שלח

Parasha Shelach

Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:1-15:41

And YaHuWaH spoke to Mosheh, saying,“Send men to spy out the land of Kena’an, which I am giving to the children of Yisrael. Send one man from each tribe of their fathers, every one a leader among them.” Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:1-2

Mosheh (Mushah) is instructed to שלח Shelach or send twelve men, all of which are princes from one of each of the twelve tribes as spies to scout out the Promised Land. Before going on this most important mission, Mosheh adds both the letter י Yod (Yad) which mean hand and ו Waw, which means nail to הֹושֵׁעַ Hoshea’s name. הֹושֵׁעַ Hoshea is a form of the word meaning deliverance but when the Yad (hand) and Waw (nail) are added to deliverance we get the name יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Yahuwshuwa.

הֹושֵׁעַ – Hushea

becomes

יְהוֹשׁוּעַ – Yahuwshuwa

יה (Yah) and יהו (Yahuw) are often attached to special Hebrew words to make names. יה Yah and יהו Yahuw are short for YaHuWaH.

יהוה – YAHUWAH

יְהוֹשׁוּעַ – YAHUWSHUWA

יהו Yahuw actually means “He who” in Hebrew. Therefore יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Yahuwshuwa means both “He who redeems/delivers” and “Yahuwah redeems/delivers”. Yahuwshuwa ben Nun is a foreshadow of Mashyach, The Anointed One called “Messiah.” Mosheh (Mushah) gave Hushea this name to let the people of YaHuWaH know the Name of the Messiah who was coming in the future from the tribe of Yahuwdah (aka Judah).   Interestingly enough though Yahuwshuwa ben Nun is the leader of the tribe of Ephraim, it is Kaleb whose name means “dog” that is the leader of the tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah).  This is to demonstrate that the Malchut (Reign) that is given to Messiah shall rule over all twelve tribes of Yisrael seeing that Ephraim represents the northern Kingdom’s twelve tribes.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:17And Mosheh sent them to spy out the land of Kena’an, and said to them, “Go up here into the South, and go up to the mountains,18and see what the land is like, and the people who dwell in it, whether strong or weak, whether few or many,19and whether the land they dwell in is good or evil, whether the cities they inhabit are in camps or strongholds,20and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are forests there or not. And you shall be strong, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first-fruits of grapes.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 13:22And they went up through the South and came to Hebron. And Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anaq, were there. Now Hebron had been built seven years before Tso’an in Mitsrayim.23 And they came to the wadi Eshkol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes. And they bore it between two of them on a pole, also of the pomegranates and of the figs.24 That place was called the wadi Eshkol, because of the cluster, which the men of Yisrael cut down from there.25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

In verse 22, the Torah actually doesn’t say, they went to Hebron but rather, he went to Hebron. This is thought to mean that only one man went to Hebron and it is assumed that this one man was Kaleb since he inherited Hebron later. This very well could be and seems to make sense that Kaleb would want to go to a famous site where the patriarchs lived and were buried to seek YaHuWaH.

When arriving to back to camp they presented to Mosheh and all the people the enormous fruits of the land. Ten of the princes responded,“We came to the land where you sent us, and indeed it flows with milk and honey; and this is its fruit.“But the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great; and moreover we saw the nephilim there, Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev, the Hittites and the Yebusites and the Emorites dwell in the mountain, and the Kenanites dwell by the sea and by the side of the Yardan.”

The men were distressed because they had seen the descendants of the fallen ones, who are called Nephilim. Nephilim is the plural word meaning “to fall”. We know that in the early generations before the great flood that Malakim (Messengers) came to this earth and procreated with the daughters of men according to previous scriptures in the Torah.

Beresheeth (Genesis) 6: 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, the men of name.

Kaleb interrupts the bad report saying to go up and take the land at once and assured the people that they could overtake the inhabitants of the land. However the evil report spread though to all the people.

Bamidbar(Numbers) 13:33 “And we saw there the Nephilim, sons of Anaq, of the Nephilim. And we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were in their eyes.

All of the congregation lifted up their voices and cried and murmured against Mosheh and Aharon claiming it was better for them in Mitsrayim. They even planned to appoint a leader who would lead them back to Mitsrayim (Egypt).

