This is a complete guide to the Trinity in the Old Testament.
If you are looking for the Triune God in the Hebrew Bible, you’ll enjoy the information in this guide.
Let’s dive right in.
Contents
What is the Trinity?
The doctrine of the Trinity in Christianity states that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons sharing one essence/substance/nature.
How can something be many persons but one in nature?
Even though there is a profound mystery in the Trinity and how we can understand it with our finite minds, a simple example from Genesis 5:2 will help you understand the concept better.
Genesis 5:2 says that on the day God created Adam and Eve, He called THEM BOTH “Adam,” which means man or humankind.
So, God created two distinct persons, but they were both called Adam. They were both man in their nature, yet they were two distinct persons.
Why you should look for the Trinity in the Old Testament
The New Testament’s witness to the incarnation of the Son of God fully reveals the Trinity. Still, you can find the Trinity in the Old Testament as well.
In other words, the New Testament isn’t inventing a new vision of God but clarifies and affirms that the God of Israel has eternally existed in three distinct persons.
Studying the Trinity in the Old Testament shows the continuity between the Old and the New Testament.
This will, in part, help to cut the legs from the arguments that say the deity of the Son of God is a later development in Christianity.
It will also destroy the false claims of unitarianism, modalism, and other such “isms” that deny the Trinitarian God.
Best of all, it will serve as major proof that Jesus is God and the source of eternal salvation.
The New Testament confirms the Trinity of the Old Testament
According to the New Testament, Jesus was active in the Old Testament. For example, Abraham and Moses saw Jesus and ate with Him: Abraham by the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18) and Moses at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24).
Let’s examine some New Testament passages that confirm the second person of the Godhead’s active role in the Old Testament.
Jesus and Abraham in the Old Testament
John 8:56-58
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”
Therefore, the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.
Jesus and Moses in the Old Testament
Paul (1 Corinthians 10, Hebrews 11) and Jude share the view that Jesus brought Israel out of Egypt, accompanied Moses, provided for Israel in the wilderness, punished them with serpents, and brought them into the Promised Land.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 9
Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
Let’s not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.
Hebrews 11:24-27 NIV
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
Note: Jesus’ nature, or essence, is invisible, but He appeared physically in the Old Testament, and Moses saw Him.
Jude’s letter
The mention of Moses seeing Jesus in Jude’s letter is interesting because there are variations between Bible translations on who saved Israel from Egypt. Some say “the Lord” (e.g., WEB), and some say “Jesus.” (e.g., ESV)
Even though Jesus is far more straightforward to use here, it doesn’t matter if the word is “the Lord” since verse 4 tells us who the Lord is in verse 5. It is Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4 WEB
For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:5-7 ESV
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
In the oldest manuscripts of Jude, P72 (3rd and 4th century), Jesus is written as “God Christ” in verse 5.
Source for the image below.
In other early copies of Jude from the 4th and 5th centuries, the word is Jesus, which the ESV (above) uses.
So, to sum up, the earliest copies of Jude testify to Christ’s deity and his active role in the Old Testament, guiding Israel to the Promised Land.
The fact that the New Testament confirms that Jesus has an active role in the Hebrew Bible gives a major clue as to how to find the Trinity in the Old Testament.
And that’s what you will learn next.
How to find the Trinity in the Old Testament
Before you dive into the article’s actual meat, it’s good to know how to find the Trinity in the Old Testament.
Below, you will find three great ways to do it.
Look for passages that distinguish at least two divine persons
When you read the Old Testament, your Trinity radar should be on high alert whenever you encounter two distinct persons with divine attributes at the same scene.
Examples of this include:
- The “two Yahwehs” raining down sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah.
- The Angel of the LORD who is sent by Yahweh but is clearly divine.
- Pairs of Yahweh and Lord, Father and Son, and the Ancient of Days and Son of Man are distinguished as two different persons of the Godhead in the Psalms and Daniel 7.
Look for verses that mention the Father, the Son, or the Spirit of God
Secondly, you should look for verses that talk about God as the Father, mention the Father having a Son, or mention the Spirit of God.
