In Genesis 18, were Abraham's three visitors actual men? Or were they angels? Or was it God Himself? All of the above? Let's dive into the text and see what it says.
DONATE TO OUR MINISTRY
[ Ссылка ] (Thank you!)
POSTSCRIPT TO THE VIDEO:
Interestingly, if we continue reading in Genesis 18 beyond the passage discussed in this video, we read that "The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord." (18:22). How are we to understand this? Were there three men (18:2) talking to Abraham, plus the Lord? Was the Lord just one of the three men, and the other two continued toward Sodom? If we continue reading, the beginning of Genesis 19 says “The two angels entered Sodom in the evening." Here the Hebrew word is HaMalak'im, which means "the angels" or "the messengers," Could this be two of the three “men“ that visited Abraham in the previous chapter? If so, it would suggest that when "The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord" (18:22), only two of the men went toward Sodom and the third man was God who stayed and talked with Abraham.
Also, if the men visiting Abraham in 18:1-21 were actually angels, they, too, appeared in physical form, rather than as spirits. This would be another biblical example of spiritual beings taking on the form of a man. As we continue to read in Genesis 19, there are indications that the two angels/messengers in Sodom are physical men. There are also indications that they may have a level of spiritual authority which would suggest they were angels, rather than mere men.
I do love a good mystery!
—R. L. Solberg
Listen to Dr. Sommer's unedited clip here: [ Ссылка ]
OUR LINKS
[ Ссылка ]
