ELOHIM They Are God Sample

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LOHIM

They are God

Poly Monotheism

How Three Became God

Through Moses and the Prophets

ByBen Shlomo

Published by Sefer Press Publishing House 2015


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Copyright©2015 All Rights Reserved

ISBN:

978-0692392645

Publication rights Sefer Press Publishing HouseQuestions Comments; [email protected]

Publisher grants permission to reference shortquotations (less than 400 words) in reviews,magazines, newspapers, Websites, or other

publications in accordance with the citation standardsat Sefer Press. Request permission to reproduce morethan 400 words to [email protected]

Cover by Sefer Press 2015

Book Format by Sefer Press 2015

Printed in the United States of America 2015


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Bible Abbreviations

NASB-New American Standard Bible

EMTV-English Majority Text Version

ESV-English Standard Version

HRB-Hebrew Roots Bible

TSB-The Scriptures Bible 1998

YLT-Young’s Literal Translation 1898

ISV-International Standard Version

*If no Bible abbreviation is shown then translation is that

of the author.


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Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………..pg.5

Moses………………………………………...pg.11 Our Image and Our Likeness……………...pg.19

Abraham………………………………….....pg.24Word of YHWH…………………………...pg.25

Messenger of YHWH……………………...pg.27 Covenant…………………………………...pg.28 YHWH, YHWH And YHWH……………..pg.29

Nail in the Coffin…………………………..pg.37 Isaac………………………………………..pg.41 Jacob……………………………………….pg.43 Another Nail in the Coffin…………………pg.48

The Hammer to the Nail…………...............pg.50Israel’s (Jacobs) Final Blessing……………pg.51

Prophets….…………………………………..pg.55Moses………………………………………pg.55 To See or Not To See………………………pg.61 The Shema of Moses……………………….pg.63Joshua………………………………………pg.68 Judges………………………………………pg.71 Samuel……………………………………...pg.76 Kings……………………………………….. pg.78Isaiah………………………………………..pg.79 Hosea………………………………………..pg.83

Conclusion….…………………………………pg.86

Appendix A: The Aleph of YHWH….………..pg.88 Appendix B: The New Testament….………….pg.90 Appendix C: A Former Rabbi Speaks Out…….pg.92 Appendix D: Some Early Jewish Sources……..pg.97

Bibliography….………………………………. pg.103


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INSTRODUCTION

While the New Testament definitely mentions theconcepts of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit(Matthew28:19), it makes no actual mention of theword “trinity,” and there is still some contention as towhether the trinity god-head is a biblical theme.

Modern Judaism teaches pure monotheism, whileCatholicism favors the trinity concept. Yet, it is

believed, it is clearly a concept that was influenced by pagan religions existing at the time that Christianitycame about. While the majority of the modernChristian world considers the concept of the Trinityvital to Christianity, many historians and Bible

scholars agree that the Trinity of Christianity owesmore to Greek philosophy and pagan polytheism thanto the monotheism of the Jew and the Jewish Jesus.This book will prove to show the opposite. It is notChristianity that owes more to Greek philosophy and

pagan polytheism but that they owe more to ancientJudaism and to the belief of the three powers inheaven pre-Christian era. Did 1st century followers ofYeshua (Jesus) borrow from pagan sources regardinga trinity god or did the ancient world borrow from theHebrew and Jewish people? Did the ancient Hebrew

believe and teach in a three person God that was thenadopted by the rest of the world? These questions and

many others will be examined and answered from this book.


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Records of early Mesopotamian and Mediterraneancivilizations show polytheistic religions, though manyscholars assert that earliest man believed in one god. Iwill assert the belief that earliest man alwaysmaintained a polytheistic belief while holding to aone god teaching. Egyptologist, Erick Hornung statesthe following, “[Monotheism is] a phenomenonrestricted to the wisdom texts, which were written

between 2600 and 2530 BC (50-51); but there is noquestion that ancient man believed in ‘one infiniteand Almighty Creator, supreme over all’ and in amultitude of gods at a later point. Nor is there anydoubt that the most common grouping of gods was atriad.”

Most of ancient theology is lost under the sands oftime. However, an archaeological expedition inancient Mesopotamia has uncovered the fascinatingculture of the Sumerians which flourished over 4,000years ago. Though Sumeria was overthrown first byAssyria, and then by Babylon, its gods lived on in thecultures of those who conquered. Historian S. H.

Hooke tells in detail of the ancient Sumerian trinity:Anu was the primary god of heaven, the ‘Father’ andthe ‘King of the Gods’; Enlil, the ‘wind-god’ was thegod of the earth and a creator god; and Enki was thegod of waters and the ‘lord of wisdom’. H. W. F.


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Saggs, explains that the Babylonian triad consisted of‘three gods of roughly equal rank... whose inter -

relationship is of the essence of their natures’.Egypt’s history is similar to Sumeria’s in antiquity. Inhis Egyptian Myths, George Hart, lecturer for theBritish Museum and professor of ancient Egyptianhieroglyphics at the University of London, showshow Egypt also believed in a ‘transcendental’, abovecreation, and preexisting’ one, the god Amun. Amun

was really three gods in one. Ra was his face, Ptah his body and Amun his hidden identity. The well-knownhistorian Will Durant concurs that Ra, Amun andPtah were ‘combined as three embodiments or aspectsof one supreme and triune deity’ (Oriental Heritage201). Additionally, a hymn to Amun written in the14th century BC defines the Egyptian trinity: ‘All

Gods are three: Amun, Re, Ptah; they have no equal.His name is hidden as Amun, he is Ra...before [men]and his body is Ptah’.

