Torah Pearls #36 – Beha’alotecha (Numbers 8:1-12:16)

The second time around was for the people who, for whatever the reason couldn’t make it to the temple. Yehovah bless.

Num 8:7
And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves.
Num 8:10
When you present the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites,
Two things struck me about these verses;

1. The dedication of the Levites is very similar to the consecration of the Nazerite with the razoring the hair.
2. the people laying on of their hands seems much more related to placing the community of sins upon the Levites such as the scapegoat and the bull on their sin offering.

Lev 16:21 &
Num 8:12
Then the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

A shout out to Keith Nehemia and Jonah. Yet another action packed exciting episode! So many Pearls but I would like to comment on one that stood out to me. Caleb was not a descendant of Jacob. He was for lack of a better term a “convert” yet enjoyed all the privileges of an Israelite! As a non descendant myself this gives me great joy! Caleb held a position of great respect within the assembly and inherited along with the other tribes in the promised land. And so shall we that co-labor in Yehovah’s Kingdom!

I thank our Father in heaven for this programme. This is definitely one of my favourite episodes so far.

Psalms chapter 2. This is about the Anointed One.

Arise Yhvh scatter your enemies, make those who hate you flee from you…

Nehemia, Keith and Jonah, the reason they referred to the Ark as Yhvh, is because Yehovah is Torah(The book of Nehemiah 8:9 …for you(Yehovah are righteous(“just”)(Strongs Hebrew Dictionary: 6662, tsaddiyq); 6663 tsadaq) and Romans 7:12.

To Ben Hofer. I think our problem today is that we are celebrating feasts that are disconnected from they biblical roots(I mean we people who are Jews). Those dates were not set because of any major impediment. Those who came up with the idea didn’t want the gentile church to know the root and significance of the feast. So it’s more a ritual that true celebration. I believe that people in chronicles were over joyed to have rediscover the instructions of the Almighty that they give themselves extra days or may be there is another reason. That is not our case today. I heard about the second month celebration of Passover in Israel in our time. I don’t know if it was for people who couldn’t do it the first time. I just want to believe that if we don’t have certain circumstances that force us to stick strictly to the period, an extra time to celebrate together the goodness of the Father wouldn’t be a problem for Him. We have heard that He didn’t punish people for certain things. He is compassionate Father. Shalom

I prefer the sound of the Shofar, I mean aesthetically, comparing it to the church bells ringing at 4.00 or 5.00 a.m; or comparing it to the songs of the mosques at 3.00 or 4.00 a.m.
I pray the day of the public shofar blowing comes soon! I pray that the day when all the altars and the false ‘high places’ of Jerusalem will fall, shall come in our lifetime!

Thank you so much for all you’ve done in this! What a blessing! Love all three of you! Debra

Just listened to this Torah Pearls and this spoke to me:

“what would you rather do – stay in the good spot when the cloud isn’t there, or move with the cloud?”

It always seems so attractive to stay in the “good spot”, but the best place to be is in the middle of the cloud even if you’re flying blind until you get there.

Hmm. After nearly 40 years of never being taken off, those must have some really smelly robes!

I agree with your information about those who are given leadership are to serve. I have come out the modern view, even of Torah Keeping groups, that the “church” is from the top down, and it goes down from there. I have found that this contradicts Ephesians 2: 19-20. The Greek word “foundation” there means “substructure” which is about what holds up the fellowship up. A modern view is that the fellowship holds up the ministry, but that is not what Ephesians 2:19-20 says.

Praise Yehovah! <3

2 Chron 30
They celebrated both the Passover as well as the 7 day feast for 14 days.
These people decided to celebrate the feast not just Passover a month late when the instruction was only for the Passover not the feast which followed. They then decided to keep it an extra 7 days. The Israelite’s made this determination on their own ,clearly going against scriptural instruction yet they were not condemned.
In light of the different ways in which the calendar is determined,how do we see this chapter. How does God see us in our festival observance which in effect has different people keeping the feasts on different days and in some cases different months. What is Gods take on all of this and what does He value.
Is this intended to be instructive for us today?

