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In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will take a look at Delilah, Samson Nemesis.  Judges 16:1-31. One of the Bad Women of the Bible, Delilah was loved by the strongman Samson. She wheedled the secret of his strength out of Samson and sold it to his enemies, the Philistines. They cut off his hair and gouged out his eyes to torment him, but then his hair began to grow again... Although Delilah’s story centers on her narrative with Samson, she is portrayed as independent from the men around her. She is named without the context of a male relative or spouse, although her identity remains unclear. Delilah accepts a bribe from the Philistines to reveal the source of Samson’s strength and seems to express no doubt about her choice to betray her lover. Whether or not she ultimately cuts Samson’s hair varies between texts. Names    Delilah means ‘languishing’ it is also a play on the Hebrew word laylah, which means 'night'; it can also mean 'flirtatious', or 'sexy'. Delilah's morals were uncertain to say the least, and she was probably a high-class prostitute - in today's terminology, an 'escort'. Samson means 'the sun or like the sun'.  Because their names mean 'night' and 'day' the story may have come originally from an ancient myth about the struggle between night and day, sun and moon, darkness and light. This theme was common in Middle Eastern mythology. Delilah is the only woman in the Samson story whose name is given. Whatever its etymology, her name is a wordplay on Hebrew layla, “night,” for as the night overcomes the mighty sun (the name Samson, Shimshon, is related to “sun,” shemesh), so Delilah overcomes the apparently invincible strong man, Samson.                 What the story is about The story of Delilah is an episode in the life of Samson, a hero of the Israelites at the time of the Judges.  On the surface, the story condemned Delilah and later generations saw her as an evil woman. But a closer look raises questions about the motives and behavior of both the main characters.  The story of Delilah, either Philistine maiden or Hebrew maiden, is one of the most graphic in the pages of the Old Testament. Bribed by the lords of the Philistines to discover the secret of the champion's strength, at first her wiles were unavailing. Three times Delilah tried to draw from him the secret of his strength. Three times Samson drugged his own conscience by telling a lie to her. Yet he was so helpless in the coils of the temptress that he failed to rouse himself in defense of his own manhood. The man who dallies with temptation as Samson did is doomed. With unholy persistence Delilah made a supreme attempt to accomplish her ends. Asked the fourth time for the secret of his strength, Samson replied that if his locks were shorn his strength would be gone. The secret gained by so much deceit was immediately sold to the enemy. When a fourth time the challenge, “Samson! the Philistines be upon thee,” fell on his heavy ears, he rose with a determination to display again his wonderful strength.  The story of Delilah contains four different episodes:  1 Delilah and the Philistine lords, Judges 16:4-5. Delilah was approached by the powerful Philistine lords who ordered her to help them. 2 Delilah questions Samson, Judges 16:6-14. Delilah tried to find out the secret of Samson’s strength. He evaded her questions, giving her three false answers. 3 Delilah learns the truth, Judges 16:15-17. By persisting, Delilah found out the truth about Samson, that he was dedicated to Elohim before he was born. 4 Samson's hair is cut off, Judges 16:18-21. Delilah ordered a servant to cut off Samson's hair while he slept.   The story describes the way that Delilah, a Philistine woman, discovered the secret of Samson's strength, and sold that secret to the Philistine lords.  The story of Delilah is set during the period of the Judges, when the Israelites were still attempting to gain a foothold in the land they had invaded.                 Samson, son of Manoah (rest), who like Isaac was the gift of Yahweh in answer to prayer, became judge over his nation harassed by enemies, about forty years after Jephthah’s death. Of remarkable strength and daring, he was great unlike any before him. Barak, Gideon and Jephthah, led brave armies and obtained splendid victories: Samson was an army in himself, and hurled defiance by the might of his single arm at the hosts of Israel’s foe.          Twenty years have passed since Samson, endowed with superhuman powers, began his judgeship. Yet by his strength and his courage, by his battles, his jokes, and his various activities, he has accomplished practically nothing of the task he had been appointed to perform, the task to which he had deliberately dedicated his life. Near the close of the twenty years Samson himself is lying supine upon the breast of the ablest, the most patriotic, and the most fascinating of Philistine women. Surely something must be wrong; something for which not Delilah alone is responsible; something which cannot be explained by the theory of a moment's amiable weakness in Samson himself’ After this Samson fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her 'Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.'  Delilah is introduced as a woman from the valley of Sorek, which in Hebrew means 'vineyard valley'. It is about 12 miles southwest of Jerusalem. At the time of the story, it was held by the Philistines.   She is not introduced as 'the wife of' or 'of the tribe of', and we are not told whether she was Israelite or Philistine. This is unusual. She may have been a courtesan, independent of either group; or an Israelite, disowned because of what happened to Samson. Perhaps the storytellers took it for granted that she was a Philistine. We do not know for sure. (His marriage is not mentioned, but as commentators differ on this point, I have chosen the supposition that Delilah was his wife.) Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

Women of the Bible In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will take a look at Manoah’s wife, mother of Samson Judges 13:1-25. The children of Israel had again fallen away from Yahweh, "and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years," that is to say, almost, if not quite, a generation. In every age, Yahweh has His witnesses; there is always one man or one woman to be found who lay’s to heart the cause of Yahweh, and to whom the sins of their country are a burden and a sorrow; there is always someone or other who takes sides with Yahweh against the spirit of his generation. It is possible that Manoah [rest], a man of Zorah [hornet]"of the family of the Danites," (Jdg. 13:2.) he from his loins was a hornet! 1              Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh = The cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, deliverance, blessing, and sin again continued in the history of Israel. And Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines: Because of Israel’s sin and rebellion, Yahweh gained their attention again by bringing them into defeat to the Philistines. 2              A certain man from Zorah = The town of Zorah is about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) west of Jerusalem. It was in the land of the tribe of Dan. Even though Manoah’s wife is not mentioned in the bible, there is some documention from the Jewish Women Archives that state the following: The Babylonian Rabbis knew Manoah’s wife as “Zlelponi” or “Zlelponith” (BT Bava Batra 91a; and from there this tradition also made its way into the late aggdah), a name that affiliates her with the tribe of Judah, since a woman by this name appears in the Judahite lineage in I Chron. 4:1–3.  1Ch 4:3  And these were of the father of Etam (lair of wild beasts); Jezreel (seed of EL), and Ishma (desolation), and Idbash (stout): and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:  According to Smiths Bible Dictionary Hazelelpo'ni means ‘shade coming upon me’. 3              And the Angel of Yahweh appeared = From the rest of the chapter, we see that we should regard this Angel as no mere angel. As seen before in the book of Judges (Judges 2:1-5, 6:11-24), could this been Yahshua Messiah on a special mission, appearing as a man before His incarnation in Bethlehem. 5              The child shall be a Nazirite to Elohim = Numbers 6:1-21 describes the vow of a Nazirite. When under the vow, people regarded themselves as specially devoted to Yahweg, leaving their hair uncut, drinking no wine and eating no grape products, and avoiding any contact with anything dead. From the womb = There was nothing particularly unusual about someone taking the vow of a Nazirite for a specific period of time. What was unusual in Samson’s case was that he was to live under the vow from his birth, and that his vow was intended to be a lifetime vow. 6              A Man of Elohim came to me = This indicates that the Angel of Yahweh appearing to Manoah’s wife generally appeared to be a Man, yet His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of Elohim. I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name = This shows the profound impact the appearance of the Man of Elohim had upon Manoah’s wife. He was very awesome; so much so that she did not ask questions about where He was from or what His name was. 7              The woman came and told her husband; and this is evidence that she believed he would understand her communion with Yahweh. There are some wives who cannot tell their husbands what passes between Yahweh and their souls. How should an infidel husband, or an unbeliever, or even an unspiritual believer, understand communications from Yahweh which are in the Spirit, and which are addressed to "the hidden man of the heart?" as Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:4. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Yahweh." (1Chron. 2:14.) 12           What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work? = Yahweh honored Manoah’s request for confirmation, but He did not answer this request to know the future. He simply called Manoah and his wife to obey what Yahweh already told them to do.                 It would nice that every parent in Yahweh sought and received counsel from Yahweh what to do with their child or children. Children would be brought up in the nurture and admonition of Yahweh to a very much greater extent if parents, instead of following their own whims, gratifying their own pride, or yielding to their own laziness, educated their children in the spirit, and under the direct guidance of Yahweh. "And Manoah said: Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?" (or, R.V., What shall be the manner of the child, and what shall be his work?) There is complete self-denial in this request of Manoah's. He does not ask that his son shall be a credit to him, shall build up the family name, or reflect honor upon him or his ancestors. Manoah recognized that, as the father of Yahweh's deliverer, he was but Yahweh's steward even of his own child.                 And the angel of Yahweh repeated to Manoah what he had said to his wife regarding abstinence from strong drink and from everything that was unclean. Let us pause a moment, and consider. The priests of Yahweh were forbidden to take wine and strong drink when they went into the tabernacle that they might "put difference between holy and unholy, between unclean and clean." (Lev. 10:9-10.) The mother of John the Baptist was told that her son should drink neither wine nor strong drink, but that he should be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb; implying that the Holy Spirit and strong drink cannot occupy the same individual. Again, as Paul strikingly said: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18); as though alcoholic spirit and the Spirit of Yahweh could not accord. And here we find that the mother of the strongest man that ever lived must avoid those stimulants which deluded people make use of to give them physical strength.                 Manoah, having thus received the confirmation of the directions regarding his child from the angel of Yahweh, encourged him to remain until he could make ready a kid for him, not knowing he was an angel of Yahweh; but his answer was:                 "Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto Yahweh." 23           If Yahweh had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering = This was a perceptive response from Manoah’s wife. She understood that Yahweh had not done so much for them to abandon them now. Yahweh’s past work in our lives is a promise of His future care and blessing for us. He would not have accepted a burnt offering = The basis of the faith of Manoah’s wife was that she knew that Yahweh had accepted their offering to Him. The same principle works for the Christian believer today: If the LORD wanted to do you evil, He would have never accepted an offering on your behalf – the offering of Yahshua Messiah on the cross. Manoah was in terror. He said unto his wife: "We shall surely die, because we have seen Elohim." (Jdg. 13:22) For he knew those words of (Exod. 33:20): "There shall no man see Me and live." But Manoah's wife had understood the meaning of the offering; in spirit she was already dead, and she fell back upon the value of the offering. "If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, He would have not received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would, as at this time, have told us such things as these."                 The woman had an intuition of divine things which Manoah had not as yet. It is such mothers—those who thus understand their Yahweh, thus help their husbands into deeper communion with Him—who prove to be the mothers of Yahweh's deliverers and Yahweh's reformers. Samson, the promised son, strange, inconsistent man that he was, yet so honored Yahweh by his faith that he was given a place in Hebrews 11:1-40, among those "of whom the world was not worthy." Jdg 13:24  And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson (like the sun): and the child grew, and Yahweh blessed him.  Jdg 13:25  And the Spirit of Yahweh began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah (hornet) and Eshtaol (a pass).  