Numbers in Scripture and the Feasts of the LORD

Numbers in scripture have meaning. God, as the great creator, is also of course the great mathematician. E. W. Bullinger, a noted theologian of the 19th century, wrote about the significance of various numbers in his book Numbers in Scripture. For instance, everyone knows that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and on the seventh day, God rested. This is the origin of our seven day week. In Leviticus God instituted seven feasts, His divinely appointed days to meet with His people. Because of these and other appearances of the number seven in scripture, seven is the number of spiritual completion. We find that the spiritual meanings of the first seven numbers correspond to the fulfillment of the seven feasts of the LORD.

The number one represents God. We read in Deuteronomy 6:4 that the “LORD our God is one.” He is unity, uniquely Him. There is no other God before Him and He is to be first in our lives. The first feast of the LORD is Passover. On Passover, God sent His one and only son Yeshua to die as the Passover Lamb, the sacrifice for our sins. In Exodus, God says that because He spared the firstborn of the Israelites, they are now set aside for Him. And so on the first feast, we learn that Yeshua as God incarnate died for the sins of mankind. Paul tells us that Yeshua as the final Adam is uniquely qualified to do so.

The number two represents differentiation. On the second day of creation, God separated or differentiated between the heavens and the earth. The second feast is the feast of Unleavened Bread. On the Biblical day, the day begins and ends at sunset. The feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the evening of Passover. On this feast, God’s people are to remove all the leaven from their homes and cities. Paul tells us that leaven represents sin so, on this feast, God separates sin from righteousness. Yeshua died on Passover and was put into the grave just as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. As He goes into the grave, we see the separation between mortality and immortality. Psalm 16:10 says that God would not allow His Holy One to see decay.

The number three is the number of divine completion. The blessing that God wants to place on His people in Numbers 6 has three parts. The seraphim when they bless God in Isaiah 6:3 cry, “Holy, holy, holy” a repetition of three. The triune God is made of the Father, Son, and the Spirit. The third feast is the Feast of Firstfruits contained within the feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua rose from the grave on the third day on the feast of Firstfruits. Paul calls Yeshua the firstfruits of the resurrection. When He rose from the grave, Yeshua once again put on the fullness of the His divinity.

The number four is the number of the creation or the whole world. The directions of the world are fourfold, north, south, east and west. There are four rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden. The fourth feast is the Feast of Weeks. On the first feast of weeks, God made the covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai. Exodus 19:6 says that Israel was to be a kingdom of priests. All nations would see that God is the only true God and glorify Him. After Yeshua’s death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples on the feast of Weeks ten days after His ascension. In Acts 2:17-21 Peter tells us that the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people and as many as call on His name will be saved.

The number five is the number of grace. The Torah contains the five books of Moses. The fifth book in particular, Deuteronomy, is all about God’s love and grace to His people. When Satan tempted Yeshua in the wilderness, Yeshua quoted from Deuteronomy to stop the mouth of Satan. The fifth feast is the feast of Trumpets. On this day, the shofar is blown to remind God to have mercy on His people. This will be the day that the final trumpet, the shofar of God, is blown signaling the resurrection of the dead. It is only by the grace of God that we have eternal life. Paul tells us in Ephesians that it is by grace we have been saved through faith, not by our works.

The number six is the number of man. God created Adam on the sixth day in the image of God to have fellowship with God. But Adam sinned and was separated from God. On Yom Kippur, the sixth feast, the high priest enters the holy of holies, coming into the very presence of God, to make atonement or covering for the sins of the nation of Israel. On that fateful Yom Kippur when Yeshua comes again, He will take away the sins of His people forever. Mankind will be restored and once again bear the image of God ready to fellowship with Him.

The number seven is the number of spiritual completion. On the seventh day, God rested. Hebrews 4:9 tells us there is a Sabbath rest waiting for His people. The seventh feast of the LORD is the feast of Tabernacles. This feast commemorates the time when God dwelt with His people in the wilderness. During this forty year period, the people did not have to work for their food or water; God provided manna from heaven and water from the rock. God tells us in Deuteronomy 29:5 that their clothing and their shoes did not decay! The Feast of Tabernacles looks forward to that day when Yeshua reigns as the King of Israel from Jerusalem. God will dwell with man in the form of Yeshua His son. Revelation 22 tells us that after the millennial reign, The New Jerusalem will descend from heaven. The tree of life will be in the midst of Jerusalem on either side of the river that flows from the throne of God. The throne of God and the Lamb will be forever with man.


שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

Can Someone be Forced to Take the Mark of the Beast?

By Brenda Cathcart

The message that many people hear about the mark of the beast is that we need to be careful not to take it by accident or let the “government” assign a mark to you that may turn out to be the mark of the beast. Back in the 1930’s, when the U.S. government first instituted Social Security numbers, preachers warned that they were the mark of the beast. Back in the 1970’s it was a tattoo, then it was a barcode, now it is a microchip implanted under the skin.

I think we all agree that the beast is a representation of Satan and that Satan wants to be God and imitates God in his deception of mankind. With that in mind, what does the Bible tell us about the mark of the beast? What follows is a short synopsis of a more detailed study in Shadows of Messiah, Volume 2, titled “Sealed for the Day of Redemption.”

1) Revelation 13:16 tells us the mark is on the forehead or the right hand. This is an imitation of the sign God gave the Israelites. They are to bind God’s Word on the foreheads and on the hands (Deut. 6: 6-8) The practice is to write the words of these verses on a tiny scroll placed in a leather box called tefillin which is then tied with leather laces to the forehead and the left hand. The tefillin remind them that God’s commandments are to be on their minds (forehead) and that they are to do them (hand). The left hand is chosen because it is closer to the heart; that is the motivation for doing God’s commandments must be from the heart. The left hand is usually the weaker hand implying that it is God’s strength that enables us to do His commands.

The mark of the beast, in contrast, is to be on the forehead or the right hand indicating that their minds are on the beast and his will. Revelation 14:9 tells us that those who receive the mark of the beast worship him. The right hand is the furthest from the heart and is usually stronger. Man’s motivation is his own selfish interests relying on his own strength.

2) Revelation 13:18 tells us the mark of the beast is the number of the beast’s name. Again, this is an imitation of God! God’s high priest also has a mark on his forehead. This mark is in the form of a gold plate with the words “Holy to Yahweh” on it (Ex. 28:36-38). The high priest wears God’s name on his forehead! Peter tells us that we are a royal priesthood with the purpose of proclaiming God’s praises (1 Peter 2:9). So, what does having the number of the name of the beast on one’s forehead indicate? That person belongs to the beast, worships the beast, is set aside for the beast all for the purpose of praising the beast. The number of the beast is 666. Six is the number of man. One is the number of God. When man has God in his life, his number is 6+1=7. Seven is the number of spiritual completeness. Three is the number of divine completeness. So, three sixes is man without God. It indicates that man and man’s accomplishments are supreme. It is the denial of the power or need for God.

3) Those who worship the beast and take his mark will not be written in the book of life and will be thrown in the lake of fire (Rev. 13:8, Rev. 14:9-11). Those taking the mark of the beast cannot be written in the book of life! Yeshua tells us that there is only one sin that will not be forgiven man and that is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31). So, taking the mark of the beast involves blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 12, Yeshua casts out demons by the Holy Spirit but the Pharisees attribute it to the power of Satan. Yeshua warns them that they are close to committing the unforgiveable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Willfully and knowingly attributing an act of God to Satan and vice versa is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who receive the mark of the beast commit blasphemy.

