Genesis 18:2 (in the working draft of From the Beginning) [ ] = not a treatment of text
First, with inner vision, he
saw three distinguished men1 appear as though they were always there2;
as [Abraham] saw them, he ran
to greet them on their level, from the openness of his home. And he bowed to
demonstrate the respect and service [due even to pagans].
1 Abraham bows to strangers, as they are fellow
humans created in God’s image. The bowing, and use of “my Master” in the next
verse, prefigure Jacob in 33:1-10 where he bows to Esau, and compares the reconciliation of brothers to basking in
HaShem’s presence. This patriarchal
reverence to the gentiles whom Jews are charged to bless and serve is often neglected
by too many of Abraham’s more insular and defensive descendants.
While we denizens of the Lower World are seemingly abandoned to the vicissitudes
of our Free Will, we are not alone without guides or celestial agents. Humans have trouble registering or believing
in any sort of angels , but angels here need not be hallucinatory. Biblical
angelology is deeper than Hollywood Guardian Angels. מלך MeLeKH means “ king,” the לך LaiKH “go!”- maker. The typical designed opposite is מלאך MaLaKH (angel). This
messenger is told where to לך LaiKH “go!”
The sages teach how each angel has a specific task.
Here, angel #1, Raphael (God-heals) has the mission of healing Abraham from his recent circumcision. This recent medical ordeal is why the
commentators have HaShem visiting Abraham, with the ו Vav of Vayera linking us back to the end of Genesis
17. Angel #2, Gabriel is tasked
with overthrowing Sodom. Angel #3, Michael, informs Abraham and Sarah about their future
child. These celestial messengers shape-shift
to appear as men, but their words son give them away. In verse 9 they know
Sarah’s name. The parents of Samson are
on a lower level, and only know for sure that an angel, a fiery Saraph, had
been talking to them when the “man” ascends in a flame at the end of Judges 13.
The Bible offers other celestial beings, including Ophanim (wheels) that
we call flying saucers, sentient beings with missions best recorded in the
Arab-Israeli wars].
2 NeeTSaVeeYM
[A][LaYBH נצבים עליו is
an unusual phrase, inferring an abrupt, unnatural appearance, a stable stance without any
walking, then standing. Some take this
‘visitation” scene of three wayfarers as a prophetic dream sequence. We later (19:1)
discover that the three human visitors were angels in human guise (as with
Samson’s parents similarly getting the news of a miraculous birth in Judges 13.) Before
shape-shifting, these celestial beings simply appear as by teleportation.
A literal translation renders this phrase to
mean “standing ABOVE,” as in the superior spiritual status of angels. Later, in verse 18:8, Abraham is described as
עמד עליהם [O]aMaiD [A]LeyHem, not just waiting on his guests, but now
standing ABOVE THEM. Humans, bipeds, do
stand. But how can a mortal be “above” a faultless angel? If we use our Free Will to serve our fellow
man, we then honor the Maker of Men. We
humans can never be perfect, like angels. But when serving Man (in the image of
G-d) we can be higher than angels.