Who do you think Tom Bombadil really was

[Sauron the White]

I do think he was in a class all by himself defying categorization. And no matter how many times I read the book, I still think he serves no real purpose and could have been left out without detracting from the book one iota. For me he adds nothing positive only poses disturbing questions that seem to contradict the rest of the book.

[alatar]

Been thinking about this one for a while - who hasn't? But it's clear to me now that Tom Bombadil is actually Eru Iluvatar, Creator of All.

Surely this theory has been brought up before, but I'm hoping that my tack is somewhat different (in the interest of full disclosure note that I did not go back and read each and every post on each and every 'Who's Bombadil' thread).

Tom's Eru. Tom is named Oldest, Fatherless. Goldberry simply states that, "He is." If that's not definitive, I'm not sure what is. But you know all of these arguments by heart. You probably have all of the counters memorized as well.

But he's not exactly Eru either, in the sense of being a God as we may think of it. It is actually Eru playing the part of Tom (and I think, even Goldberry, as such a god need not be limited, but see more below). I'm not sure if Eru as Tom even knows that he is the God of all at all. This may be due to the God self-limiting itself, almost like a self-induced lobotomy. Or, maybe Eru has gone what we would call insane, and so has set the world on auto pilot and has mentally retreated into the being that is Tom. Running the universe surely has its down days, and maybe Eru got so bored that It decided to go native, as that would be more fun, especially if It could somehow fool itself into playing at being a being like Tom. I would not limit the abilities of a god to not be able to pull off such a deception.

What got me a little down this path was remembering reading John Varley's Gaea Trilogy where the god of a world goes insane. Also, as Tolkien was a Christian, he read of Jesus, who was the God-Man. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, divested Himself of His God nature (or something like that - I'm not exactly sure how to best describe it, and note I mean no disrespect in any of these Christian comparisons) so that He could be like us (though still God). Whereas Jesus appeared as a human, I think that Tom appeared like those with whom he visited, which is why the Hobbits see him much like a large Hobbit than as a Man or Dwarf. His house is just a little too ready to receive four Hobbits for me not to suspect that he wasn't altering reality to fit the situation at hand. Had Elrond showed up, I get this feeling that the inners of the house would be a little different, and Tom might have appeared differently as well.

Also, in Christianity there is the concept of the Trinity, the Triune God. Not that it's easy to define, but as I understand this, there is one god, but three distinct beings in that godhood. Not three gods, nor three faces of one god. One god that can communicate with the other 'parts,' though they remain one, but distinct.

And so why not have Eru as a similar triune god? It could then express itself as male in Tom, female in Goldberry, and even nature in Lumpkin. How better to see how the theme played out than to plant oneself in the middle of Middle Earth, and then be able to relate to the characters within, whether sentient being, animal/plant, or element?

Anyway, that's my poorly worded take on Tom.

[Inziladun]

As an aside, I did not review this long thread, so apologies in advance if I repeat anything unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by alatar

Or, maybe Eru has gone what we would call insane, and so has set the world on auto pilot and has mentally retreated into the being that is Tom. Running the universe surely has its down days, and maybe Eru got so bored that It decided to go native, as that would be more fun, especially if It could somehow fool itself into playing at being a being like Tom. I would not limit the abilities of a god to not be able to pull off such a deception.

If Tom is Eru's little joke, he's been at it quite a long time by the standards of his Children.

But I had forgotten Bombadil, if indeed this is still the same that walked the woods and hills long ago, and even then was older then the old. Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless.

FOTR The Council of Elrond

For Elrond to call a creature old means they are old. 'Oldest and fatherless' I've always taken to mean simply that the Elves had no idea who he was or where he came from: he was just there.
During the time Tom was hanging out in ME, Eru was getting things done; destroying Númenórë and approving the plan hatched by the Valar to send Maia to Middle-earth to lead the fight against Sauron, among others.
That said, if Tom is Eru, I don't know that I'd be inclined to think him insane or 'native', uncaring of the playing out of the Music. Not, as you say, that it would be beyond the abilties of an omnipotent Creator to accomplish the running of the affairs of the world from his 'summer home' in the Old Forest.

