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Question: The word 'echad, "one,"
is used in the Jewish Scriptures in either a compound
or absolute sense. In what sense is 'echad used in the
Shema, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
One" (Deuteronomy 6:4)?
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Answer: In such verses as Genesis 1:5: "And there was
evening and there was morning, one day," and Genesis
2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall
be one flesh," the term 'echad, "one," refers to a compound
united one. However, 'echad often also means an absolute
one. This is illustrated by such verses as 2 Samuel
13:30: "Absolom has slain all the king's sons, and there
is not one of them left"; 2 Samuel 17:12: "And of all
the men that are with him we will not leave so much
as one"; Exodus 9:7: "There did not die of the cattle
of Israel even one"; 2 Samuel 17:22: "There lacked not
one of them that was not gone over the Jordan"; Ecclesiastes
4:8: There is one [that is alone], and he has not a
second; yea, he has neither son nor brother." Clearly,
the word "one" used in these verses means an absolute
one and is synonymous with the word yachid, "the only
one," "alone." It is in this sense, with even greater
refinement, that 'echad is used in Deuteronomy 6:4:
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."
Here, 'echad is used as a single, absolute, unqualified
one. There is no mention of a triune god.
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