Journey of Faith: YHWH, Abraham and "3 men"

[Translation:  EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses; this translation is downloadable from http://toby.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/4/8/2748917/everett_foxxstorah.pdf.  

The commentary is from a Sinaite’s perspective. —Admin1.]

 

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Christian prooftexts list Genesis 18 among the ‘pre-incarnation’ appearances of Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity who is said to be the active member of the Godhead from OT to NT and is therefore identified as one of the 3 “men” here with the other 2 being angels.

 

Jewish interpretation, on the other hand, suggests these “3 men” were actually the angels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, each with a specific assignment to accomplish relating to Sarah, to Abraham, and to the execution of divine judgment upon Sodom.   

 

Since we’ve set out to reread the TNK with “fresh eyes,” determined not to be influenced by anything extraneous to the text and context, we gather information only from—-

 

• what is written, no more, no less, 
• what we know so far, having read Genesis 1 to 17, 
• and what we know about YHWH from His self-revelation in the whole TNK.

 

The last factor—what we know about YHWH—-is ultimately the deciding factor in the conclusions we reach in our Torah discussions; it overrides all other considerations, and specially vague or confusing texts due to translators who have preconceived interpretations that influence the way they render the original Hebrew text.  

 

Rule of thumb:

 If the text or translation goes against what we know about YHWH gained from our study of the whole of TNK, we relegate the questionable text to faulty translation.  This is the most we can do as readers dependent on English translations.

 

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Before anything else, it helps to understand exactly how God interacted with Abraham.  Notice the wording in these Genesis/Bereshith verses:

 

12:1  YHVH said to Avram: 

12:7   YHVH was seen by Avram and said: 

13:14  YHVH said to Avram

15:1   After these events YHVH’S word came to Avram in a vision, saying: 

15:4   But here, YHVH’S word (came) to him, saying:

15:17-18   Now it was, when the sun had come in, that there was night-blackness, and here, a smoking oven, a fiery torch that crossed between those pieces. On that day YHVH cut a covenant with Avram, saying:

17:1   Now when Avram was ninety years and nine years old YHVH was seen by Avram and said to him:

 

From these descriptions, just like the interactions of the Creator with Adam and Eve, Cain, and Noah, we’re not sure in what form the Creator was “appearing” to these biblical figures:

• Do they just hear an audible voice giving them instructions?  
• Or do they hear a voice in their mind? 
• They are portrayed as conversing with God as though it was the most natural thing to do. 

‘Said’ . . . ‘appeared, saying’ . . . ‘the word of YHWH came in a vision saying’ . . .’appeared to him saying’  . . .  none of these give any mental picture of how YHWH presents HImself to Abraham; it seems the initiative to communicate usually starts with YHWH.  

 

Finally in 17:1  YHVH was seen by Avram and said to him . . . in this translation by Everett Fox; others express it differently.  One has to ask, how did YHWH manifest Himself to Avram here?  Later, with Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, we are told YHWH manifests in theophanies of fire and light, as in the burning bush and shekinah glory cloud. But here?

 

The image of the smoking fire-pot at the ceremonial cutting of the Covenant is the first graphic divine manifestation, moving between the cut-up 3-year old heifer and she-goat and uncut birds, following the ratifying ceremony of treaties:

 

“the most widely used rite was that of cutting the bodies of animals in halves and placing them in two rows with enough space between for the two parties of the treaty to walk side by side. As they walked between the pieces, they were vowing to each other, ‘May what has happened to these animals, happen to me if I break this covenant with you'” [www.fivesolas/suzerain, htm].

 

Too bad Abraham missed an awesome moment by falling into a deep sleep, but perhaps the message here is the unconditional nature of this relationship between two unequal parties, with YHWH committing Himself to fulfilling everything He promised to Abraham and his descendants.

 

A word about fire being one of God’s physical manifestations in the TNK (theophany).  On the one hand, fire is associated with gentle comforting warmth, heat, light.  On the other, one of YHWH’s  self-descriptions is that He is a “consuming fire” [Deuteronomy/Dabarim 4:24].  

 

Just think —there is no hell-fire eternally burning, so the One Who does and can consume by fire is YHWH Himself.  Fire is not only a purifying agent but also reduces even the human body to ashes. YHWH appears to Moses as a burning bush that does not consume itself. YHWH’s Presence accompanies the desert-wandering Israelites as a pillar of fire by night, Shekinah by day.

