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The Prophet Like Moses
By
James Scott Trimm

This weeks Torah Parsha is SHOFTIM (Deut. 16:18-21:9).  This Torah portion includes a very important Messianic Prophecy:

18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like unto you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him.
(Deut. 18:18-19 HRV)

The Thirteenth Century Rabbinic commentator Ralbag (Rabbi Levi ben Gershon) writes concerning this passage:

A prophet from the midst of you.- In fact the Messiah is such a Prophet as it is stated in the Midrash [Tanhuma] on the verse “Behold my Servant shall prosper” [Is. 52:13]… Moses by the miracles which he wrought brought a single nation to worship Elohim, but the Messiah will draw all peoples to the worship of Elohim.
(Ralbag on Duet. 18:18)

The Midrash Tanhuma (cited above) says:

It is written, Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, He shall be exalted, and extolled, and be very high (Isaiah 52:13). It means, He shall be more exalted than Abraham of whom it is written, ‘I lift up my hand’ (Genesis 14:22). He shall be more extolled than Moses of whom it is said, ‘As a nursing father beareth the nursing child’ (Numbers 11:12). ‘And shall be very high’—that is, Messiah shall be higher than the ministering angels.
(Midrash Tanhuma Is. 52:13)

Maimonides, in a letter to a Yemenite community, denounces a man claiming to be the Messiah saying:

The Messiah will be a very great Prophet, greater than all the Prophets with the exception of Moses our teacher…His status will be higher than that of the Prophets and more honorable, Moses alone excepted. The Creator, blessed be He, will single him out with features wherewith He had not singled out Moses; for it is said with references to him, “And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.” (Isaiah 11:3)

The Dead Sea Scroll document 4Q175 also speaks of a Messianic Figure (clearly the Messiah) and applies Deut. 18:18-19 indicating that the Prophet “like Moses” was understood clearly as referring to the Messiah as far back as the Hasmoean period.

More insight on the Prophet Like Moses can be found in the Midrash Rabbah:

Another exposition of the text, ‘ My beloved is like a gazelle ‘: Israel, explained R. Isaac, said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘ Sovereign of the Universe! Thou hast told us that Thou wilt come to us first.’ ‘ My beloved is like a gazelle ‘; as the gazelle appears and then disappears, so the first redeemer appeared and then disappeared. R. Berekiah in the name of R. Levi said: Like the first redeemer so will the final redeemer be. The first redeemer was Moses, who appeared to them and then disappeared. For how long did he disappear from their sight? R. Tanhuma said: Three months; accordingly it is written, And they met Moses and Aaron, etc. (ib. V, 20).2 The final redeemer will also appear to them and then disappear.
(Midrash Rabbah Bamidbar 11:2)

Clearly here the two redeemers are Moses and the prophet like Moses, the Messiah.

We read in Exodus:

13 And Moshe said unto the people, Fear you not. Stand still, and see the salvation of YHWH, which He will work for you today! For whereas you have seen the Egyptians today, you shall see them again, no more, forever.
14 YHWH will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
(Ex. 14:13-14 HRV)

Therefore we have a picture of the “salvation of YHWH” in Exodus 14:19-29

19 And the angel of Elohim, who went before the camp of Yisra’el, removed, and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them.
20 And it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Yisra’el. And there was the cloud and the darkness here, yet gave it light by night there: and the one came not near the other all the night.
21 And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea. And YHWH caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Yisra’el went into the midst of the sea upon the dry earth, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea; all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that YHWH looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians.
25 And He took off their chariot wheels, and made them to drive heavily, so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Yisra’el, for YHWH fights for them against the Egyptians.
26 And YHWH said unto Moshe: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians; upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moshe stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against it, and YHWH overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea: there remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Yisra’el walked upon dry land, in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
(Ex. 14:19-29 HRV)

The first century Jewish writer Philo comments on this passage saying:

(2.265) Again, when you see, amid the wars and disasters of life, the merciful hand of God and his favourable power held over you and standing in defence of you, be silent yourself; for that champion stands in no need of any assistance. And there are proofs of this fact recorded in the sacred writings; such, for instance, as the verse, “The Lord will fight for us, and ye shall be Silent.” (Ex 14:14.)
(2.266) And if you see the genuine offspring and the firstborn of Egypt destroyed, namely desire, and pleasures, and pain, and fear, and iniquity, and mirth, and intemperance, and all the other qualities which are similar and akin to these, then marvel and be silent, dreading the terrible power of God;
(Philo; Dreams Book 2; 40; 265-266)

So Philo sees an allegory here where the “Egyptians” represent “desire, and pleasures, and pain, and fear, and iniquity, and mirth, and intemperance, and all the other qualities which are similar and akin to these.” In other words Philo sees the Egyptians as representing the sin-nature which the Rabbis call the Yetzer Ra, the Evil inclination.

The first redeemer (Moses) delivered us from the Egyptians, but the second redeemer (the Messiah) would deliver us from the Evil Inclination.

Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) (1194-1270 C.E.) wrote one of the most authoritative Torah commentaries in Rabbinic Judaism.   He says on this topic:

And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart (Deut. 30:6)  It is this which the Rabbis have said, “If someone comes to purify himself, they assist him” [from on High]. The verse assures you that you will return to Him with all your heart and He will help you.

This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [grant of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah period, so that people can gain merit upon choosing the good and punishment for preferring evil. But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it. This is the “circumcision” mentioned here, for lust and desire are the “foreskin” of the heart, and circumcision of the heart means that it will not covet or desire evil.

Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshit.

It is this which Scripture states in [the Book of] Jeremiah 31:30], Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ..etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it.

This is a reference to the annulment of the evil instinct and to the natural performance by the heart of its proper function. Therefore Jeremiah said further, and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: ‘Know YHWH; ‘for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them

Now, it is known that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth and it is necessary to instruct them, but at that time it will not be necessary to instruct them [to avoid evil] for their evil instinct will then be completely abolished. And so it is declared by Ezekiel, A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will cause you to walk in My statutes . (Ezekiel 36:26)

The new heart alludes to man’s nature, and the [new] spirit to the desire and will. It is this which our Rabbis have said : “And the years draw nigh, when you shall say: I have no pleasure in them; these are the days of the Messiah, as they will offer opportunity neither for merit nor for guilt,” for in the days of the Messiah there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.
(Ramban on Deut. 29:6)

This Midrash Rabbah (cited above) preserves a tradition which tells us that the Messiah would, like Moses, be revealed, then disappear and then be revealed again.  The coming of Messiah would be like Moses, who was revealed to Israel.  Then he disappeared when he ascended to commune with Elohim on Mt. Sinai.  While he was gone there was a great apostasy, and many believed he would never return (Ex. 32:1).  When he returned he separated and judged the people and condemned those who had not repented (Ex. 32:26-28).  The Midrash is telling us that the coming of Messiah would parallel these events.

Now in Deut. 18:19 the Torah says of those who do not give heed to this Messiah “I [Elohim] will require it of him.”  What does this mean?

The Targum Onkelos to this phrase is even stronger saying “My Word shall take vengeance upon him” and similarly the Greek Septuagint translator rendered the phrase “I shall take vengeance upon him.”. The Mishnah explains the phrase “I will require it of him” to mean “death at the hands of heaven”:

“HIS DEATH IS AT THE HANDS OF HEAVEN. FOR IT IS WRITTEN, [AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO MY WORDS WHICH THE PROPHET SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME.] I WILL REQUIRE IT OF HIM (DEUT. 18:19).”
(m.San. 11:5)

And as it is again said in the Talmud:

But he who suppresses his prophecy, or disregards the words of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words is slain by Heaven, for it is written, All it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken

: now this may be understood [as implying] to proclaim’ and ‘hearkening himself’ unto my words; and the verse concludes, I will require it of him (Deut. 18:19), i.e., [he shall be slain] by Heaven.
(b.San. 89a)

Certainly the Torah not only foretells the coming of Messiah, it requires every Torah Observant Jew to accept and follow this Messiah.
HaSatan wishes “to steal and to kill and to destroy” (Jn. 10:10) and he knows the time is short and has stepped up his war with those who proclaim both Torah Observance and Faith in Messiah (the two pillars of Nazarene Judaism) (Rev. 12:12, 17; 13:7). But no weapon forged against us will prosper (Is. 54:17).

