Emendations Of The Sopherim

Recently I ran across a Bible term that was new to me - "Emendations Of The Sopherim " - Two Jehovahs [1].

The first question is “what are the Emendations Of The Sopherim?”.
The second question is “why do I care?”

Let's start with the Sopherim. Sopherim are the scribes of the Old Testament scriptures, the ones who copied the Masoretic text. Masoretic comes from the word Masorah, which are notes in the margins made by the Sopherim. “By simple definition, soferim are copyists, but their religious role in Judaism is much more” - Wiki(Sofer) [2].

Page From Aleppo Codex

The Masoretic text is considered by the Jews to be the authoritative text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism.

It was primarily copied, edited, and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries of the Common Era (CE). The oldest known complete copy, the Leningrad Codex, dates from the early 11th century CE. Wiki(Masoretic_Text) [3]

 

Emendations are corrections to a text, or altering the text to improve it. Some say the alterations are to correct errors, some say emendation is editing - Wordnik [4]. Ordinary people would probably just call them “scribal edits”. The emendations may be much older than the Masoretes.

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Why Emend The Text?

One reason given for emending the text was to protect the sacredness of God's name YHVH - faith-once [5]. Some pronounce it Jehovah, some say Yehovah, some say Yahweh, but the Jews don't pronounce His name at all. And they don't want anyone else pronouncing it either. YHVH appears in the Old Testament 6823 times unchanged, but many claim 134 additional times the Sopherim changed YHVH to Adonai meaning Lord, or sometimes Elohim meaning God. Nearly all English Bibles translate YHVH as “LORD”, that is all caps, often in a smaller font. Often, Bibles will explain that they are translating YHVH this way in the introduction. Here's what the Foreword from the New American Standard Bible says.

The Proper Name of God in the Old Testament: In the Scriptures, the name of God is most significant and understandably so. It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. Thus the most common name for the Deity is God, a translation of the original Elohim. One of the titles for God is Lord, a translation of Adonai. There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8). This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it as been consistently translated LORD. The only exception to this translation of YHWH is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated GOD in order to avoid confusion [I find it more confusing]. It is known that for many years YHVH has been transliterated as Yahweh, however no complete certainty attaches to this pronunciation. NASB [6]

So why did the Sopherim change those 134 occurrences? Scholars differ, but one source claims these are the reasons given [5].

1. Those places where a man directly addresses God;
2. When a man makes a statement bringing God into a personal relationship with himself;
3. Where YHVH was shown directly intervening in the affairs of men;
4. Where anyone caused a reproach against God;
5. Where anyone claimed to have personally seen God.

It sounds to me like the changes make it appear as if no one had a personal relationship with Jehovah.

Two Jehovahs??

Some of the emendations have doctrinal implications. They obscure the truth that God is more than just a single Being, specifically that God is two Jehovahs [1]. Consider Psalm 110, this is where we'll spend the rest of our time. For clarity, we'll look at verses 1 and 5.

 

 1. The LORD said unto my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.”

 

 

5. The LORD at Your right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath.

If you read those verses out loud, could someone tell when you read LORD in all caps? I can't tell who's who in the English, read it again with the names.

1. Jehovah said unto my Adon, “Sit at My right hand...”

5. Adonai at Your right hand (emended)

5. JEHOVAH at Your right hand (not emended)

Using BibleHub.com [7], I did find 7 translations that say “LORD” in verse 5, and 2 that actually say Jehovah, one of those translated from Aramaic. Qbible.com [8] also has YHVH in Ps 110:5. Without emendations, Ps 110 clearly states there is a Jehovah sitting at the right hand of another Jehovah. The Churches of God have always taught that this refers to God the Father and God the Son. I don't know when they learned about the emendations, but UCG does mention them in the Study Paper [9] “The Nature of God and Christ” - p14  [10]. The idea of two Jehovahs is a problem for anyone who believes that God is one being. Jesus Himself quotes Ps 110.

Mt 22 41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET”’? 45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to offer Him a word in answer, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.

Again, if read aloud, could you tell when LORD is in all caps? In the Greek the name Jehovah is translated as Kurios. YHVH never appears in the Greek New Testament - BibleStudyTools [11]. So let's plug Kurios into Mt 22:43-45.

Mt 22:43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘KURIOS,’ saying, 44 KURIOS SAID TO MY KURIOS, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET” 45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Kurios,’ how is He his son?”

