Parashat Mas'ei

(Numbers 33:1 - 36:13)

Stages: from the term for "pulling up tent pegs". This is only a single word in Hebrew, for Israel is a traveling people. This was a common occurrence when they had been nomadic shepherds, as well as during these 40 years. One must move from place to place whenever necessary to provide what is crucial to the flocks: water and grass, or grain. There are places one would go in the summer, whereas in the winter they are flooded. Without the Torah we will not know what season it is, so we will not know where to search for grain and water. Every journey begins with a departure. Wherever we go, we leave someplace or something behind. The whole household moves together. Searching for grain and water is what defines a flock, and it holds true in the metaphorical sense as well. Water is a picture of the Torah (Eph. 5:26), and from grain we make bread, which symbolizes community. (1 Cor. 10:17) It is a basic drive "hard-wired" into Israel to seek Torah and community. It is who we are, whether we recognize it or not. Our entire history began when YHWH told Avraham, at age 75, to pull up his stakes and move from all he had ever known to a place He gave him no map to find. He only said He would inform him when he was there. (Gen. 12) From then on, willingness to pull up stakes and walk has helped to define who a Hebrew (a "crosser-over") is. We have not yet arrived. YHWH still interferes in our lives, and if we stay at a place that once sustained us but which ran out of clean water, when YHWH has moved on, we will starve to death waiting for Him to come back to a place He has abandoned—like the Church. Man does not live by bread alone, but by YHWH's word. (Deut. 8:3) But neither can flocks survive on water alone. No matter how clean, clear, or abundant the water is, we cannot spend all of our time alone with YHWH. We are a people. We need each other. Water is only ceremonially poured on the altar once a year, but grain offerings are brought every day, and the bread in the sanctuary is renewed every Sabbath. The Torah delivers us and shows us who we are, but it can only be fully understood in the context of community with the rest of Israel. Torah was never given to one individual except on behalf of the whole. Sheep are meant to stay in flocks; lone ones become food for wolves. To some extent we must all shepherd one another. We need to go to Goshen to learn to care for sheep again before we can return to the Land, for we must again do so together. Armies: Israel is here defined as those who are willing even to fight to leave behind the pagan system that enslaved us and who are under the authority of the Torah and a Mediator (now, the Messiah).

It is helpful to occasionally look back to where we have been to see how far we have come, remember what YHWH has done for us and can still do, strengthen our gains, and be encouraged to keep on going, for our journey has a goal. Each stage is a new beginning, just as our soul is given back to us with each new day we awaken. YHWH teaches us something with each segment of our return to our Land, and we have to learn to deal with new conditions in each. When we become too comfortable with one point along the way, we are tempted to stay there, when this is not the final resting place He intends for us. (Mikha 2:10) This is how moves of YHWH—whether doctrines, worship styles, or philosophies--turn into sterile denominations. Remember they are just that--moves. When He moves on, we should not stay. So when He brings us into pleasant pastures, we must "rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11), for He may move His cloud again at any moment. But this does not mean we should neglect to put down stakes when he brings us to a stopping point; He says we should do everything with all our might (Eccles. 9:10) Give it all you have. But we must be ready to pull them back up when it is the season to do so. Looking back at where we started will also keep us from despising those who are twenty stops behind us, because we were once there too, and they are now who we were. Rather, we should pull for them and help them get to where we now are.

Set out: the Hebrew term will be alternately translated "pulled up stakes", "broke camp", "journeyed", "departed", or "traveled" throughout this account. In the same way, "encamped" is expressed through a variety of phrases to avoid a sense of redundancy and bring out added nuances in the words as an example of the range of meaning that a single Hebrew word often has. High-handedly: boldly, openly, in broad daylight. This was not a covert operation. They were not sneaking out, but wanted Egypt to pay close attention to how superior YHWH was to their gods, because some of the Egyptians were meant to come out with us. As we move out of beliefs and relationships that are not of YHWH, we should not be ashamed or intimidated, but, as a city set on a hill, light the way for others as a testimony of what YHWH has done. We are commanded to tell our children how YHWH brought us--not just our ancestors--out of bondage. Do you remember? The more we recount more recent times He has done so, the better we will remember the first Exodus.

This is the clearest statement in Torah that each of the plagues in Egypt was directed against one of the specific things the Egyptians worshipped. And finally, not even a dog "sharpened its tongue" against the Israelites as they left. (Ex. 11:7) The Egyptians worshipped a dog as well. They always occupied themselves with death, but at this time the entire nation was distracted while burying their dead. It seems cruel that He would take advantage of their time of mourning, but stealing YHWH's bride was a very serious offense! They had asked for this just vengeance by killing the Israelites' sons, but even worse, they had been trying to hold YHWH's "wife" captive (just as a former Pharaoh had done to their ancestor Avram). YHWH did what He had to do to overcome the "man" who had held her in his house.

Raamses was one of the cities we had just built as slaves. Now we were plundering it. Sometimes we must leave behind things we have invested our entire lives on, but ultimately we will not lose anything if it is YHWH calling us out. (Compare Mat. 19:27.) Sukkoth was where Yoseyf was buried. They took his bones along with them as he had requested. The name Raamses exemplifies Egypt's emphasis on the sun, so YHWH took Israel out by the full moon. Today's pagan festivals are also based on the equinox or solstice of the sun; YHWH based His calendar on the moon, possibly to take away the undeserved attention the sun was receiving. Sukkoth is a first step out of associating Yahshua with the "unconquered sun", because it is the time he truly was born. It is also a time YHWH has given us each year to practice pulling up stakes and pitching tents--reliving our roots and preparing for the journey to come.

Sukkoth is a celebration of the harvest; with the "plowshare" of the unity of all Israel which is renewed at this pilgrimage festival, we can "break new ground" for the next year's growth. This Sukkoth was still in Egypt--a foreshadowing of the fact that we need to be gathering for this festival even before we can do it in the most ideal way in the Promised Land. Edge of the uninhabited territory (or wilderness): literally "the extremity of the place of speaking".

Tz'fon can also mean "winter". This is a time of darkness in which there are no prescribed times for all Israel to gather. The plowshare of bonding during Sukkoth provides us with a "cave"--a safe haven so there can be light within when it is dark outside. But the tower reminds us to be watchful lest the depressing darkness gain a foothold in us as in Egypt, where it caused everyone to look at himself rather than his brother. When they turned aside, the Egyptians thought they were stupidly walking into a trap, but it was just YHWH's way of backing them up to a wall to teach them to trust Him. (Ex. 14:3)

We need to see ourselves camping at all of these places. Some are pleasant; some remind us of where we need to change. Rebellion is why we have such a problem reestablishing the order of the camp. Yehudah recognizes authority, and usually in silence. We have become bitter because we have been "burned" by authorities who took advat=ntage of us and lied to us. But we must not let this keep us from the true order YHWH has established. Since creation, He has been bringing order out of chaos, and it will be a great miracle indeed when this large group of individualists truly becomes one people again.

Those who lived through the rebellion arrive at this picture of the Kingdom. The 12 tribes of Israel have sustained the 70 nations (Gen. 10) with YHWH's word throughout history, but will do so more fully in the Kingdom, as paralleled by the 70 bulls offered at Sukkoth. (Chapter 29) But palm trees also represent the righteous. (Psalm 92:12) The time when the nations will be righteous is in the Messianic kingdom, yet, just as Sukkoth, another picture of the Kingdom, must end each year, Israel must keep moving on.

11. When they broke camp by the Sea of Reeds, they pitched camp in the Wilderness of Siyn [a thorn].

Especially after great victories, we need thorns to keep the proper perspective so that we do not become arrogant, spoiled "brats". (Compare 2 Corinthians 12:7.)

