A little bit late ••• sorry.
Trying to keep this short. There is much more to the story, but this may open your eyes until we can get there. Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, think of the time as a new beginning. It is seedtime. It is the end of winter and the beginning of a new cycle.
⦁ ▸
⦁ Exodus 12:2-4
2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.
Exodus 12:3-4
3 דַּבְּר֗וּ אֶֽל־כָּל־עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בֶּעָשֹׂ֖ר לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וְיִקְח֣וּ לָהֶ֗ם אִ֛ישׁ שֶׂ֥ה לְבֵית־אָבֹ֖ת שֶׂ֥ה לַבָּֽיִת׃
4 וְאִם־יִמְעַ֣ט הַבַּיִת֮ מִהְיֹ֣ת מִשֶּׂה֒ וְלָקַ֣ח ה֗וּא וּשְׁכֵנֹ֛ו הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֶל־בֵּיתֹ֖ו בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת אִ֚ישׁ לְפִ֣י אָכְלֹ֔ו תָּכֹ֖סּוּעַל־הַשֶּֽׂה׃
First we need to understand the lamb. We are all sheep. There are many places where people are referred to in Scripture as sheep, lambs. And especially at this time we should try to understand what a lamb is. It says later the lamb to be taken can be a sheep or a goat. You can get a mental picture of sheep and goat as you picture them. Sheep tend to almost mindlessly cluster together and goats perhaps more stubbornly independent. Whatever mental picture they bring for you. The lamb is h7716. שֶׂה śeh.
meandering lamb
⦁ Genesis 22:7-8 The context is “the binding of Isaac,” Akedah.
7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb (h7716. שֶׂה śeh) for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb (h7716. שֶׂהśeh) for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
We all tend to meander, whether we are mindlessly clustering with our peers or are stubbornly independent. Still we meander.
Next is “according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.” This phrase looks like this in the Hebrew: לְבֵית־אָבֹ֖ת שֶׂ֥ה לַבָּֽיִת.
We see שׂה, the lamb. We see לבית twice, and we see אבת.
לבית is ל + בית
And we’ve been doing lots of investigation on ב and בית.
Yes, the house, בית, is a structure in which we live, on the physical level. On the deeper level, the house is where we live “internally,” our point of view, our perspective, our worldview. It is the basis for many of the assumptions we make about life and about others. And of course (many times discussed) the basis for our assumptive reasoning.
The other word in the phrase is אבת, here translated as “of his father.”
The worldview, the place from which get get our perspective, is based a great deal on the demands existing at the time when we were growing up in “our father’s house.” It gets ingrained in us. My parents grew up during the Great Depression and learned never to waste anything, and we grew up with that perspective because that was the set of assumptions we knew. Children growing up in a time of more “plenty” may be growing up with a different set of assumptions. Characteristics like frugality are easy to see as physical representations of the concept. Spiritual beliefs and prejudices that we hold may be harder to recognize in ourselves, and often require periods of “awakening.” Such might be a time of Pesach. We’ve spoken of it before, times of change, times that might make us step haltingly into a new situation, a new set of “existing demands.” A new circumstance may make us lame for a time.
But such times of being lame, on the positive side, help us to see, oftentimes, when the assumptions to which we have held tightly since childhood may not be appropriate in the present time. Does this passage teach us about such times? I think so, and hope that you may see that as well, as we proceed.
The next phrase is וְאִם־יִמְעַ֣ט הַבַּיִת֮ מִהְיֹ֣ת מִשֶּׂה֒
And if the household is too small for the lamb
ואם is “and if,” as translated.
Again we see בית, house, this time with the prefix ה, the definite article “the.”
When we look at ימעט, Strongs and BDB lead us to h4591. מָעַט mâ‘aṭ, listed as a primitive root meaning to diminish. EDBH does not list מעט as a root. Instead, we would go to מ + עט, and the two-letter word עט would take us to this family:
▸ GV p.184 עטט cut [dig with a tool]; p.183 עטה separate [out by covering; remove]; p.181 עוט pounce; p.106 יעט cover
CM עטט pierce (A31); עטה retain/relinquish (A57); עוט constrain by external force (A2); יעט bring together (C49)
- I remind you of this statement in EDBH and encourage you to think about in what way “constraining by external force” and “bringing together” might be saying the same thing.
