Month: May 2021

Philo Against Lunar Sabbath
By
James Scott Trimm

In a previous blog, I wrote about the Lunar Sabbath Error. The Lunar Sabbatarians have looked far and wide for ancient support for their theory. The problem is that there is none. However in their zealousness they have misappropriated certain quotations from Philo of Alexandria which they wrongly claim support a Lunar Sabbath. The fact is that not only does Philo not teach a Lunar Sabbath, but Philo makes statements that plainly conflict with the Lunar Sabbath Theory, and makes one of the oldest, clearest description of the  Sabbath as the seventh day of a continuous repeating seven day week.

The first quotation Lunar Sabbatarians appropriate from Philo is as follows:

“For it is said in the Scripture: On the tenth day of this month let each of them take a sheep according to his house; in order that from the tenth, there may be consecrated to the tenth, that is to God, the sacrifices which have been preserved in the soul, which is illuminated in two portions out of the three, until it is entirely changed in every part, and becomes a heavenly brilliancy like a full moon, at the height of its increase at the end of the second “week”…
(ON MATING WITH THE PRELIMINARY STUDIES, X1X (102))

The fact is that this passage simply refers to a fourteen day period as “two weeks” just as we do today. A fourteen day period may be called “two weeks” regardless of which day it begins and ends, even if it actually is made up of one complete week and parts of two other weeks.

The next quote often used is as follows:

“9. (Ex. xii. 6a) Why does He command (them) to keep the sacrifice until the fourteenth (day of the month)? (Consisting of) two Sabbaths, it has in its nature a (special) honour because in this time the moon is adorned. For when it has become full on the fourteenth (day), it becomes full of light in the perception of the people. And again through (another) fourteen (days) it recedes from its fullness of light to its conjunction, and it wanes as much in comparison with the preceding Sabbath as the second (waxes) in comparison with the first. For this reason the fourteenth (day) is pre-festive, as though (it were) a road leading to festive rejoicings, during which it is incumbent upon us to meditate”.
(On page 17 of Ralph Marcus’ translation of Philo’s work entitled “Questions and Answers, Exodus, Book 1”)

This parallels Younge’s translation in The Decalogue:

“The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day, that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Now some states keep the holy festival only once in the month, counting from the new moon, as a day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days; and there is an account of events recorded in the history of the creation of the world, comprising a sufficient relation of the cause of this ordinance; for the sacred historian says, that the world was created in six days, and that on the seventh day God desisted from his works, and began to contemplate what he had so beautifully created; therefore, he commanded the beings also who were destined to live in this state, to imitate God in this particular also, as well as in all others, applying themselves to their works for six days, but desisting from them and philosophising on the seventh day,”
(The Decalogue ch. 26)

The wording here is obscure. Philo may referring to the fact that any fourteen day period will contain two Sabbaths, or he may be referring to the fact that the first and last days of Unleavened Bread are annual Sabbaths.

The final two passages Lunar Sabbatarians cite from Philo is as follows:

(161) But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration, at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have produced. And seven days have very appropriately been appointed to the seventh month of each equinox, so that each month might receive an especial honour of one sacred day of festival, for the purpose of refreshing and cheering the mind with its holiday.
(Philo; Decalogue 30, 161)

And the next refers back to this one:

“Again the beginning of this feast is appointed for the fifteenth day of the month on account of the reason which has already been mentioned respecting the Spring season might receive special honor of one sacred day of festival.”
(THE TENTH FESTIVAL XXXIII. (210))

Now while some have tried to use this to support the Lunar Sabbath, to the contrary this statement conflicts with the Lunar Sabbath Theory. Philo here says that the two longest Torah feasts (Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles) differ from all other festivals because, being seven days long, they always include a weekly sabbath (any seven day period will include a weekly Sabbath). However if one follows the Lunar Sabbath theory, virtually all annual Feasts coincide with Sabbaths, which would render Philo’s statement meaningless. Philo makes the nature of the Sabbath clear when he writes:

(56) But after this continued and uninterrupted festival which thus lasts through all time, there is another celebrated, namely, that of the sacred seventh day after each recurring interval of six days, which some have denominated the virgin, looking at its exceeding sanctity and purity…
(Special Laws 2, 56)

Philo clearly did not teach the so-called Lunar Sabbath Theory, but instead taught the repeating weekly Sabbath based on a continuous count of seven day “weeks” going back to the first Sabbath at creation.