Mt 22:44 in Codex Vaticanus

Also recorded in Mark 12:35-40 and Luke 20:41-47.

The Hebrew gospel of Matthew (some say it's the original, some say a translation from Greek) reads “The Lord said to my Lord”

Remember, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, the experts in the Old Testament (Tanach), yet no one was able to answer Him. Some say it is possible that the emendations were already done before this time, and that Jesus knew it. By quoting this verse, He let them know He knew it. Ps 110 is quoted 20 times in the New Testament, showing it's importance. Most of those 20 quotations refer to Jesus being at the right hand of God, that is Jehovah at the right hand of Jehovah. A few verses quote Ps 110:4 that talks of Melchizedek.

How could David's Lord be his son? And how could Kurios say to another Kurios?

Jesus Is Not An Angel

Paul also quotes Psalm 110 to show that Jesus was not an angel.

Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”? Upper case here means it is a quote from the Old Testament.

Hebrews 1 and 2 are full of Old Testament quotes showing that Jesus is the Son of God, not an angel, though there are Old Testament verses where He is referred to as the “Angel of God”. The Churches of God are not alone in teaching Jesus' divinity, but others do teach He was an angel - ChristianQuestions [12], the very thing Paul was teaching against in Hebrews. But Ps 110:5 refers to Jesus as Jehovah, Yehovah in Hebrew which means “He was, He is, He will be”, rendered in Ex 3:14 as “I AM THAT I AM”, or "the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God,".

God of the Old Testament vs God of the New Testament.

“Others contend that the Jehovah of Old Testament times was the same as God the Father in the New Testament.” - ChurchOfJesusChrist [13]

Remember Ps 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.”

King David

David called Him “My Lord”. David was the king of Israel so he didn't call any man “my Lord”. We know from Ps 110:5 that the Lord that David knew became known as Jesus (because He sat the right hand), not the One who became known as God the Father. Furthermore, Jesus said He reveals the Father.

 

Matthew 11:27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

If the Father were the God of the Old Testament, He didn't need revealing. The God of the Old Testament is in the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Joshua, David, etc. etc. etc. He doesn't need revealing.

134 emendations, one down, 133 to go. I'm going to need more time...

The Rest Of The Story

Not everyone agrees with this interpretation of the 134 emendations. Our knowledge of the emendations comes from “The Companion Bible” by E.W. Bullinger. who got it from a rather dense book (2537 pages) called “The Massorah” by C.D. Ginsburg, both men writing in the late 19th century, both books available free online - Bullinger [14], Ginsburg [15].

We have seen that in many of these one hundred and thirty-four instances in which the present received text reads Adonai in accordance with this Massorah, some of the best MMS [manuscripts]. and early editions read the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) sect 115 [15].

Today, we have access to a lot more manuscripts than Ginsburg, the Dead Sea Scrolls are the most familiar example. Ginsburg said the Masoretic text does not match some of the best manuscripts and early editions, he does not say the Sopherim left notes about them in the margin as some claim. A search for Tiqqun Sopherim (the Hebrew for Emendations) only lists 18, not 134, and they are different edits. If Ginsburg were writing today with the manuscript access of today, would he come to the same conclusions? Some argue Ginsburg was misinterpreted. However, we don't need to appeal to the emendations argument to make the doctrinal statements about the identity of Jesus, but they do make it easier to explain them.

Fragment of the Great Isiah Scroll [16]

Summary

Let's review the lessons that Ps 110 with or without emendations teaches.

The Old Testament does point to two Jehovahs, not one or three.
Jesus was the Son of God, not an angel.
Jesus was and is God, it's right in the name Jehovah.
Jesus was the God of the Old Testament.


References

1. https://www.cbcg.org/natureofgod/2jehovahs-of-the-psalms.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofer

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text

4. https://www.wordnik.com/words/emendation

5. https://faith-once-delivered.org/pages/5-134-emendations.php

6. https://www.blueletterbible.org/bibles/preface-to-the-new-american-standard-bible-2020.cfm

7.  https://biblehub.com/psalms/110-5.htm

8. http://www.qbible.com/hebrew-old-testament/psalms/110.html#5

9. https://www.ucg.org/study-papers

10. https://ucgweb.s3.amazonaws.com/files/papers/ucg-paper-the-nature-of-god-and-christ.pdf

11. https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/jehovah

12. https://christianquestions.com/bible-questions/was-jesus-an-angel-before-he-was-on-earth

13. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-genesis-2-samuel/enrichment-section-a-who-is-the-god-of-the-old-testament?lang=eng

14. https://www.companionbiblecondensed.com/AP/ap32/index.html?page=1

15. https://archive.org/details/Ginsburg_The-Massorah-Compiled-from-Manuscripts_1880-1905/mode/1up?view=theater

16. http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah

Birth Of A Nation

Israel were slaves in Egypt. As slaves, they lacked many freedoms we take for granted like freedom to travel or work, etc. If God had not delivered them, Israel might have been lost to history.  Could ancient Israel have escaped slavery on their own? Not Likely. An article about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad on history.com said this.

Despite the horrors of slavery, it was no easy decision to flee.

No matter how courageous or clever, few enslaved people threw off their shackles without at least some outside help -  history.com(tubman) [1]. 

 

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Black Slaves Defeat
Napoleon's Troops

Note that Haiti is the only nation that gained independence as part of a successful slave rebellion. And this independence came at a terrible cost – an estimated 400,000 Haitians and 50,000 European soldiers were killed over the 13 year rebellion, which began in 1791 - Wiki(Haitian_Revolution) [2].

Anyway, God DID deliver Israel, through ten plagues, and other miracles like parting of the Red Sea – He was that outside help needed to free slaves. You could argue that the nation of Israel was born the day they left Egypt, or when they passed through the Red Sea. But were they really a nation yet? They had no land of their own, though it was promised, they had no laws or judicial system, they were under Egyptian slavery law. Did they have a religion of their own? Or did they follow Egyptian religions? They had been slaves for centuries by the time of the Exodus.

Is 66:8 World English Bible - Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she gave birth to her children.

What happens to the culture of an enslaved people? Writing about slaves in the US.

Enslaved people adopted a variety of mechanisms to cope with the degrading realities of life on the plantation. They resisted slavery through everyday acts, while also occasionally plotting larger-scale revolts - khanacademy.org [3]

This had to become a way of life for Israel. It had to create a mistrust of authority. Recall that Pharaoh dealt shrewdly with the children of Israel – Exo 1:10. He placed Israelites over Israelites, under Egyptian taskmasters of course. We read in Exo 5:14, 19 that the officers (KJV) were Israelites, some translate it as foremen. Orders came from Pharaoh to the taskmasters to the officers to the slaves. This was recorded during the “no straw for bricks” episode.

Exo 5:14 And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, …

Yellow Star Worn By Kapos

“Foremen” seems like too polite of a term. These officers were appointed to control the people. This reminds me of the concentration camps of WWII, where overseers called kapos were chosen from among the Jews to control the inmates. Often kapos were chosen from the criminal element, and they were known for brutality Wiki(kapo) [4].

They forced a person to choose in a way we were never forced to choose before: to become either a victim or a perpetrator.”  lithub.com(collaborator) [5]

 

Israel were slaves for generations. Everyone, old and young, who left Egypt had been a slave their whole life. They had the culture and thinking of slaves. This didn't vanish when they crossed the Red Sea. You can take Israel out of Egypt, but can you take Egypt out of Israel? The sad truth is that they all had to die, and it was their children that went into the Promised Land. 

Num 14:22 Certainly all the people who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who were disrespectful to Me see it.  

What happened there on a national scale is what happens to each of us on a personal level.

Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

It took more than ten plagues to take Israel out of physical slavery. At Mt Sinai, God gave ten commandments to take them out of spiritual slavery. Even then, Israel “put God to the test” ten times. The number ten shows up at least three times in the birth of the nation. I don't  know the full significance of “ten", but I don't think it's an accident.

God Speaks At Sinai

After the Exodus came Pentecost/Shavuot, when God spoke to the nation  directly. 

Exo 20:2 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים

In introducing Himself, He reminds the people that He was the outside help who delivered them from slavery, the house of bondage. That was deliverance from physical slavery by ten plagues. Now He gives ten Commandments to deliver them from spiritual slavery. But one more thing is needed to give birth to a nation – a system of justice, in Bible terms statutes and judgments. And chapters 21-24 of Exodus are the beginning of that system of justice. And the response of the elders of Israel?

Exo 24:1 Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone, however, shall approach the LORD, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.” 3 Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!”

I find it interesting that the first judgments (mishpatim) given in Exodus 21 concern slavery.

