There is a frequent phrase quoted in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, “It is written,” which most often has a very specific meaning and a very specific purpose. To look at this phrase more closely, we will review much, much Scripture so that the reader can get extensive experience at using some of our most powerful tools. Of course, always word studies may be our one most powerful method of looking at Scripture, but only if tied in with the tools of Intertextuality, seeing where words or phrases are seen in other places, and then always looking at context. These are some of most basic tools, but hopefully the reader can see how combining these tools will open up entirely new vistas, greatly expanded understandings. These are tools that allow Scripture to be as concise as it is, densely packing in interconnections. The reader may say, in what way is Scripture concise? It seems quite vast! But recall:
• John 21:24-25 (ESV) 24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
25 Now there are also many other things that Yeshua did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (emphasis added) And this is only speaking of Yeshua. We will see how the Greek expands on the Hebrew, and the Hebrew expands on the Greek.
The interplay is most revealing.
We will begin with the usage of this phrase, “It is written,” in the Hebrew Scriptures so that the reader can see how the Hebrew thinkers, readers, speakers, writers used it, before we proceed into the interconnections between the Greek and Hebrew. So this Post will be only about the usage in the Tanakh, as foundation for the next Post. We need to get our feet wet.
In this Post, the red passage will be the index passage and the indigo will be the referent passages.
•Joshua 1:7-8 ESV
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
•Which refers, at a minimum, to Deuteronomy 5:1-8:6, but really includes many sections of Deuteronomy.
We will not go into extensive detail in all of the examples, but choose a couple that will show the interrelationships and importance of the three tools working together in order to get the necessary understanding. This next passage, Yehoshua 8:30-32 will be one of our detailed examples. See how much you can learn with the connections.
•Joshua 8:30-32
30 At that time Joshua (Yehoshua) built an altar to YHWH, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moshe the servant of YHWH had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Torah/teaching of Moshe, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to YHWH and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the Torah/teaching of Moshe, which he had written.
And this references Dt 27:1-8, which continues on to the “blessings and curses” discussion (larger context), which is referred to in the next section:
•Deuteronomy 27:1-8
1 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan (Yarden) to the land that YHWH your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this Torah/teaching, when you cross over to enter the land that YHWH your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as YHWH, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Yarden, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to YHWH your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to YHWH your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to YHWH your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before YHWH your God. 8 And you shall write on the stones all the words of this Torah/teaching very plainly.”
•And that references:
Exodus 20:22-26
22 And YHWH said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
•Which ties (at least) to Genesis 3:1-12, 9:18-27; Leviticus 18. (which refer to nakedness and cover/uncover)
So, at some point in this early look at this reference to what had been written and its connections, you realize you need more understanding of the index verse before you look into depth in the referent verses. A start would be to look at the entire chapter of Yehoshua 8. Having done that, it is clear that you need Yehoshua chapter 7 to understand the setting of what is happening in chapter 8. You should read those chapters. It has been mentioned before that the names of places in Scripture have meaning. Furthermore, many of them have a history, that is, have been mentioned earlier in Scripture, which may be important. In chapter 8 you notice that the action takes place surrounding a town, Ai, and if you go back to chapter 7, in verse 2, Yehoshua has sent his men from Jericho (which they had captured) to “Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel…”
Ai – h5857. עַי ‘ay from h5856. עִי ‘îy; from 5753. עָוָה ‘âwâ EDBH transgress; deviate from proper way – commonly translated as iniquity. Bethel means house of God, Beth-aven iniquity or vanity. So he sent them to a town named iniquity or transgression, which was near the house of iniquity, east of the house of God. And we can go back to Genesis, where in Genesis 12:8 and 13:3, in Abram’s sojourning he camped between Bethel and Ai, between a place of iniquity and the house of God – he is on his initial journey and still relapsing into some of his old ways.
But shortly we learn, in Genesis 14:13, that Abram (later becoming Abraham), was first called “the Hebrew.” Looking at the definition of HEBREW, h5680. עִבְרִי ‘iḇrîy; patronymic from h5677. עֵבֶר ‘êḇer; the same as h5676. עֵבֶר ‘êḇer; from h5674. עָבַר ‘âḇar; a primitive root; to cross over, EDBH cross over to other side; move to different condition, thus Abram has crossed over to a different condition. Or as Yeshua would put it in John 3, in his conversation with Nicodemus, he was “born again.” Abram had moved from the position of being torn between his past as an idolator, to worshiping the one God, YHWH.
And then we meet Bethel again with Ya’akov:
• Genesis 28:10-22 (ESV) 10 Ya’akov left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, YHWH stood above it and said, “I am YHWH, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Ya’akov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So early in the morning Ya’akov took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Ya’akov made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
In Genesis 35 we again find Ya’akov after his long absence from the land. And there is the very large story of relationships in families tied up in all of that. Wonderful teaching, wonderful guidance for our lives if we learn to read with Hebrew eyes.
