The Tanakh prohibits the worship of any created being, including angels that dwell in the heavens above:

“God spoke all these words, to respond: ‘I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have the gods of others in My presence. You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth. You shall neither prostrate yourself before them nor worship them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a zealous God, Who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, and [I] perform loving kindness to thousands [of generations], to those who love Me and to those who keep My commandments.” (The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9881#v1; bold emphasis mine)

And yet the Hebrew Scriptures mention a particular divine Being receiving worship without God censuring such an act:

“And it was when Joshua was in Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and saw, and, behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, No, but I am the captain of the host of the Lord; I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and prostrated himself, and said to him, What does my lord say to his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Remove your shoe from your foot; for the place upon which you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15 (The Complete Jewish Bible https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15789#v13; bold emphasis mine)

Note how the following Christian version renders the text in question:

“He said, ‘Neither, for I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’ Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground and worshipped. Then he said, ‘What does my Lord wish to say to His servant?’” Joshua 5:14 Modern English Version (MEV)

Evidence shows that this Captain of the Lord’s armies is the same Angel of God who appeared to and accompanied Moses since, like the Captain, he appears with a sword in his hand, accepts worship and commands Moses to remove his sandals in his holy presence:

“Moses was pasturing the flocks of Jethro, his father in law, the chief of Midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed. So Moses said, ‘Let me turn now and see this great spectacle why does the thorn bush not burn up?’ The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God called to him from within the thorn bush, and He said, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am!’ And He said, ‘Do not draw near here. Take your shoes off your feet, because the place upon which you stand is holy soil.’ And He said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God.” Exodus 3:1-6 (The Complete Jewish Bible https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9864#v1; bold emphasis mine)

“The Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a sword drawn in his hand. He bowed and prostrated himself on his face.” Numbers 22:31 (The Complete Jewish Bible https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9950#v31; bold emphasis mine)

Here, again, is a Christian rendering of this verse:

“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.” Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The reason why this Angel is worshiped is because, unlike the rest, he is no mere creature but is rather a divine Person who is essentially one with God, a point brought out by the following passage:

“Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Beware of him and obey him; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgression, for My Name is within him. For if you hearken to his voice and do all that I say, I will hate your enemies and oppress your adversaries. For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.” Exodus 23:20-23 (The Complete Jewish Bible https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9884#v20; bold emphasis mine)

God warned the Israelites from rebelling against this Angel, whose voice they needed to heed, since he embodies God’s very own name, i.e., God’s nature, characteristics, authority, and therefore has the power to do what only God can do, namely, forgive or punish sins.

Hence, by bearing the name of God this Angel isn’t a spirt creature who merely represents God as his Agent. Rather, this particular Messenger possesses the very essence of God and is therefore truly and fully divine.    

Suffice it to say, the worship of this Angel troubled the rabbis who scurried to figure out why God permitted this specific divine Being to receive such reverence:

ומכל מקום העולה מזו הפרשה הוא כי השיג משה מבוקשו, וכי היות ישראל עם קשה ערף סבה להיות תועלת לישראל שיסתלק השם יתב’ מהם וימסרו להנהגת מלאך כל זמן שלא יהיו בטוחים לסליחת הש”י. אבל כל זמן שיהיו להם דברים ידועים לרצות בהם הש”י. קושיים יהיה להם סבה שתהיה תועלתם יותר בהנהגת השם יתב’ אותם מצד כי המלאך לא יוכל לסלוח לעונם והוא אומר השמר מפניו ושמע בקולו וגו’, ואח”כ אמר כי שמי בקרבו והוא שב לראש המקרא. כי יש בפסוק זה שתי צוואות ושני טעמים. ושיעורו כך, ושיעורו כך השמר מפניו ושמע בקולו אל תמר בו כי שמי בקרבו. אל תמר בו כי לא ישא לפשעכם. אבל צריך באור למה הוצרך לתת טעם השמר מפניו ושמע בקולו מצד היות השי”ת בקרבו. כי ידוע שהמלאך לא יבא כי אם מצד השם יתברך לא מצד עצמו:

Whatever the case, what emerges from this parshah is that Moses attained what he sought and that the Jews’ being a stiff-necked people is a reason for its being beneficial to them that the Blessed One depart from them and they be consigned to the governance of an angel — so long as they are not assured of the Blessed One’s forgiveness. But so long as they possessed specific means of reconciling Him, their stiff-neckedness would be a reason for the Blessed One’s governance being more beneficial to them in that the angel cannot forgive their transgressions [sic]. This is the intent of (Ibid 23:20) “Take heed of him and hearken to his word.” And afterwards (Ibid 21) it is stated “for my Name is within him,” which relates to the beginning of the verse. For this verse contains two commands and two reasons; that is, “Take heed of him and hearken to his word. Do not disobey him, for my Name is within him; do not disobey him, for he will not forgive your sins.” But explanation is required as to why the Blessed One’s name being within him must be given as a reason for heeding him and hearkening to his word. For it is well known that an angel comes only through the agency of the Blessed One and not of his own accord.