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The Lord said to My Lord
Psalm 110 and the Messiah
By
James Scott Trimm

In the Book of Matthew we read:

41 Now while the P’rushim were assembled, Yeshua asked them, saying:
42 How seems it to you concerning the Messiah? Whose Son is He? And they said to Him, He is the Son of David.
43 But He said to them: And how then spoke David, by the Ruach HaKodesh calling Him, My Adon, saying,
44 YHWH said to my Adon: Sit you on My right hand, until I make Your enemies the footstool of your feet?
45 If David then calls Him, My Adon: how is He his son?
46 And they could not return Him a word: neither did any man wish again to question Him further from that day.
(Matthew 22:41-46 HRV)

Here Yeshua cites Psalm 110 which reads (in its entirety):

1 A Psalm of David. (110:1) YHWH says unto my Adon: Sit you at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
2 The rod of Your strength, YHWH will send out of Tziyon. Rule you in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your warfare; in adornments of Set-Apartness: from the womb of the dawn, yours is the dew of your youth.
4 YHWH has sworn, and will not repent: You are a cohen forever after the manner of MalkiTzadek.
5 YHWH, at your right hand, does crush kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge among the nations: He fills it with the dead bodies. He crushes the head over a wide land.
7 He will drink of the brook in the way: therefore will he lift up the head.
(Ps. 110:1-7 HRV)

Yeshua identifies himself as the Messiah as being the “my Adon” who YHWH speaks to in verse 1.

The Midrash Tehillim (Midrash on Psalms) identifies the “My Adon” of Psalm 110:1 as Messiah.  According to the Midrash Tehillim:

The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit you at My right hand.
To the Messiah it will also be said,
and in mercy the throne be established;…
(Midrash Tehillim on Ps. 110:1)

Tovia Singer and other anti-missionaries (and others who question the deity of Messiah) insist that the “my Adon” of this passage is not YHWH.

However this identification is based on one of the “Tikkun Soferim”, the “emendations of the scribes”

While in verse 5 the Masoretic Text has “Adonai”, this is one of 134 places where the Masoretic Text reads “Adonai” but which the Masorah indicates that the text originally read “YHWH” and had been altered by the scribes in an attempt on their part to clarify the text. A copy found at the Cairo Geniza also has “YHWH” here.

The scribes changed YHWH to Adonai in verse 5 because they did not want you to “mistakenly” identify the “My Adon” on the right hand of YHWH in verse 1 with the “YHWH” on the right and in verse 5.

As Jeremiah warns us:

8 How do you say, We are wise, and the Torah of YHWH is with us? Behold, certainly in vain, has wrought the vain pen of the scribes.
9 The wise men are ashamed; they are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of YHWH, and what wisdom is in them?
(Jer. 8:8-9 HRV)

Tovia Singer’s argument is based on an admittedly altered text.  Singer elsewhere condemns those who “mess with” the text, yet here his entire argument is based on a text that was admittedly altered to prevent it from saying what it actually says. 

Verse 5 tells us that the “Adon” on the right is also “YHWH”.  The original reading of Psalm 110:5 identified the Adon on the right hand of YHWH as YHWH.

The Zohar make it clear that the “My Adon” of Psalm 110:1 is YHWH.  According to the Zohar in this verse one aspect of the Godhead is speaking to another aspect of the Godhead:

Rabbi Simeon further gave an exposition of the verse:
The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand
Until I make your enemies your footstool (Ps. 110:1)
“The Lord says unto my Lord”:
to wit, the upper grade [of the Godhead],
said to the lower [grade of the Godhead],
“sit at My right hand”,…
(Zohar 1:50b)

Verse 4 of Psalm 110 identifies this figure as “Melchizadek.”  This Melchizadek figure was especially important to the Essenes.  One document found at Qumran commonly called the Melchizadek document (11Q13) deals with this Melchizadek figure.  This document quotes from Isaiah 61:1 but substitutes “Melchizadek” for YHWH.  The document goes on to call this Melchizadek figure both “El” and “Elohim” and to identify him with the Messiah who is “cut-off’ in Dan. 9:27:

(…) And concerning what Scripture says, “In this year of Jubilee you shall return, everyone f you, to your property” (Lev. 25:13) And what is also written; “And this is the manner of the remission; every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor, not exacting it of a neighbor who is a member of the community, because God`s remission has been proclaimed” (Deut.15:2) the interpretation is that it applies to the Last Days and concerns the captives, just as Isaiah said: “To proclaim the Jubilee to the captives” (Isa. 61:1) (…) just as (…) and from the inheritance of Melchizedek, for (… Melchizedek), who will return them to what is rightfully theirs. He will proclaim to themthe Jubilee, thereby releasing them from the debt of all their sins.  He shall proclaim this decree in the first week of the jubilee period that follows nine jubilee periods. Then the “Day of Atonement” shall follow after the tenth jubilee period, when he shall atone for all the Sons of Light, and the people who are predestined to Melchizedek.  (…) upon them (…) For this is the time decreed for the “Year of Melchizedek`s favor”, and by his might he will judge Elohim`s holy ones and so establish a righteous kingdom, as it is written about him in the Songs of David ; “An ELOHIM has taken his place in the council of EL; in the midst of the ELOHIM he holds judgment” (Ps. 82:1). Scripture also says about him;  “Over it take your seat in the highest heaven; A divine being will judge the peoples” (Ps. 7:7-8) Concerning what scripture says ; ” How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality with the wicked? Selah” (Ps. 82:2), the interpretation applies to Belial and the spirits predestined to him, because all of them have rebelled, turning from Elohim`s precepts and so becoming utterly wicked. Therefore Melchizedek will thoroughly prosecute the vengeance required by Elohim`s statutes. Also, he will deliverall the captives from the power of Belial, and from the power of all the spirits destined to him. Allied with him will be all the “righteous ELOHIM”(Isa. 61:3). (The …) is that whi(ch …all) the ELOHIM.

The visitation is the Day of Salvation that He has decreed through Isaiah the prophet concerning all the captives, inasmuch as Scripture says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion “Your ELOHIM reigns”.” (Isa. 52:7)This scriptures interpretation : “the mountains” are the prophets, they who were sent to proclaim Elohim`s truth and to prophesy to all Israel. “The messengers” is the Anointed of the spirit, of whom Daniel spoke; “After the sixty-two weeks, an Anointed shall be cut off” (Dan. 9:26) The “messenger who brings good news, who announces Salvation”is the one of whom it is written; “to proclaim the year of YHWH`s favor , the day of the vengeance of our Elohim; to comfort all who mourn” (Isa. 61:2) This scripture’s interpretation: he is to instruct them about all the periods of history for eternity (… and in the statutes) of the truth. (…) (…. dominion) that passes from Belial and returns to the Sons of Light (….) (…) by the judgment of God, just as t is written concerning him;”who says to Zion “Your ELOHIM reigns” (Isa. 52:7) “Zion” is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, who uphold the covenant and turn from walking in the way of the people. “Your ELOHIM” is Melchizedek, who will deliver them from the power of Belial. Concerning what scripture says, “Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; in the seventh month . . . ” (Lev. 25;9)
(11Q13 Col. 2)

The Book of Hebrews in an extended homiletic Midrash on Psalm 110 which also identifies Messiah with this Melchizadek figure.

