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Who is Jesus speaking of as "He" in the below verse?
What person spoke to Moses?
Mark 12:26-27 (Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, quoting scripture)
26 But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 HE is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.”
Actually, the word "He" does not exist in the Greek text at all. Here is my literal translation of the NA28/UBS5 Greek text of Mark 12:27 -
οὐκ ἔστιν Θεὸς νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων. πολὺ πλανᾶσθε. = God is not of [the] dead but of [the] living. You greatly err.
By contrast, the TR text has this:
οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς νεκρῶν, ἀλλὰ Θεὸς ζώντων· ὑμεῖς οὖν πολὺ πλανᾶσθε. God is not of the dead but God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.
Note that
Who spoke to Moses?
The pertinent part of the OT record is quoted below:
Ex 3:1-7 - 1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
Note that in this encounter, the person speaking to Moses is variously called (as highlighted above):
The Cambridge commentary observes this concerning Ex 3:2:
- the angel of Jehovah] The ‘angel of Jehovah,’ or, in E (Exodus 14:19, Genesis 21:17; Genesis 31:11), ‘of God,’ is a temporary, but full, self-manifestation of Jehovah, a manifestation usually, at any rate, in human form, possessing no distinct and permanent personality, as such, but speaking and spoken of, sometimes as Jehovah Himself (e.g. v. 4a here, comp. with v. 2; Genesis 16:10; Genesis 16:13; Genesis 31:11; Genesis 31:13; Jdg 6:12; Jdg 6:14; Jdg 13:21 f.), and sometimes as distinct from Him (e.g. Genesis 16:11; Genesis 19:13; Genesis 19:21; Genesis 19:24; Genesis 21:17; Numbers 22:31): cf. Gray, EB. iv., Theophany, § 4. As Davidson remarks (DB. i. 94b, s.v. Angel), the ‘angel of Jehovah’ differs from ‘Jehovah’ only in being sensibly manifest: ‘the mere manifestation creates a distinction between the “angel of Jehovah” and “Jehovah,” though the identity remains.’ The angel of Jehovah is mentioned chiefly in the older parts of the historical books, J, E (never P), and the older narratives in Judges (Exodus 2:1; Exodus 2:4, Exodus 5:23, Exodus 6:11 f., Exodus 20-22, Exodus 13:3-21).
This occurs numerous times in the OT - see appendix below.
APPENDIX - Angel of the LORD
The following passages make it clear that the “Angel of the LORD” is almost always, the LORD (Jehovah) Himself. Gen 16:7-13, 22:11-17, 32:24-30, 48:16, Ex 3:2-6, 32:34, Num 22:22-35, Josh 5:13-15, Judg 2:1-4, 6:11-23, 13:3-23, Isa 63:9, Dan 3:25, 28, Hos 12:4, 5, Zech 3:1-7, Mal 3:1,
A closely related phrase, “Angel of God” who is clearly God as in Gen 6:13, 8:15, 9:8, 17, 15:13, 17:3, 4, 21:12, 16-21, 35:1, 10, Ex 4:3-8, 6:2, 23:20, 21, Deut 1:6, 1 Kings 12:22, etc. See also Acts 10:3, 4, Gal 4:14. In Isa 63:9, “the Angel of His [LORD’s] presence saved them”, and is almost certainly a reference to the same being. The same is true of Ex 23:20, 21, Josh 5:13-15.
In view of the clear statements in John 1:18, 5:37, 6:46, 1 John 4:12 that no one has seen God the Father, and the numerous cases listed above of people seeing the LORD and the Angel of the LORD, etc, it appears that these epiphanies were of the pre-incarnate Jesus.
In other places we see that the LORD sends the LORD:
... how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? - Mark 12:26
God here is theos which is a singular, generalized term indicating divinity unless it is paired with the definite article, in which case it refers to the supreme Divinity (of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
So, according to Jesus, the divinity who spoke to Moses was the supreme divinity.
At Exodus 3:4-6 it is Elohim (plural) who speaks to Moses:
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Therefore, Jesus refers to the plural divinity (elohim) as the singular divinity (theos) who is the supreme divinity and the one speaking to Moses.
In verse 7 it is the LORD (Jehovah) who speaks to Moses through verse 10 and then Moses, in verse 11, responds to Elohim. Trying to parse out individual persons here is unnecessary, which is why Jesus did not do so. It is the singular, supreme divinity of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob who spoke to Moses and that (single) Divinity is Elohim (plural) and, for Israel, the national name of this singular, plural Divinity is Jehovah.