I am looking for some light to be shed on the proper interpretation of the very end of Numbers 11:25.

I pulled the examples below from Bible Hub for the parallel translations and

In Young’s Literal, KJV (incl. NKMV, KJV2000, etc.), Douay-Rheims (precursor to KJV and largely a translation of the Vulgate), Jubilee Bible 2000, etc. the passage says that the 2 men prophesied and “did not cease”.

In JPS, NIV, NASB, NLT, NET, etc., the wording is (a variant of) “but they never did it again.”

Below is BH’s interlinear presentation, with Strong’s reference #’s and the Hebrew text taken from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.
——————
5012 [e]
way·yiṯ·nab·bə·’ū
וַיִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וּ
and they prophesied
Verb

3808 [e]
wə·lō
וְלֹ֥א
but not
Adv

3254 [e]
yā·sā·p̄ū.
יָסָֽפוּ׃
did so again
Verb
——————

The Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament (IHOT) disagrees, giving “did not cease”.

Not being a Hebrew reader, I usually try to resolve differences in the English by first comparing YLT and JPS1917. In this case, they give 100% opposite.meanings.

The problem here seems to be the word יָסָֽפוּ׃ , or yâsaph. BDB defines this as “to add” or “to do again”, “to continue”, etc. In fact, the KJV adheres to that general definition everywhere, it seems, except in Numbers 11:25. I could chalk that up to a mistranslation in the Vulgate or Douay Rheims, etc. that got carried over into the KJV, BUT … I also found references to Rashi and “the Targum” rendering this phrase as “did not cease”.

Can someone, anyone, bring some clarity to this mud?

I am not aware of any reference to Passover being observed again until after entering the land under Joshua. If it is there, it is well hidden (well, from me, at least, but maybe I just missed it).

It seems to me that if they had continued observing the Passover, it would have caused a big problem, though, as ever year more and more eligible (circumcised) men would die off, so that fewer and fewer would be able to participate. The younger men/boys would certainly notice the dwindling, and probably ask why they were not allowed to participate. Upon receiving the answer, they would at least have to weigh the cost of obedience and disobedience, and I would imagine that some would want to be circumcised so that they could participate.

They are getting ready to enter the land ..it was only a matter of days journey, that took 40 years
As a result of Unbelief!

This portion indicated the Passover was observed for its 2nd time. Is there reference to it being observed again before arriving at the Promised Land? Why was it necessary for the people to be circumcised in the Promised Land if they had been observing Passover every year of the 40 years?

Hello, Nehemia, this is a bit of a tangent, but I’ve wondered about this for a while. I refer to the argument that Hebrew word puns found in the Greek new testament texts are evidence that the original language of Matthew’s book was Hebrew. But why, if a clever Hebrew-fluent translator was working with a Greek original text, would he/she not recognize the opportunity for a Hebrew word pun, and simply translate it that way?

I would like to think that the original language was Hebrew, but I just don’t understand why this is considered such strong evidence. I am not a professional translator but I think that if I could choose legitimate words in my translation that would also serve to draw in native readers of my translation, I would choose that option.

Aaron was not stricken with leprosy because he had the annointing and wore the high priest robes. The moment Aaron took off the robes, he died.

Nehemia, on Numbers 10:1, two silver trumpets: In the word trumpets there are two tzadis and a vav. It seems this is the only time the word “trumpets” has a vav. Is this true (the only time)? Could it possibly mean a reference to the second Exodus, and Moshe will be one of the two witnesses (with Elijah) who will blow the trumpet during that time?

James, this is exactly what popped into my mind when I read what Nehemia wrote… ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. One thing’s for certain, the word of Yehovah is sure and He does not change. He is gracious, ‘His arm is not shortened that it cannot save’. His will is that ‘all shall come to the knowledge of the truth’, everything in it’s time. We can each only respond to His call and walk in the understanding He gives us. Hallelujah!

