Guide for the Perplexed in the World of Dualism
Does the Eternal Creator share with someone else His kingship and sovereignty, and has He given His government of the world to any “external control”? It is the object of this work to seek the answers to these questions. This work has also a second object: to explain the Hebrew text of certain Messianic passages in the Book of Isaiah in relation to the subject of belief in a single Deity. In this study, we will take a different approach to studying the issue of monotheism. The present work deals with a subject that has not been touched upon in the Rabbinic and Christian literatures alike. The matter will become clear for the reader once it is seen that whenever the prophecy refers to Mashiach (Hebrew for “anointed”), it is always followed by explicit statements of monotheism. The few exceptions are in Chapter 11 and Chapter 53 of Isiah, which we addressed in other places. At the core of this study is the principle stated by the prophet Amos:
For the Lord YHVH does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. … The Master YHVH has spoken! Who would not prophecy? (Amo 3:7)
We do not ask the reader to substitute our judgment for his/her own but to consider what we intend to say as we would like to posit a different way to look at the Messianic prophecies in the Book of Isaiah, specifically in reference to monotheism opposed by the claim that the Eternal had become a man, or that there were three Gods or three persons in one. We will cite scores of examples from the Torah and the Prophets where the counterclaim is in the same context as the claim. This will be further explained in the interpretation of the verses.
“We can only understand the Creator by what He is not”. Navah
Dualism is a doctrine according to which reality consists of two opposing elements of good and evil. Dualism came from Persia in the form a religion called Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism (aka Mazdaism) is a dualistic system founded by the Persian prophet Zarathustra (circa 628-551 BC), who was the first to introduce the concept of dualism. According to Zarathustra, the one nature of the Deity is divided into two opposing powers: good (Ahura Mazda) and bad (Angra Mainyu) fighting each other. Zoroastrianism thus combines the dualistic view of good and evil with the ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil at the end. This new theology was adopted by the Persian King Koresh (559-530) and became the official religion of the Persian Empire. The dualism did not cease with the Persian Empire though. It entered the Greco-Roman mind-set, culture, and mythology through Marcion of Sinope, an early Christian theologian, who published the earliest collection of the New Testament. Marcion considered himself a follower of Paul. Studying the letters of Paul, Marcion concluded that the “New Testament” is incompatible with the “Old Testament” and the vengeful God of the “Old Testament” was a different God from the loving God of the “New Testament”. This doctrine was called Marcionism and was the first step towards the dualism in Christianity. Marcion was denounced by the Roman Church as a heretic, but his teaching lived on in the new religion, although in a different form of dualism in which good and evil are personified by “Jesus”, the ruler in the world to come, and “Satan”, “the ruler of this world” (See Joh 12:31, Joh 14:30, Joh 16:11, Eph 2:2, and Time of Reckoning’s article From Monotheism to Dualism to Trinity). Can we rethink this?
“You saw no form, only a voice”
The children of Israel came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. And the mountain burned with fire to the heavens, with thick darkness. This awful experience impressed deeply upon the minds of the people the remembrance of this manifestation of Elohim at Sinai. And the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire to make known to them His Covenant, the Ten Statements, which He wrote on two tablets of stone. Here the prophet of all prophets made an important remark to prepare the way for what followed, saying,
You heard a voice of words, but you saw no form, only a voice. (Deu 4:12) … Therefore, diligently guard yourselves, for you saw no form when the Eternal spoke to you at Horev out of the midst of the fire, lest you should do corruptly and shall make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, … (Deu 4:15-16) … You have been shown it, to know that the Eternal Himself is Elohim; there is no one beside Him. (Deu 4:35)
It is not difficult to imagine the picture which floated in the prophet’s mind. What he spoke at the mountain was nothing less than warning of the danger of creating whatsoever image of the invisible Creator with whom Mosheh spoke face to face and mouth to mouth. There is no other human being who would have known the Eternal better than Mosheh did. The reason why we find this subject of oneness of the Creator so important to emphasize will be made clear further on.