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will take a look at Jephthah Daughter. Jephthah's (whom Yahweh sets free) Daughter Judges 11 Jephthah's story is one of the most theologically complex in the Old Testament. His faith and diplomatic skill are genuine, the author of Hebrews names him among the faithful (Hebrews 11:32). Yet his rash vow, made without any divine command or precedent, led to irreversible tragedy. Deuteronomy 23:21–23 warned that vows must be kept, and Numbers 30 provided no mechanism for revoking a rash vow involving a person. The story does not celebrate the vow but courageously records its terrible consequence. It stands as a sobering warning against impulsive religious bargaining and the danger of speaking before listening, a theme found throughout Proverbs and James 1:19–20. Jephthah illustrates the tragic entanglement of genuine faith with human folly that marks the entire judges’ period. Jephthah was a Gileadite warrior and judge of Israel whose story is narrated extensively in Judges 11–12 and recalled in 1 Samuel 12:11 and Hebrews 11:32. The illegitimate son of Gilead by a prostitute, he was expelled by his half-brothers and became the leader of a band of outlaws in the land of Tob. When the Ammonites threatened Israel, the Gileadite elders recalled him and after shrewd negotiation he became their commander. 1              Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor = This brave and notable man in Israel had a clouded pedigree. His mother was a harlot, a common heathen prostitute. 3              Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob = Rejected by his family because of he was not a legitimate heir, Jephthah grew up in this area in what would be modern-day Syria. Tob = (good). The land of Tob. North of Jabesh-Gilead. A place in which Jephthah took refuge, when expelled from home, by his half-brother, Jdg. 11:3, and where he remained, at the head of a band of freebooters, till he was brought back, by the sheikhs of Gilead. Jdg. 11:5. The loss of influence and dignity, disloyalty to Yahweh carried along with it, besides the withdrawment of his protection, invited the hordes of idolaters to conquest, the Amorites on one side, and the Philistines upon the other, over swept the land. Then the Jewish Elders turned to Jephthah, whose ability alone could rally his inefficient and suffering countrymen. (Jdg. 11:5-6) His reply to the delegation who found him in his fastness among the desolate hills exhibits the spirited independence of the fugitive. “Did not ye hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? and why are ye come to me now, when ye are in distress?” (Jdg. 11:7) They tried to win over the chief by offering him the generalship of the army. He accepted on condition as security against permitting again his banishment, while he was also conscious of his ability to govern, that if victorious, he should be made Judge in Israel. (Jdg.11:8-11)  Jephthan was not an unprincipled bandit, is evident from his tactics in the projected war. He personally demanded of his foes the ground of their invasion; and when they asserted their original claim, he laid down an acknowledged principle in the law of nations, that the actual possessors of the land when taken by the Israelites, conferred a full and unquestionable title. (Jdg. 11:24) The negotiation closed, and the opposing armies prepared for battle. Then appeared the religious element in the character of Jephthah, however obscured before, in a solemn vow, altogether rashly spoken. He pledged to Yahweh, if he would overthrow the legions of Amorites and allow him to return a conqueror peacefully to his dwelling, the first living form he met as a burnt-offering upon the altar of thanksgiving. 30           Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh = Though well-intentioned, this was a foolish tragic vow. Such vows can be attempts to manipulate Yahweh or put Him under obligation to ourselves. i. Even a Spirit-filled man can do foolish things. The Holy Spirit does not overwhelm and control us, He guides us – and that guidance can be resisted or ignored. ii. “There is no need to bribe Yahweh’s help, as Jephthah did, by his rash promise. He will give gladly and freely out of His own heart of love the help and deliverance we need, if only our course is rightly ordered before Him.” 31           Whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me…I will offer it up as a burnt offering = Jephthah did not have a human sacrifice in mind. This is indicated by the ancient Hebrew grammar: “The masculine gender could be translated ‘whatever comes out’ or ‘whoever comes out’ and ‘I will sacrifice it.’” Girded with his tried sword, he led his army from the downward slope, across Jordan where the enemy blackened the plain, and sent out their loud challenge to conflict. The might of Yahweh came upon him, as on Barak the son of Abinoam, and he dashed like a falling bolt into the ranks of gleaming spears and waiting blades. They closed around Jephthah’s bands, then reeled and rallied, and again fell back as a forest before the hurricane, till the rout was complete. But Jephthah followed up the victory till twenty cities surrendered, and his weary soldiers refreshed themselves in the valley of vineyards, whose soil was reddened by the life-blood that flowed in the trenches, with trodden clusters from the overshadowing vine. (Jdg. 11:32-33) 32           And Yahweh delivered them into his hands = Yahweh won a great and important victory for Israel through Jephthah. He overcame bitterness and family rejection to meet a great need. Despite his difficult past, Yahweh still wonderfully used him. 33           Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel = This was another victory for Israel won under the leadership of a Spirit-filled judge. Then followed the trial and the offering. With a guard of his grateful warriors he marched towards Mizpeh-and “Behold, his daughter came forth to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only child.” (Jdg. 11:34) 34           Miz'peh = (a watch-tower). A city of Judah. (Josh. 15:38) Perhaps the same that is spoken of by Samuel, where he set up, between Mizpeh and Shur, the Ebenezer. (See 1Sam. 7:5-7) The name signifies a place of look-out, or enquiry. 35           When he saw her, he tore his clothes = Jephthah made his foolish and tragic vow sincerely, fully intending to keep it. Yet he had not seriously considered the consequences of the vow. Therefore, he was grieved when his daughter was first to greet him out of his house. I have given my word to Yahweh, and I cannot go back on it = Jephthah’s oath was foolish, and he should not have kept it. He had no right to punish or afflict his daughter in any way because of the vow he made to Yahweh. i. As followers of Yahshua Messiah, Jephthah’s statement reminds us of what we have done: I have given my word to the LORD. · We have confessed our faith in Yahshua Messiah. · We have declared ourselves as followers and disciples of Yahshua Messiah. · We have praised Yahweh with our songs and words. · We have proclaimed our part together with Yahweh’s people. ii. As followers of Yahshua Messiah, Jephthah’s statement reminds us of what we cannot do: I cannot go back on it. · We cannot go back because we are being persecuted. · We cannot go back because we are being mocked. · We cannot go back, even a little way. · To go back might show that our faith was always false. · To go back would disgrace the work of Yahshua Messiah on the cross. · To go back would forsake heavenly reward. · To go back would make no sense. I concluded that Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter, but consecrated her to the service of Yahweh in the tabernacle, in a state of celibacy, will we consider be evident from the following consideration - 1. Human sacrifices were ever an abomination to Yahweh, of which Jephthah could not be ignorant; and consequently he would neither have made such a vow, nor carried it into execution. 2. We are expressly told (Jdg. 11:29) that Jephthah was under the influence of the Spirit of Yahweh, which would effectually prevent him from drenching his hands in the blood of his own child. 3. He had it in his power to redeem his daughter (Lev. 27:4); and surely his only child must have been of more value than thirty shekels. 4. Besides, who was to perform the horrid rite? Not Jephthah himself, who was no priest, and in whom it would have been most unnatural and inhuman; and the priests would certainly have dissuaded him from it. 5. The sacred historian informs us, that she bewailed her virginity, that she knew no man, and that the Israelitish women went yearly to comfort or lament with her. Jdg. 11:31; Lev. 27:28-29; Deut. 12:31; Isa. 66:3. Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will finish our study on Deborah and Jael. Deborah (a bee) & Jael (wild or mountain goat) – Warrior Women Deborah is one of the major judges (other words more of a charismatic military leaders, not a justice type judge figure) in the story of how Israel takes the land of Canaan. Deborah summons Barak to lead the battle against the Canaanites; he agrees, but only if she accompanies him. Barak and his warriors destroy all the Canaanites except Sisera, who seeks refuge with but is killed by Jael. Later rabbis acknowledged Deborah as a prophet but, due to their discomfort with women leaders, blunted her impact by speculating about her husband, reading her self-identification in the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 as hubris, and minimizing her role as judge.  Deborah led the Israelites in peace and in war. She was a prophetess, but when war came she devised a battle strategy that gave the out-numbered and badly equipped Israelite troops victory over their Canaanite enemy. Meanwhile woman, Jael, used a tent peg and a mallet to finish off the unfortunate enemy general, Sisera. The story of Deborah describes the unlikely victory of the Israelites, led by the wisdom of Deborah, over superior Canaanite [do you remember who these people were?] forces. After the battle, the defeated Canaanite general Sisera was killed by a Kenite woman called Jael.  Deborah’s achievement was significant because the battle gave the Israelites their first access to the fertile and prosperous Plain of Esdraelon and part of the Plain of Sharon. Jael’s story is similar to the one told about David and Goliath. A small, weak person, Jael, triumphs over a terrifying and apparently invincible warrior, Sisera. The story celebrates the defeat of Israel’s enemies and the power of Israel’s Elohim.  The story of Deborah and Jael contains four main sections: 1 Deborah, a judge of Israel, summoned Barak (Judges 4:1-11, 5:1-18). When war and oppression come, Deborah acted as a leader of the people. She chose the most able military general and told him what he must do. 2 The battle was fought: Sisera fled (Judges 4:12-16, 5: 19-23). The superior enemy forces were routed, their troops were slaughtered, and the Israelites were jubilant. Their faith in their Yahweh was strengthened. Sisera, the enemy general, fled from the battlefield towards the encampment of Jael the Kenite woman. 3 Jael met Sisera, and killed him (Judges 4:17-24, 5:24-27). Jael called Sisera into her tent, hid him and fed him. After he fell asleep Jael killed him by driving a tent peg through the side of his head. She was hailed as a national heroine by the pursuing Israelite forces, led by Deborah and Barak. 4 The mother of Sisera (Judge 5:28-30). Sisera’s mother and the noblewomen who surrounded her waited for her son to return. But as the reader knows, he was already dead by Jael’s hand.  The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is dated at about 1285-1265BC, near when these events happened. It is a vivid picture, giving more details than Judges 4. For example, it contains a series of curses on those tribes who did not help in the battle, planting the seed for a later separation of the northern and southern tribes of Israel. Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the Book of Judges. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. This suggests that judges were seen as ‘Yahweh’s people’, and their gender was unimportant. It is always sin which puts things out of Yahweh's order, and all kinds of complications follow. At this time, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and "Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin “one who is intelligence’, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor “village”; the captain of whose host was Sisera “battle array”, which dwelt in Harosheth “workmanship” [so called from the different races, possible giants included]of the Gentiles." Again and again, this history had been repeated. Yahweh had fulfilled His word, "If ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but that ye break My covenant: I will also do this unto you;…I will set My face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you." (Lev. 26:14-17.)  The Battle: Phase 1 Deborah summoned as many Israelite tribesmen as she could get – the main contingent was from Naphtali and Zebulun. Some of the tribes would not come, but those who did camped at Mount Tabor. It was hilly ground, easily defensible, with a flanking position facing the Jezreel Valley. There was excellent visibility in all directions. The sloping ground gave the Israelites security against any Canaanite chariot attack. The main Canaanite army base was at “Harosheth of the Gentiles.” This must have been close to the Valley of Jezreel, for the site of the decisive battle was near Megiddo, in the western section of the valley. Just before the battle, a flash flood swelled the nearby Wadi Kishon and turned the battleground into deep mud (documented in the Song of Deborah 5:4-5), giving the Israelite foot soldiers the advantage over the Canaanite chariots.  