These were not the only trinities early Christians wereexposed to. The historical lecturer, Jesse BenedictCarter, tells us of the Etruscans. As they slowly

passed from Babylon through Greece and went on toRome, they brought with them their trinity of Tinia,Uni and Menerva. This trinity was a ‘new idea to theRomans,’ and yet it became so ‘typical of Rome’ thatit quickly spread throughout Italy. Even the names ofthe Roman trinity: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, reflect

the ancestry. That Christianity was not ashamed to borrow from pagan culture is amply assumed byDurant: ‘Christianity did not destroy paganism; itadopted it’.


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Did Christianity and the Jewish followers of Yeshua(Jesus) really borrow from pagan cultures as Durant

states? Or did the Jewish and ancient Hebrew peoplealready have this belief long before the other culturesas stated above?

In summary, the common culture of the day was onefilled with triune gods. Fr om ancient Sumeria’s Anu,Enlil and Enki and Egypt’s dual trinities of Amun-Re-

Ptah and Isis, Osiris and Horus to Rome’s Jupiter,Juno and Minerva the whole concept of paganismrevolved around the magic number of three. In Greek

philosophy, also, we have seen how the number threewas used as an unspecified trinity of intelligence,mind and reason. It is no dispute that the majority ofancient cultures were polytheistic and in some cases

had a pantheon of gods they worshiped. According tomost modern Jewish scholars the idea that Moses andthe prophets believed or worshipped a triune god is

blasphemy. But as we will see that is not the case.Professor Alan F. Segal, professor of Jewish Studiesat Barnard College, demonstrates in his book, TwoPowers in Heaven, that up until the 2

nd century of the

CE the Jews from certain sects taught and believed ina two powers in heaven concept. This concept waswidespread by the first century during the time ofYeshua (Jesus). Though Professor Segal onlydemonstrates two powers in heaven teaching I willdemonstrate three powers in heaven directly from the

Hebrew Scriptures.

The challenge I will be taking on will be todemonstrate directly from the Hebrew Bible thatMoses and the prophets wrote about a plural concept


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of God called Elohim without losing the idea of asingular YHWH. The key will be to show the plural

persons within Elohim under the singular name ofYHWH without violating the Shema (Hear) of Israel,

“Hear O’ Israel, YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is ONE”

The reader must understand that in the Hebrew BibleElohim is not unique to God. Idols, men and Angels

have been called Elohim and its singular form El.Even the title “son of God” is not unique to justYeshua (Jesus). The judges of Israel were called“sons of the most high” and “Elohim” in Psalm 82.The difference is that they failed to live up to theauthority and position given to them by God himself.The name “Elohim” has behind it the understanding

of one with power and authority to judge. It is also a plural of the singular “Eloa” by adding the suffix“hym” at the end to form the third person plural“they, God”. It is this third person plural form we will

be looking at in the Hebrew Bible. I will also beshowing some ancient Hebrew concepts using theHebrew aleph-bet and how it provides a basicfoundation for a triune God belief. Finally I will quotefrom ancient Jewish sources concerning the 2

nd power

while proving the 3rd

power from the same Jewishsources. The New Covenant Scriptures will be usedonly to show the familiarity the Jewish followers hadconcerning the three powers in heaven as taught from

the Hebrew Scriptures.


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INTRODUCTION SOURCES

Durant, Will. Our Oriental Heritage. New York:Simon. 1935. Vol. 1 of The Story of Civilization. 11vols. 1935-75.

— Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3

of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75.

Hart, George. Egyptian Myths. Austin: U of Texas.1990.

Hislop, Alexander. The Two Babylons: Or, the PapalWorship. 1853. 2

nd American ed. Neptune: Loizeaux.

1959.

Hooke, S. H. Babylonian and Assyrian Religion. Norman: U of Oklahoma P. c1963.

Hornung, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:The One and the Many. Trans. John Baines. Ithaca:Cornell UP. 1982.

Segal, Alan F. Two Powers In Heaven: The BaylorUniversity Press, Waco Texas 2012 reprint.


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MOSES

Let us begin from the beginning and start with thegreatest prophet known to modern and ancientJudaism, Moses. The reader must first understand thatMoses did not write the first five books, known as theTorah, in English. He wrote them in the ancient

Hebrew language as instructed by God. BeforeYeshua (Jesus) the Jews only had the HebrewScriptures known as the Torah and the Prophets. Theywere all considered Holy and breathed by God withinspiration. Moses was considered the greatest of allthe prophets that ever lived. Moses was looked at as agod like figure since it was God himself who worked

his powers through him. In Exodus 7:1 we read thefollowing,

“And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `See, I have giventhee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother is thy

prophet;” (1898 Young’s Literal Translation)

This is a better translation than most since itrecognizes the Hebrew word “n’tatiykha” as “I giveyou” and not as “I have made you” as mosttranslations have done. What this is telling us is thatGod “gave” Moses “Elohim” or “power/authority”over Pharaoh. He did not make Moses a god as some

have suggested. With this power and authority given by God, Moses would be able to act as judge towardPharaoh with Gods power behind him. No other

prophet in the history of the Hebrew/Jewish peoplehas risen to this status with the power of God.


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Therefore Moses’ writings, as directed by God, hold just as much authority to judge the Jewish people and

nation than any other prophet in the Hebrew Bible upuntil the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). In John’s narrativehe quotes Yeshua (Jesus) as saying,

“Do not suppose that I will be the one to accuse youbefore the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom

you have set your hope…” (John 5:45 ISV)

The one who will judge and accuse the Jewish peopleis Moses because they did not believe him concerningYeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah and, as we will see, the2

nd power in heaven.

