CHALLENGE TO THE RABBIS: SEEING THE GOD OF ISRAEL

In this post I will cite examples from the Hebrew Bible or [O]ld [T]estament where YHVH the one true God of Israel appeared visibly to various individuals. Some of these visible encounters include God eating actual food and physically wrestling someone till daybreak!

My purpose is to challenge the common rabbinic assertion that YHVH does not or cannot enter into the world to appear as and/or become a man while still remaining God.

I will be quoting from the Jewish Publication Society’s The Holy Scriptures, Tanakh 1917 edition, in order to avoid the typical Jewish objection that Christian Bibles deliberately misinterpret the Hebrew Scriptures.

THE PATRIARCHS

The Torah teaches that God often appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him: ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou wholehearted. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.’ And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying… And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.” Genesis 17:1-3, 22

“And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: ‘I am the LORD; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name יהוה a I made Me not known to them.’” Exodus 6:2-3

This next case is remarkable since it depicts God revealing himself as a man along with two other men where he even ate food in the process!

“And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, 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, and said: ‘My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant.’ And they said: ‘So do, as thou hast said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said: ‘Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.’ And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hastened to dress it. And he took curd, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him: ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?’ And he said: ‘Behold, in the tent.’ And He said: ‘I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.’ And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.—Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.—And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: ‘After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the LORD said unto Abraham: ‘Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD. At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.’ Then Sarah denied, saying: ‘I laughed not’; for she was afraid. And He said: ‘Nay; but thou didst laugh.’ And the men rose up from thence, and looked out toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said: ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.’

“And the LORD said: ‘Verily, the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, verily, their sin is exceeding grievous. 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.’ And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said: ‘Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep away and not forgive the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?’ And the LORD said: ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sake.’ And Abraham answered and said: ‘Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?’ And He said: ‘I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.’ And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said: ‘Peradventure there shall be forty found there.’ And He said: ‘I will not do it for the forty’s sake.’ And he said: ‘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.’ 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 the twenty’s sake.’ 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 the ten’s sake.’ And the LORD went His way, as soon as He had left off speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.” Genesis 18:1-33

Note carefully that the text states that Abraham remained standing before YHVH as the patriarch pleaded with the Judge of all the earth to act justly toward the righteous within Sodom. The passage then concludes with YHVH going his way after finishing his conversation with Abraham.

And as vv. 20-21 indicate,

YHVH’s next descent would be to Sodom itself, which brings me to my next example:

“Then the LORD caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and He overthrow those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.” Genesis 19:24-29

Amazingly, we are told that the YHVH who was on earth in the form of a man summoned down brimstone and fire from the YHVH that was dwelling in the heavens above!

Suffice it to say this text raised serious difficulties for the rabbis, as we shall shortly see.

On another occasion YHVH appeared as a man for the express purpose of allowing Jacob to literally, physically wrestle him!

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. And he said: ‘Let me go, for the day breaketh.’ And he said: ‘I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’ And he said unto him: ‘What is thy name?’ And be said: ‘Jacob.’ said: ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but ^aIsrael; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.’ And Jacob asked him, and said: ‘Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.’ And he said: ‘Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?’ And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place ^bPeniel: ‘for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.’ And the sun rose upon him as he passed over ^cPeniel, and he limped upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the thigh-vein which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh, even in the sinew of the thigh-vein.” And he Genesis 32:25-33

^a That is, He who striveth with God.

^b That is, The face of God.

^c Heb. Penuel.

MOSES

God also showed himself to both Moses and the elders of Israel, whom they beheld riding upon what looked like a paved work of sapphire stone:

“And unto Moses He said: ‘Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off; and Moses alone shall come near unto the LORD; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.’… Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.” Exodus 24:1-2, 9-11

We are further told that Moses was allowed to enter within the pillar of cloud itself where he beheld the actual visible form of YHVH in order to speak with the God of Israel directly, even face to face and mouth to mouth!

