Enrichment Section

“Enrichment Section A: Who Is the God of the Old Testament,” Old Testament
Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel (1980), 44–48
(A-1) Who Is the Lord?
The hardhearted pharaoh, impudent and proud, asked, “Who is the Lord, that
I should obey his voice … ? I know not the Lord” (Exodus 5:2). Many people
today are just as ignorant of the God of the Old Testament as the pharaoh
was. They regard Him as a being created by the minds of the ancients, a God
of wrath and low religion who would destroy people with floods and plagues.
Could this be the same God as the being of love in the New Testament
revealed through the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ? Others contend that the
Jehovah of Old Testament times was the same as God the Father in the New
Testament. Why all this confusion? Who, really, was the God of Adam, of
Enoch and Abraham, of Israel and Moses?
(A-2) Jehovah, or Christ, Is the God of the Old Testament
Although for many it seems a paradox, Jehovah of the Old Testament was
none other than the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He created the world under the
authority and direction of God the Father. Later, Jehovah came to earth as the
Savior and Redeemer of the world. This truth is one of the most
misunderstood doctrines in the history of the world, despite the fact that the
Old Testament and the other standard works are filled with evidence to
support it.

Before looking at the scriptural evidence, it may be wise first to better

understand the names and titles for God the Father and His Only Begotten
Son. Generally, two Hebrew words for God are used throughout the Old
Testament. These are Elohim and Jehovah, as it is presently pronounced.
(Since the original Hebrew was written without vowels, scholars disagree on
the original pronunciation of the name written YHWH in Hebrew. In modern
revelation, however, Jesus accepted the title Jehovah [see D&C 110:3].)
Jehovah was the premortal name-title given to the Firstborn Son of God. He is
now referred to as Jesus Christ. The meaning of the name Jehovah was
explained by Elder Talmage:
“Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the
Hebrew,Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The
Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old
Testament as Lord printed in capitals. The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying I Am, is
related in meaning and through derivation with the
term Yahvehor Jehovah.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 36.)
The Jews regarded the name of Jehovah as so sacred that it could not be
spoken. Instead, they substituted for Jehovah the word Adonai, which signifies
“the Lord.” (See Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 37.) The King James
translators followed the same practice out of respect for the Jewish custom.
Sometimes the word lord,however, is used to refer not to God but to royalty or
other important people. To distinguish the sacred name from common usage,
the translators capitalized lordwhen it referred to Jehovah and left it in lower
case letters otherwise. (See 2 Samuel 15:21 for an example of both uses of
the word lord.)
The word Elohim is a plural form of the Hebrew word for God, although
modern scholars agree that it should be taken as a singular noun even though
the im ending is a plural form. Joseph Smith, however, indicated the
significance of the plural form:
“If we pursue the Hebrew text further, it reads, … ‘The head one of the Gods
said, Let us make a man in our own image.’ I once asked a learned Jew, ‘If
the Hebrew language compels us to render all words ending in heimin the
plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural?’ He replied, ‘That is the rule
with few exceptions; but in this case it would ruin the Bible.’ He acknowledged
I was right.
“In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the
power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. The
word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through—Gods. The heads
of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take [that] view of the
subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty, holiness and perfection of the
Gods.” (Teachings, p. 372.)
Elder James E. Talmage explained the special significance Elohim has for
Latter-day Saints:
“The name Elohim … is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and
power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus
Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the
spirit is Jehovah—the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.” (Jesus the
Christ, p. 38.)
It is vital to remember the place of God the Father: He is the Father of our
spirits (see Hebrews 12:9) and is our God. The existence of other Gods
cannot alter that fact. He is the author and sponsor of the eternal plan of
salvation. It is equally essential to note, however, that the agent by whom He
administers His affairs on this earth is His Firstborn Son, known as Jehovah in
the Old Testament. He gave Jesus the full “Fatherly” authority to organize and
govern the earth, then through the Atonement Jesus became the Father of the
faithful. The Savior thus became the chief advocate of the Father’s plan.
Because Jesus is one with God and is also God, the Old Testament prophets
sometimes referred to Him as “Jehovah Elohim,” which the King James
translators rendered “Lord God.” To avoid awkward repetition, “Lord God” was
used to translate the Hebrew phrase “Adonai Jehovah,” which otherwise
would translate as “Lord Lord” (see Genesis 15:2, 8; Deuteronomy 3:24).
Thus, in the King James Version of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for
Jehovah is almost always translated just this way: Lord or God.
One other name or title of Jesus needs explanation. He is known as Jesus the
Christ. The word Christ comes from the Greek word christos, which means
“the anointed one.” The Greeks used the title Christos to translate the Hebrew
word meshiach, which means “the anointed one.” The Hebrew word has been
anglicized into messiah. Jesus the Christ means “Jesus the Messiah.”
(A-3) Jesus Christ: The God of This World
There was confusion in the minds of the later Jews, Jesus’ own people,
regarding the identity of their God because they no longer understood their
own scriptures. That is likewise the problem today with most of
the Christian world. The mystery of understanding the identity of the God of
the Old Testament arose in both cases because of wickedness and the loss of
many plain and precious truths from the scriptures. By contrast, Jesus said
that life eternal consisted of gaining a full knowledge of the Father and the
Son (see John 17:3). In the final analysis the individual comes to know the
true God through experiences that train him to be like Him, and thus he
understands, or knows, Him (see1 John 2:3; 3:1–2; Ether 2–3).
By the time Christ came, the Jews had lost the knowledge of the three distinct
members of the Godhead. They had lost the truth that Jehovah, who had
given them the law of Moses, would come into the world as the Redeemer of
all mankind, even though the prophets had clearly taught this principle
(see1 Corinthians 10:4; 3 Nephi 15:10; Isaiah 41:14; 44:6). They yearned for
the appearance of the promised Messiah as a political savior to free them
from Roman rule. But Matthew testified that John the Baptist, who prepared
 the way for Jesus, was “he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying,
… Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). This is a reference to Isaiah
40:3, where the word Lord is used to mean Jehovah. Christ Himself told the
Jews in Jerusalem that “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The people
considered this blasphemy and picked up stones to kill Him, because they
realized that His using the phrase I am in this way was another way of saying
“I am Jehovah” (seev. 59).