13. From Dafqah they journeyed on and encamped at Alush [kneading].

Starting during the feast of Unleavened Bread (after the Exodus) we count fifty days until the loaves leavened with the permeating Kingdom are ready to be kneaded with the right ingredients to form YHWH's "one bread" of unity. We need to know how to mix the ingredients of community in the right measure and with the right degree of pressure, and when to stop kneading.

After we accomplish something positive (e.g., kneading the bread), we often think we can then take a break from bringing Torah teaching to the table, but then no one has water, because we all need to bring the water to one another or there will be none.

At the "thorny place", they received the Torah, which was meant to "prick" their hearts in advance to keep their minds off their greedy desires:

This is where the flock of quails encountered the camp after they complained about the lack of savory food.

Chatzeroth: enclosed settlements, or sheepfolds with a narrow opening that widens inside--shaped like a trumpet, which is the root word. The hidden picture here is that at the trumpet's sound, those who died in Yahshua will leave their graves (qibroth), and only our evil desires will be left behind.

A Midrash says that this is where the spies departed from when they went to explore the Land. This is the last place about which we have any other details given in Scripture. But the names of these places still give clues about what may have taken place there, and their order is instructive to us in our journey Home.

Pomegranate of a breach: or "split pomegranate". One archaeological find that is unquestionably from King Shlomo's time is a carved pomegranate from the end of his scepter. The shield of his father David (the so-called star of David) is based on the shape of the six-petalled pomegranate flower and the shape of the bottom of its fruit. It is full of seeds (a reminder of YHWH's promise to Avraham) and juice that looks like blood--where Torah says the life of the flesh resides. The Messiah holds David's scepter now, and he leads forth the repairers of the breach.

21. When they set out from Livnah, they camped at Rissah [place of moist, broken ruins].

Even this far out of Egypt, ruin is still possible. If we turn away now, even our former righteousness will not be remembered, no matter how much we have put into that storehouse. (Y'hezq'el/Ezek. 18:24) But if we continue, we will rebuild ancient ruins. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 58:12)

According to a Midrash, the assembly this site was named after was that of Qorach and his followers.

24. When they journeyed on from Mount Shafer, they encamped at Haradah [place of anxious trembling].

The glistening beauty is gone from us as soon as we start being anxious about ourselves. Many are anxious today about h ow economic trends will affect them, but as we keep our eyes on the Kingdom, the anxiety is put into perspective and loses much of its power over us.

The cure for much anxiety and depression is to serve the assembly.

27. Then they pulled up stakes from Takhath, and encamped at Therakh [delay].

Yahshua told many parables warning us that if he delays in returning, we should not make choices that will further delay him because his bride is not ready. Therakh can mean "a station on the way", but it is also the name of Avraham's father, and Avraham was delayed on his journey until his father died. (Gen. 11)

29. Moving on from Mithqah, they set up camp at Hashmonah [place of affluence].

30. Setting out from Hashmonah, they camped at Moseroth [bands of chastening].

31. Upon departing from Moseroth, they encamped at B'ney Yaaqan.

B'ney Yaaqan means "sons of twisting", but it is a proper name; the fuller name of the place is The Wells of the Sons of Yaaqan. When YHWH chastens us (v. 30), we tend to twist the facts to make it look like the one doing the chastening is the one at fault.

33. When they set out from Chor haGidgad, they pitched their tents at Yotbathah [pleasantness].

34. Then they departed from Yotbathah and camped at Abronah [the pass].

35. And they pulled up from Abronah and encamped at Etzion-Gever [backbone of a strong man].

Etzion-Gever is at the site of present-day Eilat, at the northern tip of the eastern branch of the Sea of Reeds. The huge copper-smelting forges later built there did indeed become a backbone of Israel's economy. But a backbone keeps one upright, and that is what YHWH calls His unified "man" when all Israel is together. (Deut. 33:5)

This was where Miryam died.

38. And Aharon the cohen went up into Mount Hor upon the command of YHWH, and died there in the fortieth year of the descendants of Israel's exodus from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the month.

All of the events at each of these places are skipped in this summary except this one. That Moshe stops the narrative flow to say in essence, "Don't forget Aharon" highlights just how important he was. First of the month: literally, the "one" or "unifying", or the "sharp watershed" (point of decision to go one way or another). This date (the first of Av) falls during the three weeks later marked between the times Yerushalayim's wall was breached and the burning of the Temple, and there was a loss of the active priesthood on those two occasions.

This is three years older than YHWH told Noach that man's lifespan would be. (Gen. 6:3) Perhaps he had his lifespan extended because he honored his parents, as the fifth commandment promises.

According to Rashi, it was the news of Aaron's death that the King of Arad heard, for the clouds of glory had withdrawn, and he thought that permission had been granted to wage war against Israel!

Shade can be a blessing so that the "sun does not strike us by day", but we are not mean to be a "shady" people.

Spending too much time among the shades of gray rather than seeing things as black or white only leads us into more complete darkness. A Midrash says this was the place where the "burning serpents" bit the people. Such a copper-colored serpent is common in the Jordanian desert near Wadi Rum, which is a more recent theory about where Qadesh-Barnea was actually located, as no remains from the era of the Exodus have been found at the traditional site.

44. Traveling from Ovoth, they camped at Iyey-haAvarim [ruins of the fords] on the border of Moav.

Fords: or crossers-over. We should rebuild what remains of those who crossed over before us, repairing the breaches and restoring streets to dwell in. We need to know where we came from to know what our job is.

45. Then they moved on from the ruins, and set up camp at Dibon-Gad [wasting away of fortune].

46. Then they set out from Dibon-Gad and camped at Almon-Diblathayimah [concealing of the two fig-cakes],

47. then journeyed forward from Almon-Diblathayimah and pitched their tents in the mountains of Avarim, facing Nevo [nether regions].

48. Then they pulled up from the mountains of Avarim, and encamped in the transitional lands of Moav [from the father] by the Yarden of Yericho.

49. Then they camped by the Yarden, from Beyth Yeshimon [place of wasteland] to the Avel-Shittim [Meadow of Acacias] in the transitional lands of Moav.

The distance from Beth Yeshimon to Avel-Shittim is twelve mil [a mil equaling approximately 3500 ft., thus this is 42,000 ft.]. Rabbah bar bar Channah says this informs us of the extent of Israel's camp (nearly 8 miles across). There were 42 stages in their journey, which lasted 40 years. 14 of these stages all took place in the first year. The last 8 stages all took place between Aharon's death and Moshe's, so they actually stayed each place nearly two years on average (20 places in 38 years). Many of these places were probably not in the Sinai peninsula as tradition has it, but rather on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula, which is much larger and much easier to truly wander aimlessly in. But there were not supposed to be as many as there were. Our journey back does not have to take so long if we do what we are supposed to do and avoid the pitfalls they chose to fall into.

51. "Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them, 'When you have crossed the Yarden into the Land of Kanaan,

52. "'then you must drive out all the inhabitants of the Land from your presence, destroy all their carved figures, blot out all their molten images, and cause all their cultic platforms to be annihilated.

This is not just "one way we could do it" if we do not come up with a better way ourselves. Religious freedom is not a hallmark of the Torah. It may serve us well in exile, but if there is no standard, no one will recognize that the things he worships actually have no power. This sounds cold and hard, but when it is finished, the whole world will see real peace and prosperity, because everything will finally be in order. Figures: or stones. If we are concentrating on praising Him instead of in winning the battles as such, He will defeat our enemies for us, though we are the ones that must carry out the action. He will not do it for us if we do not take the initiative. We carry His name. He will go before us and be there waiting when we arrive, but the darkness will remain if we do not light the fire.

