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Todays Parsha #39: Chukkat (statute)

PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS
ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (Korah):
1) When Moshe rebuked the rebels and the rebels shouted back, they both used a phrase
which, when turned to its opposite became a popular Jewish song. What was the
phrase and what is the song with its opposite meaning?
The phrase was, Was it not enough? Moshe asks, Is it not enough that you are in
charge of sacred objects that you should want the priesthood as well? The rebels
answer, Was it not enough that you took us out of Egypt that we now have to die in the
wilderness?
The popular Jewish song is the Passover song, DAYENU, which means, It would have
been enough for us. Abbreviated lyrics are as follows:
1)If He had brought us out of Egypt.
Dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu
2)If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.
Dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu
3)If He had executed justice upon their gods.
Dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu
4)If He had slain their first born.
Dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu
5)If He had given to us their health and wealth.
Dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu, dai-enu
2) In Samuels critique during this Haftorah portion, he mentions something of local
politics that ends up being a huge hint about an event of cosmic proportions. What is that
hint and how does it do this?
12 'But when you saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, marching on you, you said
to me, "No, we must have a king to rule us"-although Yahweh your God is your
king. (1 Samuel 12:12 NJB)
Nachash also means serpent and so in a sense Israel went back to the serpent of Eden
who deceived them (or wanted to) and reject YHWH as their King!
3) If you know the answer to #2, where is the first place in Tanakh that this event
happened?

Eden of course, where the serpent tempted Adam and Eve but was cursed by Abba
YHWH for doing so.
4) If you know the answer to #3, how does that first event turn straight to Yshuas birth?
The seed of a woman in Genesis 3:15 will crush the head of the serpent. This tells us to
expect a virgin birth because the mans seed is not involved in the production of the One
who has victory over that serpent, or Satan.
5) Samuel also takes another page from Moshes playbookwhat is it?
15 Moses flew into a rage and said to Yahweh, 'Disregard their cereal offering! I
have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.'
(Numbers 16:15 NJB)
Samuel said to all Israel, 'I have faithfully done all that you asked of me, and have
appointed you a king. In future, the king will lead you. As for me, I am old and
grey, and in any case you have my sons. I have been your leader ever since I was
young until today. Here I am. Bear witness against me before Yahweh and before
his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I
wronged or oppressed anyone? Have I taken a consideration from anyone for
looking the other way? If so, I will make amends.' They said, 'You have neither
wronged nor oppressed us nor accepted anything from anyone. 'He said to them,
'Yahweh is your witness and his anointed is witness today that you have found
nothing in my hands?' They replied, 'He is witness.' Samuel then said to the
people, 'Yahweh is witness, he who raised up Moses and Aaron and who brought
your ancestors out of Egypt. (1 Samuel 12:1-6 NJB)
AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION
1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents:
Chukkat means statute and the portion opens with the requirements of the
famous red heifer, that perfect red young cow that is so sacred, nothing else will do
to inaugurate the entire sacrificial infrastructure. Not surprisingly then, the
requirements for finding and then preparing for such a massively important sacrifice
are detailed and intricate. Other purity laws follow after which we are confronted
with the sad news of Moshes sister Miriam dying. Ironically, instead of Moshe
getting compassion from the Israelites on this occasion they immediately rise up in
rebellion against him once more!
In response to this latest threat, Abba YHWH assembles all of Israel and tells Moshe
He will cause water to come from a rock that Moshe will strike with his staff. The
problem is of course Moshe doesnt wait for the official command to do so and
impulsively strikes the rock twice. The waters come out and Israel is refreshed, but
Moshe and Aaron are punished for not being more patient. Abba YHWH tells them

plainly that neither of them will enter into the Promised Land.
After these events, the Israelites ask permission to pass through the lands of their
Edomite cousins, but their king refuses. This time though, Abba YHWH does not punish
the Edomites because He is primarily incensed with Israel, so He simply orders them
around Edom to a place called Mount Hor. It is there that Abba YHWH exacts the first
part of His punishment against Moshe and Aaron, by having Aaron die on that mountain.
The final chapter (21) ends as the first one in this portion did. Israel asks for
deliverancethis time from the Canaanites, Abba YHWH delivers and then Israel
complains again, resulting in punishment. Are we learning yet?
Read Parsha (English-Numbers 19:1-22:1). This week we will read the entire
portion.

Vayedaber Yahweh el-Moshe ve'el-Aharon lemor.

Zot chukat hatorah asher-tsivah Yahweh lemor daber el-beney Yisra'el
veyikchu eleycha farah adumah tmimah asher eyn-bah mum asher lo-alah
aleyha ol.
1) Play by Play commentary where appropriate.
2) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary:
VAYEDABAR YAHWEH EL-MOSHE VEEL AHARON LEMOR (19:1) = And
Yahweh spoke to Moshe and Aaron sayingAccording to the Talmud (Gittin 60 a-b)
this portion starts out actually on the first day of the first month of the second year after
the Exodus, in the sense that this was when the Tabernacle was built, but it didnt need to
be mentioned directly until needed for purification after Miriams death in 20:1.
The simple truth is though that we hit the beginning of Year 3 (after two complete years)
in Numbers 9:22, so its placement in Numbers 19 is simply a function of regular
chronology, not due to making a thematic or regulatory point. It is understood however
that the regulation was needed from the early days of the Israelite journey out of Egypt.
FARAH ADUMAH TEMIMAH (19:2) = cow with complete red = according to the
Talmud (Parah 2:5), the cow cannot have more than one non-red hair on its whole body,
so if it has two or more that are not red, it is invalid. This is why the red heifer is so hard
to find.
In 1997 and again in 2002, the Temple Institute announced that a Red Heifer had been
born in Israel. However, in both cases, the animal failed to pass the final tests that would
have certified it as kosher.

OL (19:2) = yoke. Referring primarily to a yoke for a beast of burden it can

metaphorically refer to sin as a collar around our neck as if we were the beast of burden
(Lamentations 1:14).
Note on Numbers 19:9: However, it is at least fortunate that once the red heifer is found
there is no hint in the Torah that its ashes lose effectiveness if the Temple is not rebuilt
immediately to receive its sacrifice! Considering the volatility of the Middle East, this is
definitely a good thing!
NIDDAH (19:9) = sprinkling water, actually the water of purification/separation that
separates a man from defilement. NIDDAH in another sense refers to purification or
separation procedures for women who are menstruating or have just given birth.
Note on Numbers 19:13: This commandment that says that man is put to death if he is
defiled by a corpse, does not undergo purification and then defiles the Tabernacle is the
second example of certain purity regulations that are in effect when the Tabernacle or
Temple is standing but may not be in effect with them gone, unless a believer perhaps
goes to the area they believe the Temple once stood, be it Temple Mount or another
location. The rabbis today are uncertain if that is even a valid exception, but for the other
instance of this kind of rule, please see the full rules in Leviticus 15:1-31.
SHEBA (19:16) = seven days. However, because this is referring to the interval of time
people are unclean from a corpse dying in a tent, this is where we get the term sitting
shivaa 7 day period of mourning. Since everything in that tent is defiled, it would be
natural to bring food to the bereaved, as we do today.
MAYIM CHAYIM (19:17) = living waterin this case from the sense that water is
flowing freely and not stored. Yshua is also drawing on this imagery when he talks about
living waters in contrast with the WELL water or still water of the Samaritan woman.
That is in part why he says in Yochanan 4: Y'shua answered and said to her, "All who
drink from these waters will thirst again. But everyone who drinks from the waters that I
give to him will not thirst forever. But those waters that I give to him will become in
him a spring of water that will spring up into life that is eternal." (verses 13-14-AENT)
KADESH (20:1), the place that Miriam dies of course means sacred or Set-Apart.
Perhaps this was meant to honor Miriam though she had recently rebelled against her
brother Moshe. After all, she also had her moments, like prophesying in Exodus 15.
This is also the point in the text where 38 years are skipped over. From the moment
Miriam dies, we are in the start of the 40th year after the Exodus, because Aaron will die
shortly after this on 1 Ab, at the age of 123. The countdown is also on as we get closer to
Moshes death on 1 Shevat.
MATTEH (20:7) = staff, but this word metaphorically also means TRIBE. Each tribe of
Israel was represented by a leader who in turn carried a staff that has his tribe or name
inscribed on it. Both Moshe and Aaron have staffs that are inscribed and point to their

