Sunday, May 10, 2020

Ecclesiastes 12:1 and the Plurality of Creators/Makers


Ecc 12:1 reads:

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw night, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

"Thy Creator" in the Hebrew is a plural (בוראיך). This has caused no end of heartache for those who wish to preserve strict ontological monotheism. Note the following from Roland E. Murphy who appeals to the “plural of majesty” argument:

The form of “your creator” is plural: בוראיך; it can be understood as a plural of majesty or even explained as a singular (a ל״א verb vocalized as a ל״ה; so Gordis). The ancient versions have the singular. Many commentators regard the reference to creator as unexpected and unlikely, and propose other readings: (1) בְאֵרְךָ, “your well/spring”; cf. Prov 5:15 where בְאר is a metaphor for one’s wife; (2) בוֹרְךָ, “your pit/grave,” suggested by the context of death; (3) בָרְיָךְ “vigor” (NJV); (4) an understanding of the root ברא in the sense of healthy, not creator; cf. J. R. Busto Saíz, Sef 46 (1986) 86–87. None of these interpretations has won general assent. (Roland E. Murphy, Ecclesiastes [Word Biblical Commentary 23A; Dallas: Word Incorporated, 1992])

John Gill, a Trinitarian, defended the use of the plural “creators” as proper (as well as “makers” in other texts), teaching the three persons of the Godhead were (plural) creators:

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth
Or "Creators"; as "Makers", ( Job 35:10 ) ( Psalms 149:2 ) ( Isaiah 54:5 ) ; for more than one were concerned, as in the creation of all things in general, so of man in particular, ( Genesis 1:26 ) ; and these are neither more nor fewer than three; and are Father, Son, Spirit; the one God that has created men, ( Malachi 2:10 ) ; the Father, who is the God of all flesh, and the Father of spirits; the former both of the bodies and souls of men, ( Jeremiah 31:27 ) ( Hebrews 12:9 ) ; the Son, by whom all things are created; for he that is the Redeemer and husband of his church, which are characters and relations peculiar to the Son, is the Creator, ( Isaiah 43:1 ) ( 54:5 ) ; and the Holy Spirit not only garnished the heavens, and moved upon the face of the waters, but is the Maker of men, and gives them life, ( Job 33:4 ) (source).

Keil and Delitzsch offered a similar defense:

The plur. majest. בּוראיך = עשׂים as a designation of the Creator, Job 35:10; Isa 54:5; Psa 149:2; in so recent a book it cannot surprise us, since it is also not altogether foreign to the post-bibl. language. The expression is warranted, and the Midrash ingeniously interprets the combination of its letters.

Therefore, in a real sense, even Trinitarians would argue that there was not a single creator but plural creators (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Indeed, 1 Cor 8:4-6 shows us that, the efficient cause of creation was the person of the Father and the instrumental means thereof was the Son (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 as an anti-Trinitarian Text). Even in Trinitarian theology, it was not the “being” of God who created, but all three persons who, in light of the economic Trinity, took different roles therein. Why is this important? Some Trinitarians begrudge Latter-day Saints of speaking of plural creators. Note the following complaint:

In this sermon by Elder Thomas Rees [CR1910Apri:78] the full extent of the LDS doctrine of God is seen in the use of the term “creators” (in the plural) (James R. White, Is the Mormon My Brother? Discerning the Differences between Mormonism and Christianity [2d ed.; Birmingham, Ala.: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2008], 100)

We should ask White the following questions:

Is the Father a creator?
Is the Son a creator?
Is the Holy Spirit a creator?
is the Father a separate person from the Son?
Is the Son a separate person from the Spirit?
Is the Father a separate person from the Spirit?
How many creators does that make? (this will result in the Trinitarian arguing "but they share the same ontological being, so that is one; you clearly do not understand the Trinity!)