Did Moses have any Concept of the Trinity or the Son of God?
(Jeff Unsworth)
Question:
Did Moses have any concept of the Triune Godhead, the Messiah as the Son of God, or the substitutionary death of Christ, or did God, by the Holy Spirit weave these truths into the writings of Moses in the Torah?
Whether Moses explicitly understood the Trinity and the Messiah as the Son of God is a subject of much theological debate, with most interpretations suggesting these truths were supernaturally woven into Genesis (and the Torah) by God rather than being fully understood by Moses in the way Christians understand them today.
Moses primarily preached strict monotheism—that God is one. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah.
“Elohim” a plural noun. (More than one).
However, the text he recorded contains "hidden" or implicit glimpses of the Trinity, which are revealed fully only in the New Testament.
The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.
The teaching of the Trinity and the person of Jesus Christ is found throughout the Old Testament in one form or another by prophecy, types, shadows, hints or hidden meanings.
E.G References to Jesus in the Old Testament include explicit Messianic prophecies, symbolic "types" (foreshadowing events/figures), and pre-incarnate appearances (Christophanies).
Key examples include Genesis 3:15 (the Seed who crushes Satan), Psalm 22 (describing Jesus and the crucifixion details), and Isaiah 53 (the Suffering Servant).
These concepts can be found in the Torah/Pentateuch (the five books of Moses):
While Moses did not use the word "Trinity," the text he wrote hints at a plurality within the unity of God:
Elohim & Plurality: The Hebrew word for God used in Genesis 1 is Elohim, a
plural noun that often takes a singular verb, hinting at a singular being with a plural nature.
"Eloha" (or Eloah) is a Hebrew term for God, appearing over 70 times in the Tanakh, often in poetic sections and notably in Job to emphasize a strong, compassionate, and singular deity. It is the singular form of Elohim.
The “im” suggests more than one, as in Elohim, Seraphim, Cherubim or Nephilim.
"Let Us Make Man": In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let Us make man in Our image." Most theologians interpret this as the Triune God working together in creation, while others argue it is the "plural of majesty".
In the same way that the Monarch said “We”.
Man was made in the image of God, not in the image of the angels.
Therefore, the “Us” and “Our” refers to God not the angels, or a Divine Council as some would suggest.
The scripture tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. John 1:1 tells us that the Logos/ Word created all things and we are told that The Spirit of God is shown hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2).
The Angel of the Lord: Throughout Genesis and Exodus, the "Angel of the Lord" appears and is worshipped as God, speaking as Jehovah/YAHWEH, which many theologians see as a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son, (Christophany).
The "Us" in Genesis 3:22: God says, "the man has become like one of Us".
Moses was likely not aware of the Messiah as the literal "Son of God" in the Trinitarian sense. However, he recorded prophecies about a future deliverer:
The Seed of the Woman: Genesis 3:15 is known as the Protoevangelium, (first gospel), promising that the "seed of the woman" will crush the serpent's head, which Christians interpret as the Messiah.
In fact the Gospel is revealed in the very first verse of the Bible.
The word “Beginning”, Hebrew “Barashyt”, when broken down into the Ancient Hebrew letters, reveals the message of the Gospel.
Moses wrote the Torah in the Ancient Hebrew.
Bar in Ancient Hebrew and Aramaic means “Son” and the letter “A” is Aleph. (God)
“Bara” spelt Beit—Resh - Aleph. Beit (House or Tent) Resh (Head) Aleph (Ox or Strength or Leader).
In summary, Beit-Resh-Aleph points to the concept of a “Son”, (Bar) and "God" (Aleph), often highlighting the theological idea that the Son of God is the head or foundation of the beginning of creation.
Beginning / Barashyt. (Hebrew: Beit Resh Aleph Shin Yod Tav).
Bar (Son) “A” (Aleph) (Son of Aleph/God).
“Shin” (Destroyed). “Yod” (Hand). “Tav” (Cross).
“The Son of God destroyed by hand on a cross”. (The Gospel)
We also know that “bara” means creator or he created.
John 1:1 tells us who the creator was.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The Prophecy of a Prophet (Moses): In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses prophesied that God would raise up a prophet like him, whom the people must listen to.
Deut 18:15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
"My Son": While not in Genesis, other Psalms often attributed to earlier traditions (like Psalm 2) speak of God's Anointed One, but the full concept of the "Son" was not clearly articulated in the Torah.
Jesus in the New Testament said to the Pharisees: “If you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for Moses wrote of Me” John 5:46.
Most Christian and many Messianic Jewish scholars believe these truths were supernaturally woven into the text by God for a future revelation.
Hidden vs. Revealed: The Trinity is considered to be "hidden" in the Old Testament and "manifest" in the New Testament.
Moses' Knowledge: While Moses spoke to God "face to face" (Exodus 33:11),
the focus of his revelation was on the oneness of God to distinguish Israel from surrounding pagan nations, rather than the inner-relational nature of the Godhead.
Inspiration: The Holy Spirit, which was present in creation, inspired Moses to write these truths even if he did not fully comprehend the implications of the "Us and Our" in Genesis.
Summary: Moses held a strong monotheistic understanding of God, but the text he wrote contains foundational information about the Trinity (plurality) and the Messiah, which God revealed in full, later in the New Testament.
In the same way the Old Testament Prophets did not understand the full meaning of what they were writing. It was all done under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
An example of the Triune God in the Old Testament
Isa 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Who is the First and the Last? (one like unto the Son of man,)
The Apostle John in Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Isa 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.
The verse concludes with a notable Trinitarian reference: "The Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent Me," which many commentaries interpret as a reference to the Messiah or the pre-incarnate Christ.