 

To go now to the question about this chapter:  Does YHWH ever manifest Himself in human form?  Are we to infer from this narrative that YHWH is one of the “3 men” who appear to Abraham?

 

8:1 Now YHVH was seen by him by the oaks of Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance to his
tent at the heat of the day.
2 He lifted up his eyes and saw: here, three men standing over against him. When he saw them,
he ran to meet them from the entrance to his tent and bowed to the earth

 

Because the narrative flows from vs 1 which says YHWH appeared to Abraham, and vs 2 which says Abraham lifted his eyes and spotted 3 men, the presumption is YHWH was one of the 3 men.   Perish the thought!  Imagine this scenario instead:  YHWH and Abraham were into one of their usual tete-a-tete when Abraham spotted 3 men at a distance.  As hospitality to strangers was a cherished custom in Abraham’s times and culture, he proceeded to do as was expected of him as a host. 

3 and said: My lords, pray if I have found favor in your eyes, pray do not pass by your servant!
4 Pray let a little water be fetched, then wash your feet and recline under the tree; 

5 let me fetch (you) a bit of bread, that you may refresh your hearts, then afterward you may
pass on- for you have, after all, passed your servant’s way! They said: Do thus, as you have spoken.
6 Avraham hastened into his tent to Sara and said: Make haste! Three measures of choice flour!
Knead it, make bread-cakes!
7 Avraham ran to the oxen, he fetched a young ox, tender and fine, and gave it to a serving-lad,
that he might hasten to make it ready;
8 then he fetched cream and milk and the young ox that he had made ready, and placed it before
them. Now he stood over against them under the tree while they ate.

 

Imagine! What Abraham did in these 5 verses must have taken a whole day, just to feed his guests and after all that work, he does not sit down to eat with them, Now he stood over against them under the tree while they ate. Sarah does not help him serve, he does it all himself!  Notice so far, the reference to the three men is consistently “they” and “them” as if they spoke together as a company of one. 

 

9 They said to him: Where is Sara your wife? He said: Here in the tent.

 

Notice in vs 9 that “they” asked the question about Sarah . . . but read vs 10 where, “He” (in some versions) and “he” (in others) announces ‘he’ will return at the specific time Sarah births the promised heir.

 

Now he said: 10 I will return, yes, return to you when time revives, and Sara your wife will have a son! Now  Sara was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.

 

Who spoke the prophecy, YHWH or one of the 3 men? Who was standing in front of the tent door, Abraham or one of the 3 men?

 

It is inconsistency in English translations from the Hebrew that makes this confusing. Some translators render “Him” while others “him”.  Readers automatically will read capitalized pronouns as YHWH, while “him” in this context could be Abraham. But using simple logic which is what we should ALWAYS resort to FIRST, why should YHWH be standing in front of the tent door? In what form is He manifesting? We might surmise He was one of the 3 men, but why should we infer that from the text alone, minus previous religious interpretive baggage?

 

For now, we will choose the lower case “him” as  the more accurate one, since our stand is that YHWH does not manifest in the whole of TNK as a “man.”  Anthromorphisms or the attribution of human traits to God are widely used all over the bible, but that’s different from YHWH taking on human form.

 

11-12  And Avraham and Sara were old, advanced in days, the way of women had ceased for Sara.
Sara laughed within herself, saying: After I have become worn, is there to be pleasure for
me? And my lord is old!

 

Nothing wrong with Abraham’s capability to procreate at his age, the difficulty would indeed be with Sarah conceiving at her age, what woman would not laugh.  Their God truly had a sense of humor but then who would miss the point that this pregnancy leading to the birth of the ‘promised’ son, like many other births among other biblical barren matriarchs, had to be miraculous, divinely proclaimed, determined and arranged, to validate that YHWH made all of it happen according to what He had previously announced.

 

13 But YHVH said to Avraham: Now why does Sara laugh and say: Shall I really give birth,
now that I am old?
14 Is anything beyond YHVH? At that set-time I will return to you, when time revives, and Sara
will have a son.

 

Here, YHWH is clearly identified as the One who had spoken in verse 10.

 

15 Sara pretended (otherwise), saying: No, I did not laugh. For she was afraid. But he said: No,
indeed you laughed.

 

It’s not as though Sarah sinned by laughing, it isn’t as though she was doubting God’s word.  To be barren for almost nine decades and then birth a firstborn?  The text says her denial was out of fear; that is a normal human response.

