Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord Deuteronomy 6:4
Introduction
For thousands of years, a single sentence has served as the heartbeat of Jewish faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד shema yisrael adonai elohenu adonai echad). This statement is known as the Shema. It is recited twice daily by observant Jews, as the definitive declaration of faith. The word Shema is an imperative or command form of the word Shema meaning to hear or to listen and Moses says Shema Israel. The Shema is frequently found on home doorposts in mezuzahs and in tefillin worn during prayer. For Jewish children, these words are their first lesson; for the dying, they are the last words.
For some readers it is known as the “great statement of monotheism”. Yet is it a statement of monotheism? What does it mean that God is one? “We find the first of many common misunderstandings of Deuteronomy 6:4–5 within the King James translation of the phrase ‘The Lord our God is one Lord.’ Many people regard the phrase as an obvious argument for monotheism—that there is only one God, no more. . . . However, the Jewish Study Bible . . . warns readers against interpreting Deuteronomy 6:4 ‘as an assertion of monotheism, a view that is anachronistic. In the context of ancient Israelite religion, it served as a public proclamation of exclusive loyalty to YHVH [i.e., Jehovah] as the sole Lord of Israel.’ Thus their better English rendering of the phrase as: ‘The Lord is our God, the Lord alone’” (Bradshaw, “What Are the Most Cited, Recited, and Misunderstood Verses in Deuteronomy?”).
Therefore, if it isn’t a simple statement about monotheism, what could it be? Let’s explore the word “one”, which appears in the Shema, in its ancient context.
Word Origin
The Hebrew language is multi-layered, with letters simultaneously representing sounds, images, and numbers, which reveal deep, frequently hidden, textual meanings. This system allows the reader to analyze words on three levels: the conventional (linguistic), the pictographic (symbolic), and the numeric (gematria).
Conventional meaning: The Hebrew word for one is echad (אחד). Its conventional meaning is the cardinal number “one” and it implies “primary, first, single, unified”. Echad can mean being first (as in, at the head of the line) and without peer or rival.
Pictorial meaning: Its original Hebrew letters were אָ Aleph – חַ CHet – ד Dalet. The Aleph originally looked like an Ox Head . It is the first letter of God’s name, Elohim. The ox or the bull was associated with strength and leadership. חָ CHet originally looked like a Tent Wall. It was associated with privacy, separation, protection, and a fence. ד Dalet originally looked like a Tent Door. It was a doorway or a gate. The pictorial meaning of “one” could be “the leader fences off a secure place with a single entrance”.
Using this understanding of the pictorial language of the number one may shed light on how some ancient listeners may have understood the Savior’s use of “one” in the parable of the Good Shepherd. Let’s look at the elements of the parable with the letters in mind. Jesus declared Himself to be the Shepherd or leader (aleph). Christ invited His followers to a place of protection (chet). He testified that He was the [tent] door (dalet). He said, “if anyone enters by Me they will be saved”… (from the thieves, robbers, and wolves who come to kill, steal and destroy.) The Savior concludes this parable by promising that His believers will become “One” Flock with “One” Shepherd (John 10:16).
Numerical meaning: The Hebrew word echad is equivalent to 13. This sum is derived by adding the numerical equivalents of aleph (1) + chet (8) + dalet (4). This number is highly significant in Jewish tradition as it matches the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for love, ahava (אהבה – love) is central to the underlying meaning of the Shema. So, when they recite that the Lord God is one, they are also saying the Lord God is love. The number 13 is further associated with the 13 attributes of God’s Mercy, which are traditionally recited during Yom Kippur.
Oneness in Scripture
Echad is first described in the scriptures as being united or joined together in the context of a covenant. In this case, it is a marriage covenant. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united (דָּבַק dabaq) to his wife, and they will become one (אֶחָד echad) flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The law given to Israel is often likened to a marriage covenant between God and His people, containing the essential contractual terms of this union. Therefore, echad or “one” implies a covenantal relationship; see post on grace.
The number one serves as a symbol for the spiritual unity required within covenant communities:
- Zion: The Lord’s people are called Zion when they reach a state of being of “one heart and one mind”.
- The Church: Members are described as “one body” under one faith and one baptism.
- The Godhead: The number one represents the perfect unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who are distinct personages but “one” in purpose, testimony, and mission.
- The Savior’s Atonement: The ultimate intent of Christ’s atonement and the associated gospel covenants is to allow individuals to “become one” with the Father and the Son
- The Scriptures: The prophecy of the two sticks in Ezekiel (representing different records or groups) becoming “one in thine hand” serves as a symbol of the eventual covenantal reunification of God’s people.
In John 17, Jesus expresses the idea of covenantal unity using the same word: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:20–23). So, Jesus is saying here that the word “one” implies perfection. That we can be united in that perfection, not that we become absorbed into His person.
President Hinckley explained: Christ “was not praying to Himself! They are distinct beings, but they are one in purpose and effort. They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God. . . [there is] perfect unity between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that binds these three into the oneness of the divine Godhead”.
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, while three separate Beings and three Gods, are “one” in the ancient sense (John 10:30; 17:21; 2 Nephi 31:21; Alma 11:44; 3 Nephi 11:27; 28:10; Mormon 7:7; D&C 20:28). In our day, the Lord invited us to this same holiness: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).
“Oneness is what Christ prayed for prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion. Oneness with Christ and our Heavenly Father can be obtained through the Savior’s Atonement. The Lord’s saving mercy is not dependent on lineage, education, economic status, or race. It is based on being one with Christ and His commandments”
“Oneness is what Christ prayed for prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion. Oneness with Christ and our Heavenly Father can be obtained through the Savior’s Atonement. The Lord’s saving mercy is not dependent on lineage, education, economic status, or race. It is based on being one with Christ and His commandments”
Elder Quentin L. Cook
Conclusion
The number one is much more than just a numerical beginning. I believe we do it an injustice by reducing it to a statement of monotheism. It signifies a condition of wholeness and unity, achievable via covenants. The profound link between the Hebrew words for “one” and “love” reveals the process for this unity: it is only through covenantal love that we can be fused into a single, divine whole.
This “oneness” is at the very heart of the Shema, serving as an eternal reminder of our Heavenly Father’s love which is manifested in His Beloved Son. This oneness encompasses the perfect harmony of the Godhead and invites us, through our covenants, to become one with them. In our day, the Lord declared: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).
