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TORAH PORTIONS
Myjps
SHOPHTIM (Judges)
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
There are 40 Aleph-Tavs in this week's Torah portion
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NOTE: All of the yous and yours underlined as "you" and "your" indicates that the you and the your are plural. Also any of the words that are in bold pink lettering as "you" refers to the feminine gender, but it is only applied when it does not commonly refer to a woman. This only is applied to this week's Torah portion text at this time.
CHAPTER 16
Deuteronomy 16:18-22
Deu 16:18 You shall give for yourself Judges and Officers in all of your gates which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you by your tribes: and they shall judge ta-the People with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not wrestle (stretch) judgment; you shall not respect (regard, discern, perceive) faces, and you shall not take a bribe: for a bribe shall blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert (subvert, wrench, distort) the words of the righteous ones. 20 Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue (chase), by that, you shall live, and you shall possess (occupy) ta-the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you.
21 You shall not plant to yourself an Asherah of any trees beside the Altar of hwhy, your Elohim, which you shall do (make) for yourself, 22 and you shall not erect (raise) for yourself a standing image; which hwhy, your Elohim, hates.
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
Verse nineteen
19 You shall not wrestle (stretch) judgment; you shall not respect (regard, discern, perceive) faces, and you shall not take a bribe: for a bribe shall blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert (subvert, wrench, distort) the words of the righteous ones.
Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries noted that the sons of the Prophet Samuel did just what this verse said not to do, which is noted in the book of the prophet Samuel
1 Samuel 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
This week's Torah portion passage also says that perverse judgment also blinds the eyes. In the Brith Khadashah (the New Covenant), it was probable that Yeshua used this week's Torah portion passage to His disciples regarding the Pharisees doctrine, which is not of hwhy, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 15:1 Then came to Yeshua Scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But He answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the Commandment of hwhy by your tradition? 4 For hwhy commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift [Corban, a.k.a. Karban (burnt) Offering], by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by Me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the Commandment of hwhy of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This People draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. 9 But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 10 And He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12 Then came His disciples, and said unto Him, Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13 But He answered and said, Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
The Pharisees' doctrine by not honoring their father and mother caused perverse judgment, and caused them to be blind.
Mark Biltz also noted that the apostle Paul was speaking of his race before he dies, revealing hwhy as the Righteous Judge, which is noted in his letter to Timothy
2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His Appearing.
Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries noted of these words of Yeshua, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.... 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 6 Give not that which is Holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
In other words, Yeshua was saying to the Jewish People that if they are making judgements to others (a.k.a. "their mote") that they are being judged for the same thing within themselves (a.k.a. "their beam").
Looking at the word WRESTLE (STRETCH)
The Hebrew word for wrestle (stretch) is "nah-tah"- Nun, Tet, Heh (hjn). It is from Strong's Concordance number 5186, and its definition
A primitive root; to stretch or spread out; by implication to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of applications: - + afternoon, apply, bow (down, -ing), carry aside, decline, deliver, extend, go down, be gone, incline, intend, lay, let down, offer, outstretched, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, shew, spread (out), stretch (forth, out), take (aside), turn (aside, away), wrest, cause to yield.
This is the same Hebrew word that was applied when hwhy commanded Moses to have Aaron stretch forth the staff to strike the Nile River in front of Pharaoh and his men, which is noted in the Torah portion Va-Eyra, in the book of Exodus
Exodus 7:19 And hwhy spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your staff (rod, branch), and stretch out (stretch forth) (hjn) your hand over (upon) the waters of Egypt, over (upon) their streams, over (upon) their canals (channels), and over (upon) their ponds (marshes), and over (upon) all of the pools with thier water, and they shall become blood; and that shall be blood in all of the land of Egypt, and in the trees (wood), and in the stone.
Moses was also told to stretch forth his hand to part the Sea of Reeds (today the Gulf of Aqaba- the Gulf of Yaakov, "Jacob"), which is noted in the Torah portion B'Shalakh, in the book of Exodus
Exodus 14:15 And hwhy said to Moses, What is your cry to Me? Speak to the Sons of Israel, and they shall pull up (journey): 16 And you, raise your ta-staff (rod, branch), and stretch out (stretch forth) (hjn) ta-your hand over (upon) the sea, and they will break apart (rip open, zip open): And the Sons of Israel, they will go in the midst of the sea, on dry ground.
The Hebrew word in this week's Torah portion passage is translated "wrestle", because hwhy was saying, in many words, that judges were not to wrestle their judgment between what is right and between how they want to judge, whether politically, or emotionally, or personally, etc. There are many judges in the world that wrestle judgments and chose their own interests rather than the righteous intentions the founding fathers wrote and purposed, and this has been done for millenii.
There has been recent issues of what Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries calls "perverted justice". A good example is of a certain high politician's servers and emails.
Verse twenty
20 Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue (chase), by that, you shall live, and you shall possess (occupy) ta-the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you.
Looking at the word RIGHTEOUSNESS
The Hebrew word for righteousness is "tseh-dehk"- Tsade, Dalet, Kuph (qdu), it is from Strong's Concordance number 6664, and its definition
From H6663; the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity: - X even, (X that which is altogether) just (-ice), ([un-]) right (-eous) (cause, -ly, -ness).
from 6663 "tsah-dahk" (qdu), and its definiton
A primitive root; to be (causatively make) right (in a moral or forensic sense): - cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness).
Though it is interpreted as "just", or "justice", the majority of the word is translated as "righteousness". In verse twenty of this week's Torah portion passage, in the Hebrew text, the first two words is "Tsedek, tsedek..." (qdu, qdu). In the King James Version, it is translated as this:
(KJV) 20 That which is altogether just...
This King James Version's translation of this verse in my opinion is radical. The Messianics have translated it a little more differently by saying the phrase
20 Justice, justice you shall pursue,
In the case of judgment, the King James Version also interprets this verse as "just", but in this case, in this week's Torah passage, it could be interpreted as "righteousness". Justice is an act of righteousness, but it is part of righteousness. Righteousness is a independent broader element in itself, and justice is part of the element, meaning, there is more to a judgment than the act of being just. It goes back to verse eighteen of this week's Torah portion chapter
18 You shall give for yourself Judges and Officers in all of your gates which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you by your tribes: and they shall judge ta-the People with righteous judgment.
The Hebrew text in verse eighteen is "meesh-phat tseh-dehk" (qdu jpsm). Based on this notion, the best translation could be phrased in verse twenty of this week's Torah portion passage
20 Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue,
I have heard from Messianic Torah teachers of their perspective and understanding regarding the implication of this two word phrase. I have heard one saying that it was a interesting interpretation. But to me, what they say did not fit. This is my understanding of the interpretation: The first justice, or righteousness, is a noun, and it is a "being of existance". The second justice, or rightousness, is also a noun, but it is a characteristic noun that requires "action". Looking at the the phrase together, it makes sense. This "justice" or "righteousnes" is a prophecy type and shadow of "the Righteous One" who is "the Just One", and it is Yeshua. He clearly showed an example of His role to the Scribes and Pharisees, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the Torah, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Looking at the word JUDGMENT
The Greek word for judgment is "kreesees" (xrisij). It is from Strong's Concordance number 2920, and its definition
(Subjectively or objectively, for or against); by extension a tribunal; by implication justice (specifically divine law): - accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment.
The word "judgement" could be also interpreted as "justice" which would be more correct to Yeshua's act of righteousness against the Scribes and Pharisees. Yeshua said this to them, because He is "the Just One" as well as "the Righteous One", that is accounted in this week's Torah portion passage. What Yeshua was also noting to us in this Gospel passage was that His Justice is "divine justice". If Yeshua is the Living Torah, the written Torah is also "divine", meaning that the Judges in this week's Torah portion passage were to make "divine judgment" based on the "Divine Torah".
Also, in defending the argument that the word is righteousness, this is what Yeshua noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of hwhy, and His Righteousness; and all of these things shall be added unto you.
Righteousness in this Matthew passage could refer to Yeshua.
Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries noted that the statue of Lady Liberty is holding a balance and wearing a blindfold, to denote that justice is to be "blind" in judgment so that a judge and/or jury is/are to give a just judgment without sight of who it is that the verdict is given. Monte also noted that this generation has been warped in the eyes and, in many words, has been biased in judgment.
Notice in this week's Torah portion passage that the word "you" is boldened in pink. In the Hebrew grammar, it is noted in the feminine gender. This tells us that hwhy was speaking to their "soul", in which the sould is feminine. When the soul of the People as a whole possess the land, their soul is also to pursue hwhy's Righteousness. We as believers are to have our souls pursue our Heavenly Father's Righteousness in Yeshua's Righteousness.
!!!hwhy Kl dbk
Verses twenty-one and twenty two
21 You shall not plant to yourself an Asherah of any trees beside the Altar of hwhy, your Elohim, which you shall do (make) for yourself, 22 and you shall not erect (raise) for yourself a standing image; which hwhy, your Elohim, hates.
One is not to make pillars of trees next to the Temple. This is what King Solomon did when his heart turned away from following hwhy, thanks to his multiple wives, which is noted in the book of the Kings
1 Kings 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away ta-his heart after other elohim: and his heart was not perfect with hwhy, his Elohim, as was the heart of David, his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the Eyes of hwhy, and went not fully after hwhy, as did David, his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their elohim. 9 And hwhy was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from hwhy, Elohim of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other elohim: but he kept not ta that which hwhy commanded.
This is what the Wikipedia website says regarding the asherahs
Asherah (/ˈæʃərə/; Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚 : 'ṯrt; Hebrew: אֲשֵׁרָה), in Semitic mythology, is a mother goddess who appears in a number of ancient sources. She appears in Akkadian writings by the name of Ashratum/Ashratu, and in Hittite as Asherdu(s) or Ashertu(s) or Aserdu(s) or Asertu(s). Asherah is generally considered identical with the Ugaritic goddess ʼAṯirat.
Asherah is identified as the consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic El, the oldest deities of their respective pantheons, as well as Yahweh, the god of Israel and Judah. This role gave her a similarly high rank in the Ugaritic pantheon. The name Dione, which like 'Elat means "Goddess", is clearly associated with Asherah in the Phoenician History of Sanchuniathon, because the same common epithet ('Elat) of "the Goddess par excellence" was used to describe her at Ugarit. The Book of Jeremiah, written circa 628 BC, possibly refers to Asherah when it uses the title "Queen of Heaven", stating: "pray thou not for this people...the children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger." (Hebrew: לִמְלֶכֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם) in Jer 7:18 and Jer 44:17–19, 25. (For a discussion of "Queen of Heaven" in the Hebrew Bible, see Queen of Heaven.)