There are not many of these verses in the Old Testament, but those found prove that God’s names in Christianity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, were familiar to the Jews already in Jesus’ time. Jesus didn’t need to explain to them who the Father is.
Look for plurality in words that describe God or His actions
A third way of finding the Trinity in the Old Testament is to look for plurality in words that depict God or His actions.
Examples of this include:
- “Let us,” “our image,” and “our likeness” in Genesis 1:26 and “Let us” in Genesis 11:7.
- The Old Testament uses “Elohim” for God. It is plural in form, having the plural masculine suffix im.
- In Isaiah 54:5, husband and Maker are plural in Hebrew: For your Maker(s) is your husband(s).
Subtler hints of the three persons in the Godhead
The subtler hints about the Trinity occur in confessions, prayers, and blessings in which God is mentioned three times in the same sentence.
Examples of this include:
- Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
- Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6:22-26
- Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 48:14-16
- Holy, holy, holy is the Lord in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8
Don’t worry—we will go through all these in detail in the sections below. The Shema study in Deuteronomy 6:4 is especially exciting, guaranteed.
But let’s start our Trinity hunt by highlighting the passages in which two or more divine persons are mentioned in the same scene.
More than one divine person in the Old Testament
What does it mean to prove the Trinity in the Old Testament from passages that depict more than one divine person?
The Old Testament has many passages where God reveals Himself to His people. You’ll find dozens of them in this list of theophanies. Some of these theophanies show two divine figures depicted in the same scene simultaneously, yet these figures are distinct, meaning they are not the same person.
The examples vary from 1-2 -verse passages like Zechariah 2:10-11, where the Lord of Hosts sends the Lord, to longer passages within a chapter, like the Wisdom of God in Proverbs 8, all the way to multi-chapter expounds like the Angel of the LORD, the Voice of the Lord, and the Word of the Lord.
You will find some examples in this article, but some need a separate one to flesh out their ideas. Take a look at the articles below.
- Who is the Son of Man in Daniel 7? (the best example)
- Who is the Angel of the Lord?
- Jesus is the Word. But why does the Bible call Him that?
- The Voice of the Lord
- Two Yahwehs in Genesis 19:24
- Two Lords in Psalm 110
Two divine persons of the Trinity in Zechariah 2:10-11
In Zechariah 2:10-11, two divine figures are mentioned in the same passage: the Lord of Hosts is distinguished from the Lord, who is sent by the Lord of Hosts to Israel to live in their midst.
Zechariah 2:10-11
10 “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
In verse 10, the Lord says, “I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst.”
In verse 11, “me” is the Lord from verse 10 because in both 10 and 11, the Lord says, “and I will dwell in your midst,” meaning the Lord of Hosts has sent the Lord to the Israelites.
And so we have two divine persons distinguished from one another.
The second person of the Trinity in Proverbs 8
Proverbs 8 presents a personification of the Wisdom of God. The chapter uses grammatically feminine terms to speak about Wisdom.
The key verses are 8:22-30, as shown in the image below. The passage conveys an idea of the second divine power being active in the creation. Wisdom is the craftsman by God’s side, just like in Psalm 33:6, where the craftsman is the Word of the Lord.
Proverbs 8:22-30 was, and still is, also used to argue that the Wisdom (and therefore Jesus) came into existence at a specific time, meaning He’s not eternal.
A more careful reading shows that the passage confirms Wisdom’s eternality. The Wisdom is “set up from everlasting” and has been “always rejoicing before” Yahweh.
As you can see, the traces of the Trinity are already in the Old Testament. The two divine figures in the above examples and articles speak volumes of this fact.
But we are not even close to being done yet.
Next, we will show how the Spirit of God is a divine person in the Old Testament.
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
So far, you have learned that there are two divine persons in the Old Testament.
Now, we will look at how the Old Testament reveals the divinity of God’s Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, often called the “Spirit of God” or the “Spirit of the Lord” in the Old Testament, is mentioned around 80 times in the Old Testament, from the first chapter of Genesis to the last book, Malachi.
The Spirit is distinct from God, has divine features, and carries out actions reserved for God. He is also spoken of as He would be a person.