All scriptures point to Christ.

(A-4) Scriptural Evidence That Jesus Christ Is the God of the Old
Testament
Abinadi, testifying before the court of the wicked King Noah, bore witness that
all the prophets from the earliest times had testified that God (Jehovah) would
“come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man”
(Mosiah 13:34; see also v. 33). Latter-day Saints, who have the benefit of
additional scripture, are taught this truth very clearly. For example,
the Doctrine and Covenants shows that Jesus Christ is Jehovah and the great
“I Am” (see D&C 110:3–4; 29:1).
But many in the Christian world have not carefully considered the evidence
found in the Bible, which clearly teaches that Jehovah is the premortal Jesus.
The following scriptures are only a sampling of the biblical evidence.
(Remember that Lord means that Jehovah is the Hebrew word used.)

Old Testament New Testament

1. Jesus “Thus saith “In the beginning was

(Jehovah) theLord, … I have the Word, and the
 Old Testament New Testament

was the made the earth, and Word was with God,
Creator of created man upon and the Word was God.
the world. it: I, even my … All things were
hands, have made by him; and
stretched out the without him was not
heavens, and all any thing made that
their host have I was made.” (John 1:1,
commanded” 3.)
(Isaiah 45:11–12).

“Yet I am
theLord thy God
from the land of
Egypt, and thou “For unto you is born
shalt know no god this day in the city of
2. Jehovah is but me: for there is David a Saviour, which
the Savior. no saviour beside is Christ the Lord”
me” (Hosea 13:4). (Luke 2:11).

“Thus saith
3. Jehovah is theLord, your
the redeemer, the Holy “Christ hath redeemed
Redeemer. One of Israel” us from the curse of the
(Isaiah 43:14). law” (Galatians 3:13).

4. Jehovah “I [Jehovah] will “But now is Christ

 Old Testament New Testament

will deliver ransom them from risen from the dead,

men from the power of the and become the
death. grave; I will redeem firstfruits of them that
them from death: O slept. For since by man
death, I will be thy came death, by man
plagues; O grave, I came also
will be thy theresurrection of the
destruction” (Hosea dead. For as in Adam
13:14). all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made
alive.” (1 Corinthians
15:20–22.)