אבל נראה מפשט הכתוב שיצוה אותנו שננהיג כבוד עם זה המלאך יותר ממה שנעשה למלאך אחר. מצד היות שמו של הקב”ה בקרבו ראוי שננהג עמו בקרוב מאד כמו שננהג עם השם יתב’, וכבר דרשו רז”ל ואמרו זה מטטרון ששמו כשם רבו כמו שאמר בפרק אחד דיני ממונות (סנהדרין דף לח) אמר ליה ההוא מינא לרב אדא כתיב ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה’ עלה אלי מבעי ליה כו’ אלא זהו מטטרון ששמו כשם רבו דכתיב כי שמי בקרבו, ובין שנבין כונתם בזה המאמר או שלא נבין אין ספק כי יש להם לרז”ל הבדל גדול בין זה המלאך למלאכים אחרים עד שלא נקרא בשם המיוחד שם ד’ אותיות אלא הוא. ולזה צונו השי”ת שננהג עם זה המלאך כמו שננהג עמו:

It would seem from the plain meaning of the verse, however, that we are commanded to be more deferential of this angel than of another, that because the Name of the Holy One Blessed be He is within him, we should accord him great honor, AS WE DO WITH the Blessed One Himself. And our sages of blessed memory have already expounded that the angel in question here is Metatron, whose name is as that of his Master’s, viz. (Sanhedrin 38b): “A certain heretic said to R. Adda: ‘It is written (Exodus 24:1): “And to Moses He said: ‘Come up to the L-rd.'” It should be written “Come up to Me!”‘ R. Adda answered: ‘The reference is to Metatron, whose name is the same as his Master’s.'” Whether or not we understand the exact intent of our sages here, there is no question that they see a great difference between this angel and others, ONLY THIS ONE being accorded the four-letter name of the L-rd. It is for this reason that the Holy One commanded us to deport ourselves with this angel AS WE DO WITH Him.

ובזה מסתלק תימה גדול. והוא שמצינו יהושע שהשתחוה למלאך כמ”ש הכתוב (יהושע ג) ויאמר וגו’ שר צבא ה’ עתה באתי ויפול וגו’. והוא מן התימה איך היה מותר זה ליהושע שהרי כתיב אשר בשמים ממעל לרבות מלאכי השרת. ואין ספק שכמו שאסור לזבוח ולקטר בלתי לה’ לבדו כן אסור להשתחוות כמו ששנינו בפרק ד”מ (סנהדרין ס) אחד המזבח ואחד המקטר ואחד המנסך ואחד המשתחוה. ואיני מוצא בכל מקום מי שהשתחוה למלאך אלא בלעם שלא היה מכללנו שכתוב בו ויקוד וישתחו לאפיו. אבל יעקב ראה המלאך ולא השתחוה לו כי לא היה מותר בכך. וא”כ איך הורשה יהושע להשתחוות למלאך הנראה אליו:

And this resolves a great problem — Joshua’s bowinG-down to an angel, viz. (Joshua 5:14): “And he [the angel] answered: ‘No, but I am captain of the host of the L-rd. I have come now.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he bowed down to him…” This is, indeed, great cause for wonder. How was this permitted to Joshua when it is written (Exodus 20:4): “…that are in the heavens above […do not bow down to them”], concerning which our sages of blessed memory say (Mechilta, Yithro 6): “This includes the ministering angels.” And there is no question that just as it is forbidden to sacrifice and to bring offerings to any but the L-rd Himself, so is bowinG-down similarly forbidden, as stated by our sages of blessed memory (Sanhedrin 60b): “…both he who sacrifices, he who offers incense, he who pours a libation, and he who bows down…” And I find no reference to anyone bowinG-down to an angel except Balaam (who was not one of us), of whom it is written (Numbers 22:31): “…and he bowed down and prostrated himself.” But Jacob saw an angel and did not bow down to him, and David conducted himself likewise (viz. I Chronicles 21). And so we find with Daniel. He saw an angel and accorded him great honor, saying (Daniel 10:17): “How can the servant of my lord speak with this [i.e., you,], my lord?” — but he did not bow down to him, this not being permitted. How, then, was Joshua permitted to bow down to the angel that appeared to him?

