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The study of the Bible in its historical context - with a focus on the archaeology, history, geography, customs , culture, and even the languages of the ancient Middle East. WE ask what did they understand THEN - the original intent of the Lord - so that we can expand and enrich our understanding NOW and thus become true disciples of Adonai Yeshua as in John 8:31-32.
Episodes
Saturday Jun 28, 2025
Saturday Jun 28, 2025
We continue with the words of the Lord's Prayer, HaTehfeelah Adonai. Our focus is now on the words, "...who is in heaven." This begs the question where does God live? Where is His abode, where does He dwell 24/7? Isn't heaven the sky above and space with the moon and sun and planets and galaxies? If so does God live out there behind a nebula or a galaxy hidden from our eyes? Or, does the English language cause some issues? We have put the Lord's Prayer into its historical context and we see that it was first taught in Hebrew to a specific group of people, the religious Jewish disciples, and in a specific culture and time; He taught it sometime between 24-30 A.D. to those who practiced Second Temple Judaism and who only had the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, as their only Bible. So, let's jump in. Let's see what they knew and understood in Hebrew. Let's find out where God lives and dwells 24/7.
Once again here's links I mentioned in the lesson. Check them out as they hopefully will add and enrich your study of HaTehfeelah Adonai, the Lord's Prayer which He gave to us, His disciples, and we can now call it, HaTehfeelah Talmidim, the Prayer of the Disciples.
Link Gethsemane 1 - https://www.facebook.com/lightofmenorah/videos/229720674906046/
Link 2a - 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 2b - 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 2c - Dr. Brad Young's article on the Lord's prayer at "Jerusalem Perspective" - https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2229/
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
Friday Jun 27, 2025
Friday Jun 27, 2025
Where is Mt. Moriah? In this lesson we find that the actual Hebrew in the Bible implies that Moriah is not a proper name; it's a noun but not a name. It is like the word lake. One can say there are lakes close to where I live in Minnesota. However, there is one lake called WHITE BEAR LAKE that is the main lake in our town. So lake means a body of water surrounded by land. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 of them. But, there is on lake, LAKE SUPERIOR, that describes a very specific lake. The word MORIAH in Hebrew is like the word lake. The word itself is ancient and disappeared from use as we get closer to the Second Temple period, 600 B.C. till 70 A.D. In the “JPS Torah Commentary – Genesis” the etymology of the word is unknown but the trusted scholar like Nahum Sarna suggest that Moriah (מֹרִיָּה) might come from the Hebrew word “to see” or râ'âh (רָאָה). So, this could then result in the two places in the Hebrew Scriptures where Moriah occurs to have an equivalent meaning. See below.
Gen. 22:2 (original) - He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
Gen. 22:2 (alternative) - He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land where it‘ll be seen, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
Then we go to 2 Chron. 3:1 where our translations say based upon rabbinic tradition that Solomon built the 1st Temple on the mountain called Moriah. That's how we read it in English. Let’s look at both the original and the alternative.
2 Chron. 3:1 (original) - Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (the Hebrew actually says “on the mountain in the Moriah”), where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 Chron. 3:1 (alterntative) - Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in the place where it’ll be seen on the mountain where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The Hebrew is precise. Moriah is not a proper name. Thus, there is no mountain that is named Moriah. On top of that it says it took Abraham 3 days to walk from the area of Beer Sheva to Jerusalem. That is over 50 miles on good trails and roads. It has been shown this is a 5 day trip at least. In other words, the mountain where we study the Binding of Isaac is likely not the Temple Mount.
In his JPS Genesis excursus 16, Nahum Sarna surveys several suggestions for the etymology of the word “moriah”:
- The Lofty Country – Septuagint
- The Land of Worship – Aramic Targum / Ramban
- The Land of Vision – Vulgate /Samaritan Targum
- The Land of the Amorites – Peshitta / Rashbam
- The Land that I will show you – Genesis Rabba 55:9
- The Place from which fear of the Lord emanates – R. Jannai in Tanchuma
- The Place from which teaching issued to the world – b. Taanit 16a / Rab. 55.9
These multiple creative suggestions highlight the difficulty of assuming that the land of Moriah was meant to reference a particular place. The simple fact of the matter is, we cannot be sure of the actual place meant when the Torah describes Abraham taking his son into the Land of Moriah. For a detailed study on this refer to the “JPS Torah Commentary – Genesis,” by Nahum Sarna.