If you can donate, please donate today. Right now (9/18/24) our account is “pending” $725.81 in the negative! We must cover that with a deposit by the end of the day today or our account will plunge into the negative and create a cascade of returned items and fees.

This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org or below by Zelle or Go Fund Me.

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In a recent blog I told you I was working on a project to restore five fragments of an ancient Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah, from five Latin fragments preserved in quotations in Jerome’s Commentary on Isaiah.

Here is the second of the five fragments (On Isaiah 8:19-22) restored to Hebrew with an English translation:

וכי־יאמרו אליכם דרשו אל־האבות ואל־הידענים המצפצפים והמהגים הלוא־עם אל־אלהיו ידרש בעד החיים אל־המתים׃ לתורה ולתעודה אם־לא יאמרו כדבר הזה אשר אין־לו שחר׃ ועבר בה נקשה ורעב והיה כי־ירעב והתקצף וקלל במלכו ובאלהיו ופנה למעלה׃ ואל־ארץ יביט והנה צרה וחשכה מעוף צוקה ואפלה מנדח׃

פשרו וכי הסופרים והפרושים יאמרו אליכם לשמוע אותם, אנשים שעושים הכל למען אהבת הבטן, ואשר  המצפצפים והמהגים כדרך הידענים לרמות אותך. תאמרכם להם לא מפתיע אם אתה ממלא אחר גזרתכם כי כל עם שאל עצביהם.  לכן אסור לנו שאל המתיכם על החיים. אלוהים נתן לנו את התורה ואת עדות הכתובים.  אם לא תמלא אותם ולא יהיה לך אור. והחושך תעוק אותך עד עולם. יעבור דרך אדמתך ולמידתך. כאשר הם רואים שטעתם אותם בטעות וכאשר הם רעבים לאמת הם יהיו עצובים או התקצפים. והם יקללו אתכם החושבים שאתם אלים ומלכים. ולשווא הם מסתכלים אל השמים והארץ כי הם תמיד בחושך והם לא יכולים לברוח למוקשיכם

19 And because they shall say unto you: ‘Seek unto the mediums and to the wizards, of whisperings and mutterings; should not a people seek unto their Elohim? [not] about the living to the dead.
20 For Torah and for testimony? If they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them.
21 And they shall pass this way that are sore bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their Elohim, and, when they turn their faces upward,
22 or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.
(Isaiah 8:19-22 HRV)

Its interpretation (pesher): And when the Scribes and Pharisees tell you to listen to them, men who do everything for the love of the belly and who chirp and mutter in the way of wizards in order to deceive you, you must answer them like this: “It is not strange if you follow your decrees since every nation consults its own idols. We must not, therefore, consult your dead about the living ones. God has given us the Torah and the testimonies of the scriptures. If you are not willing to follow them you shall not have light, and the darkness will always oppress you. It will pass over your land and your teaching so that, when they see that you have deceived them with error and they are hungry for the truth, they will then be sad or enraged. And they shall curse you who think you are gods and kings. And in vain they look to the heavens and the earth, And let them look at the heaven and the earth in vain since they are always in darkness and they cannot flee away from your snares.

Notes:

“who chirp and mutter” prior English versions have had “hiss in their incantations” based on the Latin stridunt in incantationibus, but this is actually Jerome’s translation of הַֽמְצַפְצְפִ֖ים וְהַמַּהְגִּ֑ים as shown by comparing Jerome’s Latin Vulgate in Isaiah 8:19.

We must still raise at least $786 by Tuesday night, or our account will go into the negative.

Donations in April were very, very low. This is common each year with tax time taking a bite out of people’s pocket books. Unfortunately, our expenses have not decreased during the tax season.

This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

or click here

Enoch Lesson 7 Handouts

We must still raise at least $691 by Tuesday night, or our account will go into the negative.

Donations in April were very, very low. This is common each year with tax time taking a bite out of people’s pocket books. Unfortunately, our expenses have not decreased during the tax season.

This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

or click here

In a recent blog I told you I was working on a project to restore five fragments of an ancient Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah, from five Latin fragments preserved in quotations in Jerome’s Commentary on Isaiah.

