I’m a Gentile Believer, a devoted mother of five wonderful children, and the wife of an amazing husband. Nature, gardening, and dance bring joy and inspiration to my life. In my spare time, I play the piano, care for my garden, or study the Bible in Hebrew. And I’ll drop just about anything for a game of cards.
My unwavering quest for a genuine relationship with the God of the Bible has driven me to delve deeply into His Word, which guides my journey and shapes my life's path. This exploration, combined with dedication to living out my faith, is at the heart of my writing. I seek to share my insights and discoveries with readers, encouraging them to embark on their own spiritual journeys.
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Learning the Hebrew Language can be beneficial to the faith of a Christian. In studying the Bible, a knowledge of Biblical Hebrew will clarify the meaning of the text in a way that simply studying from translations cannot.
Although Hebrew can be intimidating at first appearance, English speakers can grasp it well with practice. In An Introduction to the Hebrew Alphabet, I introduced each of the 22 Hebrew letters. Now I’ll provide a very simple intro to the vowels as well.
The Hebrew vowels are not letters as they are in English but a series of markings called nikkud. The major difference between the vowels in English and those in Hebrew is that they’re optional in Hebrew. They’re added to the letters to make reading easier but a lot of Hebrew (both modern and Biblical) is written without them.
The concept that Hebrew would appear without vowels was at first very intimidating to me. But our familiarity with the English Language makes us able to read when the vowels are removed and the same happens in Hebrew as well.
Don’t believe me? What does this say?
Rdng wtht vwls sn’t tht dffclt!
It’s a bit challenging, but your mind fills in the blanks and you can make sense of a sentence with no vowels. This is the same for those familiar with Hebrew.
You can see the function of the vowels and how they dictate the pronunciation of a word by looking at the first word in my vowel-less sentence above. You may have read it as “Reading”, which was my intent but your mind may have substituted an “i” instead of the “ea” in reading. This would have led you to read the first word as “Riding” instead. The context gave away the correct pronunciation of the word but this example shows why vowels are added to Hebrew and how they clarify.
Vowels are found above (to the left) or below a letter. The consonant sound is made first and is followed by the vowel sound that’s below or above it.
In the explanations below, I use the letter aleph (א) to carry the vowels but they can accompany any of the other letters in the Hebrew alphabet as well.
אַ and אָ
These two vowels are different in appearance but make the same sound. Patah and kametz both make the “a” sound like in the word “yacht”. For example, the word אָמַר (meaning “to say” or “he said”), is pronounced “ah-mar”.
אֶ
Segol makes the “eh” sound as in “bed”. An example of a word containing segol is “אֶרֶץ“, meaning “land” or “earth”. It’s pronounced “eh-retz”.
אֵ
The vowel tsere, whose name is pronounced ser-ay, sounds like the “ay” in the word “hay”. It can also be pronounced “eh” as in “bed”, depending on accent. In Israel, the pronunciation agreed upon is “eh”. Example: לֵב is pronounced “layve” or “lev” and is the word for “heart”.
The name for this vowel is chiriq (with the “ch” pronounced in your throat, like the “ch” in “Bach). The sound it makes is like the “ee” in the word “bee”. Chiriq is often followed by the letter yod (י), which lengthens its sound. For example, the word “אִישׁ” is pronounced “eesh” and it means “man” or “husband”.
אֹ
Cholem appears as a dot above and just to the left of the letter it’s with. Just like chiriq, the word “cholem” is pronounced with the “ch” sound in your throat, as in Bach. When it appears with a consonant, cholem makes the “o” sound like the letter O in “foe”. An example is כֹּל, which means “all” or “whole” and is pronounced “coal”.
אֻ
Kubbuts is the name of this vowel. It has a “oo” sound, as in the name “Sue”. Kubbuts is used in סֻכָּה, which is pronounced “sue-kah”, and means “hut” or “temporary shelter”.
בְ
Shva (pronounced sh-va) is a more complicated vowel. Firstly, I put it under the letter vet above instead of aleph because shva cannot appear under gutterals and aleph is considered one.
Secondly, shva sounds differently, depending on where it’s found in a word. It can either make the “uh” sound, as in “buck” or it can be silent, indicating a pause.
In לְ, a word meaning “to”, “for”, or “in regard to”, the shva makes the “uh” sound and the word is pronounced “luh”. But, when in the middle or end of a word, shva is usually silent.
In a word like , with two shvas in a row, the first is silent and the second is pronounced. So, the word for “families” in Hebrew, מִשְׁפְּחֹת would be pronounced “mish-puh-chote”. And in the word יִשְׂרָאֵל, meaning Israel, the shva is silent, causing it to be pronouced “yees-ra-el”.
That’s a bit confusing so I’ll sum up the basic shva rules.
At the beginning of a word, it’s pronounced “uh”.
In the middle of a word, it’s a silent pause.
Two next to each other: first is a silent pause, second is pronounced “uh”.
אֲ and אֱ
When patach and Segol are combined with shva, they basically make the same sound as without the shva. So, אֲ is pronounced “a” as in “yacht” and אֱ is pronounced with the “eh” sound, as in “bed”.
Examples of this are אֲשֶׁר, meaning “which” (pronounced “ah-share”) and אֱלֹהִים, which means “Elohim” (pronounced “El-o-heem”).
This vowel is called chatef kametz but it doesn’t take the sound of the kametz or the shva, but has its own sound. It makes the “o” sound, as in “foe”. An example is the word שֳׁרָשִׁים, which is pronounced “show-ra-sheem” and means “roots”.
וֹ and וּ
These vowels use the Hebrew letter vav but the vav is not pronounced. Cholem vav (which is a vav with a dot above it, like this וֹ) sounds just like the cholem would above another letter. It makes the “o” sound as in “foe”.
Shurek, which is a vav with a dot inside of it like this וּ, is pronounced with the “oo” sound in the name “Sue”. Again, the sound of the letter vav is not used in this case.
Examples of these are the words יוֹם and רוּת (day and Ruth), which are pronounced “yohm” and “root”, respectively.
Since many of the vowels make similar sounds, it’s not very difficult to memorize all of them with a little practice. For more resources to help you in your studies of Biblical Hebrew, check out my resources page!
Many Christians learn the Biblical Hebrew language to illuminate their Bible studies. Knowledge of the original languages brings an understanding of the Bible that we can’t quite reach through a translation.
Hebrew can be intimidating to English speakers because it’s a different alphabet. Not only do we have to learn the language, but we also have to start by learning an entirely different alphabet!
It’s not as difficult as it sounds, though. There are only 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 12 vowels, called nikkud. Most Hebrew students start by learning the letters and their sounds, which isn’t very difficult with a bit of practice.
The Hebrew alphabet is often called the aleph-bet because the first two letters are aleph and bet. Most letters have the same sound as the beginning of their name. For example, bet makes the “b” sound. That makes most letters easy to remember.
There are also some sounds in Hebrew that we don’t have in English, called gutturals. The letter Chet makes the same sound as the “ch” in “Bach.” You make this sound in the back of your throat like you’re clearing your throat.
Here’s a song commonly used to memorize the Hebrew alphabet. Putting the letters to music makes them so easy to remember!
א Aleph
Aleph is one of two silent letters in the Hebrew alphabet. When pronounced, it takes the sound of whatever vowel it accompanies.
בּ Bet
Bet is pronounced “b,” just like the letter B in English.
ב Vet
A vet is just a bet without the dot inside. The dot is called a dagesh, and vet is pronounced “v” like the letter V in English.
Gimmel makes a hard G sound, as in “goat.” It may have a dagesh inside like this גּ, but it makes the same sound with or without the dagesh.
ד Dalet
Dalet is pronounced “d,” like the letter D in English. It can also carry a dagesh, which doesn’t change its sound like this דּ.
ה Hay
Hay is pronounced “h” like the letter H in English. When it appears at the end of a word, it’s silent. It sometimes has a dot inside (הּ), called a mappiq, instead of a dagesh that appears in other letters. It indicates that the hay should be pronounced as a consonant, even though it may occur in a place in a word where it would usually be silent.
ו Vav
Vav makes the “v” sound, exactly like the letter vet above. What makes vav interesting is that it can also function as two different vowel sounds. When it appears as וֹ (called holem vav), it’s pronounced “oh,” like the sound at the end of “mow,” and when you see וּ (called shurek), you’d pronounce it “ooo” like the sound at the end of “blue.”
ז Zayin
Zayin is pronounced “zzz,” like the letter Z in English. It can carry a dagesh (זּ), which doesn’t change the pronunciation.
ח Chet
Chet is one of the guttural letters in Hebrew. As I said above, it is pronounced in the back of your throat and sounds like the “ch” in the name “Bach.”
ט Tet
Tet is pronounced “t” like the letter T in English. It will sometimes appear with a dagesh (טּ), which doesn’t change its pronunciation.
י Yod
The tiny letter yod sounds like the English letter “y,” as in “yellow.” Like others, it can carry a dagesh (יּ), which doesn’t change its pronunciation.
כּ Kaf
Kaf is pronounced “k” like the English letter K. It’s always pronounced this way when the dot (dagesh) is present. Without the dagesh, it sounds like the following letter on this list: Chef.
