Many people try to tell us about how the doctrine of the Trinity can't be found in the Old Testament. If this is the case then God shouldn't give any clue at all to him being more than 1 person. Lets get started with my favorite scripture Deuteronomy 6:4.
Now with this scripture, non-Trinitarian believers love to tell us that God is just a single person. Even religions like Islam have been founded on this principal of just 1 person being God. What a lot of Unitarians don't understand, unknowingly or intentionally, is that "one" in Hebrew in most cases doesn't mean just "one".
There are 9 different Hebrew words, which can be translated as "one" at times. They are ish, ishah, nephesh, yachid, almoni, echad, gam, badad, and chad. For example, ish (man) and ishah (woman) are sometimes translated as "one". However these 2 aren't used of God in the Torah. This is the same case with nephesh (soul) which can be translated to mean "one". Now if Unitarians wrote the Bible like Muslims, and some Jews claim, then the word for "one" in Hebrew would reflect just one absolute and solitary person.
Out of all of the words for "one", the only word that would prove beyond a doubt that God is just an absolute "one" would be yachid. If this word is applied to God (Elohim) in the O.T., then this would be a death sentence for the Trinitarian believers. The word "yachid" means an absolute or solitary one. (Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles Briggs, "A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament"; Oxford, Clarendon, 1966 pg. 402). This word is never applied to God because "Elohim conveys both the unity of the one God, and yet allows for the plurality of Divine Persons as expressed in the historical Christian doctrine of the Trinity. It is unique to monotheistic Israel and is not found in the language of any of her polytheistic, Semitic neighbors (Jack B. Scott, S.V. "elohim", in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2 vols:, Chicago, Moody Press, 1980, 1:44).
In Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema, Echad "STRESSES UNITY, WHILE RECOGNIZING DIVERSITY WITHIN THAT ONENESS" (Herbert Wolf, S.V. "echad", Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1:30). When we turn to the Old Testament, what do we find? The writers of the Old Testament never applied yachid to God. God is never described as a solitary person. If this is the case why do Unitarians, especially Muslims try to tell Christians that it's an error believing on the Trinity when the Hebrew Text, that they use in their defense so much, shows God in the compound and not the single entity? Lets continue.
One Muslim loves to call me Mr. Innuendo, however he tries to apply El (of Elohim) to Il Ilah (Allah), when the translation would be "the God God". Another Muslim said that I haven't presented nothing, when he explicitly said that Psalms was apart of the New Testament. I wonder wold you 2 ignore the evidence presented already (with the sources) along with the upcoming examples? It's one thing to believe in something and it's another thing to just go on blind faith when the evidence shows the opposite of what you claim.
Lets look at some examples of echad in action. In Gen. 1:5, echad is one of seven; 2:11, one of four; 2:21, one of twenty four; 2:24, one made up of two; 3:22, one of three. Gen. 49:16, one of 12; Num. 13:23, one of a cluster and Psalms 34:20, one of many bones. Now echad mean "compound one" and it is present and used for God, then how can God be just a single "1"? He isn't because the Jews that really believed this would've used yachid to describe him in the Bible, but they didn't.
Another one of my favorites is Ecclesiastes 12:1, "Remember now your creator". The literal translation is "Remember your creators". I should this to a Muslim guy and he immediately went to Strong's Concordance and showed the scripture being "creator" not creators. Funny enough, he thought that he proved something with a concordance that gives definitions of words already translated to English.
Here is what the direct unadulterated translation of Ecc. 12:1, from Hebrew to English says-"before when not she grows dark the sun and the light and the moon and they approach years when you will say there is not to me in them pleasure in days of youths of you before when not they come days of trouble and vigor meaningless and remember! ONES CREATING YOU."(John R. Kohlenberger III-"The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament").
Now in this literal word for word translation, we see the exclamation mark after remember and then "ONES CREATING YOU". If it was singular or just "one" then the literal translation would be "one creating you". If we have "one" who creates then this person would be a creator. If you have "ones" that create then we would have "creators". The correct meaning of Ecclesiastes 12:1 is "Remember now your creators". Is this innuendo? No.
Now lets look at another one of my favorites, Psalms 45:7-8-"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad."
In this scripture, the first Elohim (God) is being addressed and the second Elohim (God) is the God of the first Elohim. So in other words, God's God has anointed him with the oil of gladness. That's why we see how God can say "I" and then "US", which also disproves the Plural of Majesty or respects (since God would have to be "US" or "WE" all the time, i.e. Allah in the Quran) in the Hebrew Torah.
Look at Isaiah 6:8-"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?'".
The singular "I' and the plural "us" shows the plurality (us) in a unity (I), which explains why the compound word for "one", Echad is always used for God.
Now lets look at one scripture that has baffled Rabbis for centuries, but yet isn't a problem for the Trinitarians.
It's Genesis 19:24 and it read-"Then the Lord (Yahweh) rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord (Yahweh) out of the heavens".
