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Todays Parsha #31: Emor (he said)

Special Announcement:
My next in person teaching event will be with Tabernacle of David Messianic synagogue in
Minneapolis, MN, May 22nd through the 26th, taking place over the Shavuot Feast.
Planned Topics Include:
1)
2)
3)
4)

The New Aramaic NT Timeline (major updates in Aramaic NT studies)

Shavuot Through the Ages
Deliverance According to the Scripture
The Egyptian Record of the Exodus

PART 1: THE LAST AND CURRENT TORAH PORTIONS

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (Kedoshim):
1) What is the other meaning of sukkah or tabernacle, as in that of Davids that has
fallen and will be restored?
There are actually two other meanings that I think suggest a deeper message.
One is thicket which is referenced here by another Hebrew word for the same
concept
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Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram
caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and
offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. (Genesis 22:13 NAU)
Many of us see a connection between the lamb that Abba YHWH will provide
and Yshua ha Mashiyach, the lamb of Elohim that takes away the sin of the
world. And here it is caught in a thicket, which is referenced also as SUKKAH
in Nehemiah 8:15.
(The second meaning answers question #2)
2) How does that extra meaning relate to both Yaakov the patriarch and Yshua?
The second meaning is that of FEEDING TROUGH, or manger, which we see
here
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Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for
his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth. (Genesis 33:17 NAU)
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So Yshua is laid in a manger during Sukkotand this seems hinted at in

Genesis 33!
3) When Abba YHWH says, You are Mine/you are My possession how does this
contrast with the first time someone was called a possession in the Tanakh by another
person?
Because when Abba YHWH makes you His possession you live but when man
does it, you die or face other hardship. Consider the words of Eve when she gave
birth for the first time
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to
Cain. 'I have acquired a man with the help of Yahweh,' she said. (Genesis 4:1
NJB)
Eve looked at Cain as her possession and named him accordingly. Clearly that
endeavor did not turn out well.
4) How does translating the word kadosh as Set-Apart differ from the more
expected English term holy?
To be KADOSH is to be set-apart for Abba YHWHs express purpose. It is a
joyful thing, for example, to have the Shabbat set apart from the other 6 days
and is a joy to be a people set-apart unto Him from the rest of humanity.
By contrast HOLY comes from the Greek word HIELE which relates to
worshipping the sun (HELIOS) as a god.
5) When Yshua overturned the moneychangers tables it was not simply a rebellious act
but that of zealous observance of what Torah principle?
Trick question in a wayhe was observing TWO Torah principles, one of which
was in the parsha
You will have just scales, just weights, a just ephah and a just hin. I am Yahweh
your God who brought you out of Egypt; hence you are to keep all my laws and
all my customs and put them into practice. I am Yahweh." '
(Leviticus 19:36-37 NJB)
(Mat 21:12) And Y'shua entered into the temple of Elohim and drove out all
who209 were buying and selling in the temple. And he overturned the tables of
the moneychangers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. (Mat 21:13)
And he said to them, "It is written that my House will be called a house of
prayer,210 but you have made it a cave of bandits."211
By calling the Temple a cave of bandits Yshua was clearly indicating they
were NOT using honest weights and measures. This was not an attack on the
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practice of exchanging foreign money for shekels itself, only that it was being
done to the point of ripping the common people off, as we would say with
something being over-pried today, Thats highway robbery!
The second Torah violation was here
'You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the loan be of money, of
food, or of anything else that may earn interest. You may demand interest on a
loan to a foreigner, but you must not demand interest from your brother; so that
Yahweh your God may bless you in all your labors, in the country which you are
about to enter and make your own. (Deuteronomy 23:20-21 NJB)
A reasonable service fee on the exchange of foreign currency for shekels was
okaybut the moneychangers were also tacking interest charges on top of that
fee and this was greed and usury. We need to understand Yshuas act of
rebellion in context. It was not against the kosher practices of Temple sacrifice
but against the abuse of kosher practices.
AND NOW FOR THIS WEEKS PORTION
1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents:
Emor means he said and it is heavily concerned with purity regulations, but it then
shifts into a bigger picture with restoring and re stating the sacred year. Abba YHWH does
this to show the Israelites to know they renew their covenant by following His instructions,
so He repeats these rules to reassure Israel their covenant continues.
Read Parsha (English-Leviticus 21:1-24:23). This week, we will read the entire portion
together.
1) Play by Play commentary where appropriate.