We also receive a mark or a seal. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:30, that the Holy Spirit seals us. Notice that it is an action by the Holy Spirit in response to our profession of faith in Yeshua! We cannot get the seal of God by accident.

Ephesians 1:13 NKJV 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

When we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, Paul tells us that nothing can remove us from God’s hand (Rom 8:38-39). So, we cannot be forced to take the mark of the beast. Even if someone ties us down, implants a chip or tattoos us, we are not receiving the mark of the beast!

4) But wait, doesn’t the Bible say that no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast (Rev 13:17)? Those who both buy and sell are merchants, traders, and businessmen. John tells us in the Revelation that those who mourn the fall of Babylon will be its merchants and traders! There will be no one left to buy their goods (Rev. 18). Zechariah prophesies that every pot in Jerusalem will be “Holy to the LORD.” These are the same words on the plate that the high priest wears on his forehead. Zechariah goes on to say that there will be no Canaanite in the city of Jerusalem. The literal translation of the word Canaanite is “merchant.” Young’s Literal Translation translates the verse this way:

Zec 14:21 And every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judah, Have been holy to Jehovah of Hosts, And all those sacrificing have come in, And have taken of them, and boiled in them, And there is no merchant (Canaanite) any more in the house of Jehovah of Hosts in that day! (YLT)

Those merchants who put greed above God act in the spirit of the Canaanites whom God told the Israelites to drive out of the Promised Land. We see once again that those who take the mark of the beast will be those who elevate mankind above God instead of humbling themselves before God.

Isaiah 23:9-11 NKJV 9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it, To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. 10 Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish (a merchant vessel); There is no more strength. 11 He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The LORD has given a commandment against Canaan (the merchant) To destroy its strongholds.

God will humble all those who lift themselves up in pride, those who think too highly of themselves. He will destroy the stronghold of the merchant. Let me close with the words of Peter as he exhorts us to humble ourselves, to be watchful against the wiles of Satan and to allow God to lift us up when the Good Shepherd returns. Those who follow Peter’s advice are the antithesis of the beast and those who take his mark.

1 Peter 5:1-11 NKJV 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.



שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The Hebrew Word for "day" is יום "Yowm"

The definition of the Hebrew word translated as "day" in English is found in your Strong's Concordance.

#3117 יום "yowm" From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.

A definition of a word does not necessarily give you a definition of the term. For that you must look at the context in which it is used. So what does Genesis chapter one, the first place where the word יום appears in the Bible, tell us about the definition of the term?

Genesis 1:5 MKJV 5 And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

In this verse the word yowm יום is used twice. The first time it describes what “God called the light”. The second time it defines a period of time between “the evening and the morning”. This seems like a contradiction because the time between “the evening and the morning” is a period of time dominated by darkness or what we call night.

You have to look beyond the English translation and into the Hebrew context. What does this verse mean from the Hebrew cultural perspective? First of all the word yowm is three Hebrew letters "י", the "ו" and the "ם", Hebrew is read right to left. The letters are the Yood, the Vav and the Mem. The yood means hand, the vav means nail, to secure or control and the mem means chaos or waters. So in the literal meaning, yowm means “the hand that controls the waters”.

In Jewish tradition a “day” is defined as “between the evenings”, that is from one evening, or sunset to the next. The understanding is that the “evening” is the beginning of the period of darkness and the “morning” is the beginning of the period of light. And since the Torah describes a “day” (second usage) as “the evening and the morning”, a complete day always begins at sunset and continues to the next sunset including both the night and day (first usage) periods.

Elsewhere in the creation account in Genesis, we see that when God first created the earth and it was without form and void. He then, by His word alone created light. He then by His hand (yood) separated the light from the darkness. It also says in the Genesis creation account that God “separated the waters from the waters”. We see his Hand (yood), separating, or controlling (vav) the waters (mem).

Each day when the sun sets, and each day when the sun rises, remember that it is only by the hand of God that the universe is secure. That the “chaos” is “controlled” by His “hand”.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and be blessed
Dan Cathcart

Hebrew Origins of New Testament Scripture.

Much of the New Testament documents we have, although written in Greek, are translations from a Hebrew or Aramaic original.  Now, I have probably lost a bunch of you right here if not with the title of this piece, but bear with me and you will see what I mean.  Aramaic is its self a Semitic language structured along nearly identical cultural lines as Hebrew.  Hebrew and Aramaic share a common alphabet, syntactical and grammatical structure and Aramaic was the primary language of the largest Jewish population (1^st Century) outside of the land of Israel in Babylon, approx. present day Iraq.  I will present this evidence of a Hebrew/Aramaic original the best I can and I have included many foot notes and an extensive, but non-exhaustive bibliography giving some of the source material so that one may research this for oneself.

We in the West tend to be very euro-centric in our thinking.  This leads us to dismiss entire parallel histories happening outside of our European, Greco/Roman world view.  There is strong evidence of a Hebrew/Aramaic, or Hebraic, origin of NT scripture not only in the scriptures themselves, there are hints in the Greek text that allude to an Hebrew/Aramaic original, but also in histories and NT manuscripts preserved by the early Aramaic speaking congregations in the Middle East.  These Middle Eastern congregations were far more meticulous in maintaining original documents than the western societies were in the early centuries of the Common Era. I will examine some of this evidence of the Hebrew/Aramaic origins contained within the western Greek fragments and manuscripts themselves as well as the remaining Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts from the 4^th to the14^th centuries and why we do not have much if any earlier Hebrew/Aramaic manuscript evidence in the West.

Before the advent of the Internet, and the vast amount of data available through this tool, we “lay persons”, would never have been afforded the opportunity to research this material on our own.  Raw data in the form of ancient original documents are now available to the average person and Bible student on line.  The vast amount of research being done in the last few decades has brought new light to our understanding of New Testament origins.  Our willingness to open our minds beyond our Western, euro-centric mindset has brought on a much needed paradigm shift in out understanding of the 1^st century believers in Yeshua and our own Church history.

This treatise is by no means a comprehensive look at this subject, that would take a large book, but is meant to give you, the reader, an overview of the basic Hebraic nature of the NT scriptures and hopefully will further your journey to draw closer to the Father and to His Son, Messiah Yeshua.

A little Communication Problem Here?

I think everyone will agree that a language will reflect the culture from which it emanates.  The spoken and written language of a given people contains all the cultural idioms, syntactical structure, metaphorical references and other content that is common to the people that speak or write it.  A simple mechanical translation of one language to another renders largely gibberish.  There are words and phraseology in one language that make no sense or have no equivalent in another because of these vast cultural differences.  Let me give you an example:  The Old Testament is largely written in Hebrew, and in the case of the Torah, the first 5 books of Moses, where written more than 3500 years ago.  When we translate the Hebrew to English, we go back to the Hebrew and read it and translate it word for word, right?  Wrong!  Look at figure 1.  The Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 contains 7 words.  When translated to English there are 10 words.  Why is that the case?  Now, look at the 4^th Hebrew word, it is not translated at all!  It is completely, and in all English translations, ignored.  This is because this Hebrew word has no English word or phrase equivalence that can be inserted here and have any hope of creating a comprehensible English sentence. (See my post titled “The End is Declared from the Beginning – Part 4 for an explanation available on this blog site).

In translating these vastly different languages one to another, we have to attempt to ascertain the intent of the author or speaker and be able to relate that message to the intended audience.  We have to know something about both, the author and the audience, their culture, their history, their way of thinking, their value system etc.  These all play into how a language is structured and how effective a translation will be.