Philo makes a very interesting comment concerning the Torah command of the cities of refuge (Num. 35:6-28; Josh. 20:1-9). The Torah says:

And the assembly shall deliver the manslayer, out of the hand of the avenger of
blood, and the assembly shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he was fled. And he shall dwell therein until the death of the High Priest, who was anointed with the Set-Apart oil.
(Numbers 35:25)

Philo makes an interesting observation on this passage, he writes:

The fourth and last of the points which we proposed to discuss, is the appointing as a period for the return of the fugitives the death of the high priest, which, if taken in the literal sense, causes me great perplexity; for a very unequal punishment is imposed by this enactment on those who have done the very same things, since some will be in banishment for a longer time, and others for a shorter time; for some of the high priests live to a very old age, and others die very early, and some are appointed while young men, and others not until they are old. And again of those who are convicted of unintentional homicide, some have been banished at the beginning of the high priest’s entrance into office, and some when the high priest has been at the very point of death. So that some are deprived of their country for a very long time, and others suffer the same infliction only for a day, if it chance to be so; after which they lift up their heads, and exult, and so return among those whose nearest relations have been slain by them. This difficult and scarcely explicable perplexity we may escape if we adopt the inner and allegorical explanation in accordance with natural philosophy. For we say that the high priest is not a man, but is the Word (Logos) of God, who has not only no participation in intentional errors, but none even in those which are involuntary.
(On Flight 106-108)

Elsewhere he writes:

XXVI. (82) But Melchisedek shall bring forward wine instead of water, and shall give your souls to drink, and shall cheer them with unmixed wine, in order that they may be wholly occupied with a divine intoxication, more sober than sobriety itself. For the Word is a priest, having, as its inheritance the true God, and entertaining lofty and sublime and magnificent ideas about him, “for he is the priest of the most high God.”{38}{Genesis 14:18.} Not that there is any other God who is not the most high; for God being one, is in the heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and there is no other besides Him.”{39}{Deuteronomy 4:39.} But he sets in motion the notion of the Most High, from his conceiving of God not in a low and grovelling spirit, but in one of exceeding greatness, and exceeding sublimity, apart from any conceptions of matter.
(“De Allegoriis Legum,” iii. 26).

Moreover Philo taught the “Word” (Logos) and the Messiah are one and the same:

“The head of all things is the eternal Word (Logos) of the eternal God, under which, as if it were his feet or other limbs, is placed the whole world, over which He passes and firmly stands. Now it is not because Messiah is Lord that He passes and sits over the whole world, for His seat with His Father and God but because for its perfect fullness the world is in need of the care and superintendence of the best ordered dispensation, and for its own complete piety, of the Divine Word (Logos), just as living creatures (need) a head, without which it is impossible to live.”
(Q&A on Exodus, II, 117)

Philo thus concludes that the Messiah is the Word and the true High.  If we follow Philo’s logic through, then through the death of the Messiah, these exiles are set free.

The “My Adon” of Psalm 110:1 is the Messiah.  He is the Melchizadek figure, the heavenly High Priest of Ps. 110:4.  And he is the YHWH on the right hand in Ps. 110:5. 

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As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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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Out of Egypt I have Called My Son
By
James Scott Trimm

We read in the Goodnews according to Matthew:

13 And after they had departed, and behold, the angel of YHWH appeared to Yosef in a dream, saying: Arise, take the boy and His mother, and flee you away into Egypt and be there. And there you will stay until I return to you: for Herod is seeking to put the boy to death.
14 And he arose, <and did as the angel had said to him,> and took up the boy and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt,
15 And was there until the death of Herod: to fulfill what was spoken from YHWH by the prophet, who said, From out of Egypt I have called, My Son. (Hosea 11:1)
(Matt. 2:13-15 HRV)

In an attempt to discredit this account, as well as the Messiahship of Yeshua, Tovia Singer and other anti-missionaries have claimed that Matthew quotes this passage of Hosea totally out of context. In reality Matthew’s use of this passage as a Messianic prophecy is perfectly justified, and in fact shows a great deal of Jewish insight.

First off it is important to have a basic understanding of Jewish hermeneutics. In Judaism it is understood that there are four levels of understanding of a passage, which correspond to the four Hebrew letters that spell the Hebrew word PaRDeS (Paradise) The word PRDS is also an acronym (called in Judaism “notarikon”) for:

[P]ashat (Heb. “simple”) The plain, simple, literal level of understanding.
[R]emez (Heb. “hint”) The implied level of understanding.
[D]rash (Heb. “search”) The allegorical, typological or homiletically level of understanding.
[S]od (Heb. “hidden”) The hidden, secret or mystical level of understanding.

These are the four levels of understanding. The Four Gospels each express one of these four levels of understanding of the life of Yeshua.

The Pashat Gospel is Mark. Mark wrote a simple, brief, concise, pashat account of Yeshua’s life for the Goyim (Gentiles) while he was in Babylon with Kefa (1Kefa 5:13). He wrote his Gospel in the Syriac dialect of Aramaic for his Syrian and Assyrian readers in Babylon. Mark thus compiled material from Matthew and Luke and simplified it to create a simple version for Goyim. .

The Remez Gospel is Luke. Luke wrote a more detailed account for the High Priest Theophilus (a Sadducee). The Sadducees were rationalists and sticklers for details.

The Drash Gospel is Matthew. Matthew presents his account of Yeshua’s life as a Midrash to the Pharisees, as a continuing story tied to various passages from the Tanak As a drash level account Matthew also includes a number of parables in his account.

The Sod Gospel is Yochanan (John). Yochanan addresses the Mystical Essene sect and concerns himself with mystical topics like light, life, truth, the way and the Word. Yochanan includes many Sod interpretations in his account. For example Yochanan 1:1 presents a Sod understanding of Gen. 1:1. Yochanan 3:14; 8:28 & 12:32 present a Sod understanding of Num. 21:9 etc.).

Now let us return to Hosea 11:1 where we read:

When Israel was a child, then I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.

This passage draws from the Torah Exodus 4:22-23:

Then you shall say to Pharaoh,
“Thus says YHWH:
‘Israel is my first-born son.
I have said to you, ‘Let My son go,
That he may worship Me,’
Yet you refuse to let him go.
Now I will slay your first-born son.’”
(Sh’mot (Ex.) 4:22-23)

Now if Israel is the first-born son of YHWH spoken of in these passages, then why did Matthew apply this passage (Hoshea 11:1) to the Messiah?

Why in the world does YHWH identify Israel as His first-born son? Why does Matthew identify Messiah as His son? Who in Judaism is the first-born Son of YHWH? Why the apparent confusion? Is Matthew really taking Hoshea 11:1 out of context?

No Matthew is giving a Midrash, a Drash understanding of Hosea 11:1 and Exodus 4:22-23. In order to understand this Midrash it is important to understand the concept of the “firstborn Son of Yah” in Judaism.

The firstborn Son of Yah referenced in the Zohar and is the Middle Pillar of the Godhead which the Zohar identifies as “The Son of Yah”. The Zohar describes the three pillars of the Godhead as follows:

Then Elohim said, “Let thee be light; and there was light.
And Elohim saw that the light was good…
Why, it may be asked, was it necessary to repeat the word “light” in this verse? The answer is that the first “light” refers to the primordial light which is of the Right Hand, and it is destined for the “end of days”; while the second “light” refers to the Left Hand, which issues from the Right.
The next words, “And God saw the light that it was good” (Gen. 1:4), refer to the pillar which, standing midway between them, unites both sides, and therefore when the unity of the three, right, left, and middle, was complete, “it was good”, since there could be no completion until the third had appeared to remove the strife between Right and Left, as it is written, “And God separated between the light and between the darkness.”…
This is the Middle Pillar: Ki Tov (that it was good) threw light above and below and on all other sides, in virtue of YHWH, the name which embraces all sides.
(Zohar 1:16b)

The right and left pillars are assigned as Mother and Father, the middle pillar, which balances the feminine and masculine characteristics from the male and female sides, is identified in the Zohar as “the Son of Yah”. The Zohar says:

Better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off.
This neighbor is the Middle Pillar in the Godhead, which is the Son of Yah.
(Zohar 2:115)

In another Passage the Zohar has:

We may also translate, “he who withholds blessings from the Son”, whom the Father and Mother have crowned and blessed with many blessings, and concerning whom they commanded, “Kiss the son lest he be angry” (Ps. II, 12), since he is invested both with judgement (gevurah) and with mercy (chesed).
(Zohar 3:191b)

And elsewhere the Zohar says of the Son:

The Holy One, blessed be He, has a son, whose glory (tifret) shines from one end of the world to another. He is a great and mighty tree, whose head reaches heaven, and whose roots are set in the holy ground, and his name is “Mispar” and his place is in the uppermost heaven… as it is written, “The heavens declare (me-SaPRim) the glory (tifret) of God” (Ps. 19:1). Were it not for this “Mispar” there would be neither hosts nor offspring in any of the worlds.
(Zohar 2:105a)

