LIGHT OF MENORAH

In this lesson we start our study of the exact words of the Lord's prayer.  This lesson will focus on the first two words, "Our Father." 

Is Jesus teaching something new?  Is Jesus bringing in a new idea?  Were the disciples of Jesus amazed at the start of the prayer when they heard the words, "Our Father?"

Again, we return to 24-30 A.D. - the time when Jesus was here as a rabbi, as a Torah teacher.  Torah does not mean law but instruction.  Jesus was teaching the Father's instruction and not laws.  That makes sense when you understand what Torah means and that all the had in Jesus' day was the Hebrew Scriptures that we call the Old Testament.  There is nothing OLD about it.  And, as we reconnect to those days we find that these two words, "Our Father," show that the Lord's Prayer that He gave to His disciple, and therefore to us, is a prayer coming out of a Jewish culture; we can therefore more fully appreciate the prayer when we understand its Jewish background and foundation.

I said I'd supply some links.  The links in this lesson are referenced below.

Dead Sea Scrolls Link 1 - https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/

The Tobit fragment - Link 2 - https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/search#q='4q200'

Gethsemane - Link 3 - https://www.facebook.com/lightofmenorah/videos/229720674906046/

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

Ferret near the ancient site of Bethel

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

In this 2nd lesson on the Lord's prayer we will focus on Jesus' specific guidelines He taught when we pray.  1st, go into your inner room.  Next, do not use meaningless repetition like the pagan Gentiles.  Are these instructions unique?  Is Jesus teaching us something that is different than praying as a religious Jewish person in His day?  Are these guidelines uniquely Christian?  NOPE.  Jesus is teaching and emphasizing what His disciples have been taught as they grew up in their hometown synagogue schools.  As we study this in its historical context we find we are dealing with things so common in the Hebrew culture of the 1st century, Jesus' day.  But, Jesus is emphasizing that prayer is not just going through the motions.  Jesus is teaching us this act of prayer is a big deal in that praying to the Father is talking to Him in a deeply personal, intimate, and private manner.  He is teaching us that concentrated and intentional prayer is a mark of a true disciple.

Again, in this session I mention a few resources.  I am providing the links to two of them.  The first is a link to the early Jewish Christian instruction booklet called the Didache (Greek for "teaching") written in the late 1st century.  It provides guidelines and instruction for living as a true disciple.  See "chapter 8" where we see that the Lord's Prayer is to be said three times per day to keep up the Jewish practice to prayer three times a day.  The second link is Ray Vander Laan's article on Rabbi and Talmid or Rabbi and Disciple.  The Lord's prayer has been given to His disciples since one of His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Knowing what a disciple is is important background for us to know the Lord's prayer and how it relates to us.

Link to the Didache - https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-lightfoot.html

Link to Ray's article on Rabbi and Talmid - https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/rabbi-and-talmidim

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

 

This is a NEW podcast series.  We will focus on the Lord's Prayer or what we sometimes call, "The Our Father."  There are 100's of excellent books from excellent scholars on this prayer.  What we will do is simply look at this prayer in its historical context.  And, God willing, this perspective will only add to the understanding we have of this prayer and prayer in general.  In this first session we ask why did Jesus give the disciples this prayer?  The Jewish people in Jesus' day were known as a praying people.  They had a set of prayers they prayed three times a day!  This was normative as relates to the Jewish culture of Jesus' day, 2nd Temple Judaism.  So why does Jesus add to their list of prayers?  As we reconnect to the culture the reason is explosive and only challenges us to also understand how this prayer relates to us in the 21st century.  

In this session I bring up various links to other resources.  Here's the links below.