In his commentary to Deuteronomy 4:12, Rabbi Chaim Ibn Attar aka Or HaChaim offers a compelling interpretation of the words “but you did not see an image”: “How can we understand Mosheh referring to an image by contrasting it with a sound? It seems quite obvious that if one did not see an image, what one heard was only a sound. You may understand this in conjunction with what I explained on the last verse, that the Israelite saw an angel who communicated God’s words, i.e., the sound to him. Mosheh was afraid that the Israelites would think that the angel whom they had seen was the God of Israel. He therefore had to underline that all the Israelites saw in addition to the voices described in that verse were the angels described by the Midrash. They most certainly did not see God”. And indeed, perhaps, the last thing we would expect the Torah to say would be that the people saw the Invisible Elohim in a farm of man.
When we keep this consideration in mind, we will also understand the reason why Mosheh further warned the people to guard themselves very much, for they saw no [physical] form when the Eternal spoke to them lest they should corrupt themselves and make any likeness of human (Deu 4:15-16). And indeed, since the people had been reminded that during the revelation at Mount Sinai, they had never seen a visual image of the Eternal, how much less were they allowed to fashion any likeness of Him as a man. The most pronounced example of this is Deuteronomy 6:4. In the words of Mosheh,
Listen up, Israel! the Eternal our Elohim, the Eternal is one! (Deu 6:4)
And if some were to ascribe any plurality to the word echad, “one”, the following statement should be sufficient to assert it. In the words of the Eternal,
See now that I, I am He, and there is no Elohim besides Me. I put to death, and I make alive. I have wounded, and I heal. And from My hand no one delivers! (Deu 32:39)
Aside of Mosheh, Yeshayahu was an unparalleled prophet. Yeshayahu’s standing as a prophet is second only to that of Mosheh. The Sages say that all other prophets received their prophetic spirit via their mentors, while Yeshayahu received his directly from the Eternal. These prophecies are composed in poetic language, often using obscure words and imagery. The Hebrew of the Book of Isaiah is of the highest register, rich in life and color (Steinsaltz Introductions to Tanakh, Isaiah). To this prophet, the Eternal revealed the future Mashiach (the Anointed) and his seven spirits in Chapter 11, and the song of the Messiah that follows in Isaiah 12:1-6. Chapters 40 through 48 contrasts between the true and only Elohim, YHVH, and the graven images [in the mind] the nations have created. A main characteristic of the prophecies in the Book of Isaiah is their relevance to the future generations, and in some cases for the latter generations. It is Yeshayahu whom the Eternal chose to reveal the Messianic age, as early as the second chapter of the book, and the following messages to the perplexed, to which we now turn.
Yeshayahu: The Messianic prophet
From Isaiah 40 to the end of the book are words of comfort separating them from what has been previously said concerning retribution. With the words, “Comfort, comfort My people!” (verse 1), Yeshayahu returns to his prophecies concerning the future, which were temporarily set aside after Chapters 11-12. Here the prophet comforts the people with what immediately follows regarding the days of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:1-11). But in the same breath, the prophet also warns:
And to whom would you liken Elohim? And what likeness would you compare to Him? (Isaiah 40:18)
And in the words of the Eternal,
To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal? (Isaiah 40:25).
Is it then possible to compare the transcendent Elohim to any created being, whether angel or man, mere the products of His hands?
“My servant whom I uphold”
“My servant” in Isaiah 42:1-4 is distinct from “My servant Israel” in Isaiah 41, as we argued in the foresaid article. We read,
See, My servant whom I uphold, My chosen in whom My soul delights. I have put My Breath upon him, he shall make the right to go forth to the nations. (Isa 42:1)
This servant is distinct from the servant in Isaiah 41, on account of the strong personal features ascribed to this servant, which are hard to be merely intended as a collective address to an entire nation, as it is written, “until he has established the right in the earth”. In these verses, the prophet himself cannot be intended as such either, for what is said of the servant of YHVH goes beyond what Yeshayahu or any prophet was ever called to do (see also Isaiah 11:2-4), as we read,
He does not cry out, nor lifts up, nor causes his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break and smoking flax he does not quench. He shall make the right to go forth according to the truth. He shall not fail nor be crushed, until he has established the right in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his instruction. (Isa 42:2-4)
The words of the Eternal now address the servant himself, who has been given an exalted position by virtue of the infinite authority of the Caller. We keep on reading what can be said only to this servant,
I, the Eternal, have called you in righteousness, and I strengthen your hand and guard you, and give you for a covenant to a people, for a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. (Isa 42:6-7)
“My servant” in Isaiah 42 must therefore be a future figure to whom the Eternal would give a supernal authority to accomplish his mission: a mission no human being was and is able to accomplish. This understanding of the servant is thus supported and stated in the Targum Jonathan of Isaiah (the Aramaic paraphrase of the Tanach), where the translation of the prophecy commences thus: Ha avdi meshicha, “my servant, the Messiah”.