In my opinion, when the 70 elders ratified the covenant, Israel became a nation. Follow these laws, and these statutes and judgments, and you will be free indeed. Free to work for yourself. Free to enjoy the rewards of your labor. Free to buy and sell. Free to marry. Free to come and go. Free to develop your own traditions, free to create your own culture. Much of the Old Testament is devoted to the history of that nation of Israel.

Second Israel

Israel eventually lost that national freedom because they would not obey God, but amazingly Israel was reborn.

On May 14, 1948,  David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first premier - history.com(israel-proclaimed) [6].

Israel is the only nation on earth that was born in a day - godencounters.com [7]

Not only that, but twice! Accompanied by many miracles both times.

Palestine Post, May 14 1948 - Wiki(PalestinePost) [8]

Birth of the Church

Let's bring this closer to home. What other “nation” was born in a day? We recognize the day of Pentecost as the birth of the church. Note how Peter described the church.

1 Pt 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

 

Cloven Tongues Of Fire

 According to Acts 1:15, about 120 people gathered to keep that Pentecost, 

Acts 1:15 At this time Peter stood up among the brethren (a group of about 120 people was there together), and said,

but by the end of that Pentecost day, 

Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

Apparently, preaching with a tongue of flame on your head is very effective.

One big reason I consider Pentecost the birth of ancient Israel is because of the parallel with the birth of the church on Pentecost.

Another nation born in a day? When Christ returns, He will establish a new nation in that day. We will be a part of it. It will be a new Israel.

Common Traits

I'll close with some thoughts on traits common to birth which we can apply to the birth of nations as well, specifically gestation, delivery, and infancy.

Ancient Israel gestated in Goshen - theisraelbible [9]. They went from a tribe of 70 to a nation there. Delivery is the familiar part of the story – the plagues, the miracles, and the Exodus. Note that delivery is painful. Then came infancy, where Israel set about becoming a new nation, learning to stand on their own two feet

The gestation of modern Israel is harder to describe. The Jewish people certainly maintained their identity for thousands of years, suffering persecution in most generations (a long difficult pregnancy if you will), which reached a crisis in WWII. The holocaust could be described as the birth pains. God delivered them to a land of their own, the very same land as ancient Israel. Modern Israel had to grow up fast – they were attacked almost immediately upon becoming a nation.

The church started small, gestating during Jesus' ministry on earth, followed by the anguish of His death. Born (delivered) on Pentecost, the infancy of the church is described in the book of Acts.

And the future kingdom. The church has been a spiritual nation of Israel “wandering in the wilderness” for nearly 2000 years, groaning for deliverance which we believe is coming soon. Prophecy shows a very painful birth for the kingdom. Prophecy also gives us a glimpse of life in the world tomorrow. That's where we come in.

On a personal level, Acts 14:22 tells us “It is through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God.” That tribulation is like birth pains.

Pentecost is rich in meaning, with much symbolism in it. It pictures First Fruits, it pictures giving of the law on Sinai, giving of the Old Covenant, giving of the Holy Spirit. By the count 50, it links back to the Wave Sheaf Day and links forward to Atonement when the Jubilee (50th year) is announced, a year of liberty and redemption. And as we've seen, it looks backward to the birth of the nation Israel and the birth of the church. It also looks forward to the birth of the kingdom, the day we pray for when we say “Thy kingdom come”.

References

1. https://www.history.com/news/underground-railroad-harriet-tubman
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution
3. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-era/sectional-tension-1850s/a/life-for-enslaved-men-and-women
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapo
5. https://lithub.com/inhabiting-the-mind-of-the-worst-kind-of-collaborator-a-nazi-kapo
6. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/state-of-israel-proclaimed
7. https://godencounters.com/can-nation-be-born-day-hint-yes
8. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:19480516_PalestinePost_Israel_is_born.jpg

9.  https://theisraelbible.com/the-land-of-goshen-where-israel-became-a-nation

Great American Solar Eclipse

America watched a total solar eclipse in August 2017. And will watch another total solar eclipse April 8, 2024. It is predicted to be the largest mass viewing of an astronomical event in US history. I have seen more articles about the 2024 eclipse than I saw for the 2017 eclipse. So many people are travelling to see it that some locations worry they may run out of food that day. Delta Airlines [1] is even offering path-of-totality flights from Austin to Detroit.

Does the eclipse have any meaning? Is it a sign? Is it just a normal cycle in the heavens? I wrote a blog article in 2017 about that eclipse [2], and asked the same questions then.