“And I [Jehovah] “But one of the soldiers

will pour upon the with a spear pierced his
house of David, and side, and forthwith
upon the came there out blood
inhabitants of and water. … For these
5. The Jews Jerusalem, the spirit things were done, that
will look of grace and of the scripture should be
upon supplications: and fulfilled, A bone of him
Jehovah they shall look shall not be broken.
who was upon me whom And again another
pierced. they have pierced, scripture saith, They
and they shall shall look on him
 Old Testament New Testament

mourn for him, as whom they pierced.”

one mourneth for (John 19:34, 36–37.)
his only son, and
shall be in
bitterness for him,
as one that is in
bitterness for his
firstborn”
(Zechariah 12:10).

“And the Lordwent “Moreover, brethren, I

before them by day would not that ye
in a pillar of a should be ignorant,
cloud, to lead them how that all our fathers
the way; and by were under the cloud,
night in a pillar of and all passed through
fire, to give them the sea; and were all
light; to go by day baptized unto Moses in
6. Jesus and night: he took the cloud and in the
followed not away the pillar sea; and did all eat the
Israel in the of the cloud by day, same spiritual meat;
wilderness nor the pillar of fire and did all drink the
during the by night, from same spiritual drink:
Exodus. before the people” for they drank of that
(Exodus 13:21–22). spiritual Rock that
 Old Testament New Testament

followed them: and that

Rock was Christ”
(1 Corinthians 10:1–4).

“Let us be glad and

rejoice, and give
honour to him: for the
marriage of the Lamb
“For thy Maker is is come, and his wife
thine husband; hath made herself
the Lord of hosts is ready. And to her was
his name; and thy granted that she should
Redeemer the Holy be arrayed in fine linen,
7. Jehovah is One of Israel; the clean and white: for the
the husband God of the whole fine linen is the
or earth shall he be righteousness of
bridegroom. called” (Isaiah saints.” (Revelation
54:5). 19:7–8.)

8. Jehovah is “Thus saith “I am Alpha and

the first and theLord the King of Omega, the beginning
the last Israel, and his and the ending, saith
(alpha and redeemer the Lord, which is, and
omega). theLord of hosts; I which was, and which
am the first, and I is to come, the
 Old Testament New Testament

am the last; and Almighty” (Revelation

beside me there is 1:8).
no God” (Isaiah
44:6).

(A-5) The Importance of Knowing the Identity of the God of the

Old Testament
Many people, including numerous Bible scholars, have concluded that the
God depicted in the Old Testament was the product of the superstitions and
primitive beliefs of a primitive and superstitious people. They come to this
conclusion because they see things that seem contradictory to their
conception of the God of the New Testament. To know that the Lord of the
Old Testament was the premortal Jesus Christ has tremendous implications,
however, not only for a correct understanding of the Old Testament and the
New Testament, but also for a correct understanding of the nature and
purposes of God and of man’s relationship to each member of the Godhead.

For example, the same Person who said, “Love your enemies” (Matthew
5:44), said of the Canaanites in the land of promise, “Thou shalt save alive
nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy them” (Deuteronomy
20:16–17). The same Savior who said to forgive “seventy times seven”
(Matthew 18:22) destroyed the entire population of the earth with the
exception of eight souls (see Genesis 7–8).
On the other hand, the Jesus of the New Testament who said that one who
refuses to forgive another’s trespasses will be “delivered … to the tormentors,
till he should pay all that was due” (Matthew 18:34–35) is the Lord of the Old
Testament who said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
And the Christ depicted in the book of Revelation, who is shown with the great
sickle ready to reap the grapes of the earth and tread them in the winepress
(see Revelation 14:14, 20), is the same God of the Old Testament who said to
Micah, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).
There is no inconsistency in the nature of God. He is always perfectly merciful
and loving, but He is also perfectly just and will not “look upon sin with the
least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31). As He said to Joseph Smith, “God
doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to
the left, … his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round” (D&C
3:2). In the Old Testament is the same perfectly consistent God found in all
scripture. In the Old Testament great richness is added to the understanding
of God and how He deals with His children, blessing them according to their
obedience and receptivity, or punishing them for rebellion and wickedness. If
one would get to know Christ better, one must study the Old Testament, for in
His role as Jehovah He permeates the whole record. Jesus Christ is the God
of the Old Testament just as He is the God of the earth today. Keeping this
important fact constantly in mind is one of the keys to understanding both the
Old Testament and the nature of God.