God’s Spirit is divine
The Spirit of God has divine features and carries out actions reserved only for God.
In the opening verses of Genesis, the Spirit of God is described hovering over the waters during the creation of the world. This suggests a role in the creative process, with a particular emphasis on the Spirit’s involvement in the origin of life.
Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
This is also what we see in Psalm 104:30.
Psalm 104:30
You send out your Spirit and they are created.
You renew the face of the ground.
When God creates man, He breathes into Adam the breath of life (Genesis 2:7), which is His Spirit. In the Old Testament, the word “spirit” (rûaḥ) is often translated as “wind” or “breath.”
Job 33:4 further clarifies the connection of God’s Spirit and His breath as a giver of life.
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Psalm 33:6 clarifies how creation was a Trinitarian act of the Father (the Lord), the Son (the Word of the Lord), and the Holy Spirit (breath, rûaḥ). In other words, creation was from the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 33:6 (ESV)
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
According to Psalm 139, the Spirit of God is omnipresent, a feature that only God possesses.
Psalm 139:7-12
Where could I go from your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn,
and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me.
The light around me will be night,”
even the darkness doesn’t hide from you,
but the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you.
In Exodus 33:14, Yahweh says to Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” According to Isaiah 63:14, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Isaiah 63:11-14 (ESV)
Then he remembered the days of old,
of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
Like livestock that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
God’s Spirit is a person
The Old Testament considers God’s Spirit as someone who speaks and grieves.
Ezekiel 11:1-5
Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”
Yahweh’s Spirit fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak, ‘Yahweh says: “Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.
2 Samuel 23:2
Yahweh’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue.
Isaiah 40:13
Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit,
or has taught him as his counselor?
Isaiah 63:10
“Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.”
God’s Spirit is distinct from God
The Spirit is distinguished from Yahweh, the LORD (Isaiah 48:16, Numbers 27:18, Zechariah 4:6), from God (Psalm 51:10-11), and from the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 36:24-28).
Psalm 51:10-11
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a right spirit within me.
Don’t throw me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Numbers 27:18
Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
Ezekiel 36:24-28
“‘“For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, and from all your idols. I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my ordinances and do them. You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
Zechariah 4:6
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
The verse below in the image, Isaiah 48:16, is a Trinitarian verse. At best, it shows all three persons of the Godhead in the same verse, and at worst, it proves that God is multi-personal and God’s Spirit is distinct from Yahweh.
If you study the different translations of Isaiah 48:16, you will see that in some versions, the quotation marks end at the end of the verse, and in some, after the word “there.” The above image shows examples of both.
One or two persons speak in the verse: either God speaks until the end, or God speaks until “there,” and Isaiah speaks the rest. Isaiah can’t speak in the first part because he wasn’t there “in the beginning.”
If the quotation marks are in the end, then the Lord God has sent Yahweh and His Spirit, and you see all three persons of the Trinity in one sentence: the Lord, His Spirit, and Me, who has been there from the beginning.
If the quote marks end “there,” then Isaiah ends the verse, and God sends Isaiah. This way, you can still prove that the Lord God and His Spirit are distinct.
The Father in the Old Testament
The concept of a Heavenly Father is not restricted to the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is Father to the Israelites, and they are His sons and daughters, with lowercase “s” and “d.”
The concept is highlighted in many instances in the Old Testament (See source). Below you will see two example verses for this from Isaiah and one from Exodus.
Isaiah 63:16
For you are our Father,
though Abraham doesn’t know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, Yahweh, are our Father.
Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
Isaiah 64:8
But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.
We are the clay and you our potter.
We all are the work of your hand.
Exodus 4:22-23
You shall tell Pharaoh, ‘Yahweh says, Israel is my son, my firstborn, and I have said to you, “Let my son go, that he may serve me;” and you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
The Father, Yahweh, or LORD, is distinguished from the other divine persons in the Old Testament.
- Yahweh is distinguished from the “Lord” (Psalm 110:1).
- God the King is distinguished from God (Psalm 45:6-7).
- The Spirit is distinguished from God, as you saw above.
Psalm 110
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion.
Rule among your enemies.
Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array.
Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand.