responsibility as leaders. The same can be said of Judah in Genesis 38, where his staff
and cord denote his status/standing/responsibility for his family. As a result, when Yshua
says, take up your STAFF-not crossthis is what he means. Take up your
responsibilities, rise to the occasion as a leader, and then, follow me. The word ZQAP
comes from a root that means erect, to elevate and by extension could apply to
crucifixion, where a nailed body is elevated. However when Yshua uses the word here it
does not mean cross because he is not ON the cross when he says it! To take up ones
elevation though is to accept responsibility and rise to the occasion against hardships,
hence take up your STAFF.
Note on Numbers 20:8: There is debate in the rabbinical sources whether this staff
officially belonged to Aaron or to Moshe, though I am inclined to the latter opinion.
Moshes original staff seems to have been kept in the Tabernacle (according to Targum
Yonatan and some other sources), but what I found interesting about Moshes staff is
how Midrash Aggadah states that, unlike the others which had either the names of men or
their tribes on them (probably both), Moshes staff was the only one that had Father
Yahs Name on itbecause Moshe was His ONLY accepted leader at that time! This
idea also puts a new spin on the discussion just above on Numbers 20:7, that when
Messiah Yshua tells his followers to take up their staff, he wants them to pick up
Moshes staff with Abba YHWHs Name on it, and be joined to Him!
VAYEREM MOSHE ET-YADO VAYACH ET-HASELA BEMATEHU (20:11) = And
with that Moshe raised his hand and struck the cliff twice with his staff. Most Rabbis
believe the text should be interpreted as struck the cliff a second time because there is a
very similar event that happens in Exodus 17 40 years earlier and in a different place (the
Rock of Horeb for the first and Kadesh for the second).
MERIBAH (20:13) = strife. As the text says, it is called strife because they contended
with Abba YHWH there. There may be two places though with this name according to
ISBE dictionary:
2498 Meribah, quarrel or strife. (1.) One of the names given by Moses to the
fountain in the desert of Sin, near Rephidim, which issued from the rock in Horeb,
which he smote by the divine command, "because of the chiding of the children of
Israel" Ex 17:1-7 It was also called Massah (q.v.). It was probably in Wady
Feiran, near Mount Serbal. (2.) Another fountain having a similar origin in the
desert of Zin, near to Kadesh Nu 27:14 The two places are mentioned together in
De 33:8 Some think the one place is called by the two names Ps 81:7 In smiting
the rock at this place Moses showed the same impatience as the people Nu 20:1012 This took place near the close of the wanderings in the desert Nu 20:1-24 De
32:51.
DEREK HA-MELECH (20:17) = Kings highway. This is the first time this important
road is mentioned in the Torah, and it is a major clue for the route of the Exodus. First let
me show you all a map of it, in this case the route marked in RED.

As you can see, the highway begins in the Memphis-Heliopolis area, but the Israelites
skirted it at first, I believe to cross the Sea of Reeds at a lower point on the Gulf of Suez
and get to Mount Sinai in the wilderness of Sinai (Leviticus 7:37), which is not in
Saudi Arabia.
What is interesting however is that the Kings highway has stops at both the most popular
choices for crossing the Sea of Reeds, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. The thing
is that the Suez stop is early on in the route and Aqaba is at the end, and they would have
already crossed Aqaba if Mount Sinai were in Saudi Arabia and subsequently have been
forced to turn back on the road they were on before, but no such turning around is
mentioned in the Torah text for this part of the journey.
Instead, it seems to me to make a lot more sense that Mount Sinai is off the Kings
highway, off from a major stop that is, and that as the Israelites got back on the road after
staying in the Sinai Wilderness for two years, they quickly asked to reconnect with the
part of the road that was in Edomite territory by the Dead Sea and definitely not
anywhere near Saudi Arabia! The stop at Aqaba was many miles in front of them while
Suez was well behind them.
In other words, if the Israelites crossed at Aqaba, the last stop, the Kings highway was
behind them, not in front of them, as they got back on the road. They stayed at Kadesh
for 19 years before crossing the Zered brook (Numbers 20:22; 27:14; 33:36-37;

Deuteronomy 1:46; Judges 11:16-171), and the best evidence I have seen for the location
of this important stop is not Ain el-Qudeirat as some believe but actually Petra in Jordan,
which fits exceedingly well with this geographical picture, but the details of this
identification I will reserve for another time.
UVEYAD CHAZAKAH (20:20) = A strong show of force, as expressed through the
idiom of a strong hand.
CHARAM (21:1) = utterly destroy, dedicated to destruction. From which we get the
word HEREM, where Abba YHWH orders whole villages put to the sword and burned.
HORMA (21:3) = same root, but here probably means accursed or perhaps taboo,
hence the reason for the city being set aside for destruction.
VERAAH OTO VACHAY (21:8) = and will look on it and live. This was certainly not
paganism! Rather the copper serpent was meant as a memorial against the sin of Israel,
much as Aarons budding staff did the same thing. It was not the snake image or the staff
that mattered, but what they represented in the mind of the Israelites.
However, that didnt stop it from becoming a symbol for pagan worship centuries later.
According to 2 Kings 18:4, Hezekiah ground up the copper serpent Moshe made into dust
to keep the Israelites from worshipping it.
I believe this is another piece of evidence pointing to the fact that the Ark of the
Covenant was in its rightful place during Hezekiahs reign and gone before Josiah came
to the throne. While the Scriptures dont tell us the coper serpent was kept in proximity
with the Ark of the Covenant, it seems likely that all of Moshes possessions would have
been kept together for many years, including the Ten Words that he wrote and the omer
of manna, and these were on or near the Ark. I am therefore hard pressed to imagine that
the Ark of the Covenant had left well before Hezekiahs time and somehow this item was
left behind while the rest were gone.
OBOTH (21:10) = water skins and ARNON = roaring stream (21:13)I see a pattern
here
BESEFER MICHAMOT YAHWEH (21:14) = in the Book of the Wars of Yahweh. This
is a lost book that perhaps is a second witness from which events of Exodus and/or
Deuteronomy are recorded. This could be an accounting of straight history, whereas the
versions that we have also include the theological commentary of Moshe and Yahweh.

