Names of Yehovah: Tzidkenu

Names of Yehovah: Yehovah Our Righteousness

Introduction

Names of Yehovah are found all over the Bible. Yehovah greatly values names to the point that He sometimes commands name changes. Names identify actions. When a Biblical list of names is literally rendered and the names are connected, they form prophetic statements. Yehovah’s names tell His character and what He will do or be. This document gives such a case.

The following two texts take readers into the End Times when Yehudah (Judah) and Jerusalem will be filled only with righteous citizens. They explain what will occur at that time. The first text starts with Jeremiah 23:5 and the second with Jeremiah 33:15:

Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, days are coming,” declared Yehovah. “And I will cause- a righteous Branch -to-stand to David. And a King will reign. And He will prudently-do. And He will do justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶Judah will be saved and Israel will abide to safety in His days. And this is His name that he will call Him: Yehovah our Righteousness.”

Identifying pronouns in any text is always one of the most important activities of a reader. I will propose objects to the pronouns in the above text:

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, days are coming,” declared Yehovah. “And I will cause- a righteous Branch -to-stand to David. And a King will reign. And He [the King] will prudently-do. And He [the King] will do justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶Judah will be saved and Israel will abide to safety in His [the King’s] days. And this is His [the King’s] name that he [David] will call Him [the King]: Yehovah our [the Israelis’] Righteousness.”

If these identifications are correct, both David and King Messiah—the righteous Branch—will be present. This Branch, King Messiah, will be identified as Yehovah our Righteousness, the righteousness of the Israelis.

Jeremiah 33:14 and following seems to be saying the same thing, but it isn’t:

Jeremiah 33

Jeremiah 33:14 “Behold, days are coming,” declared Yehovah. “And I will make-arise the good speech that I spoke unto the House of Israel and concerning the House of Yehudah! ¹⁵In those days and in that time, I will branch a branch of righteousness to David. And he will do justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶Yehudah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall abide to safety in those days. And this is whom Yehovah our righteousness will call to her!” ¹⁷For so said Yehovah, “A man sitting upon a throne of the House of Israel will not be cut to David ¹⁸and to priests the Levites. A man will not be cut from-to the faces of the ascension ascending and incense, a resting and doing sacrifice all the days!”

Two texts in the Bible are frequently similarly worded while they declare very different details. The similar wording is so that a reader can know that they are indeed related, but the differences are so that readers who are careful will make the necessary distinctions in order to understand the texts.

I will propose identifications of the pronouns in the above text:

Jeremiah 33:14 “Behold, days are coming,” declared Yehovah. “And I [Yehovah] will make-arise the good speech that I [Yehovah] spoke unto the House of Israel and concerning the House of Yehudah! ¹⁵In those days and in that time, I [Yehovah] will branch a branch of righteousness to David. And he [the branch of righteousness] will do justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶Yehudah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall abide to safety in those days. And this [the Branch of righteousness] is whom Yehovah our righteousness will call to her [to Jerusalem]!” ¹⁷For so said Yehovah, “A man sitting upon a throne of the House of Israel will not be cut to David ¹⁸and to priests the Levites. A man will not be cut from-to the faces of the ascension ascending and incense, a resting and doing sacrifice all the days!”

This text and the literal rendering need further explanation. I will take it in its pieces, proposing what each part declares.

“Behold, days are coming.” These are the days of the reign of the Messiah, known also as the Millennium (a 10-century period).

“And I [Yehovah] will make-arise the good speech that I [Yehovah] spoke unto the House of Israel…” It is a good speech because it is a restoration and not an act of wrath against Israel. Yehovah spoke this good speech unto the House of Israel. This text assumes recognition of the split of the Land of Israel into two parts: the House of Israel and the House of Judah. That split will be healed. These prophecies that Yehovah gave were spoken during the time of the split, and they can be found in texts (as in Ezekiel) when the split is regularly shown. In this case, the prophecy was given unto the House of Israel.

“…and concerning the House of Yehudah!” The prophecy was spoken concerning the House of Judah, though it was given unto the House of Israel.

“In those days and in that time…” Those days are the days of the Messiah; that time is the time of the Millennium.

“…I [Yehovah] will branch a branch of righteousness to David.” This branch of righteousness will be that part of Israel that will come from David’s lineage, and thus also from Judah. The entire surviving part of David’s lineage will be completely righteous, and will live that way.

“And he [the branch of righteousness] will do justice and righteousness in the land.” That sums up the character of all the activities of this branch from David. Justice is rendering a right decision based on all facts. Righteousness is doing what is right (ethically right and morally right) according to Yehovah’s view of what is right.

This land refers to the Land of Israel, and it also refers to all the land on planet Earth.

“Yehudah shall be saved…” Judah will be saved from the following and to the following:

From sin
To righteousness
From enemies
To live before Yehovah
From uncleanness
To moral and ethical cleanness
From iniquities (forms of moral/ethical guilt before Yehovah)
To innocence
From transgressions (crossing the commanded boundaries of Yehovah’s Teachings and commands)
To obedience of the Torah (the Teaching)
From death
Unto life (and to having children)

“…and Jerusalem shall abide to safety…” No enemies of the Israelis will be found on the entire planet.