“And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.’ And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister; and Moses went up into the mount of God. And unto the elders he said: ‘Tarry ye here for us, until we come back unto you; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.’ And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24:12-18

“And the LORD spoke unto Moses: ‘Depart, go up hence, thou and the people that thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land of which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying: Unto thy seed will I give it—and I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—unto a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people; lest I consume thee in the way.’… Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp, afar off from the camp; and he called it The tent of meeting. And it came to pass, that every one that sought the LORD went out unto the tent of meeting, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the Tent, that all the people rose up, and stood, every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the Tent. And it came to pass, when Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the Tent; and [the LORD] spoke with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at his tent door. And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he would return into the camp; but his minister Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the Tent. And Moses said unto the LORD: ‘See, Thou sayest unto me: Bring up this people; and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said: I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight. Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy ways, that I may know Thee, to the end that I may find grace in Thy sight; and consider that this nation is Thy people.’ And He said: ‘My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ And he said unto Him: ‘If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein now shall it be known that I have found grace in Thy sight, I and Thy people? is it not in that Thou goest with us, so that we are distinguished, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth?’ And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.’ And he said: ‘Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory.’ And He said: ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’ And He said: ‘Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.’ And the LORD said: ‘Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by. And I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back; but My face shall not be seen.’” Exodus 33:1-3, 7-23

“And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth. And He said: ‘Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the LORD do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house; with him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD doth he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?’” Numbers 12:5-8

Moses’ direct encounter with God where he beheld YHVH’s glorious presence resulted in the face of Moses radiating from the light of God’s countenance:

“And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou didst break. And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to Me on the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.’ And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.’ And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said: ‘If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray Thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.’ And He said: ‘Behold, I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD that I am about to do with thee, that it is tremendous.’ … And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face sent forth a beams while He talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face sent forth beams; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him; and Moses spoke to them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD that He might speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out; and spoke unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face sent forth beams; and Moses put the veil back upon his face, until he went in to speak with Him.” Exodus 34:1-10, 28-35

THE PROPHETS

Moses wasn’t the only prophet to visibly see YHVH. Here are a few others:

“And he said: ‘Therefore hear thou the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on his left. And the LORD said: Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead. And one said: On this manner; and another said: On that manner. And there came forth the spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said: I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him: Wherewith? And he said: I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.’” 1 Kings 22:19-23

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of them that called, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I: Woe is me! for I am undone; Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For mine eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this hath touched thy lips; And thine iniquity is taken away, And thy sin expiated. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for us? Then I said: ‘Here am I; send me.’” Isaiah 6:1-8

“I saw the Lord standing beside the altar; and He said: Smite the capitals, that the posts may shake; And break them in pieces on the head of all of them; And I will slay the residue of them with the sword; There shall not one of them flee away, And there shall not one of them escape. Though they dig into the netherworld, Thence shall My hand take them; And though they climb up to heaven, Thence will I bring them down. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; And though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea, Thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them. And though they go into captivity before their enemies, Thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them; And I will set Mine eyes upon them For evil, and not for good.” Amos 9:1-4

THE WRITINGS

The prophet Daniel had a truly remarkable encounter since he was given a vision by God’s Spirit where he saw two distinct divine Figures reigning together over all creation:

“I beheld Till thrones were placed, And one that was ancient of days did sit: His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire A fiery stream issued And came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; The judgment was set, And the books were opened… I saw in the night visions, And, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like unto a son of man, And he came even to the Ancient of days, And he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, And glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and languages Should serve him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

It is clear who the Ancient of days happens to be, namely, YHVH the God of Israel. Yet what is less clear is the identity of the One appearing as a Son of Man who rides the clouds of heaven and whom all nations must serve as he rules over them forever and ever.

Since all of these are divine characteristics and functions, it is obvious that this Son of Man must also be divine, but who is he exactly? And does this imply that Israel’s God is actually multi-Personal by nature, as opposed to being a singular divine Person?

THE GOD OF ISRAEL IS AN ANGEL?

Suffice it to say, the foregoing OT references proved to be severely difficult for the rabbis to deal with. This forced them to find ways of making sense out of them, especially when these are some of the very passages which the “heretics,” i.e., Christians and Gnostics, were employing against them.