אבל התשובה בזה כי אותו המלאך הנראה ליהושע הוא המלאך שהובטחו בכאן באמרו הנה אנכי שולח מלאך וגו’. אלא שמרע”ה בטל זה כל ימי חייו שלא יהיו מונהגים כי אם ע”י הש”י לבדו. לפיכך אחרי מות מרע”ה נראה זה המלאך עצמו אל יהושע. וכך אמר בתנחומא אני הוא שבאתי בימי משה רבך ודחה אותי ולא רצה שאלך עמו. ואמר עוד בטל שלא ימסרו להם שר כל ימי מרע”ה. וכיון שמת משה חזר אותו השר למקומו שכן יהושע ראה אותו שנאמר ויהי בהיות יהושע ביריחו וגו’. ויאמר לא כי אני שר צבא ה’ עתה באתי. לכך נאמר הנה אנכרי שולח מלאך לפניך. ומפני שידע יהושע שזה המלאך שנאמר עליו כי שמי בקרבו ראה שהוא מן הראוי להשתחוות לו כמשתחוה אל הש”י ועשה כן. וזהו טעם מה שכתוב בפרשה זו לא תשתחוה לאלהיהם ולא תעבדם. שאין לו ענין כאן כי כבר הזהיר בע”א בעשרת הדברות. אבל טעמו של דבר, כי מפני שאמר על זה המלאך ששלח לישראל שנקבל אותו ושנתנהג בו קרוב למה שנתנהג עם השי”ת כאמרו השמר מפניו ושמע בקולו וגו’ עמו שפירשתי. עד שמזה למד יהושע שהיה מותר וראוי להשתחוות אליו. חזר והזהיר לא תשתחוה לאלהיהם וגו’. כאומר אע”פ שהרשיתיך לכבד ולהשתחוות לפני זה המלאך. לא תרשה עצמך מזה להשתחוות לאלהי העמים שהם עובדים גם כן למלאכים או לצבא השמים. כי זה בלבד הותר מצד ששמי בקרבו:

The answer, however, is that the angel which appeared to Joshua was the very angel spoken of here, viz. (Exodus 23:20): “Behold, I am sending an angel before you…” But Moses had forestalled the advent of this angel all the days of his life so that they be governed only by the Blessed One Himself. Therefore, after the death of Moses, it is this very angel that appeared to Joshua. And so it is written in Tanchuma (Mishpatim 18): “I am the one who came in the days of Moses, your master, but he rejected me and did not want me to go with him.” And he added that no plenipotentiary was to be assigned them all the days of Moses. And when Moses died, that plenipotentiary reassumed his role and was seen by Joshua, as it is written (Joshua 5:13-14): “And it was, when Joshua was in Jericho … and he [the angel] answered: ‘No, but I am captain of the host of the L-rd. I have come now…” This is foreshadowed in “Behold, I am sending an angel before you.” And because Joshua knew this to be the angel of whom it was said “for my Name is within him,” he saw it fitting to bow down to him as he would before the L-rd, and he did so. And this is the reason for its being written in this parshah (Exodus 23:24): “Do not bow down to their gods and do not serve them,” which is, ostensibly, out of place here, this exhortation already having appeared in the Ten Commandments. The reason for its appearance here, however, is that since this angel being sent to the Jews was to be accepted and accorded honor approaching that accorded the Blessed One Himself — it being written “Take heed of him,” implying that it was permitted and fitting to bow down to him — because of this there is repeated the exhortation “Do not bow down to their gods…” That is, though I have permitted you to defer and to bow down to this angel, do not take this as a license to bow down to the gods of the peoples (who also serve angels or the heavenly host). This angel ALONE may be bowed down to, for my Name is within him. (Derashot HaRan 4 https://www.sefaria.org/Derashot_HaRan.4.24?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en; bold and capital emphasis mine)

I highlight the key reason given by this rabbinic source for why this Angel can be worshiped:

“This angel ALONE may be bowed down to, FOR my Name is within him.”

A truly remarkable heavenly Messenger to say the least!