Jewish Greek?

The translator is the mediator between the audience and the author.  If the translator doesn’t understand what is being said by the author, or has a different cultural mindset than the author and/or audience, then how is there any hope of obtaining an accurate translation?  An accurate translation requires an intimate knowledge of the historic, cultural and linguistic context of the text in question.

In order to understand the NT writings, we must first understand something about the people who wrote them.  Who were they?  Where did they live?  What kind of society did they have, including, and especially, their religious doctrines?  In other words it takes at least a basic sociological study of the culture of 1^st century Israel, Judaism and their history up to that point to be able to translate their ideas correctly.

The Septuagint, the 3^rd century B.C.E. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, Tanach (ie: Old Testament), is an indispensable tool for studying the NT scriptures.  The NT Greek scriptures follow very closely the Septuagint in vocabulary and grammar.  And as with the Septuagint, the NT scriptures reflect a Hebraic culture and mindset of 1^st century Israel rather than any standard form of Greek language or culture. 

Here is what Isidore of Pelasium, a 5^th century Christian writer had to say about the Greek scriptures.  “The Greeks…despise the divine scripture as barbarous language, and composed of foreign sounding words, abandoning necessary conjunctions, and confusing the mind with the addition of extraordinary words.” ¹ So at least in the 5^th century CE, even the vernacular Greek speakers didn’t think much of the NT Greek.  They found it “confusing”.  If the NT authors’ intention was to communicate the Gospel message of the Messiah to the Greek speaking world outside of the Jewish culture, then why write in such a way that you diminish the message with bad grammar and made up words?  Why would they not use proper Greek language?  It is because the Greek language was written by a pagan, polytheistic people for a pagan, polytheistic culture.  Everything about the Greek language follows the cultural aspects of the society that developed it.

Many linguistic scholars call this Greek of the Septuagint and the NT “translation Greek” because it is not grammatically correct Greek in the Koine or Classical.  It reflects a different and very literal translation from a document or thought from a language with very different structure and cultural ideas.

Nigel Turner said that, “Biblical Greek…is usually so drenched in Semitic idioms and forms of syntax that it is extremely difficult to decide whether a book has been translated from Hebrew to Greek or whether it was originally composed in that language.”  He also said, “We may call this ‘Jewish Greek.’” ² 

The NT scriptures were written in this “Jewish Greek” for a reason.  Those who translated the NT writings into Greek were targeting a Jewish reader, living in the Diaspora, who spoke the native language of their now adopted country.  In other words, they wanted the scripture to be available in the common language of the Jewish people, not just the Synagogue leaders.  These translations were also done for the purpose of maintaining a Hebraic cultural unity among the scattered Jewish people around the known world.  This is the same motivation of the reformers in the 15^th and 16^th centuries in the Christian Church who, under the treat of death by Church leadership, translated the scriptures from the Latin to the everyday language of the people.  The NT Greek translators, as well as the 70 scholars and Rabbis who created the Septuagint translation of the Tanach, were certainly educated enough to write in proper Greek if they had desired to.  But that didn’t suit their mission.  They took great pains to craft documents that would retain as much of the original Hebraic cultural content as possible.  Any effort to approach these documents in a manor inconstant with their innate Jewish context is a mistake.

Greek was Unpopular in 1^st Century Israel.

Hebrew, along with Aramaic, was the language of Judea, Samaria and throughout all of Roman controlled Israel as well as many Jewish enclaves in the Diaspora.  Much of the Jewish people living in the land despised the Greeks and anything Greek as a result of the ravaging of the land, people and the holy places by Antiocus IV Epiphanies (175-163 BCE) and his army less than 200 years earlier as recorded in many histories including 1^st and 2^nd Maccabees. 

The Hellenization of the Jews during the Greco-Roman era is just another case of the influence of pagan culture seeping into Jewish society.  The Jewish people were set apart by God to be “Priests to the Nations” and a “Light to the World”.  Yet, time and again, as recorded in scripture and other historical documents, they followed after “other gods” and turned away from the LORD.  Each time this has happened in history, it has resulted in a disaster for the Jewish people and it was no different in the 2^nd temple era. 

The result of the atrocities perpetrated on the Jewish people during the reign of Antiocus IV Epiphanies was profound.  He did not do this entirely on his own.  He was aided and abetted by many of the Jews who were “Hellenized” and had turned from their ways and followed after the paganism of the Greeks. This, of course, did not sit well with the main body of the Jewish people and the Pharisees who were the developers of the Synagogue system.  During the reign of the Hasmoneans, there was a concerted effort to rid the land of Israel of the Greek influences including the use of the Greek language where practical.

Even the famous 1^st century Jewish historian and scholar, Flavius Josephus (37-100 CE) admitted that he was not fluent in Greek and that the speaking of Greek or any other foreign language was largely frowned upon in the Jewish culture. "I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learning of the Greeks, and understanding the elements of the Greek language although I have so long accustomed myself to speak our own language, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient exactness: for our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations".³

Josephus was born Joseph ben Matthias, a Jew of a priestly family, a descendant of the Hasmoneans.  He was well educated and at age 19, joined the sect of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees were the most orthodox of the Jews of the 2^nd Temple era.  The Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews of today carry on the traditions and teaching begun by the Pharisees.  If Josephus did not speak Greek until he had to learn it later in life, it is logical that the more common, perhaps less educated Jewish resident of 1^st century Israel would not have bothered to learn Greek or any of the “languages of many nations”.  Yeshua chose His disciples from among the common Jewish people of Israel, specifically the area of Galilee where Aramaic was the common language of the people.

Greek or Hebrew/Aramaic Original?

There is much evidence which points towards the New Testament being originally written in Hebrew and/or Aramaic and not Greek.  Biblical textural scholarship is increasingly validating the case for a Hebraic original New Testament.  It is a fact that the original authors of the New Testament Scripture were all Hebrews (Jews) in the land of Israel or from the land of Israel with the possible exception of Luke and Paul.  In the case of the Apostle Paul, he was from Tarsus in Asia Minor originally, but lived and studied most of his life in Jerusalem, and by his own admission, a “Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee” (Philipians 3:5( partial)) born and raised a Jew, trained in the most orthodox of schools under the leadership of Gamaliel.  Paul, or Rabbi Shaul, his proper Hebrew name, was definitely not a “Hellenist Jew” in his personal beliefs.  Although being from Tarsus, Rabbi Shaul would have had an intimate understanding of Greek philosophy and teaching which is evident in the narrative in the book of Acts.  Luke was most likely a Proselyte, a Gentile convert to Judaism.

Over the years, many scholars have viewed the Greek in the Septuagint as well as the Greek in the New Testament manuscripts as the common or vernacular (koine) Greek of the day.  A closer examination reveals that it is not quite that simple.  The koine, or common vernacular Greek was quite different from city to city and regionally due to cultural differences just as English has differences from region to region here in the US and internationally. The Greek NT text retains some innate Hebrew/Aramaic syntax, such as reversed noun/verb pairings that are bad Greek, even in the vernacular, but are perfect Hebrew syntax and grammar.  There are also transliterated words; Hebrew or Aramaic words with Greek spelling so the Greek reader/speaker can pronounce the Hebraic word.  As an example if I write the word “shalom”, I am writing a nonexistent English word.  What I have just written is a “transliteration” of a Hebrew word, not a “translation” of the word.  An approximate translation of “shalom” would be “peace” and as you can see, not even close to a similar spelling.  The NT Greek text contains many such transliterations in order to preserve as much of the Hebraic understanding of the original text as possible.  The transliterated Hebrew/Aramaic word contains an intrinsic Hebrew cultural meaning that can not be communicated by simply using a Greek approximation.  Over time, these transliterations tend to be accepted into the common vernacular of a language and the exact origins of these words tend to be lost. If the original authors of the NT scripture spoke in Greek and wrote their accounts and epistles in Greek from the very beginning, assuming that they are doing so for the benefit of a non-Hebrew (non-Jewish) reader, then why did they use all the intrinsic Hebraic content and grammatical structure that is contrary to the Greek society of the day?  Why use transliterations, idioms and metaphors that make no sense in the Greek culture?