See Psalm 29:1-8 which mentions Kadesh in close proximity to the cedars of Lebanon, which Jordan is
near. Also Josephus supports this location in Antiquities 4:82-85 and he also counts Arabia the as other
important historians as anywhere from the Sinai Peninsula to the Persian Gulf and not the boundaries of
Saudi Arabia alone.

CHAQAQ (21:18) = scepter, but also to cut into, inscribe in stone, and therefore a decree
or covenant. The scepter then is not just about kingly or tribal power. Its about being
worthy of that power by following Abba YHWHs covenant inscribed in the scepter.
CHESHBON (21:25) = Cheshbon is the place where the 300 year clock of Judges 11:26
begins. This is one of the best clues for resolving the so-called counting contradiction
between 1 Kings 6:1 and the chronological data from Joshua and Judges. There MUST
be 300 years from this event to Jephtahs 6 years as judge, which means Jephtahs rule is
340 years total from the time of the Exodus. Paying careful attention to details like this
resolves all alleged confusions and contradictions.
AM-KEMOSH (21:29) = People of Kemosh. This was a region in Moab where the wargod Chemosh was worshipped. Interestingly enough these same people later will steal
relics from Jerusalem and dedicate them to their false god. Such is recorded on the
Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, dated to about 850 BCE. The Moabite
Stone has the earliest Paleo-Hebrew style (Moabite language and Paleo are very similar)
to the four letter name for Yahweh known outside of Scripture. The inscription reads in
part
14

And Kemosh said to me, "Go, take Nebo from Israel," so I 15went by night and
fought against it from the break of dawn until noon, and I 16took it and slew all,
seven thousand male citizens and foreign men seven thousand men, female
citizens, foreign 17.women and female slaves. For Ashtar Kemosh I put it to the
ban. And I took from there the vessels 18 of YHWH, and I hauled them before
Kemosh.
JERICHO (22:1) relating to yareach, the moon. So in a sense this is Moon City.
Another possible meaning is fragrance.

Bonus Teaching!
The Saga of the Walking Dedicated MenUpdated!
A few weeks ago we had a series of bonus teachings about the Zadokite priesthood and
the marching pattern of the Israelites mirroring the pattern of the stars throughout the
stellar-solar year.
On both of these I received a lot of very positive feedback, and I think one of the reasons
for that was this was not just about a lot of impersonal astronomy and math. Instead, it
was also about personal journeys, triumphs and tragedies that show a connection from
heaven to earth, from Abba YHWH to us.
During the last few months also, a lot of my research in astronomy and Scripture has
intensified significantly. Whats also been interesting is that sometimes people I meet
think I have done it all on that topic because I published Wheel of Stars in 2010, when
in reality, like translation, my work is never truly finished. Much of what I did five years
ago I explain differently, although my facts and theories remain pretty much what they
were.
I call this process, as I did recently to a good friend of mine, reclassification. Its sort of
like saying the gifts are the same but the packages and wrapping they are in now are not
what they were before. In fact, they are so much better now!
With those thoughts in mind, I wanted to talk this weekyes about the sun, moon and
starsbut also about the walking dedicated men who Scripture tells us were given
revelations from Abba YHWH on how to use them to mark time.
Starting with Adam, we are told in Genesis 3:8 that Abba YHWH walked in the garden
with Adam and Eve, although the one time this is mentioned it is because He is angry
with them!
Nevertheless, I think it is also clear that Abba YHWH had walked with Adam and Eve on
other occasions, and in particular with Adam there was a transfer of important
information, first with the command not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and
then with this incident:
And from the ground Elohim formed every beast of the field and every
bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call
them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
So the man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to
every beast of the field. But for the man there was not found a helper for him, as
his counterpart. (Genesis 2:19-20, The Scriptures 1998)
So when pagans later on take some of the animals that Adam named, and imagine seeing
their patterns in the night sky, it suggests that Adam played a part in naming stars as well,
whether he realized this was going on or not.

However, as we saw earlier, it is really Abba YHWH Who names all the stars (Psalm
147:4), and I believe He named at least some of them after the tribes of Israel!
On the other hand, the Jewish historian Josephus claims that both Adam and Seth
invented astronomy and that Adams astronomical understanding was so advanced that
he predicted the very day of the flood. To back up this story, Josephus also says he saw
an obelisk that Adam wrote those predictions on and that was kept in Egypt.2
Whatever those details turn out to be, there is no doubt that Abba YHWH trained
Adam in a manner of speaking, and the word for dedicated/trained in Hebrew is
chanok, which is the same name as the next man who walked with Elohim:
And Hanok lived 65 years, and brought forth Methushelah. And after he brought
forth Methushelah, Hanok walked with Elohim 300 years, and brought forth sons
and daughters. So all the days of Hanok were 365 years. And Hanok walked
with Elohim. Then he was no more, for Elohim took him.
And Methushelah lived 187 years, and brought forth Lemek. And after he
brought forth Lemek, Methushelah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and
brought forth sons and daughters. So all the days of Methushelah were nine
hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
And Lemek lived 182 years, and brought forth a son, and called his name Noah,
saying, This one does comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands,
because of the ground which has cursed. (Genesis 5:21-29, The Scriptures
1998)
So here is the second dedicated walking man Scripture designates, Enoch, seventh
generation from Adam. Notice also he dies at age 365, one year for every whole day of
the solar year, and in actuality Enoch gained 365 but didnt complete 366, just as the
solar year doesnt complete its 366th day but died about through that last day. This
connection between Enoch and the solar year was noticed by the rabbis but even earlier
than the Talmud Philo wrote about it in the first century:
Why the man who lives a life of repentance is said to have lived 365 years?
[Genesis 5:23]. 84. In the first place, the year contains 365 days; therefore, by
the symbol of the solar orbit, the sacred historian here indicates the life of the
repentant man. In the second place, as the sun is the cause of day and night,
performing his revolutions by day above the hemisphere of the earth, and his
course by night under the earth, so also the life of the man of repentance
consists of alternations of light and darkness; of darkness, that is, of times of
agitation and circumstances of injury; and of light, when the light of virtue and its
radiant brilliancy arises.

Antiquities, 1:69-71.

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In the third place, he has assigned to him a complete number, as the sun is
ordained to be the chief of the stars of heaven, under an appointed number,
in the time which came before the period of his repentance, to lead to the oblivion
of the sins previously committed; since, as God is good, he bestows the greatest
favors most abundantly, and, at the same time, he effaces the former offenses of
those who devote themselves to him, and which might deserve chastisement, by a
recollection of their virtues. (Questions and Answers on Genesis, 1:84)
Now if Enochs life were the only number that appeared to have astronomical value, I
might understand why some would feel this is just a coincidence. Fortunately however,
when we get to this dedicated man who walked with Elohim we find other numbers
that also have astronomical significance, and this is putting it mildly.
First, notice that Enochs son Methuselah is 187 years old when he has Lamech? There
are two things going on in this brief statement. First is with regards to Methusalehs
name:
5790

[ 5791] (Hebrew) (page 607) (Strong 4968.
n. pr. m.

descendant of Seth (man of the dart: more prob. Bab.; see conj. in Hom:PSBA 1893, 243
ff.); Gn 5:22, 5:25, 5:26, 5:27 (P), 1 Ch 1:3,

Gn 5:21 (P). LXX .

