ADDENDUM

Make sure to read this first: JUDE’S EPISTLE VERSUS ARIANISM.

It seems that not all the verses where YHWH speaks in the third person are cases of YHWH referring to himself. It may be an indication of the fact that YHWH is referring to another divine Person as YHWH God Almighty.

For instance, in the following passages YHWH threatens to overthrow certain kingdoms an cities in the same way that God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah:

“Here I am raising up against them the Medes, Who regard silver as nothing And who take no delight in gold. Their bows will shatter young men; They will show no pity on the fruit of the womb Nor mercy to children. And Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, The beauty and the pride of the Chal·deʹans, Will be like Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah when God overthrew them.” Isaiah 13:17-19

“This is what Jehovah of armies says: ‘The people of Israel and Judah are oppressed, And all those taking them captive have held onto them. They have refused to let them go. But their Repurchaser is strong. Jehovah of armies is his name. He will surely plead their legal case, In order to give rest to the land And to bring agitation to the inhabitants of Babylon. There is a sword against the Chal·deʹans,’ declares Jehovah, ‘Against the inhabitants of Babylon and against her princes and against her wise ones… Just as with God’s overthrow of Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah and of their neighboring towns,’ declares Jehovah, ‘no one will dwell there, and no man will settle there.’” Jeremiah 50:33-35, 40

“‘I caused an overthrow among you Like God’s overthrow of Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah. And you were like a log snatched out of the fire; But you did not come back to me,’ declares Jehovah.” Amos 4:11

Notice that God did not say he would overthrow these places just as HE overthrew Sodom, Gomorrah and its neighboring environs. Instead, YHWH speaks of God doing so as if some other Divine Person had actually destroyed these places during the time of Abraham.

And, lo and behold, this is precisely what we find!

According to Genesis 18 YHWH himself appeared on earth in the form of a man with two others to Abraham to announce the upcoming birth of Isaac and to disclose his plans of personally going down to Sodom in order to verify just how wicked it had become. Even more astonishing is that the passage explicitly states that God actually ate human food!

“Afterward, Jehovah appeared to him among the big trees of Mamʹre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing some distance from him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground.  Then he said: ‘Jehovah, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. Please, let a little water be brought and have your feet washed; then recline under the tree.  Seeing that you have come here to your servant, let me bring a piece of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. Then you may go on your way.’ At this they said: ‘All right. You may do as you have spoken.’

“So Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said: ‘Quick! Get three measures of fine flour, knead the dough, and make loaves of bread.’ Next Abraham ran to the herd and chose a tender and good young bull. He gave it to the attendant, who hurried to prepare it. He then took butter and milk and the young bull that he had prepared and set the food before them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they were eating. 

“They said to him: ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ He replied: ‘Here in the tent.’ So one of them continued: ‘I will surely return to you next year at this time, and look! your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance, which was behind the man. Abraham and Sarah were old, being advanced in years. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah began to laugh to herself, saying: ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I really have this pleasure?’ Then Jehovah said to Abraham: ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Am I really going to give birth even though I am old?” Is anything too extraordinary for Jehovah? I will return to you next year at this appointed time, and Sarah will have a son.’  But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh!” for she was afraid. At this he said: ‘Yes! You did laugh.’

“When the men got up to leave and looked down toward Sodʹom, Abraham was walking with them to escort them. Jehovah said: ‘Am I keeping hidden from Abraham what I am going to do? Why, Abraham is surely going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by means of him. For I have come to know him in order that he may command his sons and his household after him to keep Jehovah’s way by doing what is right and just, so that Jehovah may bring about what he has promised concerning Abraham.’

“Then Jehovah said: ‘The outcry against Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah is indeed great, and their sin is very heavy. I will go down to see whether they are acting according to the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I can get to know it.’ Then the men left from there and went toward Sodʹom, but Jehovah remained with Abraham.

“Then Abraham approached and said: ‘Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are 50 righteous men within the city. Will you, then, sweep them away and not pardon the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are inside it? It is unthinkable that you would act in this manner by putting the righteous man to death with the wicked one so that the outcome for the righteous man and the wicked is the same! It is unthinkable of you. Will the Judge of all the earth not do what is right?’ Then Jehovah said: ‘If I find in Sodʹom 50 righteous men in the city, I will pardon the whole place for their sake.’ But Abraham again responded: ‘Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah, whereas I am dust and ashes. Suppose the 50 righteous should lack five. Because of the five will you destroy the whole city?’ To this he said: ‘I will not destroy it if I find there 45.’

“But yet again he spoke to him and said: ‘Suppose 40 are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not do it for the sake of the 40.’ But he continued: ‘Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me go on speaking: Suppose only 30 are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not do it if I find 30 there.’ But he continued: ‘Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah: Suppose only 20 are found there.” He answered: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20.’ Finally he said: ‘Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me speak just once more: Suppose only ten are found there.” He answered: ‘ will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.’ When Jehovah finished speaking to Abraham, he went his way and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:1-33

We are then told in the very next chapter that the YHWH who appeared on earth brought down sulfur and fire upon these wicked cities from the YHWH dwelling in the heavens above!

“The sun had risen over the land when Lot arrived at Zoʹar.  Then Jehovah made it rain sulfur and fire on Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah—it came from Jehovah, from the heavens. So he overthrew these cities, yes, the entire district, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the plants of the ground. But Lot’s wife, who was behind him, began to look back, and she became a pillar of salt. Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Jehovah. When he looked down toward Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah and all the land of the district, he saw quite a sight. There was dense smoke rising from the land like the dense smoke of a kiln!  So when God destroyed the cities of the district, God kept Abraham in mind by sending Lot out from the cities he overthrew, the cities where Lot had been dwelling.” Genesis 19:24-29

Here’s a slew of translations of the key text in question:

“Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven;” Gen. 19:24 ASV

“And the Lord (Kyrios) rained on Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven (para Kyriou ek ouranou).” LXX

“Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.” CSB

“Then Adonai caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from Adonai out of the sky.”

CJB

“And Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven,” LSB

“Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh.” LEB

“Then God rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah—a river of lava from God out of the sky!—and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.” MSG

“Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.” NIV

“Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven,” NRSVUE

“Then Hashem rained upon Sodom and upon Amora gofrit and eish from Hashem out of Shomayim;” OJB

“Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomor′rah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;” RSV

“and Adonai rained sulfur and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from Adonai out of the sky.” TLV

“Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.” WEB

“and Jehovah hath rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens;” YLT

This verse even caused the rabbis serious issues in combating Christians as I document in the following post: JWS, RABBIS & THE 2 YHWHS OF GEN. 18-19.

What this text shows is that one of the reasons why God speaks in the third person throughout the Hebrew Bible is because he is addressing the other divine Person(s) of the Godhead.

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