Vayomer Yahweh el-Moshe emor el-hakohanim beney Aharon ve'amarta

alehem lenefesh lo-yitama be'amav.
Ki im-lish'ero hakarov elav le'imo ule'aviv velivno ulevito ule'achiv.
Vela'achoto habetulah hakrovah elav asher lo-hayetah le'ish lah yitama.
Lo yitama ba'al be'amav lehechalo
2) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary:
VAYOMER YAHWEH EL-MOSHE EMOR EL-HA-KOHENIM BENEY AHARON VEAMARTA ALEHEM LE-NEFESH LO-YITAMA BE-AMAV (21:1) = and Yahweh told
Moshe to say to the priests, the descendants of Aaron: Let none (from your family) be
defiled through contact with the dead. The next two lines will allow an exception for
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immediate family, but in the main it was critical for all priests to remain un-defiled because
if too many of them were unclean they could not serve Israel. There were times that a lack of
clean priests made services by them impossible to render (2 Chronicles 29:34-36).
LO YIKRECHU KORCHAH BEROSHAM UFEAT ZEKANAM LO YEGALECHU
UVISARAM LO YISRETU SARATET (21:5) = they (the priests) shall not shave off
patches from their heads. Let them not shave the edges of their beards and not make gouges
in their skin. This command dovetails with the discussion last week that non-priest Israelites
did have the option to shave their beard (Genesis 41:14). This separate injunction here
though indicates the priests, and perhaps the Levites as well, had a stricter requirement
mandating beards for their men.
HALAL (21:6) = profane or pollute. This word is used by the rabbis to justify the ban on the
Name of YHWH. Their idea is that this word sort of suggests to make common for usage of
that which is sacred. But the other meaning of HALAL is that of to make desolate through
substitution, like SHAV in the third commandment. Also to use another Name for Him that
He did not sanction is to pollute/profane His purpose.
The line in Genesis 4:26 is a perfect case in point. Almost all translations render HALAL as
the verb began, viz: At that time men BEGAN to call upon the Name of Yahweh.
However the rabbis use the PROFANE meaning for HALAL here and Stone suggests
something close to, At that time, name of Yahweh profaned . The thing is, the context of
the Hebrew more demands BEGIN rather than profane and Stone for example uses both
meanings of HALAL at the same time to make the verse make sense in English as At that
time the name of Abba YHWH BEGAN (halal) to be PROFANED (also halal)which
makes no sense. If you must choose one meaning at a time here for that word in a sentence,
the BEGAN meaning allows for perfect syntactical flow whereas the PROFANE meaning
does not.
That is why, to the credit of JPS, the 1917, 1985 and 1999 and Bible.ort.org all use BEGAN
for HALAL. This is again because of the literal Hebrew:
ENOSH (men) AZ (at that time) HOCHAL (halalbegan) LQARA (to proclaim/call,
literally towards calling) BSHEM (in/by the Name) Yahweh.
Finally, the Aramaic Tanakh uses the word SHRI in place of HOCHAL and SHRI almost
always means to begin but sometimes also to loosen. Either way it supports the idea that
they were calling on Yahweh because if they loosened their inhibition, they then began
calling the Name. Or, to put it another way, if you let loose the flood waters you are also
saying let the flood begin. See Mathew 11:20 where Yshua SHRI (began) to revile the
cities.
ET-ROSHO LO YIFRA (21:10) = his head he will not let be uncovered. The Rabbis
alternatively interpret this as meaning the priests hair must be cut once every 1 to 3 months,
depending on the source, but all agree it means the head hair should not be allowed to grow
wild to the extent that it cannot be pulled back in a neat and respectful manner. (We will be
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discussing the issue of Head Coverings in 1 Corinthians in detail later.)

