A YHWH in Heaven and a YHWH on Earth (Genesis 19:24)

Genesis 19:24 ESV Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.

The text of Genesis 19:24 indicates two distinct persons identified as YHWH, one acting from the other.

The story begins in Genesis 18:1, where YHWH “appeared” to Abraham. In verse 2, Abraham saw three men in front of him. In verse 3, Abraham addressed one of the men as if he were YHWH. Notably, Abraham called him “Lord”, using the Hebrew word Adonai (אֲדֹנָי), which is a unique designation that is used only for YHWH. It is clear that Abraham was not addressing all three men here because in the Hebrew text, Abraham used forms which indicate a singular referent. In verses 4–5, Abraham continued speaking to the same man, but this time, he used plural-referent forms to communicate that the other two men will also benefit from his hospitality.

In verses 9–21, Abraham spoke with one man as if he was speaking to YHWH himself. In verse 21, YHWH told Abraham, “I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” By this time, it is reasonable to think that the “YHWH” here refers to the same man whom Abraham had addressed in verses 3–5 and spoke with in verses 9–21.

Verse 22 says, “So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom.” At this point, only two of the men headed for Sodom. We know this because the text specifies that “Abraham still stood before YHWH.” In verses 23–32, Abraham had a dialogue with YHWH as if YHWH was the man who had stayed behind with him! Verse 33 says, “And YHWH went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” Where was YHWH going? He must have been going to Sodom, just as he told Abraham in verse 21.

In chapter 19 verse 1, the two men arrived in Sodom at evening. The text now refers to these two men as “angels” or “messengers”. In verse 2, Lot addressed these two men as “my lords” (אֲדֹנַי). This is the plural form of the normal Hebrew word for “lord” (אָדוֹן), and not the Hebrew word for “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי) which Abraham used previously in 18:3. The text is emphasizing that unlike the one man who is specifically identified as YHWH, these two men are not to be identified as YHWH!

Verse 15 narrates the dawning of the morning. This indicates that a number of hours have passed since the two men had arrived in Sodom during the previous evening. It is not clear when the man YHWH arrived in Sodom, but he spoke to Lot in verse 17. In verse 18, Lot addressed all three men. However, in verses 19–20, he narrowed his address to only one man in particular by switching to singular-referent forms. Accordingly, in verses 21–22, only one man replied Lot, and talks as if he was the one who was going to destroy the city.

By the time a reader reaches chapter 19 verse 24, the narrative up to this point has depicted YHWH in human form, speaking with Abraham, walking with Abraham, and then departing from Abraham. Therefore, when verse 24 says that “YHWH rained sulphur and fire from YHWH from heaven,” the most natural and reasonable understanding of the text is that the first “YHWH” is the man identified as YHWH on the earth, and the second “YHWH” is another person in heaven. The location of the second “YHWH” in heaven is further confirmed by the phrases “from YHWH” and “out of heaven” put side-by-side, such that the first phrase, “from YHWH”, is explained by the second phrase, “out of heaven”.

Conclusion

When Genesis 19:24 is read in the context of the passage which it is a part of, considering the flow of the narrative all the way from the beginning up to that point, the potential Trinitarian implications become clear.

Objections

It is sometimes claimed that any being who represents YHWH may be legitimately treated as if he were YHWH. However, it is significant that throughout this narrative, only one of the three men is singled out as YHWH and specifically addressed as Adonai, the unique designation of YHWH. In direct contrast, the other two men are not identified as YHWH and are not treated at all as if they were YHWH—even though they represented YHWH.