“…in those days.” These are the days of King Messiah (Messiah Immanuel).

“And this [the Branch of righteousness] is whom Yehovah our righteousness will call to her [to Jerusalem]!” The One called Yehovah our Righteousness, Who is King Messiah and Who was formerly known as Salvation (Yeshua), Who brought righteousness to all Israel, will call this righteous Branch from David to come to Jerusalem located on Great Mount Zion.

“For so said Yehovah, ‘A man sitting upon a throne of the House of Israel will not be cut to David and to priests the Levites.’” The Biblical word cut indicates the following:

Being slaughtered
Being permanently disconnected from Israel
Being damned

It is similar to reverse circumcision—where the foreskin is cut and the person is discarded!

If a man won’t be “cut to David and to priests,” that indicates that mortal humans from the lineage of David and the lineage of the priests will continue to live and have children; they will also continue in their offices of rulers and priests.

“A man will not be cut from-to the faces of the ascension ascending…” Hebrew wording permits both from and to to be connected to the same word. The expression, to the faces of, indicates right in front of something or someone. Adding from indicates a removal; thus, being “cut from-to the faces of the ascension” means that the man is violently taken so that he is no longer able to be in front of the ascension (in front of the sacrifice of the ascension), and thus no longer able to serve as a priest (since he is dead). This text declares that a man in the priesthood will therefore continue to serve as a legitimate priest, sending the ascension sacrifices to Yehovah.

“…and incense…” Special priests were assigned to send incense to Yehovah; men in that lineage will continue to do so throughout the Millennium.

“…a resting” This resting is a gift that one places—rests before another to take (to receive). Every sacrifice is a type—that is, it is a picture of some very important event, person or group. The same is true of the sacrifice identified as a resting (wrongly rendered in nearly all translations).

“…and doing sacrifice all the days!” A vital part of the restoration of all things is the restoration of sacrifices. Since every sacrifice is a type, and therefore a teaching tool, restoration of the teaching tools, along with infallible teachings, is a vital part of the plan of Yehovah for Israel.

What the types typify (picture) are almost unknown today, and were barely understood in history. These types will be well-understood after the Tribulation and during the Millennium, and they can be understood now, if a person is willing to consider texts very literally and apply thought to them.

Thus, the priests of Israel will again do sacrifices, ascensions, incense and restings before Yehovah.

Yehovah our Righteousness will be one of the Names of the Messiah of Israel Who will reign as King.

August 29, 2010August 24, 2016

Names of Yehovah: MeKaddesh

Names of Yehovah: Yehovah MeKaddesh

Introduction

The doctrines of Sanctification have been greatly complicated by the agreement of nearly all of today’s theologians. Because they are ignorant of the definition of sanctification, they turn it into an unachievable target. This text is one of many that teach what sanctification is.

Leviticus 20:1-9

The text is given literally rendered:

Leviticus 20:1 And Yehovah spoke unto Moses to say, ²“And thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, ‘A man, a man from the children of Israel and from the sojourner who sojourns in Israel who will give from his seed unto Molech—dying, he shall die! The people of the land shall stone him with a stone. ³And I, I will give my faces into that man. And I will cut him from the midst of his people. For he gave from his seed unto Molech in order to defile my sanctuary and to pierce the Name of my Holy-One! ⁴And if the people of the land—hiding, they shall hide their eyes from that man in his giving from his seed to Molech in order to not kill him, ⁵and I, I will set my faces into that man and into his family. And I will cut him and all the whorers after him to whore after the Molech from the midst of their people. ⁶And the being who will turn unto the familiar spirits and unto the wizards to whore after them, and I will give my faces into that being. And I will cut him from the midst of his people. ⁷And ye shall sanctify yourselves. And ye shall be holy-ones. For I am Yehovah your Gods. ⁸And ye shall guard my statutes. And ye shall do them. I am Yehovah your Sanctifier. ⁹For a man, a man who will lightly-esteem his father and his mother, dying, he will die. He lightly-esteemed his father and his mother! His bloods are in him!’”

The Israelis were not Saints. I am using the term Saint in its literal way. They were not born of God. While a few were, the rest maintained their own pagan faiths. Yehovah was not commanding them to change their religions. He was warning them that they were not to practice idolatry or the occult. One idol, known as the king, was Molech. Followers passed their children through the fire (placing them on a highly heated statue of this idol) as a gift to this false god. Yehovah ordered the Israelis to kill every Israeli and every sojourner, regardless of personal faiths, if either one gave his child to Molech in the Land of Israel.

Yehovah also promised that He, Himself, will give His faces into that person. There is no surer guarantee of damnation than this. Anyone who is “cut from the midst of his people” is damned. The People of Israel who are born of God will live forever, and all who died without Biblical faith will be cut off from the People of Israel. Anyone who has given seed to Molech is guaranteed to be damned.

Yehovah gives the motives of the damned sinner who gives his seed to Molech: “he gave from his seed unto Molech in order to defile my sanctuary and to pierce the Name of my Holy-One.” It makes no difference to Yehovah why the person thought that this was the right thing to do; Yehovah has already determined the motives, and violator will die for his action, not his motives.