Note on 21:13-14: This command for a priest to only marry a virgin or a widow of another
priest (see Ezekiel 44:15) from his own people sets up the situation in Ezra and Nehemiah
where many of the returning priests were excluded from service because they had married
foreign wives in Babylon. Ironically, these priests got in trouble for following the advice of
Jeremiah who told them to settle down and intermarry in Babylon. That advice was fine for
most of Israel, but not for the line of Aaron.
'Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this to all the exiles deported from Jerusalem to
Babylon. Build houses, settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce; marry and
have sons and daughters; choose wives for your sons, find husbands for your daughters so
that these can bear sons and daughters in their turn; you must increase there and not decrease.
(Jeremiah 29:4-6 NJB)
KI ANI YAHWEH MEKADESHO (21:15) = for I, Yahweh, make you Set-Apart. This is a
very important statement that is overlooked by Christianity when they insist that Jews
believed (or still believe) that rituals make them Set-Apart but now the new dispensation of
Christ has come to make them holy now. The fact is, we have always been under grace
and never have we been made holy by rituals in the Torah. Instead, as we see clearly here,
it is Yahweh Himself who makes us Set-Apart, and this He has always done and will always
do. He makes us Set-Apart when we do His will, His Torah, His commandments (Genesis
26:5).
LECHEM ELOHAV MIKODESHEY HA-KADOSHIM UMIN-HA KODASHIM YOCHEL
(21:22) = he may eat the food offerings of his Elohim, both the Set-Apart of Set-Aparts as
well as the (regular) Set-Apart (offerings). The blemish or other issue is treated as a sign of
uncleanness that cannot be remedied as long as he has the problem. However, it is important
to note here that said deformity does NOT cut the Levitical man off from eating the most SetApart offerings given to his family. What this teaches us is that PHYSICAL impurity does
not necessarily mean MORAL impurity since that person is not cut off or separated in any
way from the priests. Rather, it only bars such a person from doing the work of the priests,
usually because the intense physical labor is incompatible with their condition or because the
objects in the Tabernacle must maintain their purity. Similarly a woman or man who is
ritually unclean is not a bad person either but is only barred from being in the camp or in
proximity to the sanctuary.
BECHOL TAME NEFESH (22:4) = unclean to a soul (literal reading), but actually refers to
being defiled by the dead. However the literal reading does present interesting possibilities,
that the dead somehow have a shell of a soul remaining that causes defilement. If this is so
however, I am not aware of any other reference confirming this idea, although Rashi seems
to support the idea.
VELO YOCHAL MIN HA-KODASHIM KI IM RACHATS BESARO BA-MAYIM (22:6)
= and he will not eat of the Set-Apart offerings until he has immersed his flesh in water. Here
the Torah makes a distinction between those who are in a position to remedy their
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uncleanness voluntarily and those who cannot. Dovetailing with the previous discussion on
how a Levite with a permanent infirmity still eats of even the most Set-Apart food, it is
because that Levite has no remedy for his condition that such is allowed for him. But for a
regular Israelite, if they can remedy their uncleanness simply by waiting for sunset and
washing and choose not to do so, they are in rebellion and are therefore cut off.
VESHAMERU ET-MISHMARTI VE-LO YISU ALAV CHET UMETU YECHAELUHU
(22:9) = they will keep my charge and not lift up (the offering) in a sinful way that will cause
them to die. The priests who are ritually unclean and have remedy to become clean again are
culpable if they do not follow these instructions. Again, being unclean ritually is not a moral
issue unless you can remedy it and choose not to. If a blemish renders a Levite permanently
unclean they are not judged morally inferior but are merely denied the right to serve in the
Tabernacle.
VESHOR O-SEH (22:28) = and bull, or sheep (or) goat. Although only two Hebrew terms
are mentioned, the word SEH can refer to either sheep or goats. In this kind of grammatical
construction, it seems likely both sheep and goats are intended.
VE-LO TECHALELU ET-SHEM KODSHI VE-NIKADASHTI BETOCH BENEY
YISRAEL. ANI YAHWEH MEKADISHECHEM (22:32) = do not make common/profane
to My Name. I must be Set-Apart amongst the sons of Israel. I am Yahweh, Who makes you
Set-Apart. An even more specific version of the Third Commandment, proving that you will
not engage in alternate expressions or substitute His Name with something common or