Behold, my servant, the Messiah (Aramaic: meshicha), whom I bring, my chosen in whom one delights: as for my Word, I will put my Holy Spirit upon him; he shall reveal my judgment unto the nations. (Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 42:1)
Grammar notes: The Aramaic word meshicha in Targum Jonathan is the equivalent of the Hebrew mashiach, which means “anointed”, “messiah”.
With the same breath, however, while the Eternal is pledging His Name and glory, He is making it very clear that this servant must not be considered another ruler or authority equal to Him. It is for this reason that it is said,
I am YHVH, that is My Name, and My glory I do not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. (Isa 42:8)
With this strong statement of distinction between Him and the servant, the Eternal affirms how truly He stands alone in this world, and His power, and His glory He has not given to anyone, not even to His servant He just introduced in Isaiah 42. He does not permit the honor and glory due to Him only to be transferred to anyone, even to His servant, much less to any images, whether they are carved in stone or in mind. The Eternal has therefore made the solemn declaration that serves the same purpose as an oath that He alone is the Sovereign of the universe; He and He alone to the exclusion of anyone else, even to the exclusion of His servant, is the only Elohim in the world.
Now in Chapter 43, the Eternal addresses the nation Israel (verse 1) which is also called “servant”, saying,
You are My witnesses, declares the Eternal, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no El formed, nor after Me there is none. I, I am the Eternal, and besides Me there is no savior. (Isa 43:10-11)
What is implied here is what is literally said: “I am He, Supernal exclusively, and Supernal forever. I have no beginning and no end. I, and no other, am the absolute existence and salvation”. And where it is said, “I am He”, it is the sublimest expression of the unity of Elohim, for every other being is different from Him. He says to be Himself, to be always the same. Rabbi Ibn Ezra explains verse 10 thus: “The literal meaning of the words cannot be put aside: “No God was before me, and none will be after Me”, because God is the first and last. The expression “formed” is applied here to the word God (Hebrew, El), in order to imply that a god besides Him can only be one formed by man. The true meaning therefore of the verse is that there is no any God besides Him (formed by man), not even God formed by Him”. What is this that Ibn Ezra is referring to?
The angels, who are created by Him, are called in the Hebrew Scripture elohim, meaning “mighty ones”, for they are indeed mighty in their work they are assigned to. So are the judges called elohim, on account of being vested with special authority and rights to judge. But here elohim is employed to exclude the possibility of the existence of such created beings. Moreover, the choice of word here is deliberate. This word is used in the singular El to exclude the existence of another God (singular) besides Him, saying, “there is no other El formed. I, I am YHVH, the Everlasting One”. In “I, I am YHVH”, the word is repeated, as if to say, “I do not change as earthly things do with regard to substance and form. I am therefore unchangeable. I change not” (See also Mal 3:6). And further it is written,
I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim. And who is like Me? Let him call and declare it, and lay it before Me, … You are My witnesses. Is there an Eloah besides Me? There is no other Rock, I know not one. (Isa 44:6-8)
Here too the word Eloah is used in the singular to exclude the existence of any other God (singular) besides Him.
“My anointed one”
Now the prophecy in the Book of Isaiah is turning to the anointed one of the Eternal: The Persian King Koresh. How is it possible that Koresh should have mentioned by name centuries before his time (210 years, according to Josephus)? Concerning him it is written,
He is My shepherd, and he completes all My pleasure, even saying to Yerushalayim, “Let her be built”, and to the Temple, “Let her foundation be laid. (Isa 44:28) Thus said the Eternal to His anointed, to Koresh, whose right hand I have strengthened, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that gates are not shut. (Isa 45:1)
What is the meaning of that which is written: “He is My shepherd, and he completes all My pleasure, … Thus said the Eternal to His anointed, to Koresh”, which is referring to Koresh as anointed? Now was Koresh the Creator’s anointed one, i.e., the Messiah, that the verse should refer to him in this manner?