He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
He will judge among the nations.
He will heap up dead bodies.
He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
He will drink of the brook on the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
Psalm 45:6-7
Your throne, God, is forever and ever.
A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
The concept of Yahweh’s fatherhood isn’t limited to Israel only. In the next section, you will see that the Father also has a divine Son.
The Son in the Old Testament
According to Psalm 2 and Proverbs 30:2-4, Yahweh has a divine Son in the Old Testament.
Psalm 2 (below in the image) is a Messianic Psalm. In verse 2, the word “anointed” is the same as the word for “Messiah.” Yahweh sets His King Messiah on Zion.
In verse 7, Yahweh tells the King Messiah that He is Yahweh’s Son. The Son can’t be David or any other worldly king since, according to verse 12, “blessed are those who take refuge in him.” One can not take refuge in a mere creature and be blessed.
You’ll find another example in Proverbs 30:1-4 that invites you to ponder rhetorical questions whose purpose is to show man’s lack of knowledge of divine secrets.
Proverbs 30:1-4
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the revelation:
the man says to Ithiel,
to Ithiel and Ucal:
“Surely I am the most ignorant man,
and don’t have a man’s understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has bound the waters in his garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
The last question asks God’s and His Son’s names. Name in the Bible describes a person’s characteristics and nature.
The Bible describes God with many names, but His name is also beyond comprehension (Judges 13:18). In other words, no creature can fully understand God’s true nature.
In Proverbs 30:4, the last question ties God to the divine creative actions in the previous questions. No one else has done these actions than God. The last question not only ties God to the previous questions and their divine actions but also ties the Son to them.
Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Only God has gathered them.
Who has bound the waters in his garment? Only God has bound them.
Who has established all the ends of the earth? Only God has established them.
What is his name, and what is his son’s name, do you know? Only God knows their names.
So, “if you know” in the last question is pointless because no man knows the name or the nature of God or His Son because they are beyond comprehension for creatures.
This shows that the Son is divine, and He is also God, as is the Father.
The Son of God in Daniel 3
The next mention of God’s Son is found in Daniel 3, which is the Aramaic part of the Book of Daniel.
Let’s read the key verses first and then unpack them.
Daniel 3:24-26, 28 KJV
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
The Son of God in Dan 3:25 is plural Aramaic word “elahin.” Elahin can be compared to the Hebrew word “elohim, ” used around 2,500 times in the Hebrew Bible, most of which refer to the one true God.
Elohim is never translated as plural, gods, when the word refers to one true God. However, you can see Elohim translated as gods when it doesn’t refer to one true God.
Many translations of Daniel 3:25 use the term “son of gods” instead of “Son of God.”
It is easy to see why gods is a bad translation in Daniel 3:25.
Nebuchadnezzar sees four men in fire and comments that the fourth one has the form like the son of elahin. In verse 26, he commands Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out from the fire by calling them “servants of the most high God.” It is singular in 26, just like in verse 28 where Nebuchadnezzar says, “blessed be the God (singular) of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel (the fourth man in verse 25) and delivered His servants (the three other men) that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God (singular).
How is it possible that Daniel would mean gods in verse 25 when talking about the angel when in verse 28, it is the angel of the one true God, not gods, who delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? The angel in verse 28 is the Son of God in verse 2, and in verse 28, the angel is sent by the one true God.
Therefore, the correct translation is the Son of God.
If the chapter was written in Hebrew, the word would be elohim which is always translated singular when referring to the one true God. This is why the Jewish translators of the Septuagint saw the word as the Son of God; this is how the King James Version and a couple of other Bibles translate it.
Also, remember how “Most High” was translated in Daniel 7 as singular even though a plural Greek word was used. Now again, the plural is used in Daniel 3:25, and the same translations use plural instead of the correct singular form. This is inconsistent.
Grammatical evidence for the Trinity in the Old Testament
If God is multi-personal, we would see words like “ours,” “us,” plural nouns, and verbs when the Old Testament describes God and his actions, right?
If God is just one person, we would not see plural and multi-personal words used in describing God.
God is not an author of confusion. Therefore, the following examples must be considered evidence of a multi-personal God.