Did Paul write his letters in Greek or Aramaic?  We know that his epistles were sent to synagogues throughout Asia Minor that comprised both Jewish and Gentile believers whose legal faith practices were governed by the authority in Jerusalem.  We have two accounts in the Book of Acts, chapters 9 and 15, to attest to the authority stemming from Jerusalem.

I think that we would all agree from the historical record that Paul was very well educated.  But when we take a close look at the Greek manuscripts and fragments that remain of the Pauline Epistles, there is an inconsistency that is observed in the quality of the writing.  This is not consistent with someone who is fluent in the language in question.  There are marked and distinct differences in the quality and linguistic style of the Greek text.  Galatians is the poorest example and there is some evidence that Paul may have, at least partially, scribed this one in his own hand (Gal. 6:11).  1^st Corinthians is much more consistent with someone versed in Greek.  Bible textural scholarship indicates that these two epistles were written within two years of each other.  Why would Paul, who is known to be highly educated, be so inconsistent in his Greek manuscripts?

Our best scholarship places Paul’s death in 67 CE.  He writes of events at the Temple in Jerusalem in the present tense, so his letters could not have been written later than 70 CE, when the Temple was destroyed.  Paul’s letters were not considered scripture at any time in the 1^st century.  Marcion was the first Christian leader, later declared a heretic, in recorded history to propose a canon of what he called the “New Testament” Scripture.  This was in about 140 CE, 80 plus years after the time Paul wrote his letters!  The first major figure to codify any widely accepted Biblical canon was Origen of Alexandria (185-254 CE)

When Paul wrote what we know as his second letter to Timothy, he writes

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

But let’s back up a little and take this in a broader context.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 NKJV But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul reminds Timothy in verse 15 that “from childhood you have known the Holy Scripture” and that they “make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.  Paul was specifically referring to the Torah, Prophets and Writings, The Tanakh.  Paul was reminding Timothy of the foundation of faith in Yeshua as Messiah that come from and is squarely grounded in the Tanakh!

Again, Paul states in Galatians 6:11 that he has a poor scribal hand and training.  Paul also always traveled with others in attendance.  Both epistles to the Thessalonians open with a salutation from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.  Several other places in his epistles, he mentions traveling companions.  The scribe Tertius writes his own name at the end Romans (16:22).  With the absence of John Mark at Pamphylia, Paul then travels with Luke and others (see Acts).  Paul is never recorded as traveling without companions. It is highly likely that these fellow travelers provided the service of translating Paul’s communications into Greek for benefit of the Greek speaking believers in Asia Minor and interpreted communications addressed to Paul. Remember that Paul, Rabbi Shaul, was a Jewish man, a Pharisee, highly educated, yes, but first a Hebrew, a Jew.  This accounts for the widely varying Greek style and polish of the Pauline Epistles.

The classical western theological position that Greek was the common language of the Disciples of Yeshua is rather far fetched when we understand the Hebraic nature that is embedded in the Greek text of the manuscripts, and especially that these early followers were themselves Jews from Israel.  They were followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They were mono-theists, an entirely foreign concept in Greek culture and language.  They were by any definition Jews, and they came to understand their Jewish Messiah by the thousands as recorded in the Book of Acts.  The followers of Yeshua were Jews who studied the Hebrew Tanakh, many being Pharasees, Scribes and Priests, and spoke and wrote the vernacular Hebrew and Aramaic of their land and culture.  They relied on the Tanakh to prove that Yeshua was and is the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel, their promised King and redeemer!  The highest authority of Scripture and ideas from which to make our arguments for the Messiahship of Yeshua come from the Tanakh!  Yeshua Himself taught us this when He appeared to His disciples on the road to Emmas, the account of which is found in the Gospel of Luke:

Luke 24:27 NKJV 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

When we speak to both Jews and Gentiles about the Messiah Yeshua, it is imperative that we base our arguments on the firm foundation of the Tanakh, testified to by the words and deeds of the 1^st century disciples of Yeshua themselves, as recorded in the New Testament, so as to establish the authority of the Messiah.

The Gentile Believers and the Western Church

The Rabbinic teachers of the 1^st century spoke and taught in Hebrew and/or Aramaic as witnessed by the many Jewish documents dating from this time.  When the Jewish scholars began to write down the “oral law”, what became the foundation for the Talmud,   following the Jewish revolt in 132 CE, and their expulsion from Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, these documents were written in Hebrew and Aramaic.  The early believers of Yeshua as Messiah were still meeting in the synagogues along with the rest of their Jewish brothers.  There is no reason to postulate that the early believers in Yeshua being nearly all Jewish, (again, see the book of Acts), would have chosen to use Greek as their “official language”.  They spoke and wrote in Hebrew and Aramaic.  It makes absolutely no logical sense to postulate otherwise.

The purpose of, and the reason for, the later manuscripts being in Greek is many facetted.  For one, the Jewish population in the Diaspora in Asia Minor and other places in the Greek speaking world, spoke Greek as their primary vernacular language.  As time went on, more and more Gentiles were joining the body of believers in the synagogues.  There was much debate about what should be required of the new Gentile believers (see Acts 15).  Many issues arose between the Jews and the Gentiles with their strange pagan ways.  In other words, there was a clash of cultures going on among the early believers.  Rabbi Shaul, was the Apostle to the Gentiles, and he wrote letters and traveled to these Synagogues throughout Asia Minor addressing the issues as they arose in the various congregations.

As the Gentile believers became the vast majority of the body of Messiah in the Greek speaking world, keeping and maintaining Hebrew and Aramaic documents became less and less important.  This was especially true if those documents were not considered scripture.

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, persecution of the Jews vastly increased.  Many of the Gentile believers who did not want to be associated with the Jewish population and be persecuted themselves, moved “underground”.  In parallel to this, the Greek speaking Gentiles brought more and more of their pagan traditions into their new “Christian” religion, abandoning observance of Jewish traditions and festivals so as not to appear too Jewish and be subject to the murderous persecutions being perpetrated on the Jews.

These violent persecutions took many forms, from outright murder, to killing for sport and show in the arenas.  Along with the persecutions and killings, synagogues were vandalized and sacred writings were burned or otherwise destroyed.  In many cases, Hebrew and Aramaic documents were singled out for destruction because those were without question, Jewish in origin.

The Safe Haven of the Eastern Church.

The Aramaic textural history was preserved by the Eastern Church which resided largely outside of Roman control.  This parallel history is fascinating in the meticulous detail in which these churches kept the original NT documents put in their charge.  The Eastern Church had an accepted cannon of scripture long before the West which included much of the Pauline epistles in their original Aramaic.  The Eastern Aramaic speaking Christians have a solid, provable textual history dating well back into the 1st century.  The Eastern scribes followed the traditional Jewish methodology of copying manuscripts considered scripture where no embellishments or changes were tolerated.  The Western Greek textual history has no such provenance.