Two reasons are given for giving seed to Molech. The first is: “in order to defile my sanctuary.” The word sanctuary is directly related to the word sanctify. The Sanctuary is a holy place. It is spelled [Mikdäsh]. Any violation in Israel is a violation of the Holy Place of Yehovah, and it infuriates Yehovah.

Israel is one people. The people is to be holy, and any violation of that holiness pollutes the land, and therefore the Sanctuary that is on the land.

What does the word holy or sanctified mean? The Hebrew word , kadash means to be privately owned and/or for private use. It is the opposite of being public and unowned (which the word profane formerly described). The word does not automatically indicate something good. A pagan temple whore was called a , kadayshah, a holy woman. Judah (in Genesis) thought that Tamar was such a woman. The Hebrew uses the word holy (or sanctified) in a generic way in all cases, and each text must be considered to discover whether the word has a Spiritual connotation or a physical one. The Israelis are commanded to be holy in the physical sense (the property of Yehovah by physically doing what He says) and in the Spiritual sense (by fearing Him and believing Him).

The second reason that an Israeli would give his seed to Molech is “to pierce the Name of my Holy-One.” Translators consistently ignored the Hebrew grammar in texts like this one (and there are many!). They thought that the expression , shem kadshi, meant “my holy name.” If Hebrew grammar had been considered, the expression “my holy name” would look like this: , shmi kodesh. No Hebrew adjective that is behaving as an adjective has a possessive pronominal ending attached to it; the possessive pronoun always attaches to the noun itself. The expression , shem kadshi actually means “the Name of My Holy-One” (where the word one is implied, because the word holy is acting as a nominal adjective—an adjective behaving as a noun). If what I am claiming is true, the text is declaring that anyone who gives his seed to Molech is intentionally piercing the Name of Yehovah’s Holy One, the Messiah. What better way is there to pierce His Name than to give seed to a false god (and one that usually supposedly demanded the torturous death of its victim)? How do you suppose Yehovah views this type of abortion?

Yehovah commands that the Israelis are to be their brothers’ keepers: “And if the people of the land—hiding, they shall hide their eyes from that man in his giving from his seed to Molech in order to not kill him…” The Israelis have an obligation to deal with such a person. It is not enough to say, “That is God’s problem, not mine.” Yehovah will destroy his entire family regardless of whether they participated in this idolatry or not! They had better make it their responsibility to know what their family members are doing! All who participate with him, whether actively or passively, are guilty of whoring after this false god, because they knew what was happening in Israel, and they did nothing to stop the fury of Yehovah by taking care of the matter.

In the same manner, Israelis or sojourners among the Israelis who use familiar spirits (demons posing as family members who are dead) and/or wizards (those who supposedly communicate with the dead to find out what is about to happen) will be permanently cut off from the people of Israel if they don’t turn to Truth from these errors. (This includes those who consult their horoscopes, those who use or are witches, those who have their palms or tarot cards read or read the palms or tarot cards, those who use Ouija boards, etc.)

Yehovah then give a command that is in every way related to the topic: “And ye shall sanctify yourselves. And ye shall be holy-ones. For I am Yehovah your Gods.” This text shows that unbelievers can sanctify themselves! The Israelis did not have faith in Yehovah, but Yehovah commanded them to sanctify themselves. They were commanded to do this by refusing all false gods and all occult practitioners and practices, and by doing what Yehovah commanded in the Torah. This didn’t remove their past sins, but it meant that they wouldn’t be marked out for physical death because of their occult or idolatrous evils. They were commanded to live as owned by Yehovah.

Why did Yehovah command the Israelis to be holy ones (the word “ones” is implied because the word holy is plural)? Yehovah said, “For I am Yehovah your Gods.” Yehovah was stating that He is the property of the Israelis. And if He is their property, they are to be His property. The Israelis do not have the right to rise above God who created them; they must not view themselves as unowned when He, the Gods of Israel, is owned. When Yehovah said, “I am the Gods of Avraham, the Gods of Isaac and the Gods of Jacob,” He was declaring that He is owned–He is their Gods.

What action could the Israelis do to show that they had sanctified themselves, becoming the property of Yehovah? “And ye shall guard my statutes. And ye shall do them.” If they do this, they prove that they are owned, and that they own Him as their God (again this has nothing to do with faith, but it is the right step while waiting for faith).

Yehovah then taught the Israelis one vital aspect of His identity and work: “I am Yehovah your Sanctifier.” Only He can sanctify in a way that brings everlasting life.

Yehovah didn’t stop there. He continued with the same topic: “For a man, a man who will lightly-esteem his father and his mother, dying, he will die. He lightly-esteemed his father and his mother! His bloods are in him!” Any Israeli who risks the lives of his parents by secretly delving into the occult considers his parents of very little value. Yehovah said that He will go after the family of the man who had gone into the occult whose family and friends had “turned a blind eye.” Anyone who is willing to risk his seed by giving it to Molech is risking the seed of his family, too. He is risking all the future generations! It is the same as committing murder, in the eyes of Yehovah. The expression, “His bloods are in him,” is the same as expression used when anyone commits murder. The bloods of Abel shouted out from the ground after Cain murdered him. Having contempt for one’s family is the same as having contempt for Yehovah. A son or daughter is to glorify (not honour as most translations incorrectly render the text) his mother and his father. One glorifies anyone or anything by demonstrating its importance. The father who is greater than one’s immediate father is Avraham. The mother who is greater than one’s immediate mother is Jerusalem. Putting evil Israeli parents above Avraham and Jerusalem just isn’t smart.

