YHWH
Reveals Himself to Avraham
Bereshith 18:1-3
By Rabbi Levi bar Ido /
Bnai Avraham
|||18|||And YHWH
appeared unto him in the terebinth trees of Mamre; and he sat in the entrance of the ohel (tent) in the
heat of the day; |2| And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, hinei,
Shloshah Anashim (Three Men, [Yeshayahu 6:3]) stood by him; and when he saw
them, he ran to meet them from the entrance of the ohel, and prostrated himself
on the ground, |3| And said, YHWH [YHWH, see v.13], if now I have found chen (favor) in Thy sight, pass not
on by, please, from Thy servant; Bereshith 18:1-3
OJB
Is
the One Whom speaks to Avraham YHWH?
Can YHWH manifest Himself as a man? What
does the Torah teach concerning the Hebraic understanding of this
truth?
In verse
one of Bereshith 18 the Hebrew verb appeared does not have the
connotation of reveal in the sense to make known as some translate the
Hebrew. This nifil verb vayera ( h a r ) is used 49 times in the Torah, and all of them are used
in the context of appear or a visual experience of some manner. So, in this
context we cannot interprete this verse to mean that YHWH revealed Himself to
Avraham. Rather YHWH made Himself visible in a body in order to be seen with the
eyes (and he lifted-vayisa- eyes of him-einav and he
saw-vayar) of Avraham.
The Hebrew Adonai ( y n d a ) uses the vowel point of
qametz not patach. This clue indicates that the Masoretic scribes
held to the opinion that Avraham was speaking to YHWH. Also, in this verse, the
word Adonai is considered set-apart or w s d q . Adonai is used in the TaNaK 134
times with qametz without the Name YHWH or Elohim
accompanying it (see Gen.19:18; 20:4; Ex.4:10, 13: 5:22; 15:17; 34:9; Num.14:17).
- From time immemorial the
Jewish Canons decreed that the incommunicable Name be pronounced Adonai as if
it was written Adonai instead of YHWH. Nothing was, therefore, more natural
for the copyists than to substitute the expression which they were forbidden
to pronounce. This is confirmed by the fact that the Massorah itself in giving
the catchword of a passage substitutes Adonai for YHWH and that the Easterns
read Adonai where the Westerns have YHWH and visa versa (see Is.38:14;
Mal.1:14; Lam.5:21).Hence we may safely assume that though the Scribe wrote
Adonai for YHWH he would not insert the incommunicable Name instead of Adonai.
The reading, therefore, in the conflicting passages is in favor of the
Tetragrammaton. Ginsberg, The Massorah,
Vol.4:28-29
It is clear that modern scholars and the
Masosoretes agree that the text is to be interpreted as referring to YHWH when
Adonai is written with a qametz.
The Jewish sages of the
Talmud also agree that the Name is used in Bereshith
18:3.
- TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE
GUESTS, etc. R. Johanan said: Hospitality to wayfarers14 is as great as
early attendance at the Beth Hamidrash, since he [the Tanna] states, TO MAKE
ROOM FOR GUESTS OR ON ACCOUNT OF THE NEGLECT OF THE BETH HAMIDRASH. R. Dimi of
Nehardea said: It is greater than early attendance at the Beth Hamidrash,
because he states, TO MAKE ROOM FOR GUESTS, and then, AND ON ACCOUNT OF THE
NEGLECT OF THE BETH HAMIDRASH. Rab Judah said in Rab's name: Hospitality to
wayfarers is greater than welcoming the presence of the Shechinah, for it is
written, And he said, Adonai, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not
away, etc.15 R. Eleazar said: Come and observe how the conduct of the Holy
One, blessed be He, is not like that of mortals. The conduct of mortals [is
such that] an inferior person cannot say to a great[er] man, Wait for me until
I come to you; whereas in the case of the Holy One, blessed be
He, it is written, and he said, Adonai, if now I have found, etc.
Talmud Shabbat 127a
- All the Names mentioned
in Scripture in connection with Abraham are sacred, except this which is
secular: it is said; And he said, Adonai, if now I have found favor in thy sight.8 Hanina, the
son of R. Joshua's brother, and R. Eleazar b. Azariah in the name of R.
Eliezer of Modin, said, this also is sacred.9 With whom will [the following]
agree? Rab Judah said that Rab said: Greater is hospitality to
wayfarers than receiving the Divine Presence. With whom [will this agree]?
With this pair. Talmud Shavuot
35b
- Maimonides also
interprets the phrase Adonai as YHWH in Yad, Yesodai HaTorah
6:9
- Elohim, in this
conception, can nonetheless make Himself known to humans in sort of emanation
from the Divine (G-dhead) that is visible to human eyes. It is a hypostasis, a
concrete expression of the Divine presence, which is otherwise inexpressible
to human beings. What the human sees when such a hypostasis is in front of him
or her looks like people, like a man.
