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JWS, RABBIS & THE 2 YHWHS OF GEN. 18-19

This will be the final segment to my series discussing the clear, unambiguous witness of Genesis chapters 18-19 to the existence of two distinct divine Persons of YHWH, One of whom appeared on earth in the form of a Man and the other One that was in heaven: JW BIBLE ADMITS: JESUS IS ABRAHAM’S GOD!

Here I will address a typical objection by both Arians such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and rabbinic Judaism to refute the claim that Genesis 19:24 refers to two Persons as YHWH.

Their argument is that this is a case of third person usage, a biblical feature where an author or speaker within the inspired text will either refer to himself or someone else in the third person.

I will let the JW’s Watchtower Bible and Tract Society explain it:

It is consistent with Hebrew idiom to speak of a person’s doing something in reference to himself. We read: “Solomon proceeded to congregate the older men . . . to King Solomon.” “To Moses [Jehovah] said: ‘Go up to Jehovah . . .’” “[Jehovah] went on to say: . . . I will save them by Jehovah.’” (1 Kings 8:1; Exodus 24:1; Hosea 1:6, 7; Zechariah 10:12) In this same way Genesis 19:24 tells us that Jehovah brought the unprecedented sulfur and fire from himself, “from Jehovah, from the heavens.” So rather than being a strained prop for the unscriptural Trinity doctrine, this verse underscores the point made at Psalm 83:18: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” (Questions From Readers, Genesis 19:24 speaks of ‘the Lord’ raining down sulfur and fire ‘from the Lord’ on Sodom. Does this indicate that God is a trinity?)

The JW argument is virtually identical to the one employed in the Talmud:

Rav Naḥman says: This one, i.e., any person, who knows how to respond to the heretics as effectively as Rav Idit should respond to them, but if he does not know, he should not respond to them. The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rav Idit: It is written in the verse concerning God: “And to Moses He said: Come up to the Lord” (Exodus 24:1). The heretic raised a question: It should have stated: Come up to Me. Rav Idit said to him: This term, “the Lord,” in that verse is referring TO THE ANGEL METATRON, whose name is like the name of his Master, as it is written: “Behold I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Take heed of him and obey his voice; do not defy him; for he will not pardon your transgression, for My name is in him” (Exodus 23:20–21).

The heretic said to him: If so, if this angel IS EQUATED WITH GOD, we should worship him as we worship God. Rav Idit said to him: It is written: “Do not defy [tammer] him,” which alludes to: Do not replace Me [temireni] with him. The heretic said to him: If so, why do I need the clause “For he will not pardon your transgression”? Rav Idit said to him: We believe that we did not accept the angel even as a guide [befarvanka] for the journey, as it is written: “And he said to him: If Your Presence go not with me raise us not up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Moses told God that if God Himself does not accompany the Jewish people they do not want to travel to Eretz Yisrael.

The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei: It is written: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The heretic raised the question: It should have stated: From Him out of heaven. A certain launderer said to Rabbi Yishmael: Leave him be; I will respond to him. This is as it is written: “And Lemech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemech, hearken to my speech” (Genesis 4:23). One can raise the question: It should have been written: My wives, and not: “Wives of Lemech.” Rather, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Here too, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Rabbi Yishmael said to the launderer: From where did you hear this interpretation? The launderer said to him: I heard it at the lecture of Rabbi Meir. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.38b?lang=bi; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Here’s a different rendering:

‘R. Nahman said: He who is as skilled in refuting the Minim as is R. Idith,⁵² let him do so; but not otherwise. Once a Min said to R. Idith: It is written, And unto Moses He said, Come up to the Lord.⁵³ But surely it should have stated, Come up unto me! — IT WAS METATRON⁵⁴ [who said that], he replied, whose name is similar to that of his Master,⁵⁵ for it is written, For my name is in him.⁵⁶ But if so, [he retorted,] we should worship him! The same passage, however, — replied R. Idith says: Be not rebellious⁵⁷ against him, i.e., exchange Me not for him. But if so,⁵⁸ why is it stated: He will not pardon your transgression?⁵⁹ He answered: By our troth⁶⁰ we would not accept him even as a messenger,⁶¹ for it is written, And he said unto him, If Thy [personal] presence go not etc.⁶²

A Min once said to R. Ishmael b. Jose: It is written, Then the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord:⁶³ but from him should have been written! A certain fuller⁶⁴ said, Leave him to me, I will answer him. [He then proceeded,’ It is written, And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech;⁶⁵ but he should have said, my wives! But such is the Scriptural idiom — so here too, it is the Scriptural idiom.

