II. Rabbinical Citations. The most ancient scribes and rabbis taught the Trinity; these generally predate 200 C. E.. The less ancient rabbis, those generally associated with post-Christian compilation of Talmud (ending 400 C. E. for the Palestinian, 500 C. E. for Babylonian) and Midrashim (from 200 C.E. to 900 C. E.) are unitarian. The shift, in my opinion, is based on factors including the following: the abandonment of the normative hermeneutic or grammatico-historical method in interpreting Scripture in favor of the allegorical method governed by Oral Tradition, and the debates with the Church; i.e., the abandonment of Scriptura Sola coupled with the desire to defend the Pharasaic tradition.
A. The Targumim. These are the translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Chaldee (or Aramaic or Syriac), and these, when compared with the Hebrew, give us crystal clear indication of what many ancient rabbis taught concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. Especially clear is their perception of the Word of Jehovah called The Memra of Jehovah as a distinctive Person of Deity Who personally articulates and manifests the Father to His People. They understood this Person to be the same as Angel Jehovah. The weight of historical evidence clearly places these works prior to the "Christian" era; this proves that ancient rabbis understood the Trinity on the basis of the Hebrew Scriptures, thus verifying what has See [J. W. Etheridge, The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel ...; A. Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Appendices II, IX]. Frequently in the following references, the Hebrew reading is converted to the Chaldee reading by replacing Jehovah by Word of Jehovah, and in such a way as to teach the personal Deity of the Word; and any passage teaching the Deity of the Memra of Jehovah teaches that the Memra is a Person of Deity distinct from the Person denominated Jehovah the proof of this assertion is analogous to that given in the introduction in I.C. above. Finally, Memra is the Chaldee equivalent of the Greek Logos.
(1) Targum of Onkelos. In over 79 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen 3:8,10. And they heard the voice of the Memra of Jehovah Elohim walking in the garden ... The voice of Thy Memra heard I in the garden, and I was afraid.
Gen 6:6-7.And it repented Jehovah in His Memra that He had made man upon the earth. And He said in His Memra that He would break their strength according to His pleasure.
Gen 15:6. And he believed in the Memra of Jehovah, and He reckoned it to him unto justification.
Gen 17:2,7,10. And I will set a covenant between My Memra and thee, ... And I will establish My covenant between My Memra and thee, and thy sons ... This is My covenant which you shall keep between My Memra and you ... And you shall circumcise ... for the sign of the covenant between My Memra and you.
Gen 28:20-1. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Memra of Jehovah will be my help, and will keep me in that way in which I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and bring me in peace to my father's house, the Memra of Jehovah shall be my God.
Gen 31:49-50. ... The Memra of Jehovah will observe between me and thee ... see the Memra of Jehovah is witness between me and thee.
Ex 3:12. Because My Memra shall be thy helper ...
Lev 20:23. ... and My Memra hath abhored them.
Num 14:9. Only be not rebellious against the Memra of Jehovah, ... and the Memra of Jehovah is our helper.
Deut 33:27. The habitation of Eloha is from eternity, and the world was made by His Memra; ...
(2) Targum of Palestine / "Jonathan ben Uzziel". In over 212 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen 2:8. And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Memra of Jehovah Elohim ...
Gen 4:26 5:2 That was the generation in whose days they began to err, and to make themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the Name of the Memra of Jehovah. Male and female created He them, and blessed them in the Name of His Memra, ...
Gen 22:16. By My Memra have I sworn ...
Ex 33:16-21. ... and by Thy speaking by the Holy Spirit to me and to Thy people. that we may be distinguished from all the peoples on the face of the earth? And Jehovah said to Mosheh, This thing will ... I also do ... And he said, Show now unto me Thy glory: but He said, Behold, I will make all the measure of My goodness pass before thee, and I will give utterance in the Name of the Memra of Jehovah before thee; and I will have compassion And He said, Thou canst not see the visage of My face; for no one can see Me and abide alive. And Jehovah said, Behold a place is prepared before Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. And it shall be that when the glory of My Shekhinah passeth before thee, I will put thee in the cavern of the rock, and will overshadow thee with My Memra until I have passed by.
Ex 34:5. And Jehovah revealed Himself in the cloud of the glory of His Shekhinah, and Mosheh stood with Him there; and Mosheh called upon the Name of the Memra of Jehovah.
Lev 1:1. ... and the Memra of Jehovah spake with him from the tabernacle of ordinance
Num 23:20. Behold, from the mouth of the Holy Memra I have received this benediction.
Deut 1:10. The Memra of Jehovah our Elohim hath multiplied you; and behold ...
(3) Jerusalem Targum. In over 70 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen. 1:27. And the Memra of Jehovah created man in His likeness, ...
Gen. 16:13. And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Memra of Jehovah Who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, Who has looked upon affliction.