The “ch” in the name of the letter chaf is pronounced as a guttural, similar to the “ch” in “Bach,” like the letter chet above. It makes the same sound as chet the “ch” sound. When this letter has a dagesh, it makes the sound “k,” as described above.
What’s unique about Chaf that I haven’t discussed yet is that it looks different when it appears at the end of a word. Five Hebrew letters do this, and this end form of a letter is called the final (or sofit) form. When at the end of a word, chaf will look like this: ך.
ל Lamed
Lamed makes the same “l” sound as the letter L in English. Lamed may have a dagesh and look like this (לּ) but is pronounced the same.
מ Mem
Mem is pronounced “mmm,” like the letter M in English, and its sound is not changed when it appears with a dagesh (מּ). Mem also has a final form, ם, which is almost always found only when a mem is at the end of a word.
נ Nun
Nun (Pronounced both noon and nun) is pronounced “n” like the English letter N. It can have a dagesh, which would look like this (נּ), but the pronunciation remains the same. Nun has a final form for when it’s found at the end of a word, which looks like this: ן.
ס Samech
Samech is pronounced like the English letter S and is pronounced “s.” It can also have a dagesh (סּ) and is pronounced the same if it does.
ע Ayin
Like aleph, ayin is a silent letter. It only makes the sound of the vowel that accompanies it.
פּ Pey
Pey is pronounced “p,” like the letter P in the English alphabet. If it has a dagesh, it’s pronounced “p,” and if it doesn’t, it’s pronounced “f,” further explained below.
פ Fey
Fey is, like the English letter F, pronounced “f.” This sound is made only when it doesn’t have a dagesh because if it does, it’s pronounced “p.” Fey also has a final form, ף, for when it appears at the end of a word.
צ Tsade
This letter’s name is pronounced tsa-dee, with the “ts” being a consonant blend sound like the sound at the end of the word “nuts.” The “ts” sound is also the way the letter is pronounced. It’s said the same when it contains a dagesh and has a final form (ץ) at the end of a word.
ק Qof
Qof makes the “q” sound like the English letter Q. It can also appear with a dagesh, pronounced the same.
Resh is pronounced “rrr” like the English letter R. It’s a guttural, so it’s said from the back of your throat and is rolled like the letter R in Spanish.
שׁ Shin
Shin is pronounced “sh” like the commonly-used consonant blend in English, and it sounds the same when it has a dagesh. Which side the dot on top is on indicates whether it’s pronounced “sh” or “s.”
שׂ Sin
The name of this letter is pronounced sin or seen. It makes the same sound as the letter S in English, “sss.” This sound is the same as the letter samech, and sin makes the same sound when it has a dagesh. Pay careful attention to which side the dot is on, as this is what differentiates between shin and sin.
ת Tav
Tav, the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, is pronounced “t” just like the English letter T. It sounds the same when it has a dagesh, like this: תּ.
That’s it! Pretty simple, right? With a bit of practice, you can master the Hebrew alphabet and, in doing so, conquer the first step to your knowledge of the Hebrew language!
For more helpful resources for learning Hebrew, visit my Resources page!
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Learning the Hebrew Language can be very beneficial to our faith as Christians. It’s through Hebrew that we can gain a deeper understanding of the Old Testament and, ultimately, the roots of our faith! When we can know more clearly what the Bible says, we can grow closer to the God of the Bible and our Savior, Jesus!
While understanding Hebrew will help you in your studies throughout the Bible (even the New Testament!), here are ten places I’ve found the Hebrew to make a big difference.
1. Genesis 1:1 – Elohim
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
There’s no better place to start than at the very beginning. Many note that the word used for God here is “Elohim”. The “im” suffix in Hebrew indicates that the word is in its masculine plural form. This appearance of a plural noun form leads some to conclude that this verse shows that it wasn’t just God the Father present before creation, but the whole Trinity – the Father God, the Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
The first thing to note is that there are words in Hebrew that appear to be plural, like the word for water, מַּיִם, and the word for face, פָּנִים. Although they have the “im” suffix, they are not always plural.
But when you know the Hebrew language enough to conjugate verbs, you can see that the verb just preceding Elohim, בָּרָא, is conjugated in the masculine singular form. This verb form shows that only one male was creating, not three.
That said, I won’t comment on the truth of whether the other persons of the Trinity were present at creation or not. If that’s your belief, the verse in Genesis below may better support your discussion on the subject, along with others in the New Testament (John 1:1-3, 1 Cor. 8:6, and Col. 1:16-17).
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 (Emphasis added)
2. Exodus 15:2 – Yeshua
And while we’re on the subject of names, let’s look at the use of the name of our Savior! We know that Jesus’s name is used in the New Testament, as the stories about his life and ministry are found there.
But Jesus’s name is used throughout the Bible, not just in the New Testament. His Hebrew name, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), is found throughout the Old Testament as well. The Hebrew language is based mainly on root words. The root word of Yeshua is ya-shah (יָשַׁע) and means “to save” or “to deliver.” So, we can see why God told Mary to give Jesus this name. He came to save us – to be our deliverer!
When we find Yeshua in the Old Testament, we can see how the attributes of our savior are foreshadowed even before he came to earth.
The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my yeshua
Exodus 15:2a, emphasis mine
The name “Joshua” (Ye-ho-shua – יְהוֹשֻׁעַ) is similar in Hebrew spelling to that of yeshua, which also indicates that the actions of Joshua in the Old Testament also foreshadows Jesus.
Other interesting places to find the word yeshua in the Old Testament are:
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 2:18
This verse is sometimes used to show that a wife is less capable or significant than her husband. She’s merely his “helper”. But when we look at the Hebrew word used here for “helper,” it changes the perspective.
The word used here is “ezer” (עֵזֶר, pronounced “eh-zer”). “Helper” isn’t an inaccurate word to use when translating ezer from Hebrew to English, but let’s look at some other places where this same Hebrew word is used.
This word is used 21 times in the Old Testament, most of which refer to God as the helper. So this story in Genesis isn’t telling us that a wife is a helper in the respect that we would allow a toddler to be our “helper” in the kitchen but as a necessary and indispensable source of support.
Without God’s help, we’re absolutely nothing. So when we see the same word for “helper” used for a wife as it is used for God, we can conclude that God’s view of a wife is that she’s of great importance in a marital relationship!
4. Psalms 1:2 – Torah
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2
The word “law” is typically considered a negative thing among Christians. It’s believed that the grace given to us through Jesus and the Law given to us by God cannot coexist. Therefore, we must throw out any idea of the Law applying to us to accept the grace given to us through Jesus.
But the word that’s translated here and elsewhere as “law” in some translations is the word “Torah” (תּוֹרָה). So, this verse says:
Knowing the Hebrew changes the overall meaning of the verse, doesn’t it? Other translations translate “Torah” as “instruction,” which emits an entirely different emotional response than the word “law.” Rather than a bad thing God’s given to control us, the “law” or the “Torah” is instruction to lead, educate, and help us know right from wrong.
If the Law is a positive thing, that explains how we can “delight” in it, as the Psalm says. When we understand the Hebrew, we can see God’s love and guidance that He’s given us in His Word and even in His commands. He knows what’s best for us, and we’re blessed that He has instructed us on how to live.
5. Exodus 20:13 – Murder
“Thou shalt not kill.”
Exodus 20:13
This verse is from the King James Version of the Bible, but it’s worded differently in most other versions. Most say, “You shall not murder” or something similar.
The word “murder” is a much better translation of the Hebrew word in this verse. The Hebrew says ratz-ah (רָצַח), which means “to slay” or “to dash to pieces” and is used in the Bible mainly in the context of homicide. In contrast, the Hebrew word for “to kill” is ha-rog (הָרַג) and is used in situations such as killing others in war or killing an animal for food.
The usage of this word is significant because the commandment not to kill (or murder) is often used to imply that war is a sin. While a quick read of the Old Testament will reveal that there are times God does condone war, this command uses a different word than the one used in the case of war to make sure we don’t confuse the two.
So, while killing may at times be murder, the word murder implies more than just killing. Murder reveals a condition of the heart. It shows actions resulting from malice, pride, hate, bitterness, and selfishness. It implies that the victim is innocent or at least doesn’t deserve the consequence of death by another.
6. Psalm 34:7 – Malak
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
Psalm 34:7
Along with the other places in the Old Testament where angels are mentioned, the Hebrew word translated into “angel” is mal-ak (מַלְאָךְ). Malak isn’t a word for a specific type of being, though. A better translation is “messenger” or “deputy.”
In Scripture, the word “malak” is usually followed by “of the LORD,” meaning the being described is sent from God to deliver a message or do some work God sent it (or him? or her?) to do. Knowing the Hebrew here helps us understand that the word isn’t meant to describe the being itself but its purpose in interacting with humans in these situations.
7. Job 2:2 – Satan
The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
Job 2:2
While we don’t like to dwell on Satan (Sah-tahn – שָׂטָן) as we study our Bibles, it’s helpful to understand his character so we know what we need to avoid and rid our lives of. And we don’t have to go further than his name to understand who he is.