The Battle: Phase 2 Deborah guessed that when Sisera was told about the Israelite deployment, he would concentrate all his forces at Mount Tabor, to contain Barak. Eventually, Sisera would have reasoned, Barak would be forced out into the open to fight on the open plain – where he could be defeated. But Deborah had a second force at her disposal, militia she had gathered from Ephraim. She used this body of soldiers to draw Sisera away from his vigil opposite Mount Tabor, towards the swampy area of the Kishon River in the western part of the Jezreel Valley. She must have provided good reason for him to abandon his first position – tantalizingly, the Bible does not tell us what it was. But it must have been a movement threatening the unprotected plain. Only this would have induced Sisera to break camp and move in the direction of the Kishon River, to secure the narrow pass between the Carmel and the Tivon hills leading from the Jezreel Valley into the coastal plain.  Whatever this feint was, it worked. The Battle: Phase 3 The opposing forces watched each other for a few days. One guesses that Deborah was waiting for rain to turn the Kishon and its tributaries into a mire. When she received the confirmation she hoped for, she gave Barak the sign to attack: ‘Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand’ (Judges 4:13). Her assault caught Sisera’s troops in the flanks or rear, or possibly both. At that point the Ephraimite force joined the main battle. ‘And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak’ (Judges 4:15). There was a wonderful irony in this. Baal, the main god of the Canaanite forces, was god of storms and weather. He was worshipped by the Canaanites, with Anat, a fierce goddess who fought vigorously to protect her family. Yet the Canaanites lost the battle because of a storm! The Israelites could hardly believe their luck. Yahweh, their Elohim, was clearly superior to the gods of the Canaanites. Abandoning his army, Sisera fled on foot away from the battlefield, towards the encampment of Jael, the Kenite woman (Judges 4:12-16). Jael had her own tent, separate from her husband’s tent. At this period in Israelite history it was still common for several women to be married to one man. In such a case, each wife had her tent, which she made, pitched and maintained herself. When she had children, they lived with her in this tent. ‘So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty”. She opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. He said to her “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you “Is anyone here?” say “No”. When Sisera arrived at the encampment in the last stages of exhaustion and terror, Jael saw him and called him to her tent.   One point to notice is that Sisera went into Jael’s tent, not the tent of Heber her husband. The ancient laws of hospitality in the Middle East were very strict. A guest, once ritually invited into the home, had to be protected and cared for, even at the expense of everyone else in the house. But only the chief man of the household could offer ritual hospitality.  Sisera went into Jael’s tent. She covered him with a rug, which suggests that he was afraid and wanted to hide. He asked for water. She gave him a drink of goat’s milk. Exhausted from the battle and his flight, he fell asleep. Faced with a man who was far superior to her in physical strength, Jael used her wits and courage. She took the wooden hammer used to put up her tent and one of the pegs that held the tent ropes, and then with one expert blow she drove the peg deep into the side of Sisera’s head.  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we take a look at Deborah and Jael. Deborah (a bee) & Jael (wild or mountain goat) – Warrior Women Deborah is one of the major judges (other words more of a charismatic military leaders, not a justice type judge figure) in the story of how Israel takes the land of Canaan. Deborah summons Barak to lead the battle against the Canaanites; he agrees, but only if she accompanies him. Barak and his warriors destroy all the Canaanites except Sisera, who seeks refuge with but is killed by Jael. Later rabbis acknowledged Deborah as a prophet but, due to their discomfort with women leaders, blunted her impact by speculating about her husband, reading her self-identification in the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 as hubris, and minimizing her role as judge. Deborah led the Israelites in peace and in war. She was a prophetess, but when war came, she devised a battle strategy that gave the outnumbered and badly equipped Israelite troops victory over their Canaanite enemy. Meanwhile woman, Jael, used a tent peg and a mallet to finish off the unfortunate enemy general, Sisera. The story of Deborah describes the unlikely victory of the Israelites, led by the wisdom of Deborah, over superior Canaanite [do you remember who these people were?] forces. After the battle, the defeated Canaanite general Sisera was killed by a Kenite woman called Jael.  Deborah’s achievement was significant because the battle gave the Israelites their first access to the fertile and prosperous Plain of Esdraelon and part of the Plain of Sharon. Jael’s story is similar to the one told about David and Goliath. A small, weak person, Jael, triumphs over a terrifying and apparently invincible warrior, Sisera. The story celebrates the defeat of Israel’s enemies and the power of Israel’s Elohim.  The story of Deborah and Jael contains four main sections:   1 Deborah, a judge of Israel, summoned Barak (Judges 4:1-11, 5:1-18). When war and oppression come, Deborah acted as a leader of the people. She chose the most able military general and told him what he must do.   2 The battle was fought: Sisera fled (Judges 4:12-16, 5: 19-23). The superior enemy forces were routed, their troops were slaughtered, and the Israelites were jubilant. Their faith in their Yahweh was strengthened. Sisera, the enemy general, fled from the battlefield towards the encampment of Jael the Kenite woman.   3 Jael met Sisera, and killed him (Judges 4:17-24, 5:24-27). Jael called Sisera into her tent, hid him and fed him. After he fell asleep Jael killed him by driving a tent peg through the side of his head. She was hailed as a national heroine by the pursuing Israelite forces, led by Deborah and Barak.   4 The mother of Sisera (Judge 5:28-30). Sisera’s mother and the noblewomen who surrounded her waited for her son to return. But as the reader knows, he was already dead by Jael’s hand.   The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is dated at about 1285-1265BC, near when these events happened. It is a vivid picture, giving more details than Judges 4. For example, it contains a series of curses on those tribes who did not help in the battle, planting the seed for a later separation of the northern and southern tribes of Israel.   After the death of Joshua, the man who had lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan, Yahweh raised up judges to lead and rule Israel.   The first Judges Yahweh used were Othniel (Lion of El), Ehud (Union) and Shamgar (Sword) (Judges 3). And then came Deborah.  Deborah leads the nation of Israel. Who said women cannot lead? Here is one of the many women Yahweh Himself called and used. She was very much respected. Her leadership qualities were unquestionable. She was also a prophet and married women might also like to note that she was married (Judges 4). Marriage was never designed to hinder the ministry of women but rather to aid it.   The story of Deborah occured in approximately 1285-1265BC, when Deborah was a judge of Israel. The word ‘judge’ did not mean then what it means now. A judge in Israel was a tribal leader who in times of peace had authority to settle disputes and problems in times of war acted as a rallying point to gather the tribes and organize resistance.  Deborah is the only woman judge mentioned in the Book of Judges. The people of her time had no difficulty in accepting her as a judge. This suggests that judges were seen as ‘Yahweh’s people’, and their gender was unimportant.  It is not the usual order of Yahweh to put woman in the place of authority: "Adam was first formed, then Eve." (1Tim. 2:13.) Deborah was an exception. The children of Israel had sinned grievously against Yahweh, and apparently there was no man that could serve His purpose as judge over Israel. Just as, later on, He was driven to employ the child Samuel when the high priest Eli was not equal to the occasion, so now, a woman must do the part of a man. It is always sin which puts things out of Yahweh's order, and all kinds of complications follow. At this time, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and "Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin “one who is intelligence’, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor “village”; the captain of whose host was Sisera “battle array”, which dwelt in Harosheth “workmanship” [so called from the different races, possible giants included]of the Gentiles." Again and again, this history had been repeated. Yahweh had fulfilled His word, "If ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but that ye break My covenant: I will also do this unto you;…I will set My face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you." (Lev. 26:14-17.) But Yahweh had made a provision, which was recorded by the Psalmist, "Then they cried unto Yahweh in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses." (Psa. 107:6; 13; 19; 28.) Deborah is introduced as a ‘prophetess’, but a prophet was not someone who foretold the future. They ‘heard’ a message from Yahweh in some way and passed it on. Often the message was about staying apart from the surrounding cultures and maintaining the unique identity and beliefs of Israel.   The judges of Israel did not impose their authority on the Israelite people - they did not need to. They were representatives of Yahweh, transmitting direct messages from Yahweh.  Deborah also acted as an prophet when, sitting under a special palm tree in the hill country of Ephraim, she gave judgment on particular matters. This palm tree was the ancient equivalent of a judge's courthouse, a place where people went when they needed a dispute settled. But it was more than that, too.   Deborah's duties and ministry was similar to all the other judges of Israel and even went a bit more. She was the leader of the Nation.  She helped to settle their disputes.  She was also a prophetess who gave the nation direction from Yahweh  She was respected by all the people.  She was called by Yahweh. The land had peace for forty years due to her ministry. (Judges 4 and 5)   If Deborah were under our dispensation she would have occupied the office of a pastor, prophet, and teacher.  Certain places were seen as sacred, as having some special aura that linked them to Yahweh. Mount Carmel in northern Israel, for example, gets its name from the word kerymail or vineyard of El, the high Elohim. This place must once have been dedicated to the Elohim El, and used by his priests and priestesses for worship. Oracles were common in the ancient world. People believed they had special wisdom given by Elohim. Oracles could give advice on difficult problems.  An oracle listened, considered the problem or question, and then spoke words of advice. These words might be in the form of a riddle, which the listener had to interpret, or they might be more direct.   Deborah was inspired to speak out about the deteriorating state of the country around Ephraim. Law and order had broken down, and it was no longer safe to travel on the highways. It is the calling and gifts of Yahweh on a person’s life that brings them into the ministry of Yahweh. Your sex has nothing to do with it. As you dedicate yourself to Yahweh and seek His face you will be prepared to fulfill His will for your life.  It has to be said that the Israelite settlers in the hill-country of Canaan were largely to blame for these problems. They continually raided the Canaanite farms and villages on the prosperous plains below their hill settlements, and of course the powerful city-states retaliated and ‘oppressed’ the Israelites.    Once again the Canaanites were led by King Jabin of Hazor.  Jabin ruled a large, fortified city-state in upper Canaan, and may have been the leader of a confederation of Canaanite city-states. His aim was to restore Canaan’s power by exterminating the Israelite invaders (Judges 4:6-11 and 5:12-18).  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we take a look at Rahab the harlot.  "Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of Yahweh before you."—Matthew 21:31 The unforgettable woman of the city of Jericho (place of fragrance), of whose faith the Holy Spirit hath given such honorable testimony, Hebrews 11:31. Her name is derived from Raah, and signifies “proud”. And if there be anything upon earth to make sinful dust and ashes proud, surely the faith this woman possessed formed the strongest temptation to it; when we consider who she was, what she was; where she lived, and how she acted in the cause of Yahweh. Her history is as great and striking, in the illustrious acting’s of her faith, as any in the records of truth. She was one of the inhabitants of Canaan, a Gentile, an alien, and by nature an enemy to the commonwealth of Israel, "without hope, and without Yahweh in the world." Moreover, she was, as we say, a publican, and a harlot, not only kept an inn, exposed to numberless temptations, but a woman of ill-fame, notoriously known for such a character. She lived also in the accursed city of Jericho, a city devoted to destruction before Yahweh, and of peculiar disposition of evil in Yahweh’s sight. And yet with all those disadvantages, this Rahab, this harlot, was a believer in Adonai Yahweh of Israel! Oh, the wonders of distinguishing grace! And what tends yet more to raise our views of Yahweh’s peculiar manifestation and love to this poor harlot is the consideration that from the stock of this woman, after the flesh, Yahweh appointed the future advent of his dear Son. By her marriage to Salmon; from who sprang Boaz; and by the marriage of Boaz with Ruth, sprang Obed; and from Obed, Jesse; and from Jesse, David; and from David, after twice fourteen generations after the flesh, sprang Yahshua Messiah. (See Matthew 1:1-17) What subjects of wonder the glorious redemption by Yahweh / Yahshua Messiah involves in it! Here, as in a thousand instances besides, we learn that Yahweh’s ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts! Brief Summary: Before the Israelites cross the Jordan, Joshua sends men to scout out the land. Arriving in Jericho, they decide to spend the night at the house of the prostitute Rahab. When Jericho’s ruler tries to apprehend them, Rahab hides them and then helps them escape through the window, thus saving their lives. In return, she and her household are spared the destruction of Jericho and become part of the people Israel. Using the window gives a positive spin to a biblical window motif that casts a negative light on other biblical women. In saving the spies, Rahab acts as head of her household. She also functions as a prophetic voice anticipating Israel’s occupation of the land. A Canaanite woman living in Jericho, Rahab is a prostitute who is also a biblical heroine. According to the narrative in Joshua 2, before the conquest of Canaan, Joshua sends two men as spies to see the land. They come to Rahab’s house for lodging, information, and/or sex. The king, hearing about the two men, demands that Rahab give them up. Like the midwives in Egypt, Rahab is faced with a “moment of truth.” Like them, Rahab defies the ruler and rescues the Israelites. She tells the king’s men that the two men have left and that the king’s men should chase them. Meanwhile, she has hidden the men under the flax drying on her roof (2:4); the writer uses the unusual word tizpeno, “she hid him” (even though there are two men), perhaps as an allusion to Exod 2:2, where Moses’s mother hides her newborn (tizpenehu). Rahab is midwife and mother to Israel in its beginnings in Canaan. 