In the Hebrew scrolls we read the writings of Moses

from Beresheet 1 (Genesis)

השמילהיברבר שית ה רו

“In a beginning he filled and formed, Elohim, the skies and the land” (literal Hebrew to English of

Genesis 1:1)

Moses wrote this before we had any understanding ofModern Hebrew grammar. We do not know whattype of grammar was being used or if they even hadany. In ancient Hebrew each character was a wordand number in itself. For example, the first Hebrew

character was the “aleph” which is equivalent to ourModern English “A”. The old Hebrew “aleph” wasalso a word that meant “ox” and had a numericalvalue of “one” being the first character or letter inHebrew. This is the same with all the 22 Hebrew


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characters from “aleph” to “taw”. Ancient Hebrew,like most ancient Semitic languages, started out as

pictographs like Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Let’s lookat a few examples of how these characters were usedin order to understand how Moses used andunderstood the Hebrew he was writing.

Ancient Hebrew, like Modern Hebrew, was writtenfrom right to left. When we look at the first

pictograph we see what looks like the head of an ox.This is the “aleph” or “ox” in English. The ox

represents a leader and strength. In the English Biblethis Hebrew word is sometimes translated not as “ox”

but as “chiefs” or “governors” as in Exodus 15:15 andZechariah 12:5. The second pictograph above is the“bet” and means “tent” or “house”. You can see theentrance of the tent with a dividing wall. This is aview from above. This Hebrew character is translatedin the English Bible as “house” or “household” and“inside” as in Genesis 7:1, Leviticus 14:41 andGenesis 6:14. As a prefix it can also have themeaning of “in”, “with” or “within”.

These are the first two characters of the ancient

Hebrew aleph-bet and when you put them togetheryou form the word “ab” which means “father” inEnglish. Now “father” is an abstract word in English

but in Hebrew words are concrete and have meaning.The concrete meaning of “ab” is based off the


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pictograph meanings. We have here the meaning of“a leader or chief of the tent or home”. Simply put,

“the master of the home” is “ab”.

It must also be noted that the “aleph” was seen as acharacter for God because it was the first letter andhad a numerical value of one. As God is first, chiefand master of us all yet he is also one like the“aleph”.

There are a number of Hebrew scholars who agreethat almost every Hebrew word comes from a parentroot. A parent root is a word with only two letters toit. The example of “ab” shows the parent root wordfor “father” in Hebrew. Another example of this is thesingular form of God in Hebrew, “El”.

As you can see you have again the ancient Hebrew“aleph” being represented in the word “El” or God insingular form. The second ancient Hebrew characteris the “lamed” and looks like a shepherds staff. TheHebrew word “lamed” means “staff” or “rod”. A staffor rod was used to teach or control the sheep. TheHebrew word “lamad” comes from “lamed” andmeans to teach or to study to be accustomed to. Yousee this translation in Deuteronomy 5:1 and 6:1.

Together these two ancient Hebrew pictographs formthe word “El” which means God, singular. Theconcrete meaning is “the master who leads” or “thestrong leader who teaches and leads”. God is ourmaster teacher who leads us to still waters.


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So why is this all so important to know andunderstand? Because in the opening passage of

Genesis 1:1 we see the Hebrew word for “create” as“bara”. When using the Aramaic square script forHebrew it looks like this.

A R B

We see the “bara” from right to left. If you removethe “A” from “bara” you will have the word “bar” inHebrew. This Hebrew word is translated as “son” inEnglish. It could be safe to assume that the Hebrew

“bar” is a parent root for “bara” or “create” in themajority of English translations. If you noticed in mymore literal translation of Genesis 1:1 I did not usethe word “create”. Instead I translated “bara” to “fill”and “form”. The reason for this is because theHebrew word “bara” does not mean “create” as usedto create out of nothing. Its literal meaning is “to fill”and “to form”. You see this reason to fill and form inverse 2 of Genesis 1 where Moses says,

“The land was formless and empty…”

If the land was formless and empty then it needed to

be filled and formed by God. This is what “bara” isreferring to when he says “he filled and formed the skies and the land ”. But who is the “bara” when itliterally means “he filled and formed” in the third

person singular? The very next Hebrew word is


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Elohim and this word literally means “they, God” inthe third person plural. But as we stated before the

parent root word is “bar” or “son” in English. The“aleph” represents God in Hebrew as we mentioned

before. So if we look at the word “son” and add the“aleph” as a suffix we can see the word “son of God”that filled and formed. It is the “bar” “aleph” or “son”of “God” who is the “he” who filled and formed theskies and the land. It is the “son of God” who is part

of Elohim, “they, God” who also took part increation. Now there will be Hebrew scholars who willclaim that one can not make this assertion based onthe Hebrew grammar. That is because in Hebrew averb like “bara” which is a third person singular for“create” can not leave the Hebrew “Elohim” as a

plural. The verb must modify the plural noun,

“Elohim”, to a singular usage. Well this is true whenonly looking at the Hebrew grammar one cannot stillknow for certain if this is what Moses meant.

The Jerusalem Edition of the Zohar in its commentson Genesis 1:1 explains why Moses believed that Godis triune.

“In the beginning God created. ‘In the beginning’ isthe first mystery from where all else spreads…Thename takes three forms and from there the name isinterpreted in several ways…Rabbi Bechai explained:

Elohim is El Haym. They are God . ‘Remember your

creators’, (Ecclesiastes 12:1). The wise willunderstand”

You see this in the ancient Sumerian trinity: Anu wasthe primary god of heaven, the ‘Father ’ and the ‘King


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of the Gods’; Enlil, the ‘wind-god’ was the god of theearth and a creator god; and Enki was the god of

waters and the ‘lord of wisdom’.