This Asherah goddess was also called IshtarIshtar (English pronunciation /ˈɪʃtɑːr/; Transliteration: DIŠTAR; Akkadian: Sumerian) is the Mesopotamian East Semitic (Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian) Goddess of fertility, love, war, sex, & power She is the counterpart to the earlier attested Sumerian Inanna, and the cognate for the later attested Northwest Semitic Aramean goddess Astarte. Ishtar was an important deity in Mesopotamian religion which was extant from c.3500 BCE, until its gradual decline between the 1st and 5th centuries CE in the face of Christianity.
This perverse pagan god is where we get our modern pagan holiday name "Easter". There are teachings of the roots of Easter by Jim Staley, formerly of Passion for Truth Ministries, and Michael Rood of A Rood Awakening. Click on the images below to get to the webpage.
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DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed, from these different teachings below, are solely those of the personel and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Aleph-Tav Project.
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JIM STALEY
Passion For Truth Ministries
TRUTH AND TRADITION
(Note: Most of the teaching is about Christmas, but later will be teaching the roots of Easter)
MICHAEL ROOD
of A Rood Awakening
TRUTH AND TRADITION
Part 1
Part 2
(Note: The first section of this part is related to Christmas while the rest is related to Easter)
Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries noted these sources of the good and evil kings of Israel and Judah, and their relation to the asherahs, which are noted in the books of the kings
1 Kings 11:31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith hwhy, the Elohim of Israel, Behold, I will rend ta-the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ta the ten tribes to thee: 32 (But he shall have one tribe for My servant, David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the City which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) 33 Because that they have forsaken Me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the elohim of the Zidonians, Chemosh the elohim of the Moabites, and Milcom the elohim of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in My Ways, to do that which is right in Mine Eyes, and to keep My Statutes and My Judgments, as did David, his father.
1 Kings 15:9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, King of Israel, reigned Asa over Judah. 10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did that which was right in the Eyes of hwhy, as did David, his father. 12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed ta-all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 And also Maachah, his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol to the Asherah; and Asa destroyed ta-her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
1 Kings 16:29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa, King of Judah, began Ahab, son of Omri, to reign over Israel: and Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. 30 And Ahab, son of Omri, did evil in the Eyes of hwhy above all that were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, that he took to wife ta-Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Zidonians, and went and served ta- the Baal, and worshipped him. 32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made ta-the Asherah; and Ahab did more to provoke ta-hwhy, Elohim of Israel, to anger than all of the kings of Israel that were before him.
2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded ta-Hilkiah, the High Priest, and ta-the Priests of the Second Order, and ta-the Keepers of the Door, to bring forth out of the Temple of hwhy ta all of the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all of the host (army) of the heavens: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried ta-the ashes of them unto Bethel. 5 And he put down ta-the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned ta-the incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out ta-the Asherah from the House of hwhy, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast ta-the powder thereof upon the graves of the sons of the People. 7 And he brake down ta-the houses of the sodomites, that were by the House of hwhy, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
2 Kings 23:13 And ta-the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon, the King of Israel, had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom, the abomination of the sons of Ammon, did the king defile. 14 And he brake in pieces ta-the images, and cut down ta-the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover ta-the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made ta-Israel to sin, had made, both ta-that altar and ta-the high place he brake down, and burned ta-the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
Related, we as believers in the Messiah today should not have Christmas trees in our homes, let alone near "our temples", which is our bodies, in our homes, for our bodies are temples of the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit), which the apostle Paul noted in his letter to the assembly in Corinth
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of the Lord, and ye are not your own?
The prophet Jeremiah was the one who noted the trees in the homes, which is noted in his book
Jeremiah 10:1 Hear ye ta-the Word which hwhy speaketh unto you, O House of Israel: 2 Thus saith hwhy, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
This scripture was probable for the basis for a popular secular Christmas tune famously known as "Silver and Gold", sung by a famous Christian singer, Burl Ives. Another Christmas tune that became popular is "O Christmas Tree" (O Tannenbaum).
According to History.com, the first record of Christmas trees were displayed in the U.S. by the German immigrants in the 1830's, and as late as the 1840's it was seen by the U.S. as "pagan". But by 1890, it spread out and became more acceptable and was well established in the U.S. This is what the apostle Paul noted in his letter to the assembly in Galatia
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
The "leaven" was the pagan "Christmas trees" that the German immigrants brought into the U.S.. It leavened the whole "lump" of the nation, and it became part of the U.S. culture and fabric. Because the U.S. did not nip it in the bud when they should have done, as Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries would say, that the U.S. mixed the Holy with the profane. Amen Bill.
If the environmentalists want to save the nature of the planet, here is one good area where they can apply their agenda, because to us Messianics, the Christmas tree is an idol. If our Christian brothers and sisters realized that it is against hwhy to have a Christmas tree, we would save a lot of trees. No, I am not an environmentalist, but we could support this cause with the environmentalists.
Notice in verse twenty-one of this week's Torah portion passage that the word "yourself" is boldened in pink. In the Hebrew grammar, it is noted in the feminine gender. This tells us that hwhy was speaking to their "soul", in which the sould is feminine. hwhy is telling their soul to only build the Temple of hwhy, and not add another pagan deity beside it. We as believers are to have our souls build our temples and to not add any spiritual deities beside it, for our temple is of the Ruakh HaKodesh, which the apostle Paul noted in his letter to the assembly in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Messiah? shall I then take the members of Messiah, and make them the members of an harlot? Let it not be. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Adon is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) which is in you, which ye have of Elohim, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Elohim in your body, and in your spirit, which are Elohim's.
!!!hwhy Kl dbk
If some of these judges in many nations today would stop using politics and legislate from the bench, and instead judge justly and righteously, nations would be in a lot better state today.
Jonathan Cahn of Beth Israel Worship Center has put out a book, titled "The Return of the Gods" in which he gives a lot more detail to who Asherah is, and the ancient pagan deity's various names, and its function and purpose, and how it is applied and effected today's society. You can order it by clicking the link below to get to the webpage.
Jonathan Cahn: The Return of the Gods
CHAPTER 17
Deuteronomy 17:1-20
Deu 17:1 You shall not sacrifice an ox and the lamb to hwhy, your Elohim, which shall be in him a blemish, or any evil word: for he is an abomination (abhorrence) at hwhy, your Elohim.
2 When a man or a woman is found in your nearness in one of your gates which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you which is doing ta-the evil [(the evilness, that is evil)] in the Eyes of hwhy, your Elohim, by going over His Covenant, 3 and has walked (went) and has served other elohim, and they worshiped (bowed down) to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the armies (host) of the Heavens, which I have not commanded; 4 And is told to you, and you have heard, and you investigated (questioned, made inquisition, inquired) good (well), and behold, is true is established the word of this abomination (abhorrence) in Israel was done: 5 and you shall bring out ta-that man or ta-that woman, ta-the man or ta-the woman which has done ta-this evil word to your gates, and you shall skullstone (stonecast, pilestone, stone) them on the stones, and they shall die. 6 Shall die the death upon the mouth of two witnesses (testifiers) or three witnesses (testifiers); shall not die upon the mouth of one witness (testifier). 7 The hands of the witnesses, she shall be among the first on him to have him die, and among afterward the hands of all of the People. And you shall kindle away (fuel away, brutalize?) the evil (evilness) from your nearness.
8 When a word shall be difficult with you for the judgment between blood to blood, between cause (plea) to cause (plea), and between wound (blow, touch) to wound (blow, touch), words of contention (strife) in your gates: and you shall arise, and you shall ascend to the Place which hwhy, your Elohim, shall choose on Him; 9 and you shall come to the Priests, the Levites, and to the Judge which shall be in those days, and you shall inquire (seek, question, investigate, made inquisition); and they shall declare (tell) to you ta the Word of the Judgment: 10 And you shall do upon the Mouth of the Word, which they shall declare (tell) you from That Place which hwhy shall choose; and you shall guard (keep, observe, take heed) to do according to [(as)] all which you were taught: 11 You shall do upon the Mouth of the Teaching (Torah) which you shall be taught, and upon the judgment which they shall say to you: you shall not turn aside rightward and smallward (leftward) from the Word which shall be declared (told) to you. 12 And the man which shall do in pride (arrogance) by failing at listenening to the Priest that stands [(the one standing)] to minister ta-hwhy, your Elohim there, or to the Judge, and that man shall die: and you shall kindle away (fuel away, brutalize?) the evil (evilness) from Israel. 13 And all of the People, they shall hear, and they shall revere (give awe, fear), and they shall not be prideful (arrogant) again.
14 When you come to the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you, and you shall possess (occupy) her, and you shall dwell in her, and you shall say, I will set a king upon me like all of the nations which are all around me; 15 Setting, you shall set a king over (upon) you which hwhy, your Elohim, shall choose among Him: you shall set over (upon) you a king from the nearness of your brothers: you are not able to give a foreign man upon you, of which he is not your brother. 16 Only shall not multiply horses to himself, and shall not return ta-the People to Egypt, by that, the multiplying of horses: and hwhy has said to you, You shall not to return adding in this way anymore. 17 And shall not multiply wives to himself, and shall not turn aside (turn away, remove) his heart: and shall not multiply much silver and gold for himself.
18 And shall be, as he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, and shall write for himself ta-a second of this Teaching (Torah) upon a scroll from of (with to) the face of the Priests, the Levites: 19 and she shall be with him, and shall call on him all of the days of his life: by that, shall learn to revere (give awe, fear) ta-hwhy, his Elohim, to guard (keep, observe, heed) ta-all of the Words of this Teaching (Torah) and ta-these Statutes to do them: 20 by failing at rising up his heart from his brothers, and by failing at turning aside (turning away) rightward and smallward (leftward) from the Commandment: by that, the days of himself and his sons shall be lengthened (prolonged) upon (over) his kingdom among the nearness of Israel.
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
Verse one
1 You shall not sacrifice an ox and the lamb to hwhy, your Elohim, which shall be in him a blemish, or any evil word: for he is an abomination (abhorrence) at hwhy, your Elohim.
hwhy didn't want a domesticated animal that had a blemish, because a blemish was symbolic of "sin", or the Word that was added or diminished. Yeshua was perfect, because He had no sin in Him, nor was He the Living Word who was added or diminished by man.
By the way, why this one verse stood out on its own and not extended to be a section, I don't know.