Is this just an ordinary astronomical event? Or is it a sign from God Himself? Big deal or no?

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Let's look at some interesting facts about the eclipse, then come back to these questions.

• The 2017 eclipse crossed over seven cities named Salem in America
• The 2024 eclipse will occur on the last day of the Hebrew year.
• The 2024 eclipse will cross over seven cities named Nineveh in America 
• Some teach that there was an eclipse over Nineveh in the days of Jonah 
• The first US town to see the 2024 eclipse is Eagle Pass, Texas 
• The last Canadian town to see the 2024 eclipse is Economy, Nova Scotia 
• The 2017 and 2024 eclipses cross paths in southern Illinois, in "Little Egypt"
• A small planetary alignment (four planets) occurs April 4, 2024 
• The "devil comet" visible during the 2024 eclipse, closest at Passover  
• A blood moon lunar eclipse occurred Mar 25, 2024 (Purim) 
• The 2023 eclipse plus 2017 and 2024 eclipses form the Paleo Hebrew Aleph 
• The 2017 and 2024 eclipses form the Paleo Hebrew letter Tav

From Salem To Nineveh

Look at the names of the towns that the 2017 and 2024 eclipses pass through. In 2017, seven towns named Salem, in 2024 seven towns named Nineveh - Israel365News [3]. There are only seven towns named Nineveh in the US, yet this eclipse hits them all. Salem means peace, but the exact meaning of Nineveh is uncertain, it could mean "Habitation of Offspring" or "Habitation of Ninus", where Ninus is a powerful, historical figure - Abarim [4]. What is more relevant here is that the prophet Jonah warned Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days unless they repented.

Archeological scholar, Donald Wiseman, former curator at the British Museum and leading expert on Assyrian culture, has speculated that a solar eclipse did occur over Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire [3].

A solar eclipse during Jonah's warning to Nineveh would have encouraged people to believe him and repent. They did repent that time and were spared, but were destroyed a century or so later - GotQuestions [5]. If one accepts that these eclipses are warnings, it could mean 1) a warning that peace (Salem) will be removed - I would argue that the world is much less peaceful now than 2017. And 2) that destruction is imminent unless we repent (like Nineveh).

Immigration and Economy

Get Your Eagle Pass T-Shirt

The first US town to see the eclipse is Eagle Pass, Texas,[6] considered ground zero of the US illegal immigration crisis. The last town in Canada to see the eclipse is Economy, Nova Scotia [7]. Immigration and the economy are two big issues for voters in 2024. Coincidence?

Little Egypt

The two total eclipses overlap in an area of Illinois called Little Egypt [8]. John Badgley, a Baptist missionary called the area Land of Goshen in 1799. At one time, a famine in northern Illinois caused people to go to Little Egypt to buy food, and some settled there - Northern Illinois University [9]. Sound familiar? One way to look at this is maybe we are being told to look back at what happened in Egypt long ago. Pharaoh had a dream, interpreted by Joseph of seven fat years followed by seven lean years. The lean years did not begin in 2017, so if that is the point, the lean years could start this year. Maybe the point is to look to Israel's Exodus from Egypt, preceded by a plague of darkness.

2024 will see the rare occurrence of two cicada broods in Illinois, one in southern Illinois - Illinois Extension [10], though they are not expected to overlap to any significant extent - UConn [11] .

This year (2024) is a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, where Broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. This is the first time this has happened since 1803 [10]

Little Egypt is also close to the New Madrid fault line, the site of the largest US earthquakes, which happened in 1811-1812. One of these quakes was powerful enough to make the Mississippi River flow backwards - Wiki(New Madrid) [12].

Coincidence?

More Signs In The Heavens

Devil Comet With Two "Horns"

 

Interesting astronomical events seem to be piling up in 2024. The "Devil Comet" [13], so called because it appears to have two horns will be visible during the eclipse. Remember, the eclipse is on the last day of the Hebrew year, the new year starts April 8 at sundown. The Devil Comet will pass closest to Earth on April 21, which is Passover. Also, a "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse occurred on March 25, the day after the Jewish holiday of Purim [7]. Don't forget the small planetary alignment on April 4 - some say it will be seven planets aligned - endoftheamericandream [14], but other sources say only four - starwalk.space [15]. Coincidence?