Is it not often the case when we are all faced with a significant external challenge we begin to look at others around us in a different light and begin to see the common struggle, the ways in which we are alike, less than the ways we are different? There have been a number of sociological/psychological experiments looking at this very phenomenon. Here is one:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/robbers-cave.html retrieved 04/13/2022
Then מִהְיֹ֣ת
▸ BDB All Results: היה מִן
מִן
GLOSS from; of; on account of; beside; above; than; since
PARSING Hebrew, particle, preposition
CODE@Pp
היה
GLOSS qal: be; become; happen; occur; niphal: be; occur; flee
PARSING Hebrew, verb, qal, infinitive construct
CODE@vqc
And then מִשֶּׂה֒
▸ BDB All Results: שֶׂה מִן
מִן
GLOSS from; of; on account of; beside; above; than; since
PARSING Hebrew, particle, preposition
CODE@Pp
שֶׂה
GLOSS sheep; goat
PARSING Hebrew, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute
CODE@ncmsa
As we frequently find ourselves in the situation, we fudge some to make for smoother English or try to translate more literally and end up with awkward English. We are trying to get at what a sense of the phrase could mean. Recall EDBH says of the prefix מ:
▸ p.299 “The מ indicates that which emanates from an object or person.”
An infinitive is generally translated in English as “to” plus the verbal action, so here it might be “to be, to become, to happen, to occur.” And this infinitive is in construct form with שׂה in absolute form, thus the infinitive is modifying שׂה. A very literal translation could come up with “from to happen from lamb,” which is not very helpful in our understanding. So, let’s think about it from some different directions.
First, recall from the cognate direction, remember we have been talking about מסעjourney and משח separate out (anointed/messiah), the cognate meaning “separate.” One might see משׂה as having a similar “separate” direction. Or as we looked at lamb above as being “meandering,” and trying somehow to include all the thoughts, consider all of the possibilities:
- The limits of the house (moral constraints) are so strict as not to be able to accept one who is meandering, in the eyes of the “house” members, under ordinary circumstances
- If the house is constrained by an external force, bringing together the one meandering, into the house
•••
We will come back to this after looking at the next phrase, which may help focus more.
וְלָקַ֣ח ה֗וּא וּשְׁכֵנֹ֛ו הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֶל־בֵּיתֹ֖ו בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת
let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons
There are a few things to look at here:
ה֗וּא is “him” or “he”
neighbor next to his house
וּשְׁכֵנֹ֛ו הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֶל־בֵּיתֹ֖ו
Notice a few things here. The place of dwelling may be temporary or “undisturbed” and permanent. Also note #5 is the very verse we are discussing, and #’s 4 and 6 are back-to-back verses in the Tabernacle, both really speaking of being able to “connect with God,” and the place where God can live with us משכן, that is מ + שכן = Tabernacle.
All six verses are well worth looking at.
Again all verses help tell the story. Look particularly at #4.
⦁ Leviticus 1:1-2
1 Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When any one of you brings (h7126. קָרַב qâraḇ) an offering (h7133. קָרְבָּן qorḇân) to the LORD, you shall bring; (h7126. קָרַב qâraḇ) your offering (h7133. קָרְבָּן qorḇân) of the livestock (h0929. בְּהֵמָה ḇehêmâ)—of the herd and of the flock.
- Notice קרב appears four times here, and the definition of offering קרבן, or sacrifice, is something that allows us to draw close to God. What allows drawing close is that it must be from the בהמה, which is ב + המה.
המה is something for which you have feelings, something that arouses passion. It is no sacrifice to give something which is not of much value to you. ((Mk12:41-44; Lk21:1-4, and see the discussion about payment/sacrifice in Blog 89 about Abimelech, Abraham, and Beersheba.)) And this is particularly important in understanding the sacrifice/offering of the Pesach/Passover, which is of the firstborn. The firstborn was/is the one given the “double-portion,” anticipating the traditions and teachings of “the house, the house of his father” will be passed along. Not only were the firstborn of Egypt taken by the “destroyer,” but there were consequences for Israel, as well. There are many feelings attached to the firstborn:
⦁ Exodus 4:21-23
21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
⦁ Exodus 13:1-2
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, (both) of man and of beast, is mine.”