Jesus is quoting from the scene in Exodus 3:6 where YHWH is speaking to Moses for the very first time.
6 Moreover HE said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Many times throughout the gospels Jesus makes a clear distinction between himself and the 1 God.
Here are some examples:John 8:54 Authorized KJV
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that HE is your God(YHWH).
Luke 4:18 (Jesus reads from a scroll in the synagogue.)
"The Spirit of YHWH is upon ME, because HE hath anointed ME to preach the gospel to the poor; HE hath sent ME to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"
Matthew 22
43 He(Jesus) said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: 44 ‘YHWH said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?
John 17:3 (Jesus speaking to his God and Father)
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 20:17
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
Jesus speaks so that he can be understood by children with ears to hear. His words are purposeful and meaningful. Included in his words are the pronouns he uses to reference the 1 God.
Jesus uses plural personified pronouns when referencing himself and his Father.
John 14:23 King James Version
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make OUR abode with him.
In the original account in Exodus, the angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.
Then the LORD saw that Moses turned aside to see. Then God called out of the midst of the bush.
The 'angel of Yahweh' appeared. . . . 'Yahweh' saw. . . . and 'Elohim' spoke.
Both the 'angel of Yahweh' and 'Elohim' are in the midst of the bush and 'the Lord, Yaweh' is observing from above.
That demonstrates three persons being present.
'God spoke', Mark 1:26, therefore references 'Elohim', in Hebrew, in Genesis, as 'Theos', in Greek, in Mark.
The One manifested (as the 'angel of Yahweh') is 'in the midst'.
The One who speaks is 'God' . . . 'Theos' . . . 'Elohim'.
The One who oversees, observing, is 'Yahweh'.
This is reminiscent of Luke 1:35 :
The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten shall be called Son of God; [Young's Literal with one, unnecessary, interpolated, word omitted.]
One overshadows.
One is active.
One is manifest.
And there is, in both circumstances, the life of Deity either in representation (flame) or in reality (begetting) concomitant with what is natural in nature (unburnt bush) or natural in humanity (holy, or 'separated').
It is noteworthy that 'Father' is not referenced in Luke 1:35. But 'Son of God' is. It is the Son of God - his very presence, being 'manifest in flesh' - that is the revelation of 'Father'.
Mark 12:26 and Exodus 3:6
Since Jesus places what He says in the context of Moses and the burning bush, the first step is to compare what Jesus says with the event as recorded in the Old Testament and translated to Greek:
But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? (Mark 12:26 NKJV)
περὶ δὲ τῶν νεκρῶν ὅτι ἐγείρονται οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ Μωϋσέως ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου πῶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς λέγων ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ
Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:6 KJV)
ויאמר אנכי אלהי אביך אלהי אברהם אלהי יצחק ואלהי יעקב ויסתר משה פניו כי ירא מהביט אל־האלהים
And he said to him, “ I am the God of your father, God of Abraam and God of Isaak and God of Iakob.” And Moyses turned his face away, for he was being reverent to look down before God.
(LXX-Exodus 3:6 NETS)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεὸς τοῦ πατρός σου θεὸς Αβρααμ καὶ θεὸς Ισαακ καὶ θεὸς Ιακωβ ἀπέστρεψεν δὲ Μωυσῆς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ εὐλαβεῖτο γὰρ κατεμβλέψαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ
Jesus follows neither the Hebrew or the Greek accounts. For starters, Jesus did not use the phrase I am the God..., ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεὸς as in the LXX. His words were, ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς I the God... Since there is no present tense form of the verb to be in Hebrew, Jesus preserved the correct Semitic form of self-identification which is simply I the God..., ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς, as if He were present.
There are also variances in the use of the article and the conjunction καὶ:
LXX: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεὸς τοῦ πατρός σου θεὸς Αβρααμ καὶ θεὸς Ισαακ καὶ θεὸς Ιακωβ
Mark: ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ
The Hebrew lists Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The LXX has Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. With respect to καὶ Jesus agrees with the LXX. However, unlike the LXX Jesus includes the article with each:
LXX: θεὸς Αβρααμ καὶ θεὸς Ισαακ καὶ θεὸς Ιακωβ
Mark: ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ
From a purely grammatically point, the construction Jesus employs is how three different would be listed. That is, a list of three items each separated by καὶ and each introduced with the article is how distinct items would be written. In this case, what makes the three the same is a belief they are the same, despite grammar which implies otherwise.