The word “satan” comes from a Hebrew verb meaning ” to accuse” or “to be an adversary” (also pronounced sah-tahn – שָׂטַן). In the Bible, names have significant meanings. Names weren’t just to identify but to describe one’s identity or purpose. Satan’s name tells us he’s “the adversary” or “the accuser.”
So, who is Satan an adversary of, and who does he accuse? God? Humans? Jesus? We can find examples to back up each of those in the Bible, so the answer is all of the above. When we can see Satan for who he is – an adversary of our God – we know that he’s our adversary as well. We know that siding with Satan or anything he stands for puts us on the wrong side.
8. Acts 2:2-4 – Spirit
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Acts 2:2-4
Hebrew in verses from Acts, you say? But the New Testament isn’t translated from Hebrew! True (mostly), but the New Testament was written by those with a knowledge of Hebrew and a mindset based on their Hebrew culture.
Take, for example, the Hebrew word for “spirit,” ruach (roo-ach – רוּחַ). While it does mean “spirit,” it also can mean “wind” or “breath.” The Hebrew language contains words that represent more than one thing. Because these words come from the same root word, they don’t just sound alike; they’re related concepts.
In the verses above, the Holy Spirit is being given to the apostles, and they hear a sound like a violent wind filling their house. It was at that time that they became filled with the Holy Spirit! The Spirit sounded like a rushing wind because wind is an aspect of God’s Spirit. The following verse is another place we see the Ruach – God’s Spirit:
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Gen 1:2
9. Genesis 2:7 – Soul
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
Here’s another word for “spirit”. Neshama (נְשָׁמָה) can mean “spirit,” but it can also be translated as “breath”. And the remainder of this verse has the beautiful Hebrew word for “soul” in it – nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ), which is translated as life.
So, when God “breathed life” into Adam, he gave him a “soul breath.” Doesn’t that give you chills? The God of the universe has soul breath, breath that contains His very spirit that, when shared with a human, gives them a soul! What a truly awesome God we have!
10. Matthew 1:16 – Messiah
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
Matthew 1:16
The word “Messiah” is derived from the Hebrew word “mashiach” (ma-shee-ach – מָשִׁיחַ), and so is the word “Christ.” Mashiach means “anointed one,” so “messiah” and “christ” do also. But did you know that this Hebrew word for “messiah” is also found in the Old Testament?
Levitical priests are frequently described as mashiach, or anointed, as in the following verse, as well as in Leviticus 4:
“The anointed priest who will be in his place among his sons shall offer it. By a permanent ordinance it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the LORD.
Leviticus 6:22
This verse could also say “the mashiach priest.” I’m pretty sure no version of the Bible translates this as “the messiah priest,” but it’s the same word. Most translate it as “the anointed priest.” Someone being anointed means they’re chosen by God and consecrated for a specific job, such as the priests being anointed for work in the Temple.
The knowledge of this word’s meaning is significant because it draws a parallel for us between our Messiah and the Levitical priests. The book of Hebrews describes how Jesus is the perfect High Priest (chapters 9 & 10) and how, because of that, he is able to atone for our sin fully. Our God chose him and sent him to save us from the desolate consequences of our sin. What amazing grace!
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Astonishingly, we live in a time when God’s Word is readily available in our language! The Bible is available in 670 languages, and the New Testament can be found in 1,521 languages! With the Old and New Testaments available in many different versions to English-speaking Christians, why would we need to learn Hebrew?
1. To strengthen our relationship with God.
As Bible-believing Christians, our highest priority is to have a relationship with the God of the Bible. As we study His Word, we learn of God’s character and thus get to know Him better. Since the Bible is where we learn about Him, we should be diligent students of it, and it should be our life’s work to understand and unpack its truths fully, and learning the Hebrew language aids us in that.
Picture a Shakespearean literary scholar. A Hindi-speaking one. Now imagine that he proceeds in his studies and teaches, writes, and speaks on the subject of his life’s work without ever learning English but instead uses a Hindi translation of the writings. Wouldn’t that be strange? We’d expect him to study the language these plays were written in. Beyond that, we’d expect that he would also become adept at understanding the details of Elizabethan English. His not doing so would cause us to question his authority and understanding of the subject.
It’s the same when we study the Bible. We could make better use of our years of bible study as we mature as Christians if we incorporated insight into the Hebrew language into our studies. To deepen our understanding of the Bible, we must immerse ourselves in the study of it. As we put years in on digging deeper into biblical truths, we should become at least some level of expert on the subject. Returning to my example of a literary scholar or an earnest student of any topic, Christians should become adept at more and more aspects of biblical study as we mature.
While some details will be lost in translation between any two languages, some translate more easily into English than others. Take the word peace, for example. In Spanish, it’s “paz,” meaning tranquility or peacefulness, much like what it means in English. So, paz = peace and vice versa. But in Hebrew, shalom is the word for peace. Shalom doesn’t just mean peace, though. Its full Hebrew meaning encompasses completeness, welfare, prosperity, perfection, soundness, safety, health, and more. Yet when translated into English almost everywhere it appears in the Bible; in nearly every English bible translation, it is merely translated as “peace.”
The inaccurate translation is not the fault of bible translators. They are brilliant and well-educated, using their knowledge to replace Hebrew with the best possible English words to preserve the meaning. The confusion comes from the vast differences between the two languages. Even with such valuable resources as we have in the development of today’s numerous bible translations, some meaning will still be lost.
The other source for potential confusion is how a word or phrase is translated, depending on the translator. Without their own understanding of the scripture’s original language, the reader must lean on the translator’s interpretation. Take 1 Sam 2:30 (emphasis mine in both verses).
The ESV version of the verse reads this way:
“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
Yet the NIV
version is this:
“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.”
So, which is it? Will those who despise God be disdained or merely lightly esteemed?
We can find the answer in the Hebrew. The root of the word used here is qalal. Its meaning includes lightly esteemed and disdained but also trifling, treated with contempt, dishonored, cursed, and insignificant. Neither of these translations is wrong, but neither fully conveys the word’s meaning.
The Christian student of the Hebrew language will shed light on this inevitable confusion. By learning to understand Hebrew – both the word meanings and how the words relate to the context, one gains a greater overall understanding of the scriptures concerning their original intended language.
3. It helps us understand Jewish culture.
While I don’t subscribe to all of Martin Luther’s beliefs and reject some of his teachings, he advocated for Christians to learn Hebrew. I love the following quote from his book Table Talk about Christians learning Hebrew.
“The Hebrew language is the best language of all, with the richest vocabulary… If I were younger I would want to learn this language, because no one can really understand the Scriptures without it. For although the New Testament is written in Greek, it is full of Hebraisms and Hebrew expressions. It has therefore been aptly said that the Hebrews drink from the spring, the Greeks from the stream that flows from it, and the Latins from a downstream pool.”
Martin Luther
Luther concludes, as do many Christians, that even the New Testament can be better understood through the Hebrew language. However, we need to know more than just the words to understand the Bible. Jewish culture in the time of both the Old and New Testaments was very different from our American culture. Learning Hebrew culture illuminates the Bible in a way that merely reading our English versions can’t.
Idioms – There are Hebrew idioms (sayings) in the Bible – even the New Testament. These are some of what Luther calls “Hebraisms” or “Hebrew expressions.” An idiom is a statement that conveys a message but must be previously defined to be understood. Some English idioms are “kick the bucket” or “see eye to eye.”
The meaning of some of these idioms, understood in ancient culture, is lost to us by translating from Hebrew word for word. For example, in Exodus 3:8, God tells of His plan to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to a “land flowing with milk and honey.” This phrase doesn’t mean a land where milk and honey are flowing literally but a fertile land that will meet their needs and even provide luxury.
In Romans 12:20, Paul uses an expression from his Hebrew culture by quoting Proverbs 25:21-22, “‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” From the standpoint of our modern American culture, heaping burning coals on someone’s head seems like a pretty horrific way to treat them! But Paul calls it overcoming evil with good. Proverbs says that God will reward people who treat their enemies this way.
Poem and Song – Poetic structure is also lost in translation. Much of the Old Testament was written in song or poem form to aid in memorization or clarify concepts, but these things are lost when these scriptures are translated into English, where the verses then lose their cadence. Old Testament scripture read in Hebrew has a beautiful sound that cannot be reproduced when translated from the original language. One prominent example of this is the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:7-9.
Separation of the words from the culture encompassing them results in a loss of meaning. An in-depth understanding of Hebrew can help us discover the scriptures’ implications beyond their mere translation..
4. It’s the language used in synagogues.
One of the most apparent differences between worship in a Messianic Synagogue vs. a traditional Christian church is the use of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew liturgy shocked me since I walked into the first synagogue I attended with a complete knowledge of maybe 20 words in Hebrew!
But over years of studying Hebrew and attending Messianic Synagogues, it’s no longer shocking; it’s beautiful! I love hearing the blessings, prayers, and scripture readings in their original language. What may be lost in translation to English is retained, and all can appreciate the beauty of the language combined with centuries-old traditions surrounding it.
Once considered a dead language, Hebrew is now the national language of Israel. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is credited with reviving spoken Hebrew near the end of the 19th century. He created words for everyday use, making Hebrew user-friendly and a single language to replace the many languages used in that area at that time.
