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Torah Yesterday
Saturday, Jan 21 2012 notes on past portions
Torah Yesterday
Sat. Jan 21, 2012
Portions:
Torah: Exodus 6
Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21
New Testament: Romans 9:14:24
I sat down at the shul and read Chapter 9 of Romans. I don't like the cookie cutting that is done every Shabbat to the New Testament portion. Romans 9 is another marvelous passage that distinguishes between Jew and Gentile in the Body of Messiah. That is, if you have ears to hear.
Exodus 6 is likewise a wonderful passage. In it we are told the name of Elohim: Yahweh. This is from the tetragrammaton YHVH or yahd-hey-vahv-hey. There is of course much discussion as to the correct pronunciation of the tetragrammaton. No one knows for certain. But "Yahweh" is fairly close. I feel that if you spell it out you are on the mark. You MAY argue that Yahweh is the correct pronunciation of the tetragramatton but you can not argue the same with "Hashem".
Exodus 6
Exd 6:2
And Elohim spake unto Moses,
and said unto him, I am YHVH/Yahweh:
Exd 6:3 and I appeared
unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as El
Shadai; but by my name YHVH/Yahweh I was not
known to them.
Exd 6:4 And I have also
established my covenant with them, to give them the
land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings,
wherein they sojourned.
Exd 6:5 And moreover I
have heard the groaning of the children of Israel,
whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have
remembered my covenant.
Exd 6:6 Wherefore say
unto the children of Israel, I am YHVH/Yahweh,
and I will bring you out from under the burdens of
the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their
bondage, and
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm,
and with great judgments:
[note:
"I will
redeem you with an outstretched arm" -
the Hebrew here
is fascinating.
It depicts the redeeming
uplifted Aleph-Tahv -yahd/hand of Yahweh the
crucified YESHUA/JESUS in the future giving the
land to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Israel the people.
I YHVH/Yahweh will (future)do"
If you are looking, and have eyes to see, and ears to hear, this is a place in the Old Testament that says Jesus is Jehovah/ Yeshua is YHVH. Note that this yahd/hand is the same that "covered" Moses in the cleft of the Rock.
This may seem somewhat complicated, but the Rock that went with Israel in the wilderness was Messiah/Christ - this we are told in the New Testament in
1Corinthians 10:4 "and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ."
Now, like then, many miss the mark (sign, cross) and do not see Jehovah Jesus/ Yahweh Yeshua. To them, even if they say Jehovah Jesus/ Yahweh Yeshua, they make him a lesser or little god. Kind of like the Roman Catholics do! In the next verse the Word of Yahweh says:
1Corinthians 10:5 :"Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness."
Remember, they made themselves (vanity) another substitute god in the wilderness. I see a similarity in substituting "Hashem" for YHVH. ]
- Just sayin'. -
Exd
6:7 and I will take you to me
for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye
shall know that I am YHVH/Yahweh your Elohim,
who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians.
Exd 6:8 And I will
bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it
you for a heritage: I am YHVH/Yahweh.
This beautiful passage explains that YHVH/Yahweh personally appeared and did things for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Israel. The ability to see this personal relationship here in this translation helps us understand and see the same relationship later, in the New Testament.
That said, unfortunately the bible used for the
reading of this portion at the shul was the usual,
the Stone Tanakh.
Stone Tanakh version:
Bear in mind that "Hashem" is a transliterated Hebrew word that means "the name".
Exd 6:2
God spoke to Moses and said to
him, "I am Hashem.
Exd 6:3
I appeared to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob as El shaddai, but with My
Name Hashem I did not make Myself known to them.
Exd 6:4
Moreover, I established My
covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan,
the land of their sojourning, in which they
sojourned.
Exd 6:5
Moreover, I have heard the
groan of the Children of Israel whom Egypt enslaves
and I have remembered My covenant.