Settling the Land is a valid, standing Torah command. One cannot say he keeps Torah if he is not actively working toward this end. Like Yaaqov before his people was large enough, there are also again many who dwell there but do not possess it, evidenced by their willingness to give so much of it away. One reason the job is still not finished, however, is that Yehudah cannot do it alone; they need the rest of Israel there to help.

For the tribal staffs: actually for the sake of one's ancestors. It could read: "according to the tribes of your fathers". To whomever the lot falls: This way no one could be accused of unjust treatment. Yet this seems contradictory: divide it out by size of the tribe, yet let the lot fall wherever it may? The lots must have been used to assign the land of particular families after the place of each entire tribe was chosen according to size.

A prime example of this was Amaleq, and we see many more instancxes in the Book of Judges, in whicxh many nations in the Land dominated Israel because we became slack before all of the nations were driven out. We had enough land for the moment, and wanted to settle down and enjoy it rather than continuing to go to battle. But Israel's enemies always see it as weakness if we do not finish the job, and they attack all the harder rather than returning gestures of peaceful coexistence. True peace is made through greater strength on our part so that the enemies know their true place. Letting them possess things that belong to YHWH can never bring peace. Ignoring problems and staying quiet will not bring shalom; it means "completeness", not just "peace", so the way to bring it is to do something about the situation--dealing with the root causes so they do not come back to bite us. Cramp you: They might continue contending for space, as with Yitzhaq's wells, and today's Land of Israel, where the inhabitants were allowed to return after they fled in 1948. Israel needs the things from our past pagan lives out of the way so we can stay as close as possible to YHWH. Paul's Roman citizenship opened some doors for him, but also ended up being his demise. (Acts 26:32)

If we don't obey, we will become "them" if we let them remain, for we will become like them, and He will let our blood cleanse the Land instead. (We will be destroyed because of being in their midst.) What a warning! If we don't do the job, YHWH won't either, and we will receive the treatment they would have received! This is a gift, not a threat. YHWH allows whatever we leave undone to overcome us. Is that not a strong motivator? Not the highest, maybe, but a healthy dose of fear will provide a great deterrent to slackness.

CHAPTER 34

2. "Give the descendants of Israel orders, telling them, 'When you enter the land of Kanaan, this is the territory that will fall to you as inherited property (the Land of Kanaan up to its borders):

In the same breath as he speaks about inheritance, Moshe says, "boundaries". Before we go into the Land, YHWH defines its borders. Just as our inheritance has borders, our heritage is based on boundaries. Everyone needs boundaries; children who have none are the ones that end up in prison, because parents who do not set limits for them have not proven to really love them, no matter how affectionate they may be. They end up making poor adults. Boundaries show us that YHWH loves us. Orders: Again this is a military command, not a mere suggestion or recommendation. It is one on which our victory relies, for YHWH showed at the end of the previous chapter what the consequences of not taking possession of the entire Land. If we establish these borders, destruction will come upon our enemies; if we establish borders as we see fit, the destruction will come on us instead, as we see with not taking possession of the entire Land. If we establish the borders as YHWH defined them, destruction will come upon our enemies; if we establish borders as we see fit, the destruction will come on us instead, as we see with Yehudah in the Land today. Those whom they have placated and let remain, though they want to follow their own laws instead of Torah, are constant thorns in their side. If they wish to remain in the Land, they must stop thinking it is possible to give away YHWH's Land. It is not their job to provide for Jordanian squatters who call themselves Palestinian. We cannot change His boundaries and expect peace. Fall to you: This suggests that a lot was cast, and in this case the one who cast the lot was YHWH. This is the territory where we belong. Other places may be nice, but this is set-apart, even if it is right in the middle of everything. Everyone else wants it for their own purposes, even if that is just a safe haven from persecution. Even that is not its purpose. Rather, it is so we can be a light to all nations.

Salt Sea: also called the Dead Sea. The land of Edom is just south of the Dead Sea, in the mountains of Seir toward Petra. The wilderness of Tzin is west of this. This is about the only boundary mentioned here that they are familiar with. But in the Hebrew text here we can see a deeper pattern that links Israelites ourselves and our very clothing to our Land. The word for "edge" here is peah, which is also used of the sides of the head and extremities of the beard, which YHWH commands us not to remove or disfigure. (Lev. 19:27) These are to serve as reminders like "guards" posted around the gates of the eyes, nose, and mouth, which can get us in so much trouble and cause harms to our brothers, especially our mouths. YHWH used them as an allegory of Israelites. (Y'hezq'el 5) The word for border here and throughout the chapter means an area enclosed or bound together by a cord. Boundaries both hold us in place and define what is not safe to venture beyond. Boundaries are something that delineates. We do not operate well without boundaries; there is confusion and disorder when we each try to be on our own. We are told to bind YHWH's words on our hands. (Deut. 6:8; 11:8) Yahshua said we must not loosen this cord. (Mat. 5:19) We cannot expand the boundaries of the Torah, though within them we have great freedom. (Psalm 119:45; Gal. 5:13; Yaaqov/ James 1:25) Yahshua gave his students authority to bind or loose (Mat. 16:19), which the Mishnah explains is legal terminology for how strictly we rule on specific ways of walking out the commands. That is, they had the right to set the standards for the particulars of how the lost sheep of Israel whom they were seeking were to interpret the laws in the Torah that leave room for various ways of being understood. No pope had a right to make such rulings! He said whatever we bind on earth must be what has been bound in heaven (a shorthand for "the Kingdom of Heaven"). Just as we have to live with whatever preparations we have been able to finish prior to the Sabbath, and cannot add to them once it begins, the things we do not bind firmly in place before the Kingdom will be the rulings we have to live by once the Kingdom is fully here. That is why he tells us to tighten (enforce) rather than loosening. The Torah defines the boundaries by which we can interpret any other Scripture. (Yeshayahu/ Isa. 8:20) This eliminates confusion; nothing Yahshua says must be construed to appear to contradict it. (Mat. 5:17; Acts 21:24; 28:17; Rom. 3:31) But we are not to simply point and say, "There is the rope." We need to become the rope. A boundary binds us to one another. A rope is made of fibers not much larger than a hair twisted together to form small cords which are then hooked together and twisted again to become a larger cord. It ends up much stronger than a chain, which is only as strong as its weakest link. Even the weakest strands add to a rope's strength. It is the difference between community and a mere organization. Community is the truer road home. The possibilities are endless with a rope; it can even be made thick enough to lift large ships. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 speaks of how much better it is to have a companion to help in times of difficulty, but that having a threefold cord makes the bond very hard to break. It is hard to pull a strand out of a rope once they are twisted together. A rope is stronger than the sum of its strands. The two houses of Israel can be bound together by the words of the prophets, the priesthood functioning as commanded, a king, or by the Messiah Himself. But again the common denominator that all of these are based on is the Torah. The common boundaries we recognize are what makes the cord very strong and binds us together. While those under the same authority must agree on an interpretation, different tribes or different communities within returning Israel may interpret the specifics differently as long as they all still uphold the Torah. All must agree on its authority, for it defines all of Israel. Yehudah will never accept a god-man, for this is not something our common ancestors have ever known (Deut. 13:2-13), and two cannot walk together unless they are agreed. (Amos 3:3) But our focus should not yet be on finding ways to unite with the Jews, but on keeping the Torah ourselves, and then our commonalities will become obvious. As each becomes interwoven with Torah, we cannot help but become interwoven with one another as well, but it must come in that order. The tzitziyoth are outside a garment, yet attached to it as an extension of it. They guard the corners. We need to enter into the Torah before we can be fit to dwell in His set-apart Land again, and we already have access to the Torah. As we move into it, we will establish the way back into the Land. It gives the specifics of the covenant by which we can be tenants on YHWH's Land. (Lev. 25:23) Our focus must first be on becoming Israelites so that we can remain inhabitants of Israel once YHWH's time is fulfilled for us to go there. We must be holy, or our being in the Holy Land will only defile it again. We cannot consider anyone Israel if they want to act outside of the boundaries it sets. Y'hoshua takes only the people who submit to Moshe into the Land. And we must do things His way if we want to remain in the Land.