FURTHER READING

The Divine Name and Glory of Yahweh – More Biblical Evidence for the Deity of God’s unique Angel/Son

God spoke through his Son only “in these last days”, thus he could not have been the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament

Bart D. Ehrman Proves Muhammad is a false prophet Pt. 2a

SHABIR ALLY VS. ALAN STORKEY DEBATE RESPONSE

Psalm 110:1 – Another Clear Testimony to Christ’s Deity Pt. 2

I AM What I AM’: A Bible Commentary: [Part 1], [Part 2], [Appendix]

Rebuttal of their ‘I AM WHAT I AM’ Response: [Part 2]

In this short post I will be citing a portion from Ernest Evans’ English rendering of Tertullian’s refutation Marcion since the translator has an interesting footnote informing whom the early church fathers and writers believed was the God that the Old Testament saints saw.

Here is the relevant section from Tertullian’s reply:

27. Now at length—that I may dispose of the rest of these questions in one single answer—for all those details which you class together as petty and weak and unworthy, with intent to drag the Creator down, I shall set before you a straightforward and definite reason: it is that God would not have been able to enter into converse with men except by taking to himself those human thoughts and feelings by which he might reduce the force of his majesty, which human mediocrity was utterly unable to bear, by virtue of a humility, unworthy indeed of himself but necessary for man, and consequently worthy even of God, since nothing is so worthy of God as the salvation of man. Of this I might have discoursed at greater length if I had been treating with heathens—although even with heretics the method of attack is not very different. But seeing that you yourselves have already stated your belief that a god has dwelt in human shape and in all the rest of what belongs to man’s estate, you will assuredly not demand any further persuasion that God has in fact made himself conformable to human condition, but are confuted by virtue of your own creed. For if a god—I mean that more lofty one—did with such great humility so lay low the high estate of his majesty as to make it subject to death, even the death of a cross, why should you not agree that to our God also some few pettinesses were not inappropriate, being in any case less intolerable than the revilings, the scaffolds, and the sepulchres of the Jews? Or is it not these same pettinesses which ought, without further discussion, to make it clear to you that the Christ who was made the sport of men’s passions belongs to that same God whose human appearances and activities are the object of your reproaches? For we claim also that Christ has always acted in God the Father’s name, has himself ever since the beginning associated with, and conversed with, patriarchs and prophets.¹ He is the Son of the Creator, his Word whom by bringing him forth from himself he caused to be his Son. From then onwards he put him in authority over his whole design and purpose, reducing him a little below the angels,^a as it is written in David. By this reduction he was brought by the Father to these (acts and experiences) which you disapprove of as human: for he was learning even from the beginning,² by so early assuming manhood, to be that which he was going to be at the end. He it is who comes down (to inquire into Sodom), who asks questions (of Adam and of Gain), who makes request (of Moses), and swears with an oath. That the Father has become visible to no man is the testimony of that gospel which you share with us, in which Christ says, No one knoweth the Father save the Son.^b It was he also who in the Old Testament had already declared, No man shall see God and live,^c thus pronouncing that the Father cannot be seen, while with the Father’s authority and in his name he himself was the God who was seen, the Son of God. So too among us God is accepted in the person of Christ, because in this way also he belongs to us. Therefore all the (attributes and activities) you make requisition of as worthy of God are to be found in the Father, inaccessible to sight and contact, peaceable also, and, so to speak, a god philosophers can approve of: but all the things you repudiate as unworthy, are to be accounted to the Son, who was both seen and heard, and held converse, the Father’s agent and minister, who commingles in himself man and God, in the miracles God, in the pettinesses man, so as to add as much to man as he detracts from God. In fact the whole of that which in my God is dishonourable in your sight, is a sign and token of man’s salvation. God entered into converse with man, so that man might be taught how to act like God. God treated on equal terms with man, so that man might be able to treat on equal terms with God. God was found to be small, so that man might become very great. As you despise a God of that sort I wonder if you do honestly believe that God was crucified. How great then is your unreasonableness in the face of both one and the other of the Creator’s courses of action. You mark him down as a judge, yet the sternness which is natural to a judge in accordance with the demands of the cases before him you stigmatize as cruelty. You demand a God supremely good, yet that gentleness which is the natural outcome of his kindness, which has conversed at a lower level in such proportion as human insignificance could comprehend, you devalue as pettiness. He meets with your approval neither as great nor as small, neither as judge nor as friend. But what if these same characteristics are found to be in your god too? I have already, in the book assigned to him,³ proved that he is a judge, and as a judge necessarily stern, and as stern also cruel—if cruelty is the proper word.