Link 1 - Dr. Brad Young's videos on the Hebrew background of the Lord's prayer - https://www.bradyoung.org/index.php/videos/40-dr-young-s-youtube-links-on-god-s-learning-channel

Link 2 - Dr. Brad Young's scholarly work on the Jewish background of the Lord's prayer - click here to access all his books in the bookstore  

Link 3 - Dr. Brad Young's article on the Lord's prayer at "Jerusalem Perspective" - https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2229/

Link 4 - Ray Vander Laan's article on "Rabbi and Talmidim" - https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/rabbi-and-talmidim

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

It is amazing how God uses the major event in Judaism, the Exodus, to teach us what His ultimate redemption of all men and women will be like.  The Exodus stands alone as a major event in human history.  It is amazing that God chose one people to be His chosen people so that the world would come to know Him, the God of Abraham, the one God, the only God through Israel.   He didn't pick Israel because they were somehow better than every other people.  No.  Just the opposite.  They were a stubborn and stiff necked people and the Lord teaches them it is not that they are righteous that He is doing all this ...

"Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. "It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deu 9:4-5) 

And later in Isaiah 42:6 & 49:6 we learn that God has a purpose for Israel, His servant.  They are to bring His salvation (salvation in Hebrew is YESHUA יְשׁוּעָה or, in English, Jesus!) God will bring His Yeshua יְשׁוּעָה, His salvation, to the whole world through Israel.

The first redemption is the Exodus.  And God seems to teach all of us that to understand the ULTIMATE redemption we need to understand the Exodus.  If we understand the first we will understand the second; we will understand the Jesus and the Cross.  This became the major event in Christianity.  

So.  Let us dive in to the study of Exodus.  Let us ask how God brings us the Gospel and the Good News of the Kingdom to us via the pen of Moses.  Let us turn to study THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MOSES.

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret - near the ancient site of Bet El (Bethel) in Israel)

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - click here for the teacher's background

This is the 1st lesson in the Torah series for Christians on Genesis. This lesson provides the main goals of this unique Bible study. The emphasis is on the Bible in its historical context; it focuses on archaeology, geography, history, and the ancient culture and customs and even the languages of the Middle East.

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

 

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

In John 5:39 Jesus teaches that SCRIPTURE testifies of Himself.  It is easy to show He said this betwem 24-30 A.D. when all they had was the Hebrew Scriptures,  the Old Testament, Jesus' Bible.  Again and again in the series "The Gospel According to Moses" we have seen how key veerses of Genesis and Exodus do testify of Jesus, the coming Messiah.  Exodus chapter 40 is no exception.  It is so awesome how Exodus 40 testifies of Jesus but also shows the Exodus and God's rescue of His treasured people, the Hebrews, is part of the Lord's amazing redemption plan of all those made in His image - US!!  Jew and Gentile.  

It is critical that along with this video you also watch the video PASSOVER 6 - DID WE MISS SOMETHING.  Here's the link ...

https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/passover-lesson-6-did-we-miss-something-the-end-and-the-beginning-his-death-his-birth/

In this vidcast (video podcast) check out the critical information that is found in the comment section.  This video, along with the vidcast on Exodus 40, show that Messiah may have likely been born on Passover!  

This completes the lessons on Exodus.  There is a Jewish custom to recite the following when one completes a book of Torah.  

Pronounced ...

Ka Zack Ka Zack VayNeet Ka Zayk

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?

(John & Robin somewhere in the Middle East)

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

 

THE STORY OF JOSEPH - lesson 6

GOD'S PARADIGM OF SALVATION OF THE WORLD

 

In this podcast I overviewed the amazing dating of the Hebrew Bible by the great scholar Edwin Thiele.  I mentioned in the podcast that how did I come up with the date of 1916 B.C. for the year Joseph entered Egypt at age 17.  So, as promised, this rest of this article is to give more detail on Edwin Thiele’s work and how we get to these dates.  Again, this is not something I came up with.  I don’t teach my opinion or my speculations as fact.   