August 28, 2010August 24, 2016

Names of Yehovah: Tzevaot

Names of Yehovah: Yehovah ‘Sabaoth’

Introduction

The term Sabaoth is actually a somewhat mispronounced and misrepresented form of the Hebrew word Tzeva-oat (where the “oat” is pronounced like the cereal grain). It mean armies (having nothing to do with the Sabbath), and is the plural form of tzevah, meaning army. The Hebrew word , (tzeva-oat) is first found associated with Yehovah in 1 Samuel 1:3:

1 Samuel 1:3 And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of Mount Ephraim. And his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. ²And he had two wives. The name of the one was Hanna, and the name of the other Peninna. And Peninna had children. And Hanna had no children. ³And this man went out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to Yehovah of hosts in Shiloh.

This name/title of Yehovah is found many times in the Bible. Every name, title, and name/title of Yehovah is employed for a very specific reason. Since hosts nearly always (or always) refers to armies and warfare, the name/title Yehovah of Hosts is found where war is very important. Anyone in the Bible who calls upon Yehovah of Hosts is calling upon Yehovah with reference to His armies for some kind of battle. Elkanah knew what he was implying when he called Yehovah by this name/title.

A natural question that can and should arise is, “Over which armies is Yehovah a captain?” Yehovah commanded the creatures in the plagues of Egypt including the frogs, the locusts, and so on. Yehovah commanded the stars when they fought against Sisera:

Judges 5:20 They fought from heaven! The stars in their courses fought against Sisera!

Yehovah commands all angels, including the demons. There is no demon who is not directly subject to the commands of Yehovah and to the limitations that He has placed upon him. One text that shows this is the following:

Matthew 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the region of the Gergesenes, two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce so that no man might pass by that way, met Him. And behold, they shouted, saying, “What have we to do with thee, Yeshua, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” And there was a herd of many swine feeding a good way off from them. So the devils besought Him, saying, “If thou cast us out, transfer us to go away into the herd of swine.” And He said unto them, “Go!” And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine. And behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea. And they perished in the waters.

Another text confirms Yehovah’s usage of demons:

1 Kings 22:19 And he said, “Hearken thou to the speech of Yehovah! I saw Yehovah sitting on His throne. And all the host of the heavens is standing by Him on His right hand and on His left. ²⁰And Yehovah said, ‘Who shall persuade Ahab, and he will ascend and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said on this manner, and another said on this manner. ²¹And there came forth a spirit. And he stood before Yehovah. And he said, ‘I will persuade him.’ ²²And Yehovah said unto him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go. And I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And He said, ‘Thou shalt persuade him! And thou shalt also prevail! Go forth and do so!’ ²³Now therefore, behold, Yehovah has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets! And Yehovah has spoken bad concerning thee!”

Demons obviously have their uses! All the hosts (armies) of the heavens and on earth have their uses. Yehovah will use them all for His purposes. The Tribulation will especially see those hosts employed. The Book of Revelation has two sections: the first deals with seven congregations, and the second deals with destructions. Yehovah employs demons in those destructions, and no demon is sent to attack any good guy in the entire book! They only attack those who are either bad guys or are undecided. It is a book of happy endings for Israel. Indeed, the text that follows is true for demons as well as angels that didn’t rebel:

Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels did He say at any time, “Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool”? ¹⁴Aren’t they all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Speaking against any of the hosts of Yehovah is quite unintelligent!

August 26, 2010July 5, 2017

Names of Yehovah: Rapha

Introduction

The practice of appropriating Biblical texts for one’s own use has been a normal part of many branches of ‘Christian’ religions for centuries. Just because something is practiced does not mean that it is right. Unscrupulous teachers of the Bible have likewise appropriated the names/titles of Yehovah. This present name/title is such an example.

Exodus 15:22-26

The text is given literally rendered:

Exodus 15:22 And Moshe journeyed Israel from the Ending Sea. And they went out unto the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness. And they found no water. ²³And they came to Marah. And they were not able to drink the waters from Marah, for they are bitter. Therefore he called her name ‘Marah.’ ²⁴And the people murmured upon Moshe, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵And he shouted unto Yehovah. And Yehovah taught him a tree. And he cast unto the waters. And the waters were made sweet. He put for him there a statute and a justice. And He tested him there. ²⁶And He said, “If, hearkening, thou wilt hearken to the voice of Yehovah thy Gods, and wilt do the straight in His eyes, and thou wilt ‘ear’ to His commandments, and thou wilt guard all His statutes, I will not put upon thee all the sickness that I put into Egypt. For I am Yehovah thy healer.”

The word means thy healer, thy doctor. It describes one who either takes care of wounds or brings one to good health.

Israel is thou in verse 26, and thou is singular. Yehovah commanded Israel as a unit. This was not a command (or a promise) for an individual Israeli (or for anyone else). Other texts may give promises and commands to individuals, but not this text.