Verses two through seven
2 When a man or a woman is found in your nearness in one of your gates which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you which is doing ta-the evil [(the evilness, that is evil)] in the Eyes of hwhy, your Elohim, by going over His Covenant, 3 and has walked (went) and has served other elohim, and they worshiped (bowed down) to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the armies (host) of the Heavens, which I have not commanded; 4 And is told to you, and you have heard, and you investigated (questioned, made inquisition, inquired) good (well), and behold, is true is established the word of this abomination (abhorrence) in Israel was done: 5 and you shall bring out ta-that man or ta-that woman, ta-the man or ta-the woman which has done ta-this evil word to your gates, and you shall skullstone (stonecast, pilestone, stone) them on the stones, and they shall die. 6 Shall die the death upon the mouth of two witnesses (testifiers) or three witnesses (testifiers); shall not die upon the mouth of one witness (testifier). 7 The hands of the witnesses, she shall be among the first on him to have him die, and among afterward the hands of all of the People. And you shall kindle away (fuel away, brutalize?) the evil (evilness) from your nearness.
This is what King James Version says in this part of verse two of this week's Torah portion passage
(KJV) Deuteronomy 17:2 ...in trasgressing his covenant
Looking at the word TRANSGRESSING
The Hebrew word for transgressing is "ah-vehr"- Ayin, Bet Resh (rbe). It is from Strong's Concordance number 5674, and its definition
A primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literally or figuratively; transitively, intransitively, intensively or causatively); specifically to cover (in copulation): - alienate, alter, X at all, beyond, bring (over, through), carry over, (over-) come (on, over), conduct (over), convey over, current, deliver, do away, enter, escape, fail, gender, get over, (make) go (away, beyond, by, forth, his way, in, on, over, through), have away (more), lay, meddle, overrun, make partition, (cause to, give, make to, over) pass (-age, along, away, beyond, by, -enger, on, out, over, through), (cause to, make) + proclaim (-amation), perish, provoke to anger, put away, rage, + raiser of taxes, remove, send over, set apart, + shave, cause to (make) sound, X speedily, X sweet smelling, take (away), (make to) transgress (-or), translate, turn away, [way-] faring man, be wrath.
Mainly it means "over". Retranslating this word, we can apply "going over". Looking at this in this translation, this is what it says
2 ...by going over His Covenant
Has anyone ever heard of the phrase "above the law"? This modern phrase was the equivalent of the this week's Torah portion passage's Biblical phrase. In this week's Torah portion passage, Moses was saying that if a man or a woman goes over His Covenant, or make themselves "above the law", of His Covenant and serve other elohim, they shall die.
In the nations today, there are governments that have made themselves "above the law" by making laws that are against the concsecrated Word of hwhy, and by that, they are serving another elohim, who is HaSatan, the devil.
There are also many cults existing in this nation today. We have so many, and yet, they are getting more and more favor over us as believers in the Messiah, especially from the government. Jonathan Cahn of Beth Israel Worship Center, who wrote "The Harbinger" and "The Mystery of the Shemitah" noted that in late July 2015, a satanic statue was erected in Detroit Michigan. Also recently, the Freedom Tower in Manhattan, New York, based on his notion as a tower of defiance against hwhy, lighted the satanic figure that was also erected in Detroit. This nation has been removing the Ten Words (Commandments) from public and government properties. One example is that atheists have been attacking our brethren by suing them to remove The Ten Words (Commandments) from schools and public places. The Supreme Court ruled to have the Bible and prayer removed from schools in 1962 to relieve the three percent minority that did not believe in the Bible. According to Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries, it seems like now the anti-Bible minority is now the majority, and the minority have been depending on the government to defend their causes.
Verses eight through eleven
8 When a word shall be difficult with you for the judgment between blood to blood, between cause (plea) to cause (plea), and between wound (blow, touch) to wound (blow, touch), words of contention (strife) in your gates: and you shall arise, and you shall ascend to the Place which hwhy, your Elohim, shall choose on Him; 9 and you shall come to the Priests, the Levites, and to the Judge which shall be in those days, and you shall inquire (seek, question, investigate, made inquisition); and they shall declare (tell) to you ta the Word of the Judgment: 10 And you shall do upon the Mouth of the Word, which they shall declare (tell) you from That Place which hwhy shall choose; and you shall guard (keep, observe, take heed) to do according to [(as)] all which you were taught: 11 You shall do upon the Mouth of the Teaching (Torah) which you shall be taught, and upon the judgment which they shall say to you: you shall not turn aside rightward and smallward (leftward) from the Word which shall be declared (told) to you.
Notice in verse eight of this week's Torah portion passage that Moses gave the Israelites a "hint" to where He might place His Name by saying that they will "ascend" to the place. Moses was hinting to them as well as to us that Moses was telling them in advance that the Place He was going to put His Name was upon a hill or a mountain, and in time, we know that it was on a mountain, specificially Mount Moriah, where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, which is noted in the Torah portion Vay-Yeyra, in the book of Genesis
Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up ta-his eyes, and looked, and behold, a ram behind was caught seized (caught, entangled) in a thicket among his horns: and Abraham went and took ta-the ram, and elevated him for an Elevation Offering (Ascension Offering, Burnt Offering) instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Yehowah Yireh: which is said today (the day), shall be seen in the Mountain of hwhy.
The Place is located in Jerusalem.
Looking at the word TAUGHT
In verse ten, the Hebrew word for taught is "yah-rah" (hry or ary). It is from Strong's Concordance number 3384, and its definition
A primitive root; properly to flow as water (that is, to rain); transitively to lay or throw (especially an arrow, that is, to shoot); figuratively to point out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach: - (+) archer, cast, direct, inform, instruct, lay, shew, shoot, teach (-er, -ing), through.
This is the root word for "Torah" (hrwt), as it applies to verse eleven of this week's Torah portion passage
11 You shall do upon the Mouth of the Teaching (Torah)...
Verses twelve and thirteen
12 And the man which shall do in pride (arrogance) by failing at listenening to the Priest that stands [(the one standing)] to minister ta-hwhy, your Elohim there, or to the Judge, and that man shall die: and you shall kindle away (fuel away, brutalize?) the evil (evilness) from Israel. 13 And all of the People, they shall hear, and they shall revere (give awe, fear), and they shall not be prideful (arrogant) again.
King Solomon may have wrote one of his proverbs based on this week's Torah portion passage, which is noted in the book of the Proverbs
Proverbs 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride:...
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Verses fourteen through seventeen
14 When you come to the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you, and you shall possess (occupy) her, and you shall dwell in her, and you shall say, I will set a king upon me like all of the nations which are all around me; 15 Setting, you shall set a king over (upon) you which hwhy, your Elohim, shall choose among Him: you shall set over (upon) you a king from the nearness of your brothers: you are not able to give a foreign man upon you, of which he is not your brother. 16 Only shall not multiply horses to himself, and shall not return ta-the People to Egypt, by that, the multiplying of horses: and hwhy has said to you, You shall not to return adding in this way anymore. 17 And shall not multiply wives to himself, and shall not turn aside (turn away, remove) his heart: and shall not multiply much silver and gold for himself.
This came to fruition during the time of the prophet Samuel when the Israelites wanted a king, because Samuel's sons, who were appointed as Judges, were doing wicked acts against the People. Samuel's sons were like Eli's sons who were Priests during Samuel's youth, who also did wicked acts. The problem was that they were demanding was in rebellion against hwhy, who is their Eternal King, which is noted in the book of the prophet Samuel
1 Samuel 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made ta-his sons Judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were Judges in Beer Sheba. 3 And his sons walked not in His Ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. 4 Then all the Elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto hwhy. 7 And hwhy said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the People in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all of the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other elohim, so do they also unto thee. 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 And Samuel told ta all the Words of hwhy unto the People that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take ta-your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him Captains of Thousands, and Captains of Fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take ta-your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take ta-your fields, and ta-your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his Officers, and to his Servants. 16 And he will take ta-your menservants, and ta-your maidservants, and ta-your goodliest young men, and ta-your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and hwhy will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the People refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all of the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight ta-our battles. 21 And Samuel heard ta all of the words of the People, and he rehearsed them in the Ears of hwhy. 22 And hwhy said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
Though Moses said that they would have a king in the land, the Israelites here in 1st Samuel were rebelling against hwhy, the King, because of Samuel's sons' evil acts against the people.
The founding fathers of the U.S. Constitution based verses fourteen and fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage as the basis for this clause in the U.S. Constitution
Article II, Section 1, 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Another reason the U.S. Continental Congress used verse fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage, because for one, back in the 1680's Great Britain had obtained a dual King-Queen reign: William of Orange was born and raised in the Dutch Republic, who later married Mary, daughter of Charles II, King of Great Britain. They are famously known as "William and Mary", and a college is named after them in the U.S., specifically, in the state of Virginia. Also, King George I of Great Britain came from Hanover, now part of Germany. Therefore, Great Britain did not follow the Torah in verse fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage, and if they did, all of the kings and queens from George I to Elizabeth II would have been disqualified, because they were descendants through the daughters of the English/British Kings.
In verses sixteen and seventeen of this week's Torah portion passage, king David, though he loved hwhy with all of his heart, had multiple wives and concubines, but king Solomon was worse. At first, King Solomon followed hwhy with all of his heart, but later in life, he fell on the wayside, because he did what hwhy told him not do, which is noted in the book of the Kings
HORSES
1 Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
1 Kings 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
WIVES
1 Kings 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with ta-the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning which hwhy said unto the sons of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away ta-your heart after their elohim: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away ta-his heart.
SILVER AND GOLD
1 Kings 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the Earth for riches and for wisdom. 24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which Elohim had put in his heart. 25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
hwhy also emphasized to the Israelites in verse sixteen of this week's Torah portion passage that they were not to return to Egypt
Jeroboam, son of Nebat, was a perfect example of this, when he fled to Egypt for the fear of King Solomon, which is noted in the book of Kings
1 Kings 11:40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak, King of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
There was an issue where men of the Southern House of Judah was considering to flee to Egypt from the king of Babylon, and it was during the time of the prophet Jeremiah, which is noted in the book of the prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 42:7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the Word of hwhy came unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he Johanan, son of Kareah, and all of the Captains of the Forces which were with him, and all of the People from the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them, Thus saith hwhy, the Elohim of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him; 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith hwhy: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the Voice of hwhy, your Elohim, 14 saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the shofar, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: 15 And now therefore hear the Word of hwhy, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith hwhy of Armies (Hosts), the Elohim of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; 16 Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 So shall it be with all of the men that set ta-their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
This was fulfilled later, which is noted in the book of the Kings
2 Kings 25:25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Casdim that were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the People, both small and great, and the Captains of the Armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Casdim.