27. ¹ It was almost universally held, until the end of the fourth century, that the subject of the theophanies, the speaker of divine words throughout the Old Testament, was God the Son acting as the agent or messenger of the Father: Justin, dial. 56 sqq.; Tertullian, adv. Prax. 14-16; Eusebius, H.E. i. 2; Prudentius, Apotheosis (passim). (Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem (“Against Marcion”), translated by Ernest Evans, Book II, pp. 160-164 https://tertullian.org/articles/evans_marc/evans_marc_06book2_eng.htm; bold emphasis mine)

Pay attention to Evan’s claim that for first 300 hundred years it was virtually the unanimous testimony of the early church the that the Jehovah God who appeared visibly throughout the Old Testament period was actually the Lord Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence!

FURTHER READING

Were the Early Church Fathers Trinitarians?

The Early Church’s Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible’s Use of Plural Pronouns for God

Ignatius of Antioch’s Proclamation of the Essential Deity of Christ

Justin Martyr’s Witness to Christ’s essential and eternal Deity

IRENAEUS AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST

MORE FROM IRENAEUS ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST

Tertullian and the Doctrine of the Trinity

DID TERTULLIAN DENY THE ETERNAL NATURE OF CHRIST?

Origen’s Christology

Origen – Dialog with Heracleides

JOHN OF DAMASCUS ON THE HOLY TRINITY AND HYPOSTATIC UNION

The Church Fathers on Jesus as the Almighty God Who is Overall

Ante-Nicene Witness to Jesus’ Deity

Did the Ante-Nicene Fathers Worship the Holy Spirit as God Almighty?

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,

“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.”

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.

1. Ibid. LVI, 7. ‘In the house of My prayer’.
2. I.e., not exact the full penalty from them.
3. 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

By Rich Robinson |January 01 1986

Every Rosh Hashanah, synagogue readings include the story of the Akedah from Genesis 22. Akedah is Hebrew for “binding” and refers to the central action in the story when Abraham binds his son Isaac on the altar in order to sacrifice him.

The Story of Genesis 22

God calls to Abraham, presumably from heaven, and Abraham replies, “Here I am!” In Hebrew, Abraham said, “Hineni!”, a phrase sometimes used by others to demonstrate their readiness to respond to God. But God makes a very strange request:

“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:1)

One reason this request is so jarring is that in the Scriptures, God forbids human sacrifice. Yet we do not read that Abraham complained, or remonstrated with God, or raised any objection whatsoever. We simply read that he took some helpers, his son Isaac, and some wood for the sacrifice, and traveled up the mountain.

And then, to compound the strangeness, Abraham tells his helpers, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you” (v. 5). Really? We thought Isaac was going to his death. Is Abraham lying—or does he know something we don’t? When Isaac next asks where is the lamb for the burnt offering—the chief requirement!—Abraham simply responds, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (v. 8). Again, does Abraham know something that Isaac doesn’t, or is he just covering his tracks?

Finally, they arrive at the place of sacrifice. Abraham proceeds to bind his apparently uncomplaining son upon the wood and raises his knife to slay him. At the very last moment, the angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham. Once again, he responds to God with hineni!1 And the angel of Lord tells Abraham: “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (v. 12). As Abraham looks up, he sees a ram caught in a bush, which becomes the burnt offering in place of Isaac.

A few verses later God elaborates:

By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18)

The Meaning of the Akedah

This is one of the strangest stories in the entire Scripture. Every Rosh Hashanah, sermons are given, thought pieces are written, and discussions ensue. Is it an example of Abraham’s great faith? Is it meant to warn us against human sacrifice? Does it tell us that God can even command us to do what is unethical? Perhaps it is forever a mystery, or is meant to get us to discuss the text and tease out its implications. The sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is also said to be based on the Akedah, since God provided a ram from whose horns a shofar is made. 

One of the most intriguing interpretations of the Akedah sees the sacrifice as actually having been consummated and as effecting atonement for Israel in the same manner as animal sacrifices. Writes W. Gunther Plaut:

There was … a remarkable tradition that insisted that Abraham completed the sacrifice and that afterward Isaac was miraculously revived…. According to this haggadah, Abraham slew his son, burnt his victim, and the ashes remain as a stored-up merit and atonement for Israel in all generations.2

At one time, this notion was widespread:

Ibn Ezra (commentary on Gen. 22:19) also quotes an opinion that Abraham actually did kill Isaac … and he was later resurrected from the dead. Ibn Ezra rejects this as completely contrary to the biblical text. Shalom Spiegel has demonstrated, however, that such views enjoyed a wide circulation and occasionally found expression in medieval writings.3