Here is the first of the five fragments (On Isaiah 8:14) restored to Hebrew with an English translation:

והיה למקדש ולאבן נגף ולצור מכשול לשני בתי ישראל לפח ולמוקש ליושב ירושלם

פשרו שני הבתים הם בית שמאי ובית הלל מהם ירדו הסופרים והפרושים. עקיבא קיבל את ביתהם. הוא נקרא רבה של עֲקִילַס הגר. ואחריו בא מאיר. אחרי הלל ירשו יוחנן בן זכאי ואחריו אליעזר וטרפון ויוסף הגליל וישוע עד לכיבושה של ירושלים. אז שמאי והלל נולדו ביהודה ובזמן קצר לפני האדון. שמו של הראשון מתפרש שמם. והשני מתפרש חלל. הוא השם וחלל את מצוות התורה ביד גזרתו ומשנה.  ואלה שני הבתים שלא קיבלו את המושיע שהפך להם נגף ומכשול.

And He shall be for a sanctuary,
but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense
to both the houses of Yisra’el:
for a gin and for a snare
to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
(Isaiah 8:14 HRV)

Its interpretation (pesher):

The two houses are Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel from which the scribes and Pharisees descended. Akiva took over their school, he is called the master of Aquila the proselyte. And after him came Meir. (Hillel having been succeeded by Yochanan Ben Zakkai and after him Eliezer and Tarphon, and Yosef HaGalil and Yeshua up to the capture of Jerusalem.) Shammai then and Hillel were born not long before the Lord; and they originated in Judah.  The name of the first means “scatterer” and of the second “profane”, because he scattered and defiled the precepts of the Torah by his decrees and Mishnah.  And these are the two houses who did not accept the Savior who has become to them stumbling and offense.

Some restoration/translation notes:

First of all it was necessary to make minor corrections to the list of sages as given by Jerome. Some names were slightly mangled, but easily restored. For example Jerome’s “Telphon” was obviously Tarphon. Also Jerome, not knowing the successions of various Rabbinic sages, mistook the entire list as a straight list of succession. In fact there are effectively two lists here. The first is the line from Akiba to his student Aquila to his student Meir. The second is the line from Yochanan Ben Zakkai to his students and contemporaries (which Jerome mistook as a continuous line).

There is a wordplay in the Hebrew between הלל (Hillel) and חלל (profane) and between שמאי (Shamai) and שמם (scatter). This is similar to the wordplay between Midrash Halacah and דּוֹרְשֵׁי חֲלָקוֹת, doreshei ḥalakot(seekers of smooth things) was used by the Essenes of Qumran in their polemics against the Pharisees.

A word is necessary about the word which I have translated “Mishnah”. In the Latin this appears as “deuterosis” a transliteration of the Greek word δευτερωσεις which has the same literal meaning in Greek as the Hebrew Mishnah (a repetition).

The word “decrees” in the Latin is traditiones which I have rendered in Hebrew with גזרתו literally “decree, sentence, determination, decision”. This is the Hebrew word used in the DuTillet/Munster text of Matthew 15 where Jerome, in his Latin Vulgate uses traditiones.

This text is no intended as an attack on Hillel and Shamai themselves, but on Akiva’s taking over of their school. The commentary seems focused on Akiva. “Akiva took over their school, he is called the master of Aquila the proselyte.” The precepts of the Torah were profaned and scattered by his decrees and Mishnah.

Epiphanius refers to The δευτερώσεις τοῦ καλουμένου Ραββὶ Ακιβά (Mishnah of the one called “Rabbi Akiva”) (Pan. 33:9, 15) and the Mishnah and halachic Midrashim as we have them all descend from the School of Akiva and his taking over of the Houses of Hillel and Shamai.

A good example can be found in Akiba’s גזר (decision) regarding divorce:

The House of Shamai say,
“A man should divorce his wife only because
he has found grounds for it
in unchastity (davar ervah)
, since it is said,
“Because he has found in her
an unclean matter (ervat davar) in anything (Dt. 24:1)”
And the House of Hillel say,
“Even if she spoiled his dish, since it is said,
“Because he has found in her
an unclean matter in anything (Dt. 24:1)”
Rabbi Akiba says,
“Even if he found someone else prettier than she,
since it is said,
“And it shall be if she find no favor in his eyes (Dt. 24:1)”
(m.Gittin 9:10)

Akiva had profaned and scattered the Torah by decreeing that a man could divorce his wife simply because he found a prettier girl.