Methusaleh means man of the dart, and that suggests an image of a solar arc through
the sky, rising and setting. I believe such an interpretation is also confirmed in several
statements regarding the Garden and Eden and Cain in Genesis chapters 2 through 4.
The word gan, from where we get garden, means literally an enclosure. Eden, which
means pleasantness, is literally a pleasant, circular green area or clearing. However, the
enclosure also has an eastern gate that Father Yah goes through and that Adam and Eve
go out of (Genesis 3:24), which also is reminiscent of the sun rising in the east every day.
As the sun rises thenenters the enclosures eastern gateit passes over two trees that
are said to be tavekthat is, in the exact center of the garden3. The trees are called
Knowledge and Life, and in addition to the functions the Torah gives them directly, it
also suggests knowledge for life, which knowing when the sow and harvest according to
the sun and stars will definitely provide ancient man. Another confirmation of this image
is the cherubim with the flaming swords also placed in the eastern gate.
These trees, I believe by direct Hebrew definition, are not side by side in the garden.
Instead they are up and down from one another but on the same vertical plane, cutting the
garden exactly in half. When the sun in its yearly orbit crosses the equator (center plane)
3

While tavek can have a general meaning of right in front of you/in your midst or in between without
necessarily being an absolute center, I interpret its usage here as it was applied in Judges 16:29, where
Samson is placed in the exact middle of the two columns that hold up the pagan temple in its own center. It
also doesnt hurt that Samsons name means little sun which I think reinforces this as the intended
meaning for the trees in Eden. Also see Jeremiah 39:3.

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and rises at a 90 degree angle on earth going north above the equator, we call it spring
equinox.
Not surprisingly then, when the sun rises at 90 degrees again with these same conditions,
but going south, we call it fall equinox. This points to the fact that encoded in the Torah
are details of astronomy that no ancient astronomer could see (the sun crossing the
equator), and yet the ancient Hebrews were given just such details both in terms of math
and in terms of what it actually looks like!

Therefore, at a fundamental level, the design of Eden, where Adam gets his training, is
meant to mirror the solar year vernal equinox to vernal equinox. Contrast this to David
another man who walked with Elohim (1 Kings 8:25), and we will see the suns path
from winter solstice to winter solstice exactly described in Psalm 19 and shows a great
deal of astronomical sophistication in many other places as well!
In any case, before I digress too much, let me get back to the other remarkable aspect
about Methusaleh being 187 years old when he has his first born son. If you were to track
the suns progress every day of the year for many yearscenturies or even millennia if
that were possibleyou would find that over the course of that long period certain mean
averages would hold true for the amount of days between equinoxes and solstices, upon

12

which every practical calendar depends on, because these events tell us when to plant and
harvest.
Therefore it might be of interest to note that the mean average from spring equinox to
fall equinox is 187 days4, so the time Methusaleh gives birth to Lamech coincides
exactly with when the 365 day year5 would be cut based on the equinoxes6!
However, in the case of Methuselahs son Lamech, his purpose is to divide the year up by
another method. Even though 182 days is a rough estimate of the times between winter
and summer solstices, Lamech being 182 years old when he has Noah is really meant to
divide the 364 day Practical Year (which will balance to the longer solar year at the end
of every 5 years), is to divide the 364 days in half portions of 182 days or 26 weeks each.
This math reflects the perfection of Father Yahs name, since YHWH adds up to a
numerical value of 26, multiplied by 7, the number for perfection. This also results in

These numbers are extremely accurate estimates over several millennia. Whats interesting is that from
our time going at least until 2500 CE and also going backwards a few thousand years, the mean averages of
187 days between the starts of spring and fall and 182 days between the starts of winter and summer hold
up very well. However, if we go back to Adams time, ca. 4000 BCE, we find that the numbers have
reversed themselves with 182 days between the starts of spring and fall and 187 days between the starts of
winter and summer. In between this time of 4000 BCE and 2500 CE (and I suspect significantly before the
earliest and after the latest parts of that range), the mathematical estimates for equinox intervals and solstice
intervals never varied more than 5 days, which means if the ancient Hebrews built a calendar on this math
(as I believe they did) and if that math told them when to plant or harvest (which I also believe it did) then
the calendar would always point them to the right week to sow or reap, a feature which is critical because
sowing and reaping each take several days to accomplish, so its important at least a couple of days hit that
ideal week and in this case, 2-3 days at a minimum always will hit at that time. The fact that the entire
system also oscillates over those 5 days between intervals and never more than that for a period of about
7,000 years is also a very remarkable aspect to this math, and the astronomical techniques the ancient
Hebrews had would have also told them if they needed to switch their understandings of what those
intervals meant, i.e. that 187 days that uses to make equinox intervals now more closely marks solstice
intervals, as stellar observations and other math told them very precisely when these same solstices and
equinoxes occurred. My personal belief is they kept those numerical-seasons indicators as they were from
4000 BCE.
5
Bear in mind that Enoch is 365 years and some unknown remainder of days but before his 366th year
completes when he dies. This mirrors the solar year, more than 365 but less than 366 days. I therefore
would not be surprised if we found some ancient source one day confirming that Enoch was lived to be 365
years and about 91 days, exactly reflecting 365 day, 5 hours 48 minute and 48 seconds of the actual solar
tropical year. Biblical people simply dont die on their birthdays, but actually live the whole years, plus the
remainder of year after that number, before it completes.
6
The whole system appears to follow the template of Psalm 19, from winter solstice, to summer solstice
and back to winter solstice again, but the equinoxes are also marked in their proper intervals as well. The
tracking is from the suns lowest point that it rises, to its highest and back down to its lowest again. The
same template is repeated on the showbread table with 12 loaves for each of the solar months, but thats
another story for another time.

13

four seasons of 13 weeks, or 91 days each.

14

From this point, the Walking Dedicated Men series looks at how the calendar changes
and expands with each Biblical figure, while at the same time retaining the mechanisms it
had previously.
For example, Adam and Enoch, whom we have been mainly discussing, both counted
their years by days and weeks. The first time the word month though appears in the text
is in Genesis 7:11, because Noah invented the solar month and kept two calendars, one
before the Flood and one after.
However, gradually over the first ten chapters of Genesis, moon information becomes
more prominent. There is evidence for example that the names of Abrahams ancestors
and their ages when having their first born sons directly match the lunar month patterns
and even spell out a coded message about how to keep lunar time. The patriarchs, from
Abraham to Joseph, each get their own calendar insights to add to Hebrew timekeeping
systems, as does Job, who accurately tells us the actual lists of stars that are used to bring
in the seasons.
Then, when Moshe begins telling his own story about himself, this is the first time a lunar
month is directly mentioned as yareach, and so Moshe begins what is by far the most

