Numbers 31
Numbers 30:2, Vows. A vow (Heb. neder)is literally “a pledge to do something.” It places upon oneself or others or upon objects of one’s choice a status equivalent to that of a commandment of the Torah (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 900). Yeshua said it like this, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’”, in Matthew 5:37. In other words, keep your word, and do not make promises that you cannot keep.
One’s word is one’s bond. A neder is so strong that a person violating it can suffer the court-imposed penalty of lashes (ibid.) The Set-Apart One of Israel is not a man that he should lie (Num 23:19). If we are to be set-apart or kadosh as YHVH is kadosh (1 Pet 1:16; 2:9; Heb 12:14), then we must be people of our word not only in large matters, but in the smallest matters too. Are you too casual with your words? Do you make commitments in order to sound good to others, yet you have no real intention of fulfilling your obligations? Liars will have no part in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:8).
YHVH established order in the family structure. The man, as the head of the family, holds veto power over promises made by those under him in his family. This may be politically incorrect nowadays in a society characterized by egalitarianism, and feminism and children’s “rights,” but the Word of YHVH in the Torah is clear on this matter. This is given because the husband and father holds responsibility for promises made by those in his family (Num 30:15). To what degree are you swayed by the mores of society in this regard as opposed to the Word of Elohim? What rules do you play by in your marriage and family—society’s or YHVH’s?
Numbers 31
Numbers 31:3, Take vengeance on the Midianites. YHVH is vehemently opposed to moral looseness. Midian, through its seductive women, nearly destroyed Israel. The decisive actions of a morally straight leadership prevented Israel from going the way of so many nations that have since collapsed due to moral decay. What can we learn from this ancient account?
Sexual looseness and perversion must not be allowed to gain even a momentary toehold into our lives. Do you aggressively resist and fight against the spiritual Midianites that would destroy your life, your family, your marriage and your spiritual destiny, or do you even slightly countenance the enemies of your soul in the secret or hidden areas of your life just to placate the passions of your carnal and sin-bent nature? The spirit of Midian is to be found everywhere from the magazine rack at the checkout stand to the morning newspaper advertising women’s undergarments, from bumper stickers to billboards, from television ads (not to mention the television shows themselves) to the internet, and among political, religious leaders and entertainment celebrities. How about the modern immodest and decadent clothing styles of our youth, which barely cover the body, and where little is left to the imagination?
How does one defend oneself against this incessant onslaught of sexual immorality? Remember, the best defense is a strong offense. Resolve and settle in your heart and mind ahead of time how you will react against the darts of the enemy when you suddenly find them aimed at you, and then stick to your defense plan! Set inviolate moral boundaries for yourself that you will not cross. Pull down every mental stronghold and take every thought captive to the mind of Yeshua, and flee all lusts. (Strengthen yourself spiritually by reading the following scriptures: 1 Cor 6:18; 10:14; 2 Cor 10:3–6; 2 Tim 2:22.)
Numbers 31:4, A thousand from a tribe. All the tribes were equally represented in this fighting force to punish Midian for its culpability in causing Israel to fall into the sins of idolatry and immorality resulting in the death of 24,000 Israelites (Num 25:1–9). What can we learn from this? Each person in the spiritual body of Yeshua (or “the camp of Israel”) must take an equal role in fighting wickedness and immorality. What are you actively doing to combat these things around you? Whether you think you will make a difference or not, do you still vote, write letters to your political representatives, pray, take righteous stands against evil when and wherever possible, or support those who do so with your finances? If you are a parent, what is your responsibility to your children in this regard?
Numbers 31:17, Kill all. Was this a form of genocide on the Midianites at the hands of the Israelites on the command of Elohim? Yes. Elohim, as the Creator of all humans, and the one who gives life and can take life, and as the Just Judge of universe has the divine prerogative to determine who lives and who doesn’t. He is just, merciful and forgiving (Exod 34:6–7; Ps 86:15) and he gives people space to repent and to turn to him. If they do not, then the gavel in his heavenly court falls and just judgment is rendered. The unrepentant sinner must die for his sins. In the case of the Midianites, YHVH had given them and the rest of the Canaan’s inhabitants 400 years (Gen 15:13) to repent and turn to him, but they had refused, even though they had the righteous examples of the patriarchs and Moses and the Israelites paraded in front of them to point them to Elohim. They no doubt had heard how Elohim had destroyed Egypt and the mighty miracles he had performed on behalf of the Israelites, yet they still refused to follow Elohim. So the Creator was totally justified in ordering the Israelites to slay most of the Midianites.
Numbers 31:8, Balaam…they slew with the sword. Jude 1:11 talks about Balaam being greedy for money and indicates that there are those in the end times in the body of Yeshua who will follow after this same sin. Ina a similar vein, Yeshua talks about tares or weeds that grow in the midst of the wheat. Their ultimate fate is destruction (See Matt 13:37–40.) Had Balaam believed his own good prophecies concerning Israel and not sided with Israel’s enemies, he would no doubt have been spared the sword of YHVH’s justice. His ulterior motive for his actions was greed and materialism. This blinded him from accepting YHVH’s truth. Balaam paid a high price for his actions. Balaam was a deceiver and a hypocrite. He spoke one thing and did something else. Are we ever guilty of this? How rampant is the sin of duplicity within the body of believers in Yeshua today? There are people who claim to be prophets in the church who, like Balaam, speak soothing and ear-tickling prophetic words in order to profit from the people. How can we know the difference between true and false prophets? A true prophet is not greedy like Balaam. (Read Deut 18:20–22 and Matt 7:15–20.) Can a true prophet of Elohim prophesy out of the flesh something false, and if he repents, when he finds he was in error, be spared from the death penalty? The answer is yes as we read in Second Samuel 7:1–17 concerning Nathan the prophet.
Numbers 31:7, 17, They slew all the males…every male among the little ones…and kill every woman that has known man by lying with him. Do you suppose that every Midianite who was slain was directly culpable for causing Israel to fall into idolatry and sexual immorality? Probably not. If so, then why were they slain? We see a similar situation with Korah and his malcontents where the earth swallowed up not only Korah, Dathan and Abiram, but their families as well (Num 16:31–33). Even those who are not directly culpable for a particular sin, if they maintain company with sinners they will become morally tainted (1 Cor 5:6; 15:33; Gal 5:9). If the righteous dwell near the wicked, is it possible for YHVH’s judgments against the wicked to overlap onto the righteous? If this were not possible then why did YHVH instruct the righteous Israelites to separate themselves from the environs of Korah’s camp (Num 16:23–27), and why does YHVH call his people to come out of Babylon the Great in the end times? (Read Rev 18:4 for the answer.) How do we separate from the wicked? In the examples just cited, we see two kinds of separation from evil: physical and spiritual. We can start by separating spiritually without separating physically, but will there ever come a time when YHVH’s people will have to separate physically? Yes. (See Rev 12:14.) How will the spiritual woman of Revelation 14 know when to do this and where to go? The Good Shepherd will not abandon or lead his sheep in the day of trouble. (Note John 10:1–5.) May we always be pressed into Yeshua, our spiritual Shepherd, so that we will always hear his voice concerning what to do and where to go and when.