Actually, the rabbis claim that when the high priest with the Urim and Thumim or any prophet appears in the future, they will not be able to overrid”e a single letter of rabbinical rulings. If God Himself told the rabbis they were wrong about their interpretations, they would ignore Him.”

Actually that’s what happened when John the Baptist and Yeshua showed up.

Nehemia’s comments @ about 30 min. are very relevant but also relate to the revelation of the Way (Ex.18:20, 32:8, 33:13, Deut.28:19), an ongoing process.

Jono’s comments about goats lead me to ask what he believes about kosher slaughter methods. I am not aware of records that teach us about slaughter methods employed by early goyim followers of Yeshua, but it seems logical they were in line with halaal methods, halaal being a lesser form of kosher. I believe there are different kosher methods of slaughter, just to further confuse the issue. Does Jono pronounce the most sacred name @ the time of slaughter? The Torah only seems to denounce one portion of an animal as being non-kosher.

PRAISE YAHSHUA ALL,

i PRAISE AND WORSHIP YAHSHUA FOR THE TEACHINGS. i HAVE ASKED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS AND HAVE HAD NO REPLY. i REALISE THAT IT IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO ANSWER ALL, BUT THERE IS NO HARM IN TRYING AGAIN.
1) PLEASE COULD YOU INFORM ME WHERE i CAN OBTAIN THE HEBREW/ENGLISH SCRIPTURES THAT NEHEMIA READS FROM. IF IT IS NOT A HEBREW/ENGLISH , FIRSTLY IS THERE A GOOD ONE, (ONE WITHOUT RABBINICAL OR MANS DOCTRINE OR AGENDA INCLUDED) WHAT IS IT CALLED AND WHERE COULD i GET ONE.
2) SECONDLY i WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A COURSE TO LEARN HEBREW.PLEASE ADVISE ME WHAT AND WHERE TO LEARN i HAVE AN OFFER TO LEARN FROM E-TEACHER BIBLICAL BUT FEAR THAT IT MAY BE LACED WITH RABBINICAL TEACHINGS. SECONDLY IS IT BETTER TO LEARN THE BIBLICSL OR MODERN HEBREW. IN OTHER WORDS i WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND STUDY IN HEBREW, COULD YOU PLEASE ADVISE ME.

THE ISSUE WITH AAHRON. JUST WHAT WAS LAID ON MY HEART. WAS AAHRONS PUNISHMENT NOT MAYBE THE FACT THAT SHE/MIRIAM DID NOT HAVE TO SHOW HERSELF TO HIM/AAHRON BEING THE HIGH PRIEST AFTER SEVEN DAYS BEFORE ENTERING THE CAMP? JUST A THOUGHT.

LOVE IN YAHSHUA.

Here are some Karaite questions:

If Moses had an Ethiopian princess as his first wife (Num. 12:1) then would he not have had children by her? Since Moses was a prince in Egypt and his wife an Ethiopian princess then the child would be an aristocrat, royal by birth. Would that child not be an Epher in the Egyptian language? Would that child not have been a leader amongst the Israelites?

These questions are taken from Kahana’s “A Karaite Reading Of Exodus” on Hubpages.