God’s name “Elohim”
A Messianic Jew, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, writes about God’s name “Elohim” as follows:
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum
It is generally agreed that Elohim is a plural noun having the masculine plural ending “im.” The very word Elohim used of the true God in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is also used in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods (Elohim) before Me,” and in Deuteronomy 13:2, “Let us go after other gods (Elohim)… .” While the use of the plural Elohim does not prove a Tri-unity, it certainly opens the door to a doctrine of plurality in the Godhead since it is the word that is used for the one true God as well as for the many false gods.
In Genesis 1:1, in the beginning, “Elohim” created the heavens and the earth.
In Genesis 3:5, Adam and Eve will be like “Elohim,” knowing good and evil.
Elohim and other plural nouns denoting multiplicity in God’s names can be seen as plentitude of God or as descriptions of God’s majesty. These interpretations can be used to explain away the plurality in the Godhead.
However, it is more difficult to explain away the plurality of nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives used to describe God and His actions.
Plural nouns
In Isaiah 54:5, “Yahweh, your Husband and your Maker” are plural in Hebrew: For your Maker(s) and your husband(s).
In Job 35:10, “God, my Maker” is plural in Hebrew: God, my Maker(s).
In Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Your Creator” is plural in Hebrew: Your Creator(s).
Plural pronouns
In Genesis 1:26, when man was created, “Elohim” said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness.
In Genesis 3:22, “Yahweh Elohim” says, “The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”
In Genesis 11:7, Yahweh says, “Let us go down and there confuse their language.”
Plural verbs
Below are a few examples of a plural verb following elohim in the Old Testament.
In Genesis 20:13, “And it came to pass when God (elohim) caused me to wander” is literally translated as “they caused me to wander.”
In Genesis 35:7, “because there God (elohim) appeared to him,” is literally translated as “they appeared to him.”
In 2 Samuel 7:23, “God (Elohim) went is literally translated as “they went.”
In Psalm 58:11, “Surely He is God who judges” is literally translated as “they judge.”
Plural adjectives
Below are a few examples of plural adjectives following “elohim” in the Old Testament. In the examples, the same term, “the living God,” is in Hebrew both “elohim chayyim,” plural, and “elohim chay,” singular.
- Deuteronomy 5:26, elohim chayyim
- Jeremiah 10:10, elohim chayyim
- 1 Samuel 17:26, 36, elohim chayyim
- 2 Kings 19:4, 16, elohim chay
The inspired authors of the above books use the same term, the living God, in plural and singular, which is precisely what you would expect to see if God is one being but multi-personal.
Evidence of the Trinity in the Old Testament prayers and confessions
The Shema
Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel, The Lord, our God, The Lord is one.
The Shema is one of the Old Testament’s most famous verses and confessions. From the outset, it seems to be a sure sign of the singularity in the Godhead. The verse says clearly, “The Lord is one,” right?
Not so fast.
This is what Jewish scholar, a Christian, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes about the Shema.
Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum
On the one hand, it should be noted that the words “our God” are in the plural in the Hebrew text and literally mean “our Gods.” However, the main argument lies in the word “one,” which is the Hebrew word ECHAD. A glance through the Hebrew text where the word is used elsewhere can quickly show that the word echad does not mean an absolute “one” but a compound “one.”
You’ll find examples of this compound “one” in the following verses:
- Genesis 1:5, evening and morning make a total of one (echad) day.
- Genesis 2:24, a man and a woman come together in marriage, and the two “shall become one (echad) flesh.” (Read more: Bible verses about marriage)
- Ezra 2:64, the whole assembly consisting of many people was as one (echad).
- Ezekiel 37:17, the verse uses 3x echad to join two sticks into one!
Moses could have used another word in the Shema to rule out any ambiguity concerning the Lord’s absolute oneness. He could have used the word “yachid,” which means absolute singularity, but he didn’t.
You can find examples of yachid in the following verses: Genesis 22:2,12; Judges 11:34; Psalm 22:21: 25:16; Proverbs 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10. (You can copy paste the whole text in italics to BibleGateway.com search box and it will show you all verses on one page.)