Ex 3:14 And the Memra of Jehovah said to Mosheh, He Who spake to the world, Be, and it was; and Who will speak to it, Be, and it will be. And He said, Thus shalt thou speak to the sons Israel EHEYEB [I will be] hath sent me unto you.
Comment. Many examples are common to the various Targumim. This proves that the doctrine of the Trinity was commonly believed amongst the Jews before the time of Christ. I cannot overemphasize the abundance of all the pertinent examples.
B. LXX (Septuagint). This is the translation by the seventy-two rabbis in Alexandria of the Hebrew Scriptures and Apocrypha into Greek; this work was carried from approximately 250 B.C.E. to 100 B.C.E. Here the word for the Second Person used by these rabbis is Logos (just as in the N. T.).
Book of Wisdom 18:14-6. For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night [of the first Passover] was in the midst of her swift course, Thine Almighty Logos leaped from heaven out of Thy Royal Throne, as a fierce Man of War into a land of destruction, and brought Thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death,
C. Philo of Judaeus Alexandria. Born circa 25 B.C.E. and died circa 50 C.E., this Hellenistic Jewish rabbi took the concept of the Logos from Platonic philosophy, and refashioned it along the lines of the traditional Jewish understanding. Philo's concept of the Logos may be viewed then as another indication of the Trinitarian views of the most ancient rabbis. We give a sampling of descriptions from Philo. (See [J. W. Etheridge, op. cit., Volume I, 20-23] for full quotes; see also [H. A. Wolfson, Philo, Volume I, 200-94] for a thorough discussion, apparently written on the assumption that the most ancient Judaism was unitarian, which runs counter to Etheridge's views. After looking at many Philonic scholars who would disagree with Etheridge, it is my view their documentation is more easily explained by Etheridge's thesis especially scrutinize [Wolfson, op. cit., 291, lines 8-25] which makes Philo very self-contradictory unless a Personal distinction within the Divine Essence be assumed (and this is only one of many incongruities I found).)
(1) Philo describes the Logos in the following terms: "the Eternal Logos of the Everlasting God is the strongest and steadfast support of the universe", "Image of God", "Creator", man is "His copied image", "His [God's] Angel" who sits over the Cherubim, "the Father begat Him [Logos], "His [God's] First-Begotten Son", "Second God", "advocate the Son" for the high priest before the Father, "holds and directs the universe", "Mediator" Who "should determine between the creature and Creator", "receives the charge of the sacred flock", we should "regard the Image of God, Who is His Angel, the Logos, as God Himself" and "pledge our faith by the Begotten [Logos] and ... invoke the Divine Logos to witness", etc., etc., etc.
The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Hebrew Scriptures and Ancient Rabbis
A. The Targumim. These are the translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Chaldee (or Aramaic or Syriac), and these, when compared with the Hebrew, give us crystal clear indication of what many ancient rabbis taught concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. Especially clear is their perception of the Word of Jehovah called The Memra of Jehovah as a distinctive Person of Deity Who personally articulates and manifests the Father to His People. They understood this Person to be the same as Angel Jehovah. The weight of historical evidence clearly places these works prior to the "Christian" era; this proves that ancient rabbis understood the Trinity on the basis of the Hebrew Scriptures, thus verifying what has See [J. W. Etheridge, The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel ...; A. Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Appendices II, IX]. Frequently in the following references, the Hebrew reading is converted to the Chaldee reading by replacing Jehovah by Word of Jehovah, and in such a way as to teach the personal Deity of the Word; and any passage teaching the Deity of the Memra of Jehovah teaches that the Memra is a Person of Deity distinct from the Person denominated Jehovah the proof of this assertion is analogous to that given in the introduction in I.C. above. Finally, Memra is the Chaldee equivalent of the Greek Logos.
(1) Targum of Onkelos. In over 79 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen 3:8,10. And they heard the voice of the Memra of Jehovah Elohim walking in the garden ... The voice of Thy Memra heard I in the garden, and I was afraid.
Gen 6:6-7.And it repented Jehovah in His Memra that He had made man upon the earth. And He said in His Memra that He would break their strength according to His pleasure.
Gen 15:6. And he believed in the Memra of Jehovah, and He reckoned it to him unto justification.
Gen 17:2,7,10. And I will set a covenant between My Memra and thee, ... And I will establish My covenant between My Memra and thee, and thy sons ... This is My covenant which you shall keep between My Memra and you ... And you shall circumcise ... for the sign of the covenant between My Memra and you.
Gen 28:20-1. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Memra of Jehovah will be my help, and will keep me in that way in which I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and bring me in peace to my father's house, the Memra of Jehovah shall be my God.
Gen 31:49-50. ... The Memra of Jehovah will observe between me and thee ... see the Memra of Jehovah is witness between me and thee.
Ex 3:12. Because My Memra shall be thy helper ...
Lev 20:23. ... and My Memra hath abhored them.