Numbers 31:49, Not a man of us is missing. The remarkable grace of YHVH is evidenced in the fact that only one-fiftieth of Israel’s fighting force (12,000 of 600,000 men) took part in the campaign to defeat Midian and that not a single man was lost. What promise of YHVH was this a fulfillment of if Israel would walk in Torah-obedience? (See Lev 26:8; Deut 32:30.) What principles can we learn from this when applied to spiritual warfare? When our spiritual battles against evil are just, righteous and in accordance with YHVH’s perfect will what results can we expect? (Look up Mark 16:17–18; Luke 9:1; 10:19; Rom 8:31, 37; 1 John 4:4.)
Numbers 31:50, Make atonement.
Exploring the Concept of Atonement as It Relates to the Tabernacle and Salvation
What is the big deal about the concept of vicarious atonement, that is, someone dying in another person’s place to repair a wrong or an injury? Does there really need to be the shedding of blood to pay the penalty for or to redeem a person’s from their sins? This is a concept shared only by Christianity and no other major religions in the world including Judaism. For example, it’s not uncommon to hear Christians talking about “the cross” and “Jesus dying for our sins,” or “Jesus paying for our sins.” Is this a biblical concept or just some idea of man to put people under religious bondage to an irrational, man-made and superstitious tradition? Knowing the answer to this question is literally a matter of life and death.
To begin answering this question, let’s look at Numbers 31:50 where we read, “We have therefore brought an oblation for YHVH, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before YHVH.” In a similar passage in Exodus 30:15–16, we read, “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls” (emphasis added on both). The question before us is this: Do these verses in the Bible imply that YHVH grants man absolution from sin based something other than the shedding of blood, and by logical extension, does this call into question our redemption from sin through our faith in Yeshua the Messiah’s blood atonement death on the cross?
The concept of atonement can be a confusing one. Some rabbinic Jewish scholars teach that the Torah (i.e., the first five books of the Bible) does not require the shedding of blood for atonement of one’s sin to occur. Taken only by themselves, the above scripture could appear to be confirming this supposition. Before briefly discussing the subject of atonement, let us not forget the stern warnings of the Peter the apostle when he warned the end-time saints against false teachers who would lure people away from the simple truth of the gospel:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not….But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceiving while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children, which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Yeshua Messiah, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2)
In the Testimony of Yeshua (or New Testament), there is no question that when the concept of atonement (i.e., to make ransom for or to cover over man’s sins) is presented, it is related to the blood of Yeshua, the Lamb of YHVH, being shed for the remission of man’s sins, which is the means through which reconciliation between Elohim and man occurs. In the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh (or Old Testament), however, the idea of atonement is somewhat broader and at times more generalized in scope. Herein lies the confusion and the misconceived disparity between the Former (Old) and Latter (New) Testaments or Covenants. Are they in opposition to one another, or is the latter the logical outgrowth of the former and, therefore, compliments or elucidates the former?
The Hebrew word for atonement is kapar/RPF. A verb, it means “to make an atonement, make reconciliation, purge. In its noun form, kapar means a ransom, gift, to secure favor”(see Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament [or TWOT]). Kapar also means “to cover over”and is the same Hebrew word meaning “to cover or smear with pitch”as in caulking the seams of a wooden ship so that it becomes waterproof (see Brown-Driver-Briggs H3722). Our English words cap (as well as the Hebrew kipah, which is a small hemispherical hat that many religious Jewish men wear)and cover are related etymologically to kapar (see The Word—The Dictionary That Reveals the Hebrew Source of Our English, by Isaac E. Mozeson).
What can we learn from all this? Kapar means “to cover” that which is bare, such as the human head. It also means “to smear (or cover) with pitch”so that your ship will not sink drowning all aboard. For example, YHVH instructed Noah to “pitch/kopar [the ark] within and without with pitch/koper.” Furthermore, kapar means “to ransom” someone who would otherwise be a prisoner of one’s enemy and without the ransom being paid one would probably be killed. Kapar also means “to reconcile”with someone who has the power of life and death over you (e.g., Elohim) and to pacify someone who has the power to do you harm.
Now, how do we see the word used in the Tanakh? First, it is interesting to note that in Leviticus where the priestly service and the sacrificial system is presented and discussed, the word kapar is used 39 times (curiously the exact number of stripes laid across the back of Yeshua prior to his crucifixion). Furthermore, on all but several occasions, the Torah specifically links the concept of atonement to the shedding of blood relating to the expiatory sacrificial system.In the several instances where the Torah does not link the term kapar or atonement directly to the sacrificial system and the shedding of blood, we shall discuss latter the fact that the money or items given as an atonement was contributed to the tabernacle and was used for its operation, including the purchase of animals for sacrificial purposes (i.e., Exod 30:15, 16 and Num 31:50). We cannot stress strongly enough that only on several occasions out of dozens of references in the Torah to atonement does this term not relate directly to the shedding of blood through sacrifice!
The subject of atonement is much more complex than can be dealt with in this brief study, but suffice it to say, with regard to humans, the Bible teaches us that atonement involves something which is lacking (or leaking, with regard to Noah’s ark, for example) and in danger of death or judgment (or, in the case of Noah’s ark, in danger of sinking resulting in the death of those onboard), then having that lack (caused by sin) covered by something that will keep it from sinking spiritually even as pitch (Heb. kopar) kept ancient ships from sinking. Only grace and mercy granted by a superior power, who has the power of life and death over humans, namely YHVH, and his liberally smearing or covering the soul of a man with the blood of Yeshua along with his grace and mercy, can keep man from sinking spiritually in relationship to his Creator.
