Jewish interpretation of Genesis 1:26?

Question

I am under the impression that the Trinity is a Christian idea, and that the Jews did not view God as "three in one and one in three". How, then, was the following passage interpreted by the people of God prior to Jesus arriving on the scene?

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness -Genesis 1:26

Answer 1

You are correct that according to Judaism God is indisputably one, not several beings in one (nor a member of a pantheon of gods). So what does the use of first-person plural mean? The predominant explanation is that God is addressing other (non-godly) beings, though some say God is speaking with himself (like one does when considering both sides of a dilemma).

In B'reishit Rabbah (an early midrash collection) 8:3 Rabbis Yehoshua ben Levi and Shimon ben Nachman say that God is consulting the rest of creation, like a king who consults advisors. R. Ammi says God is consulting his own heart. On 8:4 R. Berekiah seems to say that God refers to mercy personified (God infuses man with mercy as part of creation, he says). It's worth noting that the rabbis personify various attributes and inanimate objects quite a bit in the midrash; R. Berekiah isn't doing anything unusual here.

In 8:5 R. Shimon reports an argument among the ministering angels about whether man should be created. The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b, also addresses this idea; R. Yehudah said in the name of Rav that when God wanted to create man, he first created a company of ministering angels and then said to them "is it your desire that we make man in our image?".

Why would God consult anyone? B'reishit Rabbah 8:8 offers this (quoted from the Soncino translation):

R. Samuel b. Nahman said in R. Jonathan's name: When Moses was engaged in writing the Torah, he had to write the work of each day. When he came to the verse, AND GOD SAID: LET US MAKE MAN, etc., he said: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Why dost Thou furnish an excuse to heretics?’ ‘Write,’ replied He; ' Whoever wishes to err may err.’ ' Moses,’ said the Lord to him, ‘this man that I have created -- do I not cause men both great and small to spring from Him? Now if a great man comes to obtain permission [for a proposed action] from one that is less than he, he may say, " Why should I ask permission from my inferior!" Then they will answer him, " Learn from thy Creator, who created all that is above and below, yet when He came to create man He took counsel with the ministering angels.’"

Conclusion: God created all things and is the sole ruler of the universe. But that doesn't mean that God didn't create and interact with divine beings (a heavenly court), just like he would later interact with earthly beings, and according to R. Shmuel he had an intentional educational purpose in doing so.

Further reading: In compiling this answer I made significant use of Sefer Ha-Aggadah (English: The Book of Legends), compiled by Hayim Nachman Bialek and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky along with the sources I cited previously.

Answer 2

Occam writes:

In Genesis 1:26, there aren't in fact three instances of "us". There is only one instance, "We will make", or "Let us make", followed by two possessives of the same number. The verse can be translated equally well as "Let us make mankind in our image and likeness" - with only two "us"s, as the Cambridge "New English Bible" translates. Furthermore, you might notice a glaring change of number in this verse as "mankind" (Adam) is first referred to, apparently, in the singular, and then in the plural when ruling the fishes of the sea and the fowl of the air, and then switching back to the singular again on the following verse when God creates "the man" (ha Adam) using only the first trait, the "image" (what happened to the "likeness"?). So we are on shifting sands if we try to build working religious doctrine based on translations of our ancestors' rather fluid view of grammar.

Regarding the usage itself, there are other examples, such as:

In II Samuel 24:14 David says to Gad "... Let us fall into the hands of the Lord..."

In II Samuel 16:20 Avshalom says to Ahitophel "Give us your advice, how shall we act?"

In Exodus 1:10 Pharaoh suggests "Let us trick him lest he increase and when war breaks out he will join our enemies and will escape from the land."

In each of these cases, as in Genesis 1:26, an individual uses the plural (we or us) when considering some action, even if he is the only one deciding or taking the action. In English we might think to ourselves "Let's say the butler did it", or "Let's go surfin'", even when we are one person going to the beach alone, because in English, as in Hebrew, that is the way we express a hypothesis or a proposal pending decision. And in light of the consequences of this particular decision, it was indeed wise to consider carefully, certainly worth the extra verse (which thematically ties into Genesis 6:6 and Genesis 9:9-18).

The context of Genesis 1 uses singular voice consistently when referring to God. Both texts of the Decalogue and Deuteronomy 6:4 leave no doubt as to the final interpretation.

Note that this answer does not answer the OP as does Monica Cellio, rather it questions the premise of the OP.

Answer 3

The idea of three which are one is taught in the Kaballah .

In the Zohar (the classic text of Kabbalah) and other Jewish sources, we find that there are three (manifestations of Godliness) which are essentially One: God, Israel and the Torah. The Zohar states: "Israel, the Torah and the Holy One Blessed Be He are One." As explained above, before the contraction, from the perspective of God (and the origin of the Jewish soul), these three are manifestly revealed as absolutely One.

It needs to be understood while they recognize the "three-in-one" aspect, they vehemently deny that any one of the three, but God himself may be referred to as an individual.

The non-Jewish attempt to parody this ultimate secret of three which is One totally destroys the authenticity of the paradox of the concept. When the consciousness is not one of Atzilut, the "son" becomes distinct from the Father and the "holy spirit" also becomes distinct as a personality and the non-Jewish soul falls into idolatry. This is forbidden for the non-Jew as well as for the Jew. The prohibition against idolatry is the most important of the Seven Noahide Commandments.

But notice that Israel as a people is identified as the Son, and their hermeneutic must permit the usage of the singular "He" when referring to Israel as a people. This is done by making Adam Kadmon represent the archetypal soul of Meshiach as a representative of all the souls of Israel.

Three creative forces

The identification of God as three is not limited to the designation above, but also refers to three types of creative force: Power (Energy), Life-Force (Soul), and Light. Please notice the similarity to John's Word 1 which is the 'light' and 'life'.

Three aspects to the Jewish soul

Man was created in the image of God and reflects his triune nature.

Another related manifestation of the three-fold cord is the statement of the Sages: "On three things the world stands: on Torah, on service, and on acts of lovingkindness" (Avot 1:2).

This is very similar to the word, works and life triad in referring to the Trinity in SP.

Personification

The many gates of revelation and creative power are personified in Kaballistic writing, and transferred to Jewish myth as divine beings which are lesser than God himself, such as angels. Even the letters of the alphabet are themselves personified, and given personal characteristics such as humility. This is not very different from the personification of the Word as the Son, or Meshiach, or as Adam Kadmon who represents the personification of the Torah itself.

Jewish understanding of Gen 1.26 involves conversations between the personified characteristics of God.

It is a misunderstanding of Christianity to claim that Jesus as the Son of God is a second God, or is divisible from God. Christianity is firmly monotheistic, and marginalizes those who would doctrinally divide the 'persons' of God. There is a closer affinity between Adam Kadmon and Christ, between the Meshiach of the sod and Christ, than to any representation of Christ as a second God.

Trinity

Though written Kaballah did not appear until late, it is claimed that the oral traditions predate the cross. Early formulations of the methods appear around the time of Christ. From his writing it is a plausible claim that John was familiar with the methods of interpretation used.

The idea of a singular God having three aspects is well founded in Kaballah with the idea that they are inseparable. With that, Christians find no argument.

1:

John 1.1-4

We also see the word being associated with power:

Lu 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

Lu 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.