⦁ Exodus 22:29-30
29 “You shall not delay (to offer) the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 Likewise you shall do with your oxen (and) your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
⦁ Numbers 3:11-13
11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.”
Now קרב could mean physically close, but also it means close in hidden ways, spiritually close, and combined with שכן, you could take this to mean that one who is close to you in the way of connecting with God. And the houses together draw close to this meandering one, the one who has strayed from “the way” of connecting with God, the “lost sheep,” ((Mt18:12-14; Lk15:4-7)) and by living with it for four days (until the fourteenth day, verse 6) you have come to know it, you and the “meandering one,” having been constrained by an external force, are brought closer together. You begin to understand somewhat, the circumstances of life for this lost sheep. Your assumptions may be softened somewhat. It could be about mercy, having compassion for the other. But more likely, it is something else. More likely it is doing what you know has to be done, “binding Isaac,” the firstborn, cutting off/killing off the part that meanders.
according to the number of the persons
בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת
▸ h4373. מִכְסָה miḵsâ; feminine of h4371. מֶכֶס meḵes; an enumeration; by implication, a valuation: — number, worth.
▸ h4371. מֶכֶס meḵes; probably from an unused root meaning to enumerate; an assessment (as based upon a census): — tribute.
Once again, EDBH has no root מכס, but we could assess מ + כס
▸ p.299 “The מ indicates that which emanates from an object or person.”
+
▸ GV p.121 כסס allocate [set measure]; p.121 כסה cover [withdraw from sight]; p.120 כסא separate; p.156 נכס possess // no DVs
CM כסס separate/collect (C19); כסה and כסא emerge and separate (C18); נכס act in physical proximity (D70)
- Which seems to fit pretty well with the Strongs definitions.
Or, מכס could actually fit the pattern of words in which מ reflects נ (as listed in Appendix 5 – this one is not there listed), for which EDBH does list a root נכס, seen above, and Strongs says “of an unused root,” meaning not seen in Scripture.
First, I want to point out to you that in the 2 Chronicles telling of the conversation between Solomon and God, when the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, נכסים are referred to, but in the 1 Kings 3 telling of the conversation in a dream, נכסים are not included. Not certain the importance of that, although it might be a hint to Solomon’s having dreams about taxes, a tribute, which he used in providing not only for the building of the Temple, but also for much personal wealth. We have spoken of this several times, and of the incident with his son, King Rehoboam taking the advice of his peers rather than the elders (making the yoke heavier than Solomon’s), leading to the division of the Kingdom. (See 1 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 10.)
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Joshua 22:7-8
7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches (h5233. נֶכֶסneḵes) to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19(18H) As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth (h5233. נֶכֶס neḵes), and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 6:1-2
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it (is) common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth (h5233. נֶכֶס neḵes) and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it (is) an evil affliction.
2 Chronicles 1:11-12
11 Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth (h5233. נֶכֶס neḵes) or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth (h5233. נֶכֶסneḵes) and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”
Note the 2 Chronicles occurrences are written about Shlomo/Solomon, and the Ecclesiastes occurrences are written by him.
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בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת searching in AlHaTorah for מכס plus נפש:
Numbers 31:28
28 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one (soul) out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
Numbers 31:40
40 The persons (h0120. אָדָם ’âḏâm + h5315. נֶפֶשׁ nep̱eš) were 16,000, of which the LORD’S tribute was 32 persons. (0.2%)
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Here for a moment we must return to some thoughts shared long ago about “what is said, what is not said.” Go first to Post # 08 Emphasis / Repetition. When there are multiple witnesses, repetitions of incidents in Scripture, and the telling is not the same, be certain to pay attention to the differences. What I am referring to there is the added wealth (h5233. נֶכֶס neḵes) in 2 Chronicles that is not in 1 Kings. The taxes, the burden on the people, was a really big problem under Solomon’s reign.
How does this relate to the Pesach/Passover passage we are looking at? Does it relate to the burden on the people? Is it a determining factor how many people (actually souls) there are in terms of dealing with this “meandering one?” According to what each can eat – does this mean the measure that each can carry as a burden? Do we not all have a different capacity for dealing with those that have meandered?