Exd 6:6
Therefore, say to the Children
of Israel: 'I am Hashem, and I shall take you
out from under the burdens of Egypt: I shall rescue
you from their service; I shall redeem you with an
outstretched arm and with great judgments.
Exd 6:7I shall take you
to Me for a people and I shall be a God to you; and
you shall know that I am Hashem your God, Who
takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
Exd 6:8
I shall bring you to the land
about which I raised My hand to give it to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob; and I shall give it to you as a
heritage - I am Hashem'."
So ridiculous is this translation that my wife and I laughed outloud when vs. 2 & 3 were read. We are not laughing at any person, but at the silliness that comes from the use of "Hashem" in this case.
The Stone Tanakh thus presents vs. 2&3 as such: "I am the name. But by my name, the name, I did not make myself known."
Again, this does not make sense. ( I discussed this with the shul Rebbe, and he agrees to that point. There is no animosity here - we both see a sort of humor in certain aspects of "TRADITION!!!" However, this use of "Hashem" presents a serious stumbling block for some at the shul.)
Please note that the Hebrew text does not contain "Hashem" in these verses. This is man-made nonsense, not the Word of Elohim/God. (At this point at the shul on this shabbat I closed my books (Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament, New Testament Greek-English interlinear, KJV Bible, and Septuagint) as it was obvious we were not going to study the Word.)
The Stone Tanach SUBSTITUTES "Hashem" for the holy name of Elohim - which is Yahweh/YHVH. This is a carry over from the vain "orthodox" Jewish practice of using this word because they say, in effect: "no one knows how to correctly pronounce the name, so we have made up a name to call God, that we absolutely know is 100% wrong, and this is better than doing the best we can."
Of course, that does not make sense. Hence, the term "nonsense" fits well here. This is also vanity (man naming Elohim).More on this taking of God's name in vain later. In other words, they decided Yahweh was not smart enough or capable of - through the Holy Spirit or in any way - preserving and presenting His Word to MAN, and thus MAN (Rabbis) had to do it for Him. I wonder if this approaches something near blasphemy or idolatry. Think that's too harsh? Read on and see what Yahweh says.
Please take a moment to read this thought provoking article:
www.restorersofzion.org/Annoying_Shofar.doc
then consider the following:
Beginning of discussion:
"Who ARE You?!" they cried.
THE WORD OF YAHWEH ANSWERS:
* Exodus 3:15
And Elohim said moreover to
Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of
Israel,
Yahweh
Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the
Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent
me to you: this [is]
my name for ever,
and this [is] my
memorial to all generations.
Exodus 6:3 And I
appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by [the
name of] Elohim Almighty, but
by my name Yahweh
was I not known to them?
Exodus 15:3 Yahweh
[is] a man of war:
Yahweh [is] his name.
1Kings 8:42 (For
they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong
hand, and of thy outstretched arm;) when he shall
come and pray toward this house;
1Kings 18:24 And
call ye on the name of your elohim, and
I will call on the name of
Yahweh: and the
Elohim that answereth by fire, let him be Elohim.
And all the people answered and said, It is well
spoken. {It is...: Heb. The word is good}
Psalms 20:1 <>
Yahweh
hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the Elohim of
Jacob defend thee;
{defend...: Heb. set thee on an high place}
Psalms 54:1 Save
me, O Elohim, by thy name, and judge me by thy
strength.
Isaiah 18:7 In
that time shall the present be brought to Yahweh of
hosts of a people scattered and stripped, and from a
people terrible from their beginning to this time; a
nation measured by line and trodden under foot,
whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of
the name of Yahweh
of hosts, the mount
Zion.
Isaiah 30:27 Behold,
the name of Yahweh
cometh from far,
burning [with] his anger, and the burden [of it is]
heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his
tongue as a devouring fire:
Isaiah 42:8 I
[am] Yahweh: that [is] my name:
and my glory will I
not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
Isaiah 47:4
[As for] our redeemer, Yahweh of hosts [is] his
name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 48:2 For
they call themselves of the holy city, and stay
themselves upon the Elohim of Israel; Yahweh
of hosts [is] his name.
