Who were the 3 visitors of Abraham

Who were the 3 visitors of Abraham?

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It is claimed by many Christians that 1 of the 3 men that appeared to Abraham was the pre incarnate Jesus known as a Christophany. (others claim all 3 men were God) 

The story in question is found in chapter 18 of Genesis.

Abraham is visited by 3 men. They stay with Abraham a while, before heading towards Sodom.

It is verse 22 specifically that is used as evidence that one of the men was Jesus.

Genesis 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

We are told that while 2 of the men leave 1 remains behind and it is stated that Abraham stood yet with the LORD.

The LORD here being the Hebrew יְהוָֽה YHWH otherwise known as the tetragrammaton

So it is claimed that one of the men, the man that remained with Abraham was actually Jesus who in this understanding must be YHWH.

Obviously the verse does not say that this was Jesus but YHWH and so if this was Jesus, he must also be YHWH.

There are trinitarians who will claim that all three men are YHWH and represent the trinity, the father son and the Holy Spirit. We shall see that, while one of the men being Jesus is not supportable, the argument that all 3 are in fact YHWH is simply a disastrous assertion for the trinitarians who assert this and actually contradicts itself. 

We know that no man has ever seen God

John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Those that claim that this is Jesus will point to the fact that it is the son who declares him and so this must have been Jesus.

There are many problems with this understanding

The first being that this clearly states YHWH and not Jesus or the son. Jesus is never referred to as YHWH.  The son is being read back into this verse based on the belief that the son is one member of God and the one that incarnated.

Of course we also have the problem that we are told nobody has seen GOD, it does not say nobody has seen the father.  In the trinitarian understanding Jesus is God and so how can Jesus be seen if Jesus is God and yet nobody has seen God.  The son declares GOD, he does not declare the father. This is simply a selective assumption of who God is in reference to, which is done so through necessity rather than following what the text actually states. 

Also this is before Jesus had been “incarnated” in his human body so we must ask as to which body Jesus was using here. If it is another body then he was incarnated before his incarnation. If it is the same body that died and resurrected then we have the body literally existing before it existed.  Of course it could just be a body like as to what the angels would assume when they appeared as men. 

But the obvious problem for those that assert all three men are God is there for all to see. If John 1:18 is asserting that it is only the father who is not seen then who is the 3rd man?  Obviously none of the men can be the father or otherwise the father would be seen. So at least the 3rd man cannot be God which in of itself shows the claim that the 3 men are God and represent the trinity false. 

 

However,  I believe that the text itself disproves the understanding any of these men are actually God,  when we analyse the story in more detail we find that this postulation just doesn’t add up.

The man speaks to Abraham in the first person as YHWH.

Genesis 18: 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

Genesis 18: 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes

It is very clear that Abraham replies to the man who remains as if he is addressing YHWH. Abraham asks if thou (you) will destroy the righteous and the wicked 

Genesis 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

However, while Abraham is talking to the LORD the LORD tells him of his plan to destroy Sodom. The LORD very clearly and specifically states that HE will go to Sodom.

Genesis 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

This is vital in the correct understanding of the who passage. The LORD will destroy Sodom.

Now we know that the other two men who were with Abraham were the ones who actually went to Sodom.

Just as the man who remained talking to Abraham represented YHWH talking to Abraham the 2 men who were with Abraham who left to go to Sodom represent YHWH going to Sodom. We find this out in the very next chapter (19). 

But the two men are now referred to as angels. 

Genesis 19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 

The word angels here is הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים ham-mal-’ā-ḵîm (the angels) from  מֲלְאָךְ malak which is angel (messenger). They are 2 messengers from God. A messenger is not the one who is sending the message. That is what a messenger is, one that brings a message from someone else, otherwise they are not a messenger. So the messengers cannot be YHWH as they are only messengers. If they are YHWH then they are not messengers, they are YHWH. This is just basic comprehension. 

These angels are thought to be men by the people of Sodom. 

Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

The 2 angels are again referred to as men when they ask Lot a question

Genesis 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

The 2 visitors being referred to as both angels and men interchangeably in the passage. 

So these same 2 angels were in the form of men just as they were when they were met by Abraham. 

While the men/angels were at Sodom they declared that THEY were going to destroy the city having been SENT by YHWH to destroy it.

Genesis 19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it

As we already have seen the LORD had already declared that HE would destroy Sodom. Just as he declared that he would go down to Sodom. 

So the correct understanding here is that men/angels who would destroy the city were sent by YHWH to destroy, and it was as if YHWH himself would be the one destroying the city seeing it was the LORD who had instructed the angels to do so. They were acting under the authority of the LORD .

And this is exactly how Lot understood this declaration. He understood perfectly that the men declaring that they intended to destroy the city having been sent by YHWH meant that it was YHWH who would destroy the city.