Qadesh Barnea seems to mean "holy quivering ground". It appears to be along the western side of the Aravah (20:16), possibly up above the escarpment. The Ascent of Scorpions is identified today a few miles southeast of Dimona and east of the Great Crater. The Tzin Desert is just south of there, so Qadesh-Barnea would appear to be right up against Khatzar-Addar (which means "wide, majestic enclosure") since the border "leaves" that enclosure thereafter. Something that is described as an enclosure could also be described as holy or set apart, so they may be two descriptions of the same thing or Qadesh-Barnea may have been at the entrance to Khatzar-Addar. Given the other geographical clues, the "majestic wide enclosure" may be what is now called the Ramon Crater (not a meteor or volcanic crater, though it had some volcanic activity within it, but formed by the erosion of rock softer than that which surrounds it. The name Ramon derives from the Arabic word for Roman, so it is a later name. Anyone looking down on the crater--or looking up from the bottom--could certainly describe it as majestic, and it is several miles wide. It has high walls, forming a huge natural enclosure. (See photos above and below.)

Wadi of Egypt: not actually in Egypt, but southwest of Gaza miles beyond where today's border ends. However, the Negev (within today's borders) was not fully possessed until Shlomo's time. (1 Kings 9:26) The word for "wadi" (a seasonal riverbed) is related to the word for"inherited property" in verse 2, which also means "possession", so one of the things that defines Israel is that we take possession of Egypt in some way. The Hebrew word for Egypt means "from the two narrow places" or "tight spots", which may give a clue to the picture in this name. Our inheritance includes the dispossessing of what oppresses us.

With a coast: It appears that in the Kingdom, though the boundaries of the Land proper seem pretty similar (except that they actually appear to be similar to today's boundaries, including at least the Golan Heights and possibly further south along the eastern side of the river partway, each of the twelve tribes will have a coastline. (Y'hezq'el 47-48) This may be because of the fighting there turned out to be among the tribes in later years. As we have seen more recently, nations without a seaport are dependent on the whims of those who do, and this often causes wars; in the Kingdom YHWH decided to take away one unnecessary cause for strife.

Mount Hor: literally, Hor the Mountain. Not the same mountain where Aharon died; this one is in Lebanon.

The entrance to Hamath: or the way into Hamath, a city close to Damasek [Damascus]. How would they draw a straight line to a road? The full title of the location is seen in 13:21: "the wide place at the entrance to Hamath"--i.e., the landmark was a gap or pass into Syria that leads to Hamath from Israel.

10. "'Then you shall mark out a line for yourselves from Chatzer-Eynan to Sh'fam [barren, wind-swept place] to be your eastern border.

Some of the exact locations are unknown, but the latter-day borders of Israel will be much larger when all the tribes return. (Zkh. 10:10)

Sea of Kinnereth: often known today as the Sea of Galilee. Note that the entire lake is within the borders of Israel (as apparently the Salt Sea is as as well, per verse 3), for we have seen attempts in modern days, when the Golan Heights were in the hands of Syria, of their attempts to sabotage Israel by affecting the level of water in the lake, which is Israel's largest reservoir.

Rashi notes that since many precepts apply only within the Land [of Israel] and do not apply outside the Land, YHWH charted the outer limits of its boundaries from all sides, to clearly define where they apply.

14. "since the tribe of Reuven by their ancestral households and the tribe of Gad by their ancestral households have received, and half of the tribe of Menashe have received their share;

15. "the two and a half tribes have received their apportioned property across the Yarden from Yericho--eastward toward where the sun rises."

16. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,

17. "These are the names of the men who will divide out the Land for you: El'azar the cohen and Y'hoshua the son of Nun.

Y'hoshua (who functioned as king, though he is never called that) and El'azar (the high priest) would be the only ones to divide the land between tribes, allotting it according to how large each tribe was. (26:52-56) To some extent this was figured according to percentage of the Land (though Menashe recveived far more, probably because of being Yoseyf's firstborn; tha he received a double portion may even have been a factor in why part of his tribe was chosen to reside on the east side of the Yarden to watch over the other two, but it seems that none of his double portion in the Land proper was diminished because they did not ask for more land). Another factor in the size of each tribe is the terrain and how arable the Land is. Yissakhar's land is very small, but all of it can be farmed; Efrayim was specifically told he could cut down forests if he ran out of farmable land. (Y'hoshua 17:15) The division within tribes, by lot (33:54) was to be handled by leaders YHWH designated within each tribe:

20. "for the tribe of the sons of Shim'on, Shmu'el ["El is his name"] the son of Ammihud [my nation is majestic];

21. "for the tribe of Binyamin, Elidad [My Elohim has loved] the son of Kislon [confidence];

22. "for the tribe of the sons of Dan, Prince Buqi [one who lays waste] the son of Yaugli [my exile];

Prince: the pattern changes here and continued for the rest of the tribes. The previous three are those that would later be counted as the Southern Kingdom.

Yoseyf's leader is the son of Efod, and it is the same type of stone as used for Yoseyf on the high priest's breastplate that also sit on the shoulder-piece that holds up the efod.

24. "and from the tribe of the sons of Efrayim, Prince Q'muel [raised up by Elohim] the son of Shiftan [judicial];

25. "and of the tribe of the sons of Z'vulun, Elitzafan [Elohim has protected] the son of Parnach [delicate];

26. "and of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, Prince Palti'el [Elohim delivers] the son of Azzan [firm and prevailing];

27. "and of the tribe of the sons of Asher, Prince Achihud [my brother is majestic] the son of Shlomi [my peace];

28. "and of the tribe of the sons of Nafthali, Prince Pedah'el [ransomed by Elohim] the son of Ammihud."

29. These are [the ones] whom YHWH appointed to divide the allotment to the descendants of Israel in the Land of Kanaan.

These leaders were not elected; YHWH chose them, and we need to start now to get used to the idea that no one has a right to elect the Messiah--or anyone he may appoint. No leader is designated to divide Reuven's and Gad's land, for it is outside the Land of Israel proper, and has presumably already been mapped out so their families could occupy all of this extra territory to keep the former inhabitants from coming back. They were not involved in the division of the Land west of the Yarden. Thus only ten men are listed here, which is considered a minyan, or quorum, for an entire congregation. (Based on Gen. 18:32; compare Z'kharyah 8:23) These were people who were already established leaders, but none of them is a son of someone in chapter 1, except that Y'hoshua was grandson of Elishama'.

