Genesis 18:8

Hebrew Bible

7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 Abraham then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food before them. They ate while he was standing near them under a tree. 9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, in the tent.”

Jubilees 16:1

Pseudepigrapha

1 And on the new moon of the fourth month we appeared unto Abraham, at the oak of Mamre, and we talked with him, and we announced to him that a son would be given to him by Sarah his wife. 2 And Sarah laughed, for she heard that we had spoken these words with Abraham, and we admonished her, and she became afraid, and denied that she had laughed on account of the words. 3 And we told her the name of her son, as his name is ordained and written in the heavenly tablets (i.e.) Isaac,

Neofiti Genesis 18:8

Targum

7 And Abraham ran to the cattle-yard and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to his boy-servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 When he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he stood beside them under the tree and they were giving the impression of eating and drinking. 9 And they said to him: “Where is your wife Sarah?”; and he said: “Be­ hold she is in the tent.”

 Notes and References

"... The appearance of YHWH in combination with Abraham’s meeting with three men introduces a certain ambiguity to the text of Genesis 18:1–15. The author of Jubilees has apparently chosen to remove this ambiguity. In addition, he identifies the three men with the angels. The omission of the theophany and its substitution with the appearance of the angels is noticeable, because in his rendering of Genesis, the author of Jubilees often does copy the theophanies. In relation to the omission of the hospitality scene, it is possible that the author had some problems with the anthropomorphic character of the angels, since it would have been impossible for the angels to eat the meal prepared by Abraham (Genesis 18:8: “they ate”). Other early Jewish authors, such as Philo and Flavius Josephus, also mention this problem, whereas all of the targumim render the phrase “and they ate” as follows: “they seemed to be eating and drinking.” Thus Abraham was under the impression that they were eating (see Philo, On Abraham 118; Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 1.11.2; Targum Neofiti Genesis 18:8) ..."

van Ruiten, J. Abraham in the Book of Jubilees: The Rewriting of Genesis 11:26-25:10 in the Book of Jubilees 11:14-23:8 (p. 174) Brill, 2012

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