15

sweeping and far reaching update of the Torah calendar ever done. Moshe adds lunar
calculations for the Feasts to function along with cycles of the sun and stars.
Then, everything from the design of the Tabernacle and all its items to the smallest
details of the outfits of the priests is also sophisticated time measuring instruments, more
accurate than any calendar devised by man.
After Moshe and this is a remarkable but very long story to tell, details in the book of
Joshua allow us to completely reconstruct the priestly calendar and directly prove from
history that it actually works perfectly 100% of the time.
David and Solomon of course, in their respective roles of arranging, designing and
ultimately building the Temple to Abba YHWH, each use their walking dedicated men
statuses to encode even more insights and techniques in keeping the solar year on time.
For example, both David and Solomon arranged logistics in Israel to reflect a pure solar
year that always had 12 months and never needed to intercalate with the moon (1
Chronicles 27, 1 Kings 4:7). The lunar months would then be laid over that calculated
solar year template.
After Solomons death, the final Walking Dedicated Man in the Scripture was the
prophet, priest and seer Ezekiel, who introduced a whole new code book of timekeeping
and prophetic math that became the main resource for his two students, Daniel and
Yochanan Bar Zawdee, who wrote Revelation.
This is the nature of the massive download I received in 2015so massive that more
than a year later I am still unravelling it bit by bit, one small piece at a time. And
currently both at this website and on YouTube the following videos have already been
completed for viewing:
1) Adams Calendar Revelation Part 1
2) Adams Calendar Revelation Part 2
3) Enochs Calendar Revelation
4) Noahs Two Calendars, Part 1
5) Noahs Two Calendars, Part 2
6) Jobs Star Catalogue
7) Abraham Counts the Stars!
8) From Joseph to Moses
9) Moses Reimagines Genesis
10) Moses and the Windows of Heaven (Exodus)
Upcoming Installments include (names and order subject to change):
11) Moses and the Tabernacle Code (Exodus)
12) Moses and the Jubilee Code (Leviticus)
13) Moses and the Marching Pattern of the Israelites (Numbers and Deuteronomy)
14) Joshua and the Priestly Calendar Code

16

15) David, Solomon and the Temple Code

16) Ezekiels Calendar Revelation
So there you have it, a total of thirteen men, mighty and righteous heroes from the
Scripture, who each received a part of the calendar code:
1) Adam
2) Enoch
3) Noah
4) Job
5) Abraham
6) Isaac
7) Jacob
8) Joseph
9) Moshe
10) Joshua
11) David
12) Solomon
13) Ezekiel
But the legacy of the Walking Dedicated men lives on, not just to our own day, but to the
very end of our age in our stunning prophetic future! And, as I always like to say: Stay
tuned!
Torah Question of the Week:
Was Jephtahs Daughter Sacrificed?

END PART 1

17

PART 2: THE HAFTORAH

Torah Question of the Week:
Was Jephtahs Daughter Sacrificed?
(We will read the Haftorah portion FIRST then answer this question)

This Haftorah portion from Judges 11:1-40 deals with one of the most difficult to
understand occasions in the entire Tanakh. Reading literally it seems that Jephtah
sacrifices his daughter to fulfill a vow to YHWH, as compensation for YHWH giving
him victory in war.
How can this be? Dont we have the example of Abrahams sacrifice of Isaac being
prevented by Abba YHWH for the express reason of showing His superiority to false
gods that require this to give their pagan subjects victory? How then could such an evil
thing be a reward to Him?
It seems really curious that Abba YHWH would want to destroy those who worship
Molech for putting their children into flames and yet Jephtah felt required to do the same
thing. What is going on here?
Some will say this proves the barbarity of Israel during the time of the Judges when
everyone did what was right in their eyes. Surely this was true. However, that apostasy
seemed to coincide with worshipping false gods and not with respect to Abba YHWHs
worship. So that answer, at best, is not complete.
Others will suggest that Jephtah was obviously wrong to do this horrible thing and that as
punishment his daughter is honored for four days each year and he dies an ignominious
death about 6 years later. Emotionally satisfying to be sure, but there are other problems.
For example, the daughter doesnt object to being killed but only asks for two months
reprieve. For another, no one around Jephtahhe made the vow in front of witnesses
has seen fit to contradict him. Those facts would again suggest that what Jephtah did
was normal in his time, leading back to the first explanation.
However, where do we get any hint that human sacrifice was an option for Israel prior to
the time of the Judges? The answer, I believe, is nowhere! Even at the height of their
apostasywhen worshipping the golden calfno humans were sacrificed but they
simply did normal burnt offerings to it. The Israelites also hated pagan cults that
engaged in this practice, both before and after this time period. We should also look at
this:
"You shall also say to the sons of Israel: 'Any man from the sons of Israel or from
the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his 1offspring to Molech, shall
surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 'I will
also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people,

18

because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My

sanctuary and to profane My holy name. 'If the people of the land, however,
should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so
as not to put him to death, then I Myself will set My face against that man and
against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all
those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech. (Leviticus
20:2-5 NAU)
So again, why would Jepthtah think this would be okay? The text is clear he fulfilled his
vow, but perhaps HOW Jephtah fulfilled it has been misunderstood. Did he really slit
his daughters throat and roast her corpse on a fire?
Before answering, we need to look a bit more deeply at the rashness of this vow. Here is
what Biblical commentator Adam Clarke had to say about this aspect:
[The vow] must have been the vow of a heathen, or a madman. If a dog had met
him, this could not have been made a burnt-offering; and if his neighbor or
friend's wife, son, or daughter, &c., had been returning from a visit to his family,
his vow gave him no right over them. Besides, human sacrifices were ever an
abomination to the Lord; and this was one of the grand reasons why God drove
out the Canaanites, &c., because they offered their sons and daughters to Molech
in the fire, i.e., made burnt-offerings of them, as is generally supposed.-Adam
Clarkes Bible Commentary
So whatever fate actually happens to Jephtahs daughter, whether she is put into His
service or killed, Jephtah could not have enforced his will on just about anyone else who
came out of his door. So if the high priest was visiting his house are we really going to
believe Jephtah would make him a burnt offering? And as Clarke rightly points out, not
all animals were fit for sacrifice either, so if a runaway pig happened to dash through
Jephtahs open house and then out his door to see him, are we to expect a BLT party and
pork rinds for all with Abba YHWH also gratefully receiving the pig?
Its for these reasons and some others, that I question the idea of Jephtahs daughter as a
sacrifice. The people in the time of the Judges are not of the best character, to be sure,
but I dont see this level apostasy being applied to Yah worship, only to pagan worship
and by forsaking Abba YHWH. So, there must be another answer. I believe the great
scholar E.W. Bullinger hit on that answer:
The Hebrew prefix " "that is translated in the above passage as "and" is often
used as a disjunctive, and means "or", when there is a second proposition. Indeed
this rendering is suggested in the margin of the A.V. [Authorized Version =KJV]
Bullinger goes on to give examples from the Bible where the same word has been
translated as "or".