This is intended to point the reader back to a familiar passage from the Bahir:

Why are they called Sephirot?
Because it is written (Psalm 19:2),
“The heavens declare (me-SaPRim) the glory (tifret) of God.”
(Bahir 125)

According to the Zohar, the Middle Pillar of the Godhead is not only known as the “Son of Yah” but also as “Metatron”:

Better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off.
This neighbor is the Middle Pillar in the godhead,
which is the Son of Yah.
(Zohar 2:115)

The Middle Pillar is also known as “Metatron”:

The Middle Pillar [of the godhead] is Metatron,
Who has accomplished peace above,
According to the glorious state there.
(Zohar 3:227)

In the Zohar we are also told that Metatron is “the firstborn”:

“And Abraham said to his oldest servant of his house…” (Gen. 24:2) Who is this of whom it said “his servant?” In what sense must this be understood? Who is this servant? R. Nehori answered:
“It is in no other sense to be understood than expressed in the word “His servant,”
His servant, the servant of Elohim, the chief to His service. And who is he? Metatron, as said. He is appointed to glorify the bodies which are in the grave.
This is the meaning of the words “Abraham said to His servant” that is to the servant of Elohim. The servant is Metatron, the eldest of His [YHWH’s] House, who is the firstborn of all creatures of Elohim, who is the ruler of all He has; because Elohim has committed to Him the government over all His hosts.
(Zohar Midrash Ha-Ne’lam; Parsha Hayyei Sarah 1:126b)

So in Judaism both Israel and “The Son of Yah” are identified as the “first-born Son of YHWH”.

According to the first century Jewish writer Philo, this firstborn Son of Elohim is also known as “The Word:

Philo Writes of the Word (Logos):

For there are, as it seems, two temples belonging to God; one being this world, in which the high priest is the divine word, his own firstborn son. The other is the rational soul, the priest of which is the real true man,
(On Dreams 215)

And if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, neverthless let him labour earnestly to be adorned according to his Firstborn Word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for He is called, “the Authority”, and “the Name of God”, and “the Word”, and “man according to God’s image”, and “He who sees Israel”. . . For even if we are not yet suitable to be called the sons of God, still we may deserve to be called the children of his eternal image, of his most sacred Word; for the image of God is his most ancient word.
( On the Confusion of Tongues XXVIII:146-147)

Thus, indeed, being a shepherd is a good thing, so that it is justly attributed, not only to kings, and to wise men, and to souls who are perfectly purified, but also to God, the ruler of all things; and he who confirms this is not any ordinary person, but a prophet, whom it is good to believe, he namely who wrote the psalms; for he speaks thus, “The Lord is my shepherd, and he shall cause me to lack Nothing;” (Ps. 23:1.) and let every one in his turn say the same thing,
for it is very becoming to every man who loves God to study such a song as this, but above all this world should sing it. For God, like a shepherd and a king, governs (as if they were a flock of sheep) the earth, and the water, and the air, and the fire, and all the plants, and living creatures that are in them, whether mortal or divine; and he regulates the nature of the heaven, and the periodical revolutions of the sun and moon, and the variations and harmonious movements of the other stars, ruling them according to law and justice; appointing, as their immediate superintendent, his own right reason, his first-born son, who is to receive the charge of this sacred company, as the lieutenant of the great king; for it is said somewhere, “Behold, I am he! I will send my messenger before thy face, who shall keep thee in the Road.”(Ex. 23:20.)
(On Husbandry 50-51)

Furthermore Philo tells us that “The Word” (Logos) and the Messiah are one and the same:

“The head of all things is the eternal Word (Logos) of the eternal God, under which, as if it were his feet or other limbs, is placed the whole world, over which He passes and firmly stands. Now it is not because Messiah is Lord that He passes and sits over the whole world, for His seat with His Father and God but because for its perfect fullness the world is in need of the care and superintendence of the best ordered dispensation, and for its own complete piety, of the Divine Word (Logos), just as living creatures (need) a head, without which it is impossible to live.”
(Q&A on Exodus, II, 117)

So when YHWH says in Sh’mot (Ex.) 4:22-23 and Hoshea 11:1 that Israel is his first-born son he is speaking allegorically. He is comparing Israel to Messiah.

And when Mattitiyahu quotes Hoshea 11:`1 and applies this sonship to Messiah he is referring to the reality behind the allegory of Hosea 11:1 and Sh’mot 4:22-23. In effect Matthew is saying that Yeshua the Messiah is the figure that later Rabbinic Judaism came to call “The Son of Yah”. Therefore the Torah in Sh’mot 4:22-23 is prompting us that there is an allegorical relationship between Israel and Messiah:

So how is the Messiah allegorically like Israel?

* Both made a major impact on the world.

* Both were born through a biological miracle on their mother’s womb.

* Both were taken into Egypt to save their lives.

* Both are called up out of Egypt.

* Both have been despised and rejected by man.

* Rome attempted to execute each of them.

* Both are resurrected never to die again.

By saying, “Israel is my first-born son”, ELOHIM is saying that by oppressing Israel, it is as if Pharaoh was oppressing the Son of Yah, the Messiah himself.

In fact the Tanya makes use of this same allegory which connects the Son of Yah as spoken of in the Zohar with Israel:

So, allegorically speaking, have the souls of Jews risen in the [Divine] thought, as it is written, “My firstborn son is Israel,” and “Ye are children unto the Lord your G-d”. That is to say, just as a child is derived from his father’s brain, so— to use an anthropomorphism— the soul of each Israelite is derived from G-d’s (blessed be He) thought and wisdom.
(Tanya; Likutei Amarim; Chapter 2)

Similarly is it with the human soul, which is divided in two— sechel (intellect) and middot (emotional attributes). The intellect includes chochmah, binah and da at (ChaBaD), whilst the middot are love of G-d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth. ChaBaD (the intellectual faculties) are called “mothers” and source of the middot, for the latter are “offspring” of the former.
(Tanya; Likutei Amarim; Chapter 3)

Emergency Alert!

Our rent is due tomorrow (7/1/24) and right now we do not have it! We need your help today!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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 or by Zelle or Go Fund Me.

Click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

According to Wikipedia:

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy which was founded by Zeno of Citium, in Athens, in the early 3rd century BC. Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world.

However, Stoicism was also a Jewish Philosophy, from at least as early as the time of the Maccabees, and arguably as early as Moses, which flourished at least until the early second Century CE.

Many Jews in ancient times maintained that the principles of “Helemistic philosophy” and “Stoicism” in particular, actually originated from the ancient Hebrews, and were borrowed by the Greeks.

The Alexandrian Jewish writer Aristoblus, wrote in the Second Century BCE:

“It is evident that Plato imitated our Torah and that he had investigated thoroughly each of the elements in it. For it had been translated by others before before Demetrius Phalereus, before the conquests of Alexander and the Persians.”
(Aristoblus; Fragment 3; quoted in Eusebius 12:12:1f)

“And it seems to me that Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato with great care follow him [Moses] in all respects. They copy him when they say they hear the voice of God, and they contemplate the arrangement of the universe, so carefully made and so unceasingly held together by God.
(Aristoblus; Fragment 4; quoted in Eusebius 13:13:4)

Aristoblus saw in these “Greek” philosophies, concepts that could be found much earlier in his Jewish Scriptures. Likewise the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria, in the first Century, expounded upon the Torah, finding these same ideas in it.

The book of 4th Maccabees, likewise expounds principles of Stoicism, citing as examples, passages and narratives from the Tanak and the Channukah story as given in 2Maccabees.

And when the Mishna presents Simeon Ben Zoma’s four Stoic paradoxes (late first to early second century), he shows how each may be derived from a passage in the Tanak:

Ben Zoma would say:
Who is wise? He who learns from everyone. As is stated (Psalms 119:99): “From all my teachers I have grown wise”;
Who is strong? He who controls his impulses. As is stated (Proverbs 16:32), “Better one who is slow to anger than one with might, one who rules his spirit than the captor of a city.”;
Who is rich? He who is happy with what he has. As is stated (Psalms 128:2): “If you eat of toil of your hands, fortunate are you, and good is to you”; “fortunate are you” in this world, “and good is to you” in the World to Come;
Who is honored? He who honors everyone! As is stated (1 Samuel 2:30): “For to those who honor me, I accord honor; those who scorn me shall be demeaned;”.
(Pirkei Avot 4:1)

Hebraic Stoicism is a renascence of the ancient Stoic Wisdom of the Hebrews.

