The Blessing of Tom Bombadil

Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduces one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most beloved and enigmatic characters: Tom Bombadil. Though this would perk up the elfin ears of the most devout Tolkieneers, some might question if Tom’s presence is justified in the show’s universe.

Tolkien’s Middle-earth is a vast world of creatures, languages, deep history, and genealogies. Prime Video’s The Rings of Power revisits this world, unfolding many mysteries like the edge of a map. But some questions remain unanswered.

The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) arrives via meteorite in Season 1, shrouded in mystery. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery with two harfoot companions. In Season 2 we learn what he is—one of the Istari wizards sent to aid the free peoples of Middle-earth—but not who he is. As he wanders, separated from his companions, he travels off the beaten path to the quirky and serene home of Tom Bombadil.

Tom (Rory Kinnear) appears in broad daylight, his introduction playing like an homage to the interaction he has with the hobbits Merry and Pippin in Tokien’s The Fellowship of the Ring (a section which director Peter Jackson chose to omit and repurpose for his big-screen adaptation of The Lord of The Rings). Like Merry and Pippin, the Stranger is swallowed by a tree and Tom whimsically speaks a variation on what Tolkien wrote and what Treebeard utters in The Two Towers film: “Let him out again. You should not be waking. Eat earth. Dig deep. Drink water. Go to sleep.”

The tree’s obedience to Tom’s command is the first hint that he is no regular fellow. Tom may not be the person the Stranger was searching for, but his presence helps distinguish the difference between what one is searching for and what one finds. When Tom transfigures his map into bread and instigates the flickering fireplace with a yawn, the Stranger wonders if his interaction is more than coincidence. “I was meant to find you, wasn’t I?” he asks.

I’m reminded of the walking song sung in Rings of Power by Poppy (Megan Richards), one of the harfoots (a song that calls back to Tolkien’s poem Riddle of Strider): “At last comes their answer through cold and through frost/ That not all who wonder or wander are lost.” Tom Bombadil offers a warning to the Stranger regarding two other figures in the series, the Dark Wizard and Sauron: “If these two flames combine into one, there will be no end to burnin’ till all Middle-earth is ashes.”

The Stranger asks if Tom can prevent this. With sunlight pouring in through the window of his stone hut, bringing a cheerful sense of hope and purity to offset the ominousness of his words, Tom smiles and replies, “Old Tom’s a wanderer, not a warrior. Great deeds are left to the hands they were placed in.”

In this moment, the Stranger understands: “You mean, my hands. Is it my task to stop the fire? Is it my task to face Sauron?” It’s both. It turns out that even wizards need direction every once in a while.

Watching this episode of Rings of Power, Tom Bombadil reminded me of one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible: the priest-king Melchizedek. Melchizedek’s appearance in Genesis is abrupt and brief. He greets Abram, after a military victory, with bread and wine, then blesses him in the name of “God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.” This compels Abram to tithe his possessions to the priest-king, who disappears as abruptly as he arrived.

Like Melchizedek. Tom Bombadil’s origin is undisclosed—except that he claims to be the eldest, existing before the river and trees, and remembers the first raindrop and acorn. The author of Hebrews describes Melchizedek as “without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.”

Is Tom Bombadil one of Tolkien’s godlike Valar—or even the god of his universe, Eru Ilúvatar, in bodily form roaming the earth? Is he the embodiment of creation? While Tolkien took this mystery to the grave, it’s obvious that Tom is anything but regular. Like Tom, some have speculated that the absence of Melchizedek’s lineage points to the fact that he is a Christophany—the pre-incarnate Christ. In a sermon on Melchizedek, Alistair Begg suggests that the omission of Melchizedek’s parents was intentional because they are not essential to the greater narrative. He argues that Melchizedek is a type of Christ, not Christ himself. But whoever Melchizedek is, he is both greater than Abram and a blessing to Abram.

Both Tom Bombadil and Melchizedek are important to their respective stories as reminders that we do not journey alone. While God certainly speaks to us through personal communion, he often uses the lives of others to bless us and give direction.

Instances like these aren’t reserved only for epic adventures. Hiking in the Grand Canyon many years ago, my mother sat down, exhausted and dehydrated from the beating sun. She sent my 10-year-old sister ahead to catch up with her group for help. While she waited, a stranger appeared and helped her into the shade, poured water on her sore feet, and gave her electrolytes. He waited till the group leader returned with my sister, gave my mother instructions on how to recover, and walked ahead. The group leader felt compelled to find and thank the stranger, but he had disappeared. Was this her very own Tom Bombadil, an angel? Maybe. One thing is certain: he was no regular guy. He represented God’s providence in a desperate moment.

Another Bombadil figure can be found in the account of the apostle Paul’s dramatic conversion in Acts 9, where his new spiritual sight came with physical blindness. Paul wandered into a new life, but was not lost. He followed Christ’s command: “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Meanwhile, a disciple named Ananias received a vision of his own: “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.” Ananias blesses Paul, restores his sight, and never reappears in Scripture.

Life can feel as draining as the Grand Canyon or as disorienting as blindness. But know that while we wander this earth, we are not lost. The Almighty has not forgotten us and guides our journey. And who knows? We may even bump into a Bombadil.

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At Think Christian, we encourage careful cultural discernment. We recognize and respect that many Christians choose not to engage with pop culture that contains particular content, such as abuse, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use, or that employs the use of coarse language. To that end, we suggest visiting Common Sense Media for detailed information regarding the content of the particular pieces of pop culture discussed in this article.