neutral. HALAL is therefore a synonym for SHAV, the latter word being what is used in the
Ten Commandments. The text literally reads and not make common towards My Name,
which is similar to phraseology in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 where the pshat
translates as do not have other elohim before Me but it is technically, do not have other
elohim before My face which in turn leads to the hint that we should not put a pagan face
upon YHWHs Face because both the Name and the Face denote the essence of His presence.
MOEDIM (23:4) = meeting as well as appointed times. Abba YHWH will allow you to enter
into His presence if you do these correctly. You get to meet with Him.
MIKRA (23:4) = convocation. A time to call out to Abba YHWH in prayer but also, to
read. Rabbis call Torah MIKRA, the called out text. Read the Mikra twice and the Targums
once.
AVODAH and MELAKAH (23:7): Avodah means to work as a servant or to do menial
work. MELAKA addressed the payment you get because you did that work. MELAKAH
work will vary depending on what you do to make a living. MELAKAH means
kingdom/domain so you do not expand YOUR kingdom on Shabbat but YHWHs
kingdom on Shabbat.
VELECHEM VEKALI VECHARMEL LO TOCHULU AD-ETSEM HA-YOM HAZEH
(23:14) = and bread and roasted grain and fresh grain you will not eat until that day. While
the general prohibition against leavened bread remains intact from the evening of the 14 th to
the evening of the 21st for Pesach, and while you also can ONLY have unleavened bread
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during this time, this commandment is dealing with another matter. Roasted grain and fresh
grain or new grain, is also not allowed until the 16th, regardless as to how it is baked. This
also is absolutely critical for interpreting a majorly important chronology in Joshua 5:
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The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth
day of the month, at evening, in the plain of Jericho. 11 On the very next day after the
Passover, they ate what the land produced, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn. 12 The
manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. The Israelites from
that year onwards ate the produce of Canaan and had no more manna. (Joshua 5:10-12 NJB)
What this tells us is the manna stopped on the day AFTER the 16th, because prior to the 16th
they could NOT eat fresh grain or roasted grain. That means it must be on the 17th, and the
only day the manna ever stopped falling was on the Shabbat, so Saturday morning must be
the 17th of Abib, as it is in the year Tanakh points to for the Jericho campaign, 1405 BCE. It
also proves that the omer count had to begin on the 16th and not Sunday, because in 1405
BCE it had to be a Friday!
CHUKAT OLAM (23:21) = eternal statute, meaning it doesnt matter if you can do a
sacrifice or not, or if a Tabernacle or Temple is functioning or not. Regardless, we must still
count the omer.
SHABBATON ZICHRON (23:24) = Shabbat of Remembrance, but the text does not directly
say WHAT they are remembering per se. Just as the weekly Shabbat though was a
remembrance of the Creation, so too this 7th new moon from Abib is a remembrance of the
day Adam was created, and both are linked by ZAKAR, to remember the Shabbat (Exodus
20:8). This is the rationale for the rabbinic belief that Rosh Hashanna is Adams birthday.
No other Shabbat is called this other than the one in Genesis 2:2-3, so it is natural to link the
two in the mind of the rabbis.
ANAH (23:27) = humble/bow down, to fast on Yom Kippur to be in submission to
Abba YHWHs will. Fasting humbles the soul by making it aware of its own mortality.
SHEMINIETZERET (23:36) = 8th dayof retreat. While the two words do not
appear adjacent to one another, they are linked conceptually in the same sentence. The
8th day of Sukkot is a time of RETREAT, to hold back from work, and as such it is the
last day of the feast. This is also part of the reason why the number 8 itself always
points to renewal or retreat.
VAYETSE BEN-ISHAH ISRAELIT VEHU BEN-ISH MITSRI BETOCH BENEY
YISRAEL VAYINATSU BA-MACHANEH BEN HA-ISRAELIT VE-ISH HAISREALI (24:10) = the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man went out among
the Israelites and the Israelite womans son had an argument with an Israelite man in the
camp. According to Rashi, this Egyptian man was the same one who killed an Israelite
and then took his wife. However, I have never understood this position from Rashi since
Exodus 2:12 says Moshe killed that Egyptian man right on the spot! However, what this
clearly demonstrates is a mixed multitude went up out of Egypt just as Exodus 12:40
says, including a fair number of Egyptians themselves.
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VAYIKOV BEN HA-ISHAH HA-ISRE-ELIT ET-HASHEM VA-YAKALEL (24:11) =

