Three Divine Names That Made the World and Rabbi Simlai's Answer to Heretics

"God, God, the LORD, God, God, the LORD, He knows, and Israel shall know" (Joshua 22:22). What did the children of Gad and the children of Reuben see, that they invoked these three names twice, "God, God, the LORD"? With these the world was created, as it is said, "God, God, the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth" (Psalms 50:1); and with these the Torah was given to Israel, as in "For I am the LORD your God, a jealous God" (Exodus 20:5)—corresponding to the three attributes by which the world was created: with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge, as it is said, "The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, He established the heavens by understanding; by His knowledge the depths were broken open" (Proverbs 3:19-20). The heretics asked Rabbi Simlai: What is the meaning of what is written, "God, God, the LORD, He knows" (Joshua 22:22)? He said to them: It is not written here "they know," but "He knows." His disciples said to him, "To these you have given a mere brush-off; what do you answer us?" He said to them: The three of them are one name, like a man who says, "Basileus, Caesar, Augustus." They came back and asked him: What is the meaning of "God, God, the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth" (Psalms 50:1)? He said to them: It is not written here "they spoke and summoned," but "He has spoken and summoned the earth." They said, "To these you have brushed aside with a reed; what do you answer us?" He said: The three of them are one name, like a man who says, "Craftsman, builder, architect." They came back and asked about "In the beginning God created" (Genesis 1:1), and "For ask now of the days" (Deuteronomy 4:32), and "Let us make man" (Genesis 1:26), and "Come, let us go down" (Genesis 11:7), and "For there were revealed" (Genesis 35:7), and "where God walked" (compare Genesis 35:7), and so forth. He answered: it is written afterward, "Thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat" (Daniel 7:9).