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A:The Hebrew word used is 'elohim, which translates into English correctly as 'gods'. Consistent with the strict monotheism of modern times, the English translation is usually given as 'angels', but as the passage progresses it does not maintain this meaning very easily. When three men appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Genesis 18), we are left in no doubt that the Lord was present and no attempt is made to assert that the men were angels. 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.

In Genesis 19, two anthropomorphic 'elohim came to Sodom and visited Abraham's nephew, Lot. The men were not mere messengers, but exercised more power than 'angels' in any other passage in The Bible, and in addition, Lot deferred to them as if to deities.

Bruce Feiler (Abraham) recognises that the three men who appeared to Abraham can not be dismissed as mere angels, and tries to rationalise the presence of three Lords by saying that God appeared at once as all three men, not just as one of them. But, God had been appearing in the form of one man on his own since the time of Adam, so why would a deity now create such confusion when continuing to appear as one man would do? We now know that the early Israelites were at all times polytheistic, and this story belongs to those polytheistic times.

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Q: Were the three men that appeared to Abraham gods?
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When did three angels appear to Abraham in the Bible?

-----------------------When three men appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Genesis 18), we are left in no doubt that the Lord was present and no attempt is made to assert that the men were angels. In the original Hebrew, they are described as elohim, or 'gods'. Not real gods, but gods of myth. Abraham negotiated with one of the gods, 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. Recognising that the three were in some way divine, not merely angels, Bruce Feiler (Abraham) tries to rationalise the presence of three Lords by saying that God appeared at once as three men, and was not just one of the men.In the biblical account, this meeting occurred just before the destruction of Sodom and is traditionally placed somewhere around 2000 BCE.


Who visited Abram in Genesis?

God and two angelsAnswerIn Genesis chapters 18 and 19, 'elohim came to visit first Abraham, then Abraham's nephew, Lot, in Sodom. The Hebrew word 'elohim means gods (or, when used in a singular context or with a singular verb, God), but consistent with strict monotheism, the English translation is almost always given as 'angels' but as the passage progresses it does not maintain this meaning very easily. When three men appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Genesis 18) we are left in no doubt that the Lord was present and no attempt is made to assert that the men were angels. 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 supreme God of the Israelites and these were not angels, but gods - not real gods, but gods of myth. Bruce Feiler (Abraham) tries to rationalise the presence of three Lords by saying that God appeared at once as three men, and was not just one of the men.


Who are the three visitors with Abraham that told him and Sarah they going to have a child in there old age?

Answer 1In Genesis chapter 19, two anthropomorphic elohim came to Sodom and visited Abraham's nephew, Lot. The Hebrew word elohim actually means 'gods'. Consistent with strict monotheism, the English translation is 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 in addition, Lot deferred to them as if to deities.When three men appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, we are left in no doubt that the Lord was present and no attempt is made to assert that the men were angels. 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.There is no doubt that in the earliest version of this story, three gods had visited AbrahamAnswer 2Jewish tradition is that the three angels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, were the ones who visited Abraham (Genesis ch.18, with Rashi commentary).


To whom did the three angels appear in the Bible?

A:Two closely related incidents in Genesis are almost universally seen as evidence of visitations by angels. In Genesis 19, two anthropomorphic elohim came to Sodom and visited Abraham's nephew, Lot. Consistent with strict monotheism, the English translation is 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 in addition, Lot deferred to them as if to deities.Three men appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Genesis 18) and we are left in no doubt that the Lord was present, with no attempt made to assert that the men were angels, although they are almost universally regarded now as angels. 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 means 'gods' in the Hebrew language, so when this passage was first written down, the three visitors were gods, not angels. 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.


When God appeared to Abraham could Abraham have mistaken God for another god such as the moon god?

A:This question can be answered at a number of levels. At the simplest level, the Bible appears to tell us that Abraham knew he was talking to the God of Israel. This is supported by nonbiblical midrashim written in the Common Era, adding considerably to the Abraham legend.At a more scholarly level, we see that Genesis chapter 18 talks about three men ('elohim) who appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. The modern interpretation is that the men were angels, but the word 'elohim meant 'gods', although the Bible sometimes uses this plural word in a singular context to mean God. So, Abraham was talking to three gods, one of whom he addressed as "the Lord". At this point, we need to know that the consensus of biblical scholars is that the early Israelites worshipped a number of gods, with monotheism coming around the time of the Babylonian Exile. At one point in history, God (Yahweh) was indeed the moon god!At an even deeper level, there is considerable evidence that the stories of the Patriarchs evolved from earlier Hebrew myths in which they were themselves incarnations of the moon god. We see the same kind of evolution with the ancient Greek gods, with beliefs evolving so that those who had been human heroes evolved into gods over time, but gods evolving into heroes in other cases.All the possibilities, especially the last two, are non-exclusive.


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