The LXX avoided this grammatical implication by omitting the use of the article with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob and by ending with ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. This ending refers back to He who said, εἶπεν αὐτῷ. In the LXX rendering, He who said was He whom Moses looked down before God. The ending complements the omission of the articles to make the point He who said "I the God of..." was the God who Moses couldn't face, and it is He who was God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.
In addition, the LXX properly renders "God" whom Moses cannot look at using the article τοῦ θεοῦ. The Hebrew is האלהים, literally the Elohim. In English the literal Hebrew is:
Moreover he said, "I God of your father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon the God.
Exodus in English adds articles where not present, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and omits it where it is present, look down before the God. English translations are contrived to convey the passage as one of clear monotheism. But the ending, the Elohim suggests otherwise. Arguably, the Hebrew האלהים should be the Gods whom Moses could not face. This would agree with the three different descriptions of who was interacting with Moses: the Angel of YHVH (3:2), YHVH (3:4), and Elohim (3:4, 6).
Mark 12:27
Jesus explains the significance about what He just said:
He is not God of dead ones, but of living ones. You are greatly mistaken”. (DLNT)
οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων πολὺ πλανᾶσθε
Ironically, the verb expected in the account of God's self-identification at the burning bush, ἐγώ εἰμι... is how Jesus begins His explanation. ἔστιν is the third person singular of εἰμι. It can refer to a person or something. Since translators understand Jesus is referring to God, ἔστιν θεὸς is rendered as he is God.
There are other considerations. The explanation begins as a negative statement οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς νεκρῶν, not he is God of dead.... Also, after using the article before every θεὸς in the previous verse, Jesus omits the article in the explanation. Just as in Exodus 3:6, most English translations add the article where none was present.
The initial assumption is God in verse 27 must be referring to God in verse 26. In this case, God of living would be the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Of course, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are dead. Thus there is a paradox in attempting to use the explanation with what Jesus just said.
The paradox is removed when the entire passage is placed into its proper context:
18 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him...26 But concerning the dead, that they rise...
Concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all who are dead, they will rise because there is resurrection and there will be resurrection because there is God of living. Therefore, the proper referent to ἔστιν is He who is resurrection:
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11)
He is Jesus. It is He who is the resurrection life of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all who believe. This agrees with Jesus omitting the article. The expression ...ἔστιν ὁ θεὸς..., that is He is the God, would be the correct way to clearly connect θεὸς in verse 27 with those repeated ὁ θεὸς in verse 26. By omitting the article, Jesus makes the distinction between ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰακώβ and θεὸς ζώντων.
The context dictates who the "he" is at Exodus 3:2-6. Starting at vs 2, "And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire the midst of the bush; and he looked and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Vs3, "So Moses said, "I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." Vs4, When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, GOD called to him from the midst of the bush and said, (Notice that God is the speaker in the person of the angel of the Lord) "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I am."
Vs5, "The HE/God said, Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." Vs6, "HE/God said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid TO LOOK AT GOD."
It is obvious the person being referenced in the question is the AOTL/God. This begs the question? At vs2 it states the angel of the Lord appeared to him/Moses in the midst of the bush." At vs4, the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, GOD CALLED TO HIM FROM THE MIDST OF THE BUSH."
So how does one reconcile God calling from the midst of the bush when the text at vs3 states the angel of the Lord was in the midst of the bush?
We already know from Jesus Himself that God the Father cannot be seen. John 5:37, "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." And John 6:46, "Not that any man hast seen the Father, except he who is from God, he hath seen the Father."
Then another question arises? Why is God using the angel of the Lord to talk to Moses from the midst of the bush when the Lord God at Exodus 20:22 spoke from heaven to Moses. "The then the Lord God said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, You yourselves have seen that I have SPOKEN TO YOU FROM HEAVEN."
God even spoke from the heavens in the New Testament at Mark 1:11, "and a voice came out of the heavens; "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased."
In view of all these facts, why is the angel of the Lord introduced to us as speaking for God in the first person? The exact same type of thing happened at Genesis 22 where the angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham two times from heaven and swears an oath to Abraham.
In conclusion, since God the Father cannot be seen the angel of the Lord is the preincarnate Jesus Christ. This is based on the fact that God the Father has no separate manifestation from the Son. The Son is the only manifestation and REVELATION of the Father. What is known of the Father is revealed through the Son. To see the Son is to see the essence of the Father (John 1:1, 18; 10:30; 12:45; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) Also, Jesus cannot be an actual angel because angels CANNOT swear oaths on behalf of God Almighty Himself. Genesis 22 is backed up by Hebrews 6:13-18.