1. A harlot named Rahab = throughout the history of Christianity, it has embarrassed some Bible interpreters that these two spies went to the house of a prostitute. Some have tried to say that Rahab was merely an “innkeeper,” but the description of her as a harlot in Hebrews 11:31 confirm that she was a prostitute. The Targum of Jonathan says it was the house of a woman, an innkeeper.  Heb 11:31  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.   Harlot = Greek por'-na; a strumpet, other words a prostitute; figuratively an idolater: - harlot, whore.  An harlot = Hebrew “zaw-naw'”; A primitive root (highly fed and therefore wanton); to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple forniciation, rarely of involuntary ravishment); figuratively to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Yahweh)  2-3 There is little doubt, from what happened afterwards, that these men of Yahweh had spoken of their Yahweh, and had borne in faithful testimony the unhallowed atmosphere of that house; and now came a time when the woman must decide whether she should take part with Yahweh's people or whether she would be the means of their destruction. She chose for Yahweh, took the two men, and hid them, at the risk of her own life. She returned answer: "There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were and it came to pass, about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went, I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 4-5 Rahab told a lie, and a lie is one of the worst of sins in the sight of Yahweh. But let us remember that this poor woman had never heard the Ten Commandments, and did not know the difference between sin and righteousness. Paul says: "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shall not covet…For without the law sin was dead." (Romans 7:7-8.) So it was with Rahab; she had not learned it was a sin to tell a lie; it was in her a sin of ignorance. She had brought the men to the roof of the house and hid them with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order upon the roof, ready for the winter spinning. Rahab had placed her life in danger because she had been so deeply impressed with the fact that their Yahweh was the true Yahweh; and we may be sure that, at the same time, she repented of her sinful life. 11 After the officers of justice had left her house and gone to pursue after the spies, supposing that Rahab had told them the truth, she came to her hidden guests, and said to them: "I know that Yahweh hath given you the land." These very words bear witness that somebody had spoken to her about Yahweh, and the thought had taken possession of her. She had begun to fear Yahweh, and "the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom" (Psa. 111:10), and she said: "I know that…your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt." From these words we may gather that however wicked may have been Rahab's former life, as soon as she heard of the Mighty Yahweh who could perform a miracle for the sake of His people, an awful and respectful sense of this Yahweh had taken possession of her mind, and she had learnt to regard Him as greater even than the king of her country.  "As soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you; for Yahweh your Elohim, He is Elohim in heaven above, and in earth beneath." Putting herself at risk, Rahab rejected her past identity as a Canaanite and wanted to be identified with the people of Yahweh, with Israel. This woman was not ashamed of the measure of faith which she had in Yahweh. She believed that life and death were in His hands, and so she said: "Now, therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by Yahweh, since I have shown you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." Rahab had become, not a believer only, but an intercessor. She sought not only her own life, but the lives of her family. I wish that every Yahshua Messiah believer were as noble and as zealous for the souls of their family as was this once heathen woman! Hebrews 11:31 notes Rahab’s faith and sets her in contrast to the unbelieving of Jericho and Canaan: By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab demonstrated her faith in many ways. · By believing the reports of what Yahweh had done for and through Israel. · By declaring the truth about Yahweh. · By seeing the greatness of the Yahweh of Israel and choosing Him over the gods of the Canaanites. · By forsaking the gods and values of her culture. · By receiving the Israelite spies with peace. · By hiding the Israelite spies and refusing to turn them over to the Canaanites. · By asking for the salvation of her family. · By persuading her family to also trust the Yahweh of Israel. · By marking her home as a place of faith as instructed. · By leaving Jericho behind and becoming part of the people of Yahweh.  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we take a look at Zilchah, Potiphar’s wife. THE FAILED SEDUCTION OF JOSEPH Potiphar's Wife Cries 'Rape!' Genesis 39 Potiphar's (belonging to the sun) wife tried to seduce Joseph, a slave in her husband's household in Egypt. Joseph refused her, and she took her revenge by accusing him of attempted rape. Joseph resisted the allure of a foreign woman (and a foreign culture) by staying true to Israelite ways, but there was a price to pay. Pot'iphar. An Egyptian name, also written Potipherah, signifies belonging to the sun. Potiphar. With whom the history of Joseph is connected, is described as an officer of Pharaoh; chief of the executioners, an Egyptian." Gen. 39:1. Compare Gen. 37:36. (B.C. 1728). He appears to have been a wealthy man. Gen. 39:4-6. The view we have of Potiphar's household, is exactly in accordance with the representations on the monuments. When Joseph was accused, his master contented himself with casting him into prison. Gen. 39:19-20. After this, we hear no more of Potiphar.  What the story is about The story of Potiphar’s wife is all about the difference between Egypt and Israel. Different ideals, different cultures, different practices.    Why is this particular story in the Bible? Because the seductive nature of Egyptian culture always posed a danger to the honesty of Israelite culture.   Egypt's sophistication was admired throughout the ancient world, and many people came under its influence. The Israelites led by Moses would eventually flee from it, just as, in this story, Joseph fled from an appealing Egyptian woman. The time period for the story is uncertain, but it seems to be set during the Middle Kingdom, somewhere around 1727 BC. Potiphar may have been 'Ptahwer', an officer of Pharaoh Ahmenemhet III, but there is no real evidence either way. The story happens during a period of economic prosperity.  The story unfolds in the household of a rich man, Potiphar, who owns many slaves. One of these is the Hebrew Joseph, a man of unusual ability who has been placed in control of Potiphar's large estate and household.   The story contains three central episodes: 1 Background details for the story (Genesis 39:1-6)  2 The wife’s attempted seduction of Joseph (Genesis 39:7-12)  3 The wife’s accusation (Genesis 39:13-20) 1  Captain of the guard = The idea behind this title means chief of police, or probably more precisely, Potiphar was head of Pharaoh’s personal security force. He was a highly trusted official in the government of Egypt. Bought him from the Ishmaelites = Joseph was a slave. He seemed to have no control over his destiny but was bought and sold like a piece of property. He could have ended up with anyone, but Potiphar bought him. In Genesis Chapter 37 beginning with verse 12 we read about Joseph brothers devise a plan to kill him, but then Reuben steps in and convinces them to cast Joseph into a pit. Then we read in verse 25 that the Ishmaelites come by and Judah gets a brain storm and convinces his brothers to sell Joseph to these Ishmaelites, for 20 pieces of silver. (20 in Biblical Numeric’s is disappointed expectancy. 20 is the double of ten, and may in some cases signify its concentrated meaning. But its significance seems rather to be connected with the fact that it is one short of twenty-one, 21 - 1 = 20; that is to say, if 21 is the three-fold 7, and signifies Divine (3) completion as regards spiritual perfection (7), then twenty, being one short of 21, it would signify what Dr. Milo Mahan calls expectancy)  (2-3) Yahweh is with Joseph.  (4-6) Yahweh blesses Potiphar for Joseph’s sake. 6   Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance = Joseph’s appearance was of special note. The Bible only calls two other men beautiful: David (1 Samuel 16:12) and Absalom (2 Samuel 14:25). Moses was said to be a beautiful child (Exodus 2:2).  Joseph was the first son of the Hebrew brave woman, Rachel. He had every Yahweh-given advantage except personal freedom: he was handsome, intelligent, and shrewd - a born leader. He also had Yahweh's special favor. But he was a slave, although one of the high-ranking and influential servants who exercised power in ancient households and court circles.     After being kidnapped and sold into slavery, Gen. 37, Joseph found himself in the household of the second man in the story, a wealthy officer in Pharaoh's service, Potiphar, who became Joseph's master. By being forced of hard work and his own native intelligence, Joseph rose through the ranks of the household slaves, eventually becoming overseer of Potiphar's household and estates. Under Joseph's supervision, everything ran smoothly, and Potiphar was left free of responsibility, able to devote himself to his one great passion, food.  ‘…he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.’  There is nothing wrong with enjoyment of food, but the implication of the text is that Potiphar had no interest in any of the other normal pleasures of life, including sex with his wife.   The Hebrew text uses the word 'saris' to describe him. This can mean 'courtier', 'someone who belongs to the king', but elsewhere in the Old Testament 'saris' is used to describe a eunuch.  Potiphar was married and therefore cannot have been a eunuch, but there may be a sly suggestion that Potiphar's sexual prowess was not all it should have been.    Potiphar's Wife tries to seduce Joseph - Genesis 39:7-12 7  His master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me” = Potiphar’s wife was undeniably forward towards Joseph. Literally, Potiphar is called a eunuch of Pharaoh (Genesis 39:1). If Potiphar was literally a castrated eunuch, perhaps his wife looked for sexual activity elsewhere. i. Maybe Potiphar’s wife felt deprived. It was possible that Potiphar was a eunuch, and the marriage was purely a ceremonial arrangement. It may be that she felt free to pursue sexual pleasure outside the marriage. This attitude is common today, and our modern culture believes people are deprived unless they pursue every sexual desire they feel. This is a lie and makes our sexual desires gods that rule one’s life. ii. Also, it seems that in ancient Egypt there were low moral expectations on women, even married women. It was often assumed that women would have sex outside marriage. Potiphar’s wife wasn’t looking for a relationship, just a good time. Again, our modern culture promotes the idea that sex is great and often better apart from meaningful relationships. The truth – both biblically and lived out in life – is that sex is far better in committed, married relationship; that sex means something. iii. Joseph was an attractive man (Genesis 39:6) and perhaps this had something to do with the longing of Potiphar’s wife. That he seemed beyond her reach was also probably a factor. If this was so, then she was not the first or last woman who tried to seduce a man out of a sense of challenge or in seeking self-worth. Potiphar’s wife may have looked to Joseph with a desperate attempt to feel desirable and worth something. Lie with me = This was bold and a strong temptation to Joseph. It reminds the believer that when they face strong temptations, others have also faced them. i. Satan wants Yahweh’s people to think their temptations are unique; that no other person could understand what they are going through in a particular temptation. The Bible reminds the believer there is no temptation that has overtaken us except what is common among people (1 Corinthians 10:13). ii. “Slavery itself was a small calamity compared with that which would have happened to young Joseph had he been enslaved by wicked passions.” (Spurgeon) (13-18) Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph before Potiphar. (19-20) Joseph is sent to prison. Summary   This story explores the moral vacuum in the heart of a rich, bored woman. She has power over other people's lives, but none over her own. She lacks the children she had a right to expect, and she lacks the love of her husband. In short, she has no purpose. As the story unfolds, we realize that Joseph the slave was able to exercise more control over circumstances than she was.   