In verse seventeen of this week's Torah portion passage, the Aleph-Tav is next to the phrase "their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there". Was that Aleph-Tav a reminder from hwhy not to go there? It is probable. There is another interesting thing about the Aleph-Tav next to that phrase. The original premise is that the Aleph-Tav refers to Yeshua, and He is the Aleph and the Tav (in Greek, the Alpha and Omega) in the book of Revelation. Suppose that in a positive note, the Aleph-Tav refers to a prophecy that Yeshua will go to Egypt to sojourn there. This prophecy would make sense that Yeshua would be the One, and it was fulfilled, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 2:1 Now when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, there came magi from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His Star in the east, and are come to worship Him. 3 When Herod, the king, had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all of the Chief Priests and Scribes of the People together, he demanded of them where Messiah should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My People, Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the magi, enquired of them diligently what time the Star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the Young Child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the Star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the Young Child was. 10 When they saw the Star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the Young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of hwhy in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of hwhy appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee Word: for Herod will seek the Young Child to destroy Him. 14 When he arose, he took the Young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
Verses eighteen through twenty
18 And shall be, as he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, and shall write for himself ta-a second of this Teaching (Torah) upon a scroll from of (with to) the face of the Priests, the Levites: 19 and she shall be with him, and shall call on him all of the days of his life: by that, shall learn to revere (give awe, fear) ta-hwhy, his Elohim, to guard (keep, observe, heed) ta-all of the Words of this Teaching (Torah) and ta-these Statutes to do them: 20 by failing at rising up his heart from his brothers, and by failing at turning aside (turning away) rightward and smallward (leftward) from the Commandment: by that, the days of himself and his sons shall be lengthened (prolonged) upon (over) his kingdom among the nearness of Israel.
King David wrote a copy of the Torah, because he talked about the Torah, which is based in the book of the Psalms
Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the Torah of hwhy; and in his Torah doth he meditate day and night.
Psalms 119:34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy Torah; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Psalms 119:97 MEM. O how love I Thy Torah! She is my meditation all the day.
Zedekiah was the last king in all of Israel who would be required to write the Torah before they were taken into Babylonian captivity. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that man will not write the Torah, but hwhy will write the Torah, which is noted in his book
Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith hwhy, that I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel, and with ta-the House of Judah: 32 Not according to the Covenant that I made with ta-their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which ta-My Covenant they brake, although I was an Husband unto them, saith hwhy: 33 But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with ta-the House of Israel; After those days, saith hwhy, I will put ta-My Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People. 34 And they shall teach no more every man ta-his neighbor, and every man ta-his brother, saying, Know hwhy: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith ta-hwhy: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
In this case, hwhy sent Yeshua, the Living Torah, who is the Word made Flesh, which is noted in the Gospel of John
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. 2 The Same was in the beginning with Elohim. 3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.... 14 And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) full of Grace and Truth.
John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. 47 But if ye believe not his Writings, how shall ye believe My Words?
Our eternal King, via the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) will write the Torah in our hearts, and since Yeshua is also our Eternal High Priest, He is fulfilling the Torah of being "the Priest" present as the Torah is being written in our hearts.
Indirectly related to writing the Torah in the heart, this is what the apostle Paul noted regarding the Word being written in Paul's heart, as well as others, because the assembly in Corinth have the Messiah Yeshua, the Living Torah, written in their hearts, which he noted in his letter to the assembly at Corinth
2 Corithians 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Messiah delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living Elohim, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Messsiah toward hwhy. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from hwhy, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a New Covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives Life.
The emphasis is that the Spirit of the Elohim does the writing of the Living Torah, who is Yeshua.
Ending this week's Torah portion passage, this is what the apostle John noted in his book of Revelation
Revelation 1:5 And from Yeshua Messiah, who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His Own Blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto Elohim and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
If one hasn't noticed throughout my Torah portion commentaries, I have been retranslating the entire Torah at the best of my abilities, with the best of the sources available, to the purest of Hebraic meanings as best as possible, because there are many places in the translations where the translators have mistranslated. I have realized that it is impossible to keep the translation in its purest form from the Hebrew, because of our English language, and its grammer, as well as the original language concept of certain words, so I add as few words as I can without distorting the Hebraic perspective and intention of the text. I have my Eternal High Priest, Yeshua, the Messiah, spiritually in front of me, with the help of the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to lead and guide me in translating the entire Torah, which I have been doing since the beginning of the 2014-2015 Torah cycle. As I have been retranslating the entire Torah text, I have been re-editing and fixing some of the translating I did from earlier Torah portions, now that I have grasped better understanding of the text. I will be checking them again in the future. I give the glory, honor and praise to hwhy, my Heavenly Father, through Yeshua, via the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) in lending me this gift.
!!!hwhy Kl dbk
When it says in verse twenty of this week's Torah portion passage that the king and his sons days shall be lengthened, it means that their lives will be lengthened as well as their dynasty. For example, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had ten different dynasties because of their rebellion against hwhy, and the Northern Kingdom of Israel went into exile for their punishment. The only exception to that rule is that Jehoram/Joram's son, Ahaziah, was the descendant of kings from both kingdoms, which I wrote on my teaching, "Joram and Jehoram". Click on the link below to get to the webpage.
TEACHING: JORAM AND JEHORAM
CHAPTER 18
Deuteronomy 18:1-22
Deu 18:1 To all of the Priests, the Levites, all of the tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion and an inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the Fire Offerings of hwhy and His Inheritance, 2 and shall not belong to him an inheritance in the nearness of his brothers: hwhy Himself is his inheritance as the which was spoken to him. 3 And this shall be the Ordinance of the Priests from ta the People, from ta those sacrifing the Sacrifice, if an ox, if a lamb; and shall give to the Priest the shoulder-leg, and the two rumps, and the first stomach. 4 You shall give to him the first of your grain, of your new wine (fresh grape juice), and of your pressed oil (glistened oil), and the first of the fleece of your flock, 5 for hwhy, your Elohim, has chosen on him from all of your tribes to stand to minister in the Name of hwhy, he and his sons all of the days.
6 And when the Levite shall come from one of your gates from all of Israel which he has sojourned there, and comes in all of the desire (covet, lust) of his soul to the Place which hwhy shall choose, 7 and shall minister in the Name of hwhy, his Elohim; as all of his brothers, the Levites, that stand [(the ones standing)] there to the Face of hwhy, 8 they shall eat a portion, like a portion by apart from his merchandise (sale) upon the fathers.
9 When you come to the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you, you shall not learn to do according to [(as)] the abominations (abhorrences) of those nations. 10 Shall not be found among you one with going over his son and his daughter in (on) the fire, a diviner of divination, a cloud reader, an enchanter, a spell charmer (whisperer, sorcerer, witch), 11 and a joiner (fellowshipper, speller) of spells (joiner, fellowshippers), and a inquirer (consulter) of father-spirits, and a knowing one (wizard, conjurer), and an inquirer (consulter, seeker) to the dead, 12 for all doing these are an abomination (abhorrence) of hwhy: and at the circumstance [(and because)] of these abominations (abhorrences), hwhy, your Elohim, is dispossessing them from your face. 13 You shall be perfect with hwhy, your Elohim, 14 for these nations which you shall dipossess them, they listen to cloud readers and to diviners: and you, hwhy, your Elohim has not so given to you.
15 A prophet from your nearness, from your brothers, like me, shall hwhy, your Elohim, raise for you; you shall listen to him; 16 according to [(as)] all which you ask (inquire) from with hwhy, your Elohim, in Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, to say, I shall not add to hear ta-the Voice of hwhy, my Elohim, and I shall not see ta-this Great Fire anymore, and I shall not die. 17 And hwhy said to me, they have done good (well) which they have spoken.
18 I shall raise a prophet for them from the nearness of their brothers, like you, and I will give My Words in his mouth; and shall speak to them of ta all which I shall command him. 19 And shall be the man which shall not listen to My Words which shall be spoken in My Name, I, I will require from with him, 20 surely, the prophet which presumes (acts proudly) to speak a word in My Name, ta which I have not commanded him to speak, and the which shall speak in the name of other elohim, and that prophet shall die. 21 And when you shall say in your heart, How shall we know ta-the word which hwhy has not spoken of him? 22 A prophet which shall speak in the Name of hwhy, and shall not become of the Word, and did not come, he is the word which hwhy has not spoken of him, the prophet has spoken of himself [(, he has spoken)] in pride: you shall not sojourn with him.
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
Verses one and two
1 To all of the Priests, the Levites, all of the tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion and an inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the Fire Offerings of hwhy and His Inheritance, 2 and shall not belong to him an inheritance in the nearness of his brothers: hwhy Himself is his inheritance as the which was spoken to him.
This week's Torah portion passage shows us that hwhy is the Levites' Inheritance. This is a type and shadow of Yeshua. It has been revealed that Yeshua is a descendant of the tribe of Levi, via his mother, Mary, which I have posted in previous Torah portions. John, the Immerser, said this regarding Yeshua, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with Fire:
As the Fire Offering was the Priest's inheritance, Yeshua baptizes us with His Fire to make us His Priests. We become His priests via the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) which is noted by the apostle John, in his book of Revelation
Revelation 1:5 And from Yeshua, the Messiah, who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His Own Blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto hwhy and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Verse three
3 And this shall be the Ordinance of the Priests from ta the People, from ta those sacrifing the Sacrifice, if an ox, if a lamb; and shall give to the Priest the shoulder-leg, and the two rumps, and the first stomach.
These are the symbols of the three parts of the animal:
Shoulder-Leg: Waking/working in the Truth of hwhy, and later Yeshua
Rump, or Rear: Seat of Mercy of hwhy, and later Yeshua
Stomach: Digesting the Word of hwhy, and later Yeshua
These three parts also apply to our lives as we as believers follow Yeshua, our Messiah.
!!!hwhy Kl dbk
Looking at the word FIRST STOMACH
The Hebrew word for first stomach is "kah-vah"- Kuph, Bet, Heh (hbq). It is from Strong's Concordance 6896, and its definition
From H6895; the paunch (as a cavity) or first stomach of ruminants: - maw.
from 6895 "kah-vahv", and its definition
A primitive root; to scoop out, that is, (figuratively) to malign or execrate (that is, stab with words): - X at all, curse.
This is where we get our modern English words "cave" and "cavity".
Verses four and five
4 You shall give to him the first of your grain, of your new wine (fresh grape juice), and of your pressed oil (glistened oil), and the first of the fleece of your flock, 5 for hwhy, your Elohim, has chosen on him from all of your tribes to stand to minister in the Name of hwhy, he and his sons all of the days.
