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Yahweh Rained Fire From Yahweh
Genesis 19:24
Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out
of the sky.
World English Bible
This scripture is often cited as proof that Yahweh is more than one person. The claim by trinitarians is that there is one Yahweh on earth who supposed to be the prehuman Son of God, and another in heaven, the Father. While Yahweh is used twice here, one would have to read into this that there are two persons are being spoken of.
There is nothing here about two persons; one person in heaven and one person
on earth, nor is there anything at all here about supposed plurality of
persons in God. Such ideas would have to be read into what is said.
Several trinitarian authors proclaim that there are "two Jehovahs" or "two Yahwehs" spoken of here. One Yahweh on earth and another in heaven. If you wish to read into this that there are two Yahwehs here, then you would have two Yahwehs, not one
Yahweh as Yahweh declares himself to be. (Deuteronomy 6:4) Nor would such
an application call for two persons in one Yahweh, for you would have two
different Yahwehs.
Actually all it is saying that the one Yahweh rained fire and sulphur out of
the sky from this same Yahweh. It is a manner of speech that can be found several times in the Old Testament.
Similarly we read:
Genesis 37:28 - Then there passed by Midianites, merchants; and they drew
and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for
twenty [pieces] of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Three Josephs? No, just the same Joseph mentioned three times.
A further example of this usage:
"...when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of
Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin... to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam
the son of Solomon." (1 Kings 12:21)
Is it speaking of two Rehoboams? No, Rehoboam assembled the tribes to bring
the tribes back to himself.
Another example is Genesis 4:23:
Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, You wives of
Lamech, listen to my speech, For I have slain a man for wounding me, A young
man for bruising me."
Lamech is not speaking of another Lamech when he refers to his wives as the
"wives of Lamech".
David also said something similar as recorded at 1 Kings 1:33:
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:
David refers to himself in the third person as "your lord" when said
"servants of your lord". He did not say "my servants". He is not saying that
there are two Davids, nor is he saying that there is another person in
David.
Similar usages are seen in Genesis 17:23 (two Abrahams), Genesis 18:19 (Yahweh used twice, where a pronoun could have been used); Exodus 24:1 (Yahweh used as idiom for "me"), and 1 Kings 8:1 (two Solomons), Ezekiel 11:24 (two Spirits), Zechariah 10:12 (two Yahwehs).
It should be apparent that there is nothing in the terminology used in Genesis 19:24 that would lead one to believe two persons are being spoken of.
Addendum One
One objects that this can not be a mention of the same "Jehovah" twice because Moses is contrasting heaven and earth in what is said. This seems to assume several things: (1) That Moses was the original author of this (see our study: The Tetragrammaton in Genesis); (2) that the author made a deliberate differentiation from earth and heaven (sky); (3) that this distinction is for some specific purpose other than just saying the the fire rained from the sky upon the earth; (4) and that this differentiation has some significance in proving that there are two persons being spoken of.
Actually, the verse does not even mention the earth, although it is evident that Yahweh did rain sulfur and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah which are both on the earth. The actual contrast then, is not the earth and the sky, but rather the cities of "Sodom and Gomorrah" and the sky. The sulfur and fire rained from the sky on those two cities. It says nothing about one Yahweh on the earth, or in Sodom and Gomorrah, and another Yahweh in the sky -- such ideas would have to be assumed and read into what is being said.
Addendum Two
One author states that there are no passages like this one in the Torah where the same name is mentioned twice in the same verse for emphasis, and that there is no evidence that Moses ever used that kind of literary style.
Again, the author referred to above assumes that Moses was the original author of Genesis 19:24. -- See our study: The Tetragrammaton in Genesis.
We have already shown several examples, in the book of Genesis, of a name being repeated, or of the name being used where we would normally expect a pronoun, such as Genesis 4:23; 17:23; 18:10; 37:28. We also have examples in Exodus 3:12; 24:1; Numbers 19:1-2. So, in reality, there are some examples in the Torah of such usage. Further examples outside the Torah, but in the Old Testament, are: 1 Kings 1:33; 8:4; 12:21; Ezekiel 11:24; Zechariah 1:17; 10:12.
Last update of this study: May 6, 2004
Related Links
Please note that we do not necessarily agree with all viewpoints presented by these authors.
Yahshua the Messiah is Not Almighty Yahweh
http://www.torahofmessiah.com/yhwhyshua.html
This is presented from the Unitarian view, which denies the prehuman existence of Jesus.
The Two Jehovahs of the Psalms?
http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/Two_Jehovahs.html
The author defines "divine" as applying only the God Almighty, which we disagree with. It has some very good points, however.
Did GOD Almighty really appear in A FORM OF A MAN to Abraham in Genesis 17 and 18
http://www.answering-christianity.com/god_abraham.htm
This is a Islamic anti-Christian site, but there are quite a few good points on the presentation.
The following books and links are recommended for reference; our recommendation does not mean that we endorse everything presented in the books.
Books by Paul S. L. Johnson:
GOD, CREATION, CHRIST-SPIRIT-COVENANTS
Paul S. L. Johnson's
books may be obtained from The Bible Standard
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