Biblical Logos Blog

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

These verses are “arguably the most central prayer in Judaism and are recited daily by observant Jewish people.” It is also one of the most cited statements from God’s Word that Jewish believers use to refute Christianity.

Let’s break down the very first verse:

Hear(šə-ma‘,8085 [e]), O Israel(yiś-rā-’êl,3478 [e]), The Lord (Yah-weh, 3068 [e]) our God (’ĕ-lō-hê-nū, 430 [e]), the Lord(Yah-weh,3068 [e]) is one(’e-ḥāḏ, 259 [e]).

The first thing you might notice is that the “Lord” is the proper name of God:

Original Word: יְהוָֹה
Part of Speech: Proper Name
Transliteration: Yhwh
Pronunciation: yah-veh
Phonetic Spelling: (yah-veh)
KJV: Jehovah, the Lord
NASB: LORD, GOD, LORD’S
Word Origin: [from H1961 (הָיָה – came)]

1. (the) self-Existent or Eternal
2. Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

AND

“our God” / elohim is plural. In English, it can be translated “Gods”.

elohim: God, gods, divine beings, judges

Original Word: אֱלהִים
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: elohiym
Pronunciation: eh-lo-HEEM
Phonetic Spelling: (el-o-heem’)
KJV: angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty
NASB: God, gods, God’s, judges, goddess, great
Word Origin: [plural of H433 (אֱלוַֹהּ אֱלוַֹהּ – God)]

1. gods in the ordinary sense
2. but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God
3. occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates
4. and sometimes as a superlative

A summary of Dr. Michael Heiser’s teaching on this word

Dr. Michael Heiser defined elohim not as a term for a unique set of divine attributes (like omnipotence), but as a place of residence term referring to any entity whose proper dwelling place is the spiritual/disembodied realm. It describes a category of being—disembodied spirit beings—including Yahweh, angels, demons, the divine council, and human spirits. [1, 2, 3]

• Literal Meaning: It is best understood as “gods” or “spiritual beings,” rather than being restricted to the one true God, without necessitating polytheism.
• Yahweh is Unique: While Yahweh is an elohim, Heiser emphasizes He is unique and incomparable among them. [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Heiser argued that modern, western definitions of “God” (monotheism) cause readers to mistranslate or misunderstand the term in the Bible, which frequently uses the plural form for spiritual beings. [8, 9]

And the last word is “one” / ’e-ḥāḏ

echad: One, single, first, alone, unity

Original Word: אֶחָד
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: echad
Pronunciation: eh-khad’
Phonetic Spelling: (ekh-awd’)
KJV: a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,
NASB: one, each, first, other, same, another, any
Word Origin: [a numeral from H258 (אָחַד – One)]

1. (properly) united, i.e. one
2. (as an ordinal) first

Which can convey the numerical one, but also is used of “unity”. Let’s look at its usage in some verses of the Bible.

Genesis 1:9

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹

Genesis 2:24

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

It is not as clear as people have been led to believe that “The Shema” is a reference only to God being a singular being. It is quite possibly a unity of beings. In this one verse, you can see “the Lord” (singular / proper name). It is “our God” (plural), which appears to lend support for this verse being a reference to “unity.” The last word “one” (unity / echad) is used to emphasize this.

Here is a great summary of this debate

This blog post from Bible.ca provides a Trinitarian theological argument focused on the Hebrew and Greek words for “one.” It argues that the Bible deliberately uses words signifying “composite unity” rather than “solitary oneness” when describing God.

Here is a summary of the core arguments:

1. Echad vs. Yachid

The central thesis is the distinction between two Hebrew words translated as “one”:

• Echad: This word often refers to a unified one or a composite unity. The post cites Genesis 2:24 (“the two shall become one flesh”) as a primary example. Because echad is used in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4—”The LORD is one“), the author argues this allows for the plurality of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) within a single Godhead.
• Yachid: This word refers to a solitary or absolute numeric one (e.g., an “only” child). The author highlights that while yachid is used in the Old Testament, it is never used to describe God’s oneness.

2. Historical Shifts in Judaism

The article claims that ancient and modern Jewish scholars changed their terminology in response to Christianity. It points to Moses Maimonides (12th century), who used yachid in his 13 Articles of Faith to describe God, which the author labels “unbiblical” because that specific word is never applied to God in the Torah. The post suggests this shift was a deliberate attempt to exclude the possibility of a Trinity.

3. Greek Equivalents in the New Testament

The post examines New Testament Greek to support its claim:

• Hen: Corresponds to echad. Jesus used this word when quoting the Shema (Mark 12:29) and when saying “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), implying a unified oneness.
• Monos: Corresponds to yachid (solitary). While monos is used for God in the New Testament, the author argues that the consistent use of hen in key theological statements maintains the Trinitarian “unified” definition.

4. Evidence of Plurality

The author points to other linguistic features in the Old Testament as evidence for the Trinity:

• Elohim: The common Hebrew word for God is plural in form.
• Plural Pronouns: Phrases like “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) are cited as “irrefutable evidence” of a multi-personal God.

Conclusion

The blog concludes that the choice of echad over yachid in the Old Testament was deliberate by the Holy Spirit. This choice was made to leave room for the later revelation of the Trinity. It views the Hebrew language as laying a foundation for the “three persons in one God” doctrine. This doctrine is more fully revealed in the New Testament.[10]