The spirit of Elohim, (they, God), hovered over theface of the waters is similar to Enki the ‘god of waters’ and who was the ‘lord of wisdom’. If one

believes that Moses was writing the true origin ofcreation then we can assume it was the Sumerians

who borrowed from the oral traditions of the ancientHebrews before Moses wrote them. But this is not ouronly evidence for such a claim.

In the very next passage of Genesis 1 we read thefollowing,

ויהי וויהלהיוי מר

“And Elohim said, ‘be light and light was’”.

According to the ancient sages and Rabbis this “light”is King Messiah. They were puzzled by this “light”

existing before the creation of the sun, moon andstars. They were drawn to another unique “light” inPsalm 36:9.

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”

The light within the light, says one Midrash, is KingMessiah as David recognized.

“What is the meaning of ‘in your light we see light’? For what light is Israel waiting for? This is the light


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of Messiah as it says , ‘And God saw the light that it was good.’ This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed

by he, observed the Messiah and his deeds before thecreation of the world and concealed his Messiahunder his throne until his generation” (Pesikta Rabbati, 36)

According to the narrative of John Yeshua (Jesus)said, “I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me

will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Lightof life.” (John 8:12 NASB)

So far we have seen three powers from Genesis 1:1-3.We have seen the “bara” which can be looked at as“son of God” who filled and formed the skies and theland. We then read Elohim calling out the light in

creation who is also King Messiah, Son of God. Wethen saw the “spirit of God” hovering over the waters.The voice, the light and the spirit of God within theopening of Genesis is well understood by Moses.

Rabbi Eliezer Hakkalir, commenting in the SeferYetsira, teaches the following.

“When God created the world He created it throughthe three sephiroth [countings]-sepher, sapher and

sipper by which three beings are meant. The Rabbi,my lord and my teacher of blessed memory, explainedthat sepher, sapher and sipper are synonymous with

Yah, YHWH and Elohim, meaning to say that theworld was created by these three names.”

The New Covenant Scriptures also makes this claimthat Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) was involved in creation


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from the beginning. Shaul (Paul) who was a 1st

century Pharisee trained under Gamliel in the school

of Hillel made this claim concerning Yeshua (Jesus).

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstbornover all creation, because by Him all things werecreated, those in the heavens and those on earth,visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions orrulers or authorities; all things have been created

through Him and for Him. And He is before allthings, and in Him all things are held together.” (Colossians 1:15-17 EMTV)

We must make a careful note on the term “firstborn”.This ancient Hebrew word does not mean one who iscreated but has a meaning of “order of importance”.

As we can now see from the follower Shaul (Paul),Yeshua (Jesus) was creator of all things in heaven andon earth. Shaul (Paul) is making the claim thatYeshua (Jesus) is the 2

nd power in the Hebrew

Scriptures. This is a consistent theme in the NewCovenant concerning Yeshua (Jesus).

Our Image and Our LikenessAs we continue to look at the writings of Moses inBeresheet (Genesis) this next passage in the text is

puzzling to most Jewish scholars. It reads asfollowing.

כדמותנבצלמנדנעשלהיוי מר

“We will press and squeeze human in figure of us andas shape of us” (Literal Translation Gen.1:26)


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When we translate this text into a more literal form ofEnglish we should not be surprised that Elohim (they,

God) has made us to look like them. We are inTHIER figure and shape and not the other wayaround. People get upset when we compare our imageto Gods. They are not in our image, we are in theirs.This is what Genesis 1:26 says directly from theHebrew and there is no way around it. But what does“we” and “our ” mean in the text?

Through out the century’s many have tried to explainthis passage away by saying God was either speakingto the angels in heaven or that this expression of “we”and “our ” is a form of “plural of majesty”. Nothingcan be farther from the truth. This idea of pressingand squeezing comes from the Hebrew word “asah”,

in the Piel form and has the idea of fashioning bysqueezing together like clay. We see this idea inGenesis 2:7 where Moses writes,

“And YHWH Elohim formed the human…”

The “formed” here in the Hebrew is “yatsar” and alsomeans “the squeezing into shape” or “mold into aform” especially as a potter handling his clay. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures do we see this type ofcreation of the angels in heaven. This is a uniqueshaping and forming of humans into the very figureof Elohim (they, God) from the dust of the ground.

In regards to the “plural of majesty” argument, thereis no record in the ancient world of such anexpression until around the 13

th or 14

th century in

Europe where a king would elevate himself to a god


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like statues by invoking a “plural of majesty”. A kingwould express “our presence” when he was the only

one in the room. He would be including himself andGod as equals in his kingdom. This was very commonamong kings in Europe and Jews took this idea toexplain Genesis 1:26. So neither the angels nor pluralof majesty theory can explain away the plural text ofGenesis 1:26. In fact the very next passage, Genesis1:27, states the following.

“And Elohim created the human in His image, in theimage of Elohim He created him – male and female

He created the”

This passage has a couple of unique expressions inthe Hebrew. First, the word “created” is the same

word translated in most English Bibles in Genesis1:1. This is also the Hebrew word “bara” which Itranslated as “filled” and “formed”. God did notcreate man from out of nothing but shaped andformed him from the dust of the ground. God thenfilled him with his breath and man became a living

being (soul). Just as the skies and land were filled andformed so also was man from the ground.

Second, the word “image” is the very same word usedin verse 26 but this time it is used in the third personsingular form “he created”. Again, Moses is writingand expressing this singular and plural nature of

Elohim (they, God). This “image” is the sameHebrew word, tselem, which is used in describing themaking of idols and also describes man havingchildren in their own likeness and image. See forexamples of these usages in Genesis 5:3; Genesis 9:6;


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2Kings 11:18; 2Chron.23:17. The uniqueness of manin relation to Elohim (they, God) is that we resemble

them as one being in the very image and likeness ofhis creators.

