Trinity in the Old Testament

The New Testament claims that Jesus appeared in the Old Testament (for instance in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, Hebrews 11:27), so we should expect the Old Testament to foreshadow the Trinity.

Genesis 18-19

Genesis 18

1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

So it's the LORD who appeared to Abraham; notice how Abraham saw three men. In the proceeding passage you'll see that one of the three men whom Abraham saw is God Himself.

16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
20 [...] And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
33 [...] So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

So the two men that appeared with God left to Sodom (verse 22) but Abraham still talked with Him, until He departed to Sodom as well.

Genesis 19

24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
25 So He devastated those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

It says the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. Read it again if you didn't catch it.
There's the Lord on Earth who rains fire from the Lord in heaven!


Angel of the LORD

Additionally, there's the topic of the Angel of the LORD, who, unlike other angels, receives worship due only to God, identifies Himself as the LORD God and appears in human form. It's clear from Scripture that the Angel of the LORD is the second Person of the Trinity, the Son, Jesus, in His pre-human existence.

Remember, angel (malakh in Hebrew) simply means messenger, so don't think every time this word appears it's necessarily some winged creature in white robes.

Exodus 3

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God [Elohim].
2 And the Angel of the LORD [malakh YHWH] appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the LORD [YHWH] saw that he turned aside to look, God [Elohim] called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

The Angel of the LORD was in the burning bush, and He is called God (Elohim) and identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Genesis 16

7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13 Then she called the name of the LORD [YHWH] who spoke to her, You are the God who sees me; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

The angel of the LORD personally blessed Hagar; He said "I will multiply your descendants," and not something like "God will multiply your descendants," and Hagar recognized that she saw the God who sees her, and that it was indeed Jehovah who spoke to her

Genesis 28

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.
22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

According to this passage, Jacob saw God and anointed a pillar to Him. Yet, elsewhere, the One who appeared to Jacob is identified as the Angel of the Lord:

Genesis 31

10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.
11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’
12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

But make no mistake, this is not the case for every angel mentioned in the Bible; the Angel of the LORD is a specific figure.
Angels generally give their names and they never allow anyone to worship them, while the Angel of the LORD never gave out His name in the Old Testament.

In fact, look at this passage:

Genesis 32

22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.
23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

the Angel of the LORD didn't tell Jacob His name, and notice that Jacob knew that He was God ("I have seen God face to face and survived").

And also, another relevant passage:

Hosea 12

“The LORD also brings a charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he struggled with God.
4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5 That is, the LORD God of hosts.
The LORD is His memorable name.

This connects the previous two passages, and plainly shows that the Angel is God.

Judges 2

1 Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you.
2 And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?
3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ ”
4 So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5 Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the LORD.

So the Angel of the LORD says that He led them out of Egypt and that He made a covenant with Israel.

Judges 13

17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”
18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—
20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”

Exodus 20

20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

Only God can forgive sins.

He will not pardon your transgressions

Who will not pardon their transgressions?

He, the Angel.

I could go on, but you get the point. The Angel of the Lord is God.


And a couple of verses to show the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit:

2 Samuel 23

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God.

Who?

The Spirit of the Lord
The God of Israel

Neat. Here's another one.

Isaiah 63

9 In all their affliction He was afflicted,
And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.
10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;
So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.

And there you go, the Trinity in two Old Testament verses. The LORD, the Angel of His Presence, and His Holy Spirit. There are many other verses I can cite (and I might write an expanded text just on this) but that should suffice for now.


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Pub: 08 Mar 2023 22:41 UTC
Edit: 20 Feb 2024 02:07 UTC
Views: 92