elohim, by virtue of its original meaning, is used to denote Deity in general.'

"It is, therefore, quite a mistake to think of proving the doctrine of the Trinity, as some do, from the fact that Elohim is a plural name. . . . And, as above mentioned, it is used of an idol, Dagon (1 Sam. v. 7); Astarte (1 Kings xi. 5); Baalzebub (2 Kings i. 2, 3, 6); as of the true God. . . . Thus we have 'a cruel lords' (Elohim) (Isaiah xix. 4)

 

KITTO, Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, Article, "God":

"An old opinion is that the peculiarity in question (the usage of a plural noun with a singular verb) was determined by dogmatical considerations: that as God has revealed Himself in His word as subsisting in Trinity, One yet Three, it is as corresponding to this revealed fact that a plural designation of Him, construed as if it were singular, is employed in Scripture. . . . This has found few supporters among the scholars, and has been formally repudiated by several who were strongly attached to Trinitarian views, e.g., Calvin, Drusius, Bellarmine, Buxtorf, Hottinger."

 

SIXTUS SENENSIS, Biblotheca Sanctor, Lib. V., Annot 1:

"With the exception of Peter of Lombardy, and Paul of Burgos, there has not been amongst the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew writers, one commentator worthy of imitation who has explained the word Elohim, of the Trinity."

 

ELOAH

This word is the singular form of Elohim, and is applied to the heathen deities indiscriminately with the application to the true God of Israel.

Gesenius affirms that it is used:

" . . . of any God (Dan. xi. 37-39; 2 Chron. xxxii. 15).

 

The comments and the extracts of the previous word may with equal force be read in reference to this word "Eloah."

JEHOVAH

The reader is referred to the review of this word under section "Lord." It is the name by which the Great Increate has revealed Himself, and the translation of it by the word "Lord" is quite arbitrary.

 

TSUR

"A rock," indicative when applied to God Himself, of the great safety and surety of Israel's hope. The alternative rendering in Isaiah xliv. 8; xxx. 29, confirms this definition.

SHADDAI

A further word entirely devoted as a name of God is discoverable in SHADDAI, which bears the meaning of "strength, sufficient, mighty." It is invariably translated "Almighty," and is but a word designating an attribute of God.

 


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