Some of the basic points of Hebraic Stoicism are:

1. “The Torah corresponds to the world and the world to the Torah, and that a man who is obedient to the Torah, being, by so doing, a citizen of the world, arranges his actions with reference to the intention of nature, in harmony with which the whole universal world is regulated.” (Philo, On Creation 3)
2. “Elohim fashioned man, he planted in him emotions and inclinations, but at the same time he enthroned the mind among the senses as a sacred governor over them all. To the mind he gave the Torah; and one who lives subject to this will rule a kingdom that is temperate, just, good, and courageous.” (4Macc. 2:21-23) “emotions are the causes of all good and of all evil; of good when they submit to the authority of dominant reason, and of evil when they break out of bounds and scorn all government and restraint.” (Philo; Life of Moses 1; VI, 26)
3. Ultimately we cannot control anything external. Worry is irrational, and a form of fear. The only thing we truly control is what we think, and as a result, how we choose to feel.
4. The Memra (Word) is a rational intellect which permeates the universe. This results in the universe having a sort of intent or will, known as “providence” (not to be confused with predestination). While we have a freewill, it may be compared to a dog on a leash attached to a moving wagon.
5. A man who lives by these principles will manifest four key “labors of wisdom” or “virtues”: wisdom, temperance, justice and courage.

I want to invite everyone who is interested in this renascence of “Hebraic Stoicism” to join us in building a Hebraic Stoicism community online.

Join us at the Hebraic Stoicism Facebook group

And like the Hebraic Stoicism Facebook page at:

Kiss the Son
The Deception of Tovia Singer
By
James Scott Trimm

In Psalm 2 we read:

The kings of the earth stand up,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against YHWH, and against His Messiah:…
I will tell of the decree:
YHWH said to me: “You are My Son,”
This day have I begotten you….
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry…
(Ps. 2:2, 7, 12)

Now in his deceptive anti-Missionary tape set titled (wrongly) “Lets Get Biblical” Tovia Singer refers to Psalm 2:12 saying “The word BAR in Hebrew does not quite mean ‘son’.”

Tovia goes on to say:

“What we do is we look at all the other places where the word BAR exists and what I did for you is I did you a favor. I showed you every single place where the word BAR appears in the Book of Psalms and you will notice that isn’t it odd that the King James Bible everywhere that the word appears in all its forms is always translated cleanliness or purity? Why if that word truly means son or sonship why isn’t it translated that way in other places?”

Notice here that Singer plays a shell game. He starts out suggesting “we look at all the other places where the word BAR exists” then he leads you to believe that he has done this for you, but he has played a switch on you for what he actually has done instead is “showed you every single place where the word BAR appears in the Book of Psalms”. Then he switches back claiming to have shown that “everywhere that the word appears in all its forms is always translated cleanliness or purity”. And then poses the question “Why if that word truly means son or sonship why isn’t it translated that way in other places?”.

So he begins by telling you that we need to look at EVERY passage where the word appears, he then shows you ONLY the passages where the word appears in Psalms, then he CLAIMS to have proven that BAR is always translated “cleanliness or purity” and never as “son”.

The reason for this deception is that Singer knows full well that if we were to enlarge the search by even looking at the neighboring book of Proverbs we would find Proverbs 31:2 where we read:

“What, my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows?”
(Proverbs 31:2 Jewish Publication Society version)

Every translation I have ever seen, be it Jewish, Christian or Secular renders BAR as “son” in this verse. So now you see why Singer plays the shell game. He has to tell you that he is showing you “all the other places where the word BAR exists” while he really only looks at the book of Psalms, and then he pretends to have shown you “everywhere where the word appears” for the sole purpose of deceiving you, because he cannot honestly look at all of the passages, or even to the neighboring book of Proverbs or you could plainly see that the word BAR can be and is translated from Hebrew as “son”, even in Jewish sources.

In fact Jewish sources attest to “son” as a meaning of BAR in Hebrew even though Singer claims “The word BAR in Hebrew does not quite mean ‘son’.” In the Student’s Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary to the Old Testament by Alexander Harkavy published by the Hebrew Publishing Company in 1914 we read “In Heb. BAR [as Aramaic for “son”] occurs only in poetry Pr. 31,2.”
(p. 68 column 8). The reader may notice that Psalms is also poetry, so Singer is plain wrong when he declares “The word BAR in Hebrew does not quite mean ‘son’.”.

In fact the tenth century Jewish scholar Abraham Ibn ‘Ezra writes in his commentary on this very passage:

“Serve YHWH” (Ps. 2:7) refers to YHWH’ and “kiss the son (BAR)” (Ps. 2:12) refers to His Messiah; and behold the presence of BAR, is like that of “What, my son (BAR)…”
(Prov. 31:2)”

Notice Ibn ‘Ezra not only understands BAR here to mean “son” but identifies this “son:” as the Messiah!

BAR in Psalm 2:12 is also understood to mean “son” in the Zohar:

All the keys of faith dangle from this Israel, and He glorifies Himself, saying YHWH said to me, ‘You are My son’ (Psalm 2:7). Certainly so, for Father and Mother have crowned Him and blessed Him with many blessings, and commanded aa: Kis the son (ibid., 12) kiss the hand of this Son.
(Zohar 3:191b)

Tovia Singer’s argument is deceptive and dishonest. When the Psalm says “Kiss the Son (BAR), lest he be angry…” (Ps. 2:12) the word BAR definitely means “son”.

Emergency Alert!

Emergency Alert! Our rent is due today (7/1/24) and we do not have it. Any donation today will help greatly!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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 or by Zelle of Go Fund Me

Click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

The Qumran Community were Essenes
By
James Scott Trimm

Every once in a while sensational theories about the Dead Sea Scrolls/Qumran Scrolls make the rounds again. Many of these theories insist that the Dead Sea Scrolls were not Essene documents.

The fact is that anyone who can read, and exercise basic logic, can see for themselves that the Qumran Scrolls were the product of Essenes.

The standard model accepted by most scholars is that the Qumran Community were Essenes and that the bulk of the Dead Sea Scrolls represent Essene documents.  However some have been misled by various theories ascribing the scrolls to Sadducees or other groups.  The truth is that the evidence that the Qumran Community were Essenes is overwhelming.  To begin with Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus (c. 23 CE – August 25,  79 CE)) was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher. He was also a naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian.  In his writings he tells us that in the Second Temple Era there was a community of Essenes that lived right at the physical location of Qumran:

To the west [of the Dead Sea] the Essenes have put the necessary distance between themselves and the insalubrious shore. They are a people unique of its kind and admirable beyond all others in the whole world without women and renouncing love entirely, without money, and having for company only the palm trees. Owing to the throng of newcomers, this people is daily re-born in equal number; indeed, those whom, wearied by the fluctuations of fortune, life leads to adopt their customs, stream in great numbers. Thus, unbelievable though this may seem, for thousands of centuries a race has existed which is eternal yet into which no one is born: so fruitful for them is the repentance which others feel for their past lives! Below the Essenes was the town of Engada [Engedi], which yielded only to Jerusalem in fertility and palm-groves but is today become another ash-heap. From there, one comes to the fortress of Masada, situated on a rock, and itself near the lake of Asphalt.
(Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis V, 17, 4 (73))

When we compare what the first century Jewish Roman writer Josephus tells us about the Essenes with the Dead Sea Scrolls, it becomes obvious that the authors were Essenes:

If it walks like an Essene and talks like an Essene…. its an Essene!

Update: We must still raise at least $400 by the end of the day Monday (9/20/2021) or our account will plunge into the negative, causing a cascade of returned items and fees!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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.