He went and told his family that it was YHWH who was going to destroy the city even though the men had stated to him that it was THEM having been sent by YHWH that would destroy it.

Genesis 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Then we see that YHWH rained fire from YHWH out of heaven.

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

This verse is also used to demonstrate that YHWH is more than one person and is one of the verses that is used by those asserting the two powers in heaven heresy, this comes from the literal reading of 2 YHWH’s in the passage. I have written extensively against this doctrine elsewhere. 

But this is ignoring the information that we have already established in this study that demonstrate otherwise. 

The men/angels who were representing YHWH are referred to as YHWH as they were acting in his authority. And it is they that rained brimstone and fire out of heaven from YHWH who was in heaven by way of calling on YHWH to do so. 

There are not literally two YHWH’s here or two persons of YHWH. There is simply YHWH in heaven and his representatives, the angels, on earth who are YHWH in representation. 

Although the third man who stayed and talked to Abraham is never directly referred to as an angel there is absolutely no reason to assume that he was in any way different than the other two men who were angels yet also represented YHWH, in fact, the evidence that we will soon examine, will further support this understanding.

Targum Jonathan on Genesis 18 does, in fact, state that all three men were angels :

Genesis 18: 2

“2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three angels in the resemblance of men were standing before him; (angels) who had been sent from the necessity of three things;–because it is not possible for a ministering angel to be sent for more than one purpose at a time;–one, then, had come to make known to him that Sarah should bear a man-child; one had come to deliver Lot; and one to overthrow Sedom and Amorah. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of the tent, and bowed himself on”
Targum Jonathan

Rashi also understood these to be heavenly messengers, why 3 because each had a role, and this is also why 2 go to Sodom which he explains: 

AND BEHOLD THREE MEN — one to announce to Sarah the birth of a son, one to overthrow Sodom, and one to cure Abraham, for one angel does not carry out two commissions (Genesis Rabbah 50:2). You may know that this is so because throughout this section it (Scripture) mentions them in the plural — “and they ate” (Genesis 18:8), “and they said unto him” (Genesis 18:9) — whilst in the case of the announcement it states, (Genesis 18:10) “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee”, and with regard to the overthrow of Sodom it says (Genesis 19:22) “For “I” cannot do anything” and (Genesis 19:21) “that “I” will not overthrow [the city]”. Raphael who healed Abraham went thence to rescue Lot; that explains what is stated (Genesis 19:17) “And it came to pass when they had brought them forth, that he said, Escape for thy life”, for you learn from this that only one of these acted as Deliverer

STOOD BY, or OVER HIM — before him; only this is a more fitting expression to use of angels

Rashi on Genesis 18:1 

AND ABRAHAM RETURNED UNTO HIS PLAGE — The Judge departed, the Advocate went away, but the Prosecutor continued his accusation, and on that account— ויבואו שני המלאכים סדומה “The two angels came to Sodom” to destroy it (Genesis Rabbah 49:14).
TWO — One to destroy Sodom, the other to rescue Lot — it was he who had come to heal Abraham — whilst the third, who had come to make the announcement to Sarah, had departed as soon as he had carried out his mission (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 8). ANGELS — But elsewhere (Genesis 18:2) Scripture calls them men! When the Divine Presence was with them, it speaks of them as men. Another explanation is: in connection with Abraham whose power to receive heavenly visitors was great and whom angels visited as regularly as men, it calls them men, but in connection with Lot it calls them angels (Genesis Rabbah 50:2).
Rashi on Genesis 19:1-2 

The Babylonian Talmud even names the three angels as Gabriel, Raphael and Michael. 

The Gemara continues: Who are these three men? They are the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: Michael, who came to announce to Sarah that she was to give birth to a son; Raphael, who came to heal Abraham after his circumcision; and Gabriel, who went to overturn Sodom. The Gemara asks: But it is written: “And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening” (Genesis 19:1). The Gemara answers that Michael went along with Gabriel to Sodom to save Lot. The Gemara notes: The language is also precise, as it is written: “And he overturned those cities” (Genesis 19:25), and it is not written: They overturned those cities. Conclude from it that only one angel overturned Sodom. 

Bava Metzia 86b

While the Bible does not name the angels and I personally would not use this to claim that these 3 angels were Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, it does demonstrate that at least some Jewish commentary did interpret these 3 men to be 3 angels. 

Furthermore, at the beginning of the story we are told that the LORD appeared to Abraham

Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

We see that the appearing of the LORD to Abraham was in the form of 3 men.

Genesis 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Abraham understood straight away that these three men represented some kind of authority or at least this was a sign of respect for the 3 visitors. Abraham ran to meet THEM.  Them is in the plural. Abraham was not only running to meet one man. We must also remember that this is not the first time that Abraham would have spoken with the LORD. It is only in the previous chapter (17) where the LORD had informed him that he was to have a son with Sarah which is fulfilled in chapter 21. 

