Tom Bombadil
May 25, 2020
Eldest, that’s what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
One of the most glaring omissions from Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings is the character Tom Bombadil. This is understandable. Tom Bombadil is a powerful, mysterious, and memorable figure; but ultimately his role in the greater story appears inconsequential.
Tom Bombadil rescues the hobbits twice in The Fellowship of the Ring. The first time as Frodo and his friends are attempting to pass through the Old Forest, the second when they are trapped in the Barrow-downs by a wight. In both instances, Tom answers the hobbits’ calls for help with merry songs and mysterious strength. His verses and rhymes exhibit a commanding power over Old Man Willow and the Barrow-wight, and he is able to revive Sam, Merry, and Pippin with this stirring song:
Wake now my merry lads! Wake and hear me calling!
Warm now be heart and limb! The cold stone is fallen;
Dark door is standing wide; dead hand is broken.
Night under Night is flown, and the Gate is open!The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
Aside from the control he manifests over his wooded domain, Tom Bombadil is a source of ancient lore, often shrouded in mystery. As the hobbits listen to Tom talk of the Fall of Arnor, they see in their minds a vision of the Star of Elendil, the crown jewel of the Kings of Arnor:
The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
This is in fact a foreshadowing of Aragorn—at the end of a long line of Elendil’s heirs— receiving the Star of Elendil, wearing it into the final battle against the forces of Sauron, and eventually reigning over the restored Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.
Interpretations of Tom Bombadil’s character are numerous and varied, including theories that he a representation of the forces of nature, an avatar for Eru Ilúvatar, or even an adaptation of Adam before the Fall.
At his core, Tom Bombadil is meant to be an enigma. Tolkien knew that great stories and mythologies required an element of the unknown, and Tom Bombadil contributes this in spades. He defies classification in Tolkien’s own created universe, neither a Child of Ilúvatar (as were the Men and Elves) nor one of the god-like and angelic Valar or Maiar. Regardless of his true nature, Tom Bombadil adds mystery, intrigue, and depth to the legends of Middle-earth.
There are striking similarities between Tom Bombadil and the biblical character Melchizedek. In the 14th chapter of Genesis, Abram returns after defeating five kings to rescue his nephew Lot and is met by Melchizedek. This sudden appearance of the “king of Salem and priest of God Most High” (Gn 14:18) has puzzled biblical scholars for millenia. He brings a sacrifice of bread and wine, proclaims a blessing over Abram, and receives a tenth offering from Abram before disappearing from the biblical narrative.
Melchizedek is mentioned briefly in the messianic Psalm 110 (“You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek”) and extensively in the Letter to the Hebrews. The author of Hebrews clearly identifies Christ as the fulfillment of Psalm 110, as both priest and king in the order of Melchizedek.
The way Melchizedek points ahead to Christ bears a resemblance to how Tom Bombadil shows the hobbits a vision of Aragorn’s reclamation of the Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. Both characters play a small role in the overall narratives in which they reside, yet provide a glimpse into the future and a good measure of mystery.