These are the notes for my debate with Stacy Turbeville, “Is Unitarianism Biblical?”
SINGULAR NOUNS/PRONOUNS/VERBS/PARTICIPLES USED FOR CORPORATE ENTITIES
The Holy Bible will often employ the singular in references to a multitude of individuals that form a solidarity, a corporate body so to speak. What this shows is that the use of the singular doesn’t prove that God is a singular Person.
FIRST EXAMPLE
“The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart (leb echad) to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of Yahweh.” 2 Chronicles 30:12 LSB
SECOND EXAMPLE
“Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up (ya’aleh – third person imperfect masculine singular verb) for us against the Canaanites (hakkana’ani – masculine singular noun) first, to fight against them? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up (ya’aleh – third person imperfect masculine singular verb): behold, I have delivered the land into HIS hand. And Judah SAID (way’yomer – third person imperfect masculine singular verb) unto Simeon HIS brother, Come up (‘aleh – masculine singular imperative verb) with ME into MY lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites (ba·kana‘ani – singular masculine noun); and I likewise will go with THEE into THY lot. So Simeon went with HIM. And Judah went up (wayya’al – third person imperfect masculine singular verb); and the Lord delivered the Canaanites (hakkana’ani – masculine singular noun) and the Perizzites (wahapparizzi – masculine singular proper noun) into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men (‘ish – masculine singular noun).” Judges 1:1-4 Authorize King James Version (AV)
THIRD EXAMPLE
“Let Israel (masculine singular proper noun) hope (yahel – masculine singular imperative verb) in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel (masculine singular proper noun) from all (mikkol – masculine singular construct) HIS iniquities (awonota – third person masculine singular verb).” Psalm 130:7-8
FOURTH & FIFTH EXAMPLES
“Now may our God and Father himself, AND our Lord Jesus, direct (kateuthynai) our way to you;” 1 Thessalonians 3:11
In the following text, Paul mentions Christ ahead of the Father!
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved (ho agapeesas) us and gave (dous) us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,comfort (parakalesai) your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
The verbs employed in both of the aforementioned passages are all singular, even though the Apostle ascribes these actions to both God and Christ. I.e., Paul has just prayed to the Father and the Son to direct and give love and comfort to the believers he writes, by invoking them together through the use of singular verbs.
What this shows is that, for this inspired envoy, the actions of God and Christ are one and the same, not because they are the same Person but because they are one and the same God!
SIXTH EXAMPLE
“Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: thus saith the Lord that made THEE, and formed THEE from the womb, which will help THEE; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and THOU, Jesurun, WHOM I have chosen… Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for THOU art my servant: I have formed THEE; THOU art my servant: O Israel, THOU shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, THY transgressions, and, as a cloud, THY sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed THEE.” Isaiah 44:1-2, 21-22 AV
SEVENTH EXAMPLE
“But THOU, Israel, art my servant, Jacob WHOM I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. THOU WHOM I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called THEE from the chief men thereof, and said unto THEE, THOU art my servant; I have chosen THEE, and not cast THEE away. Fear THOU not; for I am with THEE: be not dismayed; for I am THY God: I will strengthen THEE; yea, I will help THEE; yea, I will uphold THEE with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against THEE shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with THEE shall perish. THOU shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with THEE: they that war against THEE shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord THY God will hold THY right hand, saying unto THEE, Fear not; I will help THEE. Fear not, THOU worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help THEE, saith the Lord, and THY redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make THEE a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: THOU shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. THOU shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and THOU shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:8-16 Authorized King James Version (AV)
“But now thus saith the Lord that created THEE, O Jacob, and he that formed THEE, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed THEE, I have called THEE by THY name; THOU art mine. When THOU passest through the waters, I will be with THEE; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow THEE: when THOU walkest through the fire, THOU shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon THEE. For I am the Lord THY God, the Holy One of Israel, THY Saviour: I gave Egypt for THY ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for THEE. Since THOU wast precious in my sight, THOU hast been honourable, and I have loved THEE: therefore will I give men for THEE, and people for THY life. Fear not: for I am with THEE: I will bring THY seed from the east, and gather THEE from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name: for I have created HIM for my glory, I have formed HIM; yea, I have made HIM… But THOU hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but THOU hast been weary of me, O Israel. THOU hast not brought me the small cattle of THY burnt offerings; neither hast THOU honoured me with THY sacrifices. I have not caused THEE to serve with an offering, nor wearied THEE with incense. THOU hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast THOU filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but THOU hast made me to serve with THY sins, THOU hast wearied me with THINE iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out THY transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember THY sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare THOU, that THOU mayest be justified. THY first father hath sinned, and THY teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.” Isaiah 43:1-7, 22-28 AV