Abraham bowed to the men

Bowed being the Hebrew שָׁחָה shachah

As already stated it is claimed that only one of the men was in fact YHWH.  It is often claimed that Abraham only bowed to one of the men, the one who talked to Abraham after the other two men left for Sodom as this man was the pre incarnate Jesus.

However, the claim that Abraham only bowed to one of the men is never stated in the scriptures, it is only assumed because of the preconceived belief that one of the men was Jesus. The text tells us that he saw the 3 men ran to them and then bowed, nothing in the verse would say that only 1 was bowed to based on the plurality of the rest of the verse. 

The claim is totally disproved when we see that the two men who went to Sodom were in fact also bowed to, by Lot, in the EXACT same way that Abraham bowed, when Lot greeted them at the gates of Sodom.

Genesis 19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

This also is the Hebrew שָׁחָה shachah

Even if we say that Abraham bowed only to one man, Lot clearly bows to the other two men in the same way that Abraham bowed, thus at least giving indication that all three were bowed to in the same way and so if Abraham did indeed worship one of the “men” then Lot also worshiped the other two. Bowing down to those of authority or as a sign of respect is not unique in the scriptures. 

Genesis 33:7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

Abraham calls the men “my Lord” and he also refers to himself as THY SERVANT and that you have come to your servant.

Genesis 18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant.

Again it is asserted that Abraham only referred to one of the mean as “my Lord”, further proving one of the men was the pre incarnated Jesus. 

The Hebrew in this verse is אֲדֹנָ֗י ’ă-ḏō-nāy, 

This is H113 and does not denote that the referent is God. The word is used throughout the Bible in referent to men such as in Psalm 110:1 

Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. KJV 

 The assertion is further shown false, when Lot addressed the angels directly he also called them “my Lord”.

Genesis 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

Again we see that lot referred to the two man as יאֲדֹנָ֗י ’ă-ḏō-nāy, 

So the two angels were address as Lord with a plural construct and thus translated as lords. If ’ă-ḏō-nāy,  in Genesis 18:3 demands that the referent be God then we must also demand that the 2 angels in Genesis 19:2 be God also. This then would mean all 3 of the men were God and not just one who would be the preincarnate Jesus. 

These two angels that were in Sodom received the same “worship” they were bowed down to by lot in the same way as Abraham did to the men that came to him. 

Through the way that Abraham and Lot address the men it is very unlikely that they thought them anything other than men worthy of respect, either they believed them as authoritative figures or they were simply offering their visitors the respect that was due as per their custom. Nothing in the texts would indicate that at this point either Abraham or Lot knew who these men were. Abraham wanted to feed his guests and wash their feet, just as Lot did.

Clearly the men did not appear to be anything other than men seeing the whole of the city of Sodom had come to Lot’s home where they had entered and stated they wanted to know the men 

Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Nobody assumed them to be anything other than men. 

 

What we do notice is that with both Abraham and with Lot is that the way that they refer to the men changes. This is after the men reveal in what capacity they have come. But importantly it is only after they have revealed this. 

The men that came to Abraham start to give a prophecy of Sarah having a chid despite being past age. 

Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Then the men refer to going to Sodom to judge it 

Genesis 18:16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 

In Genesis 19 Lot sees the men perform a miracle 

Genesis 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

It is then after this that the men announce that they had come to destroy the city having been sent by YHWH to do so. 

Genesis 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it

After the 2 men leave to go to Sodom and Abraham is left talking to the one man, Abraham refers to the man using the Hebrew H136 אֲדֹנָ֔י ’ă-ḏō-nāy, 

Genesis 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

Genesis 18:30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

Genesis 18:31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake

This word is used when referring to God. 

This is also used by Lot of the 2 men that were with him. 

Genesis 19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 

The Hebrew for “Lord” here is actually in the plural so technically this is Lords but as lot refers to them collectively using the term for God he is referring to each as if they were God. This is something we see often when the representative is acting as God. 

Both Abraham and Lot recognise that the visitors that they greeted with respect were come in the representation of YHWH and so change from addressing them with terms of  respect to addressing them in their representative role. All three of these men were referred to using this term, not simply the one that stayed with Abraham. This cannot be ignored. It was not just one of the men that was addressed using this term. 

 

What should not be overlooked, although I will only mention it here as I go into it in more detail in other writings, is the difference between the way that Abraham and Lot met there guests and the way that the people of Sodom did. It was custom for people to greet guests by offering hospitality. Abraham and Lot passed this test, while the people of Sodom clearly did not. 

When correctly understood the passage only further highlights that those who represented YHWH were referred to as YHWH, being YHWH in representation. 

(My book “The Angel of the LORD” will hopefully be released late 2024) In this book I will demonstrate in more detail just how the representatives of YHWH are called YHWH) 

All three men are referred to as being YHWH as they are sent in the authority of YHWH.

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