The dualistic system of Zarathustra divided the one nature of the Deity into two opposing powers, and Zoroastrianism, as a religion, combines the dualistic view of good and evil with the ultimate triumph of good. This is the religion King Koresh of Persia established in his reign. Koresh was a pagan and remained such until his last days. Yet, the Eternal called him by name and by the title “anointed”, Mashiach. Why?
The prophecy that follows the introduction of Koresh in Isaiah deals explicitly with his victories and his conquest of Babylon, the empire that destroyed Yerushalayim, the Temple, took the people in exile. The subsequent prophecies relate to the downfall of Babylon, despite the fact that Koresh’s name is not actually mentioned in them. Babylon would fall and the exile would return to their homeland so that the Eternal’s decree would be fulfilled through Koresh, who is called in Isaiah 46:11, the “bird of prey” for he indeed destroyed Babylon. “The bird of prey” allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, but he also allowed all other peoples to return. Koresh allowed the Temple to be rebuilt, and he even gave back the Temple treasury to the Jews, but he did not allow them to restore the Davidic monarchy; the Jews remained subjects under the king of Persia. How then is it possible to call Koresh “anointed”?
The word מָשִׁיחַ mashiach, means “anointed”. This word is used in the Tanach to denote all who are anointed, i.e., consecrated as a king and a priest, even wicked kings. The second thing we need to address is the use of letter lamed in לִמְשִׁיחוֹ “to his anointed” and in לְכוֹרֶשׁ “to Koresh” prefixing mashiach and Koresh respectively. The prefix lamed can be translated as “to”, as in “to His anointed” and “to Koresh”, but also as “for”, i.e., “for Koresh”. In the latter case, the words in question could be understood to mean “to His anointed” and “for Koresh” (either translation is admissible). If so, the Sages explain in Megilllah 12a:5 that the verse should be understood as the Eternal speaking to the Messiah with regard to Koresh: “The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Messiah: I am complaining to you about Koresh, who is not acting in accordance with what he is intended to do. I had said: “He shall build My House and gather My exiles” (see Isa 45:13), but he did not carry this out. Rather, he said: “Whoever is among you of all His people…let him go up to Jerusalem” (Ezr 1:3). He gave permission to return to Israel, but he did no more than that”.
Regardless of how לְכוֹרֶשׁ is rendered, the Eternal warns further in the passage, “there is no Elohim besides Me”,
I am YHVH, and there is none else. There is no Elohim besides Me. I gird you, though you have not known Me, so that they know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none but Me. I am the Eternal, and there is none else. I form light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Eternal, do all these. (Isa 45:5-7) … I am the Eternal, and there is none else. (Isa 45:18)
The first parenthesis affirms that YHVH is Elohim in the fullest and most exclusive sense, He has created the earth for man’s sake, to be inhabited. The second affirms that He alone is the Creator, and there is none else. Thus far Koresh.
“The Master YHVH has sent me”
… Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, I was there … (Isa 48:13-16)
This is difficult for a plain interpretation because there is an intermingling of messages here. Up to this point in Isaiah the Eternal is speaking, conveying the idea that He is eternal, and will continue to exist even after the entire world has ceased. But who is it that now is saying,
And now the Master YHVH has sent me, and His Ruach. (Isa 48:16)
The one who said, “And now the Master YHVH has sent me, and His Ruach” did not say “from the time that it was, I was there”. Most of the commentators (see Rashi and Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 48:16, and the later commentators such as Steinsaltz) states that these are the words of Yeshayahu in the first person, saying, “I did not speak my prophecy in secret, but in public. From the time that the decree of the destruction of Babylon was set, there I was, and now the Lord God sent me and in His spirit He gave me my prophecies to deliver to you”. We will explain that this is not the only way to interpret this verse.
Although it is true that since Deuteronomy all prophets starting with Mosheh spoke the words of Elohim, we have the reason to believe that the mysterious way in which the words of YHVH suddenly stop at “I was there” (Isa 48:16) and then continue in Isa 48:17, “Thus said the Eternal, your Redeemer…”, may indicate that these are the words of “My servant” in Isa 42:1, as we argued in other places. Besides, to put verse 16 in context, we will quote that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Likutei Moharan 2:1 links Isaiah 48:9 with Mashiach.