Nehemiah and Keith, l came to know of you both through the Rood Awakening Ministry. I thank Yehovah for blessing us with such Berean followers who continually search the scriptures and the Torah emet. I am encouraged and edified every time l listen, meditate and share on the great work of Ruach HaKadosh. Your personal journeys are strengthening people like me, who seek Yehovah to use us in the places where we are (where “churchianity” still goes on). I am made fun of for learning Hebrew, for observing the feasts of Yehovah, etc… Whatever, names l am called, listening to both your stories has fired me up, l know that l am not alone and that even though we are in the minority, we are on the winning team because Yehovah is on our side, who can be against us? Yeshua is my messiah. May Yehovah bless and keep you, may Yehovah cause his blessings to overflow in the divine encounters that are ahead of you. Coincidence is not Kosher, so every encounter is sent from above. Remember Yehovah orders the steps of his tsedek. I’m grateful for being grafted into the Branch. Brothers, keep on praying and doing the will of Avenu. Shalom Aleichem

A shout out to Keith and love and blessings to you all. Thank you so much for all of this. It is the first time I have listened and what a blessing. It was so good to learn with such knowledgable and good humoured teachers, thanks. May The Lord of all, Yehovah himself, bless you as you bless others. Thanks again.

Big shout out to bro Keith and thanks bro Jono & bro Nehemia for the blessing of Torah Pearls you bring us each Shabbat. Learning so much about YAH’s heart & mind behind the giving of Torah. As one who has joined Israel (been grafted in to the rich root of the olive tree – from the back of the book) it is so refreshing to hear the Word of YAH taught in simple, everyday language.
Every blessing to your ministries. Shalom

With re: Numbers 11, where the people are crying and whining, God is disgusted and Moses asks God to ‘just kill me’, this is a lesson on traveling with others. There is always a point during a tour or vacation when people stuck together have some serious contention with each other, and their dispute is generally irrational. Good lesson. Good thing to know when you are planning a tour.

Actually, the rabbis claim that when the high priest with the Urim and Thumim or any prophet appears in the future, they will not be able to override a single letter of rabbinical rulings. If God Himself told the rabbis they were wrong about their interpretations, they would ignore Him. In fact, if you believe the Talmud this very thing happened in the incident of the Oven of Achnai (Google it, or watch my video on the Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus). Ezra 2:61-63 referencing the High Priest with the Urim and Thumim is a direct contradiction of the rabbis’ claim to authority. I find it interesting that nowhere in all of the early rabbinical literature is there an attempt to explain the Ezra passage. They just ignored it because it didn’t fit.

Shout out to Keith and smiles to Jono and Nehemia. Thank you all! First time I listened and enjoyed it so much that I invited others to listen along with me.

Enjoying the program very much. Torah Pearls for sure.

I really enjoyed the discussion. I would like a more in-depth discussion by Nehemiah on 9:4. I really appreciate discussing the practical outworking of this from Chronicles. When I say a more in depth discussion I am specifically asking for a response to the rabbis using this as an internal Torah reference to the oral law. Your line of reasoning during the the discussion tied in the priestly use of the thumen when there appeared a situation that was not clearly delineated in the written Torah.since we obviously do not have a Cohen with his tools to ask these fine points of law the rabbis see this as evidence for the existence of the oral law? Thanks ishie

Wonderful Shabbat study after morning Torah study at church.
Many new notes added to my Bible!
Thanks guys

Todah rabah for this teaching, i have waited a long time to find someone who will not only share their insights but also discuss Scripture with others! I learned much today in this portion that I had not gleaned before. This is a Shabbat blessing to me.

Blessed Shabat and Shavuot!

Hey guys I’ve been listening for a couple years even though, at one point, you thought you were entertaining the thought to separate. Just want to say I am blessed as are we all that listen. I love the banter and friendship speak. Believe it or, not you three share much through this. Kieth (!) A shout out ! To Jono, and Nehemiah. Thank you guys for all you do. Yolanda

In the sacrificial system – a ‘heave’ offering seems to be rightly named. A hind quarter of a bull would weigh a lot, whereas a goat or a lamb would be very light. Talk about ‘weight training’ for the Levites, 25-3o years of age – learning how to lift as in weight lifting – technique is a must.

Great program, Acts 6.3 Seven men selected by the people and appointed by the Apostles..In the Worldwide Church of God-Pasadena HQ the sequence was – Local elder – preaching elder – pastor – evangelist. Some started as deacon.