Thursday, 01 July 2010

•   The Hebrew Letter (Tav): A Sign, Mark,The Seal of Truth, And the Tzlav (Cross) of Messiah

  compiled and edited by Aviel Rodriguez   SOURCE     

                  

   The above illustration displays the circled Hebrew letter ’Tav’- as it appears on page 307 of Ben-Yehuda’s English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English Dictionary.  At first glance, it may seem that there are three separate letters encircled above; however, in actuality, it is a single letter ‘tav’ written in three separate ways.  You may have noted that the one which is farthest left of the three is written in the more familiar style of the modern-Hebrew alphabet.  That would be correct.  However, to the right of it we now gaze upon the two ancient forms of that same letter… i.e., as it would’ve appeared in the ancient Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.  These were written as cross-shaped figures; and they would have been used interchangeably by the ancient scribes to designate the same letter, ‘tav’.

  A renowned Orthodox rabbi in Israel, by the name of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, believes that this ancient letter, TAV, was the mark (sign) placed upon the forehead of Cain by the LORD for his protection- as mentioned in Genesis 4:15

  

  Regarding the name of the letter ‘Tav‘- and with distinct reference to its different plains of spirituality- Rabbi Ginsburgh writes the following:                                 

  This then begs a question in my mind… i.e., when it says in Job- the oldest book of the Bible- that Job states the following:

  

  Job 19:25 (New KJV)

  ²⁵For I knowthatmy Redeemer lives,       And He shall stand at last on the earth…

  Did Job have any idea of what it would cost to redeem him?Well, when I look at what Job says later on in Job 31:35, I have to suspect that maybe he did.

  You see, in Job 13:35 (New KJV), Job says the following:

  Oh, that I had one to hear me!       Here is my mark (tav) .       Oh, thatthe Almighty would answer me,       That my Prosecutor had written a book!

  In the Young’s Literal Translation Version it reads as follows:

  Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark (tav) . The Mighty One [his Redeemer] doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.

  Could it be that Job knew that the tav was the mark, sign, that was placed upon Cain’s forehead; and moreover, that he knew this to be a sign from the Almighty for protection and ultimate redemption?

  Regarding the Jewish mystical understandings of the Eytz Chayim (Tree of Life) it is said:

  

  The word Kether (Keter) means ‘Crown’ [at the top].The word Tiphereth (Tiferet) means ‘Beauty’ [in the middle].The word Malkuth (Malkut) means ‘Kingdom’ [at the bottom].        

  

  

  Could it also be that the Prophet Ezekiel held the two sticks which God commanded him to hold as one in his hand- signifying the restoration and reunification of both Houses of Israel (Judah & Ephraim)- as in the form of a Tav (i.e., a cross)?  [See Ezekiel 37:15-28, 31:31-36; 'Two Houses of Israel' tract]               

                                                   

  It may appear possible, as well, that those who sighed and cried because of the abominations committed in Jerusalem‘s midst- just before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E- may have received this mark (sign)… i.e., a ‘Tav’ upon their foreheads.  The letter ‘tav’ (i.e., the cross) may very well have been the “mark” placed [spiritually] upon the foreheads of the Jerusalem faithful at that time (586 B.C.E.).  In Ezekiel 9:3-4- which speaks of the event- the ‘tav’ seems to be indicated as a seal of deliverance; and ordained by God to keep the aforementioned ‘faithful’ from the judgement that would then soon befall the inhabitants of Jerusalem.   

                                                       

  As for the word “mark” in Ezekiel 9:4, the Strong’s Concordance and the Gesenius Lexicon state the following:   

                            

  The letter ‘Tav’ is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet; just as Omega is that last letter of the Greek alphabet.  In the Greek New Testament, Yeshua proclaims of himself “I am the Alpha and the Omega”.  In Hebrew, he was actually saying “I am the Aleph and the Tav”. [Revelation 21:6, 22:13, Isaiah 41:4, 44:6; 48:12] 

             

  

  The following has been excerpted from the free online T’NaKH(Hebrew Scriptures): ‘Bible II’ – the online bar/bat mitzvah tutor:

  In the Book of Exodus…

  29:4	Bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the  Communion Tent, and immerse them  in a mikvah.
  29:5	Take the vestments and place the tunic, the  ephod’s robe, the ephod and the breastplate on Aaron. Bind him with the  ephod’s belt.
  29:6	Then place the turban on his head, and place  the sacred plate [below] the turban.
  29:7	Take the anointing oil, pour [a little] on  [Aaron's] head, and anoint him.

   

  Now, please read the following Jewish commentary given with particular regard to the word ‘anoint’ in verse 29:7, above:

  anoint
  After pouring the oil on the priest’s head, he would make an X-like mark (bold emphasis mine) with it on the priest’s forehead (Kerithoth5b;Yad,Kley HaMikdash1:9; seeTifereth YisraelonZevachim10:6;Torah Sh’lemah23:194ff.).

  In 2006, one of Israel’s most prominent rabbis, Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, died at the estimated age of 108.  Before dying he revealed to his talmidim (disciples) that he’d met the messiah and that he’d left a note regarding the name of the Messiah in a sealed envelope for which he left strict instruction not to open until the first-year anniversary of his death.  What follows were segments excerpted from a full report filed by an Israeli reporter for the internet magazine, Israel Today, concerning these matters.  Please take special note of the references to the Rabbi and the ‘crosses‘:      

  I do not agree with the upcoming narrator’s obvious “Christian slant” with respect to his concluding statements in the following video… i.e., that Rabbi Kaduri claimed to have seen “Jesus Christ” and that “Jesus told him he would return…”.  I do, nevertheless, believe that there’s sufficient evidence given within the video- and within the above account- to suspect that Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri may indeed have been visited by the true Messiah of Israel… the very Jewish Yehoshua (aka, Yeshua) HaMashiach; who has, heretofore, been known to the nations only as Jesus Christ:

  

  

  

A MORE RECENT REVELATION REGARDING THIS!…. A Disciple of Rav Kaduri declares that Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri did believe- and revealed to some of his students- that Yehoshua (Yeshua HaNotzri/Jesus of Nazareth) is the Mashiach!!! (CLICK THIS HYPER-LINKED TEXT TO SEE!)

And so, with respect to the ‘Cross’ (i.e., the Tav), it is also most important to note that the Hebrew ‘gematria’ (numerical value) for the biblical word ‘Nachash’ (Serpent) is exactly equal to the Hebrew gematria for the word ‘Moshiach’ (i.e., Messiah).  They both equal 358.

Having said that, the following verses of Scripture, therefore, gain much added significance:

Numbers 21:8-9 (Amplified Bible)⁸And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.

⁹And Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of bronze [^[a]attentively, expectantly, with a steady and absorbing gaze], he lived. 

And so, in that Great Day of his return- as Yeshua HaMashiach prophesied- all eyes will see him returning to the earth with power and great glory; but first, there will appear the ‘sign’ of the Son of Man in the heavens:

Matthew 24:30 (New KJV)

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

Please study the picture, below. Then, CLICK ON THE PICTURE to hear from an Orthodox Jewish man who wants all Jewish people to understand the truth about Yeshua and the Cross!         

Even so… come, Yeshua HaMashiach!!

Baruch haba b’shem YHVH!!!

Categories: END TIMES, HISTORY

Tags: Bible, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew language, Israel, Jerusalem, Jesus, Keter, Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, Taw, Tiferet, Yitzchak Ginsburgh