CHAPTER 35

The geographical location of this command is important because YHWH wants it to be established while they are still at this location. Even if we are operating in the right season, we will often not learn what YHWH intends for us to learn if we are not in the right place as well. We cannot learn to swim in a sandbox or learn ballet dancing in a boot camp. We must be in the right context. We cannot learn how to be the people of Yoseyf in the Church, or even among Yehudah, because their job is to be Yehudah, and we must learn to be Yoseyf before we can be reconnected with Yehudah. We cannot learn the lessons of Sukkoth if we are not in a sukkah. YHWH had just established some borders, and now He has more boundaries to establish:

Levites: Their name means "attached" or "joined", and indeed this tribe was joined to YHWH in a special way beyond the rest of Israel's relationship to Him. They were an "upper class", highly respected because they were the ones who gave more and served more. They had no inheritance except these cities and the small amount of land that came with them, for they were occupied with YHWH's particular business and with teaching the Torah to the rest of Israel and providing for widows and orphans. These cities must be given to the Levites from the cities each tribe had been allotted. They were not purchased from them; they were a gift. But it is not as if they had bought these cities, either; they were a gift--except that it required that they fight for them. They are also not just giving them land on which to build cities, but cities that are already built, and in this case they could not just give them cities as the Kanaanites had left them, because they had to be built in a certain way as we will see below. Open land: or common land, since it includes the city itself (v. 5). But the word stems from a word meaning to cast out, expel, or drive out. The Kanaanites had been expelled from these cities, but the animals were also kept outside the wall that demarcated the area of human residence; Israelites kept livestock, not pets. While in some rural Israelite homes, animals would be kept on the lower level at night in the winter, in a Levite city, which had the highest standards in Israel, the animals would be kept separate from the people's dwellings, picturing the fact that while we might need our "animal side" in order to accomplish certain objectives, we do not sleep among the animals. It most likely had a hedge of thorns at the extremity in addition to the city wall, as an added way of designating the safe zone. Walls in sheepfolds often had a similar layer of briers on top to keep predators out, since most animals that attack sheep have a soft underbelly, and this was adequate deterrent. The Hebrew term for "keeping" the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15) implies building such a hedge about it for the sake of guarding it or keeping it confined (Ex. 21:29), as the kh'ruvim with flaming swords later had to do. (Gen. 3:15) Chawwah had actually begun to do this, for she knew that if she did not touch the fruit (3:3), she certainly would not eat it. There was nothing wrong with this. Avraham was told to guard YHWH's covenant in the same way (Gen. 17:9-10), and indeed the fences that were built around Torah to help people stay at least one step further away from disobedience have, for the most part, been very healthy measures. It is only when they have excluded Yahshua or obscured the actual commandments that Yehudah's fences have become excessive. (Mat. 15:3, 6) Qayin asked if he was his brother's keeper (Gen. 4:9), and the answer is, "If you want to remain part of the community". A lone person can never constitute a city; it takes many people. We are indeed intended to "keep our brothers confined" within the parameters of the Torah. We are responsible to help one another drive out our personal ambitions so we can look out for the interests of our fellows and help one another guard against making covenants with those outside (Ex. 34:12), who are really out to consume Israel for their own ends. By guarding YHWH's set-apart times (Ex. 12:17ff; 31:14) we also guard Israel within a hedge. By being like-minded and putting one another ahead of ourselves, avoid selfish ambition or conceit, and looking out for one another's interests, we build hedges to keep the animal outside and the Israelite inside. (Philippians 2:1ff) This common land is still set-apart--i.e., it is for Israel alone and those who want to join her, not just anyone. This zone was a buffer of protection just as there was even an extra border of the Land on the east now that some of the tribes had chosen to live east of the Yarden.

Animals: As we saw in chapter 34, the Torah is like the hem around a garment to which we attach our tzitziyoth, and serves as the proper gateway to our further inheritance as Israel. Here YHWH speaks of some additional borders that must be established before He lets Israel into the Land. As there was extra area annexed to Israel to deal with animals in particular (chapter 32), this added land is for animals as well. The Torah deals with our "animal" nature so that we can have our Land in common. As Israel had to drive out the former inhabitants of the Land, we need to displace the parts of ourselves that act like selfish animals, so that we can live in community with one another. And living in community also helps us displace even more of it. What we guard in common is what attaches us to one another. Storage: for tithes to be taken to the Temple during the three pilgrimage festivals and the two additional trips each "course" took each year to serve in the Temple, as well as the storehouses for assistance for widows and orphans, for which the Levites are responsible. Livelihood: literally, "living things", often another word for animals, but this would seem redundant here; Hirsch translates it, "amenities of their lives". Nonetheless, in this context, "all of their animals" might be one of the reasons Moshe was told to give this command in this location (v. 1): This is where we have dealt with the "much cattle" owned by Re'uven and Gad, and He is emphasizing that these two tribes, who chose this territory because of it was so conducive to raising livestock, would need to give up some of that land to the Levites, and they would be tithing from their abundance, so the Levites living among them in particular would have large flocks and herds as well.

A thousand cubits: 1,500 to 1,667 feet, depending on the cubit, or approximately half a kilometer.

Common land of the cities: i.e., the entire precinct (v. 27), including the city itself. If we consider verses 4 and 5 an "algebra problem" that leaves out the fact that the city itself must also be rebuilt as a square 2,000 cubits by 2,000 cubits. Then the 2,000 cubits "from the outside" (v. 5), i.e., the outer edge of the designated area, measured toward the center and meeting at the center from all four directions, agrees with the 1,000 cubits measured outward from the city wall (v. 4). Any other interpretation seems to become contradictory at some point. There are thus two concentric squares. The entire area, then, measures 4,000 by 4,000 cubits, or 16 million square cubits. This is over a mile (close to two kilometers) in each direction--quite a large city in that day, but these were also to be storehouse cities (v. 3). The area surrounding the city would constitute over 625 acres for all the uses listed in v. 3. The four corners would extend beyond the 1,000 cubits from the city if brought to a right angle. The corners might have been used to grow food for the widows and orphans, in a larger-scale example of Lev. 19:9, like tzitziyoth on the four corners of a square garment (Num. 15:38), reminding the rest of Israel to keep this commandment for the sake of the very same needy persons. A "Sabbath day's journey" which was a common standard by Yahshua's time (Acts 1:12) was 2,000 cubits (about 3,000 feet or almost 1,000 meters), based on this command. Yahshua recognized that animals could be cared for on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15), but crops should not be. It also teaches that we are not to leave our own community on the Sabbath.

Asylum: See v. 11ff.

8. "And the cities which you shall dedicate [shall come] from the inherited property of the descendants of Israel. From where [there are] many you shall [require] more, and from where [there are] few, diminish [what you require]; each tribe shall give of its cities to the Levites according to the size of the property which he acquires as a possession."

YHWH gave this instruction before the Land was divided among the tribes so that this standard could be taken into account when determining how much area each tribe needed. Size: an Aramaic paraphrase for the Hebrew "mouth", an idiom for what it can afford or what it has to provide for--how many "mouths it has to feed". This is a Kingdom standard: those with more give more, those with less give less, but each gives some. We need to give back in proportion to how much we have been given, but if we do not give something even when we have little, we will never receive more. (Luke 16:10-12; compare Mat. 13:12.) We are part of a people whose portion has been greatly increased. Though our fathers inherited lies, YHWH had mercy on us and granted us an eternal inheritance. Though our numbers may be small, we have large possessions in the areas of truth, understanding, and community.

10. "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them, 'When you cross the Yarden into the land of Kanaan,

When we become Hebrews--when we cross over--things will indeed change. But we do not need to wait until we arrive there to begin doing things that are required there; if we use the excuse that we do not have to because we are in exile, we will remain in exile. YHWH's festivals are even called "rehearsals" in Hebrew. There is much that we can do to some measure so that we will already know how to carry out the orders once we get there; if we wait until the Kingdom arrives, it will be too late to learn, because the standards will already be expected of us.

You shall appoint: This is one of the rare occasions where the people get to choose, since people tend to look out for themselves, so in most cases YHWH simply made the right choice for us. But the term for "appoint" also has the nuances of encountering and experiencing, so these cities had to be chosen after they were seen, so each tribe would know which cities would work best for this purpose--which would be easiest to flee to when they needed them. In Deut. 4:42ff we see that Moshe even specified which three cities would be best on the east side of the Yarden (possibly because he still did not trust the tribes of gad and Re'uven since they chose to live outside the Land), but the people still had to assent to his choice and either build or rebuild the cities, repairing whatever destruction they wrought (unless these were cities from which the inhabitants had fled without a battle as seen in Deut. 6:10ff) and/or changing the topography as necessary to make them the right size square. Asylum: or "reception", refuge, shelter. Inadvertently: literally, without paying attention; i.e., he was not careful, and ended up killing someone, though he meant no harm.