I have studied the great scholar Edwin Thiele's work on the dating in 1 Kings 6:1 …

 

Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel (Jacob’s other name) came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD

Edwin Thiele’s work and research is documented in his book, “The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings.” He shows that the 4th year of Solomon's reign is 966 B.C. which means the Hebrews left Egypt in 1446 B.C. (we get this by adding 966 and 480 or 966+480 = 1446 B.C. since we are going back in time).  But, how did Edwin Thiele come up with this date?  You’ll hear many us this date but they will NOT know the source.  They will not be able to give you the historical research to show where this date came from its total reliability.  However, in Edwin’s book this is shown.  Thiele is the one who gave us this date of 966 B.C.  Let’s go see what Thiele discovered.

Thiele was studying the ancient king lists of the ancient Assyrians.  In these lists, one called the Eponym Canon, references a solar eclipse in the reign of Assur-dan III in the month of Simanu.  Astronomers today easily found the date of this astronomical event as June 15, 763 B.C.  The Assyrians used this solar eclipse to give dates of the reigns of their kings dating from 892 to 648 B.C.  These king lists developed by the ancient Assyrians became their calendar.  Thiele saw that this seemed to be an accurate calendar and could be used to understand dates of events in other cultures and among other ancient peoples like the Hebrews in Israel.  But, was the Assyrian “calendar” correct?  Was it accurate?  Thiele needed to find another “calendar” that would support the dating in the Assyrian calendar.

Thiele discovered another ancient writing, the CANON OF PTOLEMY, a Greek astronomer 70-161 A.D.  His writings relate to Middle Eastern history and include a very interesting event; it was a lunar eclipse that happened on March 19, 721 B.C. which was an easy date for our contemporary astronomers to determine.  This lunar eclipse and the dating used from this event in the Canon of Ptolemy result in another “calendar” if you will.  When one matches the Canon of Ptolemy with the Assyrian “calendar” one verifies the accuracy of the other.  Thiele discovered two amazing documents with two amazing astronomical events that resulted in precise dating of key events and reigns of kings in ancient time.  So, how does this help us in Bible dating?

Since the Assyrian king list and its dates are now found by archaeology to be accurate we now know the exact dates of the reign of Shalmaneser III.  He reigned from 859-824 B.C.  Two of these years are critical for us.  The 6^th year of Shalmaneser’s reign and the 18^th year.  First, let’s focus on the 6^th year of his reign.

A tall rock with ancient writing was discovered in Turkey in 1851.  It is called the Kurkh Stele (image is public domain accessed at Wikimedia).  On this stele Shalmaneser write about the battle of Qarqar.  This battle occurred in the 6^th year of his reign which now has easily been determined from the Assyrian king list as 853 B.C.  What is so awesome is on the stele the Assyrian king gives names of the kings he fought against in the battle.  Ready for this?  Here’s our connected to the Bible.  Shalmaneser fought against Ahab who was married to Jezebel.  The Bible says that Ahab ruled for 22 years as we read in 1 Kings 16:29 …

Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

So, the next question is of the 22 years of Ahab’s reign, when did he fight in the battle of Qarqar?  On top of that when did Ahab die?  If we knew that then we’d know then Ahab started to rule as king of Israel, the northern 10 tribes. 

In the year 1846 another amazing stone was discovered.  It is now known as the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (image is public domain accessed at Wikimedia).  On this stone pillar there is an amazing picture; the picture and description is of king Jehu kneeling and paying tribute to the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser III.  Jehu became the king in Israel 12 years after Ahad died.  Just consider 2Ki 10:35-36 …

And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Jehu reigned as king for 28 years.  On the Black Obelisk Assyrian ancient records state that it was the 18^th year of Shalmaneser III when Jehu paid homage to Shalmaneser.  But, the 18^th year of Shalmaneser’s reign from the ancient Assyrian king’s list is 841 B.C.  But, Ahab fought the battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C. as we saw on the Kurkh Stele.  Subtracting 853 and 841 is 853-841=12.  There were 12 years between the battle of Qarqar and when Jehu offered tribute to Shalmaneser.  The Bible helps us with those 12 years.  First we read in 2 Kings 8:25-26 that Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king after Ahab and was king for one year.  Then in 2 Kngs 1:17 and 3:1 we find that Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Ahaziah’s brother became king when Ahaziah died and was king for 12 years.  Thiele also discovered that the first year of Jehoram’s reign was what is called an accession year.  He officially became king after the accession year so only served for 11 years. 

