The bedrock of normative Judaism has always been strict monotheism—the belief that there is numerically only one God, the God of Israel, whose name is YHWH, usually written as “Yahweh.” This belief in one God is what made a Jew a Jew. It distinguished Jews from their neighbours, who during antiquity were polytheistic.
Jews have always believed that their faith is expressed so resolutely in what they call “the Shema.” Recorded in their Scriptures, it reads, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
The Hebrew word that is translated “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4 is echad. Its primary meaning is the numeral “one,” and it is so translated over 600 times in the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The second most prominent translation of echad in the NASB is the word “each,” which is so translated fifty-five times. So, echad usually means one.
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Author: Kermit Zarley
Keywords: Trinity, Triunity, Trinitarianism, Trinitarian, Three in one, Three gods, Three gods one person, Nicene Creed, Nicaea, Nicea, Athanasian Creed, Father son holy spirit, Father son holy ghost, Triune, Three persons in one God, Nicene, Nicean Creed, Council of Nicaea, Council of Nicea, homoiousios, Homoousios, Homoiousian, Monotheism
Bible reference(s): Deu 6:4-6, Mark 12:29, Mark 12:32, John 5:44, John 17:3, 1Co 8:6, Eph 4:5, Gal 3:20, Jam 2:19
Source: “Is Trinitarianism Monotheistic?” The Restitution of Jesus Christ, 2008.
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