In an apparently vulnerable position, Joseph was able to resist the allure of a foreign woman and a foreign culture. Both tried to entice him, but he stayed true to the Israelite moral code, which had a different understanding of the rights of men and women.   'In the Joseph story, good things happen to bad people, bad things turn out to be good things by misadventure. It is no coincidence that just after the sale of Joseph into slavery, Judah enters into ambiguous sexual relations with a Canaanite daughter-in-law, Tamar.  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the miracles that Yahweh performed on the Egyptians, when Israel was held in bondage, during this period in Exodus. We will see that those miracles were against the Egyptian deities or gods that they worshipped. The story of Moses is not just the story of the freedom of a group of slaves from Egypt in the second millennium BCE. It is the blueprint of the Plan of Salvation of the world as seen from the structure laid down in the Bible.  Moses was the prototype of the Christ or Messiah. More importantly, the nation of Israel saw Moses as a prototype and the Bible record illustrates that point. Moses said: ‘And Yahweh said unto me, they have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.’ (Deut. 18:17-18). In this study I continue in Exodus Chapter 12 verse 4  Chapter 12 Verses 1 – 20              The Passover Instituted Verses 21 – 28            The Passover Communicated Verse 31 – 14:31         Yahweh’s Deliverance of Israel Verse Outline Verses 1-2 = Month Verses 3-11 = The Symbol Verses 12-13 = The Signification and Reason Verses 14-17 = The Symbol Verses 17 = The Signification and Reason Verses 18-20 = The Month  The Institution of the Passover The deliverance from Egypt [which is symbolic of bondage] is to be not only from physical but also from spiritual slavery. Israel [whom El commands or rules] is to be freed from all heathen influences and consecrated to the service of Yahweh. These commandments concerning Passover open the religious legislation of the Torah. The occasion when they were given and the manner in which they were enjoined emphasize the basic importance of that Festival in the life and history of Israel. The Exodus from Egypt is not only one of the greatest events and epochs in the history of the Jews, but one of the greatest events and epochs in the history of the world. This Exodus proves without a shadow of doubt that Yahweh is the most powerful Creator throughout the world, has He defeated all the gods of the Egyptians.   4    If the household be too little = That is, if there be not persons enough in one family to eat a whole lamb, then two families must join together. The rabbis claim that there should be at least ten persons to one paschal lamb, and not more than twenty. Josephus tells us in “The Wars of the Jews”, Book 6 Chapter 9, Section 3, “from the ninth hour till the eleventh, but so that a company not less than ten belong to every sacrifice [for it is not lawful for them to feast to themselves], and many of us are twenty in a company etc. Side note: this number of a company for one Passover lamb, between ten and twenty, agrees exactly with the number thirteen, at our Saviors last Passover. 5    Without blemish = Having no natural imperfection, no disease, no deficiency or redundancy of parts. On this point the rabbis have trifled most bizarre, calculating fifty blemishes that make a lamb or kid, or any animal, improper to be sacrificed: five in the ear, three in the eyelid, eight in the eye, three in the nose, six in the mouth, etc., etc. A male of the first year = That is, any age in the first year between eight days and twelve months. The Rabbis take this to mean within the first year of its birth. ‘This tender age, the type of innocence, made it peculiarly adapted for a sacrifice of the Covenant to be concluded between Elohim and Israel as a nation.’ From the sheep, or from the goats = The שה  seh means either; and either was equally proper if without blemish. The Hebrews however in general preferred the lamb to the kid. 6   The whole assembly - shall kill it = Any person might kill the lamb, the sacrificial act in this case not being confined to the priests. In the evening = בין הערבים  beyn haarbayim, “between the two evenings.” The Jews divided the day into morning and evening: till the sun passed the meridian all was morning or before-noon; after that, all was afternoon or evening. Their first evening began just after twelve o’clock, and continued till sunset; their second evening began at sunset and continued till night, i.e., during the whole time of twilight; between twelve o’clock, therefore, and the termination of twilight, the Passover was to be offered. “The day among the Jews had twelve hours, John 11:9. Their first hour was about six o’clock in the morning with us. Their sixth hour was our noon. Their ninth hour answered to our three o’clock in the afternoon. By this we may understand that the time in which the Messiah was crucified began at the third hour, that is, at nine o’clock in the morning, the ordinary time for the daily morning sacrifice, and ended at the ninth hour, that is, three o’clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice, Mark 15:25, 33, 34, 37. Therefore their ninth hour was their hour of prayer, when they used to go into the temple at the daily evening sacrifice, Acts 3:1; and this was the ordinary time for the Passover. It is worthy of remark that Yahweh sets no particular hour for the killing of the Passover: any time between the two evenings, i.e., between twelve o’clock in the day and the termination of twilight, was lawful. The daily sacrifice (see Exo. 29:38, 39) was killed at half past the eighth hour, that is, half an hour Before three in the afternoon; and it was offered up at half past the ninth hour, that is, half an hour After three. In the evening of the Passover it was killed at half past the seventh hour, and offered at half past the eighth, that is, half an hour Before three: and if the evening of the Passover fell on the evening of the Sabbath, it was killed at half past the Sixth hour, and offered at half past the Seventh, that is, half an hour Before two in the afternoon. The reason of this was, they were first obliged to kill the daily sacrifice, and then to kill and roast the paschal lamb, and also to rest the evening before the Passover. Agreeably to this Maimonides says ‘the killing of the Passover is after mid-day, and if they kill it before it is not lawful; and they do not kill it till after the daily evening sacrifice, and burning of incense: and after they have trimmed the lamps they begin to kill the paschal lambs until the end of the day.’ By this time of the day Elohim foreshowed the sufferings of Yahshua Messiah in the evening of times or in the last days, Hebrews 1:2; 1Peter 1:19, 20 : and about the same time of the day, when the paschal lamb ordinarily died, He died also, viz., at the ninth hour; Matthew 27:46-50.”  Once again Josephus gives us an insight on this “The Wars of the Jews”, Book 6 Chapter 9, Section 3, ‘So these high priests, upon the coming of that feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour till the eleventh, but so that a company not less than ten belong to every sacrifice, (for it is not lawful for them to feast singly by themselves,) and many of us are twenty in a company, found the number of sacrifices was two hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred; which, upon the allowance of no more than ten that feast together, amounts to two millions seven hundred thousand and two hundred persons that were pure and holy; for as to those that have the leprosy, or the gonorrhea, or women that have their monthly courses, or such as are otherwise polluted, it is not lawful for them to be partakers of this sacrifice; nor indeed for any foreigners neither, who come hither to worship.’ 7    take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, etc. = as a sign of safety to those within. The posts must be considered of tents, in which the Israelites generally lived, though some might be in houses. Though the Israelites were sinners as well as the Egyptians, Elohim was pleased to accept the substitution of a lamb - the blood of which, being seen sprinkled, by using a bunch of hyssop dipped in the lamb’s blood, on the doorposts, procured them mercy. It was to be on the side posts and upper doorposts, where it might be looked to, not on the threshold, where it might be trodden under foot. This was an emblem of the blood of sprinkling (Hebrews 12:24; 10:29). 8    and they shall eat = ‘'âkal’ ‘‘aw-kal'’  aleph = (ox) strength, strong, power, leader Kaph = (open palm) bend, open, allow, tame  lamed – (shepherd staff), teach, yoke, to bind Aleph = (ox) strength, strong, power, leader Tav = (cross) sign, covenant seal, mark and cross The Hebrew Letter ‘kaph’ is a picture of the bent palm representing the bending or subduing of the will, the Hebrew Letter ‘lamed’ is a picture of a shepherd staff or yoke. Combined these mean "tame for the yoke". An animal or land that is tamed has been worked and is complete and ready for use. Taming include; construction of holding pens, putting the soil to the plow, harvesting of crops, milk or meat. One eats once the harvest is complete. Spiritually speaking we are not talking about any type of flesh. By adding the ‘eth’ we are looking forward to the time when the true Passover Lamb will lay down His life for you and I. By partaking in the eating and drinking of the bread and wine. Have any questions? Feel free to email me [email protected]

The Plagues Were Against the Gods of Egypt In this study we will take a look at the miracles that Yahweh performed on the Egyptians, when Israel was held in bondage, during this period in Exodus. We will see that those miracles were against the Egyptian deities or gods that they worshipped. The story of Moses is not just the story of the freedom of a group of slaves from Egypt in the second millennium BCE. It is the blueprint of the Plan of Salvation of the world as seen from the structure laid down in the Bible.  Moses was the prototype of the Christ or Messiah. More importantly, the nation of Israel saw Moses as a prototype and the Bible record illustrates that point. Moses said: ‘And Yahweh said unto me, they have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.’ (Deut. 18:17-18). In this study I continue in Exodus Chapter 11 verse 8 The warning of the Last Plague 8              And all these thy servants = Pharaoh's nobles, ministers, courtiers and counselors, who were then in his presence, and stood about him, to whom Moses pointed.    shall come down unto me = from Pharaoh's palace, which might be built on an elevated piece of ground, to the place where Moses had dwelt during the time he had been in Egypt, which might lie lower; or these should come from Zoan, or from Memphis, whichever of them was now the royal city, to the land of Goshen, which lay lower than the other part of Egypt; or it may only denote the submission of Pharaoh's, servants, that they should in the time of their distress be so humble and condescending as to come themselves to Moses, and as it follows.   and bow down themselves unto me = in the most submissive manner, humbly entreating, and earnestly begging him.  9              And the Lord said unto Moses = Not at this time when he went out from Pharaoh, but some time before this, for the words may be rendered, "the Lord had said", for so he had, as is related, Exod. 7:3, but the historian makes mention of it here, to show that Moses was not ignorant of the event of things; he knew that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened from time to time, and that one plague after another must be inflicted, before he would let the people go; and therefore when he prayed for the removal of any, it was not in expectation that he would abide by his promise, but to do the will of Yahweh, and the duty of his calling.   Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you = to Moses and Aaron, and let the people of Israel go as required of him.   that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt = which Jarchi interprets of the smiting of the firstborn, dividing the waters of the Red sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it; but since these words were said before any of the plagues, were inflicted, it may refer to them all.  I read from Thomas Horn Book ‘The Gods’ 10           hardened = ‘châzaq’ ‘khaw-zak'’ ‘chet-zayin-quph’ ‘Aleph-Tav’ Chet = (tent wall) outside, divide, half zayin = (mattack) food, cut, nourish quph = (sun on the horizon) condense, circle, time Aleph = (ox) strength, strong, power, leader Tav = (cross) sign, covenant seal, mark and cross This Hebrew word means to Seize: To grab hold tightly, to refrain or support by grabbing hold. But by adding the ‘eth’ we see that the Spirit of Yahweh/Yahshua is the one that is actually seizing Pharaoh’s heart. Why is Yahweh doing this? I believe so that all of the Egyptian deities would be defeated by the miracles perform by Yahweh/Yahshua Messiah! Chapter 12 Verses 1 – 20              The Passover Instituted Verses 21 – 28            The Passover Communicated Verse 31 – 14:31         Yahweh’s Deliverance of Israel  I Read from the Legends of the Old Testament, Moses before Pharaoh, PDF page 291 The Institution of the Passover The deliverance from Egypt [which is symbolic of bondage] is to be not only from physical but also from spiritual slavery. Israel [whom El commands or rules] is to be freed from all heathen influences and consecrated to the service of Yahweh. These commandments concerning Passover open the religious legislation of the Torah. The occasion when they were given and the manner in which they were enjoined emphasize the basic importance of that Festival in the life and history of Israel. The Exodus from Egypt is not only one of the greatest events and epochs in the history of the Jews, but one of the greatest events and epochs in the history of the world. This Exodus proves without a shadow of doubt that Yahweh is the most powerful Creator throughout the world, has He defeated all the gods of the Egyptians.  