So, let’s put this all together.  In 841 B.C. Jehu offers tribute to Shalmaneser III as we just saw.  841 B.C. is 12 years after the battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C. in which Ahab fought.  But, Ahab is killed in another battle as one can read in 1 Kings 22:29-40.  And in the 12 years after Ahab’s death his son Ahaziah reigns for 1 year and then his other son Jehoram reigns for 11 years (we’re not counting the accession year).  But, Jehu becomes king after Jehoram. We know the year.  It is 12 years after the battle of Qarqar of 841 B.C.  Which means Ahab dies in 853 B.C. in the same year as the battle of Qarqar and shortly thereafter.  This is huge!!  We now have the date of Ahab’s death.  Why is this so important?

From this date of 853 B.C. based upon real archaeology and history and also supported by the Bible, we can now go backwards in time to Solomon.  For example, Ahab dies in 853 B.C. but reigned for 22 years.  Ahab’s reign then starts in 874 B.C. when his dad, Omri dies.  But Omri was king for 12 years as we read in 1 Kings 16:23.  We go back and through other connections between the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel we come to the year when Solomon became king.  Solomon became king in 970 B.C.  Now we can take this to the verse that we first considered 1 Kings 6:1 …

Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel (Jacob’s other name) came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign (966 B.C.) over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD

If the 4^th year of Solomon’s reign is 966 B.C. then 480 years prior to this the sons of Jacob (Israel) left Egypt.  Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt in 1446 B.C. that we get by adding 966+480=1446 B.C.  From the Assyrian King list that Thiele discovered we now have the precise year of the Exodus.  Once we have this date things get very interesting very fast.

As an “fyi” you can study this in more depth at the following links.  These are scholarly sites that help us understand the amazing and awesome work of Edwin Thiele to gives us the dating in the Bible.  Here’s the links to check out …

Article 1 – great extensive summary of Thiele’s work

https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/1996-2/1996-2-12.pdf

Article 2 – a second awesome scholarly article on the exactness of Thiele’s Bible chronology and its almost universal acceptance

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1497&context=auss

Let’s continue and take these dates into the events of Exodus and the events in the life of Joseph.  Jacob is Israel in the phrase "the sons of Israel" so this can be understood to mean that the sons of Jacob left Egypt in 1446 B.C. and in Exo. 12:4-41 …

Now the time that the sons of Israel (Jacob) lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt

This might be understood that Jacob (Israel) entered Egypt 430 years prior or in 1876 B.C.  All this from the dates Thiele came up with for the battle of Qarqar, Ahab's death, and the date of the 4th year of Solomon's reign.

In 1446 B.C. Moses is 80 (Exo 7:6-7) and the likely Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus was Amenhotep II.  If Moses was 80 then Moses was born in 1526 B.C. and the Pharaoh then is probably Ahmoses I.  Ahmoses I defeated the Hyksos and could it be that Ahmoses enslaved the other Semites in the delta, the Hebrews, since Ahmoses needed to strengthen his northern border and stamp out the potential threat that could come from the Hebrews?  Ahmoses did build forts on his northern border.  This means he may have considered the Hebrews potential enemies since they we Semites just like the Hyksos. What better way to stamp out the threat then by enslaving the Hebrews.  Since Ahmoses I reign was probably 1570-1544 B.C. he could have put the clamps down on the Hebrews years before Moses' birth in 1526 B.C.  

Returning back to 1446 B.C. and substituting the name Jacob for Israel one may conclude that Jacob (Israel and his sons) entered Egypt 430 years earlier or in the year 1876 B.C.  At this time Jacob (Israel) tells Pharaoh that he is 130 years old as found in Gen. 47:8-9.  He died 17 years later in 1859 B.C. as noted in Gen. 47:28.  Knowing Jacob's age upon entering Egypt and the year (thanks Edwin!!) we can then easily find the following ...