Yehovah promised Israel that He will refrain from putting on Israel the diseases that He put on Egypt if Israel will hearken. He never promised that Israeli individuals will enjoy perfect health in this text. This text is a warning—that if Israel refuses to hearken to the voice of Yehovah and won’t do what is straight in His eyes, refusing to ‘ear’ to His commandments, and refusing to guard all His statutes, Yehovah will strike Israel with the same diseases that occurred in Egypt!

Yehovah is both a healer and an afflicter!

Nothing can touch Israel without first going through Him. He is the Guard of Israel, and He brings some enemies against Israel.

The waters were bitter. Yehovah knew that. Yehovah taught how Moshe could make the waters sweet in the simplest way—by the addition of a tree. The Israelis needed these waters to live, but the waters that gave life were too bitter to use. Yehovah taught Moshe to teach Israel about the tree. (The word taught is the right Hebrew word, not showed, as other translations have.)

Yehovah associated the bitter waters and the tree with His ways, His commandments and His statutes. All these elements are found in this short text. The commandments, statutes, what is straight in the eyes of Yehovah—all these things can become very bitter, though they are given for life and not for death. When the tree is thrown into the midst, however, they become sweet. And when Israel will finally turn (as a single people) unto Yehovah to do what is straight in His eyes, and will find the statute and justice of Yehovah a delight, Yehovah will keep the diseases of Egypt permanently away from Israel. Yehovah Rophekha means, “He will be, He is, He was thy Healer.”

August 25, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 7:8 The First Plague: Blood QA

The First Plague: Blood

With Questions and Proposed Answers Supplied

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 7:8-25

Exodus 7:8 And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe] and unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] to say, ⁹ “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves,’ and thou shalt say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” ¹⁰And Draw [Moshe] came, and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], unto Pharaoh. And they did established—just as Yehovah commanded. And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] threw his rod to the faces of Pharaoh and to the faces of his slaves. And he became to a ‘taneen’! ¹¹And Pharaoh also called to wise-[ones] and to warlocks. And the diviners of Egypt—they also did via their flames. Established! ¹²And they threw—a man his rod! And they became to ‘taneeneem’! And the rod of Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] swallowed their rods! ¹³And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them, just as Yehovah spoke!

¹⁴And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People. ¹⁵Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. ¹⁶And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!” And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!’” ¹⁷ “So said Yehovah, ‘Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! ¹⁸The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!’”

¹⁹And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!” ²⁰And Draw [Moshe] and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] did so, just as Yehovah commanded. And he elevated via the rod. And he smote the waters that are in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and to the eyes of his slaves. And all the waters that are in the canal flipped-over to blood! ²¹And the fish that is in the canal died. And the canal stank. And Egyptians were not able to drink water from the canal. And the blood was in all the land of Egypt! ²²And the diviners of Egypt did so via their flames. And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke. ²³And Pharaoh turned. And he came unto his house. And he did not put his heart also to this. ²⁴And all Egyptians dug water around the canal to drink, for they were not able to drink from the waters of the canal. ²⁵And He fulfilled seven of the days after Yehovah’s smiting the canal.

I. Serpents (verses 8-13)

Yehovah gave directions to Moshe and Aharon: “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves…’” He then told them what to do: “…and thou shalt say unto Aharon, ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” (See the questions to learn what a taneen is.)

Moshe and Aharon came unto Pharaoh. They did exactly what Yehovah commanded. Aaron threw his rod directly in front of Pharaoh and directly in front of his slaves. The rod turned into a taneen!

Pharaoh wasn’t satisfied; he also called to wise ones and to warlocks. These diviners of Egypt also certainly did via their flames! Everyone threw his rod, and they turned into taneeneem! Then something happened: Aharon’s rod swallowed their rods!

Pharaoh’s heart (his mind) gripped. Pharaoh didn’t hearken to them; that was just what Yehovah had spoken.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah speak unto both Moshe and Aharon? They both had to hear the commands of Yehovah since they would both be obeying those commands in detail. This established to Aharon that Yehovah was truly speaking to Moshe.

2. Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would say, “Give ye a wonder for yourselves.” Why would Pharaoh do this? He was used to doing this with his diviners! They had convinced Pharaoh of their power and of their communications with the gods. Pharaoh greatly enjoyed their shows that they did for him.

3. Yehovah then said to Moshe, “Thou shalt say unto Aharon…” Didn’t Aharon hear Yehovah for himself? Yes, he did. I propose that Yehovah spoke to Moshe in Aharon’s hearing so that Aharon would later believe Moshe when Moshe will tell Aharon that Yehovah said something.

4. Yehovah told Aharon to take his rod and throw it in front of Pharaoh. How frightening would this act be? Pharaoh was a king. He sometimes commanded his slaves to kill folks who offended him just a little. Aharon was not young, but he had been a slave under Pharaoh all his life. Throwing a rod in front of Pharaoh took much boldness.

5. What is a taneen? This animal has the following features: it can be very large, dangerous, rod-like in shape like a snake; poisonous; it is drawn in pictures in Israel; folks watch (for) them; it can dwell in the sea or live on land, it can swallow a human, and it breastfeeds its young. I could not find what this animal is beyond this, nor could I guess what it was. I knew it was a frightening animal, and is not mythical. Yet, scientists don’t know of such an animal today. (It will again be present in the End Times.)

