trinities 368 - Dr. Dustin Smith on the Plural of Majesty in the Hebrew Bible

trinities.org/blog/podcast-36... In the famous creation scene in Genesis God says,
“Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
Genesis 1:26
About such passages trinitarian theologian Dr. Fred Sanders writes,
Outside of the New Testament’s revelation of the Trinity, it’s hard to make sense of the singular/plural dichotomy in these passages. Engaging them with a trinitarian understanding sheds new light on their possible implications.
(source)
Sanders also notes something surprising about the main word we translate as “God” in the Hebrew Bible:
While the word Elohim has the distinct im ending that marks it as plural, Elohim seems to be an agent of singular verb actions. It would be irresponsible to translate Elohim as gods as in “In the beginning the gods created the heavens and the earth.” 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.
(source)
Is Dr. Sanders correct? Or is there something else going on here?
In this illuminating presentation from the 2022 UCA Conference, Dr. Dustin Smith explains that there is 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.
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 2023 Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference in Springfield, Ohio October 19-21, 2023.
Links for this episode @ trinities.org/blog/podcast-36...
Dr. Smith’s Biblical Unitarian Podcast
the original UCA video of this lecture
videos from the 2022 UCA Conference
podcast 268 - Another look at Philippians 2 with Dr. Dustin Smith
podcast 119 - The Son of God 3 - Dr. Dustin Smith’s “Socinian” view of Jesus
podcast 62 - Dr. Dustin Smith on the preexistence of Jesus in the gospel of John
podcast 61 - Dr. Dustin Smith on preexistence in ancient Jewish thought
Unitarian Christian Alliance
This week’s thinking music is “We are now” by Marco Trovatello.
Weekly podcast exploring views about the Trinity, and more generally about God and Jesus in Christian theology and philosophy. Debates, interviews, and historical and contemporary perspectives. Hosted by philosopher of religion / analytic theologian Dr. Dale Tuggy.
This week's thinking music is "We are now" by Marco Trovatello. freemusicarchive.org/music/Ma...

[@Eclectifying]

This makes it very clear. It’s an open and shut case!!

[@Eclectifying]

Hey! I’m glad I’m able to get this here. It’s not playing on Apple Podcasts or the website.