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One poster's answer to a separate question has "As is clear from Mark 12:29, this is not a statement which is consistent with the Shema. Jesus should say there is one, εἷς true God, or even more properly, there is one, εἷς God. Instead, Jesus abandons the Shema by saying the Father is the μόνον true God. μόνον means only as in alone. At the time Jesus is praying, He is not at the right hand of God; the Son and the Father are temporarily separated, a condition Jesus affirms by calling the Father the alone true God.

Contrary to the Shema, the adjectives μόνον ἀληθινὸν are necessary to show the Son is not in the Father's presence at that point in time. However, after resurrection, the Son is back at the right hand of God. Therefore, μόνον is no longer necessary to describe God:

Does the context of Mark 12:29 prove that Jesus abandoned the Shema?

Deuteronomy 6:4 ASV

Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah

שְׁמַ֖ע‪‬ (šə·ma‘) יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (yiś·rā·’êl) יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh) אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū) יְהוָ֥ה ׀ (Yah·weh) אֶחָֽד׃‪‬ (’e·ḥāḏ)

Mark 12:29 ASV

Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one

Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) Ἀπεκρίθη (Apekrithē) ἐστίν (estin) Ὅτι (Hoti) Ὅτι (Hoti) Πρώτη (Prōtē) Ἄκουε (Akoue) Ἰσραήλ (Israēl) Κύριος (Kyrios) ἡμῶν (hēmōn) Θεὸς (Theos) ἐστιν (estin) εἷς (heis) Κύριος (Kyrios)

The link below shows Revelation Lad's answer in full. I specifically asked this question because the 14th and 15th paragraph of his answer needed to be clarified.

Does it follow from John 17:3 that Knowing God alone cannot give Eternal Life? What then is the need for the adjectives "The only True"

Steve can help
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Alex Balilo
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4 Answers4

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Jesus is not misquoting the LXX shema with respect to the use of the word we translate in English as one

Deu6:4

ακουε Ισραηλ κυριος ο θεος ημων  κυριος  εις   εστι

Mark12:29

…ακουε ισραηλ κυριος ο θεος ημων κυριος εις εστιν

The Greek is consistent in that it uses hen rather than monos exactly as the Hebrew uses echad rather than yachid.

After much back and forth this question is really asking about John 17:3 and the use of the monos by Jesus one single time.

The idea being that Jesus saying that the Father is monos God, to the non-Trinitarian ears means Jesus acknowledges that there is only one singular person called God, even though every other time the Greek hen is used.

The question is actually not well worded and nor can it be succinct.

The shema uses the word echad which is the Hebrew equivalent for hen in Greek. By Jesus in John 17:3 using monos is He departing from the shema? No.

Jesus in John 17:3 is acknowledging that the Father is the singular true God TO himself because immediately after He asks the Father to do the exact same thing for Him

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” ‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭

And it also says before the world existed, that means before Creation and nothing existed prior to Creation, not heaven, and if there was no heaven no heavenly beings because they would have nowhere to exist in but Jesus is saying He existed prior to Creation, which is saying He is God.

To infer and imply that Jesus said the Father is the only True God means Jesus is saying He (Jesus) is not God is an invalid assumption by non-Trinitarians. Take Ephesians 4

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭

If the Father is the only person who can be God, then the Father cannot therefore also be Lord because there is only one Lord. But that’s not what is being said. It’s not said to the exclusion of the other.

Is Jesus rejecting the Shema? No. He is reinforcing it in John 17:4,5 highlighting the shema’s echad or hen in the LXX that says The Lord God is echad/hen/united and united means there is more than one. The Elohim of Hebrew is plural, otherwise the shema should read El not Elohim is echad It should read El is yachid But it reads El is Elohim in Deut 6:4 and it's echad not yachid.

agarza
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Nihil Sine Deo
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  • Thank you for your answer. Please note the Q ask if Jesus abandoned the Shema. Please confirm if Jesus abandoned the Shema or not. – Alex Balilo Dec 07 '22 at 02:58
  • Abandoned it how @Alex? – Nihil Sine Deo Dec 07 '22 at 03:09
  • That is the Q. I have read that from another poster's answer. I also wonder how Jesus abandoned the Shema. Hence, my Q. – Alex Balilo Dec 07 '22 at 03:13
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    Maybe link to the answer so we can read the broader context @Alex – Nihil Sine Deo Dec 07 '22 at 03:21
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    I now understand the question, it’s about the single time Jesus used the word monos whereas every other time He uses the hen. The simplest way to understand this is “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God* and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” ‭‭E ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭6‬* if God is used exclusively of the Father then Lord is used exclusively of the son because it’s the same word being used to translate one. So if the Father can be both God and Lord, so can the Son. – Nihil Sine Deo Dec 07 '22 at 03:30
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    Profound comment Nihil – Faith Mendel Dec 07 '22 at 21:22
  • This logic is lost on scripture which states God made Jesus Lord and Christ. If made, then within time, and not eternal as you imagine. – Steve Dec 10 '22 at 05:18
  • “But Jesus answered, “You @steveowen are wrong, because you Steve Owen know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭29‬ ‭ – Nihil Sine Deo Dec 10 '22 at 13:46
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Since Jesus equates the Shema to the greatest commandment in Mark 12:27-30, to suggest that the one use of monos in Jn 17 would be the abandonment of the Shema would be to also suggest that he is abandoning what he asserts is the greatest commandment. And that would be absurd, as his whole ministry was built on that.

