Divine Beings Who Temporarily Become Human
ANGELS IN ANCIENT JUDAISM were widely understood to be superhuman messengers of God who mediated his will on earth. It is striking that various angels sometimes appeared on earth in human guise. More than that, in some ancient Jewish texts there is a figure known as “the Angel of the Lord,” who is regarded as the “chief” angel. How exalted is this figure? In some passages he is identified as God himself. And yet sometimes he appears as a human. This is the Jewish counterpart to the pagan view that the gods could assume human guise to visit the earth.
The Angel of the Lord as God and Human
“The Angel of the Lord” then finds Hagar in the wilderness and speaks to her (Gen. 16:7). He tells her to return to her mistress and lets her know that she, Hagar, will have a son who will be the ancestor of a (different) great people. But then, after referring to this heavenly visitant as the Angel of the Lord, the text indicates that it was, in fact, “the LORD” who had spoken with her (16:13). Moreover, Hagar realizes that she has been addressing God himself and expresses her astonishment that she had “seen God and remained alive after seeing him” (16:13). Here there is both ambiguity and confusion: either the Lord appears as an angel in the form of a human, or the Angel of the Lord is the Lord himself, God in human guise.
A similar ambiguity occurs two chapters later, this time with Abraham. We are told in Genesis 18:1 that “the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre.” But when the episode is narrated, we learn that “three men” come to him (18:2). Abraham plays the good host and entertains them, preparing for them a very nice meal, which they all three eat. When they talk to him afterward, one of these three “men” is identified explicitly as “the LORD” (18:13). At the end of the story we are informed that the other two were “angels” (19:1). So here we have a case where two angels and the Lord God himself have assumed human form—so much so that they appear to Abraham to be three men, and they all eat the food he has prepared.
The most famous instance of such ambiguity is found in the story of Moses and the burning bush (Exod. 3:1–22). By way of background: Moses, the son of Hebrews, had been raised in Egypt by the daughter of Pharaoh, but he has to escape for murdering an Egyptian and is wanted by the Pharaoh himself. He goes to Midian where he marries and becomes a shepherd for his father-in-law’s flocks. One day, while tending to his sheeply duties, Moses sees an astonishing sight. We are told that he arrives at Mount Horeb (this is Mount Sinai, where later, after the exodus, he is given the law) and there, “the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush” (Exod. 3:2). Moses is amazed because the bush is aflame but is not being consumed by the fire. And despite the fact that it is the Angel of the Lord who is said to have appeared to him, it is “the Lord” who sees that Moses has come to the bush, and it is “God” who then calls to him out of the bush. In fact, the Angel of the Lord tells Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exod. 3:6). As the story continues, the Lord God continues to speak to Moses and Moses to God. But in what sense was it the Angel of the Lord that appeared to him? As a helpful note in the HarperCollins Study Bible puts it: “Although it was an angel that appeared in v. 2, there is no substantive difference between the deity and his agents.”3 Or as New Testament scholar Charles Gieschen has expressed it, this “Angel of the Lord” is “either indistinguishable from God as his visible manifestation” or he is a distinct figure, separate from God, who is bestowed with God’s own authority.4
Bart D. Ehrman. HOW JESUS BECAME GOD: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, Kindle Edition (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 2014.) pp. 52-53
Erhman later goes on to identify some NT authors (including Paul) who identify Jesus with the Angel of the Lord himself.
ReplyDeleteBut since most people don't dispute this, I only wanted to show that Erhman has no problem with status quo. Old Testament/Hebrew Scholarship presents the Angel is distinct from God, yet God in essence who even appears in human form.
Erhman is a well studied scholar who easily undermines certain versions of Jewish Unitarianism and Islamic Tawheed.
If I may add, regarding Moses story from muslims' perspective although slightly agree with biblical narration about flaming bush & mount Sinai still there were no Angels speaking to Moses at both places instead it was Allah Himself who spoke directly without intermediary to Moses,though they don't know exactly how Allah did that.
ReplyDeleteConsequently muslims have to accept the fact that this Angel of the Lord was Allah Himself. So, again the only way for muslims to rebut this is to sing the same old song "Jews &Christians had tampered the Torah."
Carlos - ah yes. there is simply no way round this in the Quran, Allah is the speaker and in the Bush.
ReplyDelete@Dk
ReplyDeleteAbout the flaming bush part I assume u meant Surah 27:7-8 , When Moses said to his people 'I observe a fire, and will bring you news of it, or I will bring you a flaming brand, that haply you shall warm yourselves.' So, when he came to IT, he was called: 'Blessed is he who is in the fire, and he who is about it.
Muslim scholars have differed concerning this matter, apparently the majority would like to dismiss the interpretation of someone within the fire.
Bassam discussed this in an old threat in islamic forum (i presume u've already seen it, but i inform it anyway) here's the link http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vbe/showthread.php?t=705
Regards