[Ms.M.: R. Idi.]
Ex. XXIV, 1.
Name of an Angel, probably derived from metator, guide. In Talmud and Midrash he is regarded notably as the defender of the rights of Israel (cf. Hag. 16a).
Cf. Rashi on Ex. XXIII, 21. The numerical value of Metatron ([H]) is equal to that of [H] (the Almighty) viz. 314.
Ex. XXIII, 21.
[H] is here taken, in the sense of ‘exchange’, from [H].
That he is not to be worshipped, but God alone.
Ibid. Surely, he has no authority to do so.
Lit., ‘we hold the belief.’
Lit., ‘Postman’ — of forgiveness.
Ex. XXXIII, 15. [The Min was a believer in the doctrine of two rulers and he sought support for this belief from Ex. XXIV, 1. R. Idith met his argument by showing that even Metatron was accepted by Jews only as guide, and in no sense a second god. For a full discussion of the passage, v. Herford, op. cit. p. 285ff.]
Gen. XIX, 24
A figure frequently mentioned in the Talmud as of a specific type. V. e.g., Ber. 28a, Ned. 41a. [In Roman literature, he is an object of ridicule; in rabbinic lore, he plays a more dignified role.]
Gen. IV, 23. (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin, Folio 38; bold emphasis mine)

The foregoing assertion is easily refuted when we observe that none of the biblical texts cited above are at all identical to what we find in Genesis 18-19.⁽¹⁾

As we saw in the previous installments, Genesis 18-19 emphatically states that YHWH was on earth in the form of a Man and carried out human functions, such as eating human food and having his feet washed by actual water. These chapters also affirm that YHWH went down from Abraham’s presence to Sodom in order to personally inspect the inhabitants’ conduct before bringing destruction upon them.

Here, again, are the relevant passages:

“Afterward, Jehovah appeared to him among the big trees of Mamʹre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing some distance from him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground. Then he said: ‘Jehovah, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. Please, let a little water be brought and have YOUR FEET washed; then recline under the tree. Seeing that you have come here to your servant, let me bring a piece of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. Then you may go on your way.’ At this they said: ‘All right. You may do as you have spoken.’ So Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said: “Quick! Get three measures of fine flour, knead the dough, and make loaves of bread.’ Next Abraham ran to the herd and chose a tender and good young bull. He gave it to the attendant, who hurried to prepare it. He then took butter and milk and the young bull that he had prepared and set the food before them. Then he stood by them under the tree AS THEY WERE EATING.

“They said to him: ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ He replied: ‘Here in the tent.’ So one of them continued: ‘I will surely return to you next year at this time, and look! your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance, which was behind the man. Abraham and Sarah were old, being advanced in years. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah began to laugh to herself, saying: ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I really have this pleasure?’ Then Jehovah said to Abraham: ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Am I really going to give birth even though I am old?” Is anything too extraordinary for Jehovah? I will return to you next year at this appointed time, and Sarah will have a son.’ But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh!’ for she was afraid. At this he said: ‘Yes! You did laugh.’

“When the men got up to leave and looked down toward Sodʹom, Abraham was walking with them to escort them. Jehovah said: “Am I keeping hidden from Abraham what I am going to do? Why, Abraham is surely going to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by means of him. For I have come to know him in order that he may command his sons and his household after him to keep Jehovah’s way by doing what is right and just, so that Jehovah may bring about what he has promised concerning Abraham.’ Then Jehovah said: ‘The outcry against Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah is indeed great, and their sin is very heavy. I will go down to see whether they are acting according to the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I can get to know it.’ Then the men left from there and went toward Sodʹom, but JEHOVAH REMAINED WITH ABRAHAM.

“Then Abraham approached and said: ‘Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are 50 righteous men within the city. Will you, then, sweep them away and not pardon the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are inside it? It is unthinkable that you would act in this manner by putting the righteous man to death with the wicked one so that the outcome for the righteous man and the wicked is the same! It is unthinkable of you. Will the Judge of all the earth not do what is right?’ Then Jehovah said: “If I find in Sodʹom 50 righteous men in the city, I will pardon the whole place for their sake.’ But Abraham again responded: ‘Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah, whereas I am dust and ashes. Suppose the 50 righteous should lack five. Because of the five will you destroy the whole city?’ To this he said: ‘I will not destroy it if I find there 45.’ But yet again he spoke to him and said: ‘Suppose 40 are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not do it for the sake of the 40.’ But he continued: ‘Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me go on speaking: Suppose only 30 are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not do it if I find 30 there.’ But he continued: ‘Please, here I have presumed to speak to Jehovah: Suppose only 20 are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20.’ Finally he said: ‘Jehovah, please, do not become hot with anger, but let me speak just once more: Suppose only ten are found there.’ He answered: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.’ When Jehovah finished speaking to Abraham, HE WENT HIS WAY and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:1-33 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision)

