FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – EIQEV:
“Mankind does not live by bread alone, but by Every Word that comes from the mouth of YHWH.”
“One indeed believes to eat all food, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. He that eats, let him not despise him who does not eat, and he that does not eat, let him not judge him who eats, for Elohim received him. Who are you that judges another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he shall be made to stand, for Elohim is able to make him stand. One indeed judges one day (of traditional weekly fasting) above another, another judges every day alike. Let each one be completely persuaded in his own mind. He who minds the day, minds it to YHWH. And he who does not mind the day, to YHWH he does not mind it. He who eats, eats to YHWH, for he gives Elohim thanks. And he who does not eat, to YHWH he does not eat, and gives Elohim thanks. For not one of us lives to himself, and not one dies to himself. For both, if we live, we live unto the Master, and if we die, we die unto the Master. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Master’s. For unto this Messiah died and rose and lived again, to rule over both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Messiah. For it has been written, As I live, says YHWH, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to Elohim. Each one of us, therefore, shall give account of himself to Elohim. Therefore, let us not judge one another any longer, but rather judge this, not to put an obstacle or a stumbling-block in our brother’s way. I know and am persuaded in the Master Yeshua that none at all is common of itself. But to him who regards whatever to be common, to him it is common. And if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not by your food ruin the one for whom Messiah died. Do not then allow your excellence to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of Elohim is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Set-apart Spirit. For he who is serving Messiah in these matters is well-pleasing to Elohim and approved by men. So, then, let us pursue the matters of peace and the matters for building up one another. Do not destroy the work of Elohim for the sake of food. All indeed are clean, but evil to that man who eats so as to cause stumbling. It is excellent not to eat meat or drink wine, nor to do whatever by which your brother stumbles. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before Elohim. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not of faith, and all that is not of faith is sin.”
“Food is for the belly and the belly for foods – but Elohim shall destroy both it and them.”
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – EIQEV:
Do you want health, healing, and prosperity? Here is how YHWH promises you can obtain them:
“And it shall be, because you hear these judgments, and shall guard and do them, that YHWH your Elohim shall guard with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers, and shall love you and bless you and increase you, and shall bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. Blessed are you above all peoples – there is not going to be a barren man or a barren woman among you or among your livestock. And YHWH shall turn away from you all sickness and put on you none of the evil diseases of Mitsrayim which you have known, but He shall put them on all those who hate you. And you shall consume all the peoples whom YHWH your Elohim is delivering over to you – your eye shall not pardon them. And do not serve their mighty ones, for that is a snare to you. When you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I, I am unable to drive them out,’ do not be afraid of them. Remember well what YHWH your Elohim did to Pharaoh and to all Mitsrayim, the great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs and the wonders, the strong hand and the outstretched arm, by which YHWH your Elohim brought you out. YHWH your Elohim does so to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. And YHWH your Elohim also sends The Hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. Do not be afraid of them, for YHWH your Elohim, the great and awesome Ěl, is in your midst.”
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – EIQEV:
“And you shall love YHWH your Elohim and guard His charge, even His laws, and His judgments, and His commands – always.”
Here are the key phrases in both traditions, with a truly literal, word‐for‐word gloss. You’ll see that neither text actually says “kosher,” but both say “eating” (βρώσει in Greek; ܒܟܠܐ in Syriac), which in a Jewish context naturally means “according to kosher rules.”
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Colossians 2:16
1. Greek (Nestle‐Aland 28)
Original:
> μηδείς ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει ἢ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μερίᾳ ἑορτῆς ἢ νεομηνίᾳ ἢ σαββάτων·
Gloss (literal):
- μηδείς — “no one”
- ὑμᾶς — “you” (acc.)
- κρινέτω — “let him judge” (imp. mid. 3 sg.)
- ἐν — “in/regarding”
- βρώσει — “eating”
- ἢ — “or”
- ἐν πόσει — “in drinking”
- ἢ ἐν μερίᾳ ἑορτῆς — “or in respect of a feast/festival”
- ἢ νεομηνίᾳ — “or a new moon”
- ἢ σαββάτων — “or of Sabbaths”
Put together:
“Therefore let no one judge you in eating or in drinking or in regard to a feast or a new moon or Sabbaths.”
Note: βρώσει (“eating”) is understood by Paul’s original audience to mean “eating kosher food,” but the adjective kosher doesn’t appear in the text.