Or click HERE to donate

Yeshua Made a Fence Around the Torah
By
James Scott Trimm

One of the basic precepts of the Oral Law is the directive to עשו סייג לתורה “make a fence about the Torah” as we read at the opening of tractate Avot in the Mishnah:

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua. Joshua gave it over to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They [the Men of the Great Assembly] would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgment. Establish many pupils. And make a fence about the Torah.
(m.Avot 1:1)  

Later in Avot we read that Rabbi Akiva said “Tradition is a fence to Torah”  (Akiva Avot 3:13)

What does is mean to “make a fence about the Torah”?  Rambam explains it like this:

“Make a hedge about the Torah”, refers to the decrees and enactments of the Sages-these keep a man far from transgression, as the Blessed One said, ‘Therefore shall ye keep what I have given you to keep (Lev. 18:30),’ which the Talmud (Yebamot 21a) interprets to mean; add protection to what I have already given you as protection.”
(Maimonides on Avot 1:1)

A good example of such a fence can be found in the very first Mishnah of the Talmud:

1:1 From what time may they recite the Shema in the evening?
From the hour that the priests enter [their homes] to eat their heave offering.
“until the end of the first watch” the words of Rabbi Eliezer.
But the sages say, “Until midnight.”
Rabban Gamliel says, “Until the rise of dawn.”
M’SH’SH: His [Gamliel’s] sons returned from a banquet hall [after midnight].
They said to him, “We did not [yet] recite the Shema.”
He said to them, “If the dawn has not yet risen, you are obligated to recite [the Shema].
And this applies not only [in] this [case]. Rather, [as regards] all commandments which sages said [may be performed] ‘Until midnight,” the obligation [to perform them persists] until the rise of dawn.”
[For example,] the offering of the fats and entrails—their obligation [persists] until the rise of dawn [see Lev. 1:9, 3:3-5].
And all [sacrifices] which must be eaten within one day, the obligation [to eat them persists] until the rise of dawn.
If so why did sages say [that these actions may be performed only] until midnight?
In order to protect man from sin.
(m.Berakhot 1:1)

While the Torah requires the evening Shema to be said before the rise of dawn, the sages erected a “fence around the Torah” teaching that it should be said by midnight (Rabbi Eliezer held that it should be said even before the end of the first watch).  The sages set up the fence “in order to protect man from sin”.  If one is attempting to fulfill the commandment to say the evening Shema before midnight, then even if one is late, one is less likely to violate the actual Torah.  Thus the “fence” helps prevent transgression of the actual Torah.

Now in Matthew chapter 5, Yeshua delivers a teaching in which he presents a commandment from the Torah, and then proceeds to make a fence around each commandment.

Making a Fence Around Murder

Yeshua begins by citing the commandment against murder:

You have heard what was said to them of old time,
You shall not murder: (Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17)
and whoever commits murder,
the same will be condemned to the judgment.
(Matthew 5:21 HRV)

Yeshua builds a fence around this Torah command, saying not to even be angry with your brother.

22 But I tell you, that whoever shall be enraged against his brother, he will be
condemned to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, You are nothing: he
will be condemned to the council of the synagogue. And whoever says to him, You
impious one: he will be condemned to the fire of Gey Hinnom.
23 And if you present your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you:
24 Leave your offering there before the altar, and go you first, to atone to your brother, and then come and give your offering.
25 Come to terms with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way: lest HaSatan deliver you up to the judge, and the judge deliver you up to the officer, and you be cast into the jail.
26 Amen, I tell you, you will not go out from there, until you have paid the last penny.
(Matt. 5:22-26)

Making a Fence Around Adultery

Next Yeshua cites the Torah commandment against adultery:

You have heard that it was said to them of old time,
You shall not commit adultery: (Ex 20:13(20:14); Deut. 5:18)
(Matt. 5:27 HRV)

Yeshua then builds a fence around this commandment as well, saying:

28 But I tell you, that whoever sees a woman and covets her, has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.
29 And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out and cast it from you: for it is better
for you that one of your members should perish, than that the whole body should be
cast into Gey Hinnom.
30 And if your right hand offend you, cut it off and cast it from you: for it is better for
you that one of your members should perish, than that your whole body should be cast into Gey Hinnom.
(Matthew 5:28-30 HRV)

Yeshua makes a fence around this commandment, telling us not to even lust after another man’s wife to commit adultery even in our hearts.  The Talmud places a similar hedge saying “Unchaste imagination is more injurious than sin itself…” (b.Yoma 29a).

Making a Fence Around Divorce

Next Yeshua quotes the Torah concerning divorce:

It was also said concerning him that would put away his wife
that he should write her a bill of divorcement,
and give it to her, and send her away from his house: (Deut. 24:1)
(Matt. 5:31 HRV)

Yeshua makes a fence once again saying:

But I tell you, that whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of
fornication, commits adultery with her, and whoever takes her that is cast off, commits adultery.
(Matt. 5:32 HRV)

Here Yeshua tells us not only that we must not put away a wife without issuing her a bill of divorcement, but that we should also only do so for the cause of fornication.  (Here Yeshua agrees with the House of Shammai m.Gittin 9:10)

Making a Fence Around Vows

Next Yeshua cites the Torah in regards to keeping ones vows:

Again, you have heard that it was said to them of old time,
You shall not forswear yourself,
but shall pay to YHWH your vow:
(Lev 19:12; Num. 30:3(30:2); Deut. 23:22(23:21))
(Matt, 5:33 HRV)

Yeshua then goes on to make a fence around this commandment as well:

34 But I tell you, you shall not swear by a confirming word–not by heaven, for it is
Elohim’s throne,
35 And not by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, and not by Yerushalayim,
for it is the city of the great king.
36 And you shall not swear by your head, in that you have no power to whiten one hair or turn it black again.
37 But let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatever is more than these words, is of
evil.
(Matt. 5:24-37 HRV)

So to make sure we do not break our vows, Yeshua says not to even make them in the first place.  This was in fact the practice of the Essenes in those days.  Josephus writes:

…swearing is avoided by them [Essenes],
and they esteem it worse than perjury;
for they say, that he who cannot be believed
without [swearing by] God, is already condemned.
 (Josephus; Wars; 2:8:6)

And  we read in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

A man must not swear
either by Aleph and Lamedh (Elohim)
or by Aleph and Daleth (Adonai)…
 (Damascus Document Col. 15, 1)

Making a Fence Around Liability

Next Yeshua cites the Torah in regards to the laws of liability:

You have heard what was said,
An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth. (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21)
(Matt. 5:38 HRV)

I will write a separate blog about this in the future.

Making a Fence Around Loving our Neighbor

Next Yeshua cites the commandment to love our neighbor, but adding a false conclusion to it:

You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor, (Lev. 19:18)
and hate your enemy,
(Matt. 5:43 HRV)

The additional phrase “and hate your enemies” was drawn from a false Essene interpretation.  The Damascus Document interprets Lev. 19:18 as follows:

As for the passage that says,
“Take no vengeance and bear no grudge
against your kinfolk” (Lev. 19:18)
any covenant member who brings against his fellow
an accusation not sworn to before witnesses
or who makes an accusation in the heat of anger
or who tells it to his elders to bring his fellow into repute,
the same is a vengence-taker and a grudge-bearer….
(Damascus Document 9, 2)

Note that this Qumran interpretation of Lev. 19:18 would limit “neighbor” in Lev. 19:18 to “any covenant member” i.e. a member of the Yachad (Essene community). In fact the Essenes taught:

…bear unremitting hatred towards all men of ill repute…
to leave it to them to pursue wealth and mercenary gain…
truckling to a depot.
(Manual of Discipline 9, 21-26)

But Yeshua makes a fence around “love your neighbor” saying:

44 But I tell you, Love your enemies. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which persecute you and despitefully use you: b
45 In order that you may become the sons of your Father which is in heaven, who makes His sun to rise on the good and on the evil, and sends rain on the righteous and on the wicked.
46 For if you love only them which love you, what reward have you: do not even the
transgressors do this?
47 And if you ask after the shalom of your brothers only, what do you exceed: do not
even the Goyim do this?
48 You therefore be wholehearted, like your Father which is in heaven, who is
wholehearted.
(Matt. 5:44-48 HRV)

Yeshua make a fence, telling us not just to love our neighbor, but to love everyone, even those not already in the Torah observant community.  This is like the words of Hillel:

Be disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace,
loving people and drawing them near to the Torah.
(m.Avot 1:12)

Conclusion

Yeshua followed the precept of building a fence around the Torah, to protect the Torah.  In Matthew Chapter 5 Yeshua cites one Torah command after another, and builds a fence around each, designed to keep us far away from actually violating these commandments. 