If there was no compound nature of God, then he would've clearly just said that Yahweh would've just rained fire and brimstone from out of heaven instead of from Yahweh in Heaven. The word from means-used to show a starting point. Used to show removal or separation. Used to show a material, source or cause. Now who was the cause of the fire and brimstone? It was Yahweh. Where was Yahweh raining it down? On Sodom and Gomorrah from the other Yahweh in Heaven. It this innuendo? No, it shows 2 beings named Yahweh. This is another reason why echad is used to show God's compound unity.
Look at Genesis 21
But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring." Early the next morning Abraham took some food and skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die". And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said t her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
In this scripture passage God promises to make Hagar's son Ishmael into a nation. In this passage, God heard the boy crying, then the ANGEL OF GOD repeats the promise of God as HIS OWN promise. Nowhere in the Bible (Old or New Testament) has any angel or any prophet spoke the God's words as their own without using phrases like "thus said the lord." The only one who did this was God and Christ.
An angel is a messenger that is sent by God (i.e. Gabriel or Michael). Angels have never identified themselves as God nor have they claimed God's words as their own. An angel in rare instances can also be applied to a man. In contrast, the Angel of the Lord is a special case. Now if God said that he will share his glory with no other, then this angel from Yahweh had to be God also, since you didn't hear any warning talking against him in the Old Testament.
ANGEL OF THE LORD-An oft-recurring phrase in the O.T., usually referring to a deity and yet distinguished from Jehovah. ("Handy Dictionary of the Bible"-by Merrill C. Tenney, 1965, pg. 9)
Angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord, sometimes the angel of 'God' or 'my' (or 'his') angel; is represented in scripture as a HEAVENLY being sent by God to deal with men as his personal agent and spokesman. In many passages he is virtually identified with God and speaks not merely in the name of God, BUT AS GOD IN THE FIRST PERSON SINGULAR...He is not recognized at once in Jdg. 13:3ff, and is not even visible to Balaam (Nu. 22:22ff); but mostly when appearing to men he is recognized as a DIVINE BEING, even though in human form, and is addressed as God (Gn. 16:13,etc.). (Tyndale, "New Bible Dictionary" 2nd Edition, 1982 [there were at least 3 editors of this book with Ph.d's]).
For centuries the angel of the Lord has been known as God, but yet separate from him as well as having the ability to appear in human form. It's funny how non-Trinitarians never bring him up. Look at Exodus 3:2-6-
"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."
The text clearly shows that it was the Angel of Yahweh that appeared at the burning bush. This angel calls HIMSELF the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." The writer also calls the Angel "God".
To show you that the Angel of the Lord, who is called God but is still separate in favor of the Trinitarian belief look at I Chron. 21:15-
"And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, 'Enough! Withdraw your hand.' The angel of the LORD (Yahweh) was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
In this scripture we see that the Angel of Yahweh was sent by God. Unlike other angels (i.e. Gabriel and Michael), he alone is called the Angel of Yahweh, (only singular angel). The only other times when other angels are given this title in the Bible is when they are all grouped together and called "Angels of the Lord (Yahweh)", not "Angel (singular) of the Lord (Yahweh).
Now lets look at the other member of the Trinity- the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:1-2-
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
We see that God created everything and his spirit hovered or moved over the face of the waters. If God was just one, then it would say that God was hovering over the waters.
Look at Num. 11:29-
"And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"
Moses clearly says that he wishes that Yahweh would put his Spirit (not himself) on the people. Look at Psalms 104:30-"Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." David says that God sends his spirit, not himself and things are created and renewed.
Look at Isaiah 48:16-
"Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me."
He clearly says that Yahweh AND his Spirit has sent him.
In Isaiah 63:10, we clearly see that God has a Holy Spirit and his spirit is grieved or vexed.
"But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them."
Look at Micah 2:7-"Should it be said, O house of Jacob: Is the Spirit of the LORD angry? Does he do such things?' 'Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright?"
We see that the Spirit of Yahweh can get angry. With the Angel of Yahweh, Spirit of Yahweh and Yahweh, we see 3 distinct persons (esp. with the angel of Yahweh) working together to form the triune nature of God.
Now lets look at a messianic passage. In Zech. 12:10-
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on ME, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for HIM as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."
Here we see that Yahweh is speaking (he pours out his spirit). Yahweh is looked upon by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He is pierced by the people of Jerusalem. Also there is a switch to the 3rd person in the middle of the sentence (!)-"mourn for HIM". Now the Bible clearly tells us that God the Father has never been seen (wit the person still being alive) nor pierced.