Avenger: the same word as the "kinsman redeemer" illustrated in the book of Ruth. Usually the closest male relative, or the firstborn male of one's generation (a brother, paternal uncle, or paternal cousin), he had a dual role of restoring the inheritance to a relative who lost it, as well as avenging the blood of a relative. Hirsch renders it "acceptor of responsibility for the blood" (see v. 33). He was a blood relative, so it was as if his own blood had been spilt. His job was to bring things back into balance. The Man of Light, the original Adam who fully bore Elohim's image, was "destroyed" when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. By being born of Adam, his "murderer", we all share in the guilt he incurred when we were within him (Rom. 5:12-19), and thus his kinsman, the "king of Tzor", another heavenly being, has a right to the blood of each of us. But as long as we stay under Yahshua our advocate--the protection designated by YHWH--he cannot attack us. Until: If he is found by two or more credible witnesses to have hated the victim or wanted to harm him, there is no further protection for him. (Heb. 10:26)

14. "'You shall designate three of the cities on [this] side of the Yarden, and three of the cities you shall designate within the Land of Kanaan; they shall serve as cities of asylum.

Only one sixth of the population lived east of the Yarden, yet half of the Cities of Refuge were there. Those who preferred to live apart from the rest of the community of Israel and further from YHWH's presence, and who were more concerned for their animals than for their children and wives would be expected to be less careful to avoid situations where they might accidentally harm someone, and thus had more occasion to utilize the cities. Rashi cites the fact that Gil'ad had many murderers, as it says,"Gil'ad, a city of workers of violence, who lurk to shed blood" (Hos. 6: 8). With so much wealth, we would expect more murders. The particular cities later chosen are listed in Y'hoshua 21:13, 21, 27, 32, 38. This is why the Levitical cities had to be spread out (v. 8): While Menashe might have said, "We have plenty of land; build 30 Levitical cities on our territory", some of them would then be too far for someone from the tribes on the periphery to reach before the avenger of blood caught up with them. By giving the Levites cities, they were providing tfor their own safety at such times.

These rules only apply if the killing is accidental. We must distinguish between a killing and a murder. Though the intent was not malicious (rarely is an automobile collision intentional), one is still held responsible and there is a price to pay for one's carelessness: he could not live at his own home for a designated amount of time (v. 28), unless he wished to risk allowing the avenger to carry out his right at any time without warning. (v. 19)

Murderer: the term connotes intentional slaughter. The old adage, "He doesn't know his own strength" comes into play here, as a stronger man might injure a weaker with very little effort, whereas anything that can be realistically construed as a weapon takes away one's disadvantage. If he could pick up a tool he had enough time to think of what he was doing, and is thus responsible for his action. Such persons, when proven guilty, are no longer under the protection of this law.

18. "'Also, if he hits him with a hand-tool [made] of wood by which one can die, and he does die, he [too] is a murderer; the murderer must die by execution.

By which one can die: certain kinds of wood are not strong enough to be considered weapon material, but if what he hits him with could be used as a weapon, or if he was holding anything for the purpose of hitting the person, he is to be judged as guilty. "A moment of passion" is not an admissible plea in Israel. We are all responsible to not allow this type of rage to control our actions. Even if he makes it to the city of refuge, if he is judged to be a murderer, he will be handed back over to the blood-redeemer:

Must. (See v. 33.) While the government is to ensure justice in the matter, in Israel it is not the government that carries out this type of sentence, but the one with the same bloodline as the one wronged. The very next time he encounters him, his job is to kill him. This is the proper season, and he cannot allow emotion to rule. (Any time Israelites have no enemies, we tend to become our own enemies.) Forgiving a murderer is not permitted in Israel, for all would remain out of balance if he did. Torah outweighs any politically-correct propaganda of our day. When this was written, there would have been no man willing to evade his responsibility to kill the murderer, because his own honor was on the line. He would not have considered himself to have any choice in whether or not to obey.

Ambush: Hirsch, "intended aim". Of course this refers to internal affairs in Israel; it does not apply in war situations.

The Aramaic paraphrase adds the phrase "after he is convicted".

Premeditation: or "ambush". Pushes: or "thrusts away", "thrusts through". Suddenly: literally, "in the opening of an eye"; i.e., without premeditation and ostensibly by "accident" on his part, leaving the responsibility with YHWH's sovereign decision.

Without seeing him: he might have aimed at what he thought was an animal attacking his sheep at night, when in fact it was a neighbor approaching. Or he simply threw something and someone got in the way before he could warn them; he did not actually throw it at the person. Still, the fact that it was an accident does not remove the need for trial. Someone must take responsibility to pay for the spilt blood.

These: The only thing they are permitted to take into consideration as evidence is whether the killing was accidental or intentional. Remember also that the slayer only gets a trial at all if he makes it to the city of asylum. If the blood avenger catches him first, he dies. Thus YHWH allows the truth of his guilt to come out by whether he is caught or not, for he might have been able to set up a murder to appear accidental when it really was not, and men might therefore wrongly exonerate him based on the apparent facts.

Rabbi Yaakov Bieler notes that by tying the length of his stay to the time of the death of the high priest allows YHWH to "tailor the punishment, or at least the process of atonement, to the specific nature of the crime. In contrast to the clear-cut evil that is inherent within a case of deliberate murder leading to the obvious punishment of execution by a ...court, a case of manslaughter can involve degrees of nuance in terms of culpability, irresponsibility, indifference, and inconclusiveness that would make establishing a standard punishment or course of atonement impossible... Making the amount of time that has to be spent in a Levite city dependent upon the lifespan of the High Priest creates the possibility of tailoring the sentence to the crime, a direct proportion being established between the degree of complicity and negligence and the current age and health of the [high priest]... It is possible that two cases that appear similar in every way in terms of how the victim met his/her end at the hands of the inadvertent murderer, will result in different lengths of exile due to the moral and spiritual level of the individual at whose hands someone died." The community: on a deeper level, it is being part of a community in itself that keeps us from being left alone against the wiles of the adversary and from falling into further sin. Safe conduct back: The trial would be conducted where the event took place, which is usually near his home, so this is where the concept of trial by peers began. Anointed high priest: a clear prototype of the Messiah, who died not for intentional wrongdoers, but for those who were in sin by virtue of being born in exile under parents who had inherited lies. This is a precedent of the head of the house dying instead of all in Israel who have sinned in a certain way, for while there is not a blood penalty for the one who kills in this way if he did not do it intentionally, he has still missed the mark--or hit the wrong mark! The high priest was the only inherited position that headed Israel at this time, and so was a picture of the kingly head, also an inherited position. This may be the real reason Yahshua was called our high priest (Heb. 2:5-18 and 4:14-16)--not because he performed offerings for us (though he will be able to do certain kinds on behalf of the nation when he is enthroned), but because he, as the head over both houses of Israel, including those who were in exile from the community of Israel, could, through his death, permit them to be restored to being part of the commonwealth to which they were long barred from returning. (Eph. 2:12) As the Cities of Refuge became vacant for a while (except for the permanent Levite residents) after the high priest's death, so when Yahshua died he "descended" and proclaimed release (Eph. 4:9-10) to the "spirits under guard"--kept waiting in such a "detention center"(1 Kefa/Peter 3:19), and their graves were emptied out, and they returned to the holy city (Mat. 27:52-3).