The “us” and “we” in connection to Elohim (they,God) is also repeated before we get to Abraham. InGenesis 3:22 Elohim expresses mans fall as man

becoming “like one of us” in the plural form. Being

like Elohim (they, God) in knowing good and evil is becoming like them according to Moses. We see thisexpression again in Genesis 11:7 where YHWH said,

“Come, let us go down and there confuse theirlanguage, so they will not understand language.”

Who was YHWH talking to when he said, “let us godown…”? According to Moses it was YHWH whoscattered and confused their language in verses 8 and9. One can only assume, at this point, that Mosesknew what he was talking about when he combinedthe singular and plural form of words to YHWHElohim (they, God). It is when we get to Abrahamthat we start to see the unfolding and revealing of the

persons of Elohim (they, God) that Moses is writingabout.

Final note, we must understand that Moses does not predate Adam to Abraham but he is recording what

God himself told him from Mount Sinai. So as westart to see the story of Abraham as recorded byMoses we need to understand that Moses is onlyrecording what he himself had heard and learnedregarding creation from the creator himself. Though


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Abraham predates Moses I started with him in orderto show that from the beginning there was evidence

of a plural nature and form of Elohim (they, God) thatwas given to Moses. So if Moses received thisknowledge of a plural YHWH Elohim (they, God)then it would follow that he would write usingsingular and plural expressions of YHWH Elohim inthe scroll of Genesis. This is exactly what we find as Ihave shown in this section.

We will now look at the story of Abraham as written by Moses concerning this plural God idea.


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ABRAHAM

When Abraham’s father died he was in the land ofHaran. Terah, Abraham’s father, was 205 years oldwhen died according to Genesis 11:32. This will beimportant later as we will see how YHWH called

Abraham. In the opening of Genesis 12 YHWH callsto Abraham and tells him to go forth from his countryand from his relatives and from his father’s house to aland that he would show him. YHWH promisesAbraham that he would make him a great nation andthat all the families of the land will be blessedthrough him.

In Genesis 12:7 YHWH appears for the first time toAbraham directly while he was in the district ofShechem at the oak of Moreh. YHWH promises himthat he will give the land to his seed. Abraham then

builds and altar there to YHWH who had appeared tohim. We must take note that this is the first altar built

by Abraham because it was YHWH who appeared tohim and confirmed the calling and promise to him.

After Abraham and Lot separated from each other andwent their separate way YHWH spoke to Abrahamagain from Canaan where he had settled. Abraham

then left and moved his tent and dwelt by the oaks ofMamre in Hebron. Again Abraham built an altar toYHWH who spoke to him, Genesis 13:14-18.


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Word of YHWH In Genesis 15:1 we read for the first time that the

Word of YHWH came to Abraham in a vision. In theHebrew text of this passage there is no article “the”

before “Word”. The literal English translation fromthe Hebrew should be “Word YHWH”. It was WordYHWH who came to Abraham in a vision.

חר הדברים ה לה היה דבר יהוה

“After these things, Word YHWH came to Abram in avision…”

Abraham immediately recognized Word YHWH asYHWH himself in verse 2 of Genesis 15. Abraham

responded by saying,

“O Adonai YHWH, what will you give me, since I amchil dless…”

He invoked the very name of YHWH twice inresponse to Him. Literally he said, “O YHWH

YHWH…” to Word YHWH. We must clearlyunderstand that Abraham was speaking to WordYHWH who was YHWH and he began to tellAbraham that he would have a child as promised withdescendents as numerous as the stars. Abraham

believed YHWH and it was at this point where hisfaith was accounted to him as righteousness. The

Word YHWH then tells Abraham something that itseems he didn’t know.


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“And He said to him, I am YH WH who caused you tocome out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land

to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:7)

The Word of YHWH tells Abraham that he is YHWHand it was Him who caused Abraham to depart fromUr. This does not seem like the same YHWH whoappeared to him in the district of Shechem at the oakof Moreh. The fact that the Word of YHWH has to

explain himself to Abraham about his actions tellsyou that he is revealing himself for the first time toAbraham. This appears to be the 2

nd power known as

Word YHWH.

Note: I must explain the Hebrew word for “word” asI did for “create” or “bara”. The Hebrew word for

“word” is “dabar”. If I remove the prefix letter “dalet”or “D” from “dabar” I am left with “bar” or “son” inEnglish as was the case with “bara” when removingthe suffix “A” or “aleph” from “bara”. With bothHebrew words I have “bar” or “son” as a parent root.

Now the prefix “dalet” for “dabar” in Hebrew meansa “door” as read in Genesis 19:6 and numerous other

passages in the Hebrew Bible. The “dalet” or “door”symbolizes also a path or a way of life. This meansthat the Word is the door or path of life to the Son.This why in John’s narrative in the New CovenantScriptures you read,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word waswith Elohim, and Elohim was the Word…And theWord became flesh and tabernacle among us” (John 1:1; 14)


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And, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, hewill be saved, and will go in and out and find

pasture.” (John 10:9 NASB)

So far from reading Genesis 12 to 15 we have twoYHWH’s who have been revealed to us. We have theYHWH who called Abraham to leave his country andfathers house. We then have the Word of YHWH orWord YHWH who is also YHWH that caused

Abraham to depart from Ur and who also promisedhim the land to possess. It appears that both areseparate and distinct from one another. But is there a3

rd power in heaven that is called YHWH?

