Mick911

In the old testament (if you believe what is written) there is a verse that goes something like this:
genesis 3:22
"And the lord god said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forthhis hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"

Who is "us"?

Toto

If you're a believer, "us" must refer to God and the angels. Otherwise, it refers to the pantheon of gods recognized by the early Israelis, with YHWH as the chief god.

beastmaster

Or it could be the Royal We -- i.e., us = God alone.

Toto

But "one of us" clearly implies that there are more than two of us to start off with.

Jinto

That only appears to be the case. But if you approach the bible from the proper standpoint (read: the standpoint of already believeing it's true), then you will realise that "one of one" is a perfectly valid statement and that there are no real contradictions in the bible.

Mageth

I believe some trinitarian xians would claim it was the trinitarian God talking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Mick911

so He is talking to himself? I guess when you are omnipotent, the conversations with mankind would be kind've one-sided lol.

Personally, I believe there are other beings in the universe who have already gone through their "armageddon", and these are who he is talking to. Of course, as usual, there is no proof of this.

beastmaster

Where the Bible is concerned, ain't nothing clear.

Seems to me that the most straightforward reading is that God is alone, monologuing -- simply because no one else is mentioned to be in his presence.

I agree that "one of us" suggests that YHWH is addressing angels, or deities, or Jesus and the Holy Spirit -- but one can only speculate on who it would be.

I don't think the implication is clear that God is addressing others because God may be thought of as one, or many, or one among many, or possibly all three at the same time.

semyaza

Almost certainly, the "us' refers to the council of the gods (and godesses). A number of the old Mestopotamian myths state that humans were created by a representative of the gods in the company of the Assembly.

After creating the first human soul, Mami speaks to the other gods: "I have carried out perfectly the work that you ordered of me". (Atrahasis I:v)

Similarly, in the Enuma, the god Ea slays another god (Qingu) in the company of the Assembly (the Annunaki) and creates man from his blood: "They bound him, and held him in front of Ea, Imposed the penalty on him, and cut off his blood. He created mankind from his blood." Enuma tablet VI)

The Genesis account shares much in common with the Old Babylonian myths - it should come as no surprise that henotheism is one of these common elements.

Volker.Doormann

elohiym (gods (plural)).

genesis 3:22 » YHWH (‘I (Y) am the god, who is the life (HWH)’), ( one of the) elohiym (gods { plural }) “ If adam (man{kind}) is become one of (us gods {elohiym}) … “ «

Volker