God’s Name is Plural
God was also known by several general terms: Ja, Jah, El, and Elohim, but he provided his personal name to Moses, as in the Greek Tetragrammaton [YHWH or JHVH], pronounced as Yehovah, or Jehovah [the Germanized pronunciation]. ‘Tetra’ means four, and ‘grammaton’ means letters. The old Hebrew was written in consonants – with the name of God written with the Hebrew letters: yod, hay, vav, hay,. [hay may be also written as ‘hei’]
The English letter equivalent is Y H V H [transliterated left to right]
Written in modern Hebrew as: ה ן ה ' = H V H Y [transliterated right to left], and is pronounced softly as: [Yeo’-va].
The rendering for the name of God in the English means: “he who was, or he who is, or he who is ever.” The proper translation in the Greek would read, as it is in Rev.1:8; 22:13, “The Alpha and the Omega" (beginning and the end).
A second name of God is more at, in persona, a pet name or a name of endearment, as one might say of their spouse, “my dear one,” or “my love.” This is expressed as “Eloah” [Eloi or Eli in Aramaic] and expresses: the “one to be worshiped,” or ‘the one whom I love dearly.’ This is the name Jesus expounded on the cross in Mt.27:46 and Mk.15:34. It is translated into the English as: ‘My God.’
[Note that Yawistic names, such as Yaweh, are not the names of God, but are improvised words that do not meet the criteria of Hebrew grammar. The ineffable “name” was considered so holy to the Jews and to the Early Christians that they used contractions, or substituted names as replacements when referring to God, and so we have written in many Bibles, in place of Yehovah, the words: LORD, Lord, Adonai, Yaweh, Iaove, Iawovne, Yahooeh, Ja’u, and Kurios. The trouble in pronunciation came from two major sources, the Greeks and the Jews. The Greeks transliterated the letters of, YHVH (The Name) into Greek and tried to pronounce it with dependence upon Greek grammar. The second source of confusion came from the Jews - from three distinct groups called the Ashkenazic (German and Upper European), Sephardic (Spanish and N. African), and Mizrach (true Semitic group). “Sephardic Jews use a different pronunciation concerning a few Hebrew vowels and one Hebrew consonant – however, most Ashkenazim are adopting Sephardic pronunciation now, because it is the pronunciation used in Israel.” [Compiled from: “The True Pronunciation of the Sacred Name,” by John D Keyser – Hope of Israel Ministries, and www.jewfaq.org] The miss pronunciation of God’s name is quite interesting from a spiritual reflection. It was never God’s intention that His name should never be known or used - as a matter of fact there are hundreds of places in the Bible where his name is repeated over and over. His only prohibition was that one did not misuse His name. God’s name is His calling card – by it people will know who the true God is and what is unique about him.
Obviously, today, people do not know God’s personal name, since Buddha, Krishna, Allah are a few names that have been offered by men for God. It should not surprise a reader that in order to quell any misgivings concerning which name to use, the Bible states multiple times, “ …He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” so that we would be sure of the source of His name.
If one reads the Jewish “Shema Yisrael" from Deut.6:4, “ Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” The word “God” that is used in this verse is literally [in the Hebrew] `Elohim,’ and is used to denote an angel, a special messenger, a god, or God himself.
The purpose of expressing his name with the sequence of modifiers is to let Israel understand, that at a time when men thought there were many gods, he [Yehovah - YHWH] is the One True God, and he will be Israel’s God. This is a major revelation and is a stands as a point in time when men could intelligently seek God again, as they did before the Great Flood. The second part of the “Shema Yisrael” is the responsibility of the people. “You are to love the LORD your Elohim [God] with all your … [see also Mt.22:37]
However, groups of epigraphers and Hebrew scholars disagree as to the use of the “Shema Yisrael” for proof of the Trinity.
To understand the significance of this, re-insert the words from the original Hebrew: “Hear, O Israel: Yehovah, our Elohim, Yehovah is One.”
Elohim, another name reference form for God, is both plural and feminine.
The word ‘ONE’ in the Hebrew is: `ECHAD’ and is translated as one, One bunch, or group.
Now add the plural tense of the word Elohim, and the compound singularity, “bunch, as in a cluster of grapes. “Hear, O Israel, Yehovah our Plurality, Yehovah is One-cluster, you are to love Yehovah your plurality.
The thinking hear is to generate the idea of “ONE” from a bunch, such as a cluster of grapes, or bananas. The fruit is in a group of one. Each piece is identical, but nonetheless, a group that equals one. Hence, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one … when you see me, you see the Father.” [Jn.10:30; 14:9, 11]
This is no different when the term “crowd” is used of ONE large group, and the Hebrew lexicon bears this out. The Hebrew words “chad, “ish,” “gam” relates the number one or singular, but the Hebrew word “eschad” that is used in the Shema means a bunch or group. We would not say, “ …the peoples within the crowds at the demonstration,” but we would say, “ …the people in the crowd at the demonstration” - many in one.
However in this case it is not many gods in one, but three persons in One God. [see Col.1:15-20] “He [Christ] is the IMAGE of the invisible God …” Not the mirror image, but an exact representation of God. Mirror images are stereotypical, where left and right are swapped. Here, Paul is presenting that Christ is exactly in fashion, as is God, equal in all forms, and power, and personality – three persons in One God.