What he really is???????

[numenorian]

I have read the lotr trilogy,silmarilion,hobbit,unfinished tales but i still havent figured out what tom bombadil is and  where did he come  from.The only thing ive heard related to him is that he is the form of iluvatar in middle earth or sth like that.So guys if anyone knows pls answer!!!!!!

[Gil Galad]

As you may know he has been since before the mountains and the trees and is a guardian, a sort of Angel. Will do more research and post again

[screams]

you might find a useful article here.

http://tolkien.cro.net/

[numenorian]

Screams thx for the concern guys and screams i found out some really useful info about tom thx...

Now truly I am king of the world
Master of fate
Damned shall thy house be
Thou shall not question my power
Nor shall thou defy me further
(BLIND GUARDIAN-NIGHTFALL IN MIDDLE EARTH)

[Gil Galad]

Hey, thats a sweet website, I read "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" last night and used a few other resources, you may know this but I gleaned this from my brief study
He has no Father
He is not a Valar, but a guardian of the Forest and his influence goes as far as Farmer Maggots land in the Third Age(Farmer Maggot had him over for dinner)
He has authority in the Old Forest over trees, water spirits(Goldberry tried to grab him one day) Old man Willow, Otters, Swans, Birds, and Barrow Wights.
He has been before any living creature and seems to have no known beginning

[screams]

when i was first getting in to lord of the rings, i went to that site constantly. i still consider it a better place to get info than wikipedia. it's also a great way to explain things when you don't feel like it... just give them a link and say, 'knock yourself out'.

[Gil Galad]

Yeah thats awesome, i cant believe its been so long since ive visited that one, i like using my books and google

[SienaJackson]

I'm currently listening again to the trillogy, and I also wondered who/what TB is, I kinda thought he was a guardian, or angel or whatever, kind of like a forest Spirit. So I will visit that site, thx to all of u once more! Will that site tell me what Valinor is?

[numenorian]

Valinor is the place where the gods(valar) live and the place where the elves of middle earth go when they think that their life has  nothin to offer anymore.

[Camlost]

I reckon he was Maiar, but it's one of those I reckon we'll have to ask JRR when we meet at the Pearly Gates (if I'm going that way).

[Bombadil_Ulmo]

I just have this theory that Tom's just a sort of constant.  He's always been there, always will be, and has nothing to do with the higher beings, I suppose, like the Valar and Iluvatar.  He only has control over only a certain area, but to me, it seems less of control and more of equal respect, like he's almost a part of the land. 
I don't know, that's just me, the person who has yet to get through the Silmarillion.  I'm working on it though!

[EMMA]

i have to reply to Bombadil_Ulmo about this.....in the bible it says that god was, is, and always will be which was your definition of tom bombadil so it probably isnt but JRR Tolkien could be portraying him as God. but it is highly doughtful, at least to me.  : /

[Bombadil_Ulmo]

That's what I was sort of thinking of, that God was, is, and always be, but I also think it is highly doubtful that Tolkien meant Tom to portray God.  He only has power over a small place.  I like to think he's just part of land, the nature, and all the living things in his lands. 

[Orome]

There is plenty of debate as to whom, or what, Bombadil might be.

JRRT even refused to give a direct answer on this, purposefully leaving him as an enigma.

My personal notion is that he is indeed of the Valar, but was not counted among the ones that came to inhabit Ea for the purpose of guardianship.  If you can remember from The Silmarillion, it was stated that there were indeed more of the Valar Spirits involved in the "Music", and only the 16 (17 counting Melkor), that descended did so as a matter of "ownership" of the creation.  It does not state that others could or could not have also descended from the void.

I look at the notion that Sauron's evil (personnified in The Ring) had no effect on him, which would indicate his power was above that of a Maiar Spirit - added to the mention that Manwe himself had no concept of evil, which just might infer that TB's power was of the level of a Vala.