  

16 The men arose from there, and looked down upon the face of Sedom, and Avraham went with
them to escort them.

 

Abraham went with the men to show them the way and that is when YHWH reveals the impending judgment on Sodom, but allows Abraham to plead for mercy in behalf of the righteous (if any) among the evil population of Sodom.  Following the alternative scenario we suggested earlier, YHWH and Abraham resume their discourse after the “guests” had left Abraham’s tent.   

 

17 Now YHVH had said to himself: Shall I cover up from Avraham what I am about to do?
18 For Avraham is to become, yes, become a nation great and mighty (in number), and all the
nations of the earth will find blessing through him.
19 Indeed, I have known him, in order that he may charge his sons and his household after him:
they shall keep the way of YHVH, to do what is right and just, in order that YHVH may bring upon
Avraham what he spoke concerning him.
20 So YHVH said: The outcry in Sedom and Amora-how great it is! And their sin-how
exceedingly heavily it weighs!
21 Now let me go down and see: if they have done according to its cry that has come to me-
destruction! And if not- I wish to know.
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sedom, but Avraham still stood in the presence
of YHVH.
23 Avraham came close and said: Will you really sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?

24 Perhaps there are fifty innocent within the city, will you really sweep it away? Will you not bear with the place because of the fifty innocent that are in its midst? 

25 Heaven forbid for you to do a thing like this, to deal death to the innocent along with the guilty, that it should come about: like the innocent, like the guilty, Heaven forbid for you! The judge of all the earth-will he not do what is just? 

26 YHVH said: If I find in Sedom fifty innocent within the city, I will bear with the whole place for their sake. 

27 Avraham spoke up, and said: Now pray, I have ventured to speak to my Lord, and I am but earth and ashes: 

28 Perhaps of the fifty innocent, five will be lacking- will you bring ruin upon the whole city because of the five? He said: I will not bring ruin, if I find there forty-five. 

29 But he continued to speak to him and said: Perhaps there will be found there only forty! He said: I will not do it, for the sake of the forty. 

30 But he said: Pray let not my Lord be upset that I speak further: Perhaps there will be found there only thirty! He said: I will not do it, if I find there thirty. 

31 But he said: Now pray, I have ventured to speak to my Lord: Perhaps there will be found there only twenty! He said: I will not bring ruin, for the sake of the twenty. 

32 But he said: Pray let my Lord not be upset that I speak further just this one time: Perhaps there will be found there only ten! He said: I will not bring ruin, for the sake of the ten. 

33 YHVH went, as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.

 

The rest of the narrative doesn’t need further interpretation. YHWH allows Abraham to plead for the righteous among the evil population of Sodom, thereby giving Abraham a sense of divine justice—that He is willing to withhold judgment where righteous people live among the majority evil population.  The standard is different with Israel later on, where the nation is judged as a whole, innocents among the guilty.  Here, YHWH repeatedly declares He will not destroy for the sake of the few righteous.  After this bargaining exchange, YHWH and Abraham go their separate ways. Where are the 3 men? On their way to Sodom.

 

To conclude:

• YHWH does not appear in the TNK in human form. 
•  If so, then He was not one of the “3 men” in this narrative.  
• There is an explanation given in the notes of ArtScroll Tanach as to the presentation of this story which explains the confusion readers might have.  

(NOTE: COMMENTARY FROM ARTSCROLL ENGLISH TANACH):  

 

• This narrative supposedly fuses 3 separate themes in the original manuscripts: one is the visit of the 3 men [angel messengers with specific assignments from YHWH]; another is the reiteration of the promised heir which amuses Sarah; and the third is Abraham’s plea for the righteous few in Sodom.  In fusing these themes together, the progress of the narrative weaves in YHWH’s exchanges with Abraham the interlude of the appearance of the 3 men and Abraham’s hospitality, and Sarah’s laughter.  

 

Mentally rearrange such possibility:

• YHWH’s conversation with Abraham from beginning to end, without the interruption of the 3 men.
• Abraham spots the 3 men from a distance, plays host to them until they leave.

 

Makes sense to us, and that is why this article was titled “YHWH, Abraham and 3 Men” and not “YHWH, Abraham and the 2 Men.”

 

 

NSB@S6K