Akradecki
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    If it is the greatest commandment and if it is repeated twice each day, one doesn't replace a clear confession of faith with something new, The Shema identifies God unambiguously as one, εἷς. OTOH, monos, μόνον means either only or alone. IF one chooses "only" it means only in the sense of alone. IOW, since the Son is on earth the only the Father is in heaven. at that time. – Revelation Lad Dec 07 '22 at 04:36
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    @RevelationLad I'm confused, please clarify: are you saying that if the Father is in "heaven" he can't also be on earth? Are you asserting that the Father's locality is limited to one place at a time within his creation? Or am I reading your comment incorrectly? – Akradecki Dec 07 '22 at 04:48
  • I am saying the Son since the Son came to earth, He was not in heaven when He was praying: When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father... (John 17:1). Jesus said "Father in heaven..." Similar is Matthew 27:46 – Revelation Lad Dec 07 '22 at 05:10
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    @RevelationLad ... There's nothing intrinsically remarkable with lifting up his eyes to pray...while we modern Americans are used to closing our eyes and bowing our heads to pray, the ancient Jewish people did just as Jesus did. – Akradecki Dec 09 '22 at 01:24
  • “OurFather who art in heaven…” Jesus is stating The Father is in heaven while He is still on the earth. Hence the need and significance of including μόνον. IMO – Revelation Lad Dec 09 '22 at 05:43
  • If Jesus is the true God, why did he pray to the Father? He could have just prayed to himself. – Alex Balilo Dec 09 '22 at 06:44
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    @AlexBalilo because much of what Jesus did he did as demonstration for us to emulate. It was a demonstration of the relationship we are supposed to have with the Father. He wants us to pray to the Father, so he demonstrated it. He wants us to obey the Father, so he demonstrated it. He wants us to depend absolutely and abjectly on the Father, so he demonstrated it. We are to imitate him, so he had to provide a model to imitate. – Akradecki Dec 09 '22 at 15:23
  • @Akradecki..My comment was a reply to Revelation Lad. – Alex Balilo Dec 09 '22 at 17:02
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Mark
In giving the most important command Jesus said:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (ESV)
ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν

He is referring to Deuteronomy:

And these are the statutes and the judgments, which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel in the wilderness as they were coming out from the land of Egypt. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. (LXX-Deuteronomy 6:4 NETS)
καὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα καὶ τὰ κρίματα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο κύριος τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν

When answering the scribe, Jesus followed the Greek rendering of the Shema verbatim. Obviously in this case Jesus did not abandon the Shema.

John
In His final prayer, Jesus prayed to the Father in heaven and He included a statement which like the Shema, speaks to the nature of God:

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ ἵνα γινώσκωσι σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν

Based on the Shema, as given in Mark the correct term is one God, or the one true God. Yet in the prayer, Jesus replaced εἷς with μόνον. μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν does not follow the Shema. In addition Jesus replaced εἷς, whose meaning is clear, with μόνον which means either only or alone. Based on these changes, Jesus did abandon the Shema when praying to His Father.

The ambiguous μόνον can mean the Son is on earth and only the Father is in heaven when being addressed by the Son. That is, the Father is alone as in separated from the Son due to His earthly mission. [As the disciples prayer begins, Our Father who art in heaven...]

This understanding of μόνον explains why John restated the words of Jesus' prayer in the letter:

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

John removed μόνον from the expression Jesus used in His prayer. When the letter was written, the Son had returned to the Father: μόνον was no longer needed. Finally, when writing, John did not have to cite the expression from the prayer. Obviously he was willing to change what Jesus said, yet in making a change, John also avoided restoring the language of the Shema. In this sense John also abandoned the Shema.