But why is the blood of Yeshua required to pay for man’s sin? This is because that when divine law is broken, which the Bible refers to as sin, a penalty or price must be paid. The sinner must give something of value to the one sinned against as a penalty for breaking the laws or the dictates of the superior authority or lawgiver. This is how justice is maintained in the universe. The same system holds true in secular societies. Governments establish laws by which its citizens are governed. When those laws are violated, the governing body exacts a penalty against the offender (e.g., restitution through community service, a monetary fine, a prison sentence, or even a death sentence). Biblically, where atonement was involved, humans had to pay or give something. In the Torah, there are examples of men buying themselves temporary covering or atonement for the sins that they had committed by sacrificing animals, giving offerings and oblations, making interceding prayers, paying a half-shekel of silver in support of the temple sacrificial system, negating themselves by repentance and humbly looking upon a brazen snake on a pole, or by burning incense, which is symbolic of the prayers of YHVH’s people (Rev 8:4). But in the long term, an intercessory prayer, the paying of a half shekel, the waving of incense, the giving of war booty, etc. was not sufficient to ransom a man’s soul from the ultimate penalty of sin which eternal death. Even the innocent animals sacrificed under the Levitical sacrificial system were in themselves powerless to do this. Since the Word of Elohim tells us that the soul that sins shall die (Ezek 18:4) and all humans have sinned, or violated the Torah-law of YHVH and all were conceived in sin (Pss 14:1–3; 51:5; Jer 17:9; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:23; 1 John 3:4), then all humans must pay with their lives in order to pay the debt they owe for their sin. Something innocent of sin must die in man’s place. We see this pattern laid out at the very beginning of man’s time on earth where Scripture records that the first sinners, Adam and Eve, were covered in the skins of sacrificed animals after they committed their first sin. Genesis 3:21 records this event: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did YHVH Elohim make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
Prophetically, the idea of a lamb being slain in place of a human being was acted out on Mount Moriah at the binding or akeida of Isaac (Gen 22). There, Abraham declared that YHVH would provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering (a theme echoed by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53 of his book) and indeed the heavenly Messenger of YHVH (the pre-incarnate Yeshua, the ultimate sacrificial Lamb of YHVH himself [See my lengthy and highly researched teaching article entitled The Hebrew Scriptures & The Writings of the Jewish Sages Confirm The Deity and The Incarnation of Yeshua the Messiah, on our web site at www.hoshanarabbah.org]) forbade Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. YHVH instead provided Abraham and Isaac a ram complete with a thorny thicket crown on its head (Gen 22:8, 11–13) to be a substitute sacrifice.
The death of some innocent animal and the shedding of its blood was the very basis of the sacrificial and atonement system in the Torah. And this all pointed to Yeshua the Redeemer, who would eventually come and die once and for all for all men (Heb 10:10). Job knew that he needed a Redeemer (Job 19:25). Isaiah spoke of one who would take man’s sins upon himself making his soul an offering for sin (Isa 53:10). Jacob historically and prophetically spoke of his Redeemer who redeemed him from “all evil” (Gen 48:16) and related it to the Messenger of YHVH (Gen 31:11–13). Jacob also related this redeemer figure to the cross or the Paleo-Hebrew letter tav of the Hebrew alphabet, which is the sign he made when he crossed his hands over his grandsons’ heads and blessed them (Gen 48:14). Additionally, in vision, Ezekiel saw YHVH’s angel place a cross or a Paleo-Hebrew tav on the foreheads of those who sighed and cried over the abominations done in Jerusalem before its final destruction (Ezek 9:4). This mark was to preserve them from YHVH’s impending and severe judgments against that wicked city.
So the atonement for the soul mentioned in Numbers 31:50 was but a temporary spiritual bandaid in a specific time and situation for certain individuals. The mention of atonement in these verses is a subset of the greater concept of atonement as presented in the Tanakh. But beyond that, the portion of the war booty the Israelites paid to make atonement for their lives went directly to the priests, who used it to fund the tabernacle sacrificial system (Num 31:54). Therefore, through the war booty, Israel was helping to purchase animals for sacrifice. So, their donation of war booty was directly tied to sacrificial system, which involved the shedding of blood for expiatory purposes.
Another Torah passage that seems to suggest the possibility of a bloodless atonement is Exodus 30:11–16, where the Israelites were instructed to pay an annual half-shekel temple tax. This money went, in part, toward, the service (verse 16) and constructing of the Tabernacle of Moses (e.g. Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the OT, vol. 1, p. 459; Exod 38:21–31) and later toward the purchase of the animals the priests sacrificed (The Temple and Its Service, by Alfred Edersheim, p. 48). In this way, the people were participating vicariously in the act of sacrificing an innocent animal as an offering or atonement for their sins. Again, the Scriptures reveal that this sacrificial system merely pointed the way to the greater sacrifice that would come later in the Person of Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel (Read Isa 53.). On the point that the payment of the half-shekel was a merely a temporary solution to the problem of man’s sin, Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary on this passage,
As an expiation [atonement] for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel’s nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin (ibid.).
Keil and Delitzsch’s point is further strengthened in Exodus 30:16, which says,
And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls.
The giving of the half-shekel was a memorial to what? The Hebrew word for memorial is zikrown meaning “reminder, token, record.” According to The TWOT, a zikrown is an object or act which brings something else to mind or which represents something else. As used in Scripture, it may be a reminder of a historical fact or event, or it may remind a person of their Creator.
How was the giving of the half-shekel a memorial for the children of Israel? First, it reminded them of their sinfulness, of the fact that their sin would cost them something, and that the silver they paid for their sin would be used to purchase an innocent lamb, bull or goat to be sacrificed on their behalf. Additionally, they were reminded that they could not escape the fact that sin was ever with them and that no matter how they tried not to sin, they still sinned, and they had to pay a price or penalty for that sin, and there was no escaping this vicious cycle. Something had to be done to break him out of this endless cycle from which there was no escape. Only YHVH, the Lawgiver and Judge, had the power and authority to find a permanent solution. Man did not have the power to redeem himself, or to grant himself clemency from his sin, or to change his heart so that he would not sin. Therefore, among those who were earnestly endeavoring to walk in righteousness, to live without sinning, the paying of the half-shekel doubtless was a constant reminder or memorial of their helplessness, and of their need of help from above. In retrospect, we now know that help came in the person of the Messiah, Redeemer of Israel. Prior to this, Isaiah prophesied that the “Arm of YHVH” (Isa 53:1) would be extended toward sinful man in the personage of a messianic figure who would come to earth and redeem man from sin through his own sacrificial death (read Isa 53, the entire chapter).
Long before the prophets of Israel penned their scrolls, Job, one of the most ancient figures in Scripture and whose name is on what is thought by many scholars to be the oldest book in the Bible, knew that sacrificing animals could not permanently atone for man’s sin. Though he made sacrifices for him and his children (Job 1:5), he came to the place of crying out to YHVH for a permanent solution to the high cost of sin, when he declared in Job 19:24–27,
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see Eloah, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my heart be consumed within me.
Yeshua the Messiah and Redeemer of Israel is the only one who has fulfilled this prophecy in the entire history of the people of Israel. The half-shekel the Israelites paid annually not only reminded them of their perpetual sinfulness, but of their need for a permanent Redeemer, who would once and for all atone for their sins and free them from the penalty, guilt and grip of sin. That person was Yeshua.
Let’s continue exploring some other aspects of the half-shekel as it relates to the subject of atonement.