Jeremiah 32:18 Thou
showest lovingkindness to thousands, and
recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the
bosom of their children after them: the Great, the
Mighty Elohim,
Yahweh of hosts, [is] his name,
Jeremiah 33:2 Thus
saith Yahweh the
maker of this,
Yahweh that formed
it, to establish it;
Yahweh [is] his name;
Jeremiah 44:26 Therefore
hear ye the word of
Yahweh, all Judah
that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold,
I have sworn by my great
name, saith Yahweh, that my name shall no more be
named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the
land of Egypt, saying, Yahweh Elohim liveth.
Jeremiah 49:13 For
I have sworn by
myself, saith Yahweh,
that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a
waste, and a curse; and all her cities shall be
perpetual wastes.
Ezekiel 43:8 In
their setting of their threshold by my thresholds,
and their post by my posts, and the wall between me
and them, they have
even defiled my holy name
by their abominations that
they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them
in my anger. {and the...: or, for there was but a
wall between me and them}
[Think about this
"they have
even defiled my holy name"
Is/can this apply in the
context of changing YHVH/Yahweh to "Hashem"?]
Amos 5:27 Therefore
I will cause you to go into captivity beyond
Damascus, saith
Yahweh, whose name [is] The Elohim of hosts.
Zechariah 14:9 And
Yahweh shall be king
over all the earth:
in that day shall
there be one Yahweh, and his name one.
"But Hashem, we have called on you daily!"
"HASHEM IS NOT MY NAME."
THE WORD OF YAHWEH ANSWERS
: Isaiah 42:8 I [am] Yahweh: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Malachi 2:2 If
ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to
heart,
to give glory to my name,
saith Yahweh of hosts, I
will even send a curse upon you, and
I will curse your blessings:
yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not
lay [it] to heart.
Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of YHVH/Yahweh thy Elohim in vain; for YHVH/Yahweh will NOT hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
END OF DISCUSSION.
* [thanks to
http://www.eliyah.com/desgnate.html for
the list of the name of Yahweh.]
Jeremiah 9:
Jer 9:3 And they
bend their tongue, [as it were] their bow, for
falsehood; and they are grown strong in the
land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil
to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.
Jer 9:4 Take ye heed every one of his
neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every
brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor
will go about with slanders.
Jer 9:5 And they will deceive every one his
neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have
taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary
themselves to commit iniquity.
Jer 9:6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit;
through deceit they refuse to know me, saith
Jehovah.
Jer 9:7 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts,
Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how
[else] should I do, because of the daughter of my
people?
Jer 9:8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it
speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his
neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth
wait for him.
Jer 9:9 Shall I not visit them for these things?
saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on
such a nation as this?
Yes, Jehovah/Yahweh Jesus/Yeshua Christ/Messiah is coming...again.
Additionally, I would add that this lack of respect for the name of Yahweh, in through the vanity of the use of Hashem, yields a lack of understanding regarding whom Yeshua/Jesus is.
This is especially true when in combination with the extreme vain pursuit of "Hebrew roots" that leads to a denial of the inspiration of the Greek New Testament. This "losing the Greek", in spite of archeology, history, and extant texts (Note: The Septuagint alone is sufficient to illustrate that Greek is a huge part of Messianic Hebrew roots.) leads to a missing of the mark on whom Yeshua is by not seeing IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT TEXT that phrase which must be said: "Yahweh Yeshua".
I Corinthians.12v3 A Consistent Translation:
"On-this-account I-am-making-known to-YOU that not-one speaking in (the) Spirit of-God is-saying: Anathema Jesus, and not-one is-being-able to-say: Jehovah Jesus, unless in (the) Holy Spirit."
or better, I think:
...and not-one is-being-able to-say; Yahweh Yeshua, unless in (the) Holy Spirit.