The biblical record tells us that three of the early disciples traveled East.  These would be Peter (Keffa), Nathaniel bar Tulmay (Bartholomew) and Thomas.  A very large population of Jewish people, perhaps the largest of all, resided in the former Babylon (today’s Iran/Iraq).  The Biblical record in the Tanakh shows that only a fraction of the Jewish people returned to the land of Israel following the time of the exiles.  See Ezra an Nehemiah. 

A Shift of the Center.

Just as mathematics is the engine and currency of physics and astronomy, so scripture is the currency of theology.  Text, translation and interpretation are the engine that drives our religious world.  Our entire belief system is built on a kind of  theological mathematics.

When we think of the Bible, we usually think of a particular translation that we are most familiar with.  For some it is the KJV, others it’s the NIV or the ASV, etc.  Translations are necessary, but only if they are accurate.  An accurate translation will make the original message available to the reader.  An inaccurate translation distorts the message, sometimes beyond recognition.  A good example of this is found in Genesis 27:39 between the New King James Version and the New International Version:

Genesis 27:39 NKJV Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.

Genesis 27:39 NIV His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.

Wow!  Between these two popular translations, we have an example an exact opposite meaning in this verse.  Which is the correct one?  Which is the one that accurately translates the intention of the author?  They can not possibly both be right!  As it turns out, the NIV translation is the one which agrees most with the Hebrew Tanakh and the historic Hebrew literary practices and traditions.

This is a classic example of what happens when a translator, although perhaps skilled in the language, fails to understand the cultural context of the scripture he or she is translating.  Most of our translations of the NT Scriptures contain similar misrepresentations.  There are systematic errors that come about through the failure on the part of the translator or translators to recognize the original linguistic and cultural context.  This may not have been done maliciously, or through a lack of knowledge.  It is possibly simple result of a translator’s misperception of the nature of the text.  NT translators assume that they are dealing with a Greek text written in a Christian context... Let me say that again.  NT translators assume that they are dealing with a Greek text written in a Christian context.  It is this assumption that is a gross error.

An accurate translation requires not only an academic understanding of the language of the text, but an intimate understanding of the historic, cultural and linguistic context in which it was written.  With that in mind, we must begin to shift our center of thinking away from our Western mindset and culture and to a 1st century Hebraic mindset and culture.  We must think like a 1^st century Jew!  In this multi-part treatise, I will attempt to examine a great deal of evidence supporting a Hebrew/Aramaic origin of the NT scriptures.  Stay tuned, it will be most interesting and for some of you, it will be a bumpy ride.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart



Figure 1

Footnotes

1. Epistle 4.28, in Migne, Patrologia greca, cited in Semitic interference in Marcan syntax, Elliott C. Maloney, Scholars Press, Chico, CA, 1981, p.5
2. Nigel Turner, “The Testament of Abraham: Problems in Biblical Greek,” NTS 1, 1955, pp222-223, cited in the Apocalypse and Semitic Syntax, Thompson, p.108
3. Flavius Josephus, “The Antiquities of the Jews” book 20 11:2

Bibliography:

The research for this treatise was derived from these and some other sources. Many of the following are also a recommended reading list.

Matthew Black, An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts, third edition.
D. Bivin and R. B. Blizzard, Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus.
E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Scriptures.
Dr. F. C. Burkitt, The Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus.
Prof. C. F. Burney, The Aramaic Origin of the Fourth Gospel.
Epiphanius, Panarion 29:9:4 on Matthew.
Edward Gibbon, History of Christianity.
Dr. Frederick C. Grant, Roman Hellenism and the New Testament.
Dr. George Howard, Hebrew Gospel of Matthew 1980.
Dr. George Lamsa, The Holy Scriptures from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts.
Dr. Alfred F. Loisy, The Birth of the Christian Religion and The Origin of the New Testament)
Dr. Isaac Rabinowitz, Ephphata...in Journal of Semitic Studies vol. XVI (1971), pp. 151-156.
Hugh J. Schonfield, An Old Hebrew Text of St. Matthew's Gospel, (1927) p. 7.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus.
R. B. Y. Scott, The Original Language of the Apocalypse
Prof. Charles C. Torrey, Documents of the Primitive Church, entirety. Also, Our Translated Gospels, entirety.
Dr. James Scott Trimm, The semitic Origin of the New Testament.
Max Wiolcox, The Semitism of Acts (1965), entirety.
F. Zimmerman, The Aramaic Origin of the Four Gospels.
Nehemia Gordon, The Hebrew Yeshua vs. The Greek Jesus.
Brad H. Young, Ph..D., Paul, The Jewish Theologian.
Daniel Gruber, The Separation of Church and Faith, Copernicus and The Jews.
The Aramaic English Net Testament, Netzari Press second edition 2009

Which is the Great Commandment?

By Dan Cathcart

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus (Yeshua) was asked by a Jewish leader (a Pharisee) a key question about the law (Torah)

Matthew 22:34-37 KJV But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Before we can understand the answer that Yeshua gave, we must first understand the question. The main body of manuscripts of New Testament writings that we have today is written in Greek. But it is a strange form of Greek. They are not written in proper classical Greek of the day, but are in a form that closely resembles the Septuagint, the 3rd century BCE Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, what many scholars refer to as “Jewish Greek” because of its many anomalies that make it read as if it were in Hebrew. When analyzing the Greek NT manuscripts, it is beneficial to refer to the Septuagint for guidance. Most biblical scholars today would agree that many of the writings of the NT were most likely originally written in Hebrew and later translated into Greek. The Greek NT writings and the Septuagint are written in a style that retains much of the original Hebraic syntax and idioms.

Since Yeshua himself was Jewish, lived his entire life among the Jewish people and chose His disciples from among the Jewish men, it is safe to assume that he spoke and taught his disciples in Hebrew. We know that Hebrew was the common language in the religious circles of the 1st century and Hebrew is the language that the Torah is written in to this very day.

So let’s look at the question asked of Yeshua in the passage above.

In the Greek manuscript it is this:
(The numbers above the text are Strong’s Dictionary and Concordance reference numbers)

    1320             4169            1785                    3137                            3551
Δάσκαλος    ποία      εντολή          μεγάλος    στ ην    νόμος
 
  Master,    which   command (is)   great      in the     law?

The first word is Δάσκαλος "didaskolos" which more correctly means "teacher or instructor" and is the equivalent to the Hebrew word מורה "moreh".

The second word is ποία "poios" is an individualizing interrogative and is normally translated as "what" as in “what sort of”. The Hebrew word here would be מה "mah".

Next is the Greek word εντολή "entole" which in Hebrew is the word מצוה "mitsvah". Mitsvah is most often translated as "commandment", but it more accurately means "precept" in this context. Mitsvot (the plural form of mitzvah) in the Bible refers to lifestyle, culture and attitude. In Hebraic thought, mitsvot are about doing “good works”, not just hearing. When the bible speaks of “good works”, it is speaking of doing “mitsvot”, of living by the precepts of the Torah.

Next is the English “is”, this word is inserted in the English translations and is not found in the Greek manuscripts. Although Classical Greek has a word for “is”, it is not included here. This makes the Greek read more like Hebrew where there is no individual word for “is”, thus giving the Greek manuscripts a definite Hebraic flavor.

The next word here is μεγάλος “megalos”, where we get our English word “mega” whish means big or exceedingly large. It is equivalent to the Hebrew word גדולה "gadolah".