Donations in December were extremely low, our rent is due today and we do not have it. In these uncertain times, we need your support more than ever. The time is short, and there is much work to be done. This is no time to pull back from the great work in front of us!

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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

Or click HERE to donate

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network

They have Pierced My Hands and My Feet
by
James Scott Trimm

Psalm 22 is an amazingly prophetic Psalm which describes the crucifixion of Yeshua in great detail.

In Matt. 27:46 = Mk. 15:34 Yeshua recites Ps. 22:2(1) from the gallows. Matt. 27:39 alludes to Ps. 22:8(7) about on lookers shaking their heads at him. In Matt. 27:43 the people use the same phase as those in Ps. 22:9(8) (see also Luke 23:35) Luke 23:34 and John 19:24 (as well as the Hebrew text of Matt. 27:35) allude to Ps. 22:19(18) about the casting of lots to divide his clothes, and Hebrews 2:12 also quotes Ps. 22:23(22) as a reference to Yeshua as the Messiah.

It is not just the so-called NT that understand Psalm 22 as propheticly speaking of Messiah, the concept is also to be found in Midrash Pesikta Rabbati which applies verses from Psalm 22 to the Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Messiah also known as “Ephraim”:

During the seven-year period preceding the coming of the son of David, iron beams will be brought low and loaded upon his neck until the Messiah’s body is bent low. Then he will cry and weep, and his voice will rise to the very height of heaven, and he will say to God: Master of the universe, how much can my strength endure? How much can my spirit endure? How much my breath before it ceases? How much can my limbs suffer? Am I not flesh and blood?
It was because of the ordeal of the son of David that David wept, saying My strength is dried up like a potsherd (Ps. 22:16). During the ordeal of the son of David, the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to him: Ephraim, My true Messiah, long ago, ever since the six days of creation, thou didst take this ordeal upon thyself. At this moment, thy pain is like my pain . . .
At these words, the Messiah will reply: Now I am reconciled. The servant is content to be like his Master.
(Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36.2, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 680-681)

It is taught, moreover, that in the month of Nisan the Patriarchs will arise and say to the Messiah: Ephraim, our true Messiah, even though we are thy forbears, thou art greater that we because thou didst suffer for the iniquities of our children, and terrible ordeals befell thee . . . for the sake of Israel thou didst become a laughingstock and a derision among the nations of the earth; and didst sit in darkness, in thick darkness, and thine eyes saw no light, and thy skin cleaved to thy bones, and thy body was as dry as a piece of wood; and thine eyes grew dim from fasting, and thy strength was dried up like a potsherd – all these afflictions on account of the iniquities of our children . . .
(Pesikta Rabbati 37.1, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 685-686)

Ephraim is a darling son to Me . . . My heart yearneth for him, in mercy I will have mercy upon him, saith the Lord (Jer. 31:20). Why does the verse speak twice of mercy: In mercy I will have mercy upon him? One mercy refers to the time when he will be shut up in prison, a time when the nations of the world will gnash their teeth at him every day, wink their eyes at one another in derision of him, nod their heads at him in contempt, open wide their lips to guffaw, as is said All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head (Ps. 22:8); My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my throat; and thou layest me in the dust of death (Ps. 22:16). Moreover, they will roar over him like lions, as is said They open wide their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is become like wax; it is melted in mine inmost parts (Ps. 22:14-15).
(Pesikta Rabbati 37.1, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 686-687)

Perhaps the most amazingly prophetic verse of Psalm 22 is:

For dogs have encompassed me;
a company of evildoers have enclosed me:
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
(Ps. 22:17 (16))

In his series Let’s Get Biblical” Tovia Singer has made the claim that Christians changed Ps. 22:16 (17) to read “they have pierced” rather than “like a lion”.

Now let us seek the TRUTH on this matter:

In the Hebrew the difference between these two readings is only one letter.

KARU ( בארו) “They have pierced”
(כאר means “pierced” and the ו means “they”)

KARI (כארי) “Like a lion”
(כ means “like” and ארי means “lion”)

The difference between these two words is between a ו and a י. The misreading of a ו for a י or a י for a ו is a frequent scribal error in Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts. A ו is simply a י with a long tail. This scribal error is clearly not an intentional change but a common scribal error.

Now let us determine which was the original reading.

Now if we look up this passage in the BHS (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia). Here we find a footnote that reads:

“pc Mss Edd כארו  ,

2Mss Edd כרו cf G(S)…”

To transalate this note into lay terms it says:

“A few manuscripts read KARU (כארו) and two manuscripts read KARU (ברו)and the Greek Septuagint has [pierced]”

In other words while MOST Masoretic Text manuscripts read KARI (“like a lion”) SEVERAL read “they have pierced” (two possible spellings) as does the Greek Septuagint.

The Greek Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Tanak that was completed by about 200 to 160 BCE.

The Peshitta Aramaic Tanak also has “they have pierced” in this passage. According to the Encyclopedia Judaica article on “Bible” The Peshitta Aramaic was produced by Jews for Assyrian and Syrian converts to Judaism in the first century BCE.

Now lets look at the oldest extant Hebrew copy of this Psalm which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. If we look in THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS BIBLE under Psalm 22 on pages 518-519 we read:

“They have pierced my hands and my feet.”

We are directed to footnote 41 which says:

“5/6HevPs MT(mss) LXX. Like a lion are MT.”

In layman’s terms this note means:

In the Dead Sea Scroll manuscript designated “5/6HevPs”, some
Masoretic Text manuscripts and the Septuagint the reading is “they
have pierced” while most Masoretic Text manuscripts read “like a
lion are”.

A header above this section of Psalm 22 reads:

“Psalm 22 is a favorite among Christians since it is often linked in
the New Testament with the suffering and death of Jesus. A well-
known and controversial reading is found in verse 16, where the
Masoretic Text reads “Like a lion are my hands and feet,” whereas
the Septuagint has “They have pierced my hands and feet.” Among the
scrolls the reading in question is found only in the Psalms scroll
found at Nahal Hever (abreviated 5/6HevPs), which reads “They have
pierced my hands and my feet”!”

Moreover the grammar does not work for “like a lion” since the phrase would lake a verb. Many insert additional words to MAKE the text read “Like a lion [they are at] my hands and my feet”. The understood verb of being does not work here because “Like a lion are my hand and my feet” makes about as much sense as “Like a pizza are my hands and my feet”.

OK lets review the facts:

1. Only the Masoretic Text (which originated in the 9th Century CE)
has “like a lion” and even then some copies have “they have pierced”.

2. ALL other versions INCLUDING the Greek Septuagent and Aramaic
Peshitta Tanak read “they have pierced”.

3. The error itself is an accidental scribal error and NOT an
intentional change.

4. By far the OLDEST Hebrew copy of the Psalm from the Dead Sea
Scrolls reads “they have pierced”

5. The reading “like a lion” does not fit the grammar.

6. Several copies and versions from BEFORE the life of Yeshua
have “they have pierced” and NO copy or version prior to the 9th
century CE has “like a lion.”

Tovia Singer’s claims, once again, are without merit. The reading “they have pierced” existed BEFORE Christianity existed, the scribal error in question was clearly NOT intentional and the textual evidence points STRONGLY to “they have pierced” as the original reading.

The truth is that Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the suffering of Messiah and verse 17(16) speaks specifically of the crucifixion of Messiah, having his hands and his feet pierced, pointing clearly to Yeshua as having fulfilled this amazingly clear prophecy.

SWe need your help today. We must raise at least $800 by the end of the day Friday (7/2/24), or our account will plunge into the negative and start a cascade of returned items and fees.

We need your support in these trying times, as the restoration continues!

I 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.