Only Kaleb and Yahuwshuwa maintained a great witness of the land. They tore their garments and tried to reason with the people that YaHuWaH has given them this land and they should go take it. However just as the congregation had decided to stone the two witnesses, YaHuWaH appeared in his esteem at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:11 And YaHuWaH said to Mosheh, “How long shall I be scorned by these people? And how long shall I not be trusted by them, with all the signs which I have done in their midst?12 “Let Me smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”13And Mosheh said to YaHuWaH, “Then the Mitsrites shall hear it, for by Your power You brought these people up from their midst,14 and they shall say to the inhabitants of this land they have heard that You, YaHuWaH, are in the midst of these people, that You, YaHuWaH, are seen eye to eye and that Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a column of cloud by day and in a column of fire by night.

At this time Mosheh brings to remembrance  the announcement YaHuWaH made when he descended and appeared to him on top of Mount Sinai.

17 “And now, I pray, let the power of YaHuWaH be great, as You have spoken, saying,18 ‘YaHuWaH is patient and of great kindness, forgiving crookedness and transgression, but  by no  means leaving unpunished;  visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’19 “Please forgive the crookedness of this people, according to the greatness of Your kindness, as You have forgiven this people, from Mitsrayim even until now.”20 And YaHuWaH said, “I shall forgive, according to your word,21but truly, as I live and all the earth is filled with the esteem of YaHuWaH,22for none of these men who have seen My esteem and the signs which I did in Mitsrayim and in the wilderness, and have tried Me now these ten times, and have disobeyed My voice,23shall see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor any of those who scorned Me see it.

YaHuWaH decreed that all who are over twenty would die in the desert and not see the Promised Land, but that their children would enter the land. Mosheh is instructed to turn back from the Land and go further into the desert. YaHuWaH killed the ten spies who bore the evil report and they died in a plague before YaHuWaH. When the people learned that they were to wander the desert for forty years and that those over twenty would all die, they defiantly decided to enter the Land on their own. So a group of them decided to go fight but Mosheh warned them that they would die. Mosheh and the Ark of YaHuWaH did not leave the camp. When the group entered the hilltops the Amalekites came down with the Kenanites and smote them.

Menachot

After this YaHuWaH gives further instructions for the Menachot offerings that will be done when the children of Yisrael enter the land.The menachot are meal, wine and oil offerings that are to accompany all animal offerings brought to the Miqdash (Sanctuary). For a lamb, 1/10 ephah of meal, 1/4 hin of oil and 1/4 hin of wine; for a ram, 2/10 ephah of meal, 1/3 hin of oil and 1/3 hin of wine; for cattle, 3/10 of an ephah of meal, 1/2 hin of oil and 1/2 hin of wine.

YaHuWaH also called for the separating of challah, which is a portion of dough that is separated before making bread.

Gatheirng Sticks

After all this in yet another act of defiance a man is caught gathering sticks on the Shabbath. The decree is that the man should be stoned to death. Here we see that choosing to be obedient to YaHuWaH gives us life while defiance always brings death.

Tzit-tzit

After the man is stoned to death for his breaking of Shabbath. YaHuWaH gives a new command:

Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:37 And YaHuWaH spoke to Mosheh, saying,38 “Speak to the children of Yashar’al, and you shall say to them to make tzitziyot 1 on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit 2 of the corners. 39“And it shall be to you for a tzitzit 2,and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of YaHuWaH and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring,40 so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim. 41 “I am YaHuWaH your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. I am YaHuWaH your Elohim.”

The word Tzit-tzit is often translated fringe and indeed that is what they are, however the root word means blossom. The tzit-tzit is our reminder to keep the commands and to bare fruit. The color blue is the color of sapphire. We know in Yehezek’EL (Ezekiel) 1 that YaHuWaH’s throne is Sapphire blue.  We also know that when YaHuWaH appeared to the elders at Sinai beneath his feet was a Sapphire pavement. The ten words were also written on Sapphire stone. Blue is a picture of the sky as well.  The sky is called Shamayim translated “heaven.”  Therefore the tzit-tzit is a picture of the coming Kingdom (Malchut) of Shamayim (Heaven) and the blossom of the tree of life.

We must be careful not to bring an evil report against the promises of YaHuWaH. When we question his word we are instigating rebellion. All who cause others to rebel against YaHuWaH, are enemies of YaHuWaH and his Eternal Reign. We should trust our Mighty One to fight against the giants and fallen ones and do our part to enter into his promise!  Though there may be darkness and dread on every side, YaHuWaH will protect us and provide all we need to accomplish his perfect will!