διὸ γνωρίζω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ λαλῶν λέγει ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦς καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν κύριος Ἰησοῦς εἰ μὴ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ
"This can also be realized through the Greek text, utilizing the "premise (that) whenever Kurios is used in the singular, without the article in the New Testament, it stands for Jehovah- except the vocative kurie, which is a word of address." (quote from R.H.Mount's book, "Jehovah").
The Septuagint proves to be a gift from God, as comparison from its Greek translation of the Tetragrammaton to the New Testament Greek shows that Jesus is Jehovah/Yahweh.
We find this same Greek presentation of Yahweh Yeshua at least 17 times in the Greek text. Here are some of those uses:
ROM.10v9 That if you-might-confess with your mouth Jehovah Jesus, and you-might-trust in your heart that the God raised him out-of dead (ones), you-will-be-saved;
ROM.14v14 I-am-knowing-absolutely and I-have-been-and-still-am-persuaded in Jehovah Jesus that not-one-thing (is) common through itself; unless to-the (one) figuring something to-be common, to-that (one) (it-is) common.
I COR.8v6 BUT to-us one God the Father, out-of whom (are) the all-things and we with-reference-to him, and one Jehovah Jesus Messiah, through whom (are) the all-things and we through him.
I COR.12v3 On-this-account I-am-making-known to-YOU that not-one speaking in (the) Spirit of-God is-saying: Anathema Jesus, and not-one is-being-able to-say: Jehovah Jesus, unless in (the) Holy Spirit.
[note: only by revelation in the Holy Spirit can this be stated (believed)]
II COR.1v2 Favor to-YOU and peace from God our Father and Jehovah Jesus Messiah.
EPH.1v2 Favor to-YOU and peace from God our Father and (from) Jehovah Jesus Messiah.
EPH.6v23 Peace to-the brothers and charity with trust from God (the) Father and Jehovah Jesus Messiah.
PHIL.1v2 Favor to-YOU and peace from God our Father and Jehovah Jesus Messiah.
PHIL.2v19 But I-am-hoping in Jehovah Jesus to quickly send Timothy to-YOU, in-order-that I myself also might-be-of-good-soul having-come-to-know the (things) concerning YOU.
Jesus/Yeshua IS Jehovah/YHVH/Yahveh. Yeshua is not a lesser Yahweh. Yahweh is ECHAD. ONE. UNITY. (TRINITY!). We say his name Yeshua all the time, and this is good. EVEN BETTER is to say Yahweh Yeshua. Again:
ROM.10v9 That if you-might-confess with your mouth Jehovah Jesus, and you-might-trust in your heart that the God raised him out-of dead (ones), you-will-be-saved;
It is OK, even a commandment (Exodus 20:7), to say the name of Elohim, Yahweh/YHVH/YAH. Any substitution is a vain taking (reduction, removal) of the name of Elohim.
I don't have time to get to Romans 9, but briefly: vs 7-8 -alone -details at least 3 groups.
1. Israel, seed of Isaac
2. sons of flesh, the world's sons
3. sons of Abraham & heirs to a promise to him PRE LAW, Gentiles sons - see Eph 1:4 predestined Gentiles and Ro.9:11
and also of note:
Ro 9:29-33
Rom 9:29 And, as Isaiah hath
said before, Except Yahweh/YHVHof Sabaoth had left
us a seed, We had become as Sodom, and had been made
like unto Gomorrah.
Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the
Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness,
attained to righteousness, even the righteousness
which is of faith:
Rom 9:31 but Israel, following after a law of
righteousness, did not arrive at [that] law.
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because [they sought it] not
by faith, but as it were by works.
They stumbled at the stone of
stumbling;
Rom 9:33 even as it is written, Behold, I lay in
Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And
he that believeth on him shall
not be put to shame.
That Rock is Messiah. That Rock is Yahweh/Jehovah Yeshua/Jesus Messiah/Christ.
ONLY in the Holy Spirit can you have this faith.
May the peace this faith brings be your every Shabbat Shalom.
- ><((((º> -