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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.”

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    In the original account in Exodus, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him 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'. 'Yahweh'. and 'Elohim'. Both the 'angel of Yahweh' and 'Elohim' are in the midst of the bush and 'the Lord' is observing from above. I think you need to clarify this detail as part of your question. 'God spoke' in the Greek therefore references 'Elohim' as 'Theos'.
    – Nigel J
    Jul 31 at 4:04
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    Jesus and the apostles never taught their disciples about a multi-person God. No amount of sophistry wil change the truth about the God of Jesus and Jesus. Acts 3:13 is just one of the many verse that shows the apostles and their forefathers never believed and taught a multi person God. Jul 31 at 6:01
  • Speculative opinion based, unwarranted trinitarian dispute topic.
    – Michael16
    Jul 31 at 9:22
  • @Michael16 The question is literally 100% subjective. Its revealing that you believe a rational question is "Speculative opinion based, unwarranted trinitarian dispute topic". Please explain your comment. Jul 31 at 16:52
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    Yes. I am asking who spoke. Not what spoke. If you read the answers, Trinitarians are torn between 2. Did the angel speak declaring himself to be the God of Abraham, OR did the non-personified divinity speak somehow.... ? What do you think? Jul 31 at 18:15

6 Answers 6

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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

  • "He" is absent in both cases
  • "God" is nominative and thus is the subject of the verb "is". There can be no doubt that Jesus is discussing Jehovah-God of Israel which is confirmed in the next section.

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 LORD (= YHWH)
  • the Angel of the LORD (YHWH)
  • God (Elohim)

The Cambridge commentary observes this concerning Ex 3:2:

  1. 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:

  • Zech 2:6-12 – the LORD (= YHWH) claims three times that He has been sent by the LORD.
  • Isa 48:11-16 – again, the LORD has been sent by the LORD.
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    Let me try to ask in a better way. Is the word ἔστιν in this case, He is, it is, they are, we are, she is? How do you interpret this? – Jul 30 at 23:42
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    YHWH is only 1 person according to HIS own words. Deut 4:35 To you it was shown, that you might know that YHWH Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. Zephaniah 3:17 YHWH your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Isaiah 42:8 "I am YHWH, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images." Jul 31 at 0:39
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    @ReadLessPrayMore - this is not the place for debate but nowhere in scripture does it say that YHWH is one person.
    – Dottard
    Jul 31 at 0:42
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    If we use the Textus Receptus then a pronoun appears to be required in the translation. What Greek manuscripts are you referencing in your answer? Jul 31 at 0:43
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    The fact the HE uses HE to refer to HIMSELF thousands of times clearly makes the case. HE has 1 personality. So 1 person. This is how HE designed HIS creation. 1 person has 1 voice and speaks with a personality. Jul 31 at 0:45
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... 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.

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    @ReadLessPrayMore No. The point I'm making is that since Jesus didn't specify which specific person spoke it isn't necessary for us to do so. No matter which of the three it was that spoke it is accurate to say that Elohim called Moses from the midst of the bush. Jehovah (single) saw and Elohim (plural) spoke. Aug 1 at 12:47
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    Personally I can't think of a single verse where Jesus speaks of God as someone other than his Father. If Elohim(plural) spoke, then do you believe all 3 persons of God were speaking in unison to Moses, saying "I am"? Aug 1 at 15:26
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    @AlexBalilo "First elohiym created." There is one theos and that one theos is elohiym... Elohiym being the plural form of eloahh. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". Aug 2 at 12:21
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    @ReadLessPrayMore Well, Theos is Jesus' own Father (John 5:18) so that makes sense. I think that since Theos (single) has perfect integrity between Being, Word, and Deed there can be no ontological difference between who he is (Father), what He says (Logos/Son), and what He does (Spirit) and that because Theos has infinite integrity between the three He is Elohim (plural). That is the best my finite mind can juxtapose the many Scriptures. "How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?" Aug 2 at 12:52
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    Copied from this q: hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/46994/52004 "When God made Moses a god (Elohim) to Pharaoh, Exodus 7:1, was Moses perceived as having a plurality of person within himself? Was the pagan god Dagon (Elohim) in 1 Samuel 5:7 perceived as having a plurality person within himself?" Aug 2 at 17:21
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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.

Jesus is speaking of his God and Father - the God of Israel, YHWH - "the only True 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.