Next is the phrase στ ην "en to". It is not found as a separate word in Hebrew but is found in the form of the prefix b (a single Hebrew letter ב beit, in this case pronounced “ba”) added to the root word rendering the meaning “in the” or “within the”.

The last Greek word is νόμος “nomos”. In the bible this word is most frequently translated as "law". But it doesn’t mean “law” in our modern legal sense. It more accurately means "teachings or a principle”, which is the Hebrew word תורה “Torah”, or in this case “in the Torah” בתורה.

So now we have the Hebrew translation of the Greek text in Matthew 22:
מורה מה מצוה גדולה בתורה
moreh mah mitsvah gadolah batorah

Now we can translate this Hebrew text into English and we get:

“Teacher, what is the great precept of the teachings”?

When we translate the question directly from the Greek to English, the implication is that the speaker (the Pharisee) is asking for one commandment found in the Torah that is above all the others. But when we look at the embedded Hebraic nature of the Greek translation, we can clearly see above that it is an entirely different question. The question becomes much clearer when we translate the Hebrew directly to English!

Now, when we use the same method to translate Yeshua’s answer found in Matthew 22:37-40 we get the following:

“You shall love YHWH (“The LORD” in English) your God with all your heart and with all your soul (being or life) and with all your mind (faculties or possessions) this is the beginning and great precept, and another like it is 'You shall love your companions as yourself'. Within these two precepts hang all of the Torah, the Prophets and the writings".

So what is Yeshua telling us here? In answering the Pharisee’s question, He is explaining the overriding precept of the 613 “commandments” in the Torah. Not the one “greatest” that we should pay the most attention to. Yeshua was explaining that the Torah is not about a set of “laws” dictated by an angry god against a rebellious and backslidden people, or a set of “rules” to be followed as a means of receiving salvation, but that the Torah is a “road map” to a relationship with a loving God and to each other. It is the set of “instructions” from God to be incorporated into our lives to draw nearer to Him. As we look at the order of events of the Exodus from Egypt, we see that redemption from Egypt or sin came first, passing through the Red Sea or baptism came second, followed by receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. He takes us out of bondage to sin and teaches us how to live a holy life set apart for His service.

As you can see, much is lost in translation. But it can be restored once we decide to dig a little deeper and study the original language and culture of Yeshua’s day. We clearly see the Hebraic nature of the NT scriptures. The “bad Greek” is a deliberate attempt by the early Greek translators to retain the Hebraic structure and idioms of the original documents just as the scholars of the 3rd century BCE translated the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint.

Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

The Hebrew Letter "ב" Beit

The second letter in the Hebrew alphabet is the ב beit. Its meaning is “house”. In the ancient pictographic Hebrew it was a symbol resembling a tent on a landscape. (see figure 1) It is interesting that if you turn this ancient beit 90 degreed clockwise it becomes our modern lowercase “b”, the second letter in our modern alphabet.

In the original Hebrew manuscripts as well as Torah scrolls to this day, there are what is referred to as “jots and tittles”. Remember what Yeshua said about “jots and tittles”?

Matthew 5:18 KJV For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

In the very first word of the Bible is what is known as a “tittle”. A tittle is an anomaly in the text, a letter that is larger or smaller then the others, a missing or added letter in a word or name from the standard spelling, a gap in the text or even an upside down letter. Jots and tittles add a depth of meaning to the word of God that Bible translators over the centuries have chosen to ignore. In order to restore this deeper meaning, we have to go back and study the original text. So let’s look at the very first verse of the Bible in the original Hebrew. (see figure 2)

Notice that the very first letter of the first word is enlarged. It is the beit, or the “house”. It is as if the entire body of scripture is flowing out of the house through the open door. Whose house is it? All the clues are in the very first word. The first word of Genesis in Hebrew is בראשית breshit, pronounced brasheet and is translated in to three English words “in the beginning”. The first three letters tell us whose house all these words come from.

The second letter is the ר resh. Along with the first letter, ב beit form the word בר bar, the Hebrew word for son. The third letter is the Aleph, and we know that the Aleph represents God the father. So from the “house” comes the Son of God. This is further established by looking at the other 5 letters of the word breshit. This is another Hebrew word, ראשית “resheth”, which means “first Fruits” and we know that the Son of God is the first fruits of the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20 NKJV But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

In addition, the first three letters form the Hebrew  ברא bara, which means “created”. Notice that this is the same as the second complete word in the Hebrew text. So God the Father, represented by the aleph א, with the Son בר Bar, together created ברא (bara) the entire universe. So when we read the strange plural translation in Genesis 1:26

Genesis 1:26 NKJV 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…”

We now begin to understand the “Us” referred to here is God the Father and the Son together. This is not inconsistent with Hebrew thought. In the Shema, a cornerstone of Jewish theology, found in Deuteronomy chapter 6 beginning with verse 4, and a part of the daily prayer life of a devout Jew, we find the Hebrew word “echad”, which is translated in English as “one”. But the word, echad, is in a semi-plural form. It represents a “composite unity”, a sum that is greater than its parts but is nothing without all its parts. The Father and the Son together are a “composite unity” who created (bara) the entire universe!

This concept of the Son being a composite unity with the father is further illustrated in the Gospel of John.

John 1:1-3 MKJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.

The richness of God’s word comes alive when we look a little deeper and come to understand it in its original language. When he comes to take us home, let Him find us in His house studying His words.

Figure 1

                                                                             Figure 2



שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan and Brenda Cathcart

The Hebrew Letter "א " Aleph

The Hebrew letter א, pronounced “aleph”, like all Hebrew letters holds a meaning in itself. The sages say that the letters contain spiritual lessons and that the Aleph holds a special place at the head of the Hebrew Alphabet. As the head, the Aleph is said to be the “father” of the letters. As a matter of fact, the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet form the word “אב”, pronounced “ab or av” which is Hebrew for “father”. The aleph is also the first letter in many of the names of God found in the Jewish scripture such as Elohim and El Shaddai, and as such, the letter aleph is said to represent God.

A cornerstone of Jewish theology is the “shema” found in Deuteronomy chapter 6. It says in part, “Hear O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is One!” According to Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, the letter Aleph, which represents God, is actually made up of three parts, or three of the other letters. It is made up of two yods (י) separated by a slanted vav(ו). The yod means “hand” and the vav mean “nail” or to “secure”. So in the three components of the aleph, you see a hand above, reaching down, a hand below, reaching up and a nail connecting the two.

Another interesting fact about the Hebrew alphabet is that, unlike English, the letters also represent numbers. The aleph is 1, the beit is 2, the gimel is 3 and so on. When we look at the three letters that make up the Aleph we find that they have a total numeric value of twenty six  ( yod + vav + yod  = 10+6+10=26 ). Then the logical question is, does the number 26 hold any significance?

The single most common name for God in the Hebrew scriptures is יהוה. It is referred to by the Greek term “tetragrammaton”, which means “the four letters”. This name of God which first appears in Genesis chapter two has troubled Bible translators for centuries. The Jewish sages have no pronunciation of this name. When speaking it in public, or reading the scriptures, they will most often substitute the term “HaShem”, which in Hebrew means “The Name”. There is no official translation of this name so in most English bibles beginning with the KJV, it has been translated as “LORD” in all capital letters. You may also find it translated as “Yahweh” and “Jehovah”. The fact is, nobody really knows how it is pronounced because Hebrew has no vowels in its written form and no pronunciation marks are given where the יהוה is written.