“Then JEHOVAH made it rain sulfur and fire on Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah—it came FROM JEHOVAH, FROM the heavens. So he overthrew these cities, yes, the entire district, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the plants of the ground. But Lot’s wife, who was behind him, began to look back, and she became a pillar of salt. Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place WHERE HE STOOD BEFORE JEHOVAH. When he looked down toward Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah and all the land of the district, he saw quite a sight. There was dense smoke rising from the land like the dense smoke of a kiln! So when God destroyed the cities of the district, God kept Abraham in mind by sending Lot out from the cities he overthrew, the cities where Lot had been dwelling.” Genesis 19:24-29 NWT

We, thus, have an explicit reference to a YHWH appearing on earth as a Man, and a YHWH in heaven that rained down sulfur and fire at the request of the other YHWH who had gone down to Sodom in human form!

Therefore, the cases of Lamech referring to himself in the third person, or of Solomon being mentioned twice in the same text, are not analogous since neither one of these verses posits a Lamech or Solomon on earth and another Lamech/Solomon in heaven or in some other location.

So much for this oft-repeated anti-Trinitarian objection.

Endnotes

(1) What makes these citations from the Watchtower and the Talmud rather ironic is that they actually contradict each other!

The society quotes Exodus 24:1 as a case where YHWH refers to himself in the third person, whereas the Talmud interprets this as YHWH actually telling Moses to go up and meet Metatron, whom the rabbis believed was the Angel mentioned in Exodus 23:20-23 that embodied YHWH’s own name.

In other words, the YHWH whom Moses was told to meet on the mountain is taken by the rabbis to be a distinct angelic figure acting in the place of YHWH, and not as an example of YHWH referring to himself in the third person!

The contradictory replies which these various anti-Trinitarian groups raise in their zeal to refute the biblical basis for the Trinity couldn’t be any more glaring.

JESUS CHRIST: JOSEPH’S LEGAL HEIR

In this post I will be responding to another Protestant objection against the perpetual virginity of the blessed Mother of our God Incarnate.

It is claimed that if Joseph had children from a previous marriage, which would make them older than Christ, then Jesus could not have been Joseph’s legal heir and would therefore be disqualified from reigning over David’s throne. This is based on the fact that it is the king’s firstborn son who is the heir-apparent to the Davidic dynasty.

This objection is intended to prove that Jesus’ so-called brothers and sisters (Cf. Mark 6:3) could not have been from Joseph’s previous spouse, who had since deceased. Therefore, Christ’s relatives could only be from Mary (or at least cousins of his), and not step-siblings.

With this canard in view, I now proceed to refute it.

ADONIJAH VS. SOLOMON

The Hebrew Bible itself disproves the assertion that the king’s firstborn son is the one who inherits the throne, such as the case of Solomon.

God had specifically chosen Solomon to reign in David’s place, even though he wasn’t the firstborn son, or David’s eldest child at that time:

“Then David comforted his wife, Bathshe′ba, and went in to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him,and sent a message by Nathan the prophet; so he called his name Jedidi′ah [“beloved of YHWH”], because of the Lord.” 2 Samuel 12:24-25

“David said to Solomon, ‘My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me upon the earth.Behold, a son shall be born to you; he shall be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel for ever.”’” 1 Chronicles 22:7-10

Solomon’s brother Adonjiah was older than him since the latter had been born to David at Hebron, whereas the former was born after David left Hebron for Jerusalem:

“And sons were born to David at Hebron: his first-born was Amnon, of Ahin′o-am of Jezreel; and his second, Chil′e-ab, of Ab′igail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Ab′salom the son of Ma′acah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;and the fourth, Adoni′jah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephati′ah the son of Abi′tal;and the sixth, Ith′re-am, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.” 2 Samuel 3:2-5

“And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Sham′mu-a, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,Ibhar, Eli′shu-a, Nepheg, Japhi′a,Elish′ama, Eli′ada, and Eliph′elet.” 2 Samuel 5:13-16

This explains why Adonijah thought he would be crowned king after David’s demise, seeing that he was older than Solomon. And yet he was clearly wrong:

“Now Adoni′jah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king’; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, ‘Why have you done thus and so?’ He was also a very handsome man; and he was born next after Ab′salom.He conferred with Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah and with Abi′athar the priest; and they followed Adoni′jah and helped him.But Zadok the priest, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shim′e-i, and Re′i, and David’s mighty men were not with Adoni′jah. Adoni′jah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside En-ro′gel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benai′ah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.