Num 14:9. Only be not rebellious against the Memra of Jehovah, ... and the Memra of Jehovah is our helper.
Deut 33:27. The habitation of Eloha is from eternity, and the world was made by His Memra; ...
(2) Targum of Palestine / "Jonathan ben Uzziel". In over 212 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen 2:8. And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Memra of Jehovah Elohim ...
Gen 4:26 5:2 That was the generation in whose days they began to err, and to make themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the Name of the Memra of Jehovah. Male and female created He them, and blessed them in the Name of His Memra, ...
Gen 22:16. By My Memra have I sworn ...
Ex 33:16-21. ... and by Thy speaking by the Holy Spirit to me and to Thy people. that we may be distinguished from all the peoples on the face of the earth? And Jehovah said to Mosheh, This thing will ... I also do ... And he said, Show now unto me Thy glory: but He said, Behold, I will make all the measure of My goodness pass before thee, and I will give utterance in the Name of the Memra of Jehovah before thee; and I will have compassion And He said, Thou canst not see the visage of My face; for no one can see Me and abide alive. And Jehovah said, Behold a place is prepared before Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. And it shall be that when the glory of My Shekhinah passeth before thee, I will put thee in the cavern of the rock, and will overshadow thee with My Memra until I have passed by.
Ex 34:5. And Jehovah revealed Himself in the cloud of the glory of His Shekhinah, and Mosheh stood with Him there; and Mosheh called upon the Name of the Memra of Jehovah.
Lev 1:1. ... and the Memra of Jehovah spake with him from the tabernacle of ordinance
Num 23:20. Behold, from the mouth of the Holy Memra I have received this benediction.
Deut 1:10. The Memra of Jehovah our Elohim hath multiplied you; and behold ...
(3) Jerusalem Targum. In over 70 undisputed passages in the Penteteuch alone (!), Memra of Jehovah is used of Deity and hence a Person in the Godhead distinct from another Person called Jehovah. We give a few representative passages. These must be compared with the Hebrew text.
Gen. 1:27. And the Memra of Jehovah created man in His likeness, ...
Gen. 16:13. And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Memra of Jehovah Who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, Who has looked upon affliction.
Ex 3:14 And the Memra of Jehovah said to Mosheh, He Who spake to the world, Be, and it was; and Who will speak to it, Be, and it will be. And He said, Thus shalt thou speak to the sons Israel EHEYEB [I will be] hath sent me unto you.
Comment. Many examples are common to the various Targumim. This proves that the doctrine of the Trinity was commonly believed amongst the Jews before the time of Christ. I cannot overemphasize the abundance of all the pertinent examples.
B. LXX (Septuagint). This is the translation by the seventy-two rabbis in Alexandria of the Hebrew Scriptures and Apocrypha into Greek; this work was carried from approximately 250 B.C.E. to 100 B.C.E. Here the word for the Second Person used by these rabbis is Logos (just as in the N. T.).
Book of Wisdom 18:14-6. For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night [of the first Passover] was in the midst of her swift course, Thine Almighty Logos leaped from heaven out of Thy Royal Throne, as a fierce Man of War into a land of destruction, and brought Thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death,
C. Philo of Judaeus Alexandria. Born circa 25 B.C.E. and died circa 50 C.E., this Hellenistic Jewish rabbi took the concept of the Logos from Platonic philosophy, and refashioned it along the lines of the traditional Jewish understanding. Philo's concept of the Logos may be viewed then as another indication of the Trinitarian views of the most ancient rabbis. We give a sampling of descriptions from Philo. (See [J. W. Etheridge, op. cit., Volume I, 20-23] for full quotes; see also [H. A. Wolfson, Philo, Volume I, 200-94] for a thorough discussion, apparently written on the assumption that the most ancient Judaism was unitarian, which runs counter to Etheridge's views. After looking at many Philonic scholars who would disagree with Etheridge, it is my view their documentation is more easily explained by Etheridge's thesis especially scrutinize [Wolfson, op. cit., 291, lines 8-25] which makes Philo very self-contradictory unless a Personal distinction within the Divine Essence be assumed (and this is only one of many incongruities I found).)
(1) Philo describes the Logos in the following terms: "the Eternal Logos of the Everlasting God is the strongest and steadfast support of the universe", "Image of God", "Creator", man is "His copied image", "His [God's] Angel" who sits over the Cherubim, "the Father begat Him [Logos], "His [God's] First-Begotten Son", "Second God", "advocate the Son" for the high priest before the Father, "holds and directs the universe", "Mediator" Who "should determine between the creature and Creator", "receives the charge of the sacred flock", we should "regard the Image of God, Who is His Angel, the Logos, as God Himself" and "pledge our faith by the Begotten [Logos] and ... invoke the Divine Logos to witness", etc., etc., etc.
The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Hebrew Scriptures and Ancient Rabbis