19

According to Bullinger then, the right translation of this passage is: "whatever comes out
of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon,
shall surely be the Lord's, or I will offer it up as a burnt offering."
Jephthah's daughter, being the first that came out of the house, was thus, according to
Bullinger, dedicated to God. He also says: "In any case, it should have been unlawful,
and repugnant to Yahweh, to offer a human being to Him as a burnt-offering, for His
acceptance. Such offerings were common to heathen nations at that time, but it is
noteworthy that Israel stands out among them with this great peculiarity, that human
sacrifices were unknown in Israel."- Wikipedia and E.W. Bullinger, Did Jephtah Really
Sacrifice His Daughter? An Analysis of Judges 11:31
In analyzing this text further, I also agree with Adam Clarke who said:
The translation of which [Judges 11:31], according to the most accurate Hebrew
scholars, is this: I will consecrate it to the Lord, or I will offer it for a burntoffering; that is, "If it be a thing fit for a burnt-offering, it shall be made one; if fit
for the service of God, it shall be consecrated to him." That conditions of this kind
must have been implied in the vow, is evident enough.
So basically the first thing which is SUITABLE as a burnt offering according to Torah
would be offered but if NOT it would be given to Abba YHWHs service (as a human,
like Samson and Yochanan the Immerser are dedicated to Abba YHWH). And if it was a
pig or a dog or something that could not go on the altar, it wouldnt count. Jephtah would
simply wait for the next creature that was kosher to present itself.
But in the end this is still a rash vow, if for no other reason that Jephtah could not enforce
his will on everyone; only perhaps his family and servants could be off-loaded to Abba
YHWHs service, not anyone else.
Or perhaps his exuberance got the better of him, thinking he was cornered (which he was)
that such was the only way to get out alive. Yet I still say Jephtah had to base his hopes
for deliverance on the Torah rather than away from it. If he intended to sacrifice possibly
his daughter, he would ask that of Molech who was the false god literally next door. To
ask it of Abba YHWH was simply a non-starter.
So the vow, while not perfect and not from the most righteous place, is nevertheless not
an invitation to barbarity.

1) Haftorah portion (English- Judges 11:1-33) and discuss common themes with the
Torah portion.

VeYiftach haGil'adi hayah gibor chayil vehu ben-ishah zonah vayoled

Gil'ad et-Yiftach.

20

Vateled eshet-Gil'ad lo banim vayigdelu vney-ha'ishah vayegarshu etYiftach vayomru lo lo-tinchal beveyt-avinu ki ben-ishah acheret atah.
2) Our linguistic commentary
JEPHTAH [Yiphtach-11:1] = he opens. But he is from GILEAD (or GaleedGenesis
31:46 and also Judges 11:1), which means witness. So Jephtah opens to the witness of
Abba YHWHs will.
ERETZ TOB (11:3) = good land. The land itself is named Tob but it is a wordplay that
the quality of the land is also good. One gets the sense that injustice has been done to
Jephtah because of his illegitimate birth getting him excluded, and of course that wasnt
his fault directly. So he goes from the land that witnessed this injustice to the land of
Tob, because he is good.
AMMONITES (11:4). These are sons of Lot, Abrahams nephew (Genesis 19:38) so this
is a family feud.
MIZPAH (11:11) = watchtower. Because Abba YHWH is witnessing the pact between
Jephtah and the elders of Gilead (witness also), this is in a sense a sentry tower presiding
over the pact that the land there is named after.
SIHON (11:19) = name means, striking down, and this is exactly what happens to their
king when he opposes Abba YHWH.
3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English) Yochanan 3:1-21 (all the way through with
applicable footnotes.)
4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read)
5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (The nature of
making vows is problematic. Yshua warned us to let our yes be yes and our no
be no, for all else is from evil. In Jephtahs case we see what happens when an
evil vow is made in the name of Abba YHWH, and that the one who rashly made
it feels obligated to carry out an evil act that Abba YHWH never endorsed in the
first place.)
6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion
(Read Born from the Beginning in the appendix, p. 748-750).
STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK FOR THIS
PORTION:
1) There are two great rabbis/teachers who are praised in both the Talmud and the
NT. Rabbi Gamaliel, Pauls teacher, is one of them. Who is the other?

21

2) If you know the answer to question #1 tell me: What is this other rabbi/teacher
most famous for in the Talmud?
3) Do we know the ultimate fate of this mysterious teacher, according to the
Talmud?
4) What is the possible relationship between this teacher and the Last Supper?
5) The copper snake that heals Israel from the plague was not an act of pagan
worship because Abba YHWH commanded it be done. What was the purpose of the
copper snake and did Israel thoroughly understand that purpose?
Torah Thought for the Week:
Moshes 38 year Vacation?
Recently we looked at the fact that Moshe has a total of 78 missing years from his life.
These years parse out to 40 years in the beginning and 38 missing years from the Torah
while they are wandering in the wilderness. It is in fact in this Torah portion that the gap
presents itself.
In Numbers 20:1, Miriam, the sister of Moshe, dies. By the end of the 21st chapter (also
of course in this portion) Aaron dies on Mount Hor, and when we cross check this portion
with the summary account in Numbers 33, we find out that Aaron died at age 123. Since
he was 83 years old at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7), this means we have now
entered the 40th year since the deliverance from Egypt.
What seems so extraordinary about this huge gap is how ORDINARY the text is about it.
It barely acknowledges any gap at all. It is only when we dig deeper and put the clues
together that we realize the gap even exists. Its kind of like the Scripture version of
dark matterwe dont see it but we see the effect it has on other parts of the text.
Another odd fact about this timewe only get a list of stops along the way, no mention
of Moshe or the Israelites except as a monolithic group that, well, Ill let the Torah speak
for itself here
These were the stages of the journey made by the Israelites when they left Egypt
in their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded
their starting-points in writing whenever they moved on at Yahweh's order. The
stages, from one starting-point to another, were as follows: They left Rameses in
the first month. It was the fifteenth day of the first month, the day following the
Passover, when the Israelites confidently set out, under the eyes of all Egypt. The
Egyptians were burying those of their own people whom Yahweh had struck
down, all the first-born; Yahweh had carried out his judgement on their gods. The
Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth.

22

Then they left Succoth and encamped at Etham which is on the edge of the
desert. They left Etham, turned back to Pi-Hahiroth, opposite Baal-Zephon, and
encamped before Migdol. They left Pi-Hahiroth, crossed the sea into the desert,
and after marching for three days in the desert of Etham they encamped at Marah.
They left Marah and reached Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees; they encamped there. They left Elim and encamped by the
Sea of Reeds. They left the Sea of Reeds and encamped in the desert of Sin. They
left the desert of Sin and encamped at Dophkah. They left Dophkah and
encamped at Alush.
They left Alush and encamped at Rephidim; the people found no drinking water
there. They left Rephidim and encamped in the desert of Sinai. They left the
desert of Sinai and encamped at Kibroth-ha-Taavah. They left Kibroth-ha-Taavah
and encamped at Hazeroth. They left Hazeroth and encamped at Rithmah. They
left Rithmah and encamped at Rimmon-Perez. They left Rimmon-Perez and
encamped at Libnah. They left Libnah and encamped at Rissah. They left Rissah
and encamped at Kehelathah. They left Kehelathah and encamped at Mount
Shepher. They left Mount Shepher and encamped at Haradah. They left Haradah
and encamped at Makheloth. They left Makheloth and encamped at Tahath. They
left Tahath and encamped at Terah. They left Terah and encamped at Mithkah.
They left Mithkah and encamped at Hashmonah. They left Hashmonah and
encamped at Moseroth.
They left Moseroth and encamped at Bene-Jaakan. They left Bene-Jaakan and
encamped at Hor-Gidgad. They left Hor-Gidgad and encamped at Jotbathah.
They left Jotbathah and encamped at Abronah. They left Abronah and encamped
at Ezion-Geber. They left Ezion-Geber and encamped in the desert of Zin, that is,
at Kadesh.
They left Kadesh and encamped at Mount Hor, on the borders of the land of
Edom. The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor on Yahweh's orders and died there in
the fortieth year of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in the fifth month, on
the first day of the month. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when
he died on Mount Hor. (Numbers 33:1-39 NJB)
Notice how its always they leftthen they arrived at? Again where is Moshe here? If
we accept the common teaching that Moshe wrote the entire Torah except for the little bit
in Deuteronomy after he dies, then this may bring us to an unsettling conclusion: By
writing they leftthey arrived Moshe is not including himself! Could he have been
somewhere else, like on vacation with his wife perhaps?
Now granted, there may be a very prosaic explanation for this before I get into the
possibility of Moshe taking a 38 year vacation. Moshe often referred to himself in the
third person, so the Torah mostly says He (Moshe) said/did so maybe he does include
himself after all.