* Jacob born in 2006 B.C. since he was 130 in 1876

* Isaac was born in 2066 B.C. since Isaac was 60 at Jacob and Esau's birth Gen. 25:26

* Since Abraham is 100 at the birth of Isaac in 2066 B.C. - as we find in Gen. 21:5 - then Abraham was born in 2166 B.C.

* Abraham left Haran for Canaan when he was 75 years old or in the year 2091 B.C. as found in Gen. 12:4

Knowing the years of these events provides me with an interesting door that I have not entered yet.  If I go through the door I would be able to research what is going on in Egypt, the names of the pharaohs, and I could study the culture and history of Canaan and much more.  For example if I know the dating of when Abraham is in Canaan, might archaeology help me determine who Abimelech was that Abraham made a covenant with at Beer Sheba?  Could I determine using archaeology living conditions in the northern Negev and in ancient Hebron?  

Once again taking Thiele's work and expanding its connection to the events prior to the Exodus, there is a very interesting result when this is applied to the life of Joseph.  See the chart below ...

Since Jacob (Israel) was 130 when he entered Egypt in the year 1876 B.C. and died 17 year later in 1859 B.C. one can easily determine the connection between the ages of Joseph, the events in his life as found in Genesis, and the years these events would've occurred.  Use the chart above as a help as we go through the following.  Also, get your Bible handy and check the verses used.

Starting in  Gen. 37:2 we find Joseph is 17 and he begins his work as 2nd in command of Egypt at age 30. He is 37 at the end of the 7 years of plenty in Gen. 41:53 and 39 or 40 in 2nd year of the famine when his brothers come to Egypt and later, probably the same year, Joseph meets his father Jacob again in Gen. 45:6, 47:9.   So, if Joseph is 39 or 40 when he meets his dad again and then Joseph is 56 or 57 when his dad dies 17 years later in 1859 B.C. we can now go back and assign years to the events in Joseph's life.  It is fascinating to consider that Joseph probably served under three pharaohs.  He started his work at age 30 in the year 1886/87 B.C. or the 12th Dynasty in Egypt.  The pharaoh in office at the time was Senusret II.  His reign ends in perhaps 1878 B.C. and Joseph would've been 38 years old and the seven years of famine would've ended.  The 7 years of famine would start 1879 or 1880 B.C. and continue into the reign of Senusret III.   See the chart below ...

Above chart from Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004

Joseph would serve under Senusret III (under this pharaoh all the Egyptians sold their land to the king and seemingly the government became centralized), Amenemhat III, and died in 1806 B.C. under Amenemhat IV.  Knowing the pharaohs is interesting that Senusret III took all the control away from the provincial governors in upper and lower Egypt that seems to relate to the events in Genesis where all Egyptians sold everything including their land (the possession that implies power) to Joseph (ala pharaoh).  Another fascinating thing to consider is the area of Faiyum - the amazing oasis west of the Nile.   Consider the following ...

and

and

Accessed from the awesome and credible scholarly site on ancient Egypt -www.ancient.eu/Fayum/ 

It is interesting to assign actual years of the events in Joseph's life that are a result of Thiele's work as per the ancient Assyrian calendar.  When we do we see that the pharaohs connected to Joseph's reign were using the ancient area of Faiyum to irrigate and reclaim agricultural land.  Why?  What's the big deal?  Is there some reason to reclaim needed agricultural land and provide irrigation for other areas?  Perhaps this is connected to Joseph and 7 years of plenty and the 7 years of famine.  And when we assign years we find that the pharaoh who would've been the pharaoh in the 7 years of famine where the land all came under the control or the king is Senusret III.  And he historically did something similar as we find in the account in Genesis. 