There are differences between Biblical Hebrew (the language used in Hebrew scrolls, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls) and Modern Hebrew (spoken in Israel today), but learning one will excel the process of learning the other.
Many Christians travel to the Holy Land, and a grasp of Hebrew would greatly benefit a trip like this one. There are plenty of other reasons that it’s beneficial to learn Hebrew. Knowledge of another language is helpful in various areas of life, such as career and mission work.
6. Our Messiah Jesus learned Hebrew!
What a privilege we have to be able to learn the same language and study the very scriptures that Jesus did! Aramaic was the language he would have probably spoken, but Hebrew was the language of the synagogues in his day, much like today.
In the area where Jesus lived, the people spoke many languages. Judging from his activities and those he conversed with in the New Testament, he probably knew at least some Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and possibly others.
Since he was raised in a Jewish household, he would have learned the Torah (the first five Old Testament books) in Hebrew, as all Jewish boys did. He conversed with religious leaders in the synagogue when he was twelve (Luke 2:39-52). Due to the Hebrew language being used in the synagogue, even then, we can conclude that this conversation either took place in or contained much Hebrew.
What a unique way to learn about and from Jesus! To understand one of the same languages he used to study the scriptures is a gift we should readily accept!
7. Many resources for learning Hebrew.
The availability of information in our day can be for good or evil. There are plenty of both out there, but Christian students of the Hebrew language certainly have a significant advantage right now. There are numerous resources for learning Hebrew; many are custom-made for Christians interested in learning Hebrew. Check out my Hebrew Language resources page for some beginner-friendly resources.
Given the availability of sources for American Christians to learn Hebrew, it is now relatively easy for us to study Hebrew in our spare time and obtain a solid understanding of it. We can use this to deepen our faith and grow closer to God in the process.
If this question crosses your mind, you’re not alone! Much of the Old Testament is in Hebrew, but it also contains some Aramaic. The New Testament is in Koine Greek, so why wouldn’t I encourage Christians to learn those too?
Well, honestly, I would! Going back to my example of a Shakespearean scholar, I think we should employ all the resources God makes available to us to better learn His Word and His character.
However, if you’re going to start somewhere, the above seven reasons show that Hebrew is the best place to start. Once you get a firm grasp on Hebrew, make sure not to stop there! Continue to be a student of the Bible until God chooses to end your time on earth!
Whether or not you start down the path of learning the Hebrew language, make sure you are continually a diligent student of the Bible. Unlike any other book, it is alive with words from the Creator of the universe, written for you to get to know Him personally. Don’t miss the gifts He has in it for you!
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What does it mean to eat Biblically clean? Why have some made it a part of their faith? And weren’t the dietary laws disposed of with Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross? This post will explain a Biblically clean diet, answer the above questions, and more.
A diet change occurred for some Christians who have made their Biblical Hebraic Roots a part of their faith. They aligned their diet with the one prescribed by God in the Bible. This change is confusing to many from traditional Christianity as they believe all dietary laws were done away with when Jesus died for our sins.
First of all, does God care what we eat? Of course He does! He cares about every aspect of His people’s lives– small and large. In His mercy and patience, He knows we aren’t perfect and provides a Savior to cover all we do that disobeys Him.
But after we receive Jesus as our Savior, should we continue in our disobedience? Of course not! As we mature as Christians, we must examine every area of our lives and continually grow closer and closer to the way God wants us to live in all areas.
What It Is
Eating biblically clean comes from the command given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. These chapters only cover animals and not vegetables, fruits, or grains. Although everything in these chapters about hooves, fins, and scales can be confusing, we can narrow it down pretty simply. Most animals we usually eat in the U.S. are fine. But pork and shellfish are out, as are any other fish without fins and scales. We don’t commonly eat other restricted animals – dogs, horses, rabbits, vultures, eagles, owls, snakes, etc.
Biblically Clean vs. Kosher
Although there are apparent similarities, an Orthodox Jew would not consider a Biblically clean diet Kosher. Basically, a Biblically clean diet follows the dietary laws given in Leviticus 11 literally. Biblically clean is different from what’s referred to as a Kosher diet according to today’s understanding. Eating Kosher includes not mixing meat with dairy products and other rabbinical additions to the statutes in Leviticus.
Why We Do It
Out of obedience
As we all recall the story of Adam and Eve, we always question why they ate the fruit. Why didn’t they just take God at His word and obey Him? It was such a small thing to avoid just one of the many trees in the garden. They were given such a beautiful place to live, peace, each other, and communion with God! What more could they need?
Biblically clean is similar to the way we view these dietary laws. God gives us all we have and has lavishly blessed us. He gives us numerous food choices outside of the restrictions he gives. We can (and many do) live free and happy lives without including the restricted foods in our diet. The cost of obeying these laws is minimal, but disobeying God always has negative consequences, even if we see the issue as insignificant.
To set us apart
In conclusion to His explanation of the dietary restrictions in Leviticus 11, God states the following:
“For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Lev. 11:45
As Gentiles grafted in to the promises given to Israel by God, this verse is for us, too! God doesn’t want us to blend in with those around us. He wants us to look different – to be His!
Dietary laws, along with the Sabbath and other commands, do set us apart from the rest of the world. If you keep the Sabbath or eat Biblically clean, you’ll soon learn how different your life will look from those around you.
God knows what’s best for us
Many people propose that God gave the dietary laws for health reasons. Whether or not this is true isn’t clear, but it’s also irrelevant. If God tells us to do anything, we know it’s for good – our good, the good of others, or for His glory. If He told the people of Israel, His chosen people, what not to eat, we can trust that it was not only best for them then but is best for us today.
Remembering who we serve 3 times a day
Sometimes it’s challenging to stay focused on what’s important, isn’t it? When eating according to the Biblical dietary laws, we’re reminded many times daily who we’re living for. If I were living for myself and ordering a pizza, I’d order a pepperoni pizza, but I have to stop and think before I order since I’m committed to eating Biblically clean. What would God prefer I order? Wouldn’t we rather please Him with even the little things in life, like what we order at a restaurant? Is it possible He doesn’t care about something that small? I don’t think so!
Spiritual discipline
We live in a culture in which there’s really no right or wrong. Where you draw the line on any issue is up to you, and you can change it anytime. But how does a Christian discipline him or herself to stay on God’s path in our culture? Discipline is like a muscle. Some call it the “no” muscle. If we live giving in to everything our flesh desires, how do we exercise this “no” muscle?
Keeping a Biblically clean diet is very helpful for building discipline in life – both yours and that of those around you, like your children! When we have uncompromising things to adhere to, we keep our “no” muscle in good shape. An exercise you must do three or more times daily will make spiritual discipline second nature as you must stop and think before each meal, ensuring that it aligns with your beliefs.
Did Jesus Say Dietary Laws Don’t Matter?
People often use the story in Mark 7:1-23 as a reason not to eat according to the laws in the Bible. Here, Jesus scolds the Pharisees for condemning those eating without first ritually washing their hands. However, a few points are beneficial in understanding what’s going on here.
First, Jesus notes that they are putting the traditions of man above the Commands of God. Ritual hand washing was a law made by the rabbis of the time and not a Command from God.
Second, Jesus didn’t refer to the food during this chapter but to ritual hand washing. One can apply the meaning to food, but Jesus didn’t say that.
Third, most English Bible translations include a sentence at the end of this story with a highly disputed translation. It’s in verse 19 and is often in parentheses: “Thus he declared all foods clean.” But that’s a loose translation from the original Greek. We can easily interpret the point of this story in the context Jesus indicated – that ritual hand washing doesn’t make foods clean or unclean.
What Would Jesus Eat?
Have you ever wondered what Jesus ate while he was here on earth? All of his meals would have been eaten according to specific rules, not just because he was Jewish by heritage but out of obedience to God – to avoid sin and obey the Laws God gave us.
Think about it. Had Jesus broken these dietary laws and disobeyed God, would he have been perfect? Would he have qualified to be our Savior and Messiah? Nope.
But What About Peter’s Vision?
Acts 10 is another place Christians look to to show we shouldn’t adhere to dietary laws. But, again, taken in context, this chapter isn’t talking about food at all but about people.
Read the whole story when you get a chance, but to summarize, Peter has a vision in which a sheet is lowered three times. On the sheet are all kinds of animals – both clean and unclean. A voice says, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.” Peter protests, saying he’s never eaten anything unclean. He then hears the voice again. This time, it says, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider common.” (Side note – for an eye-opening view of this story, do a word study on the words used here for clean, unclean, and common.)
Instead of accepting the vision and the words at face value, Peter is perplexed. He’s pretty disturbed by it and tries to figure out what the vision could have possibly meant.
Many stop here and conclude that the vision meant two things – that followers of Jesus are to disobey the commands concerning food in Leviticus 11 and that Gentiles are allowed into the faith and able to receive the Holy Spirit. That could be one way to interpret this story, but later, Peter explains more than once (Acts 10:28 & 11:2-18) that he’s figured out what the vision meant and that it’s about people (Gentiles included in the faith). He doesn’t mention it being about food at all.