23

The thing is though, the Torah and some very old folk traditions also give us plenty of
reason to think Moshe might want to get away from it allfor a very long time. Just
looking at the Torah we have these statements
22 Moses went back to Yahweh and said, 'Lord, why do you treat this people so
harshly? Why did you send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh and spoke to
him in your name, he has ill-treated this people, and you have done nothing at all
about rescuing your people.' (Exodus 5:22-23 NJB)
and Moses was angry with them. (Exodus 16:20 NJB)
Moses flew into a rage and said to Yahweh, 'Disregard their cereal offering! I
have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.'
(Numbers 16:15 NJB)
Frustration dogs Moshe wherever he goes. In spite of his great humility which is
repeatedly stressed in the Torah, Moshe does flash anger, despair, grief and all the rest.
There is no respite for him from the moment he is called to service to the moment he
dies, where he works all day in toil and frustrationthat last day of his life we now call
the book of Deuteronomy. If there was ever anyone who accumulated enough vacation
time to take a four decade sabbatical, it was Moshe. And, even if Moshe did NOT take
that vacation, I am pretty sure he felt like he WISHED he could.
Nevertheless, lets assume he did. I think somewhere in the legends that are told about
himif there is a kernel of truthwe may see the seeds of this vacation planted in his
early years and hinted at further in the Torah itself. Most you recall my favorite Moshe
legend I believe, from the historian Josephus.
Moses, therefore, when he was born, and brought up in the foregoing manner, and
came to the age of maturity, made his virtue manifest to the Egyptians; and
showed that he was born for the bringing them down, and raising the Israelites;
and the occasion he laid hold of was this:
The Ethiopians, who are neighbors to the Egyptians, made an inroad into their
Ethiopians followed after them in the pursuit, and thinking that it would be a mark
of cowardice if they did not subdue all Egypt, they went on to subdue the rest
with greater vehemence; and when they had tasted the sweets of the country, they
never stopped the prosecution of the war; and as the nearest parts had not courage
enough at first to fight with them, they proceeded as far as Memphis, and the sea
itself; while not one of the cities was able to oppose them.
The Egyptians, under this sad oppression, betook themselves to their oracles and
prophecies; and when God had given them this counsel, to make use of Moses the
Hebrew, and take his assistance, the king commanded his daughter to produce
him, that he might be the general of their army. Upon which, when she had made

24

him swear he would do him no harm, she delivered him to the king, and supposed
his assistance would be of great advantage to them. She withal reproached the
priests, who, when they had before admonished the Egyptians to kill him, was not
ashamed now to own their want of his help.
So Moses, at the persuasion both of Thermuthis and the king himself, cheerfully
undertook the business: and the sacred scribes of both nations were glad; those of
the Egyptians, that they should at once overcome their enemies by his valor, and
that by the same piece of management Moses would be slain; but those of the
Hebrews, that they should escape from the Egyptians, because Moses was to be
their general; but Moses came ahead of the enemies, and took and led his army
before those enemies were apprised of his attacking them; for he did not march by
the river, but by land, where he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity;
for when the ground was difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of
serpents, (which it produces in vast numbers, and indeed is singular in some of
those productions, which other countries do not breed, and yet such as are worse
than others, in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight, some of
which ascend out of the ground unseen, and also fly in the air, and so come upon
men at unawares, and do them a mischief,)
Moses invented a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and without
harm; for he made baskets, like to arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibis, and
carried them along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to serpents
imaginable, for they flee from them when they come near them; and as they flee
they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done by the harts; but the ibis
are tame creatures, and only enemies to the serpentine kind: but about these ibis I
say no more at present, since the Greeks themselves are not unacquainted with
this sort of bird.
As soon, therefore, as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder of these
serpents, he let loose the ibis, and by their means repelled the serpentine kind, and
used them for his assistants before the army came upon that ground. When he had
therefore proceeded thus on his journey, he came upon the Ethiopians before they
expected him; and, joining battle with them, he beat them, and deprived them of
the hopes they had of success against the Egyptians, and went on in overthrowing
their cities, and indeed made a great slaughter of these Ethiopians. Now when the
Egyptian army had once tasted of this prosperous success, by the means of Moses,
they did not slacken their diligence, insomuch that the Ethiopians were in danger
of being reduced to slavery, and all sorts of destruction; and at length they retired
to Saba, which was a royal city of Ethiopia, which Cambyses afterward named
Meroe, after the name of his own sister.
The place was to be besieged with very great difficulty, since it was both
surrounded by the Nile on all sides, and the other rivers, Astapus and Astaboras,
made it a very difficult thing for such as attempted to pass over them; for the city
was located in a retired place, and was inhabited after the manner of an island,

25

being surrounded with a strong wall, and having the rivers to guard them from
their enemies, and having great ramparts between the wall and the rivers,
insomuch, that when the waters come with the greatest violence, it can never be
drowned; which ramparts make it next to impossible for even such as have
crossed over the rivers to take the city.
However, while Moses was uneasy at the army's lying idle, (for the enemies dared
not come to a battle,) this incident happened:-- Tharbis was the daughter of the
king of the Ethiopians; she happened to see Moses as he led the army near the
walls, and fought with great courage; and admiring the subtilty of his
undertakings, and believing him to be the author of the Egyptians' success, when
they had before despaired of recovering their liberty, and to be the occasion of the
great danger the Ethiopians were in, when they had before boasted of their great
achievements, she fell deeply in love with him; and upon the prevalence of that
passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him
about their marriage.
He thereupon accepted the offer, on condition she would procure the delivering
up of the city; and gave her the assurance of an oath to take her to his wife; and
that when he had once taken possession of the city, he would not break his oath to
her. No sooner was the agreement made, but it took effect immediately; and when
Moses had cut off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated his
marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land. (Antiquities, 2:238-253)
And then in Numbers 12 we get this reference
Miriam, and Aaron too, criticized Moses over the Cushite woman he had married.
He had indeed married a Cushite woman. They said, 'Is Moses the only one
through whom Yahweh has spoken? Has he not spoken through us too?' Yahweh
heard this. Now Moses was extremely humble, the humblest man on earth.
Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, 'Come out, all three of you,
to the Tent of Meeting.' They went, all three of them, and Yahweh descended in a
pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam
and they both came forward. Yahweh said: Listen to my words! if there is a
prophet among you, I reveal myself to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream.
Not so with my servant Moses; to him my whole household is entrusted; to him I
speak face to face, plainly and not in riddles, and he sees Yahweh's form. How,
then, could you dare to criticize my servant Moses?
Yahweh's anger was aroused by them. He went away, and as soon as the cloud
left the Tent, there was Miriam covered with a virulent skin-disease, white as
snow! Aaron turned to look at her and saw that she had contracted a virulent skindisease. Aaron said to Moses: 'Oh, my Lord, please do not punish us for the sin
we have been foolish enough to commit. Do not let her be like some monster with
its flesh half eaten away when it leaves its mother's womb!'