Messenger of YHWHIn Genesis 16 we have Abraham who took Hagar at

his wife Sarah’s request in order to have a child byher. She conceived a child and Sarah became jealousand began to treat Hagar harshly. Hagar fled from herto the wilderness where we read that Messenger ofYHWH first appears. This is the first recordedappearance of the Messenger of YHWH in theHebrew Bible. He appears to Hagar by a spring ofwater. The Messenger of YHWH tells her to return toher mistress and to submit to her authority. In returnthe Messenger of YHWH promises her that herchild’s descendents will be greatly multiplied, toomany to count. His name will be Ishmael and will bea wild donkey of a man. In the end Hagar says

something most revealing about the Messenger ofYHWH in verse 13.


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“Then she called the name of YHWH who spoke toher, "You are God who sees"; for she said, "Have I

even remained alive here after seeing Him?"

Hagar proclaims the very character who spoke to heras YHWH, the El who sees her. This MessengerYHWH is YHWH himself. The Hebrew is clear and

just as the Word of YHWH is read “Word YHWH”so also the Messenger of YHWH is read from the

Hebrew “Messenger YHWH”. There is a cleardistinction between these two individuals as we willcontinue to see.

CovenantIn the very next chapter we have the covenant ofcircumcision made to Abraham by YHWH Elohim. In

verse 1 of chapter 17 YHWH once again appears toAbraham and declares himself the God that provides.Elohim (they, God) speaks to Abraham andestablishes the covenant with him for every man andchild to get circumcised. God then tells Abraham thathis wife will bare a son for him and he will bless heras a mother to the nations. Abraham laughs and

because he laughs at the thought of his wife, who is90, having a son God declares the name of the son to

be Isaac, “He laughs”.

The next two chapters are very important at this time.They will lay the foundation for the revealing of three

men or messengers who will appear to Abraham asYHWH. The Hebrew will show that all three men ormessengers are called YHWH directly. The veryname will be shown to be applied to all three of them.This is where people who read the English translation


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will need to consult the Hebrew. The English Biblesdo not reflect what I am about to show from the

Hebrew directly.

YHWH, YWHW And YHWH“And YHWH appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre,as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, threemen were standing in front of him. When he saw

them, he ran from the tent door to meet them andbowed himself to the earth…”

This is the opening of the first two verses of Genesis18. We must first take note that it is YHWH whoappears to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre. TheHebrew is clear that this is a literal appearance by

YHWH to Abraham and not some vision. SomeJewish traditions have tried to explain this appearanceas being archangels namely Michael, Gabriel andRaphael. Nothing can be further from the truth as wewill see in the next few passages in this chapter.

The next thing we must look at is the fact thatAbraham looked up and saw three men. He then ranto meet the three men and bowed himself down tothem. The text is clear that Abraham was looking tomeet the three and not just one. Some have suggestedthat Abraham was just bowing down to YHWH andnot the other two. As we will see from the rest of this

chapter and the next this is not the case.

“…and said, "O YHWH, if I have found grace in your sight, do not pass by your servant.” (Genesis 18:3)


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If your English Bible has “My Lord” or “My Lords”it is wrong. The correct translation based on the

Hebrew is the name YHWH. In Hebrew you will findthe Hebrew word “Adonai” but this “Adonai” has thevowel points that are only used for the name YHWH.Vowel points are the small markings underneath orabove some of the Hebrew characters in a word.According to Dr.Christian D. Ginsburg, who is aHebrew scholar and expert in the Hebrew translation

of the Massoretic scribes, there are 134 places in theHebrew Bible were the Jewish scribes replaced thename YHWH with Adonai. One of those places in theHebrew Bible is Genesis 18:3 as translated earlier.

Note: In the ancient Hebrew predating the Massoretictranslation there was no vowel pointing. The vowel

pointing was added 900 to 1000 years after Yeshua(Jesus). No such vowel pointing exists among theDead Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew texts. When theJewish scribes replaced the name of YHWH theynoted it in the margin of the text. They then added thevowel point “qamets” under the Hebrew name“Adonai” to identify the name YHWH as being readin its place. This was done 134 times in the HebrewBible according to Dr.Ginsburg.

When Abraham asks them to stay and eat with himthey answered him as one. In verses 5 and 9 we readthe phrase “they said ” referring to all three speaking

as one. We found this kind of talk earlier in Genesiswhen God spoke in the “our”, “we” and “us” passageswe read earlier. In fact in verse 9 it is “they” who ask“where is Sarah…” to Abraham. Abraham answersthem and then YHWH speaks using the singular


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pronoun “I” in verse 10. YHWH speaks to Sarah inverse 13 again in singular form. This switching off by

Moses who is writing this is very unusual. He hasthem speaking as one in unity and then YHWH assingular. The reason will become clear.

“Then the men rose up from there, and looked downtoward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with themto send them off .” (Genesis 18:16)

Then the men rose up? The Hebrew word used therefor “men” is “anashim” which is translated literally as“mortals” as in literal men. Who was Moses referringto? As we read in verse 2 Abraham saw three men aswell. This is the same Hebrew word as in verse 16,“anashim” or “mortal men”. Again Moses is referring

to all three as equals in status of being mortal lookingmen. No distinction is being made between them inthese two verses.

The next few verses are important to read. YHWHseems to ask a question either to himself or to theother two with him.

“And YAHWEH said, Shall I hide from Abraham thatwhich I am doing? And Abraham shall surely becomea great and powerful nation, and all the nations of theearth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him,

so that whatever he may command his sons and his

house after him, even they may keep the way ofYAHWEH, to do righteousness and justice; to theintent that YAHWEH may bring on Abraham thatwhich He has spoken of him. And YAHWEH said, thecry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is


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exceedingly heavy. I will go down and see if they haveat all done according to the cry coming to Me. And if

not, I will know. And the men faced around from thereand went toward Sodom. And Abraham was still

standing before YAHWEH.” (Genesis 18:17-22 HRB)

The first thing YHWH asked is if he should hide fromAbraham what he is about to do. He knows thatthrough Abraham all the nations will be blessed by

him. But the question is asked and who answers? Inverse 20 it is YHWH who seems to answer his ownquestion, “ And YHWH said ”. But it’s the responsethat reveals something about his answer. In verse 21the literal Hebrew reads a little differently than themajority of English Bibles.