Beyond Israel’s annual contribution toward the construction and upkeep of the tabernacle and temple sacrificial system that the paying of the half-shekel afforded, we need to ask, as does Arthur W. Pink in his commentary on Exodus 30:11–15, why does the Torah place the command about the half-shekel between the instructions for building the golden altar (Exod 30:1–10) of incense and the bronze laver (Exod 30:17–21)? Furthermore, he asks what was the significance of the amount of silver given, why was this tax levied on those twenty years of age and older, what is the link between the census of Israel and Israel’s paying of the temple tax, why was it paid annually and what do all these things have to do with atonement or ransom for their souls? Additionally, doesn’t Scripture tell us that the Israelites had already been redeemed at the Red Sea (Exod 15:13)? If so, why did they need to be redeemed again (Gleanings in Exodus, p. 289ff)? Understanding the answers to these question will perhaps help us to understand the deeper purpose of the half-shekel, its prophetic implication and how paying it made atonement for their souls.
To answer these questions, we need to first understand that, in Hebraic thought, redemption is not a one time event that happens at the beginning of one’s spiritual journey as one comes into relationship with the Elohim of Israel. Redemption or salvation in the typical Christian paradigm is viewed as a one time event that happens when one “get’s saved” or is “born again.” This is not the Hebraic or biblical model. Redemption or salvation is more than an event; rather, it is a process. It is true that one is initially saved at the beginning of one’s conversion from the kingdom of spiritual darkness to the kingdom of Elohim’s light, but Scripture teaches us that redemption is also a life-long and ongoing process, and that there is even a future redemption. Redemption in the future will culminate in what is known in Hebraic thought as “The Final Redemption” when captive and scattered Israel will be liberated and returned to the land of its promised inheritance, when the resurrection of the righteous dead will occur, when Messiah will defeat all of Israel’s enemies and will rule the earth from Jerusalem. The Testimony of Yeshua reveals that after this occurs, the resurrected and glorified saints will rule as kings and priests under the kingship of Messiah Yeshua.
The next thing that we need to understand is this: The Tabernacle of Moses was a prophetic picture of this past-present-future redemptive process. What Israel did with respect to the tabernacle is the spiritual model or pattern that all believers in the Elohim of Israel must follow to have a spiritual relationship with Elohim.
Now with these things in mind, let’s answer the questions we asked earlier about the relevance of the half-shekel and how Israel’s paying it served to atone for their souls.
Israel’s sins were atoned for at their first Passover in Egypt, which was the first step in the process of redemption. This initial process culminated in Israel’s baptism in the waters of the Red Sea (Exod 15:13). This is a prophetic picture of the believer being baptized for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15–16 and Acts 2:37–41 cp 1 Cor 10:2). This initial process is modelled in the Tabernacle of Moses. The altar of the red heifer, which stood just outside the tabernacle, modelled the Passover lamb whose blood was smeared on the Israelites’ doors. It was a picture of atonement being made at the beginning of one’s spiritual walk with the Elohim of Israel. Nothing sinful or unclean (unatoned for or unredeemed) could enter the tabernacle. In the future, Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel—of which the red heifer was a prophetic type, would be crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem (Heb 9:11–14 and 13:8–13) fulfilling the prophetic shadow-picture of the red heifer. Once a priest or individual was spiritually or ritually purified at the altar of the red heifer, the priest (or individual, hypothetically) was allowed to enter the tabernacle to minister to and enter into spiritual relationship with the Elohim of Israel. Once inside, the priest (or individual, hypothetically or in a spiritual sense) would first come to the altar of sacrifice—a picture of the Passover meal. This altar reminds us of the fact that even after one’s initial redemption (at the altar of the red heifer or the cross of Yeshua), we are still mortal, sin-prone beings. We will sin again and will still need the atoning grace and mercy of the Elohim of Israel as we progress along our spiritual journey. It was on this altar that the continual twice daily offerings were made. The purpose of these sacrifices was to atone for Israel’s sins that she would commit after her initial atonement and redemption at the Passover in Egypt and at Red Sea.
Next, one would come to the bronze laver, which is a picture of spiritual cleansing. It was here that the priests washed their hands and feet daily before ministering to YHVH. This not only speaks of initial immersion for the remission of sins, but also of ongoing cleansing of our actions (hands) and directions (feet) by the water of YHVH’s Word (Eph 5:26 cp. Heb 10:22) and by his Spirit (Tit 3:5), which the Gospels and book of Acts accounts show often came upon man at the time of water baptism.
Now, why is the passage in Exodus 30 about the half-shekel positioned between the Scriptures that command the construction of the bronze laver and the altar of incense, which sat in front of the veil to the holy of holies—the inner most part of the tabernacle’s sanctuary? It was at the altar of incense that the deepest worship of Elohim occurred. This is a picture of the saints’ prayers going up to heaven as sweet smelling incense before the throne of Elohim (Rev. 8:4). In the Tabernacle of Moses, the altar of incense was positioned just in front of what is commonly called the mercy seat or kapporet. The term mercy seat as found in many of our English Bibles derives from the Hebrew word kapar (Strong’s G3722), which according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT 1023)means “to make an atonement, make reconciliation, purge.” The mercy seat or the golden “lid” covering the ark of the covenant located in the holy of holies or d’veer (i.e. the inner shrine of the Tabernacle of Moses), is the Hebrew word kapporet (Strong’s G3727, TWOT 1023c) meaning “the place of atonement or the place where atonement was made.” The TWOT defines what happened at the kapporet as follows:
It was from the…mercy seat that [YHVH] promised to meet with the men [of Israel] (Num 7:89). The word, however, is not related to mercy and of course was not a seat. The word is derived from the root “to atone.” The Greek equivalent in the LXX is usually hilasterion, “place or object of propitiation,” a word which is applied to [Messiah] in Rom. 3:25. The translation “mercy seat” does not sufficiently express the fact that the lid of the ark was the place where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement. “Place of atonement” would perhaps be more expressive.
What is the message here? Why does YHVH’s Torah position the command for Israel to pay the silver half-shekel between the instructions to build the bronze laver and the altar of incense? Simply this, YHVH was trying to teach his people that man cannot enter into an intimate spiritual relationship with his Creator, his Heavenly Father until he has had his sins atoned for, been spiritually cleansed by the “washing” of the Word of Elohim and by the work of the Spirit of Elohim in one’s heart and mind. Only then, can one enter into the holy (set-apart) tabernacle or sanctuary, stand before his Creator and offer up to him prayer and praise.
The half shekel was made of silver, which symbolically represents redemption or Elohim’s ransom price for man’s sin. In fact, the entire tabernacle rested on a silver foundation. The vertical boards of the tabernacle itself were set in posts of silver (Exod 26:15–30) made from the half-shekels that came from the people (Exod 38:25–27). This teaches us that the redemption of humanity is at the very foundation of the whole tabernacle system.