More Hebrew Connections

On Oct 14, 2023, the US witnessed an annular eclipse, also known as a ring of fire eclipse because the sun is still visible around the moon - Planetary [16]. Tracing the paths of these three solar eclipses gives a hint to anyone who reads Paleo Hebrew. Doesn't everyone? All three paths form a Paleo Hebrew letter Aleph. The 2017 and 2024 paths form the letter Tav. Aleph is the first letter of the alphabet, Tav is the last. One could interpret this as the first and the last, or the beginning and the end - LightOf Torah [17], Natsab [18] Coincidence?

Signs Or Coincidence?

I have read a number of interpretations of the eclipses, they cover a spectrum of opinions. Throughout history, many believe that eclipses in general are bad omens, they feared eclipses. Mark Biltz for example claims 

Solar eclipse to mark beginning of judgment upon America - WND [19]

But he also said

The 1967-1968 tetrad of blood moons was a seven-year warning of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Yom Kippur in 1973 was the very first day of the Jubilee cycle. And then the 2014-2015 Protective Edge incursion into Gaza and the Blood Moon that accompanied it were a seven-year warning before the October 7 war [19]

 

Maybe I'm being pedantic, but 1967-1973 is six years not seven, and 2014-2024 is ten years not seven. 

Lyn Melvin [20] is predicting the rapture on or before the eclipse, but I'm not persuaded that the Bible predicts a rapture.  

While some view them as warnings of judgment, others view them as predictable astronomical events and nothing to fear, which is one reason so many people are going to view the eclipse live.

Opinions vary within the Churches of God as well. Tom Kerry [21] teaches similar to Mark Biltz, while Bob Thiel [22] denounces it saying

Do not be like the pagans and read things into astronomical phenomena that people like Mark Biltz are pushing. [22]

Thiel does however acknowledge the judgment aspect of the times we live in.

the USA and many other lands are doing things to trigger God’s judgment [22]

Final Thoughts 

The Bible does say that the sun and moon were given for signs (Gen 1:14), that sounds like it includes eclipses. It also says "Joel 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." The heavenly signs of the very end times will be unmistakable, supernatural signs, not natural predictable events. But I can't help thinking the timing and location of these natural events, however predictable they may be, are still signs, not coincidences. One problem I see is that interpreting the signs is unclear, as seen in the spectrum of opinions above. I don't wish to read too much into these signs, nor do I wish to ignore or dismiss them as simply coincidence. As a nation and as individuals, it is time to repent and get right with God.

References

1. https://news.delta.com/eclipse-viewing-30000-feet-delta-offer-path-totality-flight

2. https://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2017/08/total-solar-eclipse-apocalypse.html

3. https://israel365news.com/387837/the-great-american-eclipse-of-2024-jonah-and-nineveh-connecting-the-dots/

4. https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Nineveh.html

5. https://www.gotquestions.org/Nineveh-destroyed.html

6. https://www.chooseeaglepass.com/eclipse

7. https://www.wnd.com/2024/03/biblical-expert-warns-upcoming-blood-moons/

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois

9. https://www.lib.niu.edu/2004/ih071004.html

10. https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2024-02-22-cicadas-are-coming-periodical-cicadas-illinois-2024

11. https://cicadas.uconn.edu/

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811%E2%80%931812_New_Madrid_earthquakes

13. https://www.astronomy.com/observing/a-comet-will-be-visible-during-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse/

14. https://endoftheamericandream.com/the-blood-moon-purim-eclipse-of-march-25th-will-happen-at-about-the-same-time-the-devil-comet-becomes-visible-to-the-naked-eye/

15. https://starwalk.space/en/news/what-is-planet-parade

16. https://www.planetary.org/articles/what-is-an-annular-solar-eclipse

17. https://thelightoftorah.org/deeper-scriptural-understanding/the-aleph-tav/

18. https://natsab.com/2022/02/18/the-alef-the-tav-eclipses-and-the-exodus/

19. https://www.wnd.com/2024/02/biblical-expert-solar-eclipse-mark-beginning-judgment-upon-america/

20. https://lynmelvin.blogspot.com/2024/03/rapture-days-of-darkness-sooner-than-we.html

21. https://www.thecogmi.org/video/eclipse24.htm

22. https://www.cogwriter.com/news/prophecy/biltz-judgment-of-usa-begins-with-solar-eclipse-april-8-2024-billinglesy-jesus-will-be-on-earth-in-2029/