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What Were the Urim and Thummim?
By
James Scott Trimm

In the Tanak we read of the mysterious objects known in Scripture simply as “the Urim and Thummim”

And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aharon’s heart when he goes in before YHWH. And Aharon shall bear the judgment of the children of Yisra’el upon his heart before YHWH continually.
(Ex. 28:30 HRV)

And he placed the breastplate upon him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.
(Lev. 8:8 HRV)

And he shall stand before El’azar the cohen, who shall inquire for him by the
judgment of the Urim before YHWH. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in: both he, and all the children of Yisra’el with him, even all the assembly.
(Num. 27:21 HRV)

8 And of Levi he said, Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your Set-Apart-One, whom You did prove at Massah; with whom You did strive at the waters of M’rivah:
9 Who said of his father and of his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he
acknowledge his brothers, nor knew he his own children: for they have observed Your word, and keep Your covenant.
10 They shall teach Ya’akov Your ordinances, and Yisra’el Your Torah; they shall put incense before You, and whole burnt-offering upon Your altar.
11 Bless YHWH, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise up against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
(Deut. 33:8 HRV)

And when Sha’ul inquired of YHWH, YHWH answered him not: neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
(1Sam. 28:6 HRV)

62 These sought their register–that is, the genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they deemed polluted, and put from the priesthood.
63 And the Tirshata said unto them, That they should not eat of the Most-Set-Apart things, till there stood up a cohen, with Urim and with Thummim.
(Ezra 2:62-63 HRV)

64 These sought their register, that is, the genealogy: but it was not found. Therefore were they deemed polluted, and put from the priesthood.
65 And the Tirshata said unto them, That they should not eat of the Most-Set-Apart things, till there stood up a cohen, with Urim and Thummim.
(Nehemiah 7:64-65 HRV)

Scripture does not tell us exactly what the Urim and Thummim were or how they worked.

The Urim and Thummim were instruments the High Priest used to consult the will of Elohim (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). The word “Urim” means “lights” while the word “Thummim” (Tummim) means “perfections”.)

The Greek version of the Apocryphal book 1Esdras has “Doctrine/Manifestation and Truth” (1Esdras 5:40) in the place where the parallels in Ezra and Nehemiah have “Urim and Thumim” (Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). (A footnote in the original 1611 text of the KJV indicates that the now lost, original Hebrew of 1Esdras had “Urim and Thumim” in this passage as well.)

The Targum Jonathan to the Torah explains the Urim and the Tummim this way:

And you shall put into the breastplate the Urim,
which illuminate their words and make manifest
the hidden things of the House of Israel,
and the Tumim [sic] which perfect their deeds.
(Targum Psuedo-Jonathan on Exod. 28:30)

The Babylonian Talmud says:

Why are they called “Urim and Thummim”
“Urim” because they made their words enlightening.
“Thummim” because they fulfill their words.”
(b.Yoma 73b)

The first century Jew Philo of Alexandria ties the Urim and Thummim to language saying:

(119) “And you shall put manifestation and truth (the Urim and the Thummim), in the oracle of judgment, and it shall be on the breast of Aaron when he comes into the holy place before the Lord” (Ex. 28:30). Now by the oracle is here meant the organs of speech which exist in us, which is in fact the power of language. Now language is either inconsiderate, and such as will not stand examination, or else it is judicious and well approved, and it brings us to form a notion of discreet speech. For Moses here speaks not of a random spurious oracle, but of the oracle of the judgment, which is equivalent to saying, a well-judged and carefully examined oracle; (120) and of this well approved kind of language he says that there are two supreme virtues, namely, distinctness and truth, and he says well. For it is language which has in the first place enabled one man to make affairs plain and evident to his neighbour, when without it we should not be able to give any intimation of the impression produced on our soul by outward circumstances, nor to show of what kind they are.

XVI. On which account we have been compelled to have recourse to such signs as are given by the voices, that is nouns and verbs, which ought by all means to be universally known, in order that our neighbours might clearly and evidently comprehend our meaning; and, in the next place, to utter them at all times with truth. (121) For of what advantage would it be to make our assertions clear and distinct, but nevertheless false? For it follows inevitably that if this were allowed the hearer would be deceived, and would reap the greatest possible injury with ignorance and delusion. For what would be the advantage of my speaking to a boy distinctly and clearly, and telling him, when I show him the letter A, that it is G, or that the letter E is O? Or what would be the good of a musician pointing out to a pupil whom comes to him to learn the rudiments of his art that the harmonic scale was the chromatic; or the chromatic, the diatonic; or that the highest string was the middle one; or that conjoined sounds were separated; or that the highest tone in the tetrachord scale was a supernumerary note? (122) No doubt, a man who said this might speak clearly and distinctly, but he would not be speaking truly, but by such assertions he would be implanting wickedness in language. But when he joins both distinctness and truth, then he makes his language profitable to him who is seeking information, employing both its virtues, which in fact are nearly the only ones of which language is capable.
(Philo; Allegoricall Interpretations III, 119-122)

The Zohar says:

The term “Urim” signifies the luminous speculum, which consisted of the engravur of the divine Name written in the forty two letters by which the world was created, whereas the Thummim consisted of the nonluminous speculum, composed of the divine Name manifest in twenty two letters. …we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the
(ET) heaven and the (ET) earth” (Gen. 1:1), where the particle ET (spelled Alef-Tav) is a summary of the twenty-two
letters by which the land is nourished.
(Zohar 2:234b)

Elsewhere the Zohar tells us that the Urim and Thummim were connected to the “permutations” or “combinations” of letters with which Elohim created the world, and by which Bezalel and Moses created the Tabernacle and its furnishings:

Observe that the world has been made and established by an engraving of forty-two letters, all of which are the adornment of the Divine Name. These letters combined and soared aloft and dived downwards, forming themselves into crowns in the four directions of the world, so that it might endure. They then went forth and created the upper world and the lower, the world of unification and the world of division. … These forty-two letters thus constitute the supernal mystical principle; by them were created the upper and the lower worlds, and they indeed constitute the basis and recondite significance of all the worlds. Thus is explained the verse, “The secret of the Lord is to them that fear him; and his covenant to make them know it”, the first part alluding to the undisclosed engraven letters, whereas the latter speaks of the revealed. Now, it is written: “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim” (Ex. 28:30). The term “Urim” (lit. Iight, illumination) signifies the luminous speculum, which consisted of the engravure of the Divine Name composed of forty-two letters by which the world was created; whereas the Thummim consisted of the non-luminous speculum made of the Divine Name as manifested in the twenty-two letters. The combination of the two is thus called Urim and Thummim. … Thus we read, “In the beginning God created the (eth) heaven and the (eth) earth” (Gen. I, 1), where the particle eth (consisting of Aleph and Tau) is a summary of the twenty-two letters by which the earth is nourished. Now, the same letters were the instruments used in the building of the Tabernacle. This work was carried out by Bezalel for the reason that, as his very name (Bezel-EI = “in the shadow of El”) implies, he had a knowledge of the various permutations of the letters, by the power of which heaven and earth were created. Without such knowledge Bezalel could not have accomplished the work of the Tabernacle; for, inasmuch as the celestial Tabernacle was made in all its parts by the mystical power of those letters, the lower Tabernacle could only be prepared by the power of the same letters. Bezalel was skilled in the various permutations of the Divine Name, and for each several part he employed the appropriate permutation of the letters. But when it came to the rearing up of the Tabernacle it was beyond his power, for the reason that the disposition of those letter-groups was entrusted to Moses alone, and hence it was by Moses that the Tabernacle was erected. So Scripture says: “And Moses reared up… and he laid… and put in…” (Ex. 40:18) Moses, but not Bezalel.’
(Zohar 2:234a-235a)
For more about these permutations of letters click here

Now there is an amazing yet mysterious fragmentary document found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (1Q29; 4Q376) which seems to give a detailed description of the manner in which the Urim and Thummim actually functioned. Unfortunately only tantalizing fragments survive, but these fragments speak of “tongues of fire” coming from the stones, and say “the Priest shall interpret”.

The Urim and the Thummim were therefore anciently connected with the gifts of tongues and interpretations of tongues.  (For more inf on the Gift of Tongues see my recent blog on the topic by clicking HERE)

As you know we have been digging ourselves out of a budget shortfall.  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.

And don’t forget to join the conversations at the NazareneSpace Social Network