Who visits Abraham?
23 October 2007 - 12 חשון 5768 by Huw
I received the following in my email this morning:
This is to teach us that taking in guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence
- Talmud, Shevuot 35b, commenting on the fact that Abraham interrupted a visit from G-d to invite three passing wayfarers into his tent (Genesis 18:4)
I’m all for the Divine Commandment of Hospitality and any Abrahamic teaching that backs it up! But I find it interesting that the traditional Jewish understanding of this verse is that Abraham was visiting God in his tent door when three visitors showed up. Compare this to the traditional eastern Christian understanding - that those visitors were a vision of God.
Interesting take on the text. I re-read the story, and in order to make that interpretation, you have to set up quite a complex series of events that day. Abraham is talking to God. Three visitors come. Abraham interrupts God. The three visitors ask a question about Sarah. God interrupts and makes a prophecy about Sarah. The three visitors are totally unaware of God’s presence talking to Abraham and just happen to ask related questions.
Or, the first verse is an announcement that what follows is an interaction with God, a much simpler explanation of the events.
I am willing to bet that the Talmudic text was written post-Jesus. I would be very interested in finding out whether that is true. If it is, I would then be interested in finding out if there are any pre-Jesus midrash writings about that text.
Actually, I think the interpretation is more along the lines: Abraham is with God, he sees the strangers, and attends to their needs– but first asks God not to stop the prophecy as he does (”My Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, do not pass by your servant.”) The strangers are actually angels, and there is interplay (/confusion) in what they say and what God says to Abraham and Sarah. The question isn’t whether the three visitors are a manifestation of God in some sense, but instead how many manifestations of God there are in this passage. It’s confusing, and there are differing opinions on the interpretation of the passage. Of course, it’s confusing no matter how you read it– and the idea that this passage somehow foreshadowed the fourth century debates about the nature of the Godhead, while a matter of faith, can’t be expected to be taken seriously by biblical scholarship. Sister Sarah Schwartzberg expands on the two Talmudic passages in question (Shabbat 127a and Shevuot 33-35) towards the end of her article here: http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=817
As for pre-Jesus midrash, that’s kind of hard, as we don’t really have written midrash before the dawn of rabbinic Judaism following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE– although of course there are traditions carried down from earlier and written down later. The Talmud was first put together around 200 CE, though of course it contains a lot of earlier material, some of which predates Jesus by a long time. It’s kind of like referring to “pre-resurrection” events in the gospels– what does that mean when all the stories were put together with the resurrection in mind?
Marjorie - Todah Rabah! Heavens, but that’s a wonderful article.
When I was first looking at the quote in the email, I wondered about the timing. The tractate, Sevuot was composed sometime in the 150s I think.
You’ve hit on my own general problem: “the idea that this passage somehow foreshadowed the fourth century debates about the nature of the Godhead” as a matter of faith. Um… hindsight is 20/20, they say, but another common phrase is “grasping at straws.” I’m torn between those two.
Anyone know the Muslim P.O.V. on this story?
Here’s some more talmudic commentary. seems the three were Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.