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2. Syriac Peshitta
Original (transliteration):
> wālā yapaṭḥ laḵūn men bawkelā’ ʾāw beep̱sārā’ ʾāw bawḥamrā’ ʾāw bishrȳtā’ dḥdudātā’ ʾāw bnewnayyā’ ʾāw bishabbāṯayyā’
Gloss (literal):
- wālā — “and not/let not”
- yapaṭḥ laḵūn — “let [anyone] open/judge you”
- men — “in”
- bawkelā’ — “eating”
- ʾāw — “or”
- beep̱sārā’ — “in drinking”
- ʾāw — “or”
- bawḥamrā’ — “in meat/drink offerings (feast)”
- ʾāw — “or”
- bishrȳtā’ dḥdudātā’ — “in the days of feasts”
- ʾāw — “or”
- bnewnayyā’ — “in new moons”
- ʾāw — “or”
- bishabbāṯayyā’ — “in Sabbaths”
Put together:
“Therefore let no one judge you in eating or in drinking or in regard to the feast-days, new moons, or Sabbaths.”
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Conclusion
- Neither the Greek nor the Syriac literally says “kosher”; they say only “eating” and “drinking,” which in a Jewish milieu implies food/drink prepared by kosher rules.
- Both languages list the same three categories: eating, drinking, and festival-days (feasts/new-moons/Sabbaths).
So rendering Colossians 2:16 as
> “Therefore let no one judge you for eating kosher food or about kosher drink or in keeping the feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths”
faithfully captures the sense, though “kosher” is an interpretive gloss rather than a strict word‐for‐word element of either text.
Thought for Today: Tuesday, August 12
Have you ever wondered: Is everything that happens to us already determined by YHVH? Or do we have the ability to carry out plans on our own, regardless of what Elohiym hoped would happen? Many scholars and theologians have disagreed about this for many centuries – some stressing YHVH’s absolute control over everything, others emphasising our freedom to act on our own. The reason they have not agreed is because the Bible teaches both YHVH’s sovereignty and our human responsibility. To us, this sounds like a contradiction – and one I do not believe we will fully understand until we get to heaven. Until that day, we need to hold firmly to both truths: YHVH is in control of everything, but we are also responsible for our actions.
You shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Deuteronomy 7:18-19 ESV
Miracles aren’t just to convince unbelievers or to relieve someone from suffering. They are often done so that both the faithful and the unbeliever will know God’s character.
The name of this week's #torah portion, Ekev, means "because" ("Because you listen...") Here's a list of Apostolic passages to study alongside Parsha #ekev (#deuteronomy 7:12-11:25), plus links to related commentary and video: https://www.americantorah.com/....2021/01/22/parsha-ei
One thing that pops up from time to time is that we have the OT in Hebrew and the NT in Greek and that is by God's design. Essentially, trying to solidify that anything associated with anything before Jesus/Yeshua is all done away with. That's the old way. Part of this mindset will also suggest that no one around Yeshua's time spoke Hebrew. It was only used in religious settings, but it wasn't used day to day. Again, trying to solidify a passing of the "old ways".
However, we see Yeshua speaking in Hebrew several times through the Gospels. We see the disciples and other people interacting with Him using a Hebrew term: Rabbi. Paul is spoken to from Heaven in Hebrew and he also speaks to a group in Jerusalem in Hebrew. Revelation has several words in Hebrew as well.
There is also Hebrew chiastic structure throughout the New Testament.
I believe I have written about it before, but a very helpful teaching that helped me break the mindset of "old ways" vs "new ways", was https://www.wildbranch.org/tea....chings/hebrew-greek- .
I can't say anything about the rest of their teachings. I haven't gone through the whole site, but this teaching is very good and one that explains why so many in the church can read something that states "XYZ" plain as day yet will read it as "ABC".
The Bible was written by Hebrew people, who spoke and wrote in a Hebrew way. While, we don't have to know Hebrew to have a relationship with the Father, it is beneficial to study to be able to dig in deeper into the words of the Bible.
https://thestraightandnarrow.cfw.me/comics/981
#bible #biblestudy #webcomic #cartoon #christian #church #messianic #hebrewroots #wwjd
A word we hear often is “consensus” it sounds official but according to the Cambridge Dictionary it is defined this way. “a generally accepted opinion; wide agreement:” An opinion does not need to be proven, it simply needs to sound good, but what happens when it is wrong? Exodus 23:2, “You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.”
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