All people, both rich and poor, were to give a half-shekel. This teaches us that all humans are equal before Elohim, that he is not a respecter of persons, that all equally need redemption from sin, and that no person’s sin is greater or less than that of another. A shekel, which was a unit of measure, was comprised of twenty gerahs (Exod 30:13). The half-shekel was ten gerahs. Pink points out that ten is the biblical number of human responsibility and points to the ten commandments, which represent man’s legal responsibility before YHVH. In sinning, man has violated these ten commandments and brought upon himself the resulting death penalty. Paying the ten gerahs of silver was an object lesson to teach the Israelites the important principle that there is a price to pay when we break Elohim’s laws (Gleanings in Exodus, p. 291). Those ten gerahs went, in part, toward purchasing the animals used in the on-going sacrifices on the altar of sacrifice in the tabernacle.
Thus the paying of the half-shekel annually teaches us that even after Israel had been redeemed initially at the beginning of their spiritual walk, they still sinned, a price still had to be paid for that sin, and an atonement of blood had to still be paid for each and every sin. That was under the Levitical sacrificial system. Since Yeshua came and died on the cross paying for our sins once and for all, we now have only to confess our sins, repent of them and YHVH will cleanse us of unrighteousness and forgive us of our sins on the merit of Yeshua’s having paid the price for our sins by his blood atonement (1 John 1:9; Heb 10:1–22). This is the heavy burden of the Old Covenant that was against man and that was on men’s shoulders and that all humans were under until Messiah came. This is what Paul refers to in several places as being “under the law” or “under [the penalty of] the law.
We will now answer the question why the command to give the half-shekel was tied to the numbering of Israel. Scripture teaches us that the numbering of something indicates ownership (Pink, p. 290). A person counting his money, or a shepherd his sheep is a sign of possession. YHVH’s numbering of Israel was his way of saying, “These are mine. These redeemed people are my treasured possession!” (Exod 19:5–6). Only a redeemed people can be the people of YHVH. They have been called out of the world to be his special people.
Finally, only those of age twenty and above were subject to paying the half-shekel temple tax. Why age twenty? The Torah reveals that this is the age of accountability. At this age, a man was old enough to go to war (Num 1:3). Furthermore, YHVH held all those who were twenty and above accountable for the sins of Israel in the wilderness (Num 14:29; 32:11). YHVH reckoned that by age twenty a person should have the maturity to know the difference between good and evil and be able to make right choices. This was also the age when an Israelite male should take full accountability for his sins and those of his household, assuming he was married. In other words, by age twenty, a person should be walking as a fully redeemed Israelite before YHVH.
Again, there are those who would lift from Scripture a single passage like Exodus 30:15–16 or Numbers 31:50 out of context and attempt to formulate doctrines inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. For example, some have attempted to use these passages to “prove” that one can atone for one’s sins through other means than the shedding of blood. This, frankly, is a weak attempt to circumvent some very prominent scriptures and biblical patterns that teach that only through the shedding of blood can atonement be made (e.g., Lev 17:11; Isa 53:5–6, 10). Eventually, it is an attempt to invalidate the messiahship of Yeshua, the Lamb of Elohim slain from the foundation of the world who came as the arm of YHVH to take away the sins of the world (Rev 13:8; Isa 53:1–12; John 1:29).
If one takes a single passage from the Torah that speaks about atonement being made for souls, and does not consider the broader meaning and biblical spiritual context of the Hebrew word kapar or atonement and the context in which that word is used, then one may well fall into the trap of snipping a twig from the tree and calling it the trunk. This brings to our remembrance the fable of the blind men who each described an elephant by the different part he happened to be holding. The one gripping the tail was certain an elephant was like a rope, the one embracing the leg thought it was like a tree, and the one holding the trunk a snake, and so on. Likewise, Numbers 31:50 and Exodus 30:11–16 cannot be taken as doctrinal statements defining the whole concept of atonement, or in some way inferring that Scripture teaches that atonement can occur without the shedding of blood as rabbinic Judaism falsely teaches. Scripture nowhere implies that one can do an “end run” around the shedding of blood for the atoning or remission of one’s sins. If the shedding of blood is not necessary to atone for man’s sins, then YHVH lies when he clearly states in Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement”(NAS). Do we make void a foundational truth of Torah from the lips of YHVH by our misunderstanding of a few obscure (to us) verses in the Torah? Elohim forbid! May it never be so!
The last question that we need to answer is this: On what logical and legal basis could Yeshua’s life (as symbolized by his blood) pay for the sins of every human who has ever lived or who will ever live? The answer to this seemingly complex question is amazingly simple. Since the Bible reveals that Yeshua in his pre-incarnate state was the Creator (Isa 48:12–13; John 1:3, 10; Col 1:16; Heb 1:10) of all things including humans, then it logically follows that his life is worth more than all that he ever created, even as the life of any builder, engineer, manufacturer of any physical object on earth is of greater value than all of that which he ever made. The potter greater than the pot.
With all of these truths in mind, make no mistake about it, the sinner has two choices: namely, to pay or atone for his sin with his own blood (Ezek 18:10–13, 20) resulting in his death from—a state from which there is no return, or for someone else to step in, to die in his place thus redeeming, atoning, or ransoming him from the guilt and penalty of his own sin, which is eternal death. Job knew he needed a redeemer and that his own righteousness could not save him from eternal death (Job 19:24-27). Do you know this? Who is your Redeemer? There is only one Man who died and paid the penalty for all the sins you have ever committed, and his name is Yeshua the Messiah.
Numbers 32
Numbers 32:1–15, Now the children of Reuben…and Gad. Both Christian commentator Matthew Henry and the Jewish The ArtsScroll Stone Edition Chumash suggest that materialism played a role in Reuben’s and Gad’s request to settle the east side of the Jordan River. Henry further notes that the request showed disregard for the land of Canaan, distrust for YHVH’s promises, and an unwillingness to encounter the difficulties and dangers of conquering and driving out the inhabitants of that land. Yeshua admonished his disciples to endure to the end (read Matt 10:22; 24:13; Heb 3:6). What did Yeshua say about getting embroiled in the cares of this life? (Luke 21:34). What do the Scriptures say about being overcomers? (see 1 John 5:4, 5; Rev 2:7, 11, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21:7). Henry continues that ill comes to any of YHVH’s people who sit down unconcerned about the difficult and perilous concerns of their brethren, whether public or personal. Moses then reminds them of the fatal consequences of the unbelief and faint-heartedness of their fathers, when they were, as themselves, just ready to enter Canaan. We might add to Henry’s commentary by asking the following question. In the face of self-assured pride and spiritual slackness or reluctance to do our part to help move the kingdom of Elohim forward, what dangers await us? (See 1 Cor 10:11–12.) Was Paul concerned about these issues for his own life? (Look up 1 Cor 9:27.)
