Abraham and the Three Angels, James Tissot, 1836-1902. thejewishmuseum.org
God’s Appearance to Abraham: Vision or Visit?
YHWH’s appearance to Abraham (Gen 18:1) is interpreted by the midrashic tradition as a vision separate from the arrival of the three guests. However, the plain meaning of the text, which suggests that YHWH is one of the three guests, is supported by an ancient rabbinic “correction” to the text.
Published: October 8, 2013
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Last Updated: September 7, 2026
Cf. Gen 19:1 where they are explicitly called angels (or messengers [malachim]).
See for example, the ArtScroll Chumash, Mesorah, 1993, pp. 78-9.
See Rashi on verse 1.
“Do not go on past your servant” = God, please wait while I tend to my guests (b Shabbat 127a; Rashi on verse 3, 2nd reading.)
In general, biblical Hebrew leans towards a verb-subject-object word order. See Siftay Chachamim (Shabtai Bass) and Or Ha-Chayim (Chaim Ibn Attar) on verse 1.
N. Sarna, Genesis, JPS Torah Commentary, Philadelphia, 1989, p. 129.
See DW Halivni’s Peshat and Derash, Oxford, 1991, chapter 3 for a thorough discussion of the meaning of the word peshat over time.
cf. JL Kugel, The God of Old, Free Press, NY, 2003, pp. 11-13 and EA Spieser, Genesis, Anchor Bible, Doubleday, N.Y., p. 131.
For a full discussion, see my A Journey Through Torah, Urim, 2012, pp. 46-54 and p. 66, note 10 and references therein.
"וילכו סדומה ואברהם עודנו עומד לפני ה'" – א”ר סימון תיקון סופרים הוא זה שהשכינה היתה ממתנת לאברהם.