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    And yet for some reason Jesus “forgets” to include the word “father.” Requiring you to add to Jesus’ words in order to make His “quote” fit. Jul 30 at 23:01
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    @RevelationLad...... as if there exists another ONLY True God. Who spoke to Moses? Jul 30 at 23:03
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    I’m simply pointing out to how must embellish what Jesus says in order to make it fit your claim of quoting Exodus 3:6. Which really raises the question. If it is abundantly clear, why don’t the two agree? What I mean is if Jesus had used the words you have to put in his mouth, your claim would be spot on…and yet for some reason that which was spoken to Moses is not quoted by Jesus. Jul 30 at 23:09
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    I don’t see father in anything Jesus said. Jul 30 at 23:19
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    @RevelationLad Jesus makes it abundantly clear that his God is his Father. AND that there is only 1 God, YHWH. What words did I put in Jesus' mouth? I'm literally just quoting his words..... Its seems kinda funny to me that a trinitarian is telling me I'm embellishing Jesus' words..... Jesus NEVER claims to be the 1 God ever. So who is embellishing what exactly? Jul 30 at 23:20
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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'.

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  • Thank you @Nigelj The question is: Who is "He" in v27 of Mark 12? He is the same who spoke to Moses according to Jesus. Which person spoke? Jul 31 at 5:10
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    I have answered that question, see above. The One who spoke is 'God' . . . 'Theos' . . . 'Elohim'. If you wish to develop this further, we would need a further question, to which I may, or may not, be able to supply an answer.
    – Nigel J
    Jul 31 at 5:14
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    @NigelJ. Did Jesus include himself in the 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').in the verse cited? Aug 1 at 20:42
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    It is the presence of the Son which reveals the Father. And that is the answer to the question of 'Who is Jesus speaking of ?' But without the begetting (of eternal Son to eternal Father) there is no knowledge of the 'Who ?' Thus the relevance.
    – Nigel J
    Aug 1 at 21:47
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    @NigelJ. The verse in question says God spoke to Moses. Jesus did not say he spoke to Moses. If as you say "That demonstrates three persons being present. 'God spoke', Mark 1:26, therefore references 'Elohim', in Hebrew, in Genesis, as 'Theos', in Greek, in Mark." Who are these 3 Persons? Is Jesus included in these 3 persons? Aug 2 at 0:22
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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.

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    And you told me I was embellishing..... A long and thorough answer which is necessary if you are gonna interpret Jesus' words to be declaring himself as the God of Abraham. Wow good job. The ambiguity of the Greek language gives one infinite possible concepts if one desires to be prudent. Aug 1 at 14:59
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    @ReadLessPrayMore No where do I identify God in Mark 12:27 with Mark 12:26. Given the varied use of the article that would grammatically inconsistent if not logically impossible. The passage makes the point there is a distinct between God who is responsible for resurrection and the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. They may be the same as you demand (which is inconsistent with the grammar), but as described here, that is not at all what Jesus is saying. Aug 1 at 16:15
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    You are trying to force a rigid monotheistic system into a passage which clearly describes otherwise. Just as with Exodus 3:6, where the literal Hebrew shows more than a single entity is described. Aug 1 at 16:21
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    Your last few comments attempts to make the case for 2 gods. There is only 1 God. Also the same comment makes a claim that the grammar shows that 1 God is "logically impossible"? Wow amazing. Aug 1 at 16:24
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    "clearly describes otherwise" Right... thats why you needed such a thorough grammatical take playing upon the ambiguity of the Greek language to trump the clear statements of my master. Aug 1 at 16:27
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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.

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    You think Moses is speaking to Moses? You think Moses is the God of Abraham? Jul 31 at 0:07
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    @ReadLessPrayMore Oh I get it now, my bad. Now I understand your question? Actually this makes it worse for you because it was not God the Father doing the speaking. First of all, you cannot assume it's the Father which your doing. Secondly, it was the angel of the Lord doing the speaking in the first person and identified as God just like the text/words state. Moreover, the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Genesis 22 proves this and in the NT the Father has NO separate manifestation from the Son. What is known of the Father is revealed through the Son. Joh 14:9 John 1:18
    – Mr. Bond
    Jul 31 at 0:20
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    I can interpret Jesus speaking of the 1 God as his Father because of all the verses I referenced in the premise. An angel is a perfect messenger of God. God speaks through them therefore God is speaking. Jul 31 at 0:26
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    The angel of the Lord is NOT an actual angel. I can prove from Genesis 22. At vs 11 & 15 you have the AOTL calling out from heaven 2 times. I already showed you that God can call out from heaven Himself. Vs16, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have not withheld your son, your only son. Vs17. I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens etc. If the AOTL is an actual angel he cannot swear oaths on behalf of God. This is backed up at Hebrews 6:13-17. Please read it and read the whole of Genesis 22. I'm not making this up, I'm giving you scripture.
    – Mr. Bond
    Jul 31 at 0:42
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    @Mr.Bond. Why does the bible always identify the angel of the LORD as the angel of the LORD if he is not the angel of the LORD.? Aug 1 at 19:59

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