The Witch King versus . . . Elrond?

[Knight of Gondor]

Question: Is Tom Bombadil greater than Gandalf?

I note that Gandalf seems to know much of him, speaks of him almost as a brother. When he leaves the hobbits, it is to go have a conversation with him, and, almost as a journey's-end lament, says that Tom was a moss-gatherer, whilst Gandalf was a stone doomed to roll. This indicates that Gandalf had much prior knowledge of Bombadil.

I base my question also on the concept of danger. Gandalf says that he is "more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord." Depending on how much power one reads into the concept of how great a threat one can pose to one's enemies, this indicates that Gandalf is greater in might, even than Iarwain.

Originally Posted by Knight of Gondor

Question: Is Tom Bombadil greater than Gandalf?

Depending on how much power one reads into the concept of how great a threat one can pose to one's enemies, this indicates that Gandalf is greater in might, even than Iarwain.

Bombadil may be Eru himself in the human form, with Gandalf being his greatest servant. If not, then what is Bombadil, & how could you comprehend his power, given that it would take the entire force of Mordor & Sauron to bring him down?

[Knight of Gondor]

I don't know that I accept Iarwain as Eru. Eru was mightier than Melkor himself; how could the powers of Mordor, mighty though they seemed to moral eyes, ever be sufficient to overcome such a power?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Mansun

Bombadil may be Eru himself in the human form, with Gandalf being his greatest servant. If not, then what is Bombadil, & how could you comprehend his power, given that it would take the entire force of Mordor & Sauron to bring him down?

Bombadil is not Eru...

Originally Posted by Letter #144

And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).

and:

Originally Posted by Letter #153, to Peter Hastings, who "cited the description of Bombadil by Goldberry: 'He is.' Hastings said that this seemed to imply that Bombadil was God"

As for Tom Bombadil, I really do think you are being too serious, besides missing the point. (Again the words used are by Goldberry and Tom not me as a commentator). You rather remind me of a Protestant relation who to me objected to the (modern) Catholic habit of calling priests Father, because the name father belonged only to the First Person, citing last Sunday's Epistle – inappositely since that says ex quo. Lots of other characters are called Master; and if 'in time' Tom was primeval he was Eldest in Time. But Goldberry and Tom are referring to the mystery of names.

[Hammerhand]

Do you think it is possible that Bombadil was one of the other valar perhaps? Aule or Orome for example?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by Hammerhand

Do you think it is possible that Bombadil was one of the other valar perhaps? Aule or Orome for example?

I, for one, don't. To me, Tolkien was specific enough when he stated that Tom was an intended enigma. Were I to speculate: if we are referring strictly to the classes of beings we know from Ainulindale, then him being a vala is the most likely case; but it is altogether possible that, "historically" speaking, there might have been other classes of rational beings, different from the ones we know of.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I agree- not everything can be pigeonholed; and Tolkien *never* tells us that the classes of beings he names for us are exhaustive. He called Tom the 'spirit of the countryside', and that's as much as we can know.

BTW, I really can't square Tom, the ultimate tree-hugger, with "but still [my Dwarves] will have need of wood" Aule.

How mighty were the greatest Dwarves in Middle Earth? Where could you rank Durin with say, Aragorn? Is it possible that Bombadil is akin to Dwarves?