EIGHTH EXAMPLE
“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for THOU shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover THY locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. THY nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, THY shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet THEE as a man. As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for THOU shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into THINE hand: THOU didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid THY yoke. And THOU saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that THOU didst not lay these things to THY heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, THOU that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in THINE heart, I am, and none else beside ME; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: but these two things shall come to THEE in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon THEE in their perfection for the multitude of THY sorceries, and for the great abundance of THINE enchantments. For THOU hast trusted in THY wickedness: THOU hast said, None seeth me. THY wisdom and THY knowledge, it hath perverted THEE; and THOU hast said in THINE heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon THEE; THOU shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon THEE; THOU shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon THEE suddenly, which THOU shalt not know. Stand now with THINE enchantments, and with the multitude of THY sorceries, wherein THOU hast laboured from THY youth; if so be THOU shalt be able to profit, if so be THOU mayest prevail. THOU art wearied in the multitude of THY counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save THEE from these things that shall come upon THEE. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto THEE with whom THOU hast laboured, even THY merchants, from THY youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save THEE.” Isaiah 47:1-15 AV
NINTH EXAMPLE
“Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name. I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I knew that THOU art obstinate, and THY neck is an iron sinew, and THY brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to THEE; before it came to pass I shewed it THEE: lest THOU shouldest say, MINE idol hath done them, and MY graven image, and MY molten image, hath commanded them. THOU hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed THEE new things from this time, even hidden things, and THOU didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when THOU heardest them not; lest THOU shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. Yea, THOU heardest not; yea, THOU knewest not; yea, from that time that THINE ear was not opened: for I knew that THOU wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for THEE, that I cut THEE not off. Behold, I have refined THEE, but not with silver; I have chosen THEE in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. HEARKEN UNTO me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” Isaiah 48:1-12 AV
PLURAL PRONOUNS/VERBS/PARTICIPLES/ADJECTIVES USED FOR GOD
Remarkably, the Holy Bible actually ascribes plural pronouns, participles, verbs, etc., to the one true God. Hence, whereas the use of the singular does not necessarily mean that God is unipersonal, the employment of the plural, on the other hand, does show that he is a multi-Personal Being.
FIRST EXAMPLE
“For God knows (ki yode’a elohim) that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (ke’lohim), knowing (yoda’e) good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
The verb “knowing” is a plural participle modifying the noun Elohim. Thus, a more literal translation would read, “you will be like Gods/divine beings who know good and evil.” This is further supported by what God says later on in the same text:
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of US, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.’” Genesis 3:22-23
SECOND EXAMPLE
“Now the whole earth had one language and few words. And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let US make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let US build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let US make a name for OURSELVES, lest WE be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ And the Lord came down (wayyerred YHWH) to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let US go down (nerada), and there confuse (wanabala) their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused (balal) the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:1-9
Nerada is the plural form of yarad and nabala is the plural of balal. Here, Yahweh describes his actions of coming down and scattering the peoples by himself in the plural. Yahweh’s use of the plural (“Come, let us go down and there confuse…”) is obviously meant to parallel the language of the multitude (“Come, let us…”). The major difference between these two parties is that whereas the people at Babel consisted of a multitude of separate and distinct human beings, Yahweh, on the other hand, is a singular Being who exists as a community of divine Persons within himself.
THIRD EXAMPLE
“And when God (Elohim) caused me to wander (hita’u) from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.’” Genesis 20:13
The verb hita’u, translated “cause to wander”, is the plural of ta`ah. The text can therefore be translated as, “When Gods (Elohim), they caused me to wander from my father’s house.”