and the son of the Israelite woman cursed the Name and blasphemed. This line doesnt
justify the rabbinic ban on SAYING the Name. There is no such prohibition on uttering
His Name but you cannot CURSE in the Name. This became a rabbinic fence
whereby if they dont speak the Name they cannot be accused of cursing in it, but that is
not what the text says and in any case it violates the 3rd commandment against not
substituting the Name, which using Hashem instead of YHWH clearly does. This is
confirmed in 24:15. There will be more on this topic in the Torah Thought for the
Week.
EZRACH (24:22) = native born. Related to seed (zera) means one who came up from our
soil.
Torah Question of the Week:
What does this Torah portion tells us about calendar secrets?
END PART 1

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PART 2: THE HAFTORAH

Torah Question of the Week:
What does this Torah portion tell us about calendar secrets?
In this portion we are told that Abba YHWH says to Moshe, These are the moedim that YOU
shall proclaim. As a Levite and with his brother Aaron as high priest, this tells us that Moshe
and Aaron are supposed to proclaim the feasts and therefore keep the calendar secrets. It is also
a fitting preview to the most important calendar-secret chapter in the entire TanakhJoshua
chapter 4. Five circles: Upon the deep/Universe (Proverbs 8:27), crown of stars/seal on stars
(Revelation 12:1, Job 9:9), circle of earth (Isaiah 40:22), circle of stones/Gilgal (Joshua 4),
circle covenant in flesh/circumcision (also Joshua 4).
1) Haftorah portion (English- Ezekiel 44:15-31) and discuss common themes with the
Torah portion.

