Messianic Insights - Aleph PT1 (Discovering Messiah Through Hebrew Alphabet)
‘ALEPH’ – ‘GENTLE OX/LEADER’
The detailed blessings promised to those who observe the entire Torah begins with the aleph of אם (‘if’ - Leviticus 26 v 3) and ends with the ת of קוממיות (Strong’s H6968 ‘upright’ - Leviticus 26 v 13). This appears to indicate that the commandments are as perfect as the universe in which they are to be fulfilled.
In Deuteronomy 11 v 26/28 we are asked to choose between blessing and the curse את הברכה (‘a blessing’ – ‘berakuh’ Strong’s H1293) and the והקללה (‘the curse’ – ‘qelalah’ Strong’s H7045) … regarding the blessing, the את(definite article) is used, while regarding the curse, the את (definite article) is omitted.
The Midrash explains that the word אתindicates the blessing, which goes from ת to א.
ALEPH – TAV – 22 BUILDING BLOCKS
- Aleph – In God’s image – God’s Oneness and Mastery – Divinity (King of the letters) Might, God, Torah and Israel are One.
- Beit – God’s Word, God’s House – Blessing and Creation – ‘baruch’ Hebrew word ‘blessing’ – Two Leaders, Moses and Aaron, two genders = Adam and Eve.
- Gimel – A Voice in the Wilderness – a symbol of kindness ‘gimel’ is cognate of ‘gamol’ which means to nourish until completely ripe Numbers 17 v 23 as in Aaron’s rod producing mature almond
- Dalet – A Witness at the Door – dimensions and concerns – the number of the ‘dalet’ is 4, cognate with the Hebrew ‘delet’ door. The ‘dalet’ alludes to ‘dahl’ meaning ‘pauper’ who knocks on the door begging for help.
- Hei – The Breath of God – in Hebrew writing ‘hey’ is an abbreviation for God.
- Vav – A man of the Word – it denotes physical completion, redemption and transformation.
- Zayin - Said to be the letter of the Spirit - The Sword and the Seed – the Seventh Day Provider of sustenance.
- Chet - Going beyond seven, new beginnings - Abundant Life.
- Teth – A Matter of Life and Death – serpent and goodness.
- Yud – The Hand of God – humility.
- Kaf – God’s Work in Messiah Yeshua – the value of twenty – a symbol of crowning accomplishment –
- Lamed – A Light to the World – man’s learning and teaching - either side of Kaf is Lamed and Melek – creating the word ‘melek’ - מלכ meaning KING.
- Mem – Living Waters – Moses and the Messiah – written in two forms the ‘open’ and the ‘closed’.
- Nun – Humility, Fish, Reproduction – faithfulness ‘soul’ – (נפש) and ‘candle’- (גר ) – written in two forms the ‘bent’ and the ‘straight’.
- Samech – Supporting the Fallen – Divine support and enclosure.
- Aiyn – The Window of the Soul – sight and insight.
- Peh – The Power of Speech – consistency of mouth and heart – written in two forms ‘open’ and ‘closed’.
- Tsade – The Righteousness of the Saints - written in two forms ‘bent’ and ‘straightened’.
- Kof – Holy unto the Lord – holiness and growth cycles.
- Resh – Human Reasoning and Obedience – ‘reshah’ – ‘wickedness’.
- Shin – Peace and Protection – this letter stands high among the Sacred Letters because it represents two names of God – Shaddai and Shalom – gematria value of 300 - a multiple of 3 standing for the person and character of God in the tri-unity.
- Tav – The Power of the Cross – truth and perfection – man’s final destination.
The Classical Talmudical Passage on the Aleph-Bet gives a description of the meaning of the Aleph-Bet 22 letters
ALEPH/BETH – stands for learn-understanding ‘אלוף בינה’ = ‘aleph binyah’ – Proverbs 3 v 5, Isaiah 11 v 2 (‘Strong’s H998).