This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

or click here

Shalom Chaverim,

As many of you may know, there are five fragments of an ancient Nazarene commentary which survive only in Latin as quoted by the fourth Century Latin “Church Father” Jerome, in his own Commentary on Isaiah. Jerome was also famously the translator of the Latin Vulgate, the standardized Latin version of the Bible.

The commentary itself takes the form of a combination of a Targum and a Qumran-style Pesherim Commentary.

The Targums were Aramaic paraphrases of the books of the Tanak, often so paraphrased as to contain interpretations that would rise to the level of commentary.

The Qumran style “Pesherim Commentaries“. There are well described in The Dead Sea Scrolls, a New Translation by Wise, Abegg and Cook:

Very characteristic of the Dead Sea sect was the view that the Bible was a puzzle to be solved or an enigma to be unraveled. Its characteristic word for the activity of interpretation was pesher, which as a rule refers to the interpretation of dreams. The biblical Daniel serves as the ideal interpreter of this type: he interprets dreams (Dan. 2,4) and visions (the “handwriting on the wall,” Dan. 5) not through native ability, but because God has revealed the secrets to him. The Qumran scribes understood their task in the same way: to penetrate the secrets of Scripture not through reflection on the textitself, but through openness to the revelation of God.
(The Dead Sea Scrolls; A New Translation; Wise, Abegg and Cook, First Edition, 1996, p. 114)

Since the Isaiah Commentary only exists as excerpts quoted in Jerome’s Commentary on Isaiah, it is impossible to know whether its original form was a flowing text parallel to that of Isaiah (like the format of a Targum), or like that of the “Continuous Pesherim“, in which a book of Scripture is interrupted at intervals with a phrase like “The Pesher (interpretation) is:”

The Messianic Karaites will certainly find opportunity to misunderstand and misapply the Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah. However there was no such thing as Karaite Judaism in the first century, nor at the time the commentary was written. The Nazarene Commentary taken as a whole, and in context of Second Temple Era Judaism, reveals not that the Nazarenes rejected tradition of the concept of Halacha. Instead, the Commentary reveals that the Nazarenes, like the Essenes as Qumran, rejected Rabbinic traditions and halacha, in favor of their own traditions and halacha.

English versions of the fragments of the Nazarene Commentary on Isaiah have circulated for years, even decades. However these translations are fraught with error an inaccuracies. The modern restoration of Nazarene Judaism requires a restoration of this ancient Nazarene Commentary, into its original Hebrew or Aramaic. Hebrew was more likely if it was a Pesher Commentary and Aramaic was the likely language of it was a Targum. All things being considered, I believe the Commentary is best preserved as a Continuous Pesher Commentary in Hebrew with an English translation. However restoring the original Hebrew cannot adequately be done from an English translation of a Jerome’s Latin translation of whatever source Jerome had. Fortunately I have obtained Jerome’s Latin for each of these five fragments, and am now restoring the original Hebrew behind the Latin. There are several surprises that this process has uncovered, and I will be revealing these in this series. Suffice it to say, that the English translations of the Latin we have been using, are woefully inadequate.

Not only do I feel this reconstruction is a necessarily part of the restoration of Nazarene Judaism, but I also wanted to have this restored material available for use in my own online commentary on Isaiah that I will be filling in here a little and there a little in my own online commentary on the Scriptures.

I will be sharing the restored text of The Naazarene Isaiah Persher to Isaiah 8:14 soon, with the other four fragments following that. These are the days of restoration!

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the word of the Lord:
And these are the days of Your servant Moses
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord!’

Behold He comes riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee
And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel
The dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of Your servant David
Rebuilding a temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest
The fields are as white in Your world
And we are the labourers in Your vineyard
Declaring the word of the Lord!

Donations in April were very, very low. This is common each year with tax time taking a bite out of people’s pocket books. Unfortunately, our expenses have not decreased during the tax season.