How Does Grace Factor in?
So, if we’re supposed to keep the dietary laws post-Jesus, doesn’t that mean we’re doing works to earn our salvation?
No – not at all. Let me explain. The Bible discussed two relevant concepts here – justification and sanctification. Salvation (or justification) is a one-time thing. It occurs when we repent of our sin and turn to Jesus, putting our belief in him as the one who paid for our sin.
When we discuss the things we do in our daily lives as we live obedient to God, we’re talking about a process called sanctification. A simple way to explain it is that we grow closer and closer to holiness as we mature in our faith.
So, eating unclean animals does not condemn us in the same way stealing doesn’t. We eat Biblically clean not to be saved but because we are saved and love and trust God. We want to live God’s way and obey Him. He has given us the way to live in His Word, and Jesus also upheld the authority of these instructions (Matt. 5:17-19).
Should You Eat Biblically Clean?
Like all the changes a Christian makes in his or her life, the first step is to consult God. Honestly seek what He has to say as you seek an answer to this question. Be sensitive to whether or not The Spirit is convicting you on this issue. If you’re still on the fence about it, check out the Holy Cow: Does God Care What We Eat? for more Biblically-based information on the subject of diet.
Challenge
If you’re thinking of going Biblically clean, try it out as you’re waiting for God’s answer. Eat Biblically clean for one month and see what happens. Did you think about God more or the same amount? Did you find yourself in the Word more or less? Did discipline in other areas of your life increase or stay the same? Does the thought of returning to the way you previously ate bother you?
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I love getting questions from my audience and try to answer all of them to the best of my ability. With a worldwide audience, many of the same questions are asked, so I put my answers all in one post to help you find the answers you’re looking for. If you don’t see your question here, add it in the comments or send me a message, and I’ll do my best to answer you.
Here are the most frequently asked questions, not necessarily in any order.
The most common question is, “Is there a Hebraic congregation near me?” The answer can be complicated because many congregations don’t make their information public, and some are small congregations that lack the resources to advertise when and where they meet.
These congregations can be challenging to find. A partial solution lies in the online directories to connect people with a congregation in their area. I’ve compiled the directories I know of in one post, How to Find a Hebraic Congregation, and I included options for an online community in case you cannot find a live one near you.
What do I do if my spouse disagrees with my spiritual beliefs?
Whether or not this is your question, I’m sure you’d be surprised at how often I get this one! Very often, spouses don’t have the same level of conviction in pursuing a more Hebraic faith walk. This differing conviction is a sensitive issue and can be heartbreaking, but it’s not unlike many other differences in marriage. Many Christians I know are in different places spiritually than their spouse but still maintain a successful marriage, despite that hardship.
Aside from differences in individual situations, I almost always recommend what was recommended to wives of unbelievers in 1 Peter 3.
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
I don’t think nagging or arguing will cause the Spirit to convict your spouse. But I believe the positive change in your actions and attitude from your spiritual growth will be evident and contagious.
As you make changes in your faith and life, weigh each change you make for the impact it will have on your marriage. For example, you may want to attend a more Hebraic congregation, but your spouse is comfortable at your current church. Could you find a Hebraic Bible study (see the next section) or an online community instead? If you feel strongly about not working on the Sabbath, maybe you could make it your day off and focus on Bible study or another Sabbath activity rather than on your spouse working that day.
In summary, respond to the Spirit’s conviction that has moved you in the Hebraic direction, but don’t make it a wedge between you and your spouse if possible. Be in constant communication with God about your words and actions and how they will affect your relationship with your spouse and God. Be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading as you balance the battles that must be fought (if any!) and those of lesser importance.
As we realize how precious the Sabbath should be to God’s people, we explore different options for using the time on the Sabbath day. Keeping the Sabbath is not only the fourth of the Ten Commandments; the Bible says it’s a sign that we’re God’s people. I wrote this post in response to the question of what to do on the Sabbath: What DO We Do on the Sabbath?
The Sabbath should be a day set apart from the other days of the week, but not just by taking time for ourselves. We should rest and enjoy this day off from our regular work, but we should also set it apart for God. That means we replace our priorities on that day with His, more than we try to on other days of the week.
Although the Sabbath looks different in every family, here are some things my family includes in ours.
Physical rest
Bible study
Family time
Time with our fellow Believers
What do you call yourselves?
One of my best friends and I have this conversation a lot, and I know many of you do too! Naming Hebraic believers can be confusing! For example, I consider myself a Hebraic Roots believer, but if you scour the internet for what that means, you’ll come up with many different things, and among them are a few beliefs I disagree with 100%! In saying this, I’d like to point out that there are many types of Hebraic Believers with varying belief systems. People also hold differing beliefs in traditional Christianity, but it’s not as easy to assume what a Hebraic Roots Believer believes.
In my faith community, we lean more toward Messianic Judaism. We have some Messianic Jews in our congregation and also generally agree that Messianic Jewish resources and worship traditions tend to be the most Biblically solid. Other communities I’ve visited are less traditional, even though we hold very similar beliefs. Those of us who lean more toward Messianic Jewish teachings and traditions often refer to ourselves as “Messianics.” We can’t say we’re Messianic Jews because we’re not Jewish, even though we worship with Jews. We’re technically “Messianic Gentiles,” but I hesitate to use that term because many Christians object to being referred to as “Gentiles” (even though that’s what we are).
So, why don’t we just call ourselves “Christians”? Well, this is where things get a bit messy. If you define a Christian as someone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah and that he has authority over your life, Hebraic believers fit under that title. However, belief in Jesus isn’t something all people tend to associate with the term “Christian.”
Traditional Christians generally believe that the Law (commandments in the Old Testament) have been done away with due to Jesus’s atonement for sin. They follow the Gregorian calendar instead of the Biblical calendar, and their main holidays are Christmas and Easter instead of the Biblical Holy Days. Whether you agree with these beliefs and practices or not, most people around the world identify these as “Christian.” Because of this, some Hebraic believers find it misleading to call themselves “Christian” and instead call themselves “Messianic” or whatever term they find to be a better fit. Not calling themselves Christian doesn’t mean they deny Christ, just that they believe differently than most Christians.
The short answer is yes! We believe that Jesus’s death on the cross paid the price we could not for our sin and that our sin has been fully atoned for through him.
Now for the long answer. Once you have this saving faith, your actions and beliefs will change as you grow in your faith, and you’ll increase in holiness. This process is referred to as “sanctification.” Our actions naturally follow when we honestly turn our hearts toward following Jesus. Most Christians agree with this, and this idea is Biblically supported.
The point Messianics and traditional Christians disagree on is what we’re responsible for once we’re saved. Traditional Christians would usually say that we’re responsible for obeying the 10 Commandments (Ex. 20), the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19), and loving our neighbor (Lev. 19:18), among other commands found in the Bible.
But many Hebraic believers believe that, as a grafted-in part of Israel, the best way to live is the way God laid out for His people from the beginning of Creation. We take Jesus at his word when he says he didn’t come to abolish the Law. We take seriously his warning that whoever annuls (also translated as “breaks,” “nullifies,” and “relaxes”) one of the commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:17-19). We conclude from Jesus’s quote here and others that Jesus takes the Commandments of the Torah seriously and teaches his followers to do so as well.
We don’t believe that grace and works are mutually exclusive but must both be present in genuine and mature faith, as stated in James 2:14-26 – “faith without works is dead.”
Isn’t this cultural appropriation?
What I find most interesting about this question isn’t that it’s asked, but who asks it! I get this question only from either non-Jews or people who are Jewish by heritage but don’t practice Judaism. And they usually aren’t just asking; they’re aggressively condemning me for following traditions they do not hold dear. They bring up historical situations where Christians committed violence against the Jewish people and claim that non-Jews embracing Jewish traditions are committing that same violence.
Because they make this claim, it’s clear that they don’t know any Messianics personally. We do the exact opposite of violence against Jews. We hold the Jewish people high because God says they are His Chosen people. Instead of erasing their traditions, we want them to be revered and valued. We honor them in our congregations and our families, not because we hate them but because we see the value in worshipping God in the way He desires, which many of these Jewish traditions have done for thousands of years.
The other exciting thing about this topic is the support this movement has from observant, non-Messianic Jews. Some have contacted me personally to thank me for what I do to help bring the truth from God’s Word to the Christian community, and one was even happy that I pointed out the Jewishness of Jesus!
Are you Jewish?
Nope. Not as far as I know. In addition to asking if I’m Jewish, people also ask if I think I’m becoming Jewish by embracing these traditions. I don’t believe that doing traditionally Jewish practices can make a Gentile into a Jew; however, I find Jewish traditions tend to be true to the Bible. Because of that, they’re also valuable to Christians – especially those aiming to return to their faith’s Biblical roots.
When I first started attending Messianic Jewish services, I realized that many of their traditions are Biblical. I learn even more about these Biblical foundations as I discover more about Jewish traditions. Some I even see Jesus participating in as I study the New Testament (one example: Luke 14:16, where he participates in synagogue services by reading from the Torah). The more I learn about them, the more I love these traditions as they bring glory to God through His Word and even to our Messiah!