“Then Nathan said to Bathshe′ba the mother of Solomon, ‘Have you not heard that Adoni′jah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it?Now therefore come, let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.Go in at once to King David, and say to him, “Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne’? Why then is Adoni′jah king?”Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.’

“So Bathshe′ba went to the king into his chamber (now the king was very old, and Ab′ishag the Shu′nammite was ministering to the king).Bathshe′ba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, ‘What do you desire?’She said to him, ‘My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the Lord your God, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.”And now, behold, Adoni′jah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abi′athar the priest, and Jo′ab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited.And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.’

“While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told the king, ‘Here is Nathan the prophet.’ And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground.And Nathan said, ‘My lord the king, have you said, “Adoni′jah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne”?For he has gone down this day, and has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, Jo′ab the commander of the army, and Abi′athar the priest; and behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, “Long live King Adoni′jah!”But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited.Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?’

“Then King David answered, ‘Call Bathshe′ba to me.’ So she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king.And the king swore, saying, ‘As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity,as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead”; even so will I do this day.’Then Bathshe′ba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, ‘May my lord King David live for ever!’

“King David said, ‘Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada.’ So they came before the king.And the king said to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, “Long live King Solomon!”You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.’And Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada answered the king, ‘Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.’

“So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and the Cher′ethites and the Pel′ethites, went down and caused Solomon to ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.

“Adoni′jah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Jo′ab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, ‘What does this uproar in the city mean?’While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abi′athar the priest came; and Adoni′jah said, ‘Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.’Jonathan answered Adoni′jah, ‘No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king;and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and the Cher′ethites and the Pel′ethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule;and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard.Solomon sits upon the royal throne.Moreover the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, “Your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.” And the king bowed himself upon the bed.And the king also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.”’

“Then all the guests of Adoni′jah trembled, and rose, and each went his own way.And Adoni′jah feared Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold of the horns of the altar.And it was told Solomon, ‘Behold, Adoni′jah fears King Solomon; for lo, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, “Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.”’ And Solomon said, ‘If he prove to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.’So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, ‘Go to your house.’” 1 Kings 1:5-53

David himself wasn’t the oldest child of his father Jesse when God appointed him to rule as king instead of Saul his predecessor:

“When they came, he looked on Eli′ab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.’But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’Then Jesse called Abin′adab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here.’And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is he.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.” 1 Samuel 16:6-13

“David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the seasoned warriors.Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, “You may not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood.” Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father’s house to be king over Israel for ever; for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father’s house, and among my father’s sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel.And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, “It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom for ever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.”’” 1 Chronicles 28:1-7

The foregoing shows that God is free to choose whomever he so wishes, whether the elder or younger child, and is under no constraint to always or only appoint the firstborn son.

In fact, we find God deliberately choosing the younger/youngest sibling over against the elder one/firstborn, as the following examples clearly illustrate.

CAIN VS. ABEL & SETH

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.’And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’ Cain said to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear.Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him.Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden… And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, for Cain slew him.’ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:1-16, 25-26

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking.” Hebrews 11:4

What makes the case of Cain rather peculiar is that he is not listed in Adam’s genealogy. Only Seth is!

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters.Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. When Seth had lived a hundred and five years, he became the father of Enosh.Seth lived after the birth of Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.Thus all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.” Genesis 5:1-8

“Adam, Seth, Enosh;Kenan, Mahal′alel, Jared; Enoch, Methu′selah, Lamech;Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” 1 Chronicles 1:1-4

“Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli… the son of Me′le-a, the son of Menna, the son of Mat′tatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Bo′az, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, the son of Ammin′adab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah… the son of Ca-i′nan, the son of Arphax′ad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methu′selah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Maha′lale-el, the son of Ca-i′nan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:23, 31-33, 36-38

ISHMAEL VS. ISAAC

““And God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sar′ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar′ai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’And Abraham said to God, ‘O that Ish′mael might live in thy sight!’God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasing covenant for his descendants after him.As for Ish′mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.’ When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.” Genesis 17:15-22

“But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but ‘Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. For this is what the promise said, ‘About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.’” Romans 9:6-9

ESAU VS. JACOB

“These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,and Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethu′el the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.The children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it is thus, why do I live?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord.And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’ When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they called his name Esau.Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand had taken hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.” Genesis 25:19-26

“And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, she was told, ‘The elder will serve the younger.’As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Romans 9:10-13

REUBEN VS. JOSEPH

“The sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born; but because he polluted his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright;though Judah became strong among his brothers and a prince was from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),the sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.” 1 Chronicles 5:1-3

“Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they only hated him the more.He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed:behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered round it, and bowed down to my sheaf.’ His brothers said to him, ‘Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over us?’ So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words.Then he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, ‘Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.’” Genesis 37:5-11

