{"id":44391,"date":"2023-08-12T10:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T15:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/?p=44391"},"modified":"2023-08-17T19:55:02","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:55:02","slug":"podcast-368-dr-dustin-smith-on-the-plural-of-majesty-in-the-hebrew-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-368-dr-dustin-smith-on-the-plural-of-majesty-in-the-hebrew-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"podcast 368 &#8211; Dr. Dustin Smith on the Plural of Majesty in the Hebrew Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_2345\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-44391-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities368.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities368.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities368.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities368.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/?powerpress_pinw=44391-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities368.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"trinities368.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7FuUF9DZM3zhtN41n6RJ6l\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_spotify\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Spotify\" rel=\"nofollow\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/trinities.org\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44392\" style=\"width:483px;height:343px\" width=\"483\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022.png 722w, https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022-450x319.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 483px) 100vw, 483px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the famous creation scene in Genesis God says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Let us make man in our image and likeness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<cite>Genesis 1:26<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About such passages trinitarian theologian Dr. Fred Sanders writes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outside of the New Testament\u2019s revelation of the Trinity, it\u2019s <strong>hard to make sense of<\/strong> the singular\/plural dichotomy in these passages. Engaging them with a trinitarian understanding sheds new light on their possible implications.<\/p>\n<cite>(<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/zondervanacademic.com\/blog\/what-does-the-old-testament-say-about-the-trinity\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a>)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sanders also notes something surprising about <strong>the main word we translate as &#8220;God&#8221;<\/strong> in the Hebrew Bible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the word Elohim has the distinct <em>im<\/em> ending that marks it as plural, Elohim seems to be an agent of singular verb actions. It would be irresponsible to translate <em>Elohim<\/em> as gods as in \u201cIn the beginning the <em>gods<\/em> created the heavens and the earth.\u201d So it seems that this name of God that is plural in nature could also point to the coming New Testament revelation of the Trinity.<\/p>\n<cite>(<a href=\"https:\/\/zondervanacademic.com\/blog\/what-does-the-old-testament-say-about-the-trinity\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"source (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">source<\/a>)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is Dr. Sanders correct? Or is there something else going on here?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this <strong>illuminating presentation from the 2022 UCA Conference, Dr. Dustin Smith explains<\/strong> that there <em>is <\/em>something else going on here: a general linguistic device found in ancient Hebrew and in some other ancient languages. In light of this information, these (to us) unexpected plural forms neither demand nor even hint at multiple persons in God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to hear more quality presentations like this, meet and fellowship with other unitarian Christians, and take part in practical workshops, please join us at the <a aria-label=\"2023 Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference in Springfield, Ohio October 19-21, 2023 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventleaf.com\/e\/uca2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">2023 Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference in Springfield, Ohio October 19-21, 2023<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventleaf.com\/e\/uca2023\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"2023 Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference in Springfield, Ohio October 19-21, 2023 (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44403\" style=\"width:424px;height:325px\" width=\"424\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022-3.png 663w, https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dr-Dustin-Smith-presenting-in-2022-3-450x345.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Links for this episode:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"Dr. Smith's Biblical Unitarian Podcast (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/biblicalunitarianpodcast.podbean.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>Dr. Smith&#8217;s Biblical Unitarian Podcast<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1SK2XHEUC9g\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"the original UCA video of this lecture (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">the original UCA video of this lecture<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a aria-label=\" videos from the 2022 UCA Conference (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLr38agbhEado2o0kvq99cgulVCGzKfgmw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong> videos from the 2022 UCA Conference<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-268-another-look-at-philippians-2-with-dr-dustin-smith\/\">podcast 268 \u2013 Another look at Philippians 2 with Dr. Dustin Smith<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-119-the-son-of-god-3-dr-dustin-smiths-socinian-view-of-jesus\/\">podcast 119 \u2013 The Son of God 3 \u2013 Dr. Dustin Smith\u2019s \u201cSocinian\u201d view of Jesus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-62-dr-dustin-smith-on-the-preexistence-of-jesus-in-the-gospel-of-john\/\">podcast 62 \u2013 Dr. Dustin Smith on the preexistence of Jesus in the gospel of John<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-61-dr-dustin-smith-on-preexistence-in-ancient-jewish-thought\/\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 61 \u2013 Dr. Dustin Smith on preexistence in ancient Jewish thought<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unitarianchristianalliance.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Unitarian Christian Alliance (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Unitarian Christian Alliance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week&#8217;s thinking music is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/freemusicarchive.org\/music\/Marco_Trovatello\/Not_At_All\/05_-_We_Are_Now\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"We are now (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">We are now<\/a>&#8221; by Marco Trovatello. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding &#8220;the plural of majesty&#8221; in the Hebrew Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,21,6,89,47,57,95,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","category-bible","category-complaints","category-events","category-papers","category-podcast","category-uca","category-unitarianism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44391"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44411,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44391\/revisions\/44411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}