Let’s look more at אכל. Remember it is a DV in the כל Family, which has to do with measures••• the other members of this Gradational family, its range of meaning around capacity, as a measure of or a striving toward.
❶ consuming in order to rejuvenate
Deuteronomy 8:6-10
6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten (h0398. אָכַל ’âḵal) and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
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Genesis 1:29-31
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food(h0402. אָכְלָה ’oḵlâ). 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food (h0402. אָכְלָה ’oḵlâ)”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
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Deuteronomy 14:21
21 “You shall not eat (h0398. אָכַל ’âḵal) anything that dies (h5038. נְבֵלָה neḇêlâ) of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat (h0398. אָכַל ’âḵal) it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Here pay particular attention to “dies” (h5038. נְבֵלָה neḇêlâ). Let me give you a little hint about נבלה. Read the passage about David and Abigail and Abigail’s husband Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Pay particular attention to what Abigail says of her husband, because she describes what his name means, in verse 25.
1 Samuel 25:25
25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal (h5037. נָבָל nâḇâl) is his name, and folly (h5039. נְבָלָה neḇâlâ) is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
So often “death” is about spiritual death. Like Adam and Eve, when God told them they would surely die, and the serpent said you will not surely die. It is a different kind of death than we tend to think about.
❷ destroying
Deuteronomy 7:14-16
14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 16 Also you shall destroy(h0398. אָכַל ’âḵal) all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare(h4170. מוֹקֵשׁ môqêš) to you.
- Take note that a snare (h4170. מוֹקֵשׁ môqêš) is something enticing. There is not a root מקש. Think of this as ש it is + קום rise. It is something that is going to make you feel high, it makes you feel good, good about yourself. Will make you “rise,” as in pride.
❸ feeding
Psalms 81:13-16
13 “Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him,
But their fate would endure forever.
16(17H) He would have fed (h0398. אָכַל ’âḵal) them also with the finest of wheat;
And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”
- Please look back (mentally or physically) to the entry last time, Blog 89. We saw these very verses under עתת, and pointed out that this word for wheat (בר is also translated a few times as wheat) h2406. חִטָּה ḥiṭâ is from the root for sin חטה. And the word here for rock is h6697. צוּר ṣûr, the root for Egypt, h4714. מִצְרַיִםmiṣrayim, “the world.” There are plenty of opportunities for temptation on the path with the LORD (יהוה). The only difference is that the One God gives a way out; the false gods do not.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
❹ food
Deuteronomy 20:19-20
19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat (h0398. אָכַל’âḵal) of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field (is) man’s (food). 20 Only the trees which you know are not trees for food (h3978. מַאֲכָלma’ăḵâl) you may destroy (h7843. שָׁחַת šâḥaṯ) and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued.
- Trees are h6086. עֵץ ‘êṣ, from:
GV p.190 עצה concentrate [energy to a goal]; p.182 עוץ force up [concentrate effort to develop]; p.107 יעץ deliberate [advise]; p.158 נעץ penetrate No DVs
CM עצה limit/expand activity (A24); עוץ expedite/limit support (A7); יעץ express emotion (C37); נעץ move quickly (D59)
- As we have been speaking of those who are wayward, are wanderers, we must see (whether they are our children, our co-workers, or our neighbors) where the strengths they are developing are good for the good of mankind and where they are not. Where they are not, we are to “bind Isaac.” We want to restrain the pride and nurture the ways that are good for all. Encourage strength in those around you that is good for all. Cut off at the root the strength that leads only to self-aggrandizement.
❺ knife that destroys
Genesis 22:6
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife (h3979. מַאֲכֶלֶת ma’ăḵeleṯ), and the two of them went together.
- The “binding of Isaac” is all about the necessity of the weaning process, the breaking of the pride of a young man, the willingness to turn the circumstances over to God when you know God is the only one who can change the heart, the stiff neck, who can circumcise a heart. (Dt30:6) It is a “consuming in order to rejuvenate.”
So, I believe this is at least one message in the Passover/Pesach. The pride of Egypt had to fall, the firstborn, the one to carry on the traditions, had to “die,” they had to be humiliated by the LORD, who was the one to provide a way out for those who followed.
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