Numbers 32:11, None of the men. (On the biblical age of accountability, see notes at Num 14:29.) For context, please read Numbers 14:26–38. Why did YHVH forbid the older Israelites from entering the Promised Land? (Note Ps 95:8–11; Heb 3:7–11, 16–19; 4:2–8.) YHVH allowed only two men of that older generation of Israelites to enter into the Promised Land. Who were they? (See Num 14:29–30.) What was different about these two individuals so that YHVH blessed them in granting them their promised inheritance? (Read Num 14:24.) What spiritual lessons can we learn from this example (see 1 Cor 10:11; Rom 15:4)? (Read and meditate on Heb 3:7–14 and 4:11–16.)
The Israelites who were over the age of 20 were a picture of our old, spiritually unregenerate, sinful and carnal man that is naturally rebellious against the laws, commands, ways and truth of Elohim (see Jer 17:9; Rom 8:7). The sin nature of the old man continually struggles against Spirit of Elohim (note Rom 7:13–25). When we come to faith in Yeshua, we become spiritually regenerated, and the old man is put to death as pictured by baptism for the remission of sin. (Please read and rejoice in the reality of Rom 6:3–14 cp. 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 2:20 as it relates to who you are in Yeshua the Messiah!)
Numbers 32:23, Your sin will find you out.This is an ominous warning to every human, and especially to those who sin privately thinking that no one will find out about it. Let us walk in fear before YHVH as we ponder the following scriptures: Psalm 90:8; Ecclesiastes 11:9; 12:14; Romans 2:16; Hebrews 4:12–13; Rev 20:12; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 4:5 cp. Isaiah 3:11; 59:2.
Let us especially keep in mind the following words of Yeshua:
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. (Luke 8:17)
Numbers 33
Numbers 33:1, These are the journeys. Israel was constantly on the move (42 times in all) during its trek through the wilderness. Each of these encampments has a Hebrew name associated with it. It is worthwhile to study the meanings of these names to gain insights as to the trials and obstacles Israel faced on her way to the Promised Land. Notice how Israel faced those trials, whether she had faith in YHVH or complained, and whether she trusted in YHVH’s provision or not. The trials and difficulties Israel faced in her journey through the wilderness is indicative of what believers will face in their physical lives as they journey toward their promised spiritual inheritance. Even though Israel followed YHVH’s glory cloud, the way was not easy. Likewise, as we faithfully follow Yeshua, we will suffer trials and even persecution along the way. Though following YHVH is not an easy walk, he promises to lead us, protect us and to meet our needs. He also promises a glorious future (our spiritual Promised Land) for those who overcome the world, the flesh and the devil through faith in him by his strength and grace!
Numbers 33:4, On their gods…judgment. YHVH’s plagues against the Egyptians were judgments against their gods. Because they refused to acknowledge YHVH Elohim, the Egyptian gods actually rose up and destroyed them. Every sector of their society was governed by an idol or idolatrous concept and YHVH destroyed each of these in his judgments against this stiffnecked people. For example, they worshipped the Nile, the source of their wealth because of commerce and grain and cattle production in the river’s delta area, and YHVH turned its waters to blood, destroyed the grain and plagued the cattle. He destroyed their military machine. They worshipped death and darkness, so covered the land in darkness. YHVH will allow the gods or mighty ones that we have we have set up in place him in our lives to rise up and to torment if not destroy us as a judgment against us top bring us back to him.
Numbers 33:52,You shall drive out. Obviously, it’s impossible for the saints of the Most High to walk out this command today, since they have neither a country nor the legal authority to deal with the wicked in this manner. However, the righteous aren’t left without options on how to deal in a righteous manner with the unrighteous wicked around them. In the Testimony of Yeshua we are given instructions in this regard. The saints are to withdraw themselves from the wicked and have as little as possible to do with them. (See Matt 10:16, 23; 18:15–17; John 16:2; Rom 16:17; 1 Cor 5:9–11; 2 Cor 6:14–17; Tit 3:10; 2 Thess 3:6; 2 Tim 3:5; Rev 18:4.)
Numbers 33:55, If you do not drive out. In his instructions to his children, YHVH is serious: he doesn’t want his saints to countenance the ungodly heathens that were around them in any way. One has only to read in the pages of the Scriptures the long and sad history of Israel’s numerous involvements with the societies around them resulting in their fall into apostasy again and again. The reason for this tendency toward spiritual declension is simple. The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 15:33. What does YHVH require his people to do in the face of evil? (See Ps 94:16.) The problem is that when an unsuspecting saint begins to toy with sin and sinners, slowly and imperceptibly the slide down the proverbial spiritual slippery slope begins. This is what happened to Lot when he left Abraham and moved toward Sodom (review Gen 13:10–12 cp. 19:1–26). Next, we see that Lot is married with children, has a home in Sodom and is a leader there. Even though the Scriptures consider Lot to be a righteous man, it was nevertheless difficult for him to leave that wicked city. Though Lot’s wife left Sodom physically, she couldn’t leave it emotionally. (Remember Yeshua’s warning to us in Luke 17:32 as pertaining to the last days. Let us also not forget Yeshua’s warning to the church of Laodicea in (see Rev 3:14–22).
Numbers 34
Numbers 34:1–35:8, The non-Israelite allotment. Each tribe had its land allotment in the Promised Land. Where did the non-Israelite sojourners find their allotment? Were they left out? No. They were joined to one of the twelve tribes. Similarly, New Jerusalem has twelve gates only that are named after the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev 21:12). Do you consider yourself to be a Gentile and or an Israelite? If the former, then tell me which gate you will enter through? The reality is that there is no “Gentile Gate” listed! Quite simply, it is because only redeemed Israelites will be allowed into the kingdom of Elohim.
Numbers 34:2, This is the land. The land of Canaan as described in this passage is but a small portion of Israel’s total land inheritance from the Creator. In the Abrahamic Covenant YHVH made to Abraham and to his descendants, this promise has yet to be fulfilled to its fullest extent (review Gen 17:8 cp. 15:18). Never in Israel’s long history as a nation has it possessed and inhabited the land from Egypt to Iraq. If YHVH’s promise hasn’t been fulfilled yet, unless he lied to Abraham and the Word of Elohim can’t be trusted, this promise is yet to be fulfilled. In Ephesians 2:12, Paul mentions “covenants of promise” (plural). Most redeemed believers have heard of the New Covenant and know that it somehow relates to them, but Paul speaks of covenants (plural) with regard to the one-new man believer in Yeshua (read the next few verses for context). Other than the New Covenant (singular), what other covenants (plural) that YHVH made with the nation Israel might Paul be referring to? The Abrahamic Covenant, of course. Do you see yourself as a son of Abraham and an inheritor of these promises? (See Rom 4:16; 9:8–11; Gal 3:7, 9; 14, 28–29.) Paul did. What was Paul thinking, how does this affect you and your future, and how does this square with what the church typically teaches is the future inheritance of the saints?