The last thing that was very exciting is extending the dating into the years before the Exodus and into the life of Joseph.  We find that Joseph died in 1806 B.C. (chart above) and this was 280 years before Moses was born in 1526 B.C.    However, Jacob and entered Egypt when he was 130 (1876 B.C.) , he died when he was 147 (1859 B.C.) when Joseph was 56/57 years old.  This means the "sons of Israel" or Jacob and his family lived for 17 years in Egypt until Jacob dies.  Joseph was 57 (I will use 57 for ease of calculation) when Jacob dies and lived another 53 years when he died at 110 as we read in Gen. 50:22.  That means the "sons of Israel" or the "sons of Jacob" lived another 53 years in Egypt until Joseph died for a total of 70 years.  But, Joseph died 280 years before Moses was born.  Finally, Moses and the Hebrews leave Egypt when Moses was 80.  So, the Hebrews lived 70 years in Egypt till Joseph died, another 280 years till Moses was born, and 80 more years till they left Egypt or a total of 430 years.  This is the exact number as found in Exod. 12:40.  I have always asked myself where did this number come from?  No one has explained it to me.  And then I extended Thiele's work into the Exodus and beyond.  I was "blown away" that Thiele's work verified Exod. 12:40 by me taking his work and assigning years to the Bible events.  This was so so exciting to say the least.  And we now read Gen. 39:1-4 knowing the year is actually happened, Joseph enters Egypt in 1916 B.C.  

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret ... teaching in Egypt at Khufu's Pyramid)

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

 

In this podcast I mentioned the hatred between the Jews of Jesus’ day and the Samaritans.  So, to add to your study here are two links to two articles at the wonderful scholarly site (GotQuestions.org).  Each article is different, even though they both deal with the Jews and the Samaritans.  This is all related to the verse …

“You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'”(Mat 5:43)

No where in the Bible is there a statement that we are to hate our enemies.  Not even hinting at such an idea.  It was something taught among certain rabbis, some of the Pharisees, and the congregation at Qumran, those who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Here are the links …

Article 1 – https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-Samaritan.html

Article 2 - https://www.gotquestions.org/Samaritans.html

Related to this is the article written by David Bivin.  He is the founder of the amazing scholarly site called Jerusalem Perspective.  The article is entitled, “Us and Them: Loving Both.”  His article sheds more light on the unbiblical teaching in Jesus’ day to hate one’s enemy.  To access this article use the link below.  But, this site is members only.  If you would like to join to access the 100’s and 100’s of articles and resources to enhance your Bible reading and study you’ll have to register and pay an annual fee of $60.  If you are serious about your study of God’s word then you MUST join Jerusalem Perspective.

Link to Bivin’s article - https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/1873/?srsltid=AfmBOooN_sRB572G1-eJOOFgw9i3W-ZfxojtR5gsjri9fp8M4JCnQIiF

I also brought up two Bible teaching videos by the Messianic Jewish rabbi, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn.  He has done two videos that relate to the pope’s order that all priests in the Catholic church must bless LGBTQ unions; in other words to give their unions some semblance of respect from the Catholic church.  God has declared unequivocally that these unions are seriously sinful and totally forbidden.  Pope Francis is saying he has the authority to disregard the very words of God. 

Below find the two links to the videos.  I highly recommend you watch both.  The second video is about a documented unbelievable event that seemingly is a sign from the Lord of His total rejection of what Pope Francis did.  You won’t believe it.  But, make sure you watch video 1 and the video 2.

Video 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES6SD6RVcuo

Video 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1iCW5Lsd80

This Bible study podcast is about the Biblical concept of love.  Biblical love is not about emotions or feelings or physical desire or passion.  God want us to love regardless of how we feel or our emotions related to a certain person or group.  It has a lot to do with DOING and ACTING and not about feelings.  In this podcast I referenced two awesome articles that show that Jews in Israel do what the Torah says in that they do the right thing to another human even though they are Israel’s evil enemy like Hamas in Gaza or the Palestinians.  Here are the two articles that you can read yourself that document that when Jesus orders us to love our enemy He is teaching right from the Torah and Jesus is adding to and enhancing His teaching that He gave us in the Hebrew Scriptures or God’s Instruction or תּוֹרָה TORAH. 