Note how the Talmud addresses these “problematic” verses:

And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man spoke in the language of Aramaic, as it is stated in the chapter of Psalms speaking in the voice of Adam: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God” (Psalms 139:17)…

And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man was a heretic, as it is stated:

“And the Lord called to the man and said to him: Where are you”? (Genesis 3:9), meaning, to where has your heart turned, indicating that Adam turned from the path of truth. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: He was one who drew his foreskin forward, so as to remove any indication that he was circumcised. It is written here: “And they like men [adam] have transgressed the covenant” (Hosea 6:7), and it is written there: “And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant” (Genesis 17:14).

Rav Naḥman says: He was a denier of the fundamental principle of belief in God. It is written here: “And they like men [adam] have transgressed the covenant,” and it is written there: “He has broken My covenant,” and it is written in a third verse: “And then they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshipped other gods and served them” (Jeremiah 22:9)…

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Any place in the Bible from where the heretics attempt to prove their heresy, i.e., that there is more than one god, the response to their claim is alongside them, i.e., in the immediate vicinity of the verses they cite. The verse states that God said: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), employing the plural, but it then states: “And God created man in His image” (Genesis 1:27), employing the singular. The verse states that God said: “Come, let us go down and there confound their language” (Genesis 11:7), but it also states: “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower” (Genesis 11:5). The verse states in the plural: “There God was revealed [niglu] to him when he fled from the face of his brother” (Genesis 35:7), but it also states in the singular: “To God Who answers [haoneh] me in the day of my distress” (Genesis 35:3).

Rabbi Yoḥanan cites several examples where the counterclaim is in the same verse as the claim of the heretics. The verse states: “For what nation is there so great that has God so near to them as the Lord our God is whenever we call upon Him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7), where the term “near” is written in plural, kerovim, but the term “upon Him” is written in singular. Another verse states: “And who is like Your people, like Israel, a nation one in the earth, whom God went to redeem unto Himself for a people?” (II Samuel 7:23), where the term “went” is written in plural, halekhu, but the term “Himself” is written in singular. Another verse states: “I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit” (Daniel 7:9); where the term “thrones” is written in plural, kharsavan, but the term “sit” is written in singular.

The Gemara asks: Why do I need these instances of plural words? Why does the verse employ the plural at all when referring to God? The Gemara explains: This is in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not act unless He consults with the entourage of Above, i.e., the angels, as it is stated: “The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones” (Daniel 4:14).

The Gemara clarifies: This works out well for almost all the verses, as they describe an action taken by God, but what is there to say concerning the verse: “I beheld till thrones were placed”? The Gemara answers: One throne is for Him and one throne is for David, i.e., the messiah, as it is taught in a baraita: One throne is for Him and one throne is for David; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yosei said to him: Akiva! Until when will you desacralize the Divine Presence by equating God with a person? Rather, the correct interpretation is that both thrones are for God, as one throne is for judgment and one throne is for righteousness.

The Gemara asks: Did Rabbi Akiva accept this explanation from Rabbi Yosei or did he not accept it from him? The Gemara suggests: Come and hear a proof to the matter from what was taught in another baraita, as it is taught in a baraita: One throne is for judgment and one throne is for righteousness; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva! What are you doing near, i.e., discussing, matters of aggada? Go near tractates Nega’im and Oholot, which examine the complex halakhot of ritual purity, where your knowledge is unparalleled. Rather, the correct interpretation is that while both thrones are for God, one is for a throne and one is for a stool. There is a throne for God to sit upon, and a stool that serves as His footstool.

Rav Naḥman says: This one, i.e., any person, who knows how to respond to the heretics as effectively as Rav Idit should respond to them, but if he does not know, he should not respond to them. The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rav Idit: It is written in the verse concerning God: “And to Moses He said: Come up to the Lord” (Exodus 24:1). The heretic raised a question: It should have stated: Come up to Me. Rav Idit said to him: This term, “the Lord,” in that verse is referring TO THE ANGEL METATRON, whose name is like the name of his Master, as it is written: “Behold I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Take heed of him and obey his voice; do not defy him; for he will not pardon your transgression, for My name is in him” (Exodus 23:20–21).