With Healing In His Wings

We live in an unusual time in history. Recently I described how the indoor plumbing we take for granted is only about 100 years old - No Hot Showers [1]. Another thing that sets this age apart is simply how colorful it is. Any color you think of is easily acquired - paints, inks, dyes, etc.  But it was not always so. Until the discovery of analin dyes in 1856, all dyes came from nature. BTW, unlike stains which only affect the surface, dyes penetrate the material and don't wash out. Nature provides most colors in abundance so the human world was not THAT drab, with the exception of purple and blue. But one might say the sky is blue and water is blue – yes but blue pigments in nature are rare. Nowadays blue is common, just think of the two billion pairs of blue jeans sold each year - ZipDo [2].

Our Blue Planet

Seen from space, earth appears as a blue and white planet. But up close, on land, one sees earth tones like browns, greens, reds. Outside of blueberries, can you think of another blue food - BlueFoods [3]? Even birds and butterflies that look blue don't get their color from blue pigment, but from fine scales that refract blue light - ZeFrank [4]. It took Shuji Nakamura [5] over 20 years to develop the blue LED - Veritasium [6], critical for flat screen TVs and smart phones.  He won a Nobel Prize for it Nova [7]. The reasons that blue is rare go into physics, chemistry, and biology, which even if I understood, aren't the reason I bring this up. Consider the Tabernacle.

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The curtains, the veil, the door of the Tabernacle in the wilderness all contained blue. The High Priest of ancient Israel was to wear a robe of blue. The word for blue is tekhelet [8], and tekhelet is used over 50 times in the Hebrew, nearly all of them in connection to the Tabernacle or the Temple.

Exo 28:31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue

Not just the High Priest, everyone was supposed to wear a little tekhelet blue.

Num 15:37 The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue (tekhelet) cord on the tassel at each corner. 39 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the LORD’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes. 40 This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God.

Murex snail

Tassel is translated from the Hebrew tzitzit [9], which is only used here and Ezek 8:3 where it means a lock of hair. Blue and purple dye was more costly than gold, so purple cloth was highly prized by royalty. It was noteworthy enough that a woman named Lydia was identified as a seller of purple in Acts 16:14. What was the source? Nature only provides two sources for purple dye, plants that produce Indigo, and a snail called murex trunculus. The Talmud (not the Bible) says that only murex trunculus dye is acceptable as tekhelet.

Each spot is
one murex gland

 

 

 

This ancient dye costs $2,700 per gram. It takes 120 pounds of snails to make just one gram of pure purple dye powder, in a labour-intensive process. One gram allows you to dye 10-15 grams of fabric (the sleeve of a shirt), and that’s why the dye was, and still is, so expensive. MiddleEastEye [10]

The only other OT verse that mentions fringes is Dt 22:12, but a different word is used.

Dt 22:12 You shall make yourself tassels (gedilim) on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

Tallit from Jerusalem

I'm not an expert on 21st century fashion, much less fashion of ancient Israel. I couldn't figure out how a garment had four corners. According to chabad.org(tallit) [11], this garment was more like a poncho, just a rectangle of cloth maybe with an opening for the head. Jews today often attach tzitzit to a large prayer shawl (tallit) worn externally, or a small undergarment similar to a sleeveless T-shirt, or some even fasten the tzitzit to their belt loops. And they have an unbelievable number of rules about tzitzit.

These are tzitzit I bought at Walmart online [12], made for Jewish consumers. Traditions vary among the various Jewish sects regarding color of threads (usually white), number of threads, knots,  length,  attachment, and so on - Tallit Shop [13]. BTW, this NOT a murex dyed tzitzit. 

Tzitzit are never mentioned again in the OT, but do make a couple appearances in the NT, somewhat buried in translation.

Lk 8:43 And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, 44 came up behind Him and touched the FRINGE of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

She touched the kraspedon [14] of His cloak. We can know that Greek kraspedon is Hebrew tzitzit. In the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament Hebrew into Greek, Num 15:38 tzitzit is translated as kraspedon - Septuagint [15]. She touched the tzitzit of His cloak, and was healed. She was not the only one.

Mt 14:34 And having crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And the men of that place having recognized Him, sent to all that surrounding region, and brought to Him all those being sick, 36 and were begging Him that only they might touch the FRINGE of His garment, and as many as touched were cured.

