HEBREW WORD STUDY – STAND ABOVE THEM – ‘AMAR ALIHEM עמר עלימ
Genesis 18:8: “And he took butter and milk and the calf he dressed, and set before them and he stood by them under the tree and they did eat.”
This is a very interesting passage of Scripture. Three angelic beings, one of whom is later allegedly identified as God Jehovah, appears before Abraham. Abraham invites them to dinner and serves them a non-kosher meal (milk and meat together) and does something very strange, he does not eat with them. In that culture it would be considered very rude to not eat with your guest.
I will not begin to enter the argument as to whether one of the three men was actually God Himself, an event known as a theophany or an appearance of God in a human form or whether these three men were angels who were speaking for God. We do know this was not a vision as Sarah was aware of their presence and the men were definitely in human form as they actually ate.
What does catch my interest is the word, ’alihem, which is rendered as Abraham standing beside them. This is not the most common word to use for beside. There is enough ambiguity in this word to correctly render it as beside but I have to ask myself: “Why use such an ambiguous word for beside if that was the intended meaning of the word?” Alihem is really a word to express the idea of exaltation, rising above or the most common usage upon. Abraham was standing upon the three men, or possibly he was standing upon Jehovah.
In searching through Jewish literature I found that the sages taught that ‘alihem was used to indicate a place of service. Abraham was standing above the three men indicating that he could do what they could not do, he could rise to different level in his service to God. Angels are fixed at only one level in their service to God and, of course, if one of the individuals was Jehovah Himself, Jehovah could not move any higher than he already was. Yet, Abraham could move to another level in His service to God by standing upon God (in a figurative sense).
Jewish literature further speaks of four levels of service. First we follow God learning from His example, then we walk with God like a child walking with his father and his father allowing him to do some minor task, like put a coin in a beggar’s cup. Then we walk before God doing things that he cannot do in the spirit. We become his physical representative. Finally we walk or stand upon God. That is assuming the role of carrying out the Father’s business, becoming a full partner in God’s family business.
The word alihem comes from the root word alam spelled Ayin, spiritual insight, Lamed, learning and then Hei the creative and revelatory power of God. The root word itself means above and beyond or to develop. In other words when you reach this level you are ready to preach, teach and perform miracles (if that is God’ purpose for you). But it is alam, developing. You will spend your entire life growing and possibly eternity always growing, always learning more about the God you love. He is a well that will never run dry. I recently read where pastor of a mega church, leader among Christian leaders, a writer, lecturer, college teacher who took an early retirement under a cloud of inappropriate behavior. Yes, walking or standing above God is only the beginning, there will always be more to learn, don’t expect to one day arrive.
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