In proverbs 25:2 it says “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of Kings to search it out.” So let’s do a little searching and dig into a few interesting facts about this names of God and the letter Aleph. As shown above, the aleph has a numeric value of 1 or 26 when broken down to its component parts. In the name LORD or יהוה we also have a numeric value of 26. (yod + hey + vav + hey = 10+5+6+5=26). So here in a single letter, the Aleph, and in the most common name of God, found in scripture, יהוה, we find the number 26 in both cases.  But what about other names of God in the scriptures? Do they also add up to 26? No, but there is something much more interesting to be found in the text with regard to various names of God. We are going to look at the first five versus of the Bible in the original Hebrew. (see figure 2)

A shortened form of יהוה used in the Hebrew text is יה, pronounced “Yah” and the two most common other names are אל El, as in El Shaddai, and אלוהים Elohim. El has a numeric value of 31, and Elohim is 86 and Yah is 15. (see figure 1) Now look at figure 2 and find the 15th letter, the 26th letter, the 31st letter and the 86th letter. Remember Hebrew is read right to left. What do you find? In all cases we arrive at the letter Aleph! And as we learned from the sages, the Aleph represents God, the head or father. And you can add the Hebrew word for father, אב, to the list. אב has a numeric value of 3 and the third letter of the text in Genesis is an Aleph.

In the original Hebrew text we find many such mysteries beyond our imagination. The LORD, יהוה has given us such richness in His word, the perfect embodiment of Himself. Remember the Gospel of John chapter 1 verse 1: MKJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME , Numeric Value

יה Yah, 10+5=15 The 15th letter of the Torah is א

יהוה LORD 10+5+6+5=26 The 26th letter of the Torah is א

אל El 1+30=31 The 31st letter of the Torah is א

אלוהים Elohim 1+30+5+10+40=86 The 86th letter of the Torah is א

אב av 1+2=3 The 3rd letter of the Torah is א

                                         (Figure 1)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 2

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The Dilemma of Terrorism

In 1987, author Tom Clancy published a novel titled “Patriot Games”.  It was a story about an ex Marine who witnesses and ultimately thwarts an attempted abduction of a prominent member of the English Royal family by a renegade wing of the Irish Republican Army, ie: terrorists.  In the book, Clancy makes an interesting observation about terrorists and alludes to the reason why they are difficult at best to fight in today’s political realities.  Although written 23 years ago and before our current conflict with terrorists, the words jumped out at me as if written just last week.

From Clancy’s novel:

“They can fight their kind of war, but we can’t recognize it as such without giving up something our society needs.  If we treat terrorists as politically motivated activists, we give them an honor they don’t deserve.  If we treat them as soldiers, and kill them as such, we both give them legitimacy and violate our own laws…  The pure elegance of the concept is stunning.  Terrorists can fight a war and be protected by the diplomatic processes of their enemy.  If those processes were obviated, the terrorists would win additional political support, but so long as those processes were not obviated, it is extremely difficult for them to lose.  They hold a society hostage against itself and its most important precepts, daring it to change.  They move around at will, taking advantage of the freedoms that define a democratic state, and get all the support they need from a nation state with which we are unable or unwilling to deal effectively.” *

On the international level, terrorism is a form of war that does not interrupt normal diplomatic relations between nations.  Here in the US, terrorism is treated as a crime and not an act of war.  Terrorists are “arrested” and put on trial in civilian courts and given “rights” under the civil proceedings and the Constitution.  This is done even if the terrorist is captured on a battlefield in a foreign country such as Iraq or Afghanistan by our military forces, but especially if captured here in the US.  Take the Times Square bomber as a case in point.

I would define the dilemma as follows:  We are well prepared to fight the “last war”.  We have built our international relationships based on the lessons learned during the last century of warfare.  The Geneva Convention, as well as the United Nations, is the culmination of two world wars and numerous regional conflicts of the 20th century.  We have an intimate understanding of the “rules” of modern warfare and have signed an international treaty agreeing to abide by them even if our enemies do not.  We have out grown the concept of a war waged on religious or purely ideological grounds, leaving such thing to the dark ages of Europe, believing they have no place in a modern society.  Yet our current adversary persists in waging a religious based conflict.

Built into our constitution and case law are the things our society needs, things that lift us up as individuals and as communities.  Freedoms and liberties, unprecedented in human history, have contributed to a society where the rights of each individual are held to high regard.  Liberties that we recognize as God given are now spelled out in our Bill of Rights for the world to see.  These liberties as practiced in a free state are unique in all of human history.

We have no means in our domestic or international law to deal effectively with terrorists groups capable of wrecking havoc on a level previously limited to states.  Terrorist organizations do not have geographic borders.  They do not issue passports to their “citizens”.  They do not have a standing army in uniform.  They do not have any form of commonly recognizable government.  For these reasons and others, we are incapable of fighting them with any expectation of success so long as we stick with our present methods and abide by our current systems of international diplomacy and cooperation.

Terrorist organizations and renegade states, states who would otherwise directly challenge and attack other states for their own selfish reasons and ambitions of their perhaps psychopathic leaders, have learned the important lesson of working hand in hand to exploit the short comings of our Western democracies.  They have learned to effectively use our very liberties against us.  Their leaders are not elected.  They can not be voted out of office or their terms of office are not constitutionally limited.  They are experts in manipulation of a willing western free press to guide public opinion to their cause.  They have filled up our institutions of higher education and learned how our liberties work.  They have recruited sympathy among students and faculty.  They understand our constitutional freedoms better than we do and have learned to use them and our democratic process against us.  They have learned from our own history that we do not tolerate a protracted conflict and absolutely will not abide many casualties on our side as in Vietnam where we won every battle, but lost the war because of public opinion and a hostile press.  They see us as weak and decadent compared to their culture, and on their religious level, worthy of elimination.

We must find a way to work around our current, antiquated and inadequate world diplomatic system to beat an enemy that is operating outside of the “rules” we were so careful to put in place in the last century. We were attacked on September 11th 2001 in much the same way we were on December 7th 1941. But this new enemy comes from many nations, doesn’t wear uniforms or have one acknowledged leader. So how do we fight this enemy and stay within our current political boundaries?  That is the dilemma.  How can we win without fighting on their terms at least to some extent?  Our constitution is not a “suicide pact”.  It was never intended to protect an enemy of our American values and founding principles.  It was designed to grant the individual citizen rights and liberties never before experienced in human history.  An enemy on the battlefield has no rights under our constitution, especially one captured on a foreign battlefield.  We must find a way to declare war on an enemy that is not defined by geographic borders, because this enemy has already declared war on us.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

* Patriot Games.  Pages 337-338, Berkley Novel paperback Copyright 1987 Jack Ryan Enterprises, LTD.

The land called Palestine

The land that the Arabs call Palestine has for most of recorded history been controlled by outside interests. In ancient times this land was an important crossroads in international commerce. It has been fought over more times in history that most of us can count. The “modern” conflict took shape in the late 1800’s. Then in the aftermath of WW1 and the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, the balance of power in the Middle East took a dramatic turn.

The Ottoman Empire stood for nearly 700 years from 1299 to 1922. After WW1, England took over all that area, because they had won the war, and called it “Palestine” just as the Romans did 2000 years earlier. It included all of what is now Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Iran. A big area. The Jewish people who lived IN THE LAND petitioned England for a Jewish state. England agreed but later reneged on the agreement at the request of the Arabs. (See the Balfour Declarations of 1917 and 1926 and pay careful attention to the land area set aside for the Jewish state)  None of the people in the region, with the exception of the Jews, had at any time, since the Hasmonean dynasty (140-37 BCE) experienced self-rule. Before that brief period following the Maccabean revolt, one must look all the way back to the Assyrian Empire (20th to 10th centuries BCE) to find self rule in the region by anyone other than the Jewish people.