This work takes hours of my time. As many of you know, my wife is very ill, and I spend most of my time at home as her caretaker. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

But I also realize that it is not the activity of James Trimm alone who is responsible to do this work, it is all of us together who are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing this work. I very much look on the efforts of this restoration work as a cooperative one with each one of you. We are all joint heirs with Messiah and should always be about our Father’s business. I am honored to be able to be partnered with truth seekers as this restoration of Scripture moves forward in fulfillment of prophecy.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

or click here

You will notice on the home page for my Nazarene Space Blog there is a new link titled “Online Scripture Commentaries”

This new link leads to a menu (which will grow over the years) of books of Scripture. Each active book link will lead to a menu of chapter links, for example the page for Bereshit (Genesis)

I have so far written commentary to Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 1 verse 1.

I started with Bershit Chapter 1, but will be moving around and populating the commentary over time, not secondarily in chronological order.

I expect I will be concentrating, starting out primarily, with the Torah, Isaiah, Daniel and books of the Ketuvim Netzarim.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work, bringing the message of Messiah to the Jewish people, and bringing the message of Torah to the world. We need your help with the ongoing work of Scripture Restoration, as restore the original Hebrew of the “New Testament” books, a project which will bless all mankind, especially the Jewish people of Israel.

In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

I have begun to slowly write down and share my commentary on the Torah. I have begun by posting my comprehensive commentary on Genesis 1:1

Your feedback is welcome!

Look inside! Click HERE

As many of you know, I have been my wife’s full time caretaker since she had a 53 day hospitalization and septic shock that nearly killed her in 2018. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work on the Scripture Research Project. (see more here) as well as our continued online articles and video teachings.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work, bringing the message of Messiah to the Jewish people, and bringing the message of Torah to the world. We need your help with the ongoing work of Scripture Restoration, as restore the original Hebrew of the “New Testament” books, a project which will bless all mankind, especially the Jewish people of Israel.

In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

The Deity of Messiah in the Targums
By
James Scott Trimm

The Targums were authoritative Aramaic paraphrases of the books of the Tanak which were read in the synagogues in ancient times, along with the Hebrew of the Torah and Haftorah readings.  We read in the Targum to Isaiah:

1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamor,
 and He shall not lift up His voice in the street.
3 The meek who are like a bruised reed He shall not break,
and the poor who are as a glimmering wick with Him, He will not quench:
He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not faint nor be weary,
till He have established judgment in the earth;
and the isles shall wait for His Torah.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1-4)

Notice that were the Masoretic Text says:

Behold My servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen, in whom My soul delights;
I have put My spirit upon him,
he shall make the right to go forth to the nations.
(Is. 42:1)

The Targum reads:

1 Behold, my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring,
my chosen in whom one delights:
as for my Word [MEMRA], I will put my Holy Spirit upon Him;
He shall reveal my judgment unto the nations.
(Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 42:1)

It is clear in Isaiah 42:1 that the chosen one in whom YHWH has delight in this verse is the same as the one whom has YHWH’s Spirit upon Him.  In the Targum it is the Messiah who is identified as this chosen one in whom YHWH delights, and it is the MEMRA (“Word”) who has YHWH’s Spirit upon Him.  Therefore the Targum identifies the Messiah as one and the same with the MEMRA.

The eminent Kabbalah Scholar Gershom Scholem writes of the Memra:

…the memra– the paraphrase used in the Targumim, the Aramaic Bible translations, to refer to God’s word.  The memra is not merely a linguistic device for overcoming the problem of biblical anthropomorphisms; it has theological significance in its own right. The memra… is… a world-permeating force, a reality in the world of matter or mind, the immanent aspect of Elohim, holding all things under its omnipresent sway.
(On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah, by Gershom Scholem pg 181-182)

Whenever the Targums come to passages where YHWH is anthropomorphisised or seen, or where two or more YHWHs are indicated by the text, the Targums will often substitute “The Word [Memra] of YHWH” for YHWH. For example in Gen. 19:4 the Tanak has:

And YHWH rained brimstone and fire
upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah,
from YHWH, from the heavens.

The Hebrew grammar here indicates that one YHWH rains fire from another YHWH) But Targum Jonathan substitutes “The Word of YHWH/the LORD” for the first of the two YHWHs as follows:

And the Word of the YHWH caused to descend
upon the peoples of Sodom and Gommorah,
brimstone and fire from the YHWH in heaven.