1          the Lord spake unto Moses = rather, “had spoken unto Moses and Aaron”; for it is evident that the communication here described must have been made to them on or before the tenth of the month. 2              this month = It is supposed that Yahweh now changed the commencement of the Jewish year. The month to which this verse refers, the month Abib [which signifies an ear of corn, and at this time we find that the barley was in ear], answers to a part of our March and April; whereas it is supposed that previously to this, the year began with Tisri, which answers to a part of our September; for in this month the Hebrews suppose Yahweh created the world, when the earth appeared at once with all its fruits in perfection. From this circumstance the Hebrew have formed a twofold commencement of the year, which has given rise to a twofold denomination of the year itself, to which they afterwards attended in all their reckonings: that which began with Tisri or September was called their civil year; that which began with Abib or March was called the sacred or ecclesiastical year. 3              tenth day of the month = 10 equals Ordinal Perfection [expressing divine order or succession. Keep in mind that everything that Yahweh does is always in order! What does this mean for us Christians of today? I quote John Wesley comments on this verse. Have any questions? Feel free to email me [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall finish Miriam the sister of Moses. Miriam (rebellion) – Moses Sister – A Prophetess Miriam was the older sister of Moses, and it was she who watched over him when he was placed in a basket on the River Nile. She went on to become a leader of the Hebrews when they escaped from Egypt and went in search of the Promised Land. Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe; Yahweh punishes her, after which she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing Yahweh before the people, and as the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel.                 Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exod. 15:20.), is the first of her order mentioned in the Word of Yahweh. While Yahweh never ordained a woman to be priest, nor do we read of women as bishops or pastors in the New Testament, the vocation of "prophetess" is common to both dispensations. Hannah (1Sam. 1:2) was practically a prophetess, and so was Huldah, to whom King Josiah went in his time of perplexity. Deborah (Judges 4:5) was a prophetess (2Kings 22:14), and there were also false prophetesses, such as Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), as well as false prophets.                 Yahweh's order in the family is not according to earthly birthright. Speaking of the leaders of His people Israel, He says: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4.) All these children of Amram were of the prophet order. Miriam was the eldest, Moses the youngest; yet Moses is first mentioned, because he knew his Yahweh more fully than either his brother or his sister. Aaron, his elder brother, ranks next, and Miriam, the eldest of the three, ranks last. Miriam was a leader of the Hebrew people during the Exodus, the great founding event of Judaism. The episodes we have about her are disjointed and probably only represent a fraction of the stories originally told in the oral tradition of the Hebrew people.   The story of Miriam contains four different episodes:     1 Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam.    2 The song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. This fragment of the Song of Miriam is one of the oldest poetic couplets in the Old Testament. It is an example of a literary genre devoted to celebrating military victories with triumphal poems.   3 Miriam's ordeal, Numbers 12. This story is about the authority of established law. Moses was the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people Moses' legislation formed the basis of Hebrew life. The story acknowledged that Miriam and Aaron were both popular leaders, but the Law, represented by Moses, bound them.   4 Miriam's death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but Yahweh subsequently caused water to appear there.   In this study we finish up with #3 Miriam’s ordeal and complete the study with Miriam’s death  While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had indeed married a Cushite woman); and they said, 'Has Yahweh spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?' And Yahweh heard it. Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth. Yahweh knows when we criticize and snip at each other. No matter our position in the church, we have to remember that all of Yahweh's children are special to Him. In fact, today, we can be even closer to Yahweh than Moses was the one who stood face to face with Yahweh. Our Yahweh now lives inside of us, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. How then can we not be afraid to speak against another of Yahweh's servants, His child? If we do so, we may very anger Yahweh and cause Him to depart from us. Numbers 12:10:  Suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow = Leprosy was a disease where the body rotted and decayed. It was considered a “walking death” – and Miriam had an advanced case of leprosy (white as snow) instantly. At this moment, Yahweh caused her body to reflect her heart. Leprous = First occurance is in Exodus 4:6. Nine (Denotes Finality of judgment. It is 3x3, the product of Divine completeness. The number nine, or its factors or multiples, is seen in all cases when judgment is the subject.)so afflicted: Exo. 4:6. Num. 12:10. 2Kings 5:1, 2Kings 5:27; 7:3; 15:5. (2Chron. 26:20). Matthew 8:2; 26:6. Luke 17:12. (Nine cases, 21 individuals.) By the way 21 in the Biblical Number for Divine Completion as regards Spiritual Perfection,  Many times, I have read that Yahweh punished Miriam by making her leprous. There is a big debate on whether Yahweh did this or not. Let’s read the verse again. Yahweh was angry and left in verse 9 and here in verse 10 we read of the cloud departing, and Miriam was leprous. No where are we told Yahweh made Miriam leprous or even that Yahweh punished Miriam with leprosy. Yahweh went away. There is protection under the shadow of Yahweh's wing, but when we leave that protection or by our actions cause Yahweh to withdraw we lose that protection. 11           Oh my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us = Aaron called Moses his master (my lord), and he attributed to Moses the power to strike Miriam with leprosy. Aaron also confessed his previous criticism as foolish and sinful (we have done foolishly…we have sinned). 13           So Moses cried out to Yahweh = This was the first word spoken by Moses in this chapter. He had not spoken the entire time he was accused, leaving it up to Yahweh to answer his critics. 14           Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again = Yahweh did heal Miriam. If she were still a leper, she would not have been allowed to remain in the camp of Israel, and she was received again. Yet, Yahweh allowed her to live with the outward display of her inward heart for seven days – and allowed the whole nation to know it. Miriam's question 'has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses?' was a profound one.   It asked    How do we know what Yahweh wants?  What ways does Yahweh speak to us?  Who has authority over us?  These questions are universal, asked by people of every place and era. Numbers 20:2  The people stayed in Kadesh (sanctuary); and Miriam died there and was buried there = Miriam died in Kadesh. Through the years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel came now to Kadesh. This is probably another place named Kadesh but presented to remind us of the failure of faith at the Kadesh of Numbers 13:26. Miriam, with her brothers Moses and Aaron, led the Hebrew people throughout the forty years when they reverted to the nomadic life, searching meanwhile for a land where they could settle.    The life they led was hard, and they must often have yearned for the stability and settled life they had left back in Egypt. Water was always scarce, the food supply was unreliable, and the physical living conditions were rigorous. Eventually these conditions took their toll on Miriam, and she died.   'The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.'  Water, the symbol of life, had played quite a large part in Miriam's life. She saved her brother from the water; she led the song of victory after the parting of the Red Sea; she died in a waterless place. Immediately after her death, Yahweh gave abundant water to the people, in the form of a spring.  Unlike most women in the Bible, Miriam is never called wife or mother. She has neither husband nor children. Jewish traditions, however, cannot tolerate her status as single. The historian Josephus deems Hur the husband of Miriam (Antiquities 3.54; see Exod 17:10–12). Rabbinic sources give her Caleb for a husband and Hur for a son (but compare 1 Chr 2:19).  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall finish up with Zipporah and then take a look at Miriam the sister of Moses. Miriam (rebellion) – Moses Sister – A Prophetess Miriam was the older sister of Moses, and it was she who watched over him when he was placed in a basket on the River Nile. She went on to become a leader of the Hebrews when they escaped from Egypt and went in search of the Promised Land. Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe; Yahweh punishes her, after which she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing Yahweh before the people, and as the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel. "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."—Joel 2:28.          Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exod. 15:20.), is the first of her order mentioned in the Word of Yahweh. While Yahweh never ordained a woman to be priest, nor do we read of women as bishops or pastors in the New Testament, the vocation of "prophetess" is common to both dispensations. Hannah (1Sam. 1:2) was practically a prophetess, and so was Huldah, to whom King Josiah went in his time of perplexity. Deborah (Judges 4:5) was a prophetess (2Kings 22:14), and there were also false prophetesses, such as Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), as well as false prophets.          In the New Testament, Peter expressly declares that the pouring out of the Spirit of Yahweh upon all flesh should be upon sons and daughters, servants, and handmaids, "and they shall prophesy," quoting from the Old Testament. (Joel 2:28-32); compare (Acts 2:17-18.)  A number of those who "spake" "AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE," (Acts. 2:4.) of the wonderful works of Yahweh on the Day of Pentecost, were women speaking in the spirit of prophecy. Philip, the deacon, we read, had four daughters "which did prophesy" (Acts 21:9); the Apostle Paul speaks of those women who labored with him in the Gospel. (Phl. 4:3.) It is he who especially recommends that, when women pray and prophesy, their heads should be covered; and explains what is this office of prophesying in the words: "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." (1Chorin. 11:5; 14:3.) And while Paul commands that women should not speak in church, he ordains that all, i.e., both men and women, may prophesy, one by one, that all may learn, and may be comforted. (1Corin. 14:31-34.)           Yahweh's order in the family is not according to earthly birthright. Speaking of the leaders of His people Israel, He says: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4.) All these children of Amram were of the prophet order. Miriam was the eldest, Moses the youngest; yet Moses is first mentioned, because he knew his Yahweh more fully than either his brother or his sister. Aaron, his elder brother, ranks next, and Miriam, the eldest of the three, ranks last. Miriam was a leader of the Hebrew people during the Exodus, the great founding event of Judaism. The episodes we have about her are disjointed and probably only represent a fraction of the stories originally told in the oral tradition of the Hebrew people.   The story of Miriam contains four different episodes:     1 Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam.    2 The song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. This fragment of the Song of Miriam is one of the oldest poetic couplets in the Old Testament. It is an example of a literary genre devoted to celebrating military victories with triumphal poems.   3 Miriam's ordeal, Numbers 12. This story is about the authority of established law. Moses was the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people Moses' legislation formed the basis of Hebrew life. The story acknowledged that Miriam and Aaron were both popular leaders, but the Law, represented by Moses, bound them.   4 Miriam's death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but Yahweh subsequently caused water to appear there.   In this study we take a look #2 The Song of Miriam and #3 Miriam’s ordeal Exodus 15:20-21 20.          Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron = This is the first mention of Miriam by name, and she is described as the sister of Aaron, so she is therefore also the sister of Moses (Exodus 4:14). We also see that Miriam had some kind of prophetic gift. Later she used her leadership position in an unwise and ungodly way – to challenge the authority of Moses (Numbers 12). Miriam was with Moses throughout the nine plagues. She came out of Egypt with Moses. Miriam was a woman of Yahweh. She was indeed a prophet herself (Exodus 15:20). The fact that Miriam was a prophet is a little known fact because everyone concentrates on Moses. Miriam was called to play a less prominent role than Moses but nevertheless a vital one.  Miriam's role as a leader of the Hebrew women was obviously more extensive than is shown in the biblical text. Despite her personal charisma and power, her story has to a large extent been subsumed into the story of her brother Moses.  