The messiah was known by Jews in a lot of their writings (i.e. Talmud- to be a Superhuman and Super Angelic person). Now if no man has ever seen God, and this criteria of the Messiah is especially linked to the Angel of Yahweh, then not only is the Angel of Yahweh "God" (like he is addressed in the Bible), he is this super angelic Messiah since no man has ever seen God the Father. Who is this Angel of Yahweh? It wasn't God the Father, because no one has ever seen him, nor was it His Spirit (holy spirit) because the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament didn't physically visit people. This Angel of Yahweh was none other than the pre-existent Jesus Christ. In Zec. 9:9-10, it talks about the King of the Jews, the Messiah, riding on an ass into Jerusalem. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
The idea of the Trinity is clearly shown in Isaiah 48:12-16-
"Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together. All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORDhas loves him; he shall do His pleasure on Babylon, and His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent me."
You see that God is talking and God says that the Lord God and his spirit sent him.
Further proof of Jesus being separate but yet equal to God is from Micah 5:1-2-
"Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
If his (messiah's) origin are from of old or ancient that means that the only way he could fit this category was that he originated from somewhere in the past before he was born. If he wasn't, then this scripture wouldn't say this since the birth is your origin. Christ was none other than the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament. It was Christ who rained down brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, it was Christ who said that Jerusalem pierced him, it was the revelation of Christ whose mission was revealed with the Hebrew meaning of the first 10 mean of the Bible-"Man appointed mortal sorrow blessed God shall come down teaching that his death shall bring the despairing rest.", and it'll be Christ who judge all of us.
The word yachid, which is just a unique single and only one is used 12 times in the Old Testament-Gen. 22:2, 12,16. Judg. 11:34. Ps. 22:20; 25:16; 35:17; 68:6. Prov. 4:3. Jer. 6:26. Amos 8:10. Zech. 12:10. Echad is applied to God and even in Exodus 9:7 and 2 Samuel 7:23, where people have used this word to mean just "one" isn't true either because in Exodus 9:7, all of the cattle of Israel is more than just one, so no unique cow exist, which is why echad is used because it can mean any one of them. If there was just one cow, then yachid would've been used. With 2 Samuel 7:23, the word echad is used because it takes more than 1 person to make a nation (i.e. like a army) also Israel wasn't the only nation on earth (or in other words, unique like yachid), there was Egypt, Greece, Assyria, and Babylon, etc.
Even the name Jesus Christ in Hebrew fits the criteria of Micah 5:1-2. In the original Hebrew "Jesus Christ" is Yeshua haMashiach and is interpreted as "Yah who is Salvation, the Anointed One." Yah is short for the Holy Name of YHVH, which itself means "He who was, who is, who is to come", thus "the Eternally Existent One." So, the full title of the Mashiach is "The Eternally Existent Saving and Anointed One."("Who is the Messiah", David M. Hargis, 1996).
Even Jesus is revealed in the word Torah (something that most Jews and Muslims don't know about or even seen.-
by Mark Harpt
The word "torah" or "law" (Strong's #8451) refers to the Old Testament, and can specifically refer to the first five books written by Moses. One of the most enlightening events of a Christian's life is the moment he or she discovers that Jesus Christ is interwoven into the entire Old Testament. It is said that Jesus can be found on every page of the Old Testament. Well He can also be found before you even open the book!
The Hebrew word 
is translated "law" or "Torah" in the English language. Much is lost in the translation, as they say. To understand what is lost, we must first realize that each character of the Hebrew language has a meaning. The word "Torah" is split up by character (Hebrew is read right to left) as follows:
= (Tav) Literal Meaning: a sign, a cRoss Symbolic Meaning: a covenant, to seal
= (Vav) Literal Meaning: nail Symbolic Meaning: "and", to add, to secure
= (Reysh) Literal Meaning: head Symbolic Meaning: person, the head, the highest
= (Hey) Literal Meaning: window, fence Symbolic Meaning: "the", to reveal
If the meanings of each letter in the word "Torah" are combined to make a sentence, an amazing truth is revealed:
Tav + Vav + Reysh + Hey = a cRoss, nail, the head, window
"Head" means "the highest" as in "the head of the household." "Window" means "to see clearly" or "to reveal" as in "a window to your soul." So, the combined meaning of the letters of the Hebrew word "Torah" are:
[To] a cRoss, [is] nail[ed], the highest, is revealed [in the Torah].
or:
The Torah reveals the King of Kings, nailed to a cRoss.
Or if you want to keep the literal "head" for Reysh, you get:
Nailed to a cRoss, at his head, it is revealed
"Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
- Matthew 27:37
or:
Nailed to a cRoss, the head [of the corner], is revealed
"Jesus looked directly at them and asked, 'then what is the meaning of that which is written: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone [the head of the corner]"?'"
- Luke 20:17
or:
Nailed to a cRoss, the head [of the Church], is revealed
"Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is Savior."
- Eph 5:23b
As you can see, God has revealed His redemption plan in places many had not even thought to look. Imagine what further inquiry would reveal.
Paul tells us, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Rom 1:20) All we have to do is truly look, and everywhere we look, we will see God, the Creator. What an honor!
Sources
Quennel Gale at queball20@yahoo.com