6. What are wise ones (verse 11)? They are astrologers. Astrologers read constellations to determine what will happen in the future. Since nearly all astrologers alive today don’t know how to read the constellations, they make things up (and therefore lie to folks). A true astrologer will fear Yehovah, the Gods of the Bible, and will believe the Bible literally.

7. What are warlocks? Warlock is the masculine form of witch. Both warlocks and witches make drugs—not for medicinal usage, but in order for others to obtain lusts that they have. Some like the drugs for personal highs and pleasures, for seeing weird sights, and for temporarily soothing addictions, while others like the drugs in order to manipulate others into doing what they otherwise would not do, including becoming unable to stop another from sexual advances. Folks who set up ‘meth’ labs are warlocks and witches. Drug dealers are also warlocks and witches.

8. What are diviners? They practice divination—that is, they write information obtained by occult (hidden) means, making contact with spirits (demons playing the role of dead folks, etc.). The word itself seems to combine three Hebrew words: rx, meaning hot, jjr, meaning tremble, and amj, meaning unclean. If these are correct, such a person is hot, trembling and unclean.

9. Were the diviners successful in doing the same miracle? Yes.

10. Why did Yehovah permit them to be successful in doing the same miracle? This way, readers of the Bible could realize that those who follow demons can also do miracles! Doing a miracle doesn’t prove that a person is given power by Yehovah.

11. What does “via their flames” mean? This means that they did some action that caused flames to suddenly erupt, after which the miracle had been done. This is usually done to distract an audience from a clever switch or trick, but these men truly did the same miracle.

12. What does “Established!” mean? This means that the action was certainly performed and done as described.

13. What are taneeneem? This word is the plural form of taneen.

14. How many of these diviners were able to cause their rods to become taneeneem? They all were able!

15. What happened to the rods/taneeneem of the diviners? They became meals for the taneen of Aharon! His one taneen swallowed their taneeneem!

16. What does “And the heart of Pharaoh gripped” mean, and why did this happen? Since the heart is the mind, Pharaoh’s mind gripped—it tightly held on to his earlier decision to not hearken to Aharon and Moshe. Pharaoh determined to refuse to change his mind.

Why did this happen? Pharaoh did not desire to change his mind no matter what he saw. He wanted all things to remain as they were.

17. Did Yehovah’s knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t change his mind cause Pharaoh to not change his mind? No! Just because Yehovah knows something doesn’t mean that He causes it to occur. Yehovah knows all things that occur. If He caused all things that He knows to occur, He would be responsible for sin and evil! He isn’t responsible for sin or evil, and He will make certain that all humans are judged.

II. Blood Warning (verses 14-18)

Yehovah further said to Moshe, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People.”

Yehovah told Moshe to meet him: “Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!”’”

Yehovah then began to threaten Pharaoh: “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!” Yehovah continued, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!”

Questions

1. What did Yehovah mean by, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy”? Since the heart is the mind, this tells the reader that Pharaoh’s mind was heavy—that is, that it was loaded with troubling thoughts, fears and anxieties (especially about the Israeli slaves and their desire to leave Egypt). Pharaoh feared what was occurring. He knew he had to be very careful lest the Israelis entirely revolt from Egypt’s grip. This God of Aharon and Moshe was also scaring him.

Since his mind was heavily loaded, he refused to send the Israelis.

2. Identify this People (verse 14): This People is Israel.

3. Yehovah told Moshe to walk unto Pharaoh, telling Moshe where Pharaoh will be located. Didn’t Pharaoh have bodyguards? If he did, they didn’t stop folks from approaching Pharaoh. I suspect that the fear of Pharaoh was great enough that only very brave persons approached him without an invitation.

4. What is the lip of the river? That is the shoreline, where the river waters the sand. It is like the lips of a human, being regularly watered from inside the mouth.

5. Why should Moshe take the rod that had become a serpent? Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would understand that the power that Moshe (and Aharon) had was in the rod; so Moshe must take that rod.

6. Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, ‘Send my People!’” Was this a nice request? No, it wasn’t a request. It was a demand. It was an order. Yehovah had no interest in asking Pharaoh to send Yehovah’s property, the Israelis.

In many translations, the wording is something like this: “Let my people go.” This isn’t even close to what Yehovah told Moshe to say. He said, “Send my People!” That is what Yehovah meant.

7. Why didn’t Yehovah request (ask) Pharaoh to send the Israelis? Might Pharaoh have done so, had He asked nicely? Yehovah is God. He tells humans what to do, and He holds them responsible for what they do or refuse to do. Pharaoh wouldn’t have complied had Yehovah begged him to send the Israelis, and that would have lowered Yehovah’s rank!

8. Who is he in, “And he has served me in the desert”? He is Yehovah’s People (Israel). Yehovah views the People of Israel as one being. The word people in Hebrew is singular, just as a group is singular—that is, it is one thing.

9. Why would Pharaoh desire to send the Israeli people to serve Yehovah (another god) in the desert? He wouldn’t! Yehovah knew this. Yehovah will do some ‘arm twisting;’ Pharaoh will become willing.

10. Who said, “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so,” and to whom did he say this? Yehovah said this to Pharaoh! Pharaoh must hearken to Yehovah!