MANASSEH VS. EPHRAIM

“Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.And Joseph took them both, E′phraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manas′seh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of E′phraim, who was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manas′seh, crossing his hands, for Manas′seh was the first-born.And he blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has led me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of E′phraim, it displeased him; and he took his father’s hand, to remove it from E′phraim’s head to Manas′seh’s head.And Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father; for this one is the first-born; put your right hand upon his head.’But his father refused, and said, ‘I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.’So he blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, “God make you as E′phraim and as Manas′she”’; and thus he put E′phraim before Manas′seh.Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.Moreover I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.’” Genesis 48:12-22

These cases should put to rest this rather desperate Protestant canard that Jesus cannot be the legal heir to Joseph’s estate, and therefore to the Davidic throne, if Christ’s adoptive father already had sons that were older than Jesus.

All scriptural references taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV).

FURTHER READING

NOTES FOR PERPETUAL VIRGINITY DEBATE

NOTES FOR THE ANTHONY ROGERS’ REBUTTAL

“The Greek ‘heos hou’ in Matthew 1:25 disproves Mary’s Perpetual Virginity”?

Church Fathers on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity

What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

THE REFORMERS ON MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

FRANCIS TURRETIN ON THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF MARY

JAMES WHITE’S WAR AGAINST MARY FULL OF GRACE

JW BIBLE ADMITS: JESUS IS ABRAHAM’S GOD PT. 2

I continue from where I left off: JW BIBLE ADMITS: JESUS IS ABRAHAM’S GOD!.

In this post I will set to prove that the Jehovah who appeared on earth as a Man to Abraham was Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence.

JESUS: THE JEHOVAH THAT PUNISHES

According to the NT, the Lord God who destroyed Sodom and the cities nearby, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt and punished them in the desert, the God who consigned the angels to darkness for not maintaining their heavenly position, was Jesus in his prehuman existence.

Note, for example, what Jude wrote:

“For there have slipped in some men forewritten of old for this doom, impious men who shift the grace of our God into immorality and repudiate our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (ton monon Despoten kai Kyrion hemon ‘Iesoun Christon). But I would remind you, though you know the whole once for all, that after the Lord (Kyrios) had saved a people out of the land of Egypt HE in the second instance destroyed those who did not believe, and angels who did not keep their prerogative but left their domicile HE has kept under darkness by everlasting fetters for the judgment of the Great Day, as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having run into debauchery and gone after another flesh in like manner with these, are on exhibition as an example, undergoing the penalty of eternal fire.” Jude 1:4-7 BYINGTON

The context makes it clear that the Lord who saved and punished Israel and so on is none other than Christ since Jude has just described him as the believers one and only Master and Lord. As such, Jesus is here being identified as that very God who carried out all those punishments mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.⁽¹⁾

This is further confirmed from the fact that the earlier Greek copies and ancient translations actually have the word Jesus in v. 5, not Lord, a reading found in the following English versions:

“Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;” Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

“… that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” English Standard Version (ESV)

“But I will admonish you once, that know all things, that Jesus saved his people from the land of Egypt, and the second time destroyed them that believed not. [Forsooth I will together admonish you, witting once all things, for Jesus saving his people of the land of Egypt, the second time lost them that believed not.]” Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

“… that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not:” Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

“… that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, the second time destroyed those who did not believe.” Lexham English Bible (LEB)

“… that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe.” New English Translation (NET)

“… that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.” New Living Translation (NLT)

Even more remarkable is that the oldest extant copy of Jude is P⁷², which is a papyrus that scholars believe comes from the third century. And in that manuscript, v. 5 actually calls Jesus God!

“But I want to remind you about what you have always known, namely, that the GOD CHRIST (God, who is Christ [Theos Christos]), saved people out of Egypt, but then he destroyed those who did not believe.”

The words Theos Christos are written as nomina sacra (θς χρς), i.e., a practice where scribes would abbreviate the names and titles of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, out of reverence and recognition of their essential Deity.

These variants all prove thar, no matter what reading a JW and/or any other anti-Trinitarian adopts, s/he is still left with the inescapable fact that Jude emphatically and unambiguously proclaims that it was the Person of Christ who delivered and punished Israel during the time of Moses!