FOURTH EXAMPLE
“and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God (Elohim) had revealed himself (nigelu) to him when he fled from his brother.” Genesis 35:7
The verb that modifies the noun God (Elohim) is nigelu (revealed), which is plural for galah. Thus, the verse literally reads, “Gods, They revealed themselves to him.”
FIFTH EXAMPLE
“For what great nation is there that has a god so near (Elohim qarobim) to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?” Deuteronomy 4:7
The adjective qarobim is the plural form of qarob. The verse can thus be translated as, “gods who are so near.” The text is likening Yahweh to gods who are nearby their people to save and protect. The passage is basically saying that, unlike the other nations, the Israelites have been privileged to have their Gods nearby to answer them anytime they call on them.
SIXTH EXAMPLE
“But Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God (Elohim Qadoshim hu). He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.’” Joshua 24:19
The word translated as “Holy” is the plural adjective qadoshim (“Holy Ones”). The passage can, therefore, be rendered as, “Gods, the Holy Ones is he.”
SEVENTH EXAMPLE
“And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went (halaku Elohim) to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?” 2 Samuel 7:23
The words, “God went,” are in the plural and literally reads, “Gods, they went to redeem.”
EIGHTH EXAMPLE
“Mankind will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God (Elohim) who judges (shophetim) on earth.’” Psalm 58:11
David uses the plural shophetim, which if we were to translate it literally would say, “Gods, They judge the earth.”
NINTH EXAMPLE
“I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One (qadoshim). Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! Proverbs 30:3-4
Qadoshim in verse 3 is a plural adjective, and is translated as such in the NRSV:
“I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.”
Agur speaks of how terribly ignorant he is of the Holy Ones, and then goes on to mention the incomprehensible acts of God and his Son. This basically establishes that qadoshim here is a numerical plural since Agur clearly refers to two distinct entities, e.g., God and his Son who shares in his Father’s sovereignty and incomprehensibility.
FINAL EXAMPLES
“But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker (`osay), who gives songs in the night,’” Job 35:10
The word ‘osay is the plural participle of asa’ and literally means, “my Makers.”
“Let Israel be glad in his Maker (`osayw); let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!” Psalm 149:2
The text literally says “his Makers” because ‘osayw is a plural participle.
“Remember also your Creator (bora’eyka) in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’;” Ecclesiastes 12:1
Bora’eyka is a plural participle, which is literally, “your Creators.”
“For your Maker (`osayika) is your Husband (bo`alayika), the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.” Isaiah 54:5
The word `osayik is the plural participle of asa’ and bo`alayika is the plural noun form of baal, and can, therefore, be read, “For your Makers are your Husbands.”
None of these references can be simply brushed aside as cases of the plural of majesty since the OT provides additional evidence that the inspired writers knew that there was more than one Divine Person responsible for creating and making all things.
For instance, the OT emphatically testifies that God used his Spirit to create and give life to the entire creation:
“The Spirit of God (rucha el) has made me, and the Breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
“By his Spirit (barucho) the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.” Job 26:13
“As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter; as long as my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God (warucha eloha) is in my nostrils; my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.” Job 27:2-4
“If he should take back his Spirit (rucho) to himself, and gather to himself his Breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.” Job 34:14-15
God’s Holy Spirit is also responsible for replenishing the earth and reviving or resurrecting the dead:
“For the palace will be forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit (rucha) is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.” Isaiah 32:14-15
“When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their spirit, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit (ruchaka), they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” Psalm 104:29-30
“Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37:12-14
Interestingly, not only do the OT writers affirm that God used his Spirit to create and fashion all things, they further testify that God also employed his Word to do so:
“By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the Breath/Spirit (ubarucha) of his mouth.” Psalm 33:6
Make sure to read the following posts for the evidence that YHWH’s Angel and the Holy Spirit are two distinct divine Persons, and other related issues which refute Unitarianism:
YHVH’S DIVINE ANGEL AND ETERNAL SPIRIT
CREATED ANGELIC BEINGS AS JEHOVAH GOD?
OT Proof That Echad Does Not Point to God Being Uni-Personal
Answering Islam Blog 
this is brilliant, and perfectly explained as well!
LikeLike