I was thinking about this and I offer this idea – God seems to pick special unique places where His covenant and His agenda is seen. This relates to the possible meaning of Moriah (מֹרִיָּה) – a place of vision, a place where it’ll be seen, a place where God’s covenant is seen.
So, Abraham passes the test on a mountain Yahvay (the Lord) took him to. In Gen. 22:16+ God tells Abraham that all the promises he made to Abraham in Gen. 12:1-3 He will honor and they will happen since Abraham passed the test; Abraham showed is allegiance to God by being willing to sacrifice his own son that he loved. Matter at this place we read that Abraham says …
Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide,” as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." (Gen 22:14) Problem! It does not say that. The word used is “to see” or râ'âh (רָאָה). God took Abraham to a land where it’ll be seen, perhaps the root of Moriah. And, indeed, it was seen. God provided the ram as a substitute for Isaac and this is clearly a special mountain, a special place, for a special event, and a special man, Abraham.
There is another mountain someplace in the Sinai where one might say the Lord led His people to a mountain in the moriah, in the place where it’ll be seen, in the place of vision. There God established His NEW covenant with all Israel, at His mountain, with His handpicked leader and prophet, Moses. It was hear that the people SAW the evidence of God’s presence on the mountain. So, we have a different mountain for a special event involving a special man, Moses.
But, the mountain of God moved. The Temple Mount became the “Mountain of God.” This is easily seen in the book of Isaiah chapter 2 and many other places. And at this place of vision, at this place where it’ll be seen, we see the establishment of a New Covenant with Jew and Gentile, this happens at this special mountain, and involves a special man, the manifestation of God Himself in Messiah Jesus.
Amazing. Could this be what’s going on? Is this what God wants us to understand and know? I am not sure but it sure makes more sense than the unbiblical, non-historical, and non-geographic views of the rabbis.
Here’s a great Jewish scholarly website that has a fantastic article on this issue. The site is called "The Torah" and here’s the link to the article - https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-mysterious-land-of-moriah
Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?
Ferret somewhere near the ancient site of Bethel in Israel.
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
Wednesday Jun 25, 2025
Tuesday Jun 24, 2025
Tuesday Jun 24, 2025
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
Sunday Jun 22, 2025
Sunday Jun 22, 2025
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
Friday Jun 20, 2025
Friday Jun 20, 2025
Chapter 22 of Genesis is called HaAhkeedat Yeetzack עֲקֵידַת יִצְחַק or the Binding of Isaac. This chapter is so important to Jews and Christians. For those practicing Judaism they even have daily prayers to remember this event. Here’s a link to the fantastic website for Christians called "Hebrew4Christians" that shows the actual daily prayer Jewish people pray dealing with Isaac. Here’s the link - https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Akedah/akedah.html
For us Christians we definitely see that Jesus’ words in John 5:39 come true in this chapter. Isaac is a picture of Jesus. Chapter 22 testifies of Jesus in amazing ways. Consider …
PARALLELS BETWEEN ISAAC AND JESUS
Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 19, 2014
www.SermonCentral.com
- Both fulfilled PROMISES: Isaac was the long-promised son to Abraham (Genesis 12:3) and Jesus was the long-promised Messiah and Son of God (Genesis 3:15; 13:3, John 1:1-12)
- Both were the ONLY SON of their father: God said that Isaac was “Your son, your only son, whom you live…” to Abraham(Genesis 22: 2) and God also said “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:16, 17).
- Both had a MIRACULOUS BIRTH: Isaac was born to parents who were very old - Genesis 18:13 and Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary, and conceived by the Holy Spirit - Luke 1:34-35.