Revelation Lad
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  • @RevelatioLad. The Shema was not the subject of John 17:3. How could he abandon it in John 17:3 – Alex Balilo Dec 07 '22 at 05:07
  • Here is the 14th paragraph of your answer. "As is clear from Mark 12:29, this is not a statement which is consistent with the Shema. Jesus should say there is one, εἷς true God, or even more properly, there is one, εἷς God. Instead, Jesus abandons the Shema by saying the Father is the μόνον true God. μόνον means only as in alone. At the time Jesus is praying, He is not at the right hand of God; the Son and the Father are temporarily separated, a condition Jesus affirms by calling the Father the alone true God. – Alex Balilo Dec 07 '22 at 05:14
  • Interesting rendering of John 17:3 monos as alone, I’ll check it out – Nihil Sine Deo Dec 07 '22 at 05:59
  • Please do not undo rollbacks on question edits. Your edit was removed as conflicting with the OP's intent. – Steve can help Dec 10 '22 at 01:14
  • @Stevecanhelp Have you read the question and the answer from which the OP says he has asked the question? Nowhere do I say Jesus abandoned the Shema in Mark. I answered a question about John and First John and showed how what Jesus said and John wrote deviated from the Shema. The OP is intentionally misrepresenting what I said. I would appreciate if you would not empower him to misrepresent what I said. The issue is what Jesus said in His prayer compared to Mark. – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 02:06
  • @RevelationLad. You can edit the question if you think I misrepresented the 14th and 15th paragraphs of your answer. As long as you don't edit your answer to the question that made you say what you said on the paragraphs being examined, readers can decide for themselves. – Alex Balilo Dec 10 '22 at 03:54
  • @AlexBalilo 1) The issue was never whether you correctly quoted me. 2) The issue was the context you claimed I was addressing: Mark 12:29 not John 17:3. 3) In the answer, I used Mark to show Jesus knew the Shema, but in His prayer (John 17:3), He abandoned the language of the Shema replacing one with only/alone true God. 4) Your question about the Shema and Mark is fine, but your use of my answer which is about John is an intentional deception IMO. 5) To avoid the back and forth game I have edited my answer and copied that into your question. As you say now readers can decide for themselves. – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 04:26
  • @RevelationLad. I just wished none of the editing were done. If, like you said, I misrepresented you, then it would show what I misrepresented and they can judge for themselves. By editing my q and your answer, it seem like you are trying to hide something. I did not edit my Q, despite your accusation. Whereas you, you edited my question more than once and edited your answer to the q that incited me to ask this Q especially the paragraphs in this Q which appeared in your first answer and in this Q. Why? – Alex Balilo Dec 10 '22 at 05:00
  • @AlexBalilo When you ask did Jesus change the Shema in Mark 12:29, as you can see from the answers, you are asking whether He correctly quoted from Deuteronomy. Obviously He did as even I show. But you quoted my answer which was answering a question about John 17:3 and 1 John 5:20. Obviously Jesus did not use the language of the Shema in John and obviously John did not use the language of the Shema in the letter. That is what I said in my answer. The deception/confusion in your question is claiming I said Jesus abandoned the Shema in Mark 12:29 when I said He abandoned it in John. – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 05:52
  • @RevelationLad. If you didn't edit my Q and your answer as they originally were, you will be able to to answer your comments your self. – Alex Balilo Dec 10 '22 at 06:30
  • @Stevecanhelp 1) As you can see from one of the OP's comments, he is ok with editing as long as my quote is exactly as in the answer. 2) Removing 1 John 5:20 from the "quote" of the answer to the other question misrepresents the answer. There I showed Jesus correctly gave the Shema in Mark 12:29. But that question was about the adjectives only and true used in John 17:3. Removing the reference to John and 1 John and using the quote to ask whether I was correct in saying Jesus abandoned the Shema in Mark is wrong. I have no problem with his use of my quote, but it is not right to state- – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 17:38
  • @Stevecanhelp or imply I said Jesus abandoned the Shema in Mark. Not only did I not say that, I used Mark as the basis for showing the adjectives in John and 1 John were at odds with the Shema. I respect your effort to preserve the OP's intent, but I believe you also have an obligation to ensure the OP is not allowed to misrepresent what others say. This question was not simply about the accuracy of the Shema in Mark. It was also about attacking my statement. I have no problem with the OP using that statement, but it is wrong for him and you to distort it by removing the context of John. – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 17:46
  • @Stevecanhelp Essentially the OP has conflated two separate questions: 1. Did Jesus correctly cite the Shema in Mark 12:29? 2. If so, did Jesus abandon that language (as this answer claims) when He prayed to the Father, in John 17:3? – Revelation Lad Dec 10 '22 at 18:41
  • @RevelationLad - if he's okay with it then that's fine. It just looked like a drastic change that conflicted with his intent. If the question doesn't make sense or is based on a faulty premise and the OP doesn't want you to edit it, then I'd suggest VTC. If there are other issues feel free to raise a flag. – Steve can help Dec 11 '22 at 23:52
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In His prayer did Jesus abandon the Shema He gave in Mark 12:29?