As many as touched the tzitzit of His cloak were healed. Remember, tzitzit are attached to the corners of one's garment, the word corner is translated from the Hebrew kanaph [16], the primary meaning is wing.

Num 15:38 they are to make tzitzit for the kanaph of their garment

Doesn't Mal 4:2 sound like a prophecy of these healings?

Mal 4:2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

It's S-U-N, not S-O-N, though most commentaries agree that Jesus is the sun of righteousness - Ellicott Commentary [17]. Jesus clearly had healing in His wings, that is, in the tzitzit of His kanaph. Prophecy can have a dual fulfillment, a small former and a large latter fulfillment. At His return, He will have MUCH healing in His wings, and the earth will need it. I marvel at the symbolism in even a small detail like a tzitzit.

Shades of Murex Dye

The tekhelet blue dye industry thrived for over 2000 years, but the dye industry died around 650AD. The knowledge was lost too. Ancient writings were unclear what animal produced the dye, and unclear about the process as well. The murex snail was rediscovered in 1858 when a fisherman demonstrated the color change to a zoologist.

(The details of that story are told in the book “The Rarest Blue” [18] by Baruch Sternman. Much of the information here came from that book. I read it several years ago, and I wanted to write an article about it. Recently, I learned about the connection to the stories of healing in the New Testament, and the link to Malachi 4:2 - Kraspedon Mystery [19], so it was time.)

It took another 100 years and many scientists and scholars to rediscover the process of creating tekhelet blue dye from the murex snail. By this time, artificial dyes had taken over the marketplace from natural dyes, which caused the collapse of the Indigo plantations in India. For over 1300 years, observant Jews could not buy murex dyed tzitzit, so they were obliged to omit the blue thread chabad.org(blue_thread) [20]. But artisan dye makers are again making murex tekhelet blue dyes and genuine tzitzit - tekhelet.com [21]. When the third Temple is built, if the priesthood believes they need murex tekhelet blue for the curtains, clothing, there are now sources for it.

The original purpose of the tzitzit was to remind individual Israelites of God and His commandments. The colors white and blue certainly make one think of the sky, that is of the heavens. Tekhelet IS sky blue. That colorful reminder is meant to lift you up, to consider God in all your ways, and not follow your own heart. I have to question whether it worked very well to remind the wearer of the commandments. In Jesus' day, many wore the tzitzit, but they were scolded by Jesus Himself for missing the point.

Mt 23:5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels (kraspedon) of their garments.

Now we have the law written on our hearts and minds, but that doesn't always stop us from sin, just like tzitzit didn't stop ancient Israel from sin.

Not everyone who wears the tzitzit is trying to remember the Commandments. One of the Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza was wearing a green tzitzit, Israeli military issue Israel365News [22].

Summary

We have seen:

• God commanded the Tabernacle to use tekhelet blue.
• The priests wore garments of tekhelet blue.
• Israelites were instructed to wear tzitzit with a tekhelet blue thread in it.
• The blue dye industry was very important in ancient times.
• The process to make dye from the murex snail was lost, but has been restored.
• The blue thread of the tzitzit was to remind Israel to obey God.
• The tzitzit symbolizes the healing in His wings

References

1. https://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2023/12/no-hot-showers.html

2. https://zipdo.co/statistics/jeans-industry/

3. https://preparedcooks.com/foods-that-are-blue/

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-s714RNXHY

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuji_Nakamura

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF8d72mA41M

7. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/how-blue-leds-work-and-why-they-deserve-the-physics-nobel/

8. http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/8504.html

9. http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/6734.html

10. https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/colour-purple-dyeing-techniques-phoenician-sea-snails

11. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/537949/jewish/What-Is-Tzitzit-and-Tallit.htm

12. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Holy-Land-Market-Tzitzits-Set-of-4-Royal-Blue/870351212

13. https://tzitzit.tallit-shop.com/blog/ashkenazi-vs-sephardic-tzitzit-strings/

14. http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/2899.html

15. https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=4&page=15

16. http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/3671.html

17. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/malachi/4.htm

18. https://www.amazon.com/The-Rarest-Blue-Remarkable-Rediscovered/dp/0762782226 Baruch Sternman

19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8njdkPEzeNM

20. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/530127/jewish/Tekhelet-The-Mystery-of-the-Long-Lost-Biblical-Blue-Thread.htm

21. https://www.tekhelet.com/

22. https://www.israel365news.com/385954/the-hamas-terrorist-wore-tzitzit/