11. What was Yehovah doing when He said to Pharaoh, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this”? He was threatening Pharaoh!

12. Why did Pharaoh tolerate being addressed by to low-ranking persons—one who was still a slave, and the other who was an outsider? I propose that Pharaoh (up to this point) was entertained by them, figuring that he would have them put to death for their insolence (for their arrogant, smart-mouthed responses) very shortly.

13. Right after Moshe said, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this,” he said, “Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand (referring to Moshe’s hand) upon the waters that are in the river.” Was Moshe acting as if he, Moshe, is Yehovah? Yehovah designed it this way so that Pharaoh will view Moshe as Yehovah Himself! This is what Yehovah commanded Moshe to say. Since Pharaoh is supposed to be a god, Yehovah is making Moshe into a god—into Yehovah Himself before Pharaoh!

14. What does “they shall be flipped-over to blood” mean? This means that the waters will churn, and they will become blood as they turn and churn in the river. Once they have turned over, they will be blood.

15. Why did Yehovah attack the river? Every attack that Yehovah is about to do will be against one of Egypt’s gods. The Egyptians worshipped that river as a god! That river gave Egypt life. Egypt would have dried up and died without it.

16. What does “the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river” mean? This means that they will hate to drink from it; they will be disgusted at the thought of drinking from it; they will do whatever is necessary to avoid drinking from it.

III. The Bloody Act (verses 19-25)

Yehovah continued to command Moshe. This time, the orders were for Aharon: Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!”

Moshe and Aharon did exactly as Yehovah commanded them. He (Aharon) lifted over the water with his rod. He smote the waters in the canal directly in front of Pharaoh and all Pharaoh’s slaves. The waters in the canal immediately turned over, and they became blood!

This resulted in the canal’s fish dying. The smell came next: the canal stank with the smell of dead fish. The Egytians had normally drunk water from the canal, but they just couldn’t drink it; it was blood, and it stank.

The blood wasn’t only in the canal; it was in all the land of Egypt.

The diviners of Egypt obtained water that wasn’t blood, and they did the same miracle using their flames. The heart (mind) of Pharaoh gripped—that is, his mind stood firm. He didn’t hearken to Moshe and to Aharon about sending the Israelis. This was exactly what Yehovah said he would do.

Pharaoh turned from Moshe and Aharon, and he came to his house. He refused to put his heart (mind) to this miracle (as well as the other miracles).

The Egyptians dug for water around the canal in order to drink water; the canal was useless for this.

For a full seven days after Yehovah smote the canal, it was in this condition.

Questions

1. Yehovah again told Moshe to command Aharon to take up the rod and to do the miracle. Why did Yehovah desire Aharon to do this? Yehovah desired to establish Aharon as Moshe’s prophet, leaving Moshe as being God to Pharaoh! This is very important since gods normally send prophets.

2. What places where waters are found in Egypt were attacked, according to verse 19?

The rivers (plural) of Egypt
The canals (plural) of Egypt
The pools (whether made for swimming and washing, or where waters would ‘pool up’ from rivers and canals) of Egypt
Every gathering of their waters, including in their water pots and wells

3. What is the difference between water and blood? List the distinctions.

Water is clear; blood is red and not clear.
Water is runny; blood is thick.
When water dries, it evaporates (and disappears). When blood dries, it becomes brown and hard.
Water has very little smell; blood becomes very bad-smelling in large amounts when it is left in the air.
Drinking water is not harmful; drinking blood will affect the way folks think.
Drinking water will quench thirst; drinking blood will not work in the same way.
Water usually doesn’t make folks sick; having to drink blood will make many sick at the thought.
Water doesn’t stain any normal fabric (except ones like silk) if the water is clean. Blood, on the other hand, tends to stain almost everything.

4. How can blood be in the trees? Some of the trees that grow in Egypt grow in the water. Some of those trees have hollow places where water can collect. Blood will replace that water in those trees.

5. How can water be in rocks? It can collect in crevices and in craters in rocks. Some rocks are very big and are hollowed out. Those rocks that previously had water will now have blood.

6. Why did Yehovah choose blood to attack the waters (instead of something else, like bitter-tasting liquid, poison, or something of that nature)? Blood is very visual, and it represents life and death. The Egyptians were (and are) highly superstitious. This affected their minds (like seeing zombies would affect some today). The purity of water and the uncleanness of blood (as if it came from corpses) were so opposite and so terrible to the Egyptians. They prided themselves on being clean and smelling good. Blood stains clothing. It will ruin the Egyptian garments that it touches. Besides these things, Yehovah used the blood to threaten the Egyptians.

7. Who is he who elevated via the rod? Aharon elevated via the rod. Pictures showing Moshe doing this regarding the blood are wrong.

8. What does smite mean? To smite is to hit with an intensity that can potentially kill. It isn’t a slap, and it isn’t a light punch; it is with great force.

9. Why did Aharon have to smite the waters in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and his slaves? He had to do these miracles straight in front of these men and in their sight so that they couldn’t claim that someone else or some other god had done this.

10. Why did the fish die? The fish died because gills are not designed to obtain oxygen from blood, but rather from water. The fish couldn’t breathe.