In another example the Torah has in Ex. 24:1a (YHWH is the speaker, see Ex. 20:1-2)

Now He [YHWH] said to Moses, “come up to YHWH…”

But Targum Jonathan paraphrases the speaker in Ex. 20:1 with the substitution “the Word [Memra] of YHWH” in place of “YHWH.”

And the Word of YHWH spoke all these glorious words…

So it would seem that one of these entities called “YHWH” in these Torah passages was actually understood by the Targumists as being the “Word of YHWH.” It was, according to Targum Onkelos, this Word of YHWH that Abraham trusted in:

And Abraham trusted in the Word [Memra] of YHWH,
and He counted it to him for righteousness.
(Targum Onkelos Gen. 15:6)

Moreover Abraham prayed in the name of the Word of YHWH:

And Abraham worshipped and prayed
in the name of the Word [Memra] of YHWH,
and said, “You are YHWH who does see, but You cannot be seen.”
(Jerusalem Targum Gen. 22:14)

Note that here Abraham prays “in the name of the Word of YHWH” to the YHWH who “cannot be seen.” Here two YHWHs are very apparent. Abraham is praying in the name of the Word of YHWH but is praying to the YHWH who cannot be seen. This idea is reinforced elsewhere as follows:

And Hagar praised and prayed

in the name of the Word [Memra] Of YHWH
who had revealed Himself to her…
(Jerusalem Targum Gen. 16:3)

It was this Word of YHWH that Jacob also trusted in:

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying,
“If the Word [Memra] of YHWH will be my support,
and will keep me in the way that I go,
and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
so that I come again to my father’s house in peace;
then shall the Word [Memra] of YHWH be my God.
(Targum Onkelos on Gen. 28:20-21)

King David also urged Israel to trust in the Word of Yah as the Targum of Psalm 62 reads:

Trust in the Word of Yah at all times,
O people of the house of Israel!
Pour out before Him the sighings of your heart;
Say, God is our trust forever.
(Targum on Psalm 62:9)

This “Word of YHWH” was, according to Targum Jonathan, the Creator:

And the Word [Memra] of YHWH
created man in his likeness,
in the likeness of YHWH, YHWH created,
male and female created He them.
(Targ. Jonathan Gen. 1:27)

This idea is also put forward in the Jerusalem Targum:

And the Word [Memra] of YHWH said to Moses:
“I am He who said unto the world ‘Be!’ and it was:
and who in the future shall say to it ‘Be!’ and it shall be.”
And He said: “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel:
‘I Am’ has sent me to you.”
(Jerusalem Targum Ex. 3:14)

The Fragmentary Targum of the Torah also expresses that the Word of YHWH was the Creator:

The first night, when the “Word of YHWH”
was revealed to the world in order to create it,
the world was desolate and void,
and darkness spread over the face of the abyss
and the “Word of the Lord” was bright and illuminating
and He called it the first night.
(Fragmentary Targum Ex. 12:42)

That the Word of YHWH was the Creator can also be seen in the Tanak itself:

By the Word of YHWH were the heavens made,
And all the hosts of them by the Spirit of His mouth.
(Ps. 33:6)

The Word was also the covenant maker. For example the Noachdic covenant was between the Word and all mankind:

And YHWH said to Noah,
“This is the token of the covenant
which I have established between My Word [Memra]
and between all flesh that is upon the earth.
(Targum Onkelos Gen. 9:17)

The Word also made the Abrahamic covenant as Targum Onkelos also paraphrases:

And I will establish my covenant
between My Word [Memra] and between you…
(Targum Onkelos Gen. 17:7)

The Word of YHWH was also the giver of the Mosaic Covenant and the Torah as the Jerusalem Targum (as quoted above) makes the Torah giver “the Word of YHWH” in Ex. 20:1. It was to th e Word that Jacob turned to for salvation:

Our father Jacob said: “My soul does not wait for salvation
such as that wrought by Gideon, the son of Joash,
for that was but temporal; neither for a salvation
like that of Samson, which was only transitory;
but for that salvation which You have promised to come,
through Your Word unto Your people, the children of Israel;
for your salvation my soul hopes.”
(Targum Jonathan Gen. 49:18)

That the Word of YHWH is the savior is expressed elsewhere:

But Israel shall be saved by the Word of YHWH
with an everlasting salvation…
By the Word of YHWH shall all the seed of Israel be justified…
(Targum Jonathan Is. 45:17, 25)

But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah,
and I will save them by the Word of YHWH, their God.
(Targum Jonathan Hosea 1:7)

There is no doubt that the Targums identify the MEMRA as a manifestation of YHWH Himself, often substituting the word MEMRA or the phrase “MEMRA of YHWH” for  YHWH.

