Echad (אֶחָד): A Hebrew Term Worthy of Study in Order to Attain More Divine Wisdom in Regard to Relationships

 

Strong’s Concordance 259. echad

echad: one
Original Word: אֶחָד
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: echad
Phonetic Spelling: (ekh-awd’)
Short Definition: one

What is the common thread between the image of God, the Trinity, and the relationships between a married male and female, Christ and His ekklesia (church) & God and Israel? The answer, “echad!”

Let’s take this step by step…

Ephesians 5:31-32
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

Something to consider about married couples and Christ and the ekklesia…

The word “one” (Greek: μίαν [mian]) in Ephesians 5:31 comes directly from the Hebrew word echad out of Genesis 2:24. Additionally, in Ephesians 5:32, it explicitly says there is a “mystery” relationship between a husband and wife & Christ and the ekklesia, both possessing echad. A study of the Hebrew word echad in many instances in Scripture yields a meaning of “composite unity.” I believe echad helps in deciphering the mystery.

So then, how does “echad” directly relate to Christ and His ekklesia (as it plainly does to a marriage with a husband and wife becoming one-flesh)?

• So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Rom 12:5)
• Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?… But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor 6:15,17)
• Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. (1 Cor 12:27)
• We are members of [Christ’s] body. (Eph 5:30)
• Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, etc…

Additionally, look at Ephesians 4 and what it says about the ekklesia, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6). Do you see all the “echad” in this (including the Trinity)? How will the ekklesia function as designed by God without echad? It will not, as echad possesses within it peace and unity; an essential for all Godly relationships – a fruit of the Spirit.

Christ and His ekklesia are considered “echad” [one], as per Scripture, just as a husband and wife are!

Another interesting point to consider about married couples, Christ and the ekklesia, and now adding in the idea of the Trinity…

Being born and raised Jewish, there is one verse I know quite well – Deuteronomy 6:4. It is called the Shema. It is the cornerstone verse of the Jewish faith. I have personally chanted it many times in my synagogue worship of the past. Even as a Christian, it is still quite special to me. Whenever I hear it chanted in the Hebrew, and as many other Jewish people I know experience, there is such power when it is recited. In Jewish temple worship, the Shema is chanted when the Ark (where the Torah scrolls are kept, is situated in the front of the synagogue, and is the holiest place in the synagogue) is opened and the Torah is being removed from it. After studying this verse extensively in the past, something quite stark jumped out at me while being in seminary. Within this highly reverential verse to the Jewish faith, the same word echad [“one”] is found – as it is in Ephesians 5:31 and Genesis 2:24. I believe teaching about the Trinity can easily be drawn out of the Shema, and subsequently, teaching about the marriage relationship in conjunction with echad.

The Shema reads like this…

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד
Sham Yisra’eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. (transliteration of the Hebrew)
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deut 6:4)

Notice the 3 references to the Lord in the Shema. The Shema could read, with some scriptural harmonization, like this…

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our [Mighty] God, the [Spirit of the] LORD is one.”

The attributes of ‘mighty’ (Gen 49:24) and ‘Spirit’ (Gen 1:2) are irrefutable biblical attributes of God, before you even leave the first book of the Bible!  The words ‘of’ and ‘the’ are insignificant connective additions that simply attach the attribute of “spirit” to the LORD’s name (see John 4:24 for further support).
All courtesy of Isaiah, watch this…
1. The ‘LORD’ is called our Father (Isa 63:16).
2. ‘Mighty God’ is a name for the Son (Isa 9:6–7).
3. The ‘Spirit of the LORD’ is an alias for the Holy Spirit (Isa 11:1–2).

Hence, my persuasion is the Trinity is within the Shema. But even if you reject the idea of the Trinity being implicitly stated, you cannot deny the explicit 3 references to God within it. That is crystal clear by a plain reading of the biblical text.

Additionally, let’s take a further look at Genesis…

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…And God created man in His Own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:26-27)

God’s image and the image of a male and a female are equatable according to this passage. Do you see it?

Thus, in summary, the biblical evidence points to…

‘echad’ = image of God (Trinity), male and female in marriage, and Christ and the ekklesia

…oh lest us not forget one more thing…

God’s relationship to Israel is likened to a relationship between a husband (God) and wife (Israel), just like in Genesis 2 and Ephesians 5. This “marital” relationship is referred to directly in the prophetical books of Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 3:14,20; 31:32, and Ezekiel 16:32-33.

So adding in this, now echad is possessed in all of these:

‘echad’ = image of God (Trinity), male and female in marriage, Christ and the ekklesia, & God and Israel

Why Did I Go Here? Quite simply, to understand any of these relationships in regard to the meaning of “echad” will further assist in understanding all of these relationships more accurately and fully, including marriage. My persuasion is, any denial or resistance to the concept of echad within these foundational relationships found in the Bible will adversely impact the practical side of these vital relationships being lived out. Within marriage, to understand how the Godhead relationship works, or the relationship between God and Israel and/or Christ and His ekklesia; this will prove extremely valuable in order to conduct a marriage relationship in a Godly way. We are called as children of God to, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). How do we do that? By and through ECHAD! And please do not forget, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Mark 10:9). Echad is NEVER to be separated; for it is sinful to do so! “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel” (Mal 2:16a).

Echad – it is an important Hebrew term worthy of further consideration and understanding, this in order to attain more divine wisdom, especially regarding God-honoring relationships!

 

P.S. On a side note: this is why anyone who asserts that God is done with Israel is making a grave mistake and lacks foundational scriptural understanding. They simply do not understand echad; hence will have problems experiencing something they don’t (or refuse to) know!