So, who is saying the words “the Master YHVH has sent me”, the prophet or the Messiah? There is no injustice done to the text, if we agree or disagree with Rashi and Ibn Ezra that the prophet is speaking here in the Ruach of YHVH. That the speaking one, who said, “the Master YHVH has sent me”, is the prophet Isaiah is further suggested in what follows in the next chapter (see Isa 49:1-6). Here we simply wanted to introduce to the reader an alternative reading of Isaiah that alternatively these words may have been said by the Messiah, as we want to do justice to both interpretations.
With all that being said, it will be clear to the reader that the perception of monotheism and oneness of the Eternal is expressed by the passages in the Torah and the Prophets which we will now compile to serve as a guide for the perplexed.
And to whom would you liken Elohim? And what likeness would you compare to Him? (Isa 40:18) … And to whom then do you liken Me, or to whom am I compared? (Isa 40:25) I am YHVH, that is My Name, and My glory I do not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. (Isa 42:8) You are My witnesses, declares the Eternal, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no El formed, nor after Me there is none. I, I am YHVH, and besides Me there is no savior. (Isa 43:10-11) Even from the day I am He, and no one delivers out of My hand. I work, and who turns it back? (Isa 43:13) I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim. And who is like Me? Let him call and declare it, and lay it before Me, … You are My witnesses. Is there an Eloah besides Me? There is no other Rock, I know not one. (Isa 44:6-8) … Thus said YHVH, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb, “I am YHVH, doing all, stretching out the heavens all alone, spreading out the earth, with none beside Me, (Isa 44:24) I am YHVH, and there is none else. There is no Elohim besides Me. I gird you, though you have not known Me, so that they know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none but Me. I am the Eternal, and there is none else. I form light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Eternal, do all these. (Isa 45:5-7) … I am YHVH, and there is none else. (Isa 45:18) Is it not I, YHVH? And there is no Elohim besides Me, a righteous El and a Savior, there is none besides Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am El, and there is none else. (Isa 45:21-22) To whom do you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we may be alike? (Isa 46:5) … I am El, and there is none else. I am Elohim, and there is no one like Me. (Isa 46:9) … And My glory I do not give to another … I am He; I am the First, I am also the Last. (Isa 48:11-12) … Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. … (Isa 48:16) … Since the beginning of the world, they have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any Elohim besides You … (Isa 64:4)
It is not difficult to convey the power of these descriptions, as they are self-explanatory. But in order to make this clear to the reader, the prophets go on to write,
There is no one set-apart like the Eternal, for there is no one besides You, and there is no rock like our Elohim. (1Sa 2:2) And the Eternal shall be King over all the earth. In that day shall the Eternal be One, and His name one. (Zec 14:9) For I am El, and not man, the Set-apart One in your midst, … (Hos 11:9) Moreover, I am the Eternal your Elohim since the land of Egypt, and you know no Elohim but Me, for there is no savior besides Me. (Hos 13:4)
What exactly is being described above, and what claim for dualism have we not addressed? Understand these verses according to what they literally say for the words are not merely being repetitive here. This is stated simply to be understood simply. With these solemn affirmations, YHVH draws again the unchallenged by anyone self-attestation to the nations of the world that from Egypt on Israel has known no one else, no other savior other than Him. In Egypt he saved them and in the desert of Sinai He knew them and in love He adopted them, and in Arabia He guided them for thirty-eight years, so that all will know that there is no one else but Him. These words of the Eternal were not spoken in secret, nor in a mysterious way we cannot understand; it is a clear Biblical text. We have clear evidence of this also in the psalms,
For who is Eloah, besides the Eternal? And who is a rock, except our Elohim? (Psalm 18:31(32) of David) … Whom do I have in the heavens? And I have desired no one besides You on earth. (Psalm 73:25 of Asaph)
At the end of this study, let us return to our immediate problem. By now the reader should have noticed that whenever the Eternal speaks of Mashiach, His anointed, He immediately makes it clear that there is none besides Him, there is no Savior but Him. In other words, He says, “This is My anointed but do not substitute Me with him; besides Me there is no Elohim”.
If the Tanach had not informed us otherwise, we may have thought that the Eternal could become a man, or that there are three Gods or three persons in one. But this is absurd and unacceptable for this is not implied, not even remotely suggested in the quotations above. Understand this according to what the Hebrew Scripture literally says: YHVH is Elohim exclusively, there is no one else besides Him! It is not difficult to come to other understanding concerning this point of the prevailing conclusion.
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