Commentary on the Torah by Friedman
pg.63
- And YHWH was seen by him
by the oaks of Mamre... Bereshith 18:1 The Five Books of Moses ;The
Schocken Bible pg.75
- The Eternal appeared to
Avraham at Elonei, the plain of Mamre
Rashi Chumash: Bereshith
,pg.162
- The final letters of the
Hebrew Alef-Bet also correspond to Mamre. The five final letters (plus the
Oneness of the Creator) add up to 281, the same numerical value of Mamre. The
five final letters also correlate to THE MESSIAH and the concept of the
resurrection of the dead. Hence, through the word Mamre, we bring about the
arrival of the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead in our day. The
resurrection of the dead includes any area of our lives that has undergone
death, be it a business, a relationship, a marriage, or our
inner peace and happiness. Kabbalistic Bible: Bereshith; K Centre
page 131
The context of this account adds to the
correct interpretation of
that YHWH appeared to Avraham by using the singular not the plural. The
account speaks of YHWH appearing to Avraham and then three men stand by his
tent. Yet, according to the Hebrew, Avraham speaks to only one of the men
because the Hebrew reads in the second person singular You ] y n y i b ( beeinieicha- eyes of you)and
] d b i
(avdecha- servant of
you). Then Avraham, being a man of great hospitality invites all three men to
stay and eat with him. The account then uses the plural v r m a y v (vayomru) in verse 9 with all three
speaking to Avraham.
- 10. And He (
r m a y v ) said (vayomer),
I will certainly return to you when the season comes around; and, behold,
Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which
was behind him.
In verse 10 the Hebrew
reverts back to the singular, indicating that the Eternal One is speaking to
Avraham. Then, in verse 13 it is the general he said is translated as And
YHWH said ( r m a y v h v h y ) indicating the one
speaking to Avraham Avinu is YHWH.
- 13. And YHWH said (vayomer YHWH) to Abraham, Why did Sarah
laugh, saying, Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old? 14. Is any
thing too hard for YHWH? At the set time I will return to you, when season
comes around, and Sarah shall have a son. Bereshith
18:13-14
We also have a clue that is found in
verse 22 that is indicated by a tigunne sophrim or a correction of the
scribes. In the original text it read while YHWH stood before Avraham.
But, the scribes changed
the text due to their interpretation that the Greater does not stand before the
lesser, and thus actually changed the text. Because of this particular
tigunne sophrim, we can prove from the original Hebrew text that YHWH
appeared in the form of a man to Avraham.
- But surely it was not
Avraham who had gone to stand before Him, but rather the Holy One, Source of
Blessing, who had come to him and said, The cries of Sedom and Amorah have
become great. It should therefore have written: The Eternal was still
standing near Avraham. It is, however, a variation, such as writers make to
avoid an irreverent expression. Rashi Chumash: Bereshith
,pg.173
Obviously Mosheh in writing the Torah had
no problem with YHWH taking on the form of a man and walking on the earth as a
man. Another surprise is that Avraham was not shocked at the idea of a human
manifestation of YHWH and while as a man retaining all His Divine Essence and
authority. Avraham obviously knew the One he was holding a conversation with was
Elohim, so he bowed down ( vayishtachu)before
him.
- 2. And he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran
to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth. Bereshith
18:2
- 25. Be it far from You to
do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked; and that the
righteous should be as the wicked, be it far from you; Shall not the Judge
of all the earth (hashofet kol haaretz lo)) do judgment (
yaaseh mishpat)? Bereshith
18:25
The concept of an Elohim Who is unable to
manifest Himself in this world in human form comes from later rabbinical
thought.
The context of this account point to the
Deity of the One Man who was speaking to Avraham.
- The conversation
regarding Sodom and Gomorrah.
- The One speaking had to return in order
to cause the pregnancy of Sarah.
- Avraham calls the One
speaking to him the Judge of all the earth.
- The Hebrew text makes it
very clear that the One speaking with Avraham is YHWH. Bereshith 18:17, 26
speaks as I meaning YHWH.
- The account of Bereshith
chapter 19 starts with the Two Angels came to
Sodom. What happened to the third man? He did not go
with them to Sedom.
Any student of the Torah
would arrive at the conclusion that this account proves that YHWH came in the
form of a Man to Avraham. Thus, the idea of Elohim incarnating within a man is
not a strange concept to the Hebrew mind.
|13| And YHWH said unto
Avraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I which am old of a surety bear a
child?
3.1b) (Niphal)1b1)
to appear, present oneself 1b2) to be seen1b 3) to be
visible