Sabbath Study: The Word

1. Communal lunch
2. Testimonies
3. Prayer
4. Worship music: “You are Holy” by Joshua Aaron, “Shabbat Shalom” by Jonathan Settel,
   “Love Moved First” by Casting Crowns, “Prepare the Way” by Nuelen Corpus, “In The Beginning” by R. G. Leonard
5. Word study: The Word
6. Song: “Thy Word” by Maranatha
7. Torah study: Joshua 23-24, Isaiah 55, John 18

The Amazing Message of the Aleph Tav Revealed To You Today

by Eric Andrews

The Hebrew alphabet and language are a fascinating form of communication. Some ancient linguistic experts theorize that it is one of the oldest on earth, and probably dates back to at least Shem, Noah’s son. It is one of the ‘Semitic’ languages, which comes from the name ‘Shem’. In any event, it was used to write the first few books of the Bible; an indication that Hebrew was quite common among God’s people then. Genesis 11:1 tells us that the ‘whole world had one language and a common speech’. This is recorded right before the Tower of Babel incident (2,000 B.C.), and my money is on the fact the world’s common language was Hebrew…

The oldest book in the Bible is actually Job, and not Genesis. It was penned in Hebrew, and is dated at around 1,800 B.C.! What we now call the Old Testament was all originally written in Hebrew, with the exception of a couple chapters in Daniel which were recorded using the Aramaic language. The Old Testament books were then translated to Greek during the 3rd Century B.C., as the Septuagint LXX, and the volumes stored in the Library at Alexandria, Egypt. This fact alone gives validity to prophecies from OT prophets, especially those ​related to the coming Messiah (at that time; or the 3rd Century, B.C.); as they were written within scrolls 250+ years before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary.

Getting back to the Hebrew alphabet, it contains 22 characters, and no vowels. Each letter also holds a meaning and a numerical value. Hebrew, along with Greek, are languages much deeper and complex than English. For example, the 10th letter of Hebrew, yod (‘Y’), has a value of ’10’ and means ‘hand’. So when yod is used in a word, or sentence, it has a deeper meaning… like peeling back the layers of an onion. Jewish Biblical names, or the many names of God Himself, also have meanings. ​

For example, let’s look at ‘Jehovah’, one of the Lord’s names (remember, there are no vowels in the Hebrew):

Also note: there is no ‘J’ in their language, and a ‘Y’ is used instead. So ‘Jehovah’ would be ‘YHVH’ in Hebrew.

 'Y' = hand     'H' = behold, revealed     'V' = nail     