11. What made the canal stink? The combination of the smell of rotting blood and dead fish made the canal stink.

(If you desire to see what this is like, obtain some blood from a butcher and some fish; let them sit out in the sun in a plastic bag for a few days. Then sniff.)

12. What does “the blood was in all the land of Egypt” mean? The blood was everywhere in Egypt where waters gathered. It was not in the soil where folks could dig; had blood been there, the Egyptians would have died. They were able to obtain fresh water, but they had to dig for it. (Do you dig?)

13. What does “he did not put his heart also to this” mean? It means that Pharaoh made sure to not think about this event. He avoided thinking about it, because if he thought about it, he might do as Yehovah commanded!

14. How many of the Egyptians dug water to drink? All Egyptians did this. (The very old and the very young could not dig, but they could stand there while others dug for them.) They had to have water because the climate is very hot and dry; going without water or something to drink for day or two in such a climate can dehydrate a person (cause them to become sick and even die from too little water).

15. Who is He in, “And He fulfilled seven of the days…”? I propose that this is Yehovah; He made certain that a full seven days in this water crisis occurred throughout Egypt.

16. Did the Israelis also suffer? Yes! They had to learn to fear Yehovah; they were pagans just like the Egyptians! Thus, they also had to dig for water!

17. Wasn’t the water muddy if they dug for it? I expect that it was muddy! When folks are thirsty, they will even drink muddy water. They could filter the water through cloth and get some of the mud out, but the water would still taste muddy.

August 25, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 7:8 The First Plague: Blood

The First Plague: Blood

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 7:8-25

I. Serpents (verses 8-13)

Moshe and Aharon came unto Pharaoh. They did exactly what Yehovah commanded. Aaron threw his rod directly in front of Pharaoh and directly in front of his slaves. The rod turned into a taneen!

Pharaoh’s heart (his mind) gripped. Pharaoh didn’t hearken to them; that was just what Yehovah had spoken.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah speak unto both Moshe and Aharon?

2. Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would say, “Give ye a wonder for yourselves.” Why would Pharaoh do this?

3. Yehovah then said to Moshe, “Thou shalt say unto Aharon…” Didn’t Aharon hear Yehovah for himself?

4. Yehovah told Aharon to take his rod and throw it in front of Pharaoh. How frightening would this act be?

5. What is a taneen?

6. What are wise ones (verse 11)?

7. What are warlocks?

8. What are diviners?

9. Were the diviners successful in doing the same miracle?

10. Why did Yehovah permit them to be successful in doing the same miracle?

11. What does “via their flames” mean?

12. What does “Established!” mean?

13. What are taneeneem?

14. How many of these diviners were able to cause their rods to become taneeneem?

15. What happened to the rods/taneeneem of the diviners?

16. What does “And the heart of Pharaoh gripped” mean, and why did this happen?

17. Did Yehovah’s knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t change his mind cause Pharaoh to not change his mind?

II. Blood Warning (verses 14-18)

Yehovah further said to Moshe, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People.”

Questions

1. What did Yehovah mean by, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy?

2. Identify this People (verse 14):

3. Yehovah told Moshe to walk unto Pharaoh, telling Moshe where Pharaoh will be located. Didn’t Pharaoh have bodyguards?

4. What is the lip of the river?

5. Why should Moshe take the rod that had become a serpent?

6. Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, ‘Send my People!’” Was this a nice request?

7. Why didn’t Yehovah request (ask) Pharaoh to send the Israelis? Might Pharaoh have done so, had He asked nicely?

8. Who is he in, “And he has served me in the desert”?

9. Why would Pharaoh desire to send the Israeli people to serve Yehovah (another god) in the desert?

10. Who said, “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so,” and to whom did he say this?

11. What was Yehovah doing when He said to Pharaoh, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this”?

12. Why did Pharaoh tolerate being addressed by to low-ranking persons—one who was still a slave, and the other who was an outsider?

14. What does “they shall be flipped-over to blood” mean?

15. Why did Yehovah attack the river?

16. What does “the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river” mean?

III. The Bloody Act (verses 19-25)

The blood wasn’t only in the canal; it was in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh turned from Moshe and Aharon, and he came to his house. He refused to put his heart (mind) to this miracle (as well as the other miracles).

The Egyptians dug for water around the canal in order to drink water; the canal was useless for this.

For a full seven days after Yehovah smote the canal, it was in this condition.

Questions

1. Yehovah again told Moshe to command Aharon to take up the rod and to do the miracle. Why did Yehovah desire Aharon to do this?

2. What places where waters are found in Egypt were attacked, according to verse 19?

3. What is the difference between water and blood? List the distinctions.

4. How can blood be in the trees?

5. How can water be in rocks?

6. Why did Yehovah choose blood to attack the waters (instead of something else, like bitter-tasting liquid, poison, or something of that nature)?

7. Who is he who elevated via the rod?

8. What does smite mean?

9. Why did Aharon have to smite the waters in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and his slaves?

10. Why did the fish die?

11. What made the canal stink?

12. What does “the blood was in all the land of Egypt” mean?

13. What does “he did not put his heart also to this” mean?

14. How many of the Egyptians dug water to drink?

15. Who is He in, “And He fulfilled seven of the days…”?

16. Did the Israelis also suffer?

17. Wasn’t the water muddy if they dug for it?