Since the Targums identify the Messiah as the MEMRA and the MEMRA as YHWH and as the Creator, it is very clear that the Targums teach the deity of Messiah!

We Need your help today! We had a very hot Texas August, and due to my wife’s health, we cannot simply turn down the AC. That high electric bill, and our car payment are both due. Any donation will help, and any donation is better that no donation.

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As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

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“Shalom Rabbi Trimm and it’s quite important to have such a study like that so we can be well informed about one of the greatest hidden books of the Tanach in my opinion.” – Moreh Fábio Pires

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Check them out:

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

I wanted to update you on my wife’s health. As many of you know, she was hospitalized for about two weeks last October (2020) with kidney issues. Just over a month ago she was given a follow up imaging scan. This had been delayed due to Covid-19 (She tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after she got home from the hospital, which was likely the source for her infection). That test turned up a dilated kidney, and so a series of follow up tests were done to see how serious the problem is. This week she had a nuclear renal scan which revealed that her right kidney is virtually non-functioning. These tests were run in the hopes that they would come up negative, and she would not need surgery. It now looks like surgery may be unavoidable. This is not good at all, because, as some of you know, my wife is a very bad surgical risk.

All of these tests and doctor appointments have been costing us co-pays that we just cannot afford. The nuclear renal scan test alone cost us a $150 copay. At the same time my wife has gone into what is called “gap” coverage in her Medicare coverage, so her prescription costs have gone thru the roof. One of her prescriptions alone is $228 a month!

As many of you know, I have been my wife’s full time caretaker since she had a 53 day hospitalization and septic shock that nearly killed her in 2018. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work on the Scripture Research Project. (see more here) as well as our continued online articles and video teachings.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work, bringing the message of Messiah to the Jewish people, and bringing the message of Torah to the world. We need your help with the ongoing work of Scripture Restoration, as restore the original Hebrew of the “New Testament” books, a project which will bless all mankind, especially the Jewish people of Israel.

In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.

Enoch Lesson 6 Handouts

I wanted to update you on my wife’s health. As many of you know, she was hospitalized for about two weeks last October (2020) with kidney issues. Just over a month ago she was given a follow up imaging scan. This had been delayed due to Covid-19 (She tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after she got home from the hospital, which was likely the source for her infection). That test turned up a dilated kidney, and so a series of follow up tests were done to see how serious the problem is. This week she had a nuclear renal scan which revealed that her right kidney is virtually non-functioning. These tests were run in the hopes that they would come up negative, and she would not need surgery. It now looks like surgery may be unavoidable. This is not good at all, because, as some of you know, my wife is a very bad surgical risk.

All of these tests and doctor appointments have been costing us co-pays that we just cannot afford. The nuclear renal scan test alone cost us a $150 copay. At the same time my wife has gone into what is called “gap” coverage in her Medicare coverage, so her prescription costs have gone thru the roof. One of her prescriptions alone is $228 a month!

As many of you know, I have been my wife’s full time caretaker since she had a 53 day hospitalization and septic shock that nearly killed her in 2018. I work at a desk less than six feet from her bed. So I am in a position to dedicate many hours to this important work that I have been directed to do.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work on the Scripture Research Project. (see more here) as well as our continued online articles and video teachings.

We need your help to continue the ongoing work, bringing the message of Messiah to the Jewish people, and bringing the message of Torah to the world. We need your help with the ongoing work of Scripture Restoration, as restore the original Hebrew of the “New Testament” books, a project which will bless all mankind, especially the Jewish people of Israel.

In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. As you might imagine, donations are low. If you can, please donate. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As I have said to you many times, I look on this work as a co-operative one with me, and all of you combining our resources together in order to get the job done of helping to teach this great truth to all in the world who will listen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, you are the ones who make it all possible by your contributions and your prayers for our work. I truly appreciate your help in every way.

If you can make a one time donation of $500 or $1,000 dollars to support this work.

Donations can be sent by Paypal to donations@wnae.org.