In Genesis 18 and 19, do we have a multiplicity of the God Jehovah?
Gen 19:1,2, "And Jehovah appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him." ASV
Who are these three men? Are they really Jehovah? To find out, we have to use other Bible texts to figure this out.
1 Kings 8:27 says, "But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!"
The temple that Solomon built is not enough to hold Jehovah, and then v. 49 tells us that God dwells in heaven. Why.
Because Jehovah says, "Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live." The awesome power, glory and being of Jehovah cannot be restricted by his own creation. The footnote at 1 Kings in the MacArthur Study Bible NKJV tells us that Jehovah "far transcended containment by anything in creation." (cf. Zondervan NASB Study Bible) Also, as a "spiritual Being" (Jn 4:24 Williams NT), God is invisible, and the Bible stresses this over and over. (John 1:18; 6:46, Col 1:15, Rom 1:20, 1 Tim 1:17, Heb 11:27, 1John 4:12).
So this leaves us with one question! Who were the three men in Genesis 18? The surrounding context will help us here. Let us go to chapter 16 and Hagar. "And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur." (see also vss. 9, 10, 11) How does Hagar respond? "..she named the LORD {Jehovah} who spoke to her El-roi [a God who can be seen]. 'For,' said she, 'I have actually seen God, and am still alive after seeing him.'" v13
She did not really see Jehovah, but His angel. The context tells us that much.
Angels came down to represent Jehovah in every way. They even bore His name. Let us take a look at Exodus 3:2, " And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush."
But we read on that his angel is being presented as Jehovah Himself. In fact, this angel tells Moses, "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
How can an angel bear God's name? Because God allows this. Exodus 23:20, 21 says, "Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Take ye heed before him, and hearken unto his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him."
Is this also true of the context at Genesis 18 and 19? Yes it is. In fact, at 19:1, the three *angels*" split up. "And the two angels came to Sodom at even." So, they were not God at all, but angels all along. (cf. Oxford Annotated Study Bible-RSV)
"It is also clear that the messenger of Yahweh is not clearly distinguished from Yahweh Himself; cf Gn 16:13; 21:18; 31:13; Ex 3:2 ff; Jgs 6:14; 13:22. Thus it appears that the messenger is an emissary sent by Yahweh to speak in His name or to work wonders in his name..." Dictionary of the Bible by John L. McKenzie (cf. Oxford Companion to the Bible, p. 28, where it refers to the men at Gen 18:2 as angels).
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