Now, one thing that's always intrigued me is Gandalf's views and words regarding Tom. At the Council, he says basically that Tom is the one being who could trusted to keep the Ring without succumbing to its power, so immune that he would be likely to throw it away. The proof of that the reader had already seen: Tom held the Ring, put it on, and immediately handed it back to Frodo with no hesitation. Gandalf clearly knows the same cannot be said for himself, Maia though he is. Over the years that's caused me to let go of the 'Tom must be a Maia' stance I used to have. Tom's power and will must be much greater than Sauron's.
Later, when Gandalf's work against Sauron is finished, he tells the hobbits:

I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not had in all my time. He is a moss-gatherer, and I have been a stone doomed to rolling. But my rolling days are ending, and now we shall have much to say to one another.

ROTK Homeward Bound

Gandalf is going to see Tom, and tell things he has told no one else? 'In all my time': does that mean 'since I have been here working agaist Sauron', or since I have been alive and conscious of my own being'? Why does Gandalf feel the need to do this? Could he be giving an account of his doings, failures as well as successes; a 'confession' if you will? And what does he expect Tom to say to him?

All that leads me to the conclusion that Gandalf appears to be reporting to his 'boss', and said 'boss' would have to be Manwë or Eru.
In the essay The Istari in Unfinished Tales, CJRT takes issue with the idea that Gandalf was Manwë, saying:

Manwë will not descend from the Mountain until the Dagor Dagorath, and the coming of the End, when Melkor returns. To the overthrow of Morgoth he sent his herald Eönwë.

And surely, Manwë could 'debrief' Gandalf upon his return to the West, as he probably did.
Conclusion? It seems entirely possible to me that Tom could have been a manifestation of Eru.

Originally Posted by alatar

And so why not have Eru as a similar triune god? It could then express itself as male in Tom, female in Goldberry, and even nature in Lumpkin. How better to see how the theme played out than to plant oneself in the middle of Middle Earth, and then be able to relate to the characters within, whether sentient being, animal/plant, or element?

The idea of Eru splitting into male and female sections that seem deeply in love in with one another I find more than a little distubing.
One the other hand, why not? If Tom is Eru, Goldberry must be accounted for as well, and that's as good an explanation as any.

[alatar]

Thanks for the reply and for the citations!

Originally Posted by Inziladun

As an aside, I did not review this long thread, so apologies in advance if I repeat anything unnecessarily.

Let's all say, "Sorry" to all of those that posted before us, then move on.

If Tom is Eru's little joke, he's been at it quite a long time by the standards of his Children.

Can't a god do without a calendar? Surely Manwe was still at it, and all he got to do is sit and watch the wind.

For Elrond to call a creature old means they are old. 'Oldest and fatherless' I've always taken to mean simply that the Elves had no idea who he was or where he came from: he was just there.
During the time Tom was hanging out in ME, Eru was getting things done; destroying Númenórë and approving the plan hatched by the Valar to send Maia to Middle-earth to lead the fight against Sauron, among others.

Can't a god do more than one thing at once?

That said, if Tom is Eru, I don't know that I'd be inclined to think him insane or 'native', uncaring of the playing out of the Music. Not, as you say, that it would be beyond the abilties of an omnipotent Creator to accomplish the running of the affairs of the world from his 'summer home' in the Old Forest.

What I mean is that He may somehow be knowingly unaware that He's God. That, to me, is a form of insanity.

Conclusion? It seems entirely possible to me that Tom could have been a manifestation of Eru.

At least it is possible.

The idea of Eru splitting into male and female sections that seem deeply in love in with one another I find more than a little distubing.
One the other hand, why not? If Tom is Eru, Goldberry must be accounted for as well, and that's as good an explanation as any.

Why? God begets and creates, but also watches over and provides. To use biological gender terms for a superlative being is simply to show relationship. God need not mixes his/her/its genes, which is the only reason we have the two sexes (some species do just fine without). What struck me, in regards to Eru being Tom *and* Goldberry, is how well they interact when they serve supper to the hobbits. Don't have the text right here, but reread it and you see what I mean.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Interesting view of Bombadil as Eru, but there are problems.
In The Council Of Elrond:
(Glorfindel)

...even if we could, (take the Ring to him unobserved)
soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would
bend all his power towards it. Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone?
I think not...

