Language Studies

Difficult Sayings

Abraham still stood before the LORD
Genesis 18:22

"Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD" (Genesis 18:22, NKJV)

The majority of Bible versions translate this verse as "Abraham still stood before the LORD", a rendering confirmed by the earliest translations of the Greek Septuagint and the Aramaic Targums. Since, the majority are always right and the weight of tradition appears to support this version there should be no dispute. Recently, Robert Alter’s Genesis and the New Living Translation have disagreed, however, and appear to reverse the word order creating a new and problematic picture of God Himself standing before Abraham.

"And the men turned from there and went on toward Sodom while the LORD was still standing before Abraham" (Genesis 18:22, Alter)

"The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while." (Genesis 18:22, NLT)

"And the men turned from thence, and went their way, towards Sodom, but, Yahweh, was yet standing before Abraham" (Genesis 18:22, Rotherham)

More than a century ago Joseph Bryant Rotherham in his 1902 Emphasised Bible already noted the possibility of an alternative reading and almost uniquely adopted it.

So has there been complete silence between the 3rd century B.C. Septuagint and the 19th century Rotherham version about an alternative reading. On the contrary, the majority translation is regarded as the altered (pardon the pun on the name of the esteemed Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at Berkeley, California, Robert Alter) version by the Jews of the intervening period. The amended text is, however, retained out of respect for both God and the intent of the original Scriptural fiddlers.

The views of the sopherim or scribes, predating the much later Masoretic editors, was that the original of this verse made it appear that the "God of the whole earth" was standing - a position of prayer or service, before the man Abraham, and this was not seemly, so they transposed the order and put Abraham standing before God. The sopherim followed in the footsteps of the scriptural revival under Ezra and Nehemiah and highly esteemed the sacred text and yet, this is the first of just 18^F1 tiqqûnê sopherîm "scribal corrections" attributed to Ezra and the scribes. These were meant to be euphemisms of one sort or another to protect God’s dignity or his proximity in a biblical passage to such words as "curse" (e.g., 1 Samuel 3:13).

The very record and discussion of their supposed pre-Septuagint change of the text presupposes a different and now lost original. One could argue from Genesis 19:27 "And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD" that the case is closed, but this might read differently anyway in past speech.

In the post-biblical Jewish midrash on Genesis Rabbi Simon said:

"This is an emendation of the Soferim, for the Shechinah was actually waiting for Abraham." (Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, Genesis 49.7)

Perhaps, given the famous intercessory dialogue that follows over the fate of Sodom, this was God delaying and remaining before Abraham giving him the opportunity to speak what was on his mind concerning God’s plans. God knew what was in Abraham’s heart already and he may been coaxing him to express it by remaining standing.

In Midrash Rabbah, Exodus 41.4, the same passage is used by Ben ‘Azzai as an illustration of God’s humility when in human form, to the extent that He stands before Abraham, and not vice versa, the God of the universe stands before a man.

"…with what condescension did the Lord make Abraham great? In that he sat while the Shechinah stood; thus it is written, AND THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM... AS HE SAT." (Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, Genesis 48.1)

Christian scholars see a problem with God "standing" before Abraham since this often implies a posture of prayer or intercession and why would God be praying? This is reading too much theological content into the simple Hebrew verb "to stand" but even if it were true perhaps God was "praying" that Abraham would "stand" in the gap.

"This reading is problematic because the phrase "standing before" typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham." (NET Bible translation notes)

Against the Christian reserve it should be noted that in the incident of the striking of the rock by Moses God says that he would "stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock" (Exodus 17:6), So it is all right for Moses to "stand before" God, why not Abraham? If it is okay for Moses why did the sopherim not change this one too?

Furthermore, we find in Exodus 33:9-10 God manifested as a pillar of cloud "standing" at the entrance to the Tabernacle and just as with Abraham talking with Moses:

"And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door." (Exodus 33:9-10)

Jewish scholars down the ages don’t necessarily dispute the original text, rather they may have wanted to protect against the misinterpretation of a statement that appeared to have God humbling himself before a man. But this is the very beauty and grace of the original that God came down and spoke face to face with a man before meting out destruction upon Sodom.

FOOTNOTES:
F1: Genesis 18:22; Numbers 11:15; 12:12; 1 Samuel 3:13; 2 Samuel 16:12; 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16; 2 Chronicles 10:16; Jeremiah 2:11; Ezekiel 8:17; Hosea 4:7; Habakkuk 1:12; Zechariah 2:8[Heb.v.12]; Malachi 1:12; Psalm 106:20; Job 7:20; 32:3; Lamentations 3:20

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