What the Law includes is, unfortunately, a big misunderstanding between traditional Christians and Messianic believers. You’ll get various answers if you ask a conventional Christian what the Law is. Some say it’s the 10 Commandments. Some say the only laws are “Love God and Love People,” and some consider the Great Commission a law.
But the answer is much more straightforward than this. “The Law” is all of the commands God gave to His people in the Torah (the Bible’s first five books). Wise Jewish rabbis have scoured the Torah to find all God asks of His people and have devised a collection of 613 Laws. You can read them and where they’re located in the Bible here.
“Wow,” you say. “613! That’s a lot! How could God possibly expect us to keep that many laws?!”
Well, not only does He expect us to (Lev. 22:31, Rev. 14:11, and so many others), He says we’re capable of keeping them and that they’re not too much to ask of us (Deut. 30:11, 1 John 5:1-5).
To go even further, the Bible says that we’re to love God’s laws (Ps. 1:2, 19:7-14, 119, Prov 29:18, Rom. 7:22, and others).
And if you’re wondering how Jesus feels about the Law, here are a few of his quotes:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
“And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Now, to reiterate what I said in the section on grace, we DO NOT believe that keeping the Commandments is what saves us. However, we know that God laid out a specific way to live as His people, and Jesus upheld this prescribed way to live in his teachings. Once we attain salvation, we begin the sanctification process- becoming more like God and our Savior.
This one is listed first because it’s my favorite. It’s easy to read but an excellent translation for those whose faith leans toward the Hebraic direction.
This Bible adds the context of the ancient culture of the Bible. It includes beautiful maps and diagrams to bring the Bible to life through your studies.
What Hebraic Bible studies do you recommend?
A growing number of these are out there, which is terrific for believers on this path.
This study is my absolute favorite. I’ve learned so much from Tom Bradford. His teachings are solidly based on the Bible, and his teaching method is clear.
First Fruits of Zion has a Bible study from a Messianic Jewish point of view. Although they have books you can purchase, most Torah Clubs meet in person weekly worldwide.
Studying the Bible through the Torah Portions is a great way to get the whole picture of the big story throughout the New and Old Testaments. It’s my favorite way to study the Bible, and my family and I repeat it yearly, learning new things each time!
If you’re an absolute beginner, you can start learning the letter and vowel sounds and basic reading on my website. You’ll enjoy the free printable flashcards! There’s some additional information on Hebrew words and the language as well.
This pack has all you need to go from a beginner to an advanced Hebrew student and beyond! The best thing about it is that you can do the entire course at your own pace and in your own home.
Where can I learn more about the Hebraic faith?
Right here on this website! Looking for something in particular? Visit the home page and search for what you’re interested in. You can also get the “book version” of the instructional info on my website here: Bring Shalom to Your Home by Holly Eastburg.
But there are other great resources out there as well. Here are some others.
John Parsons explains the traditions of Messianic Judaism and provides many resources for learning Biblical Hebrew. His website has so much useful information!
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You may have heard many Christians started observing the Biblical Feast Days. You may even have heard them claim these seven Feast Days point to Jesus as our Messiah. Since the connection between the commands to observe these days in Leviticus and our faith in Jesus as our Savior can be confusing, here’s an overview of these important days and how each relates to Jesus and, thus, to our faith.
I must add that salvation is not found in keeping the Feast Days or God’s commands. Salvation through works is a significant misconception about the Hebrew Roots Movement and the source of many people’s objection to Christians keeping The Holy Days or following the commands of the Torah. Salvation is found in Jesus alone and is based on the grace we’ve been given through Jesus’s sacrifice, not on our adherence to God’s laws (Eph. 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5). We follow His laws only out of love and respect for God and His commands and because His grace has saved us, not because the obedience itself will save us. On the other hand, although the laws don’t save us, we shouldn’t blatantly disregard the way God wants us to live. We should instead delight in His perfect laws (Psalm 1:2, 19:7, and 40:8)!
This article is a basic overview; the verses I give for each refer only to the command. All these observances are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as well. Click on the day’s name for a more in-depth explanation of how it relates to the Christian faith and can be celebrated in a Christian home.
Known as “Shabbat” in Hebrew, this Feast Day occurs weekly. The Sabbath is a day to rest and to keep holy – that is, to focus on our God and Savior.
Jesus said that he is “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8 and Mark 2:28). In addition to revealing his divine nature in this verse, having been there at the creation of the universe, Jesus took part in the creation of the Sabbath when God first declared it (John 1:1-5, Gen. 1:26 and 2:3).
Jesus is our “Sabbath rest” (Hebrews 4). As believers, we can rest in our salvation and observe the Sabbath just as God did. We should strive to align our behavior with what God desires of us despite and because of our salvation. However, we can rest in the mercy and grace we’ve been given and approach God with no shame after repenting and turning from our sin.
“Pesach” in Hebrew, this Feast is a remembrance of the Passover and the resultant exodus from slavery in Egypt. During the Passover, the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrew people saved them from the final plague of the death of the firstborn.
John the Baptist prophetically calls Jesus “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). After Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, Paul refers to him as “our Passover” (1 Cor. 5:7). What these two men realized is that the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb that saved the Hebrew people foreshadowed the sacrifice Jesus made that saves us today!
Jesus also tells us he’ll celebrate The Passover with us again someday (Mark 14:24-25 and Luke 22:15-16). Wow! What an exciting Feast to look forward to!
Also called “Chag HaMatzot,” this week-long Feast occurs during the week of Passover. It’s generally a time to remember the Passover further. Being in a hurry to leave Egypt when Pharaoh finally allowed them to, they didn’t have time to leaven their dough and had to cook and eat unleavened bread.
The command for this Feast is to remove all leaven (also called “chametz”) from one’s household and to eat none for seven days. “Leaven” or yeast is a biblical reference to sin or corruption. When something is described as “unleavened,” it’s pure or uncorrupted.
For example, when yeast is placed in bread, it spreads until it is in the entire batch. Think about people you know who have let a minor sin enter their lives; likewise, it spreads and spreads and sometimes ends up ruining lives. Think about a married man who friends an old girlfriend on social media and what damage this tiny action can lead to.
Jesus, our “bread of life,” was able to be the only atoning sacrifice for our sin because he was “unleavened” or uncorrupted by sin. Having adhered to the entire law (Torah), his perfection made his crucifixion the one-time blood sacrifice that could cover the sins of all mankind forever.
In 1 Cor. 5:6-7, Paul explains that a bit of leaven leavens the whole lump. Even if we lead perfect lives, we cannot achieve perfection, causing us not to be able to experience true communion with God. Having to clean out all the leaven in every nook and cranny of our homes reminds us that even the tiniest bits of sin left in the nooks and crannies of our hearts must be dealt with. If not, they will indeed “leaven the whole lump” and spread throughout our lives and those around us.
How blessed are we? Jesus has dealt with each crumb of leaven in our hearts so that we can approach God pure and “unleavened” as well!
Called “Yom Bikkurim” (the Day of First Fruits) or “Reshit Katzir” (beginning of the harvest) in Hebrew, this Feast Day is the dedication of the future harvest to God, which was demonstrated by waving a sheaf of green barley before God. It begins the 49-day countdown to The Feast of Weeks, the next Feast. The command also includes sacrificing a blemish-free male lamb as well. However, this part can only be done with the Temple.
Here’s another Feast Day that Paul sheds light on for us. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, he tells us that Jesus is the “first fruits” to both the dead and those “in Christ” when Jesus returns to Earth. Just as the First Fruits Feast offerings looked forward to the future harvest, so did Jesus’s resurrection. He came to save us and will raise the dead and rule the Earth when he returns! What a glorious day that will be!
“Shavuot,” in Hebrew, means “weeks,” and is another name for this Feast. It’s more commonly known among Christians as Pentecost (which means “fifty”). It marks the 50th day after the original Passover, the day God gave His law (Torah) to His people on Mount Sinai. It’s called the Feast of Weeks because the counting was to be done in weeks. The command says to count seven Sabbaths (seven weeks) from the Day of First Fruits until this Feast.
Before his ascension into Heaven, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus foretold what would happen on the day the apostles celebrated The Feast of Weeks. In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus tells them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit.
Sure enough, just as he said, the apostles were celebrating the Feast of Weeks ten days later, thanking God for giving His Word on Mount Sinai. During this celebration, they received the Word in their hearts just as was prophesied (Jer. 31:31-33 and Joel 2:28-29). While they thanked God for His Word, His Word entered their hearts as the Holy Spirit indwelt them.
Jesus said that he had to leave so that they could receive the Holy Spirit, and that’s precisely what happened. The Word was given on Mount Sinai, then lived among us, personified in Jesus, and then the Word was given to each believer personally through the Holy Spirit!
A Shofar or Ram’s horn. A type of “trumpet” discussed in the Bible.
Commonly called Rosh Hashanah due to its designation as the first day of the Jewish New Year, this day is called Yom Teruah in the Hebrew Bible. The command says it is a Sabbath, and trumpets (or shofars – rams’ horns) are to be blown, along with a sacrifice brought to the Temple. Biblically, it’s not the New Year but is a method of numbering and counting the years.