27. "'and the avenger of blood catches up with him outside the precinct of the city, and the avenger of blood strikes down the manslayer, no blood [guilt is incurred] for him,

This is the equivalent to one being held in a very comfortable prison, but who is told he will be shot on sight, no questions asked, the moment he tries to escape, and no one will be held liable for killing him, for he is carrying out justice. If one goes outside to revisit the area where the wild animals are, he is fair game to be slain by the blood-avenger. He no longer has immunity. On the allegorical level, our animal nature--our selfish side--does need to be "killed off" as we "die to self". The Torah establishes the fences we need to keep self at bay. Yirmeyahu had told Yehudah to submit to their exile and survive (Yirmeyahu 27:17). Those who tried to escape the penalty YHWH was imposing on His people would not survive. We, the Northern Kingdom, were exiled from the community so we could learn community. If we try to escape that before the job is done, we will certainly only ruin things again and be responsible for our own corporate death. Being in a Levitical city also affords the slayer more occasions than most would have to sit under those constituted as the teachers of the Torah, and to therefore learn how to become more careful about even the finest details of their actions.

It is the provision of the high priest's own kinsmen off of which the manslayer is living until this time. The high priest is the one who bears the blood of atonement for the entire community of Israel at Yom Kippur. Part of his prayer on that day is that YHWH will remove the blood-guilt of the Land. Therefore, he is the HaSatan is portrayed by the "nearer kinsman" in the story of Boaz and Ruth, who can legally claim our lives if we are not hidden within the "ark of refuge", the amnesty that comes only through the death of the Yahshua, our "Great High Priest" as well as our redeemer. This also applies on the level of the exiled Northern Kingdom, who were permitted to begin the walk back to their inheritance as soon as the proclamation went forth.

Place you settle: or "place you sit", as when holding court.

The heaviest sentence cannot be laid on him without at least two witnesses. If a man confessed to being guilty, his sole witness might be the only exception to this. YHWH leaves room for mercy and justice by whether he allows more than one person to be a witness or not. An eyewitness might have something against the killer personally and lie about him, or there might be an actual murderer for whom He has other plans and so He leaves him without sufficient testimony to incriminate him.

Ransom: or bribe. While there are other sins one might be allowed to make compensation for, one can never plea bargain for a murder. This standard must not be made complicated. If someone who is guilty is let off the hook, the Land will not be redeemed. Thus avenging the individual is not the only consideration. Only justice can keep the Land from being defiled; no amount of money can do so, even if it seems to satisfy the one who lost a relative. Forgiveness is not a virtue when YHWH has commanded retribution.

33. "'so you will not defile the Land which you are in, because blood profanes the Land, and the Land cannot be covered over for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it,

Defiles: profanes or makes common rather than holy (set apart); i.e., it makes Israel just like the rest of the world, as it is today until atonement (this covering, propitiation, reconciliation) is made again. The High Priest can thus be the only legitimate substitute for the killer if he did so by accident. But there is still guilt for the death, and this pollutes the Land until one of these two dies.

Why was Qayin not subject to this law when his brother's blood cried out from the ground? It could be that it was because there was no second witness and Qayin himself did not confess. Since one's own father cannot be the avenger of blood (probably because of the possibility of a conflict of interest), there was no blood-redeemer available to Hevel. David also seems to have interpreted the law to imply that a kinsman could not avenge a brother for killing his own brother if it would leave his parents childless, and he said they should take it up with himself. (2 Shmu'el 14:5-11) Had we never seen a similar act of mercy from YHWH, we would not know what is required of us. Qayin had a terrible life, and may have been left alive simply to show us all what not to be like. He was marked not only so that he would survive, but so that everyone would despise him. He may have often wished he could have died instead.

CHAPTER 36

Heads of the fathers: i.e., of the fathers' households.

Notice the terms of respect with which Moshe is described: "my master". How the modern world has lost this, when even governors and presidents are spoken of on a first-name basis. They also did not whisper or complain against Moshe, as the pattern had been. They came through the right channels. Whoever recognized the problem had to take it to his local constituted leaders, who saw that this was an issue with wider implications for the whole nation, so it had to be taken to progressively higher levels of authority. Finally they realized that only the "supreme court"—Moshe and his council (the precursor to the Sanhedrin)--could rule on this. Someone who had no standing in the tribe could not bring an issue directly to the top. Notice that the pedigree of those who brought this petition is listed, not just their names. Trusted leaders, chosen for their wisdom, accomplishments, and commitment to YHWH and Israel, must be the ones to bring an issue, so order can be maintained in Israel. (Some were chosen directly by YHWH Himself.) Even if a lower court ruled exactly as Moshe said, the ruling would be invalid except on the local level.

Withdrawn: diminished, "clipped back", taken away. To which they will belong: i.e., into which they marry. Sons who were born to them would inherit the land from their fathers, to whom the ownership of these women's land would be transferred upon their marriage. (The modern matrilineal definition of heritage was a later adaptation due to too many Jewish women being raped during pogroms, etc., in which parentage was in question.) The "and" in verse 1 links this to what immediately preceded it: the end of the last chapter, which deals with someone who had killed an Israelite. Their question has to do with location. Since local judges rule on whether a killing was intentional, if part of a tribe's land was transferred to another tribe, yet was within the boundaries of the tribe from which the women came, there could be confusion about whose jurisdiction the killing would fall under. Normally, everyone in a locale was from the same tribe, and are therefore all under the same interpretation of how to keep the Torah in a given circumstance. If men from another tribe lived among Menashe, they might have a problem with being judged under Menashite standards, and they probably would not have been permitted to sit on the local courts. Israel was not meant to become so mixed up. Each tribe was meant to stay on the land allotted to it. If they ran out of land, they could not impinge upon other Israelite tribes, but could conquer land outside of Israel, as Dan did. (Y'hoshua 19:47) To enter the New Yerushalayim, one will need to enter through a gate designated for one of the tribes of Israel. (Rev. 21) So our inheritance is tribal, even if thus far returning Israel only operates according to families and heads of fathers. If we start to walk in these patterns now, we will be ready to carry them further to all Israel. Both Yaaqov (Gen. 49) and Moshe (Deut. 33) blessed Israel with differing gifts according to the tribes. These were not mean to be mixed up, since each was given a specific task and a specific standard. These leaders were not so concerned about losing some land. (After all, this was land Menashe did not ask for, and Menashe had more land than any other tribe.) These men had nothing personally to gain or lose; they would probably be dead or very old by the time the first yovel in the Land came fifty years later. Rather, they are seeking order. Protecting our heritage is cruicla in Israel, for there are always those who wish to steal it. (Many of the places more important to our heritage—the tombs of Yoseyf, Rakhel, and the patriarchs, and the birthplaces of David and Yahshua have all been handed over to the Arabs, and are often treated with extreme dishonor.) It is important to YHWH to preserve a heritage in Israel even for those who died without an heir. (Deut. 25:6)

They would not have minded if the land could be restored one day, but since it was not purchased, the laws of the yovel would not apply here. (Lev. 25) This was not a selfish complaint such as Moshe was used to hearing (e.g., 16:14), but one that reflected the fact that they had put much thought into the possible consequences of an earlier ruling. (27:1-11) They wanted clarification to ensure that it did not remain ambiguous so that no one might twist the properly ordered pattern of justice for their own gain.

Right: fair, well-founded, in the right place. Interestingly enough, the land that was in question here was on the east side of the Yarden, outside the Land proper, but YHWH still thought it important to preserve this inheritance, for these were still His people, and this was land this family in particular had won in battle.