“ Please, I will descend and I will see her cries thathas come to Me of what they have done, and if not Iwill know”

In the Hebrew it is YHWH who asks to descend andgo down to see their cry and what they have done. Heeven says “Please” in response. Why would YHWHrespond this way to his own question? Did YHWHhimself descend and go down as he stated? The verynext verse, verse 22, says that the men went towardSodom while Abraham was still standing withYHWH. Why would YHWH respond and plead to godown to Sodom but not go or did he? We will now

look at chapter 19 of Genesis as the twomen/messengers come to Lot.

After Abraham finished talking to YHWH about notdestroying the cities based on 10 righteous people


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YHWH walks away and departs from Abraham. Thetwo messengers reach Sodom in the evening and

come to Lot who is sitting at the gate. As didAbraham, Lot goes to meet them and when he gets tothem he bows his face to the ground. This is the firsttime we see this type of worship to mere messengers.Why would Lot give this type of homage to meremessengers or men? Lot then says to them,

" My lords, please turn aside to your servant's houseand spend the night and wash your feet. Then youmay rise up early and go on your way."

Lot directly refers to the messengers as his lords andhis servant to them. If these messengers were createdheavenly beings as some have suggested then how

could Lot bow before them and call them lord andrefer to himself as their servant? These messengersaccepted Lots direct worship to them and did notcorrect or rebuke him for such respect. Are weservants of created angels/messengers?

In the book of Revelation we find John doingsomething similar to an angel in chapter 22:8-9 afterhe showed John the vision.

“ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship atthe feet of the angel who showed me these things. But

he said to me, ‘Do not do that. I am a fellow servantof yours and of your brethren the prophets and ofthose who heed the words of this book. Worship God .’(Revelation 22:8-9 NASB)


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The angel/messenger rejected John’s worship whenhe fell down at his feet. But it’s what he told John that

we should look at carefully. The angel told John notto do those things but that he was a fellow servant ofJohn and the prophets. Why didn’t the messengers tellLot this very thing when he bowed down and calledthem his servant and lord? This seems veryinconsistent if these were really created angels likethe one who spoke to John in Revelation. Maybe

these men/messengers were not created beings butwere looked at by Lot as much more than meremessengers or men. As we jump forward in Genesis19 to verses 15-19 we come to where Lot is taken outof the city with his family by the two messengers.The messengers instruct Lot and his family not tolook back and to escape to the mountains or they

would be swept away.

“ And Lot said to them, ‘Please, no, my master!’(Genesis 19:18 NASB)

The textual problem with this passage is that Lot didnot call the two messengers “master” or “lords” as themajority of translations have it. The Hebrew has thevery name of God, YHWH. Lot actually called thetwo by the very name YHWH. The more literalreading should look like this,

“ And Lot said to them, ‘No, please, YHWH!’

This translation is confirmed by Massoretic scribesthemselves. They have in the margin of their text anote of replacement from YHWH to Adonai. This

passage is among the 134 changes that were made by


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them regarding the name of God. Dr.Ginsburg alsomakes note of these changes as well. So what we

really have is Lot addressing the two as YHWH andnot as lords or masters. In the Massoretic translationof the Hebrew they put vowel points under theHebrew letters to identify the word for correct

pronunciation. There are two ways to write “Adonai”for YHWH and “Adonai” for “lords” or “masters”.The first way for YHWH is,

י ַד ֲ א

As you can see there is a small dash underneath thenun. This small dash tells the reader that this Hebrewword should be understood as “lords” or “masters”and not as YHWH. When the scribes replacedYHWH for “Adonai” in Genesis 19:18 they could notreplace it with the above translation. They had to put“Adonai” as shown below.

י ָד ֲ א

As you can see, both Hebrew words are spelled thesame except for one small difference. The secondAdonai for YHWH does not have a dash underneaththe nun but has a small “t” shape. This “t” shape isonly used when the scribes want you to know that

YHWH should be in its place. There is no exceptionfor this understanding. Every time you see “Adonai”with the “t” shape underneath the nun you shouldautomatically know that YHWH is meant. If thissame Hebrew word has a dash under the nun then you


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should know to read “lords” or “masters” and NOTYHWH. Now we can read Genesis 19:24 and see the

effect it has on scripture.

“ And YAHWEH (on earth) rained fire and brimstoneon Sodom and Gomorrah, from YAHWEH out of theheavens.” (Genesis 19:18 HRB)

This is not two YHWH’s but actually three based on

Lot calling the two messengers by the name YHWH.The first YHWH left Abraham while the other twowent to see Sodom and Lot. So we can see thatYHWH did go down to Sodom as he said in Genesis18:21. But do we have more evidence of thisunderstanding? In Genesis 19:29 we read thefollowing,

“ And it happened when Elohim destroyed the citiesof the plain…” (HRB)

The credit for destroying the cities is not given toYHWH but to Elohim (they, God). This is alsoconfirmed by the prophet Amos in chapter 4:11.Amos has YHWH speaking when he writes,

“ I have overturned among you, as Elohim overthrewSodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand

plucked out of the burning; yet you have not returnedto Me, declares YAHWEH.” (HRB)

We read that YHWH declares Elohim (they, God)overthrew Sodom but back in Genesis 19:24 it wasYHWH who rained down on Sodom fire fromYHWH out of heaven. Why would YHWH speak in


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the third person about Elohim if it was really himselfwho destroyed the cities? The only explanation is that

within YHWH Elohim there is a plural of personswho exist as YHWH Elohim.