This relates to the fact that the Levites have no inheritance, and they depend on their fellow brethren to provide through their offerings, gifts and first offerings to them:
Grain: For food
New Wine: For drink
Pressed oil: For cooking, lamps, lighting the Menorah, etc.
Fleece: For garments, quilts, sheets, etc.
Looking at the word FLEECE
The Hebrew word for fleece is "geyz"- Gimel, Zayin (zg). It is from Strong's Concordance 1494, and its definition
From H1494; a fleece (as shorn); also mown grass: - fleece, mowing, mown grass.
from 1494 "gah-zahz" (zzg), and its definition
A primitive root (akin to H1468); to cut off; specifically to shear a flock, or shave the hair; figuratively to destroy an enemy: - cut off (down), poll, shave, ([sheep-]) shear (-er).
from 1468 "gooz" (zwg), and its definition
A primitive root (compare H1494); properly to shear off; but used only in the (figurative) sense of passing rapidly: - bring, cutoff.
This is where we could have received our modern English word "gauze".
Verses six through eight
6 And when the Levite shall come from one of your gates from all of Israel which he has sojourned there, and comes in all of the desire (covet, lust) of his soul to the Place which hwhy shall choose, 7 and shall minister in the Name of hwhy, his Elohim; as all of his brothers, the Levites, that stand [(the ones standing)] there to the Face of hwhy, 8 they shall eat a portion, like a portion by apart from his merchandise (sale) upon the fathers.
I thank Rico Cortes of Wisdom in Torah Ministries for helping me see and understand this week's Torah portion passage, and I give the glory to hwhy for Rico. Say that this Levite that came from one of the Israelites' gates where he sojourned, came to the Temple on a wagon with a mule with his merchandise (or jokingly, in modern terms, a Ferarri with his cool stuff), and is going to work in the Temple with his brothers, the Levites, when that Levite does his duty, he his to get his equal portion along with the other Levites despite that he has his own merchandise. Just because that one Levite has this kind of merchandise that other Levites don't have, it doesn't exclude him to receive his fair share of the Priestly duties he has accomplished. Thank you, Rico.
Verses nine through fourteen
9 When you come to the land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you, you shall not learn to do according to [(as)] the abominations (abhorrences) of those nations. 10 Shall not be found among you one with going over his son and his daughter in (on) the fire, a diviner of divination, a cloud reader, an enchanter, a spell charmer (whisperer, sorcerer, witch), 11 and a joiner (fellowshipper, speller) of spells (joiner, fellowshippers), and a inquirer (consulter) of father-spirits, and a knowing one (wizard, conjurer), and an inquirer (consulter, seeker) to the dead, 12 for all doing these are an abomination (abhorrence) of hwhy: and at the circumstance [(and because)] of these abominations (abhorrences), hwhy, your Elohim, is dispossessing them from your face. 13 You shall be perfect with hwhy, your Elohim, 14 for these nations which you shall dipossess them, they listen to cloud readers and to diviners: and you, hwhy, your Elohim has not so given to you.
Unfortunately, the Israelites did these things throughout their history, probably with the exception of the time of king David, until their Babylonian captivity around 586 BC. It is happening as well with the descendents of the Lost Ten Northern Tribes of the House of Israel who do not know that they are the descendents, especially in the U.S., by practicing yoga and witchcraft. The Southern House of Judah are no better off by doing the same thing.
Verse fifteen through seventeen
15 A prophet from your nearness, from your brothers, like me, shall hwhy, your Elohim, raise for you; you shall listen to him; 16 according to [(as)] all which you ask (inquire) from with hwhy, your Elohim, in Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, to say, I shall not add to hear ta-the Voice of hwhy, my Elohim, and I shall not see ta-this Great Fire anymore, and I shall not die. 17 And hwhy said to me, they have done good (well) which they have spoken.
This was from the account on Mount Horeb, on Mount Sinai, when hwhy came down in the Pillar of a Cloud on the third day, which is noted in the Torah portion of Yithro, in the book of Exodus
Exodus 20:19 And they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will listen: And let not Elohim speak with us, facing (lest) we die [(facing (lest) we be the death)]
Verse fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage was a future prophecy of "the Prophet" who was Yeshua, the Messiah.
Verse eighteen
18 I shall raise a prophet for them from the nearness of their brothers, like you, and I will give My Words in his mouth; and shall speak to them of ta all which I shall command him.
We as believers can say that this was fulfilled when "the Prophet" was raised in the midst of His Jewish brothers, who is Yeshua, the Messiah.
Verse nineteen
19 And shall be the man which shall not listen to My Words which shall be spoken in My Name, I, I will require from with him,
Indirectly related, hwhy made this account to the prophet Ezekiel, which is noted in the book of the prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Verses twenty through twenty two
20 surely, the prophet which presumes (acts proudly) to speak a word in My Name, ta which I have not commanded him to speak, and the which shall speak in the name of other elohim, and that prophet shall die. 21 And when you shall say in your heart, How shall we know ta-the word which hwhy has not spoken of him? 22 A prophet which shall speak in the Name of hwhy, and shall not become of the Word, and did not come, he is the word which hwhy has not spoken of him, the prophet has spoken of himself [(, he has spoken)] in pride: you shall not sojourn with him.
As I noted in my commentary in the Torah portion of R'ey, in the book of Deuteronomy, that in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, Nahariah was a prophet. But at one point, he made a false prophecy which resulted in his death months later, which is noted in the book of the prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 28:15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; hwhy hath not sent thee; but thou makest ta-this People to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus saith hwhy; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against hwhy. 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Yeshua warned of future false messiahs and false prophets, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 24:3 And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the Sign of Thy Coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Yeshua answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in My Name, saying I am Messiah, and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
CHAPTER 19
Deuteronomy 19:1-21
Deu 19:1 When hwhy, your Elohim, shall cut off ta-the nations, which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving their land to you, and you shall dispossess them, and you shall dwell in ta-their cities, and in their houses; 2 you shall distinguish (separate) three cities for yourself in the midst of your Land, which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you to possess (occupy) her. 3 You shall establish (prepare) for yourself the way, and you shall have three parts of ta-the border of your Land, which hwhy, your Elohim, shall have you inherit, and shall be every slayer to flee there [(to the fleeing there every slayer)]. 4 And this is the Word of the slayer, which shall flee there, and shall be the life [(and shall live)]: Whichever shall strike ta-his neighbor in failing of knowing, and he was not hateful to him, from yesterday, threes; 5 and the which shall go ta-his neighbor in the forest to hew (chop) trees (wood), and thrusts his hand on the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron slips (ejects, loosens) from the tree (wood), and finds ta-his neighbor, and shall be the death [(and shall die)]; he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall be the life [(and shall live)]: 6 facing (lest) shall pursue (chase) the kinsman redeemer (kinsman avenger) of the blood after the slayer while his heart is hot, and reaches (attains, overtakes) him, for the way is much (long), and strikes him the soul; and to him was no judgment of death, for he was not of hatred to him from yesterday, of threes. 7 Upon thus I am commanding you, to say, Three cities you shall distinguish (separate) for yourself. 8 And if hwhy, your Elohim, shall broaden (enlarge) ta-your border as the which was sworn to your fathers, and shall give to you ta-all of the Land which was spoken to give to your fathers; 9 When you will guard (keep, observe, heed) ta-all of this Commandment to do her which I am commanding you today, to love ta-hwhy, your Elohim, and to walk in His Ways all of the days; and you shall add for yourself another three cities [(three cities still)] upon these three: 10 And innocent blood shall not be shed (spill, gush) in the nearness of your Land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you of an inheritance, and shall be upon you bloods.
11 And when shall be a man of hatred to his neighbor, and lies in wait [(and lurks)] for him, and arises upon him, and shall strike of himself a soul, and shall be the death [(and shall die)], and shall flee to one of these cities: 12 and they shall send the Elders of his city, and they shall take him from there, and they shall give him in the hand of the kinsman redeemer (kinsman avenger) of the blood, and shall die. 13 Your eye, she shall not pity (spare) upon him, and you shall kindle away (fuel away, burn away?) the innocent blood from Israel, and shall be good (well) to you.
14 You shall not remove (retreat, depart) the border of your neighbor, which they have first bordered in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the Land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you to possess (occupy) her.
15 Shall not arise one witness (testifier) against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin which shall sin: upon the mouth of two witnesses (testifiers), or upon the mouth of three witnesses (testifiers) shall be arisen a word. 16 When rises up a violent (vicious) witness (testifier) against a man to eye witness (eye testify, eye) apostasy (a turning away) against him; 17 and the two men which have the contention (controversy, strife) to themselves, they shall stand to the Face of hwhy, to the face of the Priests and the Judges which they shall be in those days; 18 and the Judges shall investigate (question, make inquisition, inquire) good (well), and behold, is a false witness (testifier) that is false witnessing (testifying), eye witnessing (eye testifying, eyeing) against his brother; 19 and you shall do to him as the which has devised (plotted, planned) to do to his brother: and you shall kindle away (fuel away, burn away?) the evil from your nearness. 20 And the ones remaining, they shall hear, and they shall revere (give awe, fear), and they shall not add any more to do according to [(as)] this evil word in your nearness, 21 and your eye, she shall not pity (spare); soul on soul, eye on eye, tooth on tooth, hand on hand, foot on foot.
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
Verses one through thirteen
1 When hwhy, your Elohim, shall cut off ta-the nations, which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving their land to you, and you shall dispossess them, and you shall dwell in ta-their cities, and in their houses; 2 you shall distinguish (separate) three cities for yourself in the midst of your Land, which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you to possess (occupy) her. 3 You shall establish (prepare) for yourself the way, and you shall have three parts of ta-the border of your Land, which hwhy, your Elohim, shall have you inherit, and shall be every slayer to flee there [(to the fleeing there every slayer)]. 4 And this is the Word of the slayer, which shall flee there, and shall be the life [(and shall live)]: Whichever shall strike ta-his neighbor in failing of knowing, and he was not hateful to him, from yesterday, threes; 5 and the which shall go ta-his neighbor in the forest to hew (chop) trees (wood), and thrusts his hand on the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron slips (ejects, loosens) from the tree (wood), and finds ta-his neighbor, and shall be the death [(and shall die)]; he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall be the life [(and shall live)]: 6 facing (lest) shall pursue (chase) the kinsman redeemer (kinsman avenger) of the blood after the slayer while his heart is hot, and reaches (attains, overtakes) him, for the way is much (long), and strikes him the soul; and to him was no judgment of death, for he was not of hatred to him from yesterday, of threes. 7 Upon thus I am commanding you, to say, Three cities you shall distinguish (separate) for yourself. 8 And if hwhy, your Elohim, shall broaden (enlarge) ta-your border as the which was sworn to your fathers, and shall give to you ta-all of the Land which was spoken to give to your fathers; 9 When you will guard (keep, observe, heed) ta-all of this Commandment to do her which I am commanding you today, to love ta-hwhy, your Elohim, and to walk in His Ways all of the days; and you shall add for yourself another three cities [(three cities still)] upon these three: 10 And innocent blood shall not be shed (spill, gush) in the nearness of your Land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you of an inheritance, and shall be upon you bloods.