Generally, the creation of the universe is celebrated, and it marks the beginning of the “Ten Days of Awe,” which continues over the year’s remaining Feast Days. This ten-day period is a time of introspection where each person evaluates their life, repents for sin, and resolves to live more according to God’s will.
We must first understand the “Teruah” to fully understand this Feast. More than just the noise of a trumpet blast, this was the same call made by the priests when the wall of Jericho fell. It’s the one used when King David returned the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and it will be the one heard on “the Day of The Lord” (Zeph. 1:16). This type of trumpet blast (or even shouting) is like a call to war or a celebration of a victory of God or His people.
The Feast of Trumpets is when we anticipate Jesus’s return to Earth. Jesus gives a chilling explanation of this day in Matthew 24. He says that after the sun, moon, and stars are darkened, and the powers of the heavens are shaken (woah…), the trumpet call will bring his elect from the Earth’s four corners. “His elect”? That’s us, Christian Brothers and Sisters! And so we remember to blow our trumpets yearly on The Day of Trumpets. And in the meantime, we wait… And listen for the trumpets…
And in the meantime, we wait… And listen for the trumpets…
As we think of a new year beginning and prepare our hearts for Yom Kippur, we can focus on repentance and re-aligning our lives with God’s will. An honest and prayerful examination of our lives can highlight the sin we must deal with and the changes we must make.
This process will naturally bring us to a state of thankfulness for our Savior. We can repent, turn from our sin, and know that his unselfish sacrifice on the cross covers it.
Also called Yom Kippur (the Day of Coverings), this was the only day of the year that the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and make a sin sacrifice for God’s people. He was the only one who could stand between them and God to make atonement, and only on this day, according to specific procedures. Without the Temple to make these sacrifices today, the Jewish people see this as the day that God writes our names in the Book of Life or the Book of Death, depending on which we deserve.
As Christians, we see this day a bit differently, of course. While focusing on repentance, we can also celebrate and be grateful for the sacrifice that made atonement for our sin, Jesus. He is also our high priest (Heb. 4:14-15 and 8:1-6) and is therefore qualified to make atonement for our sins. Furthermore, if we profess Jesus as our Savior, we know that our names are already written in the Book of Life, so we can thank God for that!
Prophetically, we can also look forward to the day when Jesus returns as judge. Although one judgment was carried out when Jesus was crucified, there remains a Judgement Day for those who have rejected him. There are also a few places in the Bible (Matt. 12:36-37, 1 Cor. 3:13, and 2 Cor. 5:10) indicating that, as Christians, our actions will be judged as well (although not with gravity equal to those not in Christ). Because of this, we all must closely examine our actions and the fruit of our lives and further align with God’s will.
This Feast is also referred to as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot (“booths” or “tabernacles” in Hebrew). It’s traditionally a time to remember God’s provisions for His people and His dwelling or “tabernacling” with His people. The command includes living in a temporary dwelling for the week.
Many Christians use this time of the year to celebrate the time Jesus spent tabernacling with us, from birth to resurrection. Sukkot is a time to celebrate God’s dwelling with His people. Jesus was precisely that! He is God and came to Earth as a man to walk with us!
We can also thank God for His provision and blessings during this time. Yes, He gives us more than we need in a material sense, but He also does in a spiritual sense. Being the sinful people we all are, we’re separated from God and in dire need of a way to Him that we can’t provide ourselves. Although we’re undeserving of it, God chose to give us a second chance. He sent Jesus so we could approach God even though we were unworthy. That’s the best blessing of all!
Many places in the Bible foretell a time when God will dwell with us again. The Feast of Tabernacles is when we can look forward to the Wedding Feast in Revelation. Jesus—the groom—will finally be united with us, his people—his bride—and there will be a great, joyful Wedding Feast! What an event to behold! I can’t wait, can you?!
All these Feasts point to Jesus in powerful yet unique ways. Bringing these traditions into your Christian faith will provide reminders of the part we all have in God’s Kingdom and of our eternal Savior and what he’s done in the past, what he’s doing right now, and what he will do in the future. Celebrate Jesus throughout the year—on the Feast Days and every day!
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According to the Bible, there are seven Feasts that God calls His Feasts (Lev. 23:2, Ez. 44:24) and commands His people to keep. Although it became rare for Christians to keep these Feasts in recent times, many are returning to a more Biblical way of life and realizing all that God has to teach us through these Feasts!
Each Feast teaches us about our God’s attributes. By observing these Feasts, we can learn what a wonderful God He is! The Feasts also teach us about ourselves, how we should live as His people, and what our relationship with Him should look like.
These Feasts are also prophetic. When God commanded them, he wanted His people to look back on what He had done for them in the past and forward to the rest of the story of Him and His people.
One important thing – the Sabbath is covered before these Feasts are listed in the Bible. It’s the holiest of all the Feasts, and observing it demonstrates to God, others, and ourselves that we belong to God. Although it’s not on this list, it’s of great importance in the life of any Believer. For more info on the Sabbath and how to keep it, visit this page.
Below, I will cover each Feast very briefly. Know that, with each Feast, you can go more into the practices, symbolism, sacrifices, where they occur in the Bible, etc., and learn more of what God has for you with each of them. Here, I want to cover the basics for those who want to see just a summary of these Feasts and their meanings.
Passover is the first Feast of the year, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. It helps us remember how God redeemed His people from captivity and brought them out so they could freely worship Him. Like the blood on the doorways of the Hebrew people in Egypt was a protective covering from the plague of the firstborn, the blood of Jesus provides a covering for our sin.
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew, meaning “skip”) is usually celebrated with a seder. In this seder, the story of the Exodus is retold, and each aspect of it is “experienced” by the participants. It’s a time of celebration, and each element of the seder represents a part of this incredible story.
Just after Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Observing this Feast is to remember the Exodus further and that the Israelites needed to flee Egypt in a hurry and didn’t have time to leaven their dough before leaving. Leaven often represents sin in the Bible, so the lack of leaven represents sinlessness. Jesus fulfilled this Feast by following the Laws of the Torah and was, therefore, a pure candidate for atonement.
Unleavened Bread is called Matzah in Hebrew, so this Feast is Biblically called the Feast of Matzah. It is observed by eating unleavened bread for seven days and even cleaning all the leaven out of the home (Ex. 12:19). The first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread are Sabbaths.
First Fruits
The first of something, like the harvest, firstborn child, or firstborn animals, were given to God as an offering, thanking Him for providing and putting faith in Him to continue to provide in the future (Deut. 26:1; Ex. 13:1-2, 11-16). During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits is a time to bring the first of what we reap to God and look to Jesus as the first and best offering to God. He’s also the first of those to be raised from the grave (1 Cor. 15:20).
The Hebrew word for First Fruits is Bikkurim, which comes from the same root word as the word for “firstborn,” which is bekhor. It’s commonly thought that Jesus rose from the dead on First Fruits, so many celebrate his resurrection during this two-day celebration.
Starting on First Fruits, many “count the omer.” This practice comes from Leviticus 23:15-16, where God says to count 7 Sabbaths or 50 days from First Fruits, then to observe Shavuot. We symbolically prepare our hearts to receive the Law and the Spirit during this time, and Shavuot is a Sabbath.
Shavuot is a time to celebrate God giving us His Law (Yes, it’s worth celebrating!) and eventually His Spirit to live in us. His Law was given on Mount Sinai, and the prophetic side of this Feast (Jere. 31:33) was fulfilled when the Spirit was given, and the Law was no longer external but written on our hearts instead.
The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It’s also known as Pentecost, which comes from a Greek word meaning “fiftieth.” Biblically, Shavuot includes an offering from the wheat harvest, a sign of gratitude to God for providing through the land. To further celebrate the giving of the land, milk and honey (or recipes containing the two) are often eaten on Shavuot. It’s also a time to celebrate the Law and the Spirit, showing that we’re thankful for both.
This Feast is often confused with Rosh Hashanah, but they are different celebrations, and you can read more about the differences here. Yom Teruah is another Sabbath, observed on the first day of the seventh month, and it’s supposed to be “a reminder by blowing of trumpets.”
A “teruah” or trumpet blast is heard in the Bible when God’s doing something incredible. What we remember on Yom Teruah are all of the awesome things our God has done throughout time. Prophetically, we look forward to the day we hear the “teruah” announcing the return of our Savior!
This day is observed at sundown by looking for the New Moon (indicating the first day of the month has started) and blowing the shofar when it’s spotted. Some mix traditions from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Teruah, celebrating the beginning of the Hebrew calendar year at this time.
The tenth day of the month of Tishrei is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is when the priest made atonement for the nation of Israel in the days of the Temple. It’s a Sabbath, and the Bible says we’re to be “humbled” or “afflicted” on this day. This Holy Day is more somber and focused, less celebratory, where people wear white, attend services, and fast.
On Yom Kippur, we can look to Jesus and be grateful for his covering (Kippur means “covering”) of our sin in response to our repentance. As a people, though, we need to repent, pray for God’s mercy, and turn to Him for forgiveness. Yom Kippur is a day when we examine our actions and those of our nation, repent where needed, and turn back to the path God wants us to take.