There is no verse in the bible that shows Jesus abandoned the Shema when he prayed in John 17:3.The Father is a single Person and is the only God, as John 5:44 also show. Jesus, his apostles and the apostles' ancestors did not teach a God different from the God of the Shema as Acts 3:13 show.

John 17:3 ASV

And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ

John 5:44 ASV

How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?

Acts 3:13 ASV

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him

About the Shema

The word "one" in the Shema in Mark 12:29 is εἷς (heis) not hen as shown in John 17:21-22.

The one/heis (masculine) in Mark 12:29 means mathematical oneness. It does not carry the meaning describing a figurative unity of purpose just as the Greek “one” hen (neuter) does in John 17:21, 22

The context in Deuteronomy 6:4's echad, does not show a plural oneness, Echad means the cardinal number 1 we use in counting. Jesus never stated or even hinted that he and the Father composed the one true God. According to Jesus, his and his Father's testimonies equals 2 testimonies as John 8:17-18 shows, Jesus said that the testimony of two men is true I am he that beareth witness of myself and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Thus, Jesus cannot be the only true God as his God is and be counted as "one", the cardinal number 1, as John 8:17-18 show. The only true God is not a compound unity of persons.

Part of another poster's answer stated "If the Father is the only person who can be God, then the Father cannot therefore also be Lord because there is only one Lord. But that’s not what is being said. It’s not said to the exclusion of the other".

Examining the above-mentioned assertion I found;

Jesus referred to Psalm 110:1 as Matthew 22:45-46 and Mark 12:37 show. Does Jesus' statement in Mark 12:36 reinforce the idea that "If the Father is the only person who can be God, then Father cannot therefore also be Lord because there is only one Lord". Mark 12:36 says "David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet".

Let us examine who the two lords are and if they both are God.

Psalm 110:1 ASV

A Psalm of David. Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

The 1st LORD in Psalm 110:1 is Jehovah/YHWH. The second lord is translated from the hebrew word adoni. The word adoni does not refer to God. Adoni is a title which never refers to God. Peter narrated God's plan based on the truth of Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:33-36. "Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified".

God is the first LORD(YHWH) and Jesus is the second lord(adoni) in Psalm 110:1. God is (LORD) YHWH . Jesus is adoni lord, not LORD (YHWH)

There is no biblical support showing that Jesus abandoned the Shema when he prayed to his Father/God in John 17:3. There is also no support that he is the God of the Shema

Alex Balilo
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    "The one/heis (masculine) in Mark 12:29 means mathematical oneness. It does not carry the meaning describing a figurative unity of purpose" Incorrect. "Besides its purely numerical value, our noun εις (heis) may express unity ("one flesh", Mark 10:8) and inclusivity ("each one", Matthew 17:4, Ephesians 5:33, Revelation 21:21). It may mean "even one" (Matthew 5:36), "one and the same" (Romans 3:30), "someone" (Matthew 19:16), "a certain one person" (Mark 14:51). On occasion our word may be used as ordinal number, meaning first (Matthew 28:1)." – Mike Borden Dec 09 '22 at 13:55
  • @MikeBorden. Does the "one" God in the Shema express unity, inclusivity. "even one" a certain one person "or "first". Please show us why the "one" God in the Shema means mathematical oneness is incorrect. – Alex Balilo Dec 09 '22 at 17:40
  • My comment is regarding your incorrect declaration about heis not carrying a meaning describing a figurative unity of purpose. The word heis often does carry just such a meaning as I've shown. Since the Lord uses heis in the place where the Hebrew has echad and, since echad also often carries that same meaning (cf Genesis 2:24), it is also incorrect to insist that the Shema contains a cardinal number. – Mike Borden Dec 10 '22 at 15:56
  • Here is a good article making a solid case that echad in the Shema is best rendered as representing positional uniqueness rather than as a cardinal number. https://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/hebrew/echad.html – Mike Borden Dec 10 '22 at 16:02
  • @MikeBorden. It may be good if you post a Q about the word echad in the Shema, or answer this Q. – Alex Balilo Dec 10 '22 at 22:28
  • @MikeBorden. Considering all your comments about the echad and heis in the Shema, who is the God of the Shema. – Alex Balilo Dec 10 '22 at 23:11