- Both had a conception and birth that was PRE-ANNOUNCED - Genesis 18:10 & Luke 1:30–31.
- Both were NAMED before their birth - Genesis 17:19 & Matthew 1:21.
- Both were MOCKED and persecuted by their own kindred - Genesis 21:9 & Mark 15:29–32.
- Both were UNDESERVING of their sacrificial death - Genesis 22:2, Luke 23:41.
- Both were sacrificed on a mountain chosen by God - Genesis 22:3 & Matthew 27:33.
- Both were LOVED by their fathers (Genesis 22:2; Matthew 3:16, 17).
- Both had a THREE-DAY experience: Isaac had a 3-day hike to Moriah and Jesus had 3 days from the cross to the grave to the resurrection.
- Both WERE accompanied by TWO MEN: Isaac by two servants (Genesis 22:3) and Jesus by two thieves (Matthew 27:38)
- Both carried their own WOOD: Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice (Genesis 22:6) and Jesus carried the crossbeam of his cross (John 19:17).
- Both SUBMITTED to their father: Isaac willingly laid down his life, submitting to his father (Genesis 22:9) and Jesus submitted to his Father’s will and laid down his life for our sin (Luke 22:42, Romans 5:8).
- Both asked a QUESTION of their father: Isaac asked Abraham “Here is the fire and the wood, Father, but where is the lamb? (Gen. 22:7) and Jesus cried “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” from the cross (Matthew 27:46).
- Both were BROUGHT BACK from the dead: Isaac was “brought back” figuratively (Genesis 22:12) by the faith of Abraham and Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after he was crucified (Matthew 28:6-7).
For the Jewish people they see these events and hope and pray they can be faithful to the Lord every day. No matter what the circumstances or the troubles they are in. But, so do we as Christians pray the same thing. In the Lord’s pray we say, “Father, do not lead us into temptation.” Huh? That’s nuts. How can God lead us into situations where we will sin and lose our salvation? That makes no sense. In lesson 9 in the series on “The Lord’s Prayer” I go into this phrase in depth. There we see that in the Greek and in the Greek to the Hebrew, it really says, “Father, do not lead us into trials, tests, or difficulties that are too much for us to bear.” I highly recommend you check out lesson 9 in that series. Here’s the link – https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/truth-nuggets-15-lesson-9-the-lords-prayer-passed-failed-matt-613/
So, we too as the Jewish people, pray we will not be faced with terrible trials and troubles that we can face. But, our hope together, is that we can keep the faith and “stay the course” as children of Abraham as Paul tells us we are in Gal.3:6-9 …
Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
So come and join us as we study this amazing chapter in the first book of the Torah, the books of Moses.
Who is this guy, Rev. Ferret?
Ferret teaching in the Shephelah of Israel
What's his background? Why should we take time to listen to him? Here's a link to check out his background - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
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
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Saturday Jun 14, 2025
Saturday Jun 14, 2025
FIVE SMALL STONES
EPISODE 18 PART 2
"WHO'S YOUR NEIGHBOR?"
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Bible reading and study are necessary for a true Christian, a real disciple (talmeed) of Adonai Yeshua - not just reading. Are you in a church that provides Bible classes and training? You'd better be or that church is NOT attempting to obey Jesus' command to make disciples. To make a disciple directly implies Bible study besides reading.
There was a saying in Jesus' day among the rabbis of which He was the greatest. It shows that study leads to learning and learning's purpose is to know how to Do.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan was this just a made up story? Was there a road between Jericho and Jerusalem? If so is there facts about this road we missed? And why did the Jewish nearly get murdered? Does this have something to do with the road and its surroundings? Was there an "inn" on this road? Or was just Jesus making all this up? Or was it based on real places and the real plausibility of these events in the Bible?
In these two 5-minute videos (part 1 and 2) we will study the Bible. We will study it with the geography of ancient Israel in mind. We will see how knowing the geographical background of the parable of the Good Samaritan adds to and enriches our understanding of this story Jesus told.