Vehakohanim haLevi'im beney Tsadok asher shameru et-mishmeret

mikdashi bit'ot beney-Yisra'el me'alay hemah yikrevu elay lesharteni
ve'amedu lefanay lehakriv li chelev vadam ne'um Yahweh Elohim.
2) Our linguistic commentary
KOHENIM HA LVIYIM (44:15) = LEVITICAL PRIESTS, as if there were any other kind
serving in Tabernacle? A hint that there is another lineage of priests, like Melchizedek,
whom Yshua is compared to as serving in heavenly Temple/Tabernacle.
BENEY TZADOK = (44:15) = SONS OF ZADOK meaning son of a real priest, son of
Aaron. But name also means righteousness so when the priests are doing their jobs they are
the sons of righteousness! Tzedeka =charity = righteousness through giving.
TAAH (44:15) = to go astray, or to be drunk. Morality wavers like a drunken man staggering
in streets.
See Isaiah 19:14-16:
Yahweh has infused them with a giddy spirit; they have led Egypt astray in all she undertakes
like a drunkard straying about as he vomits. Nowadays no one does for Egypt what top and
tail, palm and reed used to do. That day Egypt will be like women, trembling and terrified at
the threatening hand of Yahweh Sabaoth, when he raises it against her. (Isaiah 19:14-16
NJB)
3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English) Colossians 2:11-23 (all the way through with
applicable footnotes.)
4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (referred to in footnotes):
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Colossians 2:14
10) The Aramaic word khab means both sin and debt and in this case both meanings
are meant simultaneously. Also the Aramaic word shtar means handwriting but
specifically the kind of handwriting that is on a bill, which makes sense if you have debts.
The end result of all this is that the certificate of debts/sins cannot be Torah. Instead it is
the written second witness of our sins which would normally require penalties, but is
nailed to the beam of the stake. YHWH requires that two witnesses come forward to
execute a criminal. He even holds Himself to this standard if He is one of the witnesses.
As a result, when Yshua takes the certificate of our sins, he is in effect taking that
required second witness out of the way. Without the written second witness, though we
sin, we cannot be destroyed for that sin, and can then approach our Heavenly Father
YHWH for the gift of eternal life. (Mat_6:12 some Greek texts read forgive our debts
and others forgive our offenses.)
Colossians 2:16
11) The Body of Mashiyach must not be concerned with the judgments of those who are
outside the Malchut Elohim, that is, those who don't know Torah or Mashiyach. It is
clear, given the location of this audience and the fact that Rav Shaul always references
Jews directly, that Shaul is addressing the local talk of the pagans whose religion
dominates this region.
Colossians 2:17
12) Compare this with Col_1:24. Paul is stating that the "Body of Mashiyach"
determines how to observe Torah, including Kashrut, Shabbats, Moedim and Rosh
Chodeshim; therefore, don't let lawless pagans judge you; they have their own religious
customs and way of doing things. For example, many choose to attend religious
meetings on Sun-Day, and they have sunrise services on Ishtar (Easter), then for
December 25th they put up a Tammuz (Christmas) tree that commemorates the rebirth of
the Babylonian deity Tammuz. And the gold and silver balls that Christians hang on their
Christmas trees originally represented Tammuz testicles, as he was renowned for
pleasing the ladies. Most Christians know full well that Y'shua was not born on
December 25th, but the pagan celebrations have become such entrenched traditional
rituals that truth has become an embarrassing inconvenience. See Christmas in
Appendix. In other words, don't let family, friends, pastors, or co-workers judge you for
observing truthful Torah festivals, because their motive is for you to return to the pagan
substitutes they themselves prefer. The Church today is following in the idolatrous
footsteps of ancient and modern Israel according to Eze_8:14 and Jer_10:1-25; Jer_17:127. The vast majority of Christians twist this verse to teach that Shabbat and the Feasts
of YHWH were fulfilled by Christ and are no longer necessary which completely
contradicts what Rav Shaul taught that YHWHs Feasts are a shadow of things to
come; not to mention, they are rehearsals for the Bride of Mashiyach! What Mashiyach
and Paul call "good," most Christians call evil; they even believe that their pagan based
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rituals are sanctified through a "Christian" label (see Isa_5:14-23). Aramaic translator
George Lamsa also suggests an interesting non-literal sense of the body by translating
but the main objective is of Mashiyach. In other words, we are focused on the sacrifice
Yshua made for us and the commandments of Torah observance that he gave us. While
I cannot find any confirming evidence to render body in this manner, the sense of
Lamsas rendering nonetheless accords well with the main concepts in this chapter.
5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (The dividing line
between proper understanding of who messenger-angels are and not lapsing
into paganism is a fine one. The Samaritans are a good example of how these scriptural
themes can be taken too far. It was true then and it is true nowdont do it!)
6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion
(Head Coverings p. 841-844).
STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK FOR THIS
PORTION:
1) Ezekiel 44:19 talks about transmitting sanctification to the people from the Set-apart
garments of the priests, but Haggai 2:11-14 seems to say the opposite, that the unclean
things defile the Set-apart objects. How do we resolve the apparent contradiction,
assuming there is one?
2) How is the command for a priest not to take a divorced woman for wife in Leviticus
21:4 different from the later ruling in Deuteronomy 24:1-3?
3)

We saw recently that the death of Aarons two sons while offering strange fire may have
led to an official prohibition against drunkenness for future priests. However, in this
portion we have another regulation that was inspired by an actual problematic event.
What was that event and what is the regulation?