Rulers in the ancient world led through force of arms and military might. Miriam and Moses proposed a different model of leadership. They led by example served their people rather than ruled them did what they believed Yahweh wanted rather than serving their own ends.       When the Hebrew’s were escaping from Egypt, they crossed what was probably a large papyrus marsh, called the Red Sea in the biblical text. Moses, Miriam, and her second brother Aaron led them.  Numbers 12 This part of Miriam's story described an incident at Hazeroth (villages), as the Hebrew people wandered in search of their promised land. Going to Moses, Miriam and Aaron raised two points that were troubling them:  1.      They questioned his marriage to the Cushite (Ethiopian or Midianite) woman, not because of any personal rivalry, but because Hebrews condemned marriage with a foreigner. Some Bible translations call the woman a Cushite, others Ethiopian and some even say Sudanese. What is clear is that the woman was a foreigner. Bible scholars are divided over whether she was of African decent, as names and geography have changed in meaning over the centuries. In the ancient world the whole of the southern world from Africa to India was denoted by the word Ethiopia (English travelers as late as the 17th Century still used the name in that sense). All this leaves the possibility but not confirmation that Moses wife could have been of African decent.  2.      They questioned Moses' authority over them, since Moses was the youngest of the three siblings. Yahweh had communicated with all three of them. Why then should Moses dominate the other two?   Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall finish up with Zipporah and then take a look at Miriam the sister of Moses.  ZIPPORAH (bird): THE WIFE OF MOSES. Exod. 2:15-22         Zipporah is the wife of Moses, given to him in marriage by her Midianite priest father. She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her son’s foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. However, Zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her.         Zipporah is a Midianite woman who becomes the wife of Moses. After Moses kills an Egyptian, he flees from the pharaoh and settles among the Midianites, an Arab people who occupied desert areas in southern Transjordan, northern Arabia, and the Sinai. He meets the seven daughters of Reuel, priest of Midian, at a well; rescues them from shepherds who are harassing them; and fills their jugs with water. In gratitude, Reuel (called Jethro or Hobab in other biblical passages) offers Moses hospitality, then gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage (Exod 2:21–22). She and Moses have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exod 18:3–4).        Zipporah is the heroine of a bizarre incident that takes place as Moses heads back to Egypt with his wife and sons (Exod 4:20). On their way, at a night encampment, “The Lord met him [Moses] and tried to kill him” (Exod 4:24). No reason is given, just as no reason is given for the angel’s attack on Jacob as he came back from Mesopotamia (Gen 32:24). Jacob was alone and wrestled with the angel all night; Moses is with his wife, who comes to his rescue. She takes a flint and cuts off her son’s foreskin. She then flings the foreskin at “his” feet, declaring that he is hatan damim to her (Exod 4:26). Zipporah’s enigmatic statement has two possible explanations: she flings the foreskin at Moses’s feet, saying, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me” (NRSV), or she flings it at Yahweh’s feet, saying, “You are a blood father-in-law to me.” (Damim means “blood,” and hatan can mean either “bridegroom” or “father-in-law.”) Either way, her deed and words stop the attack. The story is already difficult for the narrator, who adds a comment that hatan damim refers to circumcision. The situation remains unclear to us. Zipporah, however, understood it and acted decisively to rescue Moses. Zipporah’s name, meaning “bird,” combined with her protection of Moses, is reminiscent of the fierce loyalty to her husband Osiris of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who is often portrayed as a bird of prey.         Zipporah is not well rewarded. At some point before the exodus from Egypt, Moses sends her and the children away (Exod 18:2). After the exodus, her father, the priest of Midian (here called Jethro), comes to visit Moses, bringing Zipporah and her two sons. Moses is told that his father-in-law Jethro is “coming to see you, with your wife and her two sons” (Exod i8:6). Moses goes out to greet Jethro and takes him into his tent, but nothing is said about his greeting Zipporah.         Moses’ neglect of Zipporah is obvious, as he (not Yahweh) tells the men at Sinai not to approach any women in preparation for Yahweh’s approach in three days (Exod 19:2). Since he himself is apparently always in preparation for meeting with Yahweh, we can infer that he never sleeps with Zipporah. In Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because of the “Cushite woman” whom he married, but they do not mention her name. Midrashic tradition assumed they were discussing Moses’ neglect of Zipporah. Other interpreters see the Cushite woman as a second wife, with Miriam and Aaron opposed to the marriage. But no children are ever recorded for a second wife of Moses. Miriam (rebellion) – Moses Sister – A Prophetess Miriam was the older sister of Moses, and it was she who watched over him when he was placed in a basket on the River Nile. She went on to become a leader of the Hebrews when they escaped from Egypt and went in search of the Promised Land. Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe; Yahweh punishes her, after which she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing Yahweh before the people, and as the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel. "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."—Joel 2:28.                 Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exod. 15:20.), is the first of her order mentioned in the Word of Yahweh. While Yahweh never ordained a woman to be priest, nor do we read of women as bishops or pastors in the New Testament, the vocation of "prophetess" is common to both dispensations. Hannah (1Sam. 1:2) was practically a prophetess, and so was Huldah, to whom King Josiah went in his time of perplexity. Deborah (Judges 4:5) was a prophetess (2Kings 22:14), and there were also false prophetesses, such as Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), as well as false prophets.                 In the New Testament, Peter expressly declares that the pouring out of the Spirit of Yahweh upon all flesh should be upon sons and daughters, servants, and handmaids, "and they shall prophesy," quoting from the Old Testament. (Joel 2:28-32); compare (Acts 2:17-18.)  A number of those who "spake" "AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE," (Acts. 2:4.) of the wonderful works of Yahweh on the Day of Pentecost, were women speaking in the spirit of prophecy. Philip, the deacon, we read, had four daughters "which did prophesy" (Acts 21:9); the Apostle Paul speaks of those women who labored with him in the Gospel. (Phl. 4:3.) It is he who especially recommends that, when women pray and prophesy, their heads should be covered; and explains what is this office of prophesying in the words: "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." (1Chorin. 11:5; 14:3.) And while Paul commands that women should not speak in church, he ordains that all, i.e., both men and women, may prophesy, one by one, that all may learn, and may be comforted. (1Corin. 14:31-34.)                 Yahweh's order in the family is not according to earthly birthright. Speaking of the leaders of His people Israel, He says: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4.) All these children of Amram were of the prophet order. Miriam was the eldest, Moses the youngest; yet Moses is first mentioned, because he knew his Yahweh more fully than either his brother or his sister. Aaron, his elder brother, ranks next, and Miriam, the eldest of the three, ranks last.      Miriam was a leader of the Hebrew people during the Exodus, the great founding event of Judaism. The episodes we have about her are disjointed and probably only represent a fraction of the stories originally told in the oral tradition of the Hebrew people.  The story of Miriam contains four different episodes:   1 Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam.    2 The song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. This fragment of the Song of Miriam is one of the oldest poetic couplets in the Old Testament. It is an example of a literary genre devoted to celebrating military victories with triumphal poems.  3 Miriam's ordeal, Numbers 12. This story is about the authority of established law. Moses was the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people Moses' legislation formed the basis of Hebrew life. The story acknowledged that Miriam and Aaron were both popular leaders, but the Law, represented by Moses, bound them.   4 Miriam's death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but Yahweh subsequently caused water to appear there.  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the miracles that Yahweh performed on the Egyptians, when Israel was held in bondage, during this period in Exodus. We will see that those miracles were against the Egyptian deities or gods that they worshipped. The story of Moses is not just the story of the freedom of a group of slaves from Egypt in the second millennium BCE. It is the blueprint of the Plan of Salvation of the world as seen from the structure laid down in the Bible.  Moses was the prototype of the Christ or Messiah. More importantly, the nation of Israel saw Moses as a prototype and the Bible record illustrates that point. Moses said: ‘And Yahweh said unto me, they have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.’ (Deut. 18:17-18). In this study I begin in Exodus Chapter 11 The warning of the Last Plague 1                       The Lord said = Or “Yahweh had said.” The first three verses of this chapter are parenthetical. Before Moses relates the last warning given to Pharaoh, he feels it right to recall to his readers’ minds the revelation and command which had been previously given to him by Yahweh. 2                       borrow = shaw-al, request or ask 3                       And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, = So that they freely and willingly lent them the things they asked of them; which seems to be said by way of anticipation, for this was not done until the following plague was inflicted, see Exod.12:35,   The people = ‘am’ ‘ayin-mem’ ‘Aleph-tav’ Ayin = (eye) watch, know, shade (this letter is basically silent)  Mem = (water) chaos, blood, mighty Aleph = (ox) strength, strong, power, leader  Tav = (cross) sign, covenant seal, mark and cross  The Hebrew Letter ‘ayin’is a picture of the eye, the Hebrew Letter ‘mem’ is a picture of the sea representing mass. Combined these mean "see a mass". A large group of people in one location. But when we add the ‘eth’ ‘Alpeh-Tav’ we are not talking about any group of people, but Yahweh/Yahshua Messiah’s Elect. 5                       that sitteth upon his throne = this phrase to Pharaoh and not to the eldest son.    First-born of the maidservant = the meanest person in the kingdom is contrasted with the noblest. Grinding the corn, the lowest labor, was the work of women, slaves and captives. Two portable millstones are used for the purpose, of which the uppermost is turned by a small wooden handle and during the operation the maid sits behind the mill    First-born of beasts = the plague of the cattle described in Chapter 9:6 was limited to the ‘cattle which are in the field’. The Hebrew word for cattle in 9:6 is ‘mikneh’, whereas here the word ‘behemah’ is used. The Egyptians paid divine honors to various animals; and the first born of all these beasts were to be doomed. 6                       And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt = Of parents for the loss of their firstborn sons, their heirs, the support and glory of their families; children for the loss of their elder brethren; and servants for the loss of the prime and principal in their masters' houses; and all in a dreadful fright, expecting instantly death themselves.  I read from Thomas Horn Book ‘The Gods’ PDF page 82, to close the section on the death of the firstborn. Book of Wisdom of the Apocrypha Chapter 17 Wis 17:1For great are thy judgments, and cannot be expressed:therefore unnurtured souls have erred. Wis 17:2For when unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy nation;they being shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness,and fettered with the bonds of a long night, lay [there] exiledfrom the eternal providence. Wis 17:3For while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, theywere scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, beinghorribly astonished, and troubled with [strange] apparitions. Wis 17:4For neither might the corner that held them keep them fromfear: but noises [as of waters] falling down sounded about them,and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances. Wis 17:5No power of the fire might give them light: neither could thebright flames of the stars endure to lighten that horriblenight.  7                       But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast = That is, no hurt should be done to man or beast among them, to the firstborn of either of them, so there would be no noise or cry in their dwellings, but the profoundest silence, stillness, and quietness among them that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel = by preserving them and theirs, when the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, and by causing stillness and quietness among them when there was an hideous outcry and doleful lamentation among the Egyptians; and by bringing Israel quietly out from among them, none offering to give the least molestation.   Have any questions? Feel free to email me [email protected]

