Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 18:2 and 4Q180 2–4 ii 4

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation

Summary

In Genesis, Abraham meets three men after God appears at Mamre. In 4Q180 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the visitors are identified as angels, an answer to the question of whether one of the three men is God himself.

Passages

Genesis 18:2

Hebrew Bible

1 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree. 5 And let me get a bit of food so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

4Q180 2–4 ii 4

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation · The Ages of the Creation

1 which … […] … it is that which dwelt … […] … […] 2 I know … […] … beautiful … […] … […] 3 … […] the three men […] 4 […] … from the oaks of Mamre, they are angels […] 5 […] he will stand … […] their sin … […]

160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q180

References

“... A closer look at the references to Genesis 18 in 4Q180 2-4 ii suggests yet another possibility, namely that we have here a series of notes and comments which comment on the biblical text, and explain problematic issues in this text. 4Q180 2-4 ii 3-4 states: "The three men [who] appear[ed] to [Abraha]m at the Oaks of Mamre are angels". The clause does not de- scribe an angelic apparition, but presupposes the biblical text, and com- ments on the problem of the identity of the three men. Some of the prob- lems of Genesis 18 relate to the question of the plural and the singular forms, and as to whether one of the three men is perhaps God himself, and whether the "men" of Genesis 18 are the "angels" of Gen 1 9 : 1 . 4 40׳Q180 takes a clear stand: the three men are three angels. ...”

Eibert Tigchelaar, “Sodom and Gomorrah in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in Sodom’s Sin: Genesis 18-19 and Its Interpretations, ed. Ed Noort and Eibert Tigchelaar (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 56.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Fragments 2-4 ii

4Q1804 chapters

Compare Genesis 18:2 and 4Q180 2–4 ii 4

Summary

Passages

Genesis 18:2

4Q180 2–4 ii 4

References

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