4) The city of Colossae had a large Jewish population that was famous for a very special
item. What was that item?
5) Other than our discussion during the parsha, what is my rationale for when the omer
count begins, which is to say, on the 16th, rather than being fixed to the morrow after the
weekly Shabbat, or Sunday?
Torah Thought for the Week:
What is Blasphemy? (And What it Isnt!)
In this Torah portion we saw a blasphemer put to death, but perhaps it is not clear what the
offense of blasphemy really is. We get a hint of it in the Hebrew, as I said earlier, where we
are told the person actually cursed the Name, and 24:15 clarifies this is YHWH we are talking
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about.
Going from the Greek, we get the word blasphemy from blasphemeo which literally means, to
speak lightly or profanely of sacred things. This word is very well used even on the Greek side
in Yaakov 2:7, Do they not BLASPHEME in the Fair Name by which they were called? This
proves that Yaakov is talking about YHWH as the fair name. Such usage is also very close to
the meaning of several Hebrew words we will be looking at that contain one definition of several
as to revile and these are also carried over intact into NT Aramaic, as we will soon see.
But lets return to the Torah and what it has to say. In Leviticus 24:11 the word QABAB is used
to indicate blasphemy, but it is actually defined as being the same as cursing itself (QALAL)
but it is the specific kind of cursing associated with Abba YHWHs Name. The word QALAL,
like blasphemeo in Greek, means to make light of sacred or important things, but of all the
sacred things one might make light of, the one with the stiffest penalty attached to it is with
respect to YHWHs Name. Or, to put it another way.
QABAB = QALAL + YHWHs Name
A synonym for QABAB is NAATZ, which appears in Isaiah 52:5, though there it technically
means something closer to spurn, devalue, condemn which is not quite curse per se but still
very, very bad and disrespectful. The difference though between NAATZ and QABAB is that
while YHWH complains about NAATZ, He does not always command the death penalty for it as
He does for QABAB, which speaks of course to His great mercy and patience.
On the other hand, there are exceptions. David and Bathshebas illicit offspring is condemned to
death as are the Israelites who worshipped the Golden Calf in NAATZ (2 Samuel 12:4;
Nehemiah 9:18, 26).
But the most important word for blaspheme is GADAPH, because in each place that it appears
another definition of the real sin is given, and it doesnt have anything to do with merely saying
His Name:
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Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says YHWH, "Do not be afraid
because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have
blasphemed (gadaph) Me. (2 Kings 19:6)
Assyria blasphemed because they declared in 2 Kings 18 that Abba YHWH was unable to
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protect Israel, so this is definition #1, to revile Elohim and declare Him powerless. This is also
the case in 2 Kings 19:22 and Isaiah 37:6 and 23. Here is definition #2 for GADAPH:
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'For this reason, son of man, speak to the House of Israel. Say to them, "The Lord
Yahweh says this: Here is another way by which your ancestors outraged (gadaph) me
by their infidelity (maal).Ezekiel 20:27 NJB
The word for treachery, unfaithfulness is MAAL, so this becomes another descriptor for
blasphemyagain having nothing to do with saying the Name. Rather, its being unfaithful to
YHWHs commands or acting treacherously or treating Him as profane. Now lets move on to
the same word in the Aramaic NT:
(Mar 3:28) Truly I say to you, that all sins and blasphemies (gadaph) that the sons of man will
blaspheme will be forgiven them. (Mar 3:29) But he who blasphemes (gadaph) against the
Ruach haKodesh has no forgiveness ever, rather he is guilty before the eternal judgment."
The Aramaic reads a little differently than the Greek because it is SONS OF MEN in Aramaic as
opposed to the Son of Man or Yshua in the Greek, but either way the thought is the same.
Abba YHWH is most gracious to forgive blasphemies, except for that of Ruach ha Kodesh
because the Ruach ha Kodesh is simply another title for Abba YHWH Himself! Therefore to
blaspheme against the Ruach is to deny its powerYHWHs powerto set up the kingdom. As
Yshuas kingdom rolls out, the penalties become harder, and anything that could prevent his
sacrifice and resurrection meets with this higher punishment. As such, blaspheming against the
RHK cannot be repeated today. Still, reviling the power of YHWH in any form is never a good
idea, but even going from the Greek, at least he is gracious enough to forgive those who
blaspheme HIM as sent by his Father.
Heres another example:
Act 18:5 And when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was impeded in
discourse, because the Jews stood up against him, and reviled (gadaph), as he testified to them
that Y'shua is the Mashiyach.
Here reviled can be thought of as blasphemy because the reviling is against YHWHs own
redemptive model of what He meant to do with His Son. The crowds may have thought they
were only insulting Paul but they were actually insulting Elohim out of their own ignorance.
And this brings us to a key point. Luke is saying there is blasphemy for that reason, going against
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the will of YHWH, but the rabbis also used this definition when Yshua went against their Oral
Law
(Mat 26:63) But Y'shua was silent and the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living
Elohim, that you tell us if you are the Mashiyach, the Son of Elohim." (Mat 26:64) Y'shua said
to him, "You have said it! But I say to you that from now on you will see the Son of man sitting
at the right hand of power and coming upon the clouds of heaven."279 (Mat 26:65) Then the high
priest tore his clothes and said, "Behold he blasphemes! Why therefore do we need witnesses?
Behold now you have heard this blasphemy.280
By the written Torah Yshua is blameless. He has not only accurately answered a question but,
in addition to that, he has further kept Torah by not reviling (QALAL) a leader of his people!
Nor is it blasphemy to quote the book of Daniel when in fact Yshua was supposed to justify
his views from the Scripture! But in the minds of the Pharisees it became blasphemy because
Yshua in their mind could not be the Mashiyach.
In other words, Yshua had to answer the question honestly to keep the command of Exodus
22:28 and then he had to establish his answer, which was also required. This is why the Written
Torah is in tension with the Oralone says this is righteous and the other calls it a capital sin.
Of course, if what Yshua says is true, he cannot be guilty of blasphemy but his accusers must be
instead because
(Mat 15:1) Then the scribes and the Pharisees who were from Urishlim drew near to Y'shua and
said,
(Mat 15:2) "Why do your disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders and do not
wash their hands when they eat bread?"