11 And when shall be a man of hatred to his neighbor, and lies in wait [(and lurks)] for him, and arises upon him, and shall strike of himself a soul, and shall be the death [(and shall die)], and shall flee to one of these cities: 12 and they shall send the Elders of his city, and they shall take him from there, and they shall give him in the hand of the kinsman redeemer (kinsman avenger) of the blood, and shall die. 13 Your eye, she shall not pity (spare) upon him, and you shall kindle away (fuel away, burn away?) the innocent blood from Israel, and shall be good (well) to you.
In verse ten of this week's Torah portion passage, the last word in this verse "bloods" is plural from the Hebrew plural word "dahm-meem" (Mmd), compared to the singular "dahm" (Md). The reason it is said that way, because the man would not just have killed an innocent man, but the innocence of that "man's descendants" as well that were in his loins, in his seed, who would have been innocent from their ancestors' accident.
This week's Torah portion chapter's segment on the Citites of Refuge can be found in my exhaustive commentary on the Torah portion of Masei, in chapter thirty five by clicking on the link below to get to the webpage.
TORAH PORTION MASEI
Verse fourteen
14 You shall not remove (retreat, depart) the border of your neighbor, which they have first bordered in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the Land which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you to possess (occupy) her.
Later in time, the Israelites will cross over the Jordan to later arrive at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, in Shechem, to say the blessings and curses. This is one of the curses that they are to say on Mount Ebal, which is noted in the Torah portion of Ki Thavo, in the book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 27:17 Cursed is a retreater (remover) of a border (landmark) of his neighbor. And all of the People shall say, Amen.
Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries noted that the United Nations, (as well as the Palestinians), are trying to move Israel's landmarks, wanting to give the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, to the Palestinians as well, as giving the eastern half of Jerusalem to the Palestinians, which is a violation of hwhy's Commandment.
I personally know someone whose father owned a home with a row of trees along the side of his property border. This was an era before property lines were strongly enforced. While the father was outside, his next door neighbor came out. The next door neighbor came to the father, approached him and stated that these row of trees are now considered part of his property. The father did nothing about stopping it. His child that I know was working for real estate at the time and was insisting to deal with the matter, but the father refused his child to pursue it. This is not the first time that he lost property, as well as a home, from under his nose. Woe to the next door neighbor for stealing the father's land. He will pay dearly in the end for it when he meets Yeshua.
Also, look at the land that Israel has given back that they have conquered in the '67 war. That is hwhy's Land Boundary that was moved.
Verse fifteen through eighteen
15 Shall not arise one witness (testifier) against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin which shall sin: upon the mouth of two witnesses (testifiers), or upon the mouth of three witnesses (testifiers) shall be arisen a word. 16 When rises up a violent (vicious) witness (testifier) against a man to eye witness (eye testify, eye) apostasy (a turning away) against him; 17 and the two men which have the contention (controversy, strife) to themselves, they shall stand to the Face of hwhy, to the face of the Priests and the Judges which they shall be in those days; 18 and the Judges shall investigate (question, make inquisition, inquire) good (well), and behold, is a false witness (testifier) that is false witnessing (testifying), eye witnessing (eye testifying, eyeing) against his brother;
The Chief Priests and elders tried to find two false witnesses to testify against Yeshua, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 26:59 Now the Chief Priests, and Elders, and all the Council, sought false witness against Yeshua, to put Him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the Temple of hwhy, and to build it in three days.
Though, they did not find false witnesses to testify against Him, they did find witnesses that heard what Yeshua said regarding what they thought He was referring to was the Temple, which is noted in the Gospel of John
John 2:13 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the Temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the Temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father's House an house of merchandise. 17 And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of Thine House hath eaten Me up. 18 Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What Sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things? 19 Yeshua answered and said unto them, Destroy This Temple, and in three days I will raise It up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this Temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days? 21 But He spake of the Temple of His Body.
The witnesess were right in what Yeshua said, but He was referring to His own Body, and not Herod's Temple. Because Yeshua said this, and they replied to the High Priest correctly, based on this week's Torah portion passage Commandment, they could not die, because they did speak the truth.
In relation, Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries connected verse fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage to what the apostle Paul noted in his letter to Timothy
1 Timothy 5:19 Against an Elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
Indirectly related, the apostle John noted this regarding two witness, which is noted in the book of Revelation
Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the Temple of hwhy, and the Altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the Court which is without the Temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the Holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two menorahs standing before the Elohim of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great City, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of Life from hwhy entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Verse fifteen of this week's Torah portion passage is still applied today and in the future Seven Years Tribulation, which in my humble opinion could be shortly.
In verse sixteen of this week's Torah portion passage, the word "violent" is interpreted in the King James Version as "false".
Looking at the word VOILENT (VICIOUS)
The Hebrew word for violent (vicious) is "khah-mahs"- Khet, Mem, Samek (omx). It is from Strong's Concordance 2555, and its definition
From H2554; violence; by implication wrong; by metonymy unjust gain: - cruel (-ty), damage, false, injustice, X oppressor, unrighteous, violence (against, done), violent (dealing), wrong.
from 2554 "khah-mahs", and its definition
A primitive root; to be violent; by implication to maltreat: - make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully
This is the same word we have been hearing in the news in relation to Israel, and it is the Palestinian sect who call themselves "Hamas" which means "violence". They are the violent sect of the Palestinians, and they want to destroy Israel from off the map. Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries noted that they are the ones that want to change the Israeli borders that is noted in verse fourteen of this week's Torah portion chapter.
Verse twenty-one
21 and your eye, she shall not pity (spare); soul on soul, eye on eye, tooth on tooth, hand on hand, foot on foot.
This is the same passage Yeshua spoke to the Jewish People regarding this matter, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the Torah, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
CHAPTER 20
Deuteronomy 20:1-20
Deu 20:1 When you go out to the war upon your enemies, and you see horses, and chariots of a people multiple (more) than you, do you not fear from them: for hwhy, your Elohim that ascended you from the land of Egypt is with you. 2 And shall be, as you draw near to the war, and the Priest shall approach and shall speak to the People, 3 and shall say to them, Hear, Israel, you are drawing near the day (today) to the war upon your enemies: your heart shall not faint (soften, tender), you shall not fear, and you shall not tremble, and you shall not harassed from their faces; 4 For hwhy, your Elohim, is going [(is the one going)] with you to war for you upon your enemies to save you.
5 And the Officers, they shall speak to the People, to say, Who is the man which has built a new house, and has not dedicated him? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man shall dedicate him. 6 And who is the man which has planted a vineyard, and has not begin (intreated) him? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man begins (intreats) him. 7 And who is the man which is betrothed (engaged) a woman, and has not taken her? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man shall take her. 8 And the officers, they shall add to speak to the People, and they shall say, Who is the man that is afraid and faint (soft, tender, weak) of the heart? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, and shall not melt (liquify) ta-the heart of his brothers like his heart. 9 And shall be, as the Officers have finished to speak to the People, that they shall visit (oversee, commit) the princes of the armies among the head of the People.
10 When you draw near to a city to war upon her, and you shall call to her for peace, 11 and shall be, if she answers you Peace, and opens her to you, and shall be all of the people that are found in her shall be for mass labor for you, and they shall serve you. 12 And if she shall not have peace with you, and you shall do (make) war with you, and you shall besiege (lay siege) upon her: 13 and hwhy, your Elohim, shall give her in your hands, and you shall strike ta-all of her remembered ones (males) by the mouth of the sword: 14 Only the women, and the little ones, and the animals, and all which shall be (belong) in the city, you shall plunder all of her spoil for yourself; and you shall eat ta-the spoil of your enemies which hwhy, your Elohim, has given to you. 15 So you shall do to all of the cities that are much (very) far off (far, remote) from you, which they are not from the cities of these nations. 16 Only from the cities of these peoples which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you of an inheritance, you shall keep alive any that breathes (puffs, blows, inspires?): 17 for flattening (blunting), you shall flatten (blunt) them; the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the which hwhy, your Elohim, has commanded you: 18 by that, which they shall not have you learn to do according to [(as)] all of their abominations (detestables), which they have done to (for) their elohim; and you would sin to hwhy, your Elohim, 19 for you shall besiege (lay siege) a city multiple (many) days to war upon her to capture her. You shall not ruin (waste, waste away) ta-her trees by thrusting upon him of an axe: for from him you shall eat, and you shall not cut him down, for is the Adam the tree of the field to go from your face in the besieging (siege)?: 20 Only the tree which you know for he is not a tree with the food, you shall ruin (waste, waste away), and you shall cut down; and you shall build a stronghold (defense, bulwark) upon the city which she is doing (making) war with you, until you have made her subdued (descend, go down).
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
Verses one through four
1 When you go out to the war upon your enemies, and you see horses, and chariots of a people multiple (more) than you, do you not fear from them: for hwhy, your Elohim that ascended you from the land of Egypt is with you. 2 And shall be, as you draw near to the war, and the Priest shall approach and shall speak to the People, 3 and shall say to them, Hear, Israel, you are drawing near the day (today) to the war upon your enemies: your heart shall not faint (soften, tender), you shall not fear, and you shall not tremble, and you shall not harassed from their faces; 4 For hwhy, your Elohim, is going [(is the one going)] with you to war for you upon your enemies to save you.
The Priest speaks four things for Israel not do to:
ONE: NOT TO BE FAINT OF HEART
Looking at the word FAINT (SOFTEN, TENDER)
The Hebrew word for faint (soften, tender) is "rakh-akh" Resh, Kaph, Kaph Sophit (Kkr). It is from Strong's Concordance number 7401, and its defintion
A primitive root; to soften (intransitively or transitively), used figuratively: - (be) faint ([-hearted]), mollify, (be, make) soft (-er), be tender.
In other words, The Israelites were not to soften their hearts toward the enemy, as in for example being sympathetic, because he is a human being like him, or the symbolic world, but to hwhy, the Elohim of Israel. Faint of heart also relates to their faith in hwhy, which is the First Word (Commandment), also known as the Faith Word (Commandment)
Exodus 20:2 I am hwhy, your Elohim, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery (bondage).
