Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary
Yeshua's Directions
"18 And having come near, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, 'Given to me, is, all authority in heaven and upon the earth. 19 Go, then, disciple all the peoples, immersing ye them in The Name of האבא, even of הבנ , even of הרוח הקודש.
20 Teaching them to keep all, as much as I commanded ye—also behold, I with ye am all the days as far as the completion of the Age. (torahtimes.org, Mat. 28:18-20).
Comment: Abba, HaBen, HaRuakh HaKodesh refer to God as the Almighty Eternal One whom no one has ever seen, who dwells in heaven, to God manifest as the Son of God, who is seen by men in the Angel of YHWH and Yeshua the Messiah, and to the unseen Spirit of God sent forth from the Father and Son.
The original Greek text did not contain the words πατρος, υιος, πνευματος. Rather what stands in the early papyri discovered are the nomina sacra symbols: ΠΤΡ, ΥΣ, ΠΝΣ. By this device, the Apostolic Writings sought to encourage the Greek speaking Jews and Gentiles to learn the Hebrew terms, אבא, בן ,רוח. This was out of respect for the sacred language Hebrew and the divine names and titles, teaching that as far as possible, when reading the Scriptures, or in worship, the Lord should be referred to in this way.
We notice that it is "the name" that is spoken here, which is a technical phrase indicating the divine name. Jews will say HaShem (השם). It is actually a substitution for the divine name: יהוה. It does not say *names* in the plural, so that we understand that one name applies to God, God manifest, and His Spirit.
It was never the intention of the Scriptures to place any emphasis on the concept of "threeness". Even the term echad, אחד, does not emphasize numericity. It is used adverbially in the Shema (Deut. 6:4) in the sense of "only" or "alone", to emphasize exclusiveness, i.e. "Hear Israel, YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH only" (Deut. 6:4). The divine nature of the Son is clear enough without the Nicene concept of "Trinity". If the Scriptures ever speak of number, it is only with respect to the word אחד, or שבע, i.e. "only", "alone", "one" or "seven" with respect to the Spirit of God. The proto-catholic, Catholic, and Protestant Churches have no authority to go beyond what is written in the Scriptures on this matter. By doing so they have created unnecessary stumbling blocks, especially to Jews.
There is more to "The Name" than just a label. The idea here is God's character, his reputation. Such immersions that are done for conversion should be done with the acknowledgement, or understanding, that the name YHWH is the true name of the Son of God, Yeshua, as much as the Father, and Spirit. When the full immersion is witnesed, the candidate himself ought to make the confession.
Yeshua commands that disciples, talmidim, תלמידים, should be taught to obey everything that Yeshua has commanded to the Apostles, who being Jews, were commanded to follow the Torah (cf. Matthew 5:17-20; 23:1-3; Exodus 20). Yeshua, in the form of the Angel of YHWH was the One who gave the Torah, and the One to whom Moses spoke face to face, the One whom Israel did eat and drink with on Mt. Sinai. It is with this understanding that Yeshua commands to make disciples and to immerse the nations in the Name of the Father, even of the Son, even of the Holy Spirit.
In vs. 20, the phrase "all the days" occurs, πασας τας ημερας = כל הימים. This is a phrase that is used constantly in the Torah in conjunction with following YHWH and keeping His commandments.
Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary: (http://www.torahtimes.org/translation/mat2818.html)
All Rights Reserved, 2009 by Daniel Gregg. No part of this article may be copied without including the above reference to the author's original: torahtimes.org.