What would become of all of the ground gained in chapter 27 if the women married into another tribe? They would lose it, and their property would default to someone else from their own tribe, so that no tribe's land would be lost to another. So their request was granted, but at the cost of limiting their personal options in a way that was not even required of the priests. This is the most straightforward solution there could be, but if we want more detailed rulings on the generalities of the Torah, we have to live within the specifics of how our authorities determine it must be walked out. Whomever is appropriate: Here they might still have had more freedom than most women, because they had no father or brother to negotiate an arranged marriage, as most would have done, though women could refuse such arrangements (Gen. 24:58). But they were only free to set their sights as far as the boundaries of their own tribe, and in fact, only the portion on that side of the river. They could marry whomever they wanted, as long as he was the right person! Maintaining our heritage is more important than our desire for a particular person.

There is very pictorial language here. The word for "inherited property" or heritage (nakhalah) is literally "that which flows". It usually refers to a stream that becomes a rushing torrent in the rainy season. The term therefore refers to something that flows to one's descendants in the right season. It can also mean a mine shaft, the way to access a treasure. The term for "turned over" here could mean "turn about" or "loop around", like a river that changes its course and leaves stagnant oxbow lakes in its wake. Aramaic, "circulate". A parallel idea is the command for a childless widow to remarry within the same family so that her husband's name is not blotted out. (Deut. 25:5ff) The nearest of kin is also the one with the primary responsibility to redeem a lost inheritance that a family member had lost. We see this exemplified best in the history of Ruth, where there are two men capable of redeeming Naomi's heritage after her now-deceased husband left the land during a famine, though he had wealthy relatives. The first in line is unwilling to accept her son Kilyon's widow and raise up a son in his name, because it would cut into what he could leave to his own children. Kilyon's name means "pining, wasting away, failing, or spent". He is a picture of all of us who were born in an exile our ancestors imposed on us, for it left us seriously weakened. Yet the one who joined herself to him accepted his heritage as her own, and she is also described as having "returned" to Israel (Ruth 1:22), though she had grown up as a pagan. The hearer kinsman (Ruth 4), whose name means "distinguished divorced one or outcast", did not understand this. The one who was created first in line to be YHWH's bride has the first right of redemption, but did not want to help the Northern Kingdom reclaim its heritage, preferring rather to grasp for an inheritance never offered her—equality with YHWH. Yahshua, on the other hand, refused that temptation (Phil. 2:5ff) and paid the higher price so that not only Yehudah, but Efrayim as well, could be bought back, and because of this was given still more as his inheritance. (Yeshayahu 49:6) Because of Boaz, Kilyon's name is still known today. In fact, his grandson Yishai's name means, "I exist!" Boaz means "swiftness", for he was quick to respond to his relatives' need, and now they were no longer wasting away as before. So though Boaz fathered this child for Kilyon, the genealogies list this son, Oved, as Boaz's son rather than Kilyon's. (1 Chron. 2:12; Mat. 1:5) Though we were first introduced to YHWH through the Church, it proved fruitless since it did not bring us back to our heritage, so it no longer receives credit, whereas the heritage the Jews preserved has borne for Yahshua the kind of fruit he was looking for. Oved means "serving", and that is how those who have realized that the Northern Kingdom again "exists" are manifesting themselves, proving that existence to be real. And because of this, Yishai's son, David—the beloved one—can return, for now he (through Yahshua) has a kingdom to reign over. Yahshua was the only one both willing and capable in his day to ensure that our lost heritage was restored. Some of Yehudah still wants to relegate us only to Noakhide statusm but the seasons of the Torah are also our heritage. Israel is YHWH's special treasure, and the gifts He has for us depend on our tribal heritage. The Messiah will make sure each whose heritage is unknown ends up in the right tribe. Our heritage leads us to our inheritance, which is to be His inheritance. (Ex. 34:9) As we dig "mine shafts" in the Torah, we will find things far greater than platinum—the true treasure. We can inherit what our ancestors had for only a short time—YHWH's very presence. (Ex. 15:17) The Land is intimately connected to His presence. We have already received much of our heritage back even while in exile, but not its fullness, so we must guard what we already have, but also not be satisfied with what we have. We must do all that we can to see the rest come to pass. By staying in line with His seasons, we will be ready for the rain when it falls in season and makes the rivers flow again. If we are in the right place, we will receive it at the right time. Many complained that they had not received the inheritance that Moshe had promised (16:14, etc.) But they were out of season. We cannot keep His appointments without a people who are seeking the same thing. We must do more than just sit and watch. YHWH will bring it about not by magic (sleight of hand), but by true miracles, which always comne about through someone's obedience. If we are not walking in the Torah, no amount of cunning or contriving will bring about the restoration. If we are, we will be able to reach out and take it when the time is right.

This case was established as a precedent for all comparable cases in all Israel, since otherwise we would have ended up with pockets and enclaves of other tribes inside the larger tribe's territory, much as we have with the cities turned over to the jurisdiction of the Arabs living within Israel. As we see in Scripture, there was later rivalry between tribes, and there probably would have ended up being roads built around these areas to avoid them as there is today. This shows how important it is to YHWH to keep genealogical lines unblurred. It is justice for the tribal level, not just the individual or just the whole nation. Daughter who inherits property: This applies only to one who has no brothers. Women are cared for by their fathers, then their husbands and whatever tribe into which they marry. Any woman who has a brother may marry into another tribe, but not one whose father has only daughters. Their personal preferences have to take a back seat to what will best benefit Israel. Our heritage must be protected no matter what one's heart tells her to do. It defines whom we may be intimate with. This ruling would also only apply at the point in which their mother is too old to bear children by levirate marriage if her husband has died. (See note on v. 7.)

Some of the "rabbis" later ruled thst this was only valid for the first generations coming into the Land. But since this came all the way up to Moshe for a ruling, this becamse Torah for all of Israel, and no one is permitted to change that.

They did not say, "We'll pray about this." YHWH's will was already clear.

Like the five books of Torah, they could not be mixed in with other people's ways and still be beneficial to their own people.

Many people become wealthy on helping others locate their heritage, but all they might get from it is a book about their genealogy. What difference does it make now if your ancestors came over on the Mayflower? Our earlier Hebrew heritageis the one worth digging for. And if DNA is hard to trace, what really matters is that you have heard the shepherd's voice, for then you are one of his lost sheep.

This account underlines the importance of protecting our heritage. The root word of nakhalah (inherited property) is nakhal, which is a river bed or a mine shaft—a channel for life-giving water or a way to get to the treasure. Water is often a picture of YHWH's word, and indeed, as we saw in the previous chapters, the heritage that we must inhabit before we can proceed any further and inhabit the Land of our heritage is the Torah. YHWH has begun to restore it to us, letting us know that Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov are indeed our ancestors. We have the name Israelite—itself an inheritance deeper than anything our more recent forebears could leave to us. And YHWH has promised an inheritance to Israel (Ps. 136:21-22), so receiving it depends on accepting that identity and that perspective. Like Esau (Gen. 25:30), we had sold our inheritance because of our fleshly cravings. The Church pawned away its heritage for some other red stuff—"the blood of Jesus", opting instead for the diversionary offer of a new inheritance--going to heaven--rather than receiving the Messiah's intent—the return to our original inheritance, which is merely stored in heaven where nothing can ruin it until it is time to return to earth. (1 Kefa/Peter 1:4; Mat. 6:20) Part of our inheritance is to be His inheritance. (Ex. 34:9) The yovel year is a season for everyone to return to his inheritance. There is no guarantee that if someone remained outside the Land that year, a relative could buy it back for him. Let us not risk letting the season pass. The only way to be ready is to get in step with His pattern of cycles now so that we are already in season and ready to recognize it when it arrives. Until we guard the inheritance He has given us (e.g., Lev. 19:30), we cannot receive the rest.