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Moses pleaded with Yahweh. 'O God,' he said, 'I beg you, please heal her!'
Yahweh then said to Moses, 'If her father had done no more than spit in her face,
would she not be unclean for seven days? Have her shut out of the camp for seven
days, and then have her brought in again.' Miriam was shut out of the camp for
seven days. The people did not set out until she returned. Then the people moved
on from Hazeroth and pitched camp in the desert of Paran. (Numbers 12:1-16
NJB)
Some rabbis think this was a slur against Tzipporah, but she is a Midianite, not a Cushite.
That is why most authorities believe Tzipporah had died. But what if this Cushite wife in
Numbers 12 was the reuniting of Moshe with his FIRST WIFE, according to Josephus,
the Ethiopian princess he calls Tharbis?
The fact is, we dont know from Torah what Moshes early life was like anyway, so even
if this Cushite wife is not Tharbis, the possibility that she was a first love of his from
somewhere still remains, and it doesnt sound that unlikely on the face of it either though
it lays beyond our abilities to prove.
However, that doesnt mean I cant speculate on what I think might have actually
happened. My personal theory is that Tharbis is Tzipporah. There is a hint in Exodus 4
where Moshe says from the time You first spoke with me until now (4:10), and the
context is that Moshe has always been a bit of a stutterer, which suggests that Abba
YHWH spoke with Moshe on a previous occasion.
From that tiny hint I reconstructed a very elaborate story that has a greater place in a
historical novel than in a formal study session. I concludedfor entertainment purposes
that isthat Moshe had been in Midian before and that perhaps he met Job along the
way, posing as a man the book of Job calls Elihu.
As the novel story grew, I further imagined how Tzipporah had been part of a treaty
exchange between Midian and Ethiopia, but how she hated her foster father, the king of
Ethiopia who, because I dont know his name, I just called Malik, meaning king.
Then, when Moshe was tapped by his step-mom Thermuthis, whom I have identified as
Queen Hatshepsut, a.k.a. Tehuti-Mes in ancient Egyptian, to go with her to Punt
(Somalia) which the real Hatshepsut did in the 9th year of her reign, this is where I
thought he might have met Tharbis, who was part of another trade mission from Ethiopia,
trying to make sure Egypt didnt outmaneuver them commercially. Their relationship
grew from there in quite the romantic way (long story), so that by the time Moshe attacks
Ethiopia, they are already in love and we catch up to Josephus account. They will have
an incredibly emotional reunion in Midian, but I dont want to give too much of that
away here. As I said, I cant prove any of this. Not one jot. But I have a little fun
imagining it anyway and maybe one of these years, if Father Yah allows, I will have the
satisfaction of completing and publishing my historical novel about Moshe.

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Meanwhile, whatever the truth ultimately turns out to be, I think its important to reconnect with the fact that Moshe was a human beingan extraordinary one to be sure
but even the most humble man can run out of patience. Even the most committed man
can despair. And I am pretty confident, just from what Torah says, that those kinds of bad
days were not exactly rare.
Lets look at what we are sure of and see why. Moshe grows up an Egyptian prince, and
all ancient sources outside of Scripture say he never fit in and was always viewed with
suspicion. He strives many years for respectability and even when he comes home a
victorious general he is still hated, and hes left behind his wife on top of it.
Fleeing for his life, Moshe finds a little more peace in Midian. He marries, has children
and tries to forget Egyptbut Abba YHWH has other plans. Reluctantlyvery
reluctantlyhe accepts his new mantle of purpose to go and free his people. Pharaoh
treats him like dirt even after so many plagues. His own people curse him and call him
a sword put in Pharaohs hands to kill us.
Okay, some of you may think, maybe things will change once he gets the Israelites out of
bondage. Well, yes, they do changethey get WORSE! Heres a highlight reel
Wah! We have to make bricks without straw!
Wah! We dont have enough bread!
Wah, okay, we have bread but its boring! We want meat!
Wah! Uh, okay, ease up on the meat.
Wah! Moshe, whyd you leave us for so long! We miss you! (uhwhat?)
Wah! Well die in the desert!
Wah! Okay, we wont die in the desert, but it would be better if we did!
Wah! Uh, can we go back to Egypt?
Honestly, Meg Ryan doesnt cry this much! Could we blame Moshe for wanting a
version of Club Med after the stresses of that job? So maybe Tharbis is exactly what
he needs: a chance to remember what things were like before all this stuff started? And
besides everyone else thinks they can do a better job, so why not let them try?
The other way I like to think of this possibilityand no, I am not saying this happened
is that Abba YHWH asked a direct question
and Yahweh said to Moses: 'How much longer will these people treat me with
contempt? How much longer will they refuse to trust me, in spite of all the signs I
have displayed among them? I shall strike them with pestilence and disown them.
And of you I shall make a new nation, greater and mightier than they are.'
(Numbers 14:11-12 NJB)
Now some of you might say, Wait! Andrew, Moshe interceded here. He did NOT
withdraw! True enoughhe did. But he was only partly successful

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Yahweh said, 'I forgive them as you ask. But -- as I live, and as the glory of
Yahweh fills the whole world- of all these people who have seen my glory and the
signs that I worked in Egypt and in the desert, who have put me to the test ten
times already and not obeyed my voice, not one shall see the country which I
promised to give their ancestors. Not one of those who have treated me
contemptuously will see it. (Numbers 14:20-23 NJB)
In other words it went like this, Okay Moshe, you win. I wont kill them. Instead, Ill
just---KILL them!but slowly. If that doesnt merit an Oy vey! I need a break! from
Moshe, I honestly dont know what will.
Bottom line, of course, we will never know. If Moshe took a break for his own heart, to
return to the one he loved, we could hardly blame him for doing so. We see these stories
in life all the time. The great man, the mighty leader, is just a man after all, looking for
love and appreciation in a harsh world. Whether Moshe found that love early on in life or
only just after Tzipporah died, the bottom line is, according to Torah, he DID find it and
he took her to his heart in the most kosher way possible.
I doubt that there are many peopleespecially among the men listening nowwho
couldnt relate to Moshes need to take a break with his new kosher love, the one person
in the world who could life those ponderous burdens off of his shoulders.
But whether this lady was Tharbis or not, I think we all owe her a debt of gratitude. At
the end of the day, she strengthened Moshe and enabled him to stay the course to the very
end. She was in his corner when his brother, sister and a good chunk of his nation turned
their backs on him.
So maybe at the end of the day it was a 38 year vacation after all but Moshe didnt leave
Israel to wander alone. Instead, he found someone else to wander with to put joy back in
his life and purpose back into his heart. Thats why Solomon put it so well
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has
no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But
how can one keep warm alone? (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 NIV)
Thank you Tharbis, or whoever you really were, for making such a difference.
Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week!
Next week we will be exploring Balak, or Numbers 22:2-25:9. Our Haftorah portion will
be Micah 5:6-6:8 and our Renewed Covenant portion will be 2 Peter 2:1-22! Stay tuned!

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