An example is the account is in the Torah portion of Sh'lakh L'kha, in the book of Numbers, when the Israelites were at Kadesh, and the twelve spies went over the Jordan River to the land for the first time about thirty eight years ago, and the twelve spies went over the Jordan River to the land. After their return, the ten spies gave an evil report to the People, which in their perspective view were by going by sight instead of trusting hwhy with their hearts and believing hwhy's Word. This is what king Solomon noted in the book of the Proverbs
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in hwhy to all if thine heart; and rely not to thine own understanding. 6 In all of thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct (straighten, propser) thy paths.
Spiritually, this also applies to us as believers in the Messiah regarding our faith and belief in Him. We are not to soften our hearts toward the world, but for our hearts to be softened for our Heavenly Father. Also, when we face our enemies, or going on a path that is not known to us, or whatever circumstance we are in, we are not to be faint in our hearts and give up, but to trust in our Heavenly Father to get us through our circumstances and flourish in Him.
TWO: NOT TO FEAR
Looking at the word FEAR
The Hebrew word for fear is "yah-rey"- Yod, Resh, Aleph (ary). It is from Strong's Concordance number 3372, and its definition
A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: - affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).
In this week's Torah portion passage, fear is a negative act that causes internal insecurity. The Israelites were not to be afraid of the enemy during a battle.
The apostle Paul gives to us as believers three things that aids in the points which the Priest said not to do, which he noted in his letter to Timothy
2 Timothy 1:7 For hwhy hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Looking at the three things that Paul noted:
One: Love
Love overcomes fear, which the apostle John noted in his epistle
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in Love; but Perfect Love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in Love.
This "Perfect Love" is Yeshua, the Messiah. We are to be in His Love.
Two: Power
Power overcomes trembling, as hwhy said to Joshua when going into the land to battle the Canaanite peoples, which is noted in the book of Joshua
Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all of the Torah, which Moses, My servant, commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Three: A sound mind
A sound mind overcomes dread. This sound mind is the result of fearing or revering hwhy.
These are examples which are noted by king David, in the book of Psalms, and by King Solomon, in the book of Proverbs
Psalms 111:10 The Reverence (Fear, Awe) of hwhy is the beginning of wisdom:
Proverbs 1:7 The Reverence (Fear, Awe) of hwhy is the beginning of knowledge:
Proverbs 9:10 The Reverence (Fear, Awe) of hwhy is the beginning of wisdom:
Proverbs 14:26 In the Reverence (Fear, Awe) of hwhy is strong confidence: and His sons shall have a place of refuge.
A sound mind is also the result of having the Peace of hwhy, which is noted by the apostle Paul, in his letter to the assembly in Philippi
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto hwhy. 7 And the Peace of hwhy, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Messiah Yeshua. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the Elohim of Peace shall be with you.
These factors apply to our spiritual warfare in our walk in Yeshua as well to not fear, tremble, and dread, in our circumstances in this world, for the apostle John noted in his epistle
1 John 4:4 Ye are of hwhy, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Yeshua said this to His disciples, which also applies to us as believers as well, which is noted in the Gospel of John
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have Peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Spiritually, we as believers are not to fear the world, which the devil has control, but to be in the peace of our Heavenly Father.
THREE: NOT TO TREMBLE
Looking at the word TREMBLE
The Hebrew word for tremble is "khah-phahz"- Khet, Peh, Zayin (zpx). It is from Strong's Concordance number 2648, and its definition
A primitive root; properly to start up suddenly, that is, (by implication) to hasten away, to fear: - (make) haste (away), tremble.
The Israelites were not to be shocked, or surprised, at the approach toward their enemy. Trembling affects the legs and weakens them, which impacts their walk, and it is a negative physical act of having lack of strength. If the Israelites tremble to their enemies other than hwhy, they are would allow their enemies to overcome them, and in a righteous sense, the Israelites will have godly trembling to hwhy. These are some sources relating to trembling before hwhy, which are noted in the books of the prophets Isaiah, Joel and Ezekiel
Isaiah 66:5 Hear the Word of hwhy, ye that tremble at His Word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for My Name's Sake, said, Let hwhy be glorified: but He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the shofar in Zion, and sound an alarm in My Holy Mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of hwhy cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Ezekiel 32:2 Son of Adam, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 3 Thus saith the Adonai hwhy; I will therefore spread out My Net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all of the fowls of the heavens to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 5 And I will lay ta-thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. 6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. 7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heavens, and make ta-the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8 All of the bright lights of the heavens will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Adonai hwhy. 9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. 10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
Spiritually, if we as believers of Yeshua follow the Will of the Heavenly Father, we will be trembling for Him with a godly tremble, but if we disobey, and in extremes rebel, we will be trembling from the issues of the world.
FOUR: NOT TO HARASS
Looking at the word HARASS
The Hebrew word for harass is "ah-rahts"- Ayin, Resh, Tsade Sophit (Ure). It is from Strong's Concordance number 6206, and its definition
A primitive root; to awe or (intransitively) to dread; hence to harass: - be affrighted (afraid, dread, feared, terrified), break, dread, fear, oppress, prevail, shake terribly.
This word is commonly translated as "dread", and also the Hebrew word commonly used for dread is "pah-khad" (dxp). It is also commonly translated as "terrified". Harass, or dread, or terrified, is a negative psychological aspect which effects the emotions, psyche, and mentalness, and dread causes the lack of discernment. If they don't believe in the Word of hwhy, all of these factors will cause the Israelites to be oppressed to their souls.
This is the same Hebrew word used when hwhy told Joshua to be strong and of good courageous when he brings the Israelites over the Jordan River to conquer the land, which is noted in the book of Joshua
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid (harassed, dreadful), neither be thou dismayed: for hwhy, thy Elohim, is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
In a positive sense, the Israelites were to dread in hwhy which is noted in the book of the prophet Isaiah
Isaisah 8:13 Sanctify hwhy of Armies (Hosts), Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your Dreader (Harasser, Terrifier).
Spiritually, we as believers are not to dread toward our enemy's attacks that would cause us to dread that could cause us to be oppressed mentally and emotionally.
Overall, spiritually, we are to take up the Full Armor of hwhy to overcome the enemy's attacks, which the apostle Paul noted in his letter to the assembly in Ephesus
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His Might. 11 Put on the Whole Armour of hwhy, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (the heavenlies). 13 Wherefore take unto you the Whole Armour of hwhy, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with Truth, and having on the Breastplate of Righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; 16 Above all, taking the Shield of Faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of hwhy: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Verses five through nine
5 And the Officers, they shall speak to the People, to say, Who is the man which has built a new house, and has not dedicated him? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man shall dedicate him. 6 And who is the man which has planted a vineyard, and has not begin (intreated) him? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man begins (intreats) him. 7 And who is the man which is betrothed (engaged) a woman, and has not taken her? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, facing (lest) shall die in the war, and another man shall take her. 8 And the officers, they shall add to speak to the People, and they shall say, Who is the man that is afraid and faint (soft, tender, weak) of the heart? Shall go (walk away, be sent away) and shall return to his house, and shall not melt (liquify) ta-the heart of his brothers like his heart. 9 And shall be, as the Officers have finished to speak to the People, that they shall visit (oversee, commit) the princes of the armies among the head of the People.
The second part of this process of preparation for battle comes from the officers saying the four things to "filter" those men that could hinder the rest of the army from having an unsuccessful battle:
ONE: Just built a new house
TWO: Just grew a vinyard that has yet to eat off it
THREE: Just engaged to a wife
FOUR: Afraid to fight
The first three pertain to ones private livelihood: home, produce and relationships, and the fourth pertains in being afraid of being in a military campaign to fight. These factors would affect those men who have yet to experience the three personal issues in their private livelihood, as well as the fear of getting killed in action, and they would hinder their potential to fight in battle with their comrads as well as their comrads' morale. In any music ensemble, an ensemble's best performance is based on their "worst player". That is why certain ensembles require auditions for each part, because they want the "best performers" on each part to provide the ensembles' potential performance.
The part of just being engaged to a wife is noted and emphasized in the Torah portion of Ki Theytsey, in the book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 24:5 When a man shall take a new woman, shall not go out in the army (muster), and shall not go over upon him to any word: shall be free to his house of one year, and shall rejoice of ta-his woman which was taken.
This Ki Theytsey is the foundation and basis where we get our tradition of a newlywed couple and where we coin the word "honeymoon". In the Torah's case, it is a "one year honeymoon".
The officers made more of an emphasis of one's private life than a military battle. Comparing this week's Torah portion passage to all of the times the United States went to war in its history, most of the time it was the result of the draft, properly known as "conscription". The conscription did not apply these four issues that the officers used to filter out people, which would provide a more sound armed forces. If the United States used this format, would there have been less casualties from these wars? We will never know the answer to that until we see Yeshua.
Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries noted a great connection to the beginning of Genesis when hwhy made a home, a garden, and a betrothal for Adam and Khavah (Eve). Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries also noted that Eden is Israel (the home), and the Garden of Eden was Jerusalem (the vinyard), and continuing by in my two cents, the Tree of Life was located on the Temple Mount, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which hwhy, glory be to His Name, revealed to me is located at the Mount of Olives.
These are the maps showing Eden, the Garden of Eden and the two trees
You can read more of my commentary of the location of Eden in the Torah portion of B'reyshith by clicking on the link below to get to the webpage.
TORAH PORTION B'REYSHITH
hwhy made Gideon follow a similar filtering process to have a more ready army, which is noted in the book of the Judges
Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all of the People that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the hidden (north) side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 And hwhy said unto Gideon, The People that are with thee are too many for me to give ta-the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the People, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. 4 And hwhy said unto Gideon, The People are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 So he brought down ta-the People unto the water: and hwhy said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the People bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And hwhy said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver ta-the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other People go every man unto his place. 8 So the People took ta-victuals in their hand, and ta their shofars: and he sent ta all of the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
Notice that hwhy did not use the Toraic filters in this account. Gideon started with 30,000 men, then it was reduced to 22,000 and then 10,000. Then hwhy took it one step further which was not part of the Torah to filter out those who do not lap the water with their tongue, which were 9,700 leaving 300. The reason hwhy used the last filter was these:
LAPPING
The three hundred who lapped as a dog were symbolically being "prostrated" in total submission to hwhy, and were symbolically putting their trust in Him.
