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The Hebrew paragraph division:

18:1-19:38 {s} …

And YHVH appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him. Gen 18:1-2a

And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before YHVH. Gen 18:22

Three men came to Abraham, but then two of the “men” went toward Sodom, while YHVH remained behind and talked with Abraham. What happened to the third man?

The Bible reveals to us that He who appeared to Abraham in the form of a man was actually YHVH. We learned in chapter 16 that when YHVH, or the angel of YHVH, appears in human form, we are seeing a pre-incarnate (before birth) appearance of Messiah Yeshua. When He is addressed as God or named as God, as in this passage, and elsewhere in Scripture, He does not deny it.

Moreover, as it is true of the Father that “No man,” even Abraham, “has seen God at any time,” it is confirmed that this is a pre-incarnate theophany (Greek: theos = “God” + phaino = “appear”) of Yeshua, “the only begotten Son, who … has declared Him,” (Joh 1:18).

Some human teachers say that YHVH and Yeshua are two distinct beings, but we are seeing the Bible compare them to each other as if they were the same. The teaching tool of Comparison and Contrast, and Common Theme, caused the New (or Greek) Testament writers to state:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Joh 1:1-3, 14

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell … Col 1:15-19

Making sense of such passages as:

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isa 9:6

If there are questions, these are good resources:

Theophanies in the Old Testament – Answers in Genesis
answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/incarnation/theophanies-in-the-old-testament/

Is Jesus God? – Answers in Genesis
answersingenesis.org/jesus/jesus-is-god/is-jesus-god/

The Deity of Yeshua – Natan Lawrence
hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2018/10/08/the-deity-of-yeshua/

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