Question & Answer with Yoel Natan

2005 to 2007

Question: Did Martin Luther believe that Abraham talked to the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?

On 15 June 2005, a reader wrote:

Dear Mr. Natan,

  Did Martin Luther believe that Abraham talked to the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?

Sincerely,

A Reader from Minnesota

P.S. The book "The Jewish Trinity" is very interesting. I finished it last week.

Answer: No.

Explanation:   When I wrote The Jewish Trinity I did not include any information on what other commentators, the Reformers or the church fathers said about Gen 18--19 because it seemed they did not consider all the points I was raising. Regardless, readers still want to know what the Reformers and church fathers thought, so I added this paragraph with sub-points and footnote to the bottom of p. 84, at the start of the " Encounters with Elyon's Presences" section:

      Gen 18—19 comprise the longest Trinitarian proof text in the Bible, though this has not been consistently recognized:

• Justin Martyr believed that the three men of Gen 18—19 were the Son as the Angel of Yahveh, along with two angels.
• Augustine, to his credit, believed the three men were the Trinity.
• Luther and Calvin took Heb 13:03 to mean Abraham entertained angels even though Heb 13:03 does not mention Abraham, at least one of the three men spoke as though he were Yahveh, and there are several trinitarian indicators in Gen 18--19. [1]

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[1] Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, Ch. 55-57 (~160 CE); Augustine's De Trinitate, ii.19-22 (~420 CE); Martin Luther's "Lectures on Genesis 15—20," Muhlenberg-Concordia Press "American" edition, 3:193, 195, 219, 220, 232; and Calvin's Genesis, 1.469-471, 510.

The above paragraph and footnote will be in edition 2, though I don't know how soon that will be published.

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Question: Is there a Majestic Plural in Judges 19:26-27

Answer: No.

Explanation: A reader, a Christodelphian, in fact, commented at a forum at Carm.org that Jdg 19:26-27 has two majestic plurals because in both cases the word “master” is the Hebrew plural adonai. All the Christodelphian would have had to do was refer to the Masters as Adonai section in The Jewish Trinity. There I spell out how Adonai is collective plural because the master has a servant who is delegated the master’s authority. Thus, adonai here is a plural of delegation, a type of collective noun. Together they were called “masters,” and individually they were called “masters” in recognition of the chain-of-command, and delegation of authority. For example, Abraham was called Adonai because Isaac his son was a master to everyone whom Abraham employed, or owned as slaves. In the case of Jdg 19, the master of the concubine had a servant traveling with him, and their conversation is recorded (Jdg 19:03, 11). That servant must have had the master’s authority delegated to him, so together and individually they were called “masters.”

Yoel Natan

29 May 2007