It is not my role to interpret all of this for the reader, but to show how the tools work, giving you connections, which will allow the reader to learn and to listen to the leading of the spirit of God. For example, the thoughts about uncovering nakedness on a cut stone altar might make you want to look about some of the practices of the ancient idolators, and how the sexual act was included with their temple prostitutes (female and male, the male often being referred to as “dogs”), and might make you want to consider what was the situation that occurred in Eden, etc… As noted, there are many euphemisms in Scripture.
This writer, it all seems to tie together under things that people worship other than God – and you will notice that they don’t have to be officially called an idol – Achan was all about that fancy piece of clothing. Our idols can be many things, our cell phones, our automobiles, our prosperity…
•Joshua 8:34
34 And afterward he read all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Torah.
And this refers to Deuteronomy 27:9-28:68.
•Joshua 23:6
6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Torah of Moshe, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,
Deuteronomy is “the Book of the Torah (Teaching) of Moshe,” and note Joshua indicates “all” that is written in that book. The following comment about not turning aside to the right hand nor left (i.e. not deviating) refers specifically to two passages:
•Deuteronomy 5:32-33
32 You shall be careful therefore to do as YHWH your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the way that YHWH your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
•Deuteronomy 28:13-14
13 And YHWH will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of YHWH your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
To the right hand or to the left hand is a common idiom for making choices; it would be good to refer to all the passages listing those words.
•1 Kings 2:1-4
1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of YHWH your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Torah of Moshe, that you may prosper (h7919. שָׂכַל śâḵal) in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that YHWH may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
Note Again here, David speaks to Solomon about a very large context, but also with the comment “that you may prosper,” indicates specific passages:
•Deuteronomy 29:9
9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper (h7919. שָׂכַל śâḵal) in all that you do.
•Deuteronomy 32:28-33
28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand (h7919. שָׂכַל śâḵal – hiphil form) this;
they would discern their latter end!
30 How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and YHWH had given them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock;
our enemies are by themselves.
32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
You will notice we have been using referred-to verses plus context, and then looking in the context for words that may refer to other connections that are important for the understanding of the passage at hand.
2 Chronicles 35:26
וְיֶ֛תֶר דִּבְרֵ֥י יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ וַחֲסָדָ֑יו כַּכָּת֖וּב בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָֽה׃
•2 Chronicles 35:26
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Torah of YHWH,
•2 Kings 14:6
6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Torah of Moses, where YHWH commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”
This refers to one in a section of instructions in relating to your neighbors, particularly those less fortunate than yourself, or special circumstances:
•Deuteronomy 24:5-22 (ESV) 5 “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
7 “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what YHWH your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before YHWH your God.
14 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to YHWH, and you be guilty of sin.
16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and YHWH your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
•2 Kings 22:10-13
10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Torah/teaching, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of YHWH for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath (h2534. חֵמָה ḥêmâ) of YHWH that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Again the king refers to a large context, but also, with his focus on “the wrath of YHWH,” refers to Deuteronomy 29:27 and its context, what happens as a result of not following the teaching. See Dt.27-28 for larger context.
Deuteronomy 29:24-29
24 all the nations will say, ‘Why has YHWH done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of YHWH, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26 and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. 27 Therefore the anger of YHWH was kindled against this land (h0776. אֶרֶץ ’ereṣ), bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, 28 and YHWH uprooted them from their land (h0127. אֲדָמָה ’ăḏâmâ) in anger and fury (h2534. חֵמָה ḥêmâ) and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’
29 “The secret things belong to YHWH our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
•2 Kings 23:21
Josiah Restores the Passover
21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to YHWH your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”
Ex. 12:3-11; Lev. 23:5, 8; Num. 9:2-4; (Deut. 16:2-8)
The ESV references all of the above passages regarding instructions for keeping the Passover. However, the specific reference to “Book of the Covenant” would exclude the Deuteronomy passage. See these references to “Book of the Covenant:”
•Exodus 24:4-7
4 And Moshe wrote down all the words of YHWH. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to YHWH. 6 And Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that YHWH has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
•Deuteronomy 31:24-26
24 When Moshe had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moshe commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH, 26 “Take this Book of the Torah and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of YHWH your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
… The Book of the Covenant is held in the Ark of the Covenant. The Book of the Torah of Moshe, Deuteronomy, was kept by the side of the Ark of the Covenant.
• The instructions for the keeping of Passover/Pesach are in: Ex. 12:1-28, 43-51; Lv 23:4-8; Nm 9:1-14; Dt 16:1-7
•Ezra 3:2
2 Then arose Yeshua the son of Yozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Torah/teaching of Moshe the man of God.
•Deuteronomy 12:5-7
5 But you shall seek the place that YHWH your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 And there you shall eat before YHWH your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which YHWH your God has blessed you.
Which refers to:
•Exodus 20:24-26
24 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.’