Nail in the CoffinAfter the overthrow of the cities Abraham goestoward the land of Negev and settles between Kadeshand Shur. From there he went to Gerar and spoke to

king Abimelech about Sarah being his sister in orderto not be killed by him. God then rescues Sarah bytelling Abimelech to return her back to Abraham. AsAbimelech speaks to Abraham about why he did thisto him, Abraham tells him something very interesting.Beginning in Genesis 20:12-13 we read the following,

“ And yet she really is my sister, daughter of my father; only not daughter of my mother. And shebecame my wife. And it happened when Elohim mademe wander from my father's house, even I said to her,This is your kindness which you do to me: at every

place where we come there, say of me, He is mybrother.” (HRB)

Abraham begins to explain that Sarah is really hissister from his father but not his mother. This wouldmake Sarah his half sister. Then Abraham begins toexplain when God called him to leave his fathershouse and country back in Genesis 12. Let’s read the

literal Hebrew translation from verse 13.

“…and Elohim, they caused me to stray from my father’s house…”


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The verb is in the third person plural which thenmakes Elohim plural as well. This is a basic rule in

Hebrew grammar. For those who read Hebrew I posted below the Hebrew text showing the pluralverb.

םיהלא יתא עתה רשאכ יה ַ

There should be no question that Abraham referred to

YHWH Elohim as “they” since it was YHWHhimself who called him to leave his fathers house andcountry back in Genesis 12. This is also confirmed inGenesis 24:7 as Abraham recalls YHWH Elohim(they, God) taking him from his Fathers house. Thenin Genesis 15 we read that it was the Word YHWH,also called YHWH, which also called Abraham and

confirmed the promise made in Genesis 12 as well.Finally we read the appearing of the MessengerYHWH to Hagar. Hagar recognized the Messenger asYHWH who spoke to her and the El who saw her.But did the Messenger of YHWH ever confirm andgive the promise to Abraham as well? Movingforward to Genesis 22 after Isaac is born we read the

following,

“ And it happened after these things, Elohim, testing Abraham said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said,‘Behold I am here.’ And He said, ‘Please take your

son, Isaac, your only one whom you love, and go intothe land of Moriyah. And there offer him for a burntoffering on one of the mountains which I will say to

you.’ (Genesis 22:1-2)


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Here we read Elohim calling Abraham to take his sonIsaac for a burnt offering on mount Moriyah. As

Abraham is about to offer up Isaac the MessengerYHWH appears to him. The Messenger YHWH callsdown to Abraham from heaven and says,

“ Abraham, Abraham… Do not lay your hand on theboy, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you

fear Elohim and you have not withheld your son, your

only one, from Me.” (Genesis 22:11-12 HRB)

Here again we read the Messenger YHWH makingthe claim that Abraham fears Elohim and he did notwithhold his son from Him, the Messenger. We justread earlier that it was Elohim who told Abraham totake his son as an offering to him yet we now read

that is was the Messenger, speaking in the third person about Elohim, whom Abraham didn’twithhold his son from. This gets even more confusingwhen the Messenger calls to Abraham a second timein verse 15-18 of Genesis 22 and says,

“ I have sworn by Myself, declares YAHWEH, that onaccount of this thing you have done, and have notwithheld your son, your only son, that blessing I willbless you, and multiplying I will multiply your seed asthe stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is onthe lip of the sea. And your Seed shall possess the

gate of His enemies. And in your Seed shall all the

nations of the earth be blessed, because you havelistened to My voice.”


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This Messenger YHWH now makes the claim to havesworn by him that he will multiply Abraham’s seed

and bless him because he listened to His voice. Nowwe have the third confirmation of the calling and

blessing of Abrahams descendents by the Messenger.So now we can see from Genesis 12 to 22 thatYHWH, Word YHWH and Messenger YHWH havemade the promise to Abraham to bless him andmultiply his seed as numerous as the stars in heaven.

All of which are part of the plural name of Elohim(they, God). There is no way around thisunderstanding if one only reads the Hebrew Bible andnot just an English translation.

We must understand that during these times, after Noah and his three sons, the kings like Abimelech

knew about YHWH and even expressed this toAbraham’s son Isaac in Genesis 26:26-30. Abimelechknew YHWH was with Isaac and together they madean oath to not harm each other. Abimelech knewYHWH was plainly with Isaac. The oral traditions

passed down from Adam to Noah and his sons arewell established concerning the nature of YHWHElohim. The rest of the known world that descendedfrom Noah’s three sons would have understood thethree powers and persons of YHWH Elohim. So weshould see with no surprise when other nations andkings started to adopt a three person god in their ownculture.

Note: I must make this very clear about the term“messenger”. In the vast majority of Englishtranslations you will read “angel” as in the “angel ofthe LORD” in the Old Testament. This is a very bad


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translation since the word “angel” is a term derivedfrom the Greek “aggelos”. The true meaning behind

this Greek word is “messenger” like the Hebrewequivalent “malach” which also means “messenger”.Therefore the literal understanding of this wordshould be “messenger” as in the “messenger of theLORD”. The reason for this ex planation is becausemost people who read “angel” automatically thinkcreated being as in heavenly host of angels created by

God. This is not the case for the word “angel” or“malach” both of which simply mean “messenger”and can be applied to God, men or heavenly created

beings. This word, by no means, in the ancient worldwould have a meaning of a created being by itself.

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