The prophecy in Yom Kippur is that we look forward to a time when Jesus will be the judge. It will be up to him who enters God’s Kingdom and who doesn’t.
Sukkot is the last of the Holy Days on the Biblical calendar. It’s a joyful celebration lasting eight days, starting on the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the Biblical calendar, also known as Tishrei. The first and last of the eight days of Sukkot are Sabbaths.
According to the command for Sukkot in Leviticus 23, God’s people are to celebrate by living in temporary dwellings called Sukkot. God says this is to remind us that God had the people live in dwellings like these when He brought them out of Egypt. During Sukkot, we remember many things – that God provides, that God supernaturally rescued the Hebrew people and provided for them in the wilderness, and that He sent Jesus to “tabernacle” or temporarily dwell with us on earth.
Sukkot is also prophetic in that there will be one day when Jesus will not just tabernacle but will live among us on earth. It points forward to the wedding feast, where we, as God’s people, will finally be joined with Jesus and live with him physically among us, ruling on earth.
This article is just a summary of each of these Holy Days, but don’t stop here in your study of them. God has so much for you to learn as you study these meaningful Feasts that He calls His. Explore them further by browsing the Traditions category on HolyBranches.com or in my book, Bring Shalom to Your Home.
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As Believers seek to enrich their faith by incorporating biblical Holy Days into their family traditions, the amount of information on these days and how to celebrate them can be overwhelming and confusing. I want to offer just a basic overview of the 7 “appointed times” commanded by God to be kept by His people in Leviticus 23 (and elsewhere).
Chapter 23 opens with a repeat of the command to keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath is sometimes called the most holy of days, so it would be an excellent place to start if you don’t already keep it. It then lists and explains the 7 Holy Days: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
The focus of Pesach (Passover in Hebrew) is to remember what God did for His people when He rescued them from slavery in Egypt. The whole story is found in Exodus chapters 3-15 (it’s incredible!), but here’s a brief overview. The Passover celebration, combined with the Festival of Unleavened Bread (below), lasts eight days (seven in Israel), and a symbolic meal called a Seder, meaning “order,” is traditionally held on the first and second nights. Passover is celebratory rather than somber because it’s a reminder of our freedom and what God has done for us – both as His people and through our Messiah.
Matzah (unleavened bread). The matzah symbolizes the unleavened bread the Israelites ate because they left Egypt with no time for their bread to rise. The matzah is also like Jesus, who wasn’t “leavened” with sin so that he could be a sacrifice for ours.
A shank bone. This bone symbolizes the lamb sacrificed to save the Israelites from the final plague on the firstborn. For Christians, this would also point to Jesus, our Passover lamb, who was sacrificed to save us from the slavery of our sin.
Charoset. A mixture of apples, honey, and nuts. Charoset reminds us of the mortar used by the Israelite slaves to build brick buildings for the Egyptians.
Wine. Four to five cups are used in the Seder, and one is used in a procedure resembling the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread takes place during Passover week. Although this seems like the remainder of the Passover week, the Bible separately mentions Chag HaMatzot, or the Festival of Unleavened Bread. It specifically says that we are to live these seven days without leaven, otherwise known as yeast. Biblically, yeast can symbolize sin in our lives (Matt. 16:6, 1 Cor. 5:6-8, and others). Called chametz in Hebrew, foods containing yeast are cleaned out of the homes of those participating in this festival.
This cleanout provides a beautiful picture of the sin in our lives and how we must work diligently to clean it all out. It also shows our need for a savior because we can’t get rid of all of it! It sounds difficult because it is, but I challenge you to do this with your family! Mine has had so many great conversations about invasive sin in our lives during this process and how difficult it is to get rid of. Even if a tiny bit is left, it can grow and take our lives over, just like it only takes a small amount of yeast to leaven the whole batch of dough.
The “deadline” for the leaven cleanout is the first night of Passover. Since yeast can naturally occur in grains mixed with water, many people rid their homes of wheat, oats, barley, spelt, and rye. Some very devout Jews go so far as to get rid of anything resembling a grain, including corn and beans. My family cleans out all leavening agents and their products. We include yeast, baking soda, baking powder, etc.
The second day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread is called The Day of First Fruits or Yom HaBikkurim. It marks the first day of the countdown to the next Feast, the Feast of Weeks, which occurs 50 days later. On the Day of First Fruits, the priest would wave a sheaf of green barley, an omer, to start the countdown. A male lamb would also be sacrificed. Today, people celebrate this day and the next 49 days as days of spiritual introspection. Since these days lead up to the day God’s Law (the Torah) was given, on the Feast of Weeks, they’re a time for preparation to receive the word of God.
One fantastic thing about First Fruits is that it’s thought to be the day that Jesus rose from the dead! Paul also refers to Jesus as the first fruits (1 Cor 15:20-23).
Christians know this Feast as Pentecost, and Jews as Shavuot. It is the fiftieth day and the conclusion of the counting of the omer, which started on the day of First Fruits. Shavuot is the day, 50 days or 7 Sabbaths plus one day, after the Exodus from Egypt, that the Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. (Ex. 24). It’s also the day the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles (Acts 2:1-36), seven weeks after Jesus’s resurrection.
Out of respect for the Torah, or Law, being given to them by God, many Jews stay up all night on Shavuot, reading the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). Milk and honey are often served in some fashion as a reminder that God kept His promise to give a “land flowing with milk and honey” to His people (Lev. 20:24). Christians often celebrate Pentecost as the birth of the church – a celebration of our salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit within us.
Also known as Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah, this solemn memorial Feast marks the beginning of the High Holy Days in autumn. It lasts two days and includes the following:
Blowing the shofar (ram’s horn).
Calling for the people to repent of their sins.
Offering burnt offerings.
In the Temple’s absence, Jews celebrate the Feast of Trumpets with ten days of repentance and examination of their lives before God. After the ten days is the Day of Atonement.
As the first day of the Jewish year, hope for a “sweet” new year is expressed by eating apples dipped in honey. While straight challah loaves are served on the Sabbath and other Jewish celebrations, round challah is traditionally served during this Feast. A round challah can symbolize either the cyclic nature of the calendar year or a crown, a reminder that God is the King of the universe.
The Feast of Trumpets is a kind of Judgement Day, with the final verdict delivered on The Day of Atonement. In the New Testament, there are references to trumpet blowing combined with judgment, reminiscent of this Feast (Matt. 24:30-31, 1 Thess. 4:16-17, and Rev. 11:15).
Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets is the most important Holy Day, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur in Hebrew. This day included the sacrifices through which God would forgive the sins of His people as a group, not individually. The command was to make payment for their sins through offerings and to “humble their souls.” In these post-temple days, the Feast of Trumpets includes a 25-hour fast, giving to charity, and intense prayer focused on confession and repentance.
Other traditions on the Day of Atonement include wearing white to signify purity or burial clothing and thus the need for repentance. Messianic Jews and Hebraic Believers view this Feast similarly, but some change the focus to Jesus, the complete atonement for our sin. At the end of the Day of Atonement, a breakfast-type meal is served to break the day’s fast.
Five days after the Day of Atonement, this seven-day Feast is
called the Feast of Booths or Ingathering. It’s called Sukkot in Hebrew, meaning “booths” or “shelters.” Biblically, this harvest feast required sacrifices each day of the Feast.
Today, the Feast of Tabernacles is observed mainly by God’s people leaving their comfortable homes and living in a temporary dwelling called a sukkah in Hebrew. A sukkah is like a hut, with at least three sides, and its roof is made of leaves or branches and decorated with flowers or other décor. In doing this, they remember when God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and provided for them in the desert, as He also provides for us today and will forever.
It is somewhat like a Thanksgiving Day Feast to thank God for His provision. In reference to Leviticus 23:40, waving or shaking four plants (the Four Species) from Israel – myrtle, palm, willow, and citron, is also done while a blessing is said.
It is also a celebration of God’s “tabernacling,” or coming to live with His people. On the Feast of Tabernacles, Jews looked forward to the day God would pour out His Spirit on His people as prophesied in Joel 2:28. In John 7, during the Feast of Booths, Jesus spoke of the Spirit being given and called it Living Water, which would be an eternal thirst quencher for the soul.
Although mentioned separately, the Eighth Day is simply the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles. This day is a Sabbath (even if it doesn’t fall on Saturday) and is more spiritual than the previous seven joyful days of the Feast of Tabernacles. Shemini Atzeret is this Feast’s Hebrew name, and its traditions vary. The Four Species is not waved on this day, and the sukkah may or may not be used. Different prayers are said than during the previous seven days, and a prayer for rain is often included.
The day following the Eighth Day is called Simchat Torah. It’s not one of the Biblical Holy Days. It’s a festive celebration, celebrating the end and subsequent beginning of the Jewish Torah reading cycle. It is a celebration of thanksgiving to God for giving His word to His people. This celebration is sometimes combined with the Eighth Day Feast.
While these Feasts may initially be foreign to Christians, they add value and enrich our faith. Physical symbols and biblical celebrations remind us of what God has done, is, and will do in our lives. They give us engaging ways to pass our beliefs on to the next generation and provide our families with traditions that bind us together in our faith and as God’s kingdom here on earth.