GIMEL/DALET – stand for be kind to the poor. The foot of the Gimel is stretched out to the Dalet – indicating it is proper for those who do kindness to run after the needy. The foot of the Dalet is stretched towards Gimel because the poor person should make himself available to him.
HEY/VAV - is the Name of the Holy One.
ZAYIN/CHET/TET/YOD/KAF/LAMED – and will show you favour (זן) will do you good (מטיב) and give you a heritage ( ירושה ) He will bind a crown (כתר – ‘keter’ ) upon you for the world to come (לעולם הבא)
MEM (open and closed) represent revealed teaching and concealed teaching.
NUN (bent and straight) teach that if a faithful person is humble (bent), he will become an erect/straight faithful person in the World to Come.
SAMECH-AIYN teach that one should support the poor.
PEH (bent and straight) allude to an open mouth and a closed mouth ie when one is better to expound the Torah you should open your mouth, but if there are more qualified people than you, you should close your mouth and remain silent.
TZADDI – bent and straight – teach that is a righteous person is humble (bent tsade) he will become an erect (tsade soffit) righteous person.
QOF – stand for the Elhoim (qadash).
RESH stands for the wicked person. Why is the face of the Quf turned away from the reish? God says I cannot bear to look at the wicked one, but if he repents I will bind upon him a crown like My Own.” – because if he repents and seeks to ascend, he can ascend by means of this opening. But let him ascend through there (ie the open bottom of the quf).
SHIN – stands for falsehood (sheker) – Rashi explains that each letter of אמת ‘emet’ stands for a solid foundation of two feet. But in the word ‘sheker’ each letter has only one pointy foot to support it. The ש of the Torah comes to a point at the bottom. In Tikunei Zohat (475) this idea is expressed as ש/ר אין לה רגלים – Falsehood has no feet. The snake which was the first creature on earth to lie, was cursed with the removal of its feet. It must crawl on its belly as punishment for is association with ‘sheker’ falsehood, which likewise has no feet.
TAV – stand for truth ‘'אמת
HEBREW WORDS BEGINNING WITH ‘ALEPH’
Hebrew word pictures are both simple and complex. They are simple because they are pictures, some of which anyone can understand. They are complex because they are part of a brilliant form of language and writing that has great depth and subtlety.
The letter Aleph means an ‘ox’ and symbolizes what is strong and what goes first – Aleph = ‘strength, leader, first’.
They are FIVE precepts to helping when we learn.
1 The Bottom Line is Sola Scriptura = Nothing can ever take the place of Scripture.
2 Find the clear picture – this applies to word pictures that are so clear there is no question about its meaning.
3 Let the Hebrew language teach the foundations – this means that we look to the language and experts to understand key concepts.
4 A key word is a simple word picture inside of a more complex word picture. When we know the key word, the picture of the word becomes clear.
5 Find the clear patterns – there are patterns in the Hebrew word pictures that are so consistent that they confirm the meaning of the word picture. Learning a few patterns and always looing for a pattern for confirmation is crucial.
One of the best ways to understand the pictorial meaning of a word is to see how the language of the time used the same concept.
Definition – look for the definition of a word. Using the word for father Gesenius Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament tells us that the Hebrew word for father can mean –
An ancestor, a master, a teacher, the founder of the first ancestor, a supreme counsellor = the father of the king, the author or maker, used to express intimate connection and relationship – a bringer up, a nourisher.
By looking as to how a word is used in the language, we can learn much about its meaning. Here are some Hebrew names
Father of Judgement = ie a judge (judgement comes from a judge) – the Hebrew word is Avi-dan – אבחדן– (Strong’s H27 (judgement comes from a judge).
Father of Strength ie bravery – Avi-cha-eel – אבחיל - Strong’s H32 (bravery will produce strength in a time of crisis) – think Abigail 1 Samuel 25, Psalm 43 v 4 – joy is ‘giyl’ – (Strong’s H1524).
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