Has anyone seen God's face and if not then whom did Abraham see?

Answer 1

A:

In Genesis 18, three anthropomorphic elohim came to see Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Consistent with strict monotheism, the English translation is usually given as 'angels', but as the passage progresses it does not maintain this meaning very easily. The men were not mere messengers, but exercised more power than 'angels' in any other passage in The Bible, and Abraham negotiated with one of the men, the Lord, to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if good men could be found to live there. Here, the Lord was the God of the Israelites, but what of the other two?

The term 'elohim meant 'gods' in the Hebrew language, so when this passage was first written down, the three visitors were gods of a polytheistic pantheon. In later, monotheistic times, this became an embarrassment, and they began to be seen as angels, not gods. Bruce Feiler (Abraham) takes a different approach, consistent with the proper reading of the text but also providing for modern monotheism. He tries to rationalise the presence of three Lords by saying that God appeared at once as three men.

Modern scholars say that the early Hebrew people were at all times polytheistic, not monotheists who merely backslid from time to time. This is supported by recent archaeological work, that has amply demonstrated the case. Thus, Abraham saw three gods face to face.

Jewish Answer:

Jewish tradition is that Abraham never saw God face to face in his lifetime. That expression (Exodus ch.33) is used only with Moses, who reached the highest level of prophecy (Numbers ch.12).

If the Question is referring to the events in Genesis ch.18, our ancient tradition (Midrash Rabba loc. cit.) teaches that three angels visited Abraham, and the presence of God was there (but is not identical with the angels). When Abraham addressed them, he was careful to use a lesser name (Adonai), which (like Elohim) can and did refer both to the Lord (in prayer) and to the angels (in request). He spoke with a double meaning, asking the angels to stay a while and asking the Lord's presence not to depart during that time.

The angels were given a specific task and power by God, which is why they arrived in the plural but each of their missions was announced in the singular, and in the name of God (since the power is ultimately His). When Abraham prayed for the sparing of the Sodomites, and when Sarah had some doubt as to being able to give birth, they were addressing God or His abilities and decisions, which is why God himself answered and Abraham continued speaking with God and not with the angels.

Traditional Judaism understands this passage (and others) only in the light of the Rashi commentary, which is based on the Talmud and ancient Midrashim.