Numbers 35
Numbers 35:11, You shall appoint you cities. The Prophetic Significance of the Cities of Refuge
All of the details in the Bible are there for a purpose and have different levels of meaning, application and fulfillment. On a literal or plain (Heb. pashat) level of meaning, the cities of refuge were an important aspect of Israel’s jurisprudence system. But on a symbolic and prophetic (Heb. drash) level, they point to something significant far beyond and above the literal meaning of the biblical text that relates to the salvation of the redeemed believer.
On the literal or pashat level meaning of the text, any person who had murdered someone unintentionally or accidentally could flee to a city of refuge and find a safe haven there until the wheels of justice could properly turn to determine the guilt or innocence of the murderer. The gates of these cities were perpetually open and were never closed to anyone for any reason. Anyone who was not guilty of intentional murder could find refuge there from vengeance by the victim’s family free of the fear of retribution for the duration of the high priest’s life. As long as the high priest was living, the murderer had refuge.
On a prophetic, metaphorical or drash level of understanding, the cross of Yeshua our Savior and Redeemer is that place of refuge for sinners where anyone can come in search of refuge and justice. At the foot of the cross, the Redeemer’s arms are always open wide to receive sinners, and the doors of salvation are never closed to anyone who desires it! The Scriptures speak of this.
Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise YHVH. This is the gate of YHVH, through which the righteous shall enter. (Ps 118:19–20)
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
Yeshua is our Great High Priest in heaven who intercedes for sinners in the courtroom of heaven at the right hand of Elohim against Satan who is the accuser of the brethren. As long as Yeshua is alive and on our side as our Heavenly Advocate or Attorney, the saint has nothing to fear regardless of one’s past sins (Heb 8:1; 1 John 2:1).
Have you sought refuge at the foot of the cross, in the arms of Yeshua? Have you repented of and turned from your sins (i.e. violation of the Torah, see 1 John 3:4)? Has Yeshua the Messiah (as prophetically prefigured by the anointed high priest in Num 35:25) upon his death become your Savior or Redeemer and Lord or Master? Does he through his word and by the guiding influence of his Set-Apart Spirit or Ruach HaKodesh guide every aspect of your life including all of your words, thoughts and deeds? Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev 21:27)?
If you have surrendered to Yeshua and said, “yes” to your Savior, then how do you know that you have been saved from your sins? What are the fruits in your life that are evidence that your are set-apart or kadosh and consecrated unto YHVH, that you have passed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, and that your heart, mind and life have been transformed? Yeshua said that by the fruits that our lives produce we will be known (Matt 7:15–20). The evidence of salvation are the fruit of the Spirit evidenced in a person’s life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal 5:22–25)
Numbers 35:30, The testimony of witnesses.(By way of comparison, read Deut 17:6,7; 19:15; Matt 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tim 5:19; Heb 10:28.) How much gossip, slander and needless suffering would cease if these instructions were followed?
Numbers 35: 25, 28, The death of the high priest. This is yet another prophetic picture of Yeshua our Great High Priest who’s death redeems or frees the sinner from his sin the penalty of which is death. What’s more, if the manslayer left the covering of the high priest and ventured outside the city of refuge, he was a dead man. Without the covering of Yeshua atoning death, we are all dead man—dead because of the death penalty that hangs over us because of our sin.
Numbers 35:33–34, Defile not therefore the land.If unavenged blood defiles the land, then how much more so the blood of innocent, yet murdered pre-born children in the heinous act society calls “abortion”? Do you speak out wherever and whenever you can against abortion? Do you not think that the judgment due America for the murder of tens of millions of babies since 1973 will not eventually come touching everyone in this land including you and me? If the land cannot be cleansed by the blood of him who shed innocent blood, then how is the land redeemed? Humanly impossible? Yes. But with Elohim all things are possible through the work of his Son on the cross.
Numbers 35:33, Blood. The improper spilling of blood on the land defiles the land. Murder, abortion, wars and the murder of the righteous has defiled the earth from the time of Abel until now. The blood of the innocent and saints cries out for justice. At his second coming, Yeshua as the righteous judge and avenger of the innocent, will equal the scales of justice by slaughtering many wicked so that the blood will flow deeply upon the earth (Rev 14:20).
Numbers 36
Numbers 36:6, The daughters of Zelophehad.
The Daughters of Zelophehad
& Women’s Rights: Does the Torah Exalt or Denigrate Women?
A Torah Commentary For Our Times/ATCFOT (UHAC Press, NY, 1993) has an interesting discussion regarding the incident involving the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. 27:1-11) that may answer some questions that contemporary women have regarding the Torah’s view of women. “Modern commentator Jacob Milgrom contrasts ancient Israelite practices of inheritance with those of their neighbors.” He notes that the practice of equality of inheritance between sons and daughters was upheld in Egypt and Mesopotamia one thousand years before the codification of the Torah. Later on the Greeks can be added to this list of countries that practiced “equal rights.” Milgrom then asks, “In face of such ‘equality’ of treatment how then are we to explain the fact that the Bible gives women no inheritance rights except in the case where there are no sons?” Does the Torah seem to discriminate against women regarding the inheritance of land and property from the estates of their parents, he asks? (p. 80)
“Milgrom suggest that in contrast to ancient Israel’s neighbors…where ‘centralized urban societies’ already existed, the early Torah laws of the Israelites reflect a nomadic-clan structure. In such a society ‘the foremost goal of its legal system was the preservation of the clan.’ Equity between members of the tribe or family preserves peaceful relationships and strengthens cooperation between all person.” He goes on to say that this explains the justness of the pleas of the daughters of Zelophehad where the principle of upholding the clan is preserved. The Torah sees that the daughters receive their father’s inheritance and at the same time that the clan and father’s name are preserved. (ibid.)
This solution does not promote equal rights, as we know it today, with sons regarding inheritance. Both the Torah and Talmud teach that in most cases inheritance of property is from father to son and that women share the lot of their husbands and do not inherit from their fathers (ibid., quoting from JPS Commentary: Numbers, pp. 482-484).
The Jewish sages further note that though the daughters aired their complaints about what they perceived to be an unjust situation, they nonetheless did so in a respectful and organized (not rebellious, loud, boisterous or aggressive) manner. They calmly “drew near” and “stood before Moses,” the high priest and the tribal princes of Israel (verses 1-2) and aired their concerns in neither a threatening nor challenging manner. There was no subversiveness on their part involving other potential disgruntled parties (as was the case when Korah and his group rebelled against Moses’ leadership). According to rabbinic tradition, the daughters in their wisdom chose a suitable place, a proper time and the proper approach to lobby Moses regarding their issues (ibid.; ArtScroll Davis Edition Baal HaTurim Bamidbar, p. 1691-1692).
