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)