Article from the American Journal of Public Health - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5719710/

Article from Israel Forever Foundation - https://israelforever.org/interact/blog/caring_for_enemy_soldiers/

Related to the article above is the oath taken by the Israeli armed forces.  They truly live by God’s Instruction or תּוֹרָה TORAH or the very words of Jesus – “love your enemy (do the right thing, act humanely, act with mercy and compassion even for your enemy) and pray for those that persecute you.”  Below is that oath referenced in the article above from the Israel Forever Foundation.

 

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?

  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link -  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8qth6w4e56oub9js1w1gu/BackgrndTeacher-mar-25-2020.pdf?rlkey=f14fr2wmde5fezjmnrny8cycl&st=8kag3nil&dl=0

 

 

 

As one examines Exod. 25-31 and 35-39 one finds a repeat – almost word for word in some cases – of verses related to the construction of the Tabernacle.  In the first instance it is God giving detailed instructions to Moses about the construction and the details of the garments of the High Priest and the Priests of the Sanctuary and their ordination ceremony.  In the second case, in chapters 35-39, we read about the actual construction of the Mishkan HaKodesh, the Holy Dwelling place of the Lord, or His Ohel HaKodesh, the Holy Tent (tabernacle in Latin just means tent).  So, we ask why the repeat of so many verses almost word for word. 

This has led a few Bible scholars to develop the DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS or the theory that the Torah was not written by only one man, namely Moses. 

Thus, this makes Jesus, the Lord, God Himself, a liar when Jesus says the Torah are the books of Moses.  If they were written by special groups and more than one person, then Jesus should not say the Torah are the books of Moses implying Moses is the author.  Jesus is God and this creates a real problem as per the character of the Lord.

However, a Jewish scholar, highly recognized and considered a superb Bible historian, Torah expert, and Hebrew scholar, Umberto Cassuto, found the answer to this repetition!  He found archaeologically that in the ancient near east those ancient peoples when writing about the construction of a special temple would repeat what they wrote.  The first writing was to show how a god or gods gave instruction to build the special temple.  The repeat was to describe the actual construction leading to the dedication.  This fits the Torah. 

First … here’s some background on Umberto Cassuto.

UMBERTO CASSUTO

Umberto (Moshe David) Cassuto, an early 20th-century Italian historian, rabbi, and scholar, wrote a popular Hebrew commentary on the Bible, as well as more detailed commentaries on the Book of Genesis and part of the Book of Exodus. His commentary is marked by an assumption that in order to understand the Bible, one must understand the Ancient Near-Eastern cultural context in which it was composed. As such, he incorporates archeological findings, his understanding of ancient Semitic languages, and literary tools into his analysis of biblical verses. 

Cassuto in his own words discussing the repetition found not only in Exodus but throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

REPETITION IN EXODUS

“The subject of the founding and building of a temple was a kind of permanent literary genre in the ancient literatures of the East; In it, it was customary to first come the divine speech describing the plan of the Temple in all its details and grammar, and then the story of the action, which repeats in an equal or similar way the description in the divine speech. And this is nothing more than a special detail of a general method, the method of repetition that was very popular with the writers of the ancient East.”

(Accessed from https://www.sefaria.org/Cassuto_on_Exodus.35.2?lang=bi)

Here are two links to two articles that are a must read.  These again will enhance and expand your understanding that Moses DID write the Torah and that the Documentary Hypothesis has been proven wrong.

ARTICLE ON MOSES AS THE SOLE WRITER OF TORAH

https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/moses/evidence-mosaic-authorship-of-torah/

SCHOLARLY ARTICLE BY CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS USNG CASSUTO’S FINDINGS

 https://biblearchaeology.org/research-articles/the-documentary-hypothesis/

Once again I provide the article on Jesus’ teaching about the Rabbi/Talmid model of His day.  He taught it precisely and accurately but NOT IN ENGLISH.  And He did not teach it IN GREEK but in HEBREW.  We in the church are commanded by the Lord to go and make disciples (talmidim in Hebrew).  And yet few churches even understand what Jesus meant when He mentioined disciples or talmidim.  Probably since so fe in the church know the Gree or the Biblical Hebrew and how to connect the Greek to the Hebrew.  Check it out …

DID JESUS EVER SPEAK OF THE RABBI DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP?

