Shema Yisrael Yahweh Elohim Echad YahwehHear O Israel, the Lord is God, One is the Lord [Jews call it the SHEMA]I’d rather not wrangle about the Hebrew grammar and syntax… the gist of it is “there is one God, YHWH [the LORD]”. That much most people agree upon.Deuteronomy 6:4 the SHEMA trips people up. Misunderstanding this verse and this concept can take you right out of the Church of God! So, who needs to know about this stuff? You do [1 John 5:5].-------------------------------------------------------------------How Does The Shema Affect Doctrine?The Jewish people use the Shema as a proof text to deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God... on the same plane as the Father. To them, Jesus’ claims to be on the God level are considered blasphemous and therefore He deserved execution. Many try to take the sharp pointy edges off but the Jewish position is still about the same.The Catholic Fathers read this verse and developed the Trinity concept to reconcile this “SHEMA” with other clear statements found in the new testament claiming both the Father and the Son Jesus Christ are God. Good examples are: Hebrews 1:8, John 1:1,14.The new testament scriptures are not offering up something contrary to what we read in Deuteronomy. They also teach that God is one. Good examples are: 1 Corinthians 8:4, 1 Timothy 2:5.How do we get these seeming contradictions to all work out? We answer that question by asking a question about our assumptions: Is the SHEMA [and other similar biblical statements] commenting on numerical one or as something different?Definitions of One/EchadThe Hebrew language of the bible has a very limited vocabulary. Often a single word stands for multiple things or concepts. Echad, the Hebrew word for one, can be used in multiple ways:Numeric: the number 1: the NC Panthers are number 1 [first] in their divisionOne and the same: yep, she’s the one I am going to marryTogether, unified: the NC Panthers defense played as oneEach and every: the ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!Alone: there is only 1 Michael JacksonThree of these fit the grammar and context of the SHEMA. Lets see how:FirstThe true God is to be our first priority. This would have been a necessary shift of thinking for the people coming out of Egypt with its many Gods.The context of the SHEMA supports this approach. Let’s take a look at the following verses: Deuteronomy 6:5 love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 22:36-38. The way it reads here definitely gives you the sense of making God your top priority. So, this seems like a valid interpretation of the use of the word one in the SHEMA.AloneYHWH and no other is truly God.Mark 12:28-34 the Jewish scribe’s reply in verse 32 indicates that this is how he understood the SHEMA… YHWH and no other is truly God. Jesus did not correct this man, or redirect him, so understanding the word ONE as ALONE, or ONLY is definitely a valid interpretation of what the word Echad or ONE means.UnityUnderstanding the Hebrew word ECHAD as unity is how we take all the various statements about who and what God is and reconciling them with the SHEMA. Also, using this definition does not mean we have to throw out the previous two [use example of the Panthers].Here are some examples of ECHAD used this way: Judges 20:1, 8-11; Genesis 11:6; Genesis 2:24In all these instances we understand ONE as involving multiple unique individuals. We do not have to perform strange mental gymnastics to merge them all into one single being.Does Jesus also use this definition of ONE? Yes He does!He describes the Father and the Son as, of one mind and purpose – John 4:34; 5:30He describes this relationship of the Father and Son as being one – John 10:30He uses this idea of being one as a model of unity for the church – John 17:20-22We certainly don’t need to take these statements and try to conceive of the members of the church as merged into a single being!A