(Mat 15:3) Then Y'shua answered and said to them, "Why also do you transgress against the
Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?167 (Mat 15:4) For Elohim said, 'Honor
your father and mother,168 and anyone who reviles his father and his mother let him be put to
death.'"169 (Mat 15:5) "But you say anyone who says to a father or to a mother, 'My offering is
whatever you have gained by me,' then he does not need to honor his father or mother. (Mat
15:6) And you nullify the Word of Elohim because of your tradition.170 (Mat 15:7) Hypocrites!
Well did Yesha'yahu prophesy concerning you and said, (Mat 15:8) 'This people honor me with
their lips, but their heart is very far from me.' (Mat 15:9) And they revere me in vain, while they
teach the doctrines of the commandments of the sons of men."171
Thats exactly what a good Jew should do. Defend the written Torah, confirm it with the
Prophets and be willing to take it on the chin, since Yshuas righteousness is what is
blasphemous to his enemies and it is his enemies who are guilty of the charge they have laid at
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Mashiyachs feet.
Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week!
Next week we will be exploring the double portion BaHar-BeChukkotai, or Leviticus 25:127:34, followed by our Haftorah portion will be Jeremiah 32:6-27 and 16:19-17:14, along with
and our Renewed Covenant portions Luke 4:16-21,Galatians 5:1-13 and Ephesians 2:11-19!
Remember Shavuot begins at sunset on May 23rd and the 2015 Shavuot Special will be up by
then! Stay tuned!

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