In case you think England had no right to make such decisions, remember this was conquered territory as a result of a defensive war. The result of WW1 left a large amount of territory in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in the hands of the victors. Following this war, the nations of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and several others were determined in Europe by the League of Nations. None of these countries existed prior to WW1. England maintained control of the Arab territories under their colonial authority.

Again, after WW2, the promise was made to give the Jews a state in "Palestine" when the territories were being divided up. This is when the current nations of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were formed. THEY DID NOT EXIST PRIOR TO WW2! These are all Arab states formed from the region the English called Palestine. The Jewish people had always had a broad population throughout the region with their primary center in what is now Iraq (old Babylon) and had suffered persecution there as they had everywhere else. They asked for the land of Israel, their original ancestral home land for two thousand years before the exile to Assyria and Babylon, as a modern home land. The land of Israel was sparsely populated at the time and there were very few Arabs to displace. Read Mark Twain's account of visiting Israel in the 1920's! It was only AFTER the Jews were granted the territory by the United Nations in 1947 that the Arabs moved in in any significant numbers.

The Arabs were given 5 states in the land of Palestine and the Jews were given one very small portion of land that was pretty much desolate. The entire nation is about the size of New Jersey! Until the 6-day war of June 1967, when Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt attacked Israel, those people living in the Gaza area and east of Jerusalem and the area that became known as the West Bank, held Egyptian and Jordanian passports. They were and are Egyptians and Jordanians by birth and not "Palestinians." The term “Palestinian” was not coined until after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

The land that was captured was done so in a defensive war; Israel was the one attacked. By all international standards, territory captured in a defensive action belongs to the nation defending itself. By the way, in all of recorded history, England and the United States are the only countries to EVER give back territory won in a defensive war. The US returned Germany and Japan in 1949 to the native people to form their new countries. Second, this area is critical to Israel's continued self defense. The area is the "high ground" which overlooks all of Israel (about the size of New Jersey, remember?). If hostile forces had possession of the high ground, they could and would bomb any and all parts of Israel at their leisure. As they do now from the Gaza strip into the towns and farms of the Western Negev. There would be no safety anywhere in Israel. It would be certain suicide if Israel were to give up the so-called West Bank. This is exactly what the Arabs actually want; not an independent state, but access to the mountains where they can once again lob missiles into any part of Israel and launch invasion forces. Notice that they are using world opinion and pushing for and gaining a certain amount of autonomy in the West Bank. This gives them the foot hold of the high ground that they really want.

The terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah have refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and do not recognize it as a legitimate country. They refer to the State of Israel as “occupied Palestine” and have vowed publicly over and over to “kill every Jew” in this “occupied” land. When they publicly chant and shout “free Palestine”, they are speaking not of the West Bank and Gaza, but of all of Israel! Three times since Israel was reestablished as a state in 1948, the Arab countries have waged an all out war to annihilate the Jewish people. Three times they have lost in dramatic fashion! Now they have changed their tactics. Now they work through a fabricated proxy people called the “Palestinians” who were, so recently, Egyptians and Jordanians. They hide behind and abuse their own people with a propaganda machine that would make Adolph Hitler green with envy. And the ignorant Western press and cowardly Western political leaders have bought into the whole thing because, for numerous reasons, God forbid they should insult or tic-off the Arabs.

Israel is a declared state just as ALL of the modern Arabs states are. We must not be ignorant of 20th century history. Israel is in its historic land. There is NO history of Arab autonomy in Palestine. There is NO mention of Jerusalem in the Koran. By any standard, modern or ancient, take your pick, Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state right where it is! Israel will not, and should not be forced to, “commit suicide” by giving back land that is rightfully theirs by any universally applied international standard.

שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The Wings of His Garment: Numbers 15:37-41

By Dan Cathcart

When we pray, many of us put on the talit and many of us wear the tzitzit as commanded in Numbers 15:37-40.  This has been an important part of Jewish tradition for millennia, since the time of the exodus and the giving of the Torah.  It is a tradition that has been lost in the Christian community for centuries and, I think should be reintroduced.

The talit and the tzitzit were a major part of the life of Jesus (Yeshua).  Remember the story of the woman with the issue of blood healed by touching the hem of His garment.

Mark 5:25-29 MKJV 25 And a certain woman who had had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and had not been bettered any, but rather came to worse, 27 having heard about Jesus, she came in the press behind and touched His garment. 28 For she said, if I may but touch only His clothes, I will be cured. 29 And instantly the fountain of her blood dried up. And she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

The woman knew that if she touched his clothes she would be healed.  But there was a specific type of outer garment that Yeshua wore, and a specific part of that garment that she touched.  Jewish men, Yeshua being among them, would have worn a long, four cornered garment called a talit.  It was wrapped about the shoulders and draped down below the knees near the ground.  On its outer edges were fringes and in the corners were tassels called in Hebrew tsiytsith (tzitzit.)

Numbers 15:37-41 NIV 37 The LORD said to Moses, 38 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.'"

The English word “tassels” in this passage is the Hebrew word tzitzit:

From the Strong’s Concordance and Dictionary  #6734.  tsiytsith,  tsee-tseeth'   feminine of #6731; a floral or wing-like projection, i.e. a forelock of hair, a tassel:--fringe, lock.

Although the Bible only describes the Tzitzit as containing one blue cord, saying nothing about other colors or how to tie it, Jewish tradition has them as consisting of 3 cords of white and 1 blue.  This is the part of Yeshua garment that the woman would have touched.  This is important because she would have been very familiar with the messianic scriptures (especially those of the prophet Malachi) concerning the healing abilities of the Messiah.

Malachi 4:2 MKJV 2 But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, and healing will be on His wings…

The Messiah would have the characteristic of “healing in His wings”.  Another word used in the Numbers passage above is “corners”.  Some English translations use fringes or borders.  This is translated from the Hebrew word “kanaph”

#3671.  kanaph,  kaw-nawf' from #3670; an edge or extremity; specifically (of a bird or army) a wing, (of a garment or bed-clothing) a flap, (of the earth) a quarter, (of a building) a pinnacle:--+ bird, border, corner, end, feather(-ed), X flying, + (one an-)other, overspreading, X quarters, skirt, X sort, uttermost part, wing((-ed)).

The word kanaph means the wings of a garment, which are the corners, and the commandment in Numbers 15 was to place the tzitzit at the corners of the talit.  The woman would have understood that Messiah had “healing in His wings” because of the Malichi passage and the place she would have touched was the corner or kanaph, specifically the tzitzit on His talit.

In Matthew 9:21 it records what the woman said:

Matthew 9:21 NKJV 21 For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."

This adds further meaning to Yeshua’s statement in the following verse:

Matthew 9:22 NKJV 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.

By touching the corner, tassel or tzitzit, the woman was asserting not only faith that by doing so she could be healed, but that the faith that healed her was faith in the Messiah!

We believers can choose to wear the talit with the tassels or tzitzit as a visible reminder of our Messiah who is now seated at the right hand of God.  The tzitzit reminds us to remember Yeshua’s commands and do them, as well as to live a holy life.

John 14:15 NKJV 15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Numbers 15:39 NKJV 39 "And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

1 Peter 1:13-16 NKJV 13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

The tzitzit are a beautiful picture of Messiah.  And reminds us that it is in His wings that we are healed.


שלום ברוך
Shalom and Be Blessed