Aaron's Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26) The famous blessing in Hebrew, English, and English transliteration. [1 HTML page] Anti-myth In Genesis For centuries liberal scholars have accused Genesis of being filled with mythology. They're right. But the "mythology" is for polemical purposes. Genesis turns the myths upsidedown and insideout in order to correct their falsehoods by setting straight the Story of primeval history. This article examines seven contested points. [7 HTML pages] Armageddon & the Death of Messiah Much confusion exists about the Bible's teaching on Armageddon. What is it? When will it occur? What or who will cause it to happen? This study of prophecy attempts to answer those questions. It's not what most people think it is. And it's closely connected to the death of God's "Associate." [5 HTML pages] Bezalel: In the Shadow of God In some Hebrew names there is great treasure. The seldom-mentioned man who built the Mishkan in the wilderness was filled with God's Spirit. His very name depicts a special enshroudment from God that is alluded to throughout Hebrew Scripture and in New Testament language describing the Transfiguration of Yeshua and the overshadowing of Miryam his mother. [6 HTML pages] David the Messiah The central human character in the Hebrew Bible is David ben Jesse of Bethlehem. David is the preeminent "Messiah" in Scripture, and it contains a whole constellation of theological concepts about him and his descendants, including the final David who will co-rule with God over Israel and all nations. This extensive list contains supporting texts. [7 HTML pages] The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible This is a 24-page PDF copy of Chapter 2 from the larger thesis listed below. This chapter focuses on the biblical evidence for the council imagery and concept. The Divine Council in Second Temple Judaism & the New Testament This is a 25-page PDF copy of Chapter 5 from the larger thesis listed below. This chapter focuses on the trajectories of the council imagery and concept in the Hebrew Bible into documents of what is called "Early Judaism" and in the New Testament. [New] Echad in the Shema The meaning of the adjective echad ("one") is the subject of numerous discussions. This study seeks to clarify what is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. We examine the word in the contexts of the Shema (Deut 6:4), then the whole message of the Hebrew Bible and the ancient (pagan) world in which Israel lived. [7 HTML pages] Eved Adonai—The Two Servants in Isaiah Who is the "Servant" in the book of Isaiah? One view says he is the nation Israel, the other says he is the Messiah. A careful study of the prophet himself shows there are two Servants of the Lord, not one. [5 HTML pages] HaShem—The Name This study explains the terms "HaShem" and "Tetragrammaton," and discusses the Hebrew meaning behind the sacred name of God: YHVH, Yahweh, or Adonai. Divine and human names have meaning in the Bible. The Hebrew names of Joshua, Isaiah, and Jesus are all related to God's ineffable Name. And each name contains a form of the verb yasha meaning to deliver, rescue or save. [6 HTML pages] The Heavenly Council in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament Both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament refer to God and his heavenly court. He is depicted as king sitting on a throne surrounded by beings who form his council and serve as court messengers and his soldiers (army). This vivid symbolic imagery links the HB and NT theologically. In fact, the NT uses the throne room imagery to depict Yeshua's exalted status and relation to God. [1 HTML intro + 13 PDF pages] Hebrew & Aramaic Introduction & Transliteration Tables Tables showing Hebrew consonants and vowels, academic and non-academic pronunciations, and a brief survey of Aramaic, the sister language of Hebrew. [4 pages, PDF 120k] Hebrew Mediators and the Mediator Messiah The NT teaching that Yeshua is the "one mediator between God and men" is not widely popular, either in Judaism or Christianity. But the Hebrew Bible is filled with various mediators — all sent by God — to counsel, defend, and intercede for Israel and faithful individuals. The NT builds on this Hebraic heritage, but it says there is one only mediator. [9 HTML pages] Hesed Adonai: God's Steadfast Love in Lamentations This brief study looks at the Book of Lamentations and Jeremiah's famous statement that God's steadfast love never ceases. [2 HTML pages]

Immanu El Isaiah prophesied that a man named Immanu El ("with us is God") would one day come. That God was with his people was an ancient reality. Isaiah wasn't predicting an unknown experience; he was reminding them of an old one, so they could recognize the familiar one in the future. [4 HTML pages] The OMG (God of Western Culture) The Bible is a confrontational collection of anti-pluralistic, anti-syncretistic affirmations about the God of ancient Israel and of the New Testament. The pop culture God of our time, the OMG, is simply another deity in the pantheon created by humans as their alternative to the biblical God. [2 HTML pages] "Palestine" in the Bible The ancient Greek word Palaistine in the writings of Herodotus appear in some English Bibles some 2000 years later—in the form "Palestine." This study examines the Hebrew behind this and the word "Philistines." [4 HTML pages] The Septuagint, or Greek Old Testament Jewish scholars, living in Alexandria, Egypt, began translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek, the then-international language of the ancient world, in the 3rd century BC/E. Their work is known as the "Septuagint" or "(Translation of the) Seventy," abbreviated in Roman numerals as LXX. This electronic version was compiled by Jeff Zizz from texts at the University of Pennsylanvia. The text runs 1,137 pages and 2.7 MB in PDF. The Seventh Shema Most readers are familiar with the famous Shema in Deuteronomy. Many do not know there are six more shemas. [3 HTML pages} Shem Yeshua Mashiach: The Hebrew Roots of the Name "Jesus Christ" Deeply important Hebrew elements are found in Jesus' name. Several passages in the NT reflect these ancient roots. Once seen, readers of Scripture will forever see them. [2 HTML pages] The Third Day: Resurrection Patterns Paul said the Messiah was raised from the dead "on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:4). But there is no explicit prophecy in the Tanakh that this would happen. On what basis did Paul make his claim? This article examines the pattern of events that occur on "the third day" — especially the prophecy in Hosea 6:2 that God would raise his son Ephraim from the dead. [4 HTML pages] Three Divisions of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) Traditionally, the Hebrew Bible has been portioned into three sections. (The four-division organization in an "Old Testament" follows the format of the Greek Bible or Septuagint.) This table gives the Hebrew names and meanings of the biblical books. It also gives the Greek/Septuagint and English names for comparison. [3 HTML pages] Three Hebrew Passages This PDF table has three passages from the Hebrew Bible: Numbers 6:22–27, Isaiah 55:8–11, and Psalm 103:8–14. Each contains the Hebrew text, a transliteration into English characters for pronunciation, and English translation. These provide good pronunciation practice and memorization of rich material. [3 pages, PDF 90k] Torah al Lev: Torah Upon the Heart (A Mosaic Idea) When the New Testament alludes to Jeremiah's prophecy of a new covenant, in which the Law of God will be written upon the hearts of people (instead of merely on stone), it is not inaugurating a new principle of operation, nor a new religion. It is drawing upon the original purpose of God as expressed in The Shema and lived out by many in ancient Israel. [4 HTML pages] Virgin Israel: Mother of Messiah The idea of the Messiah being born to a virgin is not an alien or mythological idea. It's an ancient doctrine lying deep in the heart of Hebraic faith. [4 HTML pages] The "Virgin" of Isaiah 7:14 This study looks at the Greek of Matthew 1:23 and Isaiah 7:14 (LXX), and compares the meanings of the Hebrew words almah and betulah, as they are used in the Hebrew Bible. Visions of the Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible This is Paul Sumner's 1991 thesis submitted to Pepperdine University, revised slightly in December 2011. [152 PDF pages] Chapter 2 focuses only on the Hebrew Bible evidence for the Council. Chapter 5 examines the Council ideology in Early Judaism and the New Testament. Both are available in separate docs. See "Divine Council" entries above.