The heretic said to him: If so, if this angel IS EQUATED WITH GOD, we should worship him as we worship God. Rav Idit said to him: It is written: “Do not defy [tammer] him,” which alludes to: Do not replace Me [temireni] with him. The heretic said to him: If so, why do I need the clause “For he will not pardon your transgression”? Rav Idit said to him: We believe that we did not accept the angel even as a guide [befarvanka] for the journey, as it is written: “And he said to him: If Your Presence go not with me raise us not up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Moses told God that if God Himself does not accompany the Jewish people they do not want to travel to Eretz Yisrael.

The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei: It is written: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The heretic raised the question: It should have stated: From Him out of heaven. A certain launderer said to Rabbi Yishmael: Leave him be; I will respond to him. This is as it is written: “And Lemech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemech, hearken to my speech” (Genesis 4:23). One can raise the question: It should have been written: My wives, and not: “Wives of Lemech.” Rather, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Here too, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Rabbi Yishmael said to the launderer: From where did you hear this interpretation? The launderer said to him: I heard it at the lecture of Rabbi Meir.

The Gemara comments: This is as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When Rabbi Meir would teach his lecture he would expound one-third halakha, one-third aggada, and one-third parables. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Rabbi Meir had, i.e., taught, three hundred parables of foxes, and we have only three. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.38b?lang=bi; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Remarkably, the verses which the heretics used to refute the rabbis are the very texts which Christians reference till this day! I.e., Gen. 1:26; 11:7; 19:24; Ex. 23:20-23, 24:1; Dan. 7:13-14 etc.

Pay close attention to how the rabbis interpreted these passages, especially the ones where God is said to have appeared visibly.

According to the rabbis, the God who descended upon Mt. Sinai/Horeb whom Moses and the elders beheld, the God who revealed the Law to Israel, is said to be the angel Metatron!

And according to another rabbinic source, the God whom Isaiah saw seated on his throne was Akatriel (“Crown of El [God]”), who is called both YAH and YHVH of hosts!

What makes this all the more baffling is that this God actually prays and even asks one of the rabbis to pray for him!

R. Johanan says in the name of R. Jose: How do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, says prayers? Because it says: Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.¹ It is not said, ‘their prayer’, but ‘My prayer’; hence [you learn] that the Holy One, blessed be He, says prayers. What does He pray? — R. Zutra b. Tobi said in the name of Rab: ‘May it be My will that My mercy may suppress My anger, and that My mercy may prevail over My [other] attributes, so that I may deal with My children in the attribute of mercy and, on their behalf, stop short of the limit of strict justice’.² It was taught: R. Ishmael b. Elisha says: I once entered into the innermost part [of the Sanctuary] to offer incense and saw Akathriel Jah,³ the Lord of Hosts, seated upon a high and exalted throne. He said to me: Ishmael, My son, bless Me! I replied: May it be Thy will that Thy mercy may suppress Thy anger and Thy mercy may prevail over Thy other attributes, so that Thou mayest deal with Thy children according to the attribute of mercy and mayest, on their behalf, stop short of the limit of strict justice! And He nodded to me with His head. Here we learn [incidentally] that the blessing of an ordinary man must not be considered lightly in your eyes.

Ibid. LVI, 7. ‘In the house of My prayer’.
I.e., not exact the full penalty from them.
Lit., ‘crown of God’. (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Berakoth, Folio 7)

What the foregoing implies is that, according to rabbinic Judaism, the God of Israel, the God who appeared visibly (sometimes even as a man), the One called YHVH, is actually an angelic Being who is subordinate to another God that is greater than him in authority!

In the next segment I will show from the [N]ew [T]estament writings who this God that appeared all throughout the OT period actually was.

FURTHER READING

TWO POWERS IN HEAVEN: REVEALING ISRAEL’S SECOND GOD

THE ANGEL METATRON: JUDAISMS’ SECOND YHWH

Jesus Christ: The God of the Patriarchs and Prophets

Who Did Abraham See?

Jesus Christ: The God Whose Glory Isaiah Beheld