God’s Appearance to Abraham: Vision or Visit?

After Abraham, his son Ishmael, and their entire household are circumcised (Gen 17:23–27), YHWH appears once again to Abraham:

^{בראשית יח:א} וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם. ^יח:ב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה.

^{Gen 18:1} YHWH appeared to him [Abraham] by the oak trees of Mamre [Hebron]; he [Abraham] was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. ^18:2 Looking up, he [Abraham] saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground,

^יח:ג וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַל נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ. ^יח:דיֻקַּח נָא מְעַט מַיִם וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם וְהִשָּׁעֲנוּ תַּחַת הָעֵץ. ^יח:ה וְאֶקְחָה פַת לֶחֶם וְסַעֲדוּ לִבְּכֶם אַחַר תַּעֲבֹרוּ...

^18:3 he said, “Adonai , if it please you, do not go on past your servant. ^18:4 Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. ^18:5 And let me fetch you a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on…” (NJPS adjusted)

Abraham busys himself to prepare food for his guests (vv. 6–8). One visitor announces that Sarah would bear a child a year later (vv. 9–12), and YHWH admonishes Sarah for laughing in response to this prophecy (vv. 13–14).

Two of the three guests then head off to Sodom (v. 16) to rescue Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family (Gen 19:1–26). YHWH wonders whether He should tell Abraham that He is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 17–21). The following verse reads:

^{בראשית יח:כב} וַיִּפְנוּ מִשָּׁם הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיֵּלְכוּ סְדֹמָה וְאַבְרָהָם עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד לִפְנֵי יְ־הֹוָה.

^{Gen 18:22} The men [guests] went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before YHWH.

This verse partially recapitulates verse 16, with the adding that after the other “men” (angels^[1]) headed off to Sodom, Abraham was left standing before YHWH.

The Traditional Approach – Three Angels

The traditional understanding of these verses emphasizes their proximity to Abraham’s circumcision in the preceding chapter and provides examples of ethical behavior to be emulated.^[2] In verse 1, God is “visiting” Abraham (in a vision) because Abraham was recuperating from his circumcision.^[3] In verse 2, Abraham sees potential guests, and therefore, in verse 3, breaks off his vision with God to tend to his potential guests.^[4]

This reading thus exemplifies the performance of two commandments – visiting the sick and welcoming guests. Note that in this reading in v. 3, Adonai (אֲדֹנָי), which may be understood as “my master” or “my Master,” refers to God, who does not reappear in the narrative until verse 13, where the tetragrammaton (YHWH) and not the more ambiguous Adonai is found.

This traditional midrashic reading, like many rabbinic readings, is not (completely) fanciful, but like many other rabbinic readings, is responsive to some anomalies in the text. First, the vision formula of verse 1 (“YHWH appeared to him by the oak trees of Mamre”) is unusual in that it is not followed by a verbal declaration stating the content of the vision (e.g., in Gen 12:7 and 17:1: “YHWH appeared to Abram and said...”).

Second, the word order is unusual: Instead of Vayera Adonai eylav (God appeared to him), it states Vayera eylav Adonai (God to him appeared).^[5] Thus, it is not unreasonable to argue that verse 1 is not a normal vision. Finally, even though it appears awkward that verse 3 should be directed at God and verses 4-5 to the potential guests, the verbs in verse 3 are singular and the verbs in verses 4-5 are plural.^[6]

A Peshat Reading – God as One of the Guests

Although clever and ethically uplifting, the traditional reading is not the peshat, the plain meaning of the text.^[7] The peshat reading, which is in consonance with modern literary analysis, is rather straightforward. In verse 1, we are given an introduction that God appeared to Abraham. That appearance then begins in verse 2, and of the 3 “people” Abraham sees, one is God personified while the other 2 are angels or messengers of God.^[8] In verse 3, Abraham is then addressing God directly. In verses 4–5 Abraham then addresses all 3 of his potential guests, as implied by the shift from singular (v. 3) to plural (vv. 4–5).

The narrative then continues: As in the traditional reading, verses 6–8 describe Abraham busying himself to prepare food for his guests, and verses 9–12 deal with the prophecy of Sarah having a child a year later. In verse 13 there is no doubt that God is speaking, because the tetragrammaton is used. In this reading God is not “reappearing” in verse 13, rather God has been with Abraham the whole time. Abraham did not turn away from God in verse 3 in the peshat reading, since God is one of the guests. God’s speech continues in verse 14 (as in the traditional reading), and v. 16 describes how 2 of the 3 guests (the angels or messengers) head off to Sodom. In vv. 17-21, God (again the tetragrammaton is used) resumes speaking and verse 22 ends with Abraham standing before the Lord.

The Tikkun Soferim

The peshat reading suggested above goes further than just clearing up some awkwardness in the narrative; it also confirms an ancient tradition regarding the reading of the text:

^{בראשית רבה מט} "וילכו סדומה ואברהם עודנו עומד לפני ה'" – א”ר סימון תיקון סופרים הוא זה שהשכינה היתה ממתנת לאברהם.

^{Gen Rab 49:7} “[The angels] went to Sodom and Abraham remained standing before the Lord” – Rabbi Simon says: “This is a correction of the scribes (tikkun soferim ), for the presence of God was waiting for Abraham.”^[9]

According to Rabbi Simon’s statment, also cited by Rashi (ad loc.), verse 22 originally read, “YHWH remained standing before Abraham,” but was changed to “Abraham remained standing before YHWH.”

Rabbi Simon’s statement is part of a tradition about “scribal corrections” that exist in the biblical text. According to this tradition, there are up to eighteen biblical verses that underwent scribal correction (tikunay soferim). These verses were “corrected” to remove any possible anthropomorphisms or disrespect towards God.^[10] The potential disrespect in the “uncorrected” reading of verse 22 is that it appears that God is subservient to Abraham; therefore, our source tells us that the verse was modified by the scribes to read as it does now: It is Abraham who remained standing before YHWH, not the reverse.

In the context of the peshat reading, the “uncorrected” verse makes perfect sense. YHWH was addressed directly in verse 3 and resumes His speech in verses 13–14. The 2 angels head off to Sodom in verse 16. In verses 17–22, YHWH contemplates and then begins discussing plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham, while YHWH was still standing in Abraham’s presence. The “uncorrected” statement of YHWH left standing before Abraham probably highlighted the solemnity of what was to follow (Abraham’s petition to save Sodom; Gen 18:23–33.) As such, it no longer seems to be merely a repetition of verse 16. In addition, the “uncorrected” text continues with the notion of YHWH’s presence remaining before Abraham found throughout the narrative.

Insights from the Peshat

The reason the peshat reading was overlooked for the traditional reading seems clear – a desire to avoid anthropomorphic imagery about God which would be considered problematic by later authorities. Nevertheless, a literary analysis focused on peshat offers a straightforward way to read a familiar narrative and sheds new light on an ancient tradition regarding the history of the text.