Instead of yachid, which means absolute oneness, Moses used echad, which means compound oneness.
Now that you have tasted the meat of the Shema, the three times GOD is ONE is starting to look quite Trinitarian, don’t you think?
Hear, O Israel, The Lord (1), our God (2), The Lord (3) is ONE.
Aaron’s blessing
Aaron’s blessing, also known as the Aaronic blessing, the Priestly Blessing, or Birkat Kohanim in Hebrew, is a blessing God gave Moses, instructing him to have Aaron (the high priest) and his sons bless the Israelites with specific words. This blessing is found in the Bible’s Book of Numbers (Numbers 6:24-26). It is among the most well-known and frequently used blessings in Jewish and Christian traditions.
The LORD is mentioned three times in the blessing. This isn’t evidence for the Trinity in itself, but in light of other evidence, it is curious that Aaron’s blessing has a threefold structure and mentions the LORD three times.
Numbers 6:22-26 (ESV)
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Jacob’s blessing
In his last days, Jacob (Israel) gives a special blessing to Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. This event is significant because Jacob adopts his grandsons as his own, granting them a portion of his inheritance on par with his sons. This act effectively gives Joseph a double portion of inheritance through his two sons, which typologically points to Jesus as the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15-21).
Genesis 48:14-16
Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. He blessed Joseph, and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads,
and let my name be named on them,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
In the blessing, Jacob first mentions God two times (both elohim) and then says, “The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” By mentioning the angel with the two elohim, he equates the Angel with God.
Furthermore, a mere creature couldn’t redeem Jacob from all evil. It would be blasphemous for him to say so.
You can’t get around it.
Jacob’s blessing and his experience with the Angel of the LORD, recorded in Genesis 28, 31-32, prove the Angel is divine.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
The whole earth is full of his glory!
The above quote is from Isaiah 6:1-3.
Note that these verses are not included here to prove the Trinity. Still, in light of the evidence presented, it’s very interesting how the seraphim next to God’s throne praise God as holy, holy, holy.
Isaiah 6:1-3 is a perfect passage to conclude the evidence sections before wrapping the article up with a list of Trinity verses in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 6:1-3
In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said,
“Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!”
Bible verses about the Trinity in the Old Testament
Below, we have collected Bible verses about the Trinity in the Old Testament. You can copy and paste the snippets below to Bible Gateway to see the Trinity verses in each book.
- Genesis 1:1-2, 26-27; 2:4-7; 3:5, 8; 6:3, 17; 7:15, 22; 11:7; 15:1, 2, 4, 7; 16:7-14; 19:24; 20:13; 28:10-22; 31:10-13; 32:22-30; 35:1-7; 48:14-16
- Exodus 3:1-15; 4:22-23; 13:21-22; 14:19-20, 24; 23:20-23; 31:1-6; Exodus 33:14-15; 35:30-31
- Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29; 20:14-16; 22:22-38; 24:1-3; 27:18
- Joshua 5:13-6:2
- Judges 2:1-5; 6:11-23; 13:3-24
- 1 Samuel 3:1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 21
- 2 Samuel 7:23; 14:17, 20; 23:1-3
- 1 Kings 19:5-15
- 2 Kings 19:32-37
- 1 Chronicles 21:11-30
- Job 26:13; 27:3; 33:4; 32:8; 34:14-15
- Psalm 2; 33:6; 34:7-8; 51:10-11; 58:11; 104:29-30; 110:1-5; 139:7-12; 143:10
- Proverbs 8:22-30; 30:3-4
- Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-2; 52:13-15 5:16; 6:1-5; 2:11-17; 33:5, 10; 40:13; 48:16; 57:1; 54:5; 63:7-16; 64:8
- Jeremiah 1:5-6, 7, 9, 11-14
- Ezekiel 11:1-5; 36:24-28
- Zechariah 2:8-11; 3; 4:6, 8-9
- Daniel 3:24-26, 28; 7
- Hosea 12:2-5
- Malachi 3:1
Sources and inspiration
Sam Shamoun: Youtube channel, blog 1, and blog 2.
Fr. Stephen DeYoung: The religion of the apostles.