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<\/a><\/p>\nThe story in Gen. 18 is famous for various reasons, not the least of which is the Orthodox commentators have suggested that Abraham entertained the Holy Trinity in this story. But a careful reading of this story will not allow this conclusion, there is \u2018the Lord\u2019 and there is also two men, whom in this case amount to avenging angels.\u00a0 And they all have dinner with Abraham and Sarah.\u00a0 This adventure takes place at Abraham\u2019s tent under the Oak at Mamre. Abraham was minding his own business sitting outside of the tent because it was hot.\u00a0 Notice that during the encounter, Sarah stays within the tent but near enough to the entrance to hear what was being said.\u00a0 This was typical male-female protocol in a patriarchal setting when entertaining guests.\u00a0 The men did the entertaining proper, particularly if it was only men involved.\u00a0 The women stayed off the scene.<\/p>\n
Commentators have noted the similarity of this story to the Ugaritic Tale of Acquat (tablet V.6-7) including the details of: 1) sitting by a tent flap under a tree; 2) being visited by a god, the craftsman god Kothar, 3) the man who owns the tent, Dan\u2019el is childless like Abraham; 4) both stories have the phrase he lifted up his eyes and saw ; 5) the request that the wife prepare a meal.\u00a0 Our story could be an adaptation or echo of the Ugaritic story.<\/p>\n
Notice again the piety of Abraham\u2013 he runs towards the divine visitors and bows down before them.\u00a0 The Hebrew is clear enough that Abraham addresses initially only the one \u2018my Lord\u2019 suggesting he recognizes God, as distinguished from his companions, the angels of destruction.\u00a0 Only at vs. 4 does Abraham switch to the plurals.\u00a0 \u00a0Throughout this tale, and without being told, Abraham intuits that those avenging angels are heading down to the Jordan plain to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham\u2019s primary concern is to rescue his relatives from disaster of course.<\/p>\n
ANE hospitality was legendary, and so Abraham bids the guests to stop for a while, have the dust washed off their feet, and have some food to refresh themselves (the Hebrew says a morsel of bread, but it turns out to be a feast).\u00a0 And the guests say \u2018go ahead\u2019. Abraham then tells Sarah \u2018hurry up and knead the dough and make 3 loaves of bread and he runs to get a tender calf and gives it to one of his young herdsmen to prepare it for a meal.\u00a0 He also fetched curds and milk, and so they all had a proper meal.\u00a0 \u00a0The terms fetch and hurry are repeated indicating the haste with which the meal was prepared. And Abraham stood under the tree and oversaw their consuming of the meal.\u00a0 But then they ask \u2018where is Sarah your wife\u2019?\u00a0 As Alter says, this is the first clear signal to Abraham that he was not dealing with ordinary guests.<\/p>\n
Notice what a difference there is between this annunciation of a coming surprising pregnancy and birth and the one to Mary in the Gospel.\u00a0 Here only in the Bible the announcement comes to the husband, not to the woman involved who only eavesdrops, only here in the OT is the barren woman post-menopausal (cf. the story of Elizabeth in Luke 1), and only here is there a long delay in the fulfillment of the promise, which does not come until Gen. 21.\u00a0 \u00a0The upshot is that this is the most patriarchal of such stories, addressed to Abraham himself, and the miraculous nature of the pregnancy is emphasized by Sarah\u2019s reaction to what she hears\u2014 she laughs to herself, and says \u2018will wrinkled old me have such pleasure, and besides my husband is too old\u2019.\u00a0 This is followed by the Lord asking Abraham\u2013 why exactly did Sarah laugh and say what she did? Is anything too hard for the Lord?\u00a0 In due time, at this very time of year, I will return to you and Sarah shall have a son\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0And Sarah denied laughing, but the Lord said \u2018Oh yes you did!\u2019.\u00a0 \u00a0Abraham had already laughed in Gen. 17 about this, and now his wife also laughs at the improbable notion, but this prepares us for Sarah\u2019s laugh of joy in Gen. 21 for the naming of her son \u2018she laughed\u2019\u2013 i.e. Itzak=Isaac.<\/p>\n
When we get to vs. 16 the meal and chit chat is over, and the two angels are about to go off to Sodom for the task of demolition, and then we have this remarkable inward dialogue by God\u2013 \u2018shall I conceal from Abraham what I\u2019m about to do, since after all he and his progeny will become a great and mighty nation?\u2019\u00a0 God\u2019s concern is that he has already embrace Abraham and charged Abraham and his offspring to do right and render justice. i.e. sedeq and mishpat<\/em> the two things the prophets would reiterate again and again was demanded of God\u2019s people \u2013to do right, and render justice and walk in the ways of the Lord (i.e. follow God\u2019s righteous example).\u00a0 \u00a0\u2018The outcries (literally shrieks of horror) of Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Their offense is severe (very grave).\u00a0 The angels are going down to see if justice has been done to those crying out, and if not to \u2018deal destruction\u2019.\u00a0 The angels head down, but God stays with Abraham, and here is where the famous haggling or bargaining scene takes place.\u00a0 \u00a0Abraham is incredulous\u2014 will the just God of all the earth judge the innocent with the guilty, the righteous with the wicked?\u00a0 Far be it from the righteous God to do that.\u00a0 So Abraham first proposes no judgment if their are 50 innocent in those cities, then 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 1o.\u00a0 But the reality is there is not even 10, so Lot and his kin will have to flee the destruction.\u00a0 Notice how along the way Abraham realizes he is but \u2018dust and ashes\u2019 and is being unbelievably bold to make this request of God.\u00a0 The point of this scene is to make clear that God\u2019s inclination is to be merciful to a group, even when many deserve justice.<\/p>\nNow one thing that needs to be said about this whole anthropomorphic scene, namely that the God of the Bible is deliberately depicted as having human features, which one should not take literally, and surely God knew in advance what Abraham would say and do,\u00a0 but as is typical of God, he wants his people involved in carrying out his will of both justice and mercy. So God knew where this dialogue would end and what he would and would not do.\u00a0 \u00a0This is not an example of God having either changed his mind or not made up his mind.\u00a0 \u00a0Rather God has made room for Abraham to participate in God\u2019s will.\u00a0 But in the end, Lot\u2019s people amount to less than 10 persons.\u00a0 An anthropomorphic scene like this, with God having lunch with his people, must be normed by the many later scenes, for instance in Hos. 11 where we are told by God himself\u2014 \u2018I am God and not a human being, I will not renege on my promises\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The story in Gen. 18 is famous for various reasons, not the least of which is the Orthodox commentators have suggested that Abraham entertained the Holy Trinity in this story. But a careful reading of this story will not allow this conclusion, there is \u2018the Lord\u2019 and there is also two men, whom in this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":68563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15176],"class_list":["post-69065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bargaining-with-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
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