•Ezra 3:4
4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required,
ESV Refs: Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:34; also Dt. 16:13-17, 31:9-13 (the reading of Deuteronomy)
•Nehemiah 8:14-15
14 And they found it written in the Torah that YHWH had commanded by Moshe that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”
•Lev. 23:34-43; Deu. 16:13-17
•Nehemiah 10:34
34 We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of YHWH our God, as it is written in the Torah.
•Leviticus 6:12-13
12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
•Nehemiah 10:36
36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Torah/teaching, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks;
•ESV Refs: Ex. 13:2, 12, 13; Lev. 27:26, 27; Num. 18:15, 16
•Nehemiah 13:1
1 On that day they read from the Book of Moshe in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
•Deuteronomy 23:3-8
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of YHWH. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of YHWH forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But YHWH your God would not listen to Balaam; instead YHWH your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because YHWH your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of YHWH.
•And to understand the ban, one must refer to Gn. 19:30-38; Nm. 22-24; Dt. 2:9-11, 19-22; Mic. 6:5; 2 Pt. 2:15; Rev. 2:14.
•1 Chronicles 16:39-40
39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of YHWH in the high place that was at Gibeon
40 to offer burnt offerings to YHWH on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Torah/teaching of YHWH that he commanded Israel.
•ESV Refs: Ex. 29:38-41; Num. 28:3-8
•Also note 1 Kings 3:4-6
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon YHWH appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
•2 Chronicles 23:18
18 And Jehoiada posted watchmen for the house of YHWH under the direction of the Levitical priests and the Levites whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of YHWH, to offer burnt offerings to YHWH, as it is written in the Torah of Moshe, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David.
•Deuteronomy 18:1-5
Provision for Priests and Levites
1 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat YHWH’s food offerings as their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; YHWH is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For YHWH your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of YHWH, him and his sons for all time.
•Which refers to
•Numbers 28:1-8
Daily Offerings
1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ 3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to YHWH: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5 also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil. 6 It is a regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to YHWH. 7 Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to YHWH. 8 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to YHWH.
•2 Chronicles 30:16-19
16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Torah/teaching of Moshe the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to YHWH. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good YHWH pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, YHWH, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”
•Deuteronomy 16:1-8
Passover
1 “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to YHWH your God, for in the month of Abib YHWH your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to YHWH your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that YHWH will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that YHWH your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that YHWH your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that YHWH your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to YHWH your God. You shall do no work on it.
•Which refers to
•Exodus 12:43-49
43 And YHWH said to Moshe and Aaron (Aharon), “This is the statute of the Passover/Pesach: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
•Numbers 9:7-14
7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing YHWH’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what YHWH will command concerning you.”
9 YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover/Pesach to YHWH. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover/Pesach they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring YHWH offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to YHWH, according to the statute of the Passover/Pesach and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”
You may have noticed a number of references to “Moshe the man of God” in these verses. An interesting word study for the reader to do is to look up H430. אֱלֹהִים ’elōhiym + h376. אִישׁ ’iyš. You will find that mostly it is used of the prophets, also of angels/messengers. The first time seeing it used in this way is in Deuteronomy 33:1, Moshe’s final blessing on Israel.
•2 Chronicles 31:3
3 The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Torah/teaching of YHWH.
ESV ref: Num. 28:3-29:40 – the appointed feasts, Sabbaths, new moons.
•2 Chronicles 34:21
21 “Go, inquire of YHWH for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of YHWH that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of YHWH, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
•See references under 2 Kings 22:10-13, above
•2 Chronicles 35:12
12 And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to YHWH, as it is written in the Book of Moshe. And so they did with the bulls.
•Deuteronomy 12:1-28
Hopefully the reader can see how this takes advantage of what was written earlier, so that an author does not have to go back to rewrite everything that was written before. And thus is makes for much more efficient writing, especially if the reader/listener is already very familiar with the background passages. Thereby one can just refer to, for example, the teaching regarding Passover/Pesach, and the one hearing understands how that fits within the index passage. This is how the intertextuality technique works, packing in earlier context to help with understanding of the current situation. It is a very powerful tool. But this is the very most basic type of intertextuality. There are a few nuances noted in most of these examples. That is part of the reason this is a good teaching method. The one very detailed discussion shows what one can do, and there is much more, without the key phrase “It is written,” but this is a glimpse, which will be expanded more when we move to the comparative passages between Greek and Hebrew. The reader will be able to understand how the speakers/teachers could say “It is written,” knowing that the one receiving the message would expand the context. Already on this site we gave other subtle examples without the “It is written” phrase, such as the one with the seahs, if the reader will recall.
The other very helpful thing for translators in trying to cross-reference Greek Scripture to Hebrew is having these passages that not only give a word-for-word correlation (this Greek word is used for that Hebrew word) but with the expanded context can give some nuances that may not have been apparent on a simple word-for-word basis. You will see better how this works in the next Post.
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