Did you miss episode 1? Not problem. Below is the link to the first episode. Watch this one first to understand episode 2.
Also, there is a video you can't miss. it is only 11 minutes and shows the REAL Jericho Road and not the mistaken one most people teach about.
Link - https://youtu.be/zVmagXx-n34?si=ZuJTc92t0OJ_yogX
Here's references that prove that the inn in the parable was a very real place. It was even excavated by Israeli archaeologists. I even met one of them when I was on a research trip to Israel and visited the exact location.
Here's the 1st link. It is an article from Biblical Archaeology Review. I assume you have to be a member to access the complete article. I highly recommend you join this scholarly site since it will be a critical resource for your Bible study and reading. Below you'll find the link but below are two highlights from the article.
See below for the highlight from the article - note the "inn" referenced in this segment refers to the museum called "The Inn of the Good Samaritan." It even gives the names of the archaeologists who excavated the palace built by Herod. (Click on the image to enlarge)
Here's the link to the article from Biblical Archaeology Review mentioned above.
Link - https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/38/1/8
This link is to a awesome academic article proving beyond a shadow of doubt that there was an inn on the Jericho road at the location of the Good Samaritan Museum. The inn likely was formerly Herod's palace at this site. Here's the link ...
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1x76gr7.5?seq=7
Shown below are two more excellent scholarly sites (free access) and their corresponding articles on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Once again, these are awesome sites to save for future reference.
HolyLandSite.com - https://www.holylandsite.com/inn-of-the-good-samaritan
BibleWalks.com -https://www.biblewalks.com/goodsamaritaninn/
In one of my many classes I taught on the Jewish parables of our Jewish Rabbi, Yeshua. One parable I focused on was the parable of the Good Samaritan. Here's a link to the complete chapter from the class book.
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
Friday Jun 13, 2025
Friday Jun 13, 2025
A main purpose for this Bible study podcast series on Genesis (and the one on Exodus also) is to see how the five key books of the Hebrew scriptures in Jesus’ day testify of Him, Jesus, the Messiah. This is all related to the gospel of John chapter five. Jesus says that “all scripture testifies of Him.” (John 5:39) All they had then was the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, and the key books of the Bible then was the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In this lesson we focus on Gen. 21:14-34. In these verses is an amazing way the Torah testifies of the gospel, the New Covenant, Jesus, and our being “grafted in to the olive tree, the olive tree that is a picture of Israel.” We will again see that God inspired Moses to teach us the gospel, aspects of the Kingdom of Adonai, the amazing redemption plan of the Lord, and to "see" King Jesus, the Messiah, the one who comes to complete what the Torah could not do (Acts 13:38-39). We will then see that the Torah written by Moses is nothing more than THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MOSES. But, in order to “see” Jesus in Gen. 21:14-34 we need to understand geography and the plants of the Bible. We need to study the Tamarisk tree. Once we do we can finally get at the intended meaning of what Adonai is trying to get us to know, to understand.
In this lesson I mentioned I’d provide some pictures of two plants. The first is the Tamarisk tree. You can see that below.
The second plant is the “broom tree” called the rotem in Hebrew. It is likely this is the bush that Hagar and Ishmael were under in the shade. It is a large bush that provides just enough shade for one person. It is likely the bush that Elijah was laying under when he escaped from Ahab and Jezebel. See the rotem below.
I also am linking you to lesson 34 in this series. Hagar is the first person in the Torah to encounter the ANGEL OF THE LORD. It happens in chapter 21 and back in 16. In lesson 34 I show that the Torah, the very words of God, PROVE unequivocally that the ANGEL OF THE LORD is God, a manifestation of the Lord Himself. It is one of the “faces” of the Lord so that He can make Himself visible to us and we will not die. Here’s the link to lesson 34 - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/the-gospel-according-to-moses-genesis-lesson-34-gen-161-16/
Who is this guy, Rev. Ferret?
Ferret someplace near the Jordan River
What's his background? Why should we take time to listen to him? Here's a link to check out his background - click here