NT textual critic Philip W. Comfort explains it best as he shows why the reading Jesus is not only possible, but most likely what Jude wrote. After mentioning the following reading,

panta hoti [ho] kyrios hapax

“[knowing that] the Lord having once and for all”

Comfort lists the major variants,

1. hapax panta, hoti Iesous
“[knowing] once for all, Jesus”

2. panta, hoti Iesous hapax
“[knowing] everything, that Jesus once”

3. hapax panta, hoti theos Christos
“[knowing] once and for all, that God [the] Messiah (or, Messiah God)”

4. hapax panta, hoti ho theos
“[knowing] once and for all, that God”

5. hapax touto, hoti ho kyrios
“once [you knew] this, that the Lord”

And then concludes:

Among all the readings cited above, the first and second variants are the most remarkable, for they say that “Jesus delivered his people out of Egypt.” This reading is found in A B 33 1739 1881 Origen Cyril Jerome Bede–AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF WITNESSES. P72 may possibly be an indirect witness to the reading “Jesus,” because it shows that the scribe had before him in his exemplar a messianic title–“Christ” (= “Messiah”). At any rate, it is easier to argue (from a textual perspective) that the reading “Jesus” is the one which all the others deviated than to argue that the reading with “Lord” (or “God”) was changed to “Jesus,” because scribes were not known for fabricating difficult readings.

Some scholars, such as Wikgren (1967, 147-152) have argued that Jude may have written Iesous in Jude 5 intending “Joshua” (see NEBmg), as in Heb 4:8. But this is very unlikely, because Joshua led the Israelites into the good land of Canaan, but not out of Egypt, and Joshua certainly did not destroy those who did not believe (Jude 5b). This was a divine activity. Thus, it is likely that Jesus here is being seen as Yahweh the Savior. In other words, from Jude’s perspective, it was Jesus, the I AM (see John 8:58), who was present with the Israelites and operative in their deliverance from Egypt. Paul shared a similar view inasmuch as he proclaimed that “Christ” was the Rock that accompanied the Israelites in their desert journeys and that “Christ” was the one the Israelites constantly “tested” during these times (see 1 Cor 10:4, 9 and note on 1 Cor 10:9). Thus, the reading “Jesus,” though difficult, IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE. As such, it should be accepted AS THE ORIGINAL READING (as it was by Eberhard Nestle [1901, 328-329] and F. F. Bruce [1964, 63]).

The first edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament contained the reading “Jesus” in the text. But this was changed in the third edition, when a slim majority of the editors voted to put the reading with “Lord” in the text and the one with “Jesus” in the margin (Metzger and Wikgren voted against the decision and stated their reasons for doing so in TCGNT.)

The first English translation to adopt the wording “Jesus” was NLT. (As the New Testament coordinator who proposed this reading to the NLY committee, I was glad to see them adopt it.) Two other recent versions have adopted this reading: TNIV (a change from the NIV) and NET (see the note in NETmg). Otherwise, it has been regulated to the margin of all the other versions. NASB notes that “two early manuscripts read ‘Jesus.’” Those manuscripts are A and B. (Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary, pp. 802-803; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Comfort isn’t the sole textual critic of the NT who concurs that the reading Jesus is original:

²¹tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1…

²⁴ tc The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Iēsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel (the NA²⁷ has “the Lord” instead of “Jesus”). However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from A VARIETY OF EARLY WITNESSES (e.g., A B 33 81 88 322 424^c 665 915 1241 (1735: “the Lord Jesus”) 1739 1881 2298 2344 vg co eth Or^1739mg Cyr Hier Bede), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (theos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though P⁷² has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [theos Christos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate. The NA²⁸ text now also reads Ιησοῦς. For defense of this reading, see Philipp Bartholomä, “Did Jesus Save the People out of Egypt: A Re-examination of a Textual Problem in Jude 5, ” NovT 50 (2008): 143-58.

sn The construction our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ in v. 4 follows Granville Sharp’s rule (see note on Lord). The construction strongly implies the deity of Christ. This is followed by a statement that Jesus was involved in the salvation (and later judgment) of the Hebrews. He is thus to be identified with the Lord God, Yahweh. Verse 5, then, simply fleshes out what is implicit in v. 4. (NET Bible https://netbible.org/bible/Jude+1)

The foregoing confirms beyond any reasonable doubt that Jude truly believed it was Jesus in his prehuman existence who personally condemned the rebellious angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the Israelites during Moses’ time.