DID HE EVER TEACH US USING HIS CULTURE?

NOT IN ENGLISH OR GREEK

BUT HEBREW!!

Jesus said, "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. (Luk 6:40)

Pupil?  Nope.  The Greek word used here is μαθητής

mathētēs (Strongs number G3101) meaning a learner, disciple or a pupil.  But, Jesus is speaking Hebrew and not Greek.  What is the Hebrew word for disciple?  It is Talmid (תַּלְמִיד) Strongs umber H8527 (pronounced talmeed). The plural form is Talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים) (pronounced talmideem).

Teacher? Nope.  The Greek word used here is διδάσκαλος

Didaskalos (Strongs number G1320) meaning instructor, doctor, master, teacher.  The Hebrew word in Jesus’ day that διδάσκαλος Didaskalos translates is RAV ( רַב )(Strongs number is H8227) meaning master.  The Hebrew word RAVEE רבי meaning “my master.” So when Jesus is called “RABBI” in the Gospels in Hebrew He is being called RAVEE רבי or “my master.”

So, so far, Luke 6:40 can be read …

"A TALMID is not above his RAV but TALMIDIM, after they have been fully trained, will be like their RAV.” (Luk 6:40)

FULLY TRAINED – Nope.  Better is “after he has been made καταρτίζω katartizō (Strongs number is G2675) meaning complete or perfect or finished).  In Jesus’ day a TALMID of a RAV was finished when the RAV saw that his talmid was ready to go in the name of the RAV to teach the Bible just like the talmid’s master or his rav. 

Now we read Luke 6:40 from the Hebrew …

"A TALMID is not above his RAV but TALMIDIM, after they have finished, will be like their RAV.” (Luk 6:40)

BE?? – Nope.  The Greek word used here is ὡς hōs (Strongs; number 5613) meaning “exactly like.”  It translates the Hebrew letter used as a prefix KEE כְּ meaning just like, identical, the same as, be like.  So we finally come to the complete translation from the English to the Greek to the Hebrew of Luke 6:40. 

"A TALMID is not above his RAV but TALMIDIM, after they have finished, will be EXACTLY LIKE their RAV.” (Luk 6:40)

The RAV and TALMID Relationship

To be a talmid was a highly esteemed honor. The relationship between a RAV (we’d say rabbi) and his talmidim went far beyond basic education:

Total Dedication: A talmid would often leave their former life, home, and family to follow their rabbi full-time.

Imitation: The primary goal of a disciple was not just to know what the rabbi knew, but to become exactly like the rabbi. This meant absorbing the rabbi's lifestyle, character, and interpretation of the scriptures.

Walking in the Dust: Ancient Jewish writings describe disciples following their teacher so closely that they became covered in the "dust of the rabbi's feet".

See this video Bible study from Light of Menorah ministries.

Part 1 of what is a disciple - https://youtu.be/JZv2YhSoya8?si=_WidHCq2RTtDVl5R

Link to part 2 - https://youtu.be/m9pNgjAI18g?si=CThLTsg5uLD9gtId

Check out these links from Ray Vander Laan’s website entitled THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW …

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/rabbi-and-talmidim

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/preview/1539

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/preview/1540

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/preview/1540

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/preview/1568

https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/preview/1557

In this Bible study podcast I brought up the verse 1 Cor. 3:16 that we are THE TEMPLE of God and the “you” in the verse in Greek is plural!  Check out the Bible study podcasts I did on these verses.

Truth Nuggets #3 part 1 – https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/truth-nuggets-lesson-3-part-1/

Truth Nuggets #3 part 2 - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/truth-nuggets-lesson-3-part-2/

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? 

(Ferret - teaching somewhere in the Galilee)

What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0