The Divine Name(s) and the Holy Trinity

VOLUME ONE

Distinguishing the Voices

R. Kendall Soulen

© 2011 R. Kendall Soulen

First edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

Except as otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission.

Cover design by Night & Day Design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Soulen, R. Kendall, 1959–

The divine name(s) and the Holy Trinity / R. Kendall Soulen.—1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-664-23414-0 (alk. paper)

1. Trinity. 2. God (Christianity)—Name. I. Title. II. Title: Divine name and the Holy Trinity. III. Title: Divine names and the Holy Trinity.

BT111.3.S855 2011

231'.044—dc23

2011023741

For Allison

What my Eunomos sings is not the measure of Terpander, nor that of Capito, nor the Phrygian, nor Lydian, nor Dorian, but the immortal measure of the new harmony which bears God’s name—the new, the Levitical song.

—Clement of Alexandria1

Contents

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Deep and Mysterious Subject

1. Who Shall I Say Sent Me?

Part One A Threefold Cord: The Name of the Trinity in Christian Tradition

Introduction to Part One

2. The Name of the Trinity in Early Christian Creeds: The Emergence of a Threefold Cord

3. The Name of the Trinity in Fourth-Century Theology: A Threefold Cord under Stress

4. The Dionysian Tradition and the Transformation of Gentile Wisdom: The Eclipse and Rediscovery of the Tetragrammaton

5. The Reformation Tradition and the Transformation of Jewish Wisdom: The Rediscovery and Eclipse of the Tetragrammaton

6. Traditions in Conflict: The Trinitarian Revival and the Inclusive-Language Debate

7. “Well, What IS the Name, Then?”

Part Two Distinguishing the Voices: The Name of the Trinity in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments

Introduction to Part Two

8. Declaring the Name of Lord in the Old Testament I: Divine Uniqueness, Presence, and Blessing in the Book of Exodus

9. Declaring the Name of Lord in the Old Testament II: Divine Uniqueness, Presence, and Blessing Elsewhere in the Old Testament

10. Declaring the Name of the Trinity in the New Testament I: The Differentiation of Divine Voices

11. Declaring the Name of the Trinity in the New Testament II: Three Voices in Triple Repetition

Interlude: The Name of Jesus Christ and the Name of the Trinity

12. Hallowed Be Your Name! Jesus the Manifestation of Divine Uniqueness ...