BOWING THE KNEE
The majority that were bowing the knee were symbolically not fully sumitting themselves to hwhy, and did it symbolically as acts of fear and distrust against hwhy that He will fight for them, and as a result would be depending on their own strength. This was why hwhy filtered these men out.
Verses ten and eleven
10 When you draw near to a city to war upon her, and you shall call to her for peace, 11 and shall be, if she answers you Peace, and opens her to you, and shall be all of the people that are found in her shall be for mass labor for you, and they shall serve you.
There was one exception to this Toraic rule as they were coming to the land, which is noted in the book of Joshua
Joshua 9:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. 3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard ta-what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? And from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the Name of hwhy, thy Elohim: for we have heard the fame of him, and ta all that he did in Egypt, 10 And ta all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon, King of Heshbon, and to Og, King of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all of the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at ta-the Mouth of hwhy. 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. 16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17 And the Sons of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. 18 And the Sons of Israel smote them not, because the Princes of the Congregation had sworn unto them by hwhy, Elohim of Israel. And all of the Congregation murmured against the Princes. 19 But all of the Princes said unto all the Congregation, We have sworn unto them by hwhy, Elohim of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. 21 And the Princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all of the Congregation; as the Princes had promised them. 22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? 23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my Elohim. 24 And they answered ta-Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, ta how that hwhy, thy Elohim, commanded His servant, ta-Moses, to give you ta-all of the land, and to destroy ta-all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done ta-this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. 26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the Sons of Israel, that they slew them not. 27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Congregation, and for the Altar of hwhy, even unto this day, in the Place which He should choose.
The people of Gibeon deceived Joshua through their impersonation as foreigners traveling a long distance. What they made with Joshua was known as the Food Covenant. When Joshua guaranteed them peace to let them live, though he didn't know it, it included the rest of their Canaanite people, and when Joshua ate the food and drank with them, which is the Food Covenant, it sealed the deal, like the Food Covenant with Esau and Jacob regarding Esau's firstborn right. When it was revealed to Joshua later that they were not foreigners, but Canaanites, he made them Israel's servants. This was the exception to the Toraic rule.
Looking at the word MASS LABOR
In verse eleven, the Hebrew word for mass labor is "mahs"- Mem, Samek (om). It is from Strong's Concordance number 4522, and its definition
From H4549; properly a burden (as causing to faint), that is, a tax in the form of forced labor: - discomfited, levy, task [-master], tribute (-tary).
from 4549 "mah-sahs" (oom), and its definition
A primitive root; to liquefy; figuratively to waste (with disease), to faint (with fatigue, fear or grief): - discourage, faint, be loosed, melt (away), refuse, X utterly.
This is where we get our modern English word "mass", meaning a multitude, in this case "mass labor".
Verse fourteen
14 Only the women, and the little ones, and the animals, and all which shall be (belong) in the city, you shall plunder all of her spoil for yourself; and you shall eat ta-the spoil of your enemies which hwhy, your Elohim, has given to you.
The last "you" at the end of this week's Torah portion passage is feminine.
Verse seventeen
17 for flattening (blunting), you shall flatten (blunt) them; the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the which hwhy, your Elohim, has commanded you:
Moses missed one Canaanite tribe: The Girgashites. Why did Moses forget that tribe? The name Girgashite means "Destruction of a Strange Mass", and based in its character it would mean "Mass Of Destructive Strangers". In the eyes of hwhy, this is the people of this world today. The seven Canaanite tribes could also be symbols of the seven Anti-Lights of the Menorah. I wrote in detail the information of the seven Canaanite tribes in the Torah portion of Va'Ethkhanan, in the book of Deuteronomy. You can click on the link below to get to the webpage.
TORAH PORTION VA-ETHKHANAN
Verses nineteen and twenty
19 for you shall besiege (lay siege) a city multiple (many) days to war upon her to capture her. You shall not ruin (waste, waste away) ta-her trees by thrusting upon him of an axe: for from him you shall eat, and you shall not cut him down, for is the Adam the tree of the field to go from your face in the besieging (siege)?: 20 Only the tree which you know for he is not a tree with the food, you shall ruin (waste, waste away), and you shall cut down; and you shall build a stronghold (defense, bulwark) upon the city which she is doing (making) war with you, until you have made her subdued (descend, go down).
The Adam is also known as "mankind". There is a basis of this, which is noted in the Gospel of Mark
Mark 8:22 And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought him to touch him. 23 And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had Spit on his eyes, and put His Hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that He put His Hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26 And He sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
In relation of Mark's passage to this week's Torah portion passage, it was an act of mercy by hwhy that the trees that bear food are to be saved for the People's future's sake. In the future, if the Israelites were hungry and needed food right away, those trees will be available for them to access, wheras if they were to cut them down, knowing they were there, they would regret that they had cut them down. Those food trees would also be an act of gleaning for sojourners who are passing by getting a little hungry. An example of gleaning while travelling and being hungry was when Yeshua and His disciples were gleaning the grain on the Shabbath day, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 12:1 At that time Yeshua went on the Shabbath day through the grain; and His disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of grain, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him, Behold, Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Shabbath day. 3 But He said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the House of hwhy, and did eat the Shewbread (Bread of the Faces), which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the Priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the Torah, how that on the Shabbath days the Priests in the Temple profane the Shabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is One greater than the Temple. 7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Shabbath day.
Indirectly related, Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries connected the fruit trees to the trees bearing good fruit and bad fruit, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
The fruits that this Gospel passage was saying the fruits of their hearts and spirits, which is noted in the apostle Paul, in his letter to the assembly in Galatia
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of hwhy. 22 But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no Torah. 24 And they that are Messiah have crucified the Flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The apostle Paul noted this in his letter to the assembly in Ephesus
Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the Fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
CHAPTER 21
Deuteronomy 21:1-9
Deu 21:1 If a slain one shall be found on the Ground, which hwhy, your Elohim, is giving to you to possess (occupy) her, fallen on the field, and is not known who has struck him: 2 and your Elders and your Judges, they shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are all around the slain one: 3 And shall be, the city that is nearest to the slain one, and the Elders of that city, they shall take a female calf of the herd which was not served on her, which was not drawn (handled) in (on) a yoke; 4 and the Elders of that city, they shall descend (bring down) ta-the female calf to a rough (untamed) torrent area (torrent valley area) which was not served on him, and not was seeded (sown), and they shall neckbreak ta-the female calf there in the torrent arrea (torrent valley area): 5 And the Priests, the sons of Levi, they shall approach; for on them, hwhy, your Elohim, has chosen on them to minister Him, and to bless in the Name of hwhy; and upon their mouths shall be every controversy (dispute. strife) and every stroke: 6 and all of the Elders of that city that are nearest to the slain one, they shall wash ta-their hands upon (over) the female calf that is neckbrokened in the torrent area (torrent valley area): 7 And they shall answer, and they shall say, Our hands have not shed (spilled, gushed) of her this blood, and our eyes, they have not seen. 8 Atone for Your People, Israel, which you have redeemed, hwhy, and You will not give innocent blood in the nearness of Your People, Israel, and the blood shall be atoned for them. 9 And you, you shall kindle away (fuel away) the innocent blood from your nearness, for you shall do that is upright in the Eyes of hwhy.
(NOTE: Not all verses will have comments)
The Israelites start out in verse two of this week's Torah portion passage to measure the cities to see which city is closest to the dead person. They must have done this by counting the amount of paces. This week's Torah portion chapter segment probably was not a city's favorite. I'll bet the Elders of the city that was the closest city were not happy they had to deal with the dead corpse, let alone have to give up a heifer for the sake of that dead person.
Verses six and seven
6 and all of the Elders of that city that are nearest to the slain one, they shall wash ta-their hands upon (over) the female calf that is neckbrokened in the torrent area (torrent valley area): 7 And they shall answer, and they shall say, Our hands have not shed (spilled, gushed) of her this blood, and our eyes, they have not seen.
Indirectly related, there is a Gospel account that could have been a basis to this week's Torah portion passage, which is noted in the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 27:15 Now at that Feast, the governor was wont to release unto the People a prisoner, whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Yeshua, who is called Messiah? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him. 19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that Just Man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him. 20 But the Chief Priests and Elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Yeshua. 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Yeshua, who is called Messiah? They all say unto him, Let Him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath He done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let Him be crucified. 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the Blood of this Just Person: see ye to it.
Pilate did the similar thing to Yeshua for His innocence that the Elders and Judges did to the heifer on behalf of the city's innocence.
This week's Torah portion passage was a true sacrifice, meaning it was considered an Unconditional Sacrifice which the city and the people of that city were not at fault and were not guilty of that person's death, but they were paying the price for that person's death by sacrificing a heifer that has not worked and not bore a yoke on it. This week's Torah portion chapter segment would also be a type and shadow of Yeshua being the Unconditional Sacrifice to the closest city, Jerusalem, as well as for the world. Yeshua was innocent Himself, because He was perfect and without sin, and He became "the Heifer Sacrifice" to atone for the spiritual dead for all of the twelve tribes of Israel, as well as for the world.
!!!hwhy Kl dbk
Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries noted that overall, this week's Torah portion chapter segment touches on four occupations: Judges, Kings, Priests, and Prophets. Yeshua the Messiah is "the Judge", "the King", "the Priest"- in specific "the High Priest", and "the Prophet".
This is how each of the four offices are obtained, including the Elders:
Kings: Annointed to the throne
Judges: Elected to their positions
Priests: Hereditary
Prophets: Called by hwhy
Elders: Appointed
Compare these offices to the offices in the United States Government:
King: The President
Judges: The judges of the judicial system
Priests: No office
Prophets: No office
Elders: The congress
The one office I wished the Continental Congress created a Biblical Branch to make sure that the nation had Biblical roots and maintain Biblical order and perspective in each of the other three branches. If they did this, the U.S. would not be in the spiritual downward spiral it is in.
These four offices were similar to the Korah's rebellion account, when in my exhaustive commentary in the Torah portion of Korakh, in the book of Numbers, that Korah, two Reubenite men and 250 elders became a coup to overtake the government. Each of the men mentioned, except Korah, had names that represented the offices they would uphold if they succeeded in the overthrow:
Korah: The Priesthood
Korah's Kohathite Brothers: Priests
Dathan: The Lawgiver
Abiram: The Ruler
On: The Treasurer/The Economist (most likely one of the 250 men)
The rest of the 250 men: The new "Semi-Rulers" for the Israelite People
You can read more of my commentary of Karakh by clicking on the link below to get to the webpage.
TORAH PORTION KORAKH
That ends this week's Torah portion commentary.
Any questions or comments can be written to
the.aleph-tav.project@msn.com
SHABBATH SHALOM
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