Does not such an approach recall several other woman of righteous stature in similar situations that are mentioned in Scripture: Sarah to Abraham, Abigail toward David, Ruth before Boaz and Esther before Ahasuerus and various women before Yeshua?
The Torah scholar S.R. Hirsch in his commentary translates verse seven as follows:
Quite right is the speech of the daughters of Zelophehad, thou shalt surely give them male rights of hereditary possession among their father’s brethren and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass over to them.
Hirsch notes from the Hebrew grammar in this verse that they spoke with correctness of speech and presentation of fact. “That which the daughters of Zelophehad have said is quite as it ought to be, their speech corresponds to the truth and right (The Pentateuch/Bamidbar, pp. 453-454, Judaica Press).
Note that YHVH is the One stating (to Moses) that they have spoken that which is right, proper and truthful. Rashi in his commentary on this verse states, “Fortunate is the person whose words the Holy One, Blessed is He, confirms.” Rashi goes on to say that these daughters saw or uncovered an aspect of the eternal truth of the Torah that was resident in the heart of YHVH but which had not been revealed to man yet. Their eye saw what the eye of Moses did not see (AS Sapirstein Edition Rashi/Bamidbar, p. 343). Does this not teach us that YHVH can use anyone to teach us aspects of his divine and eternal will? Is every aspect of his will and character contained in the printed word of the Bible? Is it possible for the infinite to be contained in the finite? Obviously not. More understanding is waiting to be revealed to his servants who are meek and contrite of character and seekers of truth. Such were the prophets, the writers of the psalms and wisdom literature as well as the apostolic writers. Nothing coming subsequent to the written Torah contradicted it, but only revealed its depths more fully. Scripture is but the safe harbor where humans can dock their spiritual boats. But it is a harbor that is attached to the ocean of YHVH’s unsearchable truth, wisdom and understanding, namely his instructions in righteousness which is the eternal Torah of YHVH’s heart and mind. And YHVH used five righteous daughters as instruments to reveal one more aspect of his wisdom. He agreed with them and called it “proper.” When the counsel of wise men agree as touching any matter then heaven and earth, at that moment, are cooperating and in agreement to push forward the will and kingdom of the Almighty through human instrumentalities. This occurred with the daughters of Zelophehad and are not Yeshua’s instructions regarding the binding and loosing authority of ecclesiastical government in Matthew 18 a restatement of the same principle? Does it not please YHVH Elohim to work in cooperation with humans to uncover his specific will for them in a specific situation? Wasn’t a revelation of an aspect of Torah coming through these daughters a great boost to women, not as usurpers of YHVH-ordained authority, but as instruments through which divine revelation can come? As willing vehicles of his divine revelation were they not used to exert great influence among the male leadership YHVH had ordained? Paul urged Believers to not despise (make of no account) prophesying (or inspired utterances) (1 Thes. 5:20). Prophecy is not gender specific, and YHVH is no respecter of persons—male or female. He will use any willing vessel through which to speak to humans. Once he even used a donkey!
Not all Torah commentators view the daughters of Zelophehad incident in a positive light, however. One modern Jewish Torah scholar complains that the Torah, though acquiescing to the daughters of Zelophehad on this one point, by in large legally treats women as second-class citizens equal to minors, though a woman can be a wife and mother and to be invested with dignity, to be sure (ATCFOT, p. 82). While this may be true in a certain sense, do we not see the ideal woman of Proverbs 31 elevated to a high status? After all, she is buying and selling property and running a home-based business besides all of her other duties as manager of the home, mother and wife? While her husband is described as a leader in the community, she seems to receive all the honors deserving of a queen. These honors are bestowed upon her and for good reason.
Some believe the Apostle Paul viewed women as second-class citizens, at least regarding their involvement in the local congregation. Is this a fair assessment? While it is not the scope of this brief study to thoroughly treat this subject, it is important to note Paul’s statements regarding the equality of men and women spiritually (Gal. 3:28). For example, he recognized at least one woman as an apostle (in conjunction with her husband, Rom. 16:7) and on several occasions in the Book of Acts and in Paul’s Epistles the Gospel worker team of Aquilla and Priscilla are mentioned. In three of six references Priscilla is mentioned first (Acts 18:19; Rom. 16:3; 2 Tim. 4:19)—the two latter references occurring in the writings of Paul.
Indeed Paul was firm with the women of the congregation in Corinth about their role during religious gatherings, but many scholars view his admonitions as being directed to a specific situation existing in that congregation where either women were usurping authority over congregational (male) eldership or were conducting themselves in a loud and “out of order” manner. In other words, Paul was not addressing all women in all congregations throughout all ages, but a localized situation. Therefore, his statements to the Corinthian Believers cannot be construed in such a way as to turn Paul into a male chauvinist.
Undoubtedly, Paul clearly states elsewhere in his writings that regarding authority issues in both the home and congregation men are to be the leaders, but the idea of women being subjugated to the status as second class citizens is nowhere taught in the Apostolic Writings. Certainly, the life of Yeshua is a notable example of the importance of women in ministry-support roles and there are no examples of his treating women in a condescending manner. In fact, on several occasions, he violated religious convention going out of his way to minister to women.
It is important to note that, though in the eyes of some, the Torah and Paul as a Torah teacher seem to relegate women to the status of second class citizens, Christianity as a whole from the earliest times elevated women in legal, social and educational status to much higher levels than they had been accustomed to previously. Traditionally, in Christian nations women have fared much better, been better educated and experienced much greater rights and freedoms than their non-Christian counterparts in other countries. Does this not speak highly of the Torah-based biblical Jewish view of women—the foundation upon which Christianity is built and the ground out of which Christianity sprung?
In conclusion, in his book entitled, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born, eminent Christian leader and spokesman, Dr. D. James Kennedy admits that from its inception the Christian religion placed a high priority on the education of women. This due to the Jewish roots of Christianity and to the Torah command in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 to teach YHVH’s Torah commands diligently to one’s children at all times (p. 40). Kennedy then notes that in the ancient world prior to Christianity’s influence “a woman’s life was…cheap. In ancient cultures, the wife was the property of her husband.” Woman were not allowed independence and “Aristotle declared that the status of a woman was somewhere between a free man and a slave…Plato taught that if a man lived a cowardly life, he would be reincarnated as a woman. If she lived a cowardly life she would be reincarnated as a bird”. In the Roman Empire baby girls were often considered valueless and were killed. Christianity ended that practice (pp. 14-15). “How ironic,” he writes, “ that feminists today do not give any credit to Christ or Christianity; in fact, they say it has oppressed woman. In reality, Christianity has elevated women enormously” (p. 17).
Clearly, women living in nations influenced by Christianity owe a great debt of gratitude to the Hebrew and Torah roots of the Christian faith which formed the foundation for the high level of rights many women experience and take for granted today.
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