The idea of Isaac’s dying as an atonement is found a variety of Jewish writings:

“A bundle of myrrh (kofer) is my well-beloved” (Cant. I, 14). This refers to Isaac, who was tied up like a bundle upon the altar. Kofer, because he atones for the sins of Israel.4

If then Isaac’s descendants fall into sin and evil deeds, do thou make mention of the binding of Isaac, and get up from the throne of judgment, and sit down upon the throne of compassion, and be filled with pity, and turn the attribute of judgement into the attribute of mercy.5

Rabbi Jehudah said: “When the blade touched his neck, the soul of Isaac fled and departed, (but) when he heard His voice from between the two Cherubim, saying (to Abraham), ‘Lay not thine hand upon the lad’ (Gen. 22:12), his soul returned to his body, and (Abraham) set him free, and Isaac stood upon his feet. And Isaac knew that in this manner the dead in the future will be quickened. He opened (his mouth), and said: ‘Blessed art thou, O Lord, who quickeneth the dead.’”6

When Father Isaac was bound on the altar and reduced to ashes and his sacrificial dust was cast onto Mount Moriah, the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately brought upon him dew and revived him … the ministering angels began to recite, “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, who gives life to the dead.”7

How did this get started, especially considering that in the Genesis account, we are specifically told that Isaac did not die? Some surmise that it arose in reaction to Christian teaching, to show that the sacrifice of Isaac was not less effective than that of Jesus; the parallel between these stories and the death and resurrection of Jesus is obvious. Others speculate that the story is a reflection of medieval Jewish life, when Isaac served as a model for those who would kill their children and themselves rather than submit to forced conversions and torture.

The Akedah and the New Testament

In the midst of all these interpretations that swirl around the Akedah, perhaps one more can be added to the list.

The famous twentieth-century Russian-French Jewish artist Marc Chagall painted many biblical scenes, among other themes. In some of his most well-known paintings, he portrays Jesus on the cross as a symbol for Jewish suffering and martyrdom. Jesus appears also in Chagall’s painting The Sacrifice of Isaac. 

In The Sacrifice of Isaac, we see Isaac in yellow, bound on the altar. There stands Abraham, in red, the knife raised to perform the sacrifice of his son. In blue, the angel of the Lord is stopping him, while on the left, we see the ram caught in the bushes and, though she is not mentioned in Genesis 22, Abraham’s wife Sarah looking on. And finally, at the top right is a scene of Jesus carrying his cross, the color red dripping down onto Abraham, suggestive of blood.

Like Genesis 22 itself, Chagall’s painting seems to encourage discussion and maybe even multiple interpretations. For Chagall did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah; but he was fascinated with him as a symbol for the suffering of the Jewish people. 

So let’s offer one interpretation. We cannot know what was in Chagall’s mind as he painted this scene. But in his own way, he connected Jesus to the story we read each Rosh Hashanah. Was he aware that there is correspondence between Genesis and, of all things, John’s Gospel in the New Testament? For in Genesis 22:2, God told Abraham:

“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.”

While in John 3:16, possibly the most famous verse in the New Testament, we read:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The connection is clear. Surely John was thinking that just as Abraham loved God enough that he was willing to offer up his only son, so God loves us enough to do the same. And Isaac, is it because he too loved God and his father that he did not complain but willingly went to the altar? So, Jesus willingly offered his life too: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17-18).

Here is yet one more interpretation of the Akedah to consider: As Abraham offered his son Isaac, so God offered his son Jesus. As Isaac went to the altar willingly, so did Jesus. And there is contrast, too: while God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac, Jesus actually consummated his atoning, sacrificial death. But that brings us back to the similarities: Abraham called the place “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14) since God provided the ram. Jesus, in his death and resurrection, becomes God’s ultimate provision for us.

Endnotes

1. This is also his response to Isaac in 22:7. It indicates a readiness to respond to Isaac—but God’s requests are more weighty.

2. W. Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary (UAHC, 1981), 151:5.

3. Encyclopedia Judaica, 2:482, s.v. “Akedah.”

4. C. G. Montefiore and H. M. J. Loewe, eds., “Canticles [Song of Songs] Rabbah,” I, § 14, I, on 1, 14; f. 12b, in A Rabbinic Anthology (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 220.

5. Montefiore and Loewe, “Leviticus Rabbah,” Emor, 29:9, 228.

6. Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, 31, Sefaria, https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.31.10?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

7. “Shibbolei ha-Leket,” in A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 313:5.