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall take a look at Jochebed and Zipporah. JOCHEBED (Yahweh Gloried): THE MOTHER OF MOSES. Jochebed, wife of Amram and mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, is mentioned by name only in Exod 6:20 and Num 26:59, both genealogical listings. Jochebed, whose name apparently means YHWH is glory,” is notable as the first person in the Bible to have a name with the divine element yah, a shortened form of YHWH. Jochebed, wife of Amram and mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, is mentioned by name only in Exod 6:20 and Num 26:59, both genealogical listings. The narrative in Exodus 2 about Moses’ birth introduces her, without providing her name, as a member of the priestly tribe Levi; she marries a Levitical man, also unnamed here. The mother, in defiance of the Pharaoh’s order that every male Hebrew child be killed, hides her newborn son for three months and then places him in a basket in the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter (also unnamed) finds the child and accepts the offer of Moses’s sister Miriam, who witnesses the rescue of her brother, to find a Hebrew woman as a wet nurse for the infant. The narrative cleverly places Jochebed as the caregiver for her own son. The story in Exodus 2 clearly focuses on Moses, whose rescue from the river resembles other birth tales presenting culture heroes. The omission of the names of the child’s family members contributes to the heightened interest in Moses. The genealogical information about his mother, as not only the daughter of Levi but also as the wife (and aunt!) of a Levite, serves to highlight the priestly pedigree of both Moses and Aaron. In addition, Jochebed, whose name (Hebrew yokheved) apparently means “YHWH is glory,” is notable as the first person in the Bible to have a name with the divine element yah, a shortened form of YHWH. The tradition that Moses announces to the Israelites that YHWH is the name of their Elohim (Exod 6:1–8) is thus embedded in his maternal lineage: if his mother bears YHWH’s name, Moses learned it from her. Pharaoh's daughter said to Jochebed: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." (Exod. 2:9.) This is the last we hear of Jochebed, Moses' mother. THE RESULT OF HER LIFE's WORK was the man Moses. The true mother lives again in her son. There is the answer to her prayers; there is the result of her watchfulness; there is the true correction of her own faults reproduced in her son. Moses might never have been the man he was had it not been for Jochebed.                 Who knows how many a leader of Yahweh's people may be at the present time in course of training by some pious mother? Who knows but that the little James or John or William, who is playing with the kitten in the living room, may someday become a man to whom hundreds or thousands may look for help and direction? Oh let every mother who reads these pages understand her vocation when a higher than Pharaoh's daughter says to her: "Take this child and nurse it for Me, and I will give thee thy wages."                 But the wages of Jochebed were not to be given by the princes of this world. To be the mother of a Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face, like who there arose not since in Israel (Deut. 34:10): this was an honor which none but Yahweh could give.  ZIPPORAH (bird): THE WIFE OF MOSES. Exod. 2:15-22                 Zipporah is the wife of Moses, given to him in marriage by her Midianite priest father. She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her son’s foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. However, Zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her.                 Zipporah is a Midianite woman who becomes the wife of Moses. After Moses kills an Egyptian, he flees from the pharaoh and settles among the Midianites, an Arab people who occupied desert areas in southern Transjordan, northern Arabia, and the Sinai. He meets the seven daughters of Reuel, priest of Midian, at a well; rescues them from shepherds who are harassing them; and fills their jugs with water. In gratitude, Reuel (called Jethro or Hobab in other biblical passages) offers Moses hospitality, then gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage (Exod 2:21–22). She and Moses have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exod 18:3–4). Zipporah is the heroine of a bizarre incident that takes place as Moses heads back to Egypt with his wife and sons (Exod 4:20). On their way, at a night encampment, “The Lord met him [Moses] and tried to kill him” (Exod 4:24). No reason is given, just as no reason is given for the angel’s attack on Jacob as he came back from Mesopotamia (Gen 32:24). Jacob was alone and wrestled with the angel all night; Moses is with his wife, who comes to his rescue. She takes a flint and cuts off her son’s foreskin. She then flings the foreskin at “his” feet, declaring that he is hatan damim to her (Exod 4:26). Zipporah’s enigmatic statement has two possible explanations: she flings the foreskin at Moses’s feet, saying, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me” (NRSV), or she flings it at Yahweh’s feet, saying, “You are a blood father-in-law to me.” (Damim means “blood,” and hatan can mean either “bridegroom” or “father-in-law.”) Either way, her deed and words stop the attack. The story is already difficult for the narrator, who adds a comment that hatan damim refers to circumcision. The situation remains unclear to us. Zipporah, however, understood it and acted decisively to rescue Moses. Zipporah’s name, meaning “bird,” combined with her protection of Moses, is reminiscent of the fierce loyalty to her husband Osiris of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who is often portrayed as a bird of prey. Zipporah is not well rewarded. At some point before the exodus from Egypt, Moses sends her and the children away (Exod 18:2). After the exodus, her father, the priest of Midian (here called Jethro), comes to visit Moses, bringing Zipporah and her two sons. Moses is told that his father-in-law Jethro is “coming to see you, with your wife and her two sons” (Exod i8:6). Moses goes out to greet Jethro and takes him into his tent, but nothing is said about his greeting Zipporah. Moses’ neglect of Zipporah is obvious, as he (not Yahweh) tells the men at Sinai not to approach any women in preparation for Yahweh’s approach in three days (Exod 19:2). Since he himself is apparently always in preparation for meeting with Yahweh, we can infer that he never sleeps with Zipporah. In Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because of the “Cushite woman” whom he married, but they do not mention her name. Midrashic tradition assumed they were discussing Moses’ neglect of Zipporah. Other interpreters see the Cushite woman as a second wife, with Miriam and Aaron opposed to the marriage. But no children are ever recorded for a second wife of Moses.

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today. As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall take a look at Tamar and Judah The story of the life of Tamar appears in the ancestor narratives of Genesis. As Judah’s daughter-in-law, Judah believes she has killed two of his sons, (even though the Scriptures tell us that Yahweh killed them Gen. 38:7, 10) and controls her so that she is unable to remarry. However, she ultimately tricks Judah into impregnating her and therefore secures her place in the family. She gives Judah two sons, and her story illustrates her loyalty and her willingness to be self-confident and unconventional.  We shall find her story in Genesis 38  Tamar, daughter-in-law of Judah, married two brothers who died. By law she should have been able to marry the third brother so she could have a baby and be a full member of the tribe. When this did not happen, she took matters into her own hands. She dressed as a prostitute, had sex with her father-in-law Judah, and conceived twin sons. Names in the Bible often says something about the person: Tamar means ‘palm tree’, source of food, shade, life  Judah means ‘give praise to Yahweh’ Er means ‘watchful’ is the name of Tamar's first husband;  Er spelt backwards in Hebrew ‘ra’ is the word for 'evil' Perez means ‘breach or he who pushes through’, the one who breaks through a wall;  Zerah means ‘raising of the light' Onan means ‘strong or the virile one’ - ironic, since he refused to give Tamar a child  What the story is about  The story describes the way a widow, Tamar, obtained a child for herself and an heir for her dead husband’s inheritance. It shows a virtuous woman who risked everything, her life and her reputation, to get what was rightfully hers.    It is part of the continuing Jewish preoccupations with social justice. The story also shows one of the main themes of the Book of Genesis: Yahweh’s promise to continue the Jewish people, through many generations, against all odds.   Tamar is one of the four female ancestors of Yahshua Messiah, in Matthew's gospel. All four had irregularities in their marriages/sexual relationships.  The story of Tamar contains four different episodes:   1                       Tamar married, but remained childless, Genesis 38:1-11. Tamar married into the family of Judah, first to Judah’s son Er and then, after his death, to Onan his brother. Because of Onan’s actions, she did not become pregnant. For a Jewish woman, this meant disgrace, because people thought that being childless was a punishment from Yahweh. This practical law was about two things: The woman's right to have children, and  keeping property within the family.   Under Levite law, Er’s younger brother Onan was obliged to give Tamar a child. But he refused outright to do so, probably because any child born to Tamar would carry Er’s name, not Onan’s, and when their father died the child would inherit the dead brother’s portion of the estate. He practiced the some form of birth control, and Tamar did not conceive.  Onan thus failed to carry out the Levite obligation to Tamar, and disregarded his father's command. He died, and his death at such an early age was seen as just punishment from Yahweh.  Deuteronomy 25:9-10 describes the punishment for a man who refused to obey the Levirate law: the woman went up to him in a public assembly, pulled his sandal from his foot, spat in his face, and said 'This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house'. To us the punishment does not sound very much, but in the context of the time it meant public disgrace. The action in verse 9 had symbolic meaning: the foot symbolized the male g******s, the sandal the female sexual organs, and the spittle, the semen.   The woman’s action publicly humiliated the man, and his family's disgrace was remembered long after he himself was dead. Public shame was often used to enforce the law in ancient times.   When Onan died without giving Tamar a child, she looked to the third son of Judah to be her husband. But he was only a boy, too young to be a father. So Judah sent Tamar back to her family, promising to send for her when Shelah, [request or petition] the third son, was old enough. In fact, he was playing a trick on her, getting her to return to her father's household.  Judah began to look on Tamar as a jinx, bad luck, responsible for the deaths of his two eldest sons.  2                       She claimed her Levirite rights, Genesis 38:12-19. Eventually, Tamar had to trick Judah in order to obtain a child. By ancient Hebrew standards, her actions were legal and morally right. Tamar waited patiently, but after a while it became clear that Judah did not mean to give her his third son Shelah as a husband. He refused to keep the Levirate law.   When she saw that she was to be left a childless widow, she decided to act. She did not blame ‘the system’, but took the initiative to obtain what was rightfully hers.  She would play a trick on Judah, just as he had tricked her.  The deceiver now became the deceived.  She dressed in the special clothing of a prostitute, which included a veil across her face that disguised her identity, waited for Judah at the city gates, and persuaded him to have sexual intercourse with her. 3                       She was accused of promiscuity, Genesis 38:20-26. Because she did not name the father of her child, it was assumed that she had been promiscuous, and Judah sentenced her to be burnt to death. But she saved herself by a clever ploy. When Judah’s friend came to make payment to the unknown prostitute and reclaim Judah’s seal, cord and staff, the woman was nowhere to be found. Tamar had gone home, without telling anyone who she was. But through this one act of sexual intercourse with Judah she had become pregnant, a fact that was soon evident to the people around her. Judah, who already blamed her for the deaths of his sons, thought the worst when he heard that she was pregnant. She was accused of ‘playing the whore’.  4                       She bore twin sons, Genesis 38:27-30. Her stubbornness was rewarded with the birth of sons, one of whom would be the ancestor of King David.  Tamar’s persistence on her rights was rewarded by the birth of not one but two children!  ‘While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson threat, saying “This one came out first”. But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez.’ These twins were jostling for position even before they were born. The theme of a brother pushing ahead of his elder sibling is a common motif in Genesis.   Tamar’s sons were called Perez and Zerah. Perez would be an ancestor of King David. So we see the hand of Yahweh was in control the whole time this event was taking place! Summary In an odd sort of way, Tamar was more loyal to the tribe of Judah than Judah was himself. She knew she had a duty to produce an heir to her husband, and she was determined to do so, come what might. Despite her unorthodox methods, she was a woman of integrity who risked her life to fulfill her duty to herself and her family. She knew she had the right to a child, and she knew that her first husband Er had the right to an heir. So she acted to make this happen.  Once again, Yahweh's plan continued to unfold through the unorthodox actions of a woman.  Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh! Have any questions? Feel free to email me; [email protected]