JESUS: THE JEHOVAH WHO JUDGES ALL CREATION

The other line of evidence, which establishes that it was Jesus whom Abraham spoke with, comes from the fact that the latter identified the God before whom he stood as the Judge of all the earth:

“‘It is unthinkable that you would act in this manner by putting the righteous man to death with the wicked one so that the outcome for the righteous man and the wicked is the same! It is unthinkable of you. Will the Judge of all the earth not do what is right?’ Then Jehovah said: ‘If I find in Sodʹom 50 righteous men in the city, I will pardon the whole place for their sake.’” Genesis 18:25-26

According to the NT, it is the Son who has been appointed to carry out all of God’s judgment,

“For the Father judges NO ONE AT ALL, but he has entrusted ALL the judging to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23

Since he is the One who shall come to recompense every individual for what s/he has earned:

“For the Son of man is to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his behavior. Truly I say to you that there are some of those standing here who will not taste death at all until first they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28

“And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory… Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that must occur and in standing before the Son of man.” Luke 21:27, 36

“He sent out the word to the sons of Israel to declare to them the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—this one is Lord of all… Also, he ordered us to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness that this is the one decreed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone putting faith in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:36, 42-43

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Christ, so that each one may be repaid according to the things he has practiced while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10

“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS manifestation and HIS Kingdom:… From this time on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not to me only, but also to all those who have loved HIS manifestation… In my first defense no one came to my side, but they all forsook me—may they not be held accountable. But the Lord stood near me and infused power into me, so that through me the preaching might be fully accomplished and all the nations might hear it; and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every wicked work and will save me for HIS heavenly Kingdom. To HIM be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 16-18

“To the angel of the congregation in Thy·a·tiʹra write: These are the things that the Son of God says, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine copper: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and ministry and endurance, and that your deeds of late are more than those you did at first. Nevertheless, I do hold this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezʹe·bel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am the one who searches the innermost thoughts and hearts, and I will give to you individually according to your deeds.’” Revelation 2:18-23

“‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to repay each one according to his work. I am the Alʹpha and the O·meʹga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you about these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star.’… The one who bears witness of these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus. May the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus be with the holy ones.” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20-21

These texts show that Jesus must have been the One whom Abraham identified as the Judge of the whole earth.

And seeing that the Son has always been the same,

“And: ‘At the beginning, O Lord [the Son], you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; and just like a garment, they will all wear out, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as a garment, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never come to an end.’” Hebrews 1:10-12

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

It, therefore, makes absolute sense that he was the One doing all the judging during the OT period.

As such, it comes as no surprise that Jesus could speak of having personally seen Abraham where he beheld the latter’s ecstasy and glee at knowing that Christ would one day come to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world:

“The Jews replied ‘Are we not right in saying you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered “I do not have a demon; but I am honoring my Father and you are dishonoring me. But I am not looking out for my glory; there is one who looks out and judges. Verily, verily I tell you, if one keeps my words he shall not behold death forevermore.’ The Jews said to him “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets, and you say “if one keeps my words he shall not taste death forevermore.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died; whom are you claiming to be?’ Jesus answered ‘If I glorify myself there is nothing to my glory. It is my Father that glorifies me, who you say is your God, and you do not know him. But I do know him; and if I say I do not know him I shall be a liar like you; but I know him and keep his words. Your father Abraham exulted that he should see my day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to him ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and has Abraham seen you?’ Jesus said to them ‘Verily, verily I tell you, before there was an Abraham I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple-precinct.” John 8:48-59 BYINGTON – Cf. 1:29-36; Gen. 22:7-8 (1-18)

With the foregoing in view the readers are advised to read the next installment where I refute a typical objection leveled by anti-Trinitarian groups against the clear witness of Genesis 18-19 that there are two distinct Persons of YHWH God: JWS, RABBIS & THE 2 YHWHS OF GEN. 18-19.

FURTHER READING

JUDE TESTIFIES THAT JESUS IS YHWH ALMIGHTY!

Jesus Christ: The Lord God Who Saved and Punished Israel During the Exodus

UNITARIANS PROVE THE FATHER ISN’T THE TRUE GOD

ENDNOTES

(1) In order to avoid having to admit that Jude is describing Christ as that very YHWH who performed these specific acts in the OT, the Watchtower deceptively inserted the name Jehovah in their (mis)translation:

“My reason is that certain men have slipped in among you who were long ago appointed to this judgment by the Scriptures; they are ungodly men who turn the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for brazen conduct and who prove false to our ONLY owner and LORD, Jesus Christ. Although you are fully aware of all of this, I want to remind you that Jehovah, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those not showing faith.” Jude1:4-5

The Society has done this in 236 other places, placing the name Jehovah in particular texts without any scriptural warrant for doing so. The fact is that there isn’t a shred of manuscript evidence for any writer ever employing the Divine Name in any of the Greek NT writings.

The Greek term used in Jude v. 5 is Kyrios (“Lord”) as even the Watchtower’s own The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures shows:

5 Ὑπομνῆσαι(To remind)δὲ(but)ὑμᾶς(YOU)(I am wishing,)εἰδότας((ones)ἅπαξ(once for all)(all (things)ὅτι(that)Κύριος (Lord)λαὸν(people)ἐκ(out of)γῆς(earth)Αἰγύπτου(of Egypt)σώσας(having saved)τὸ(the)δεύτερον(second [time])τοὺς(the (ones)μὴ(not)πιστεύσαντας

(having believed)(he destroyed,)This is why none of the versions posted by the Society on their site have the name Jehovah in their translation:

“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.” Jude 1:5 KJV

“Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.” ASV

JW BIBLE ADMITS: JESUS IS ABRAHAM’S GOD!

In this post I am going to revisit the issue of the explicit testimony from Genesis that there are two distinct Persons of YHWH (Jehovah), two that are plainly identified as the God of Abraham: the YHWHwho appears on earth as a Man, and the YHWH who is in the heavens above.

Unless indicated otherwise, I will be employing New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 Revision). I do so in order to show the readers how to use the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ very own Bible translations to prove that Jehovah is not a singular divine Person, and that Jesus is expressly described as YHWH God in the flesh.

Here is the passage in question:

Notice how the very Bible versions, which the Society makes available on their website (Online Bible), render the highlighted texts:

“Then JEHOVAH made it rain sulphur and fire FROM JEHOVAH, FROM the heavens, upon Sodʹom and upon Go·morʹrah… Now Abraham made his way early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah.” Genesis 19:24, 27 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (1984 Edition)

“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;… And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:” King James Version (KJV)

“Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven;… And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah:” American Standard Version (ASV)

“when Jehovah rained on Sodom and Ghomorrah sulfur and fire from Jehovah, out of the sky,… And the first thing in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood face to face with Jehovah,” The Bible in Living English (BYINGTON)

We, thus, have an explicit text where YHWH on earth brings sulfur and fire from the YHWH who is in heaven. This is made clearer by the reference to Abraham returning to the very earthly location where he and YHWH stood before each other.

According to the previous chapter, YHWH had appeared to Abraham in human form accompanied by two other men, who are said to be angels (Cf. 19:1-3):

A truly remarkable passage to say the least!

Not only does YHWH appears as a Man, he also performs human functions and speaks with human limitations. I.e., YHWH has feet that can be washed with water and consumes physical food, and has to physically go down to Sodom in order to verify for himself whether the outcry that he has received concerning their conduct is true.

Lest one accuses the NWT of mistranslating the Hebrew, here again is how the very versions that the Society publishes and/or endorses render some of the foregoing verses:

“At this point the men turned from there and got on their way to Sodʹom; but as for Jehovah, HE WAS STILL STANDING BEFORE Abraham… ‘It is unthinkable of you that you are acting in this manner to put to death the righteous man with the wicked one so that it has to occur with the righteous man as it does with the wicked! It is unthinkable of you. Is the Judge of all the earth not going to do what is right?’… Then Jehovah WENT HIS WAY when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” Genesis 18:22, 25, 33 NWT 1984

“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD… That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’… And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.” KJV

“And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah… That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’… And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.” ASV

“And the men turned round from there and went to Sodom; but Jehovah still stood before Abraham… Away with the thought of your doing such a thing as this, bringing death on honest man with knave so that honest man and knave should fare alike; away with the thought; shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?’… And Jehovah went when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham went back to his own place.” BYINGTON

The foregoing reinforces the fact that YHWH himself appeared on the earth in a human body that was so tangible that he could perform human functions and activities because of it.

As such, this establishes that the inspired account presents two personally distinct Figures as YHWH, the One appearing on earth as a Man and the Other who remained in the heavens above.

This may explain why later [O]ld [T]estament authors have YHWH God referring to another divine Person as that very YHWH God who destroyed Sodom and its neighboring cities:

“Here I am raising up against them the Medes, Who regard silver as nothing And who take no delight in gold. Their bows will shatter young men; They will show no pity on the fruit of the womb Nor mercy to children. And Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, The beauty and the pride of the Chal·deʹans, Will be like Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah when God overthrew them.” Isaiah 13:17-19

“‘Just as with God’s overthrow of Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah and of their neighboring towns,’ declares Jehovah, ‘no one will dwell there, and no man will settle there.’” Jeremiah 50:40

“‘I caused an overthrow among you Like God’s overthrow of Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah. And you were like a log snatched out of the fire; But you did not come back to me,’ declares Jehovah.” Amos 4:11

The biblical writers obviously saw from Genesis 18-19 that one of the Persons of YHWH commissioned the other divine Person who is also YHWH to go down and destroy the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and her neighboring environs.

In this next installment I show from the inspired [N]ew [T]estament writings that the YHWH who appeared on earth as a Man was none other than Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence: JW BIBLE ADMITS: JESUS IS ABRAHAM’S GOD PT. 2.