(Eru less powerful then Sauron)?

And in Letters #144 JRRT sees Bombadil as renouncing control, taking a
"vow of poverty" in a form of pacivism. Not at all the continued involvement
in Middle-earth in the Third Age (sending the Istari, having the Ring fall
off Gollum's hand just in time to be found by Bilbo, putting elvish words
into Sam's mind) all of which would seem to have been either at Iluvatar's
instigation or at least valar initiatives approved by the One.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

Interesting view of Bombadil as Eru, but there are problems.

Nothing we cannot account for.

Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone?
I think not...

Conjecture. And I think that it wasn't that Tom wouldn't be able to stand against Sauron and his army. Tom just wouldn't care. He's not playing the game (at least in the role of Tom); he's watching. That's why Gandalf states that Tom would be an unsafe guardian for the Ring, and that even if everyone begged him to take it, he wouldn't keep it safe...which is expected as the Ring is a major player in the game, and how boring life would be without it.

And in Letters #144 JRRT sees Bombadil as renouncing control, taking a "vow of poverty" in a form of pacivism. Not at all the continued involvement in Middle-earth in the Third Age (sending the Istari, having the Ring fall off Gollum's hand just in time to be found by Bilbo, putting elvish words into Sam's mind) all of which would seem to have been either at Iluvatar's instigation or at least valar initiatives approved by the One.

Again, Tom isn't playing. He as Eru may have already set those 'deus a machina' themes to play during their time regardless of where Eru was at at the moment. But just watching from the sidelines, from up in the peanut gallery, just wasn't as fun. Here in Middle Earth Tom could see how all of the playing, both major and minor themes and players, pan out. In Aman the Valar watched the paint dry; in Middle Earth one had the chance to get dirt under one's nails.

And here's the quote that I was looking for:

Originally Posted by In the House of Tom Bombadil

Quickly he (Tom) returned, bearing a large and laden tray. Then Tom and Goldberry set the table; and the hobbits sat half in wonder and half in laughter: so fair was the grace of Goldberry and so merry and odd the caperings of Tom. Yet in some fashion they seemed to weave a single dance, neither hindering the other, in and out of the room, and round the table; and with great speed food and vessels and lights were set in order. (emphasis added)

Two halves of a whole, it seems.

And on that note, I'm calling it a night. Had too many consecutive sleepless nights, and it's starting to show. For a second my briefcase, on the seat next to me, appeared to be a shaggy black dog. I also thought I saw other posts to this thread, but when I turned my head, they were gone as well.

Weird.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I would be disinclined to think that Bombadil was in any way Eru, since it is plainly said that he would fall in the end before the power of Sauron and the Ring, "last as he was first." In letter 181, Tolkien said, "There is no 'embodiment' of the Creator anywhere in this story or mythology." I would say that pretty well eliminates the Bombadil as Eru concept (sorry, alatar). But it would not eliminate Bombadil "the enigma" as a powerful agent of Eru. I would be more inclined to think that if Bombadil is not a Maia, he is a Vala who, like Tulkas, came after the Ainur first entered Ea, and took up residence on Arda when it was finally formed, perhaps without the knowledge of the other Valar. He may have been planted in Middle-earth by Eru as a potential ace-in-the-hole, so to speak. Well, it's a thought.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Bombadil is master. That is all we know and all we need to know.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

I would be disinclined to think that Bombadil was in any way Eru, since it is plainly said that he would fall in the end before the power of Sauron and the Ring, "last as he was first." In letter 181, Tolkien said, "There is no 'embodiment' of the Creator anywhere in this story or mythology." I would say that pretty well eliminates the Bombadil as Eru concept (sorry, alatar).

What would the mere 'author' know about any of this stuff? Never saw *him* post here on the Downs...probably doesn't even have any rep points...

But all of that in Letter 181 is just to throw you off. How much less would there be to discover if a letter had everything spelled out:

• Tom is Eru

• Balrogs are wingless (though tasty with BBQ sauce)

• Folco Boffin was a spy for Saruman

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Bombadil is master.

That's what Tom thinks and says when Goldberry's not in the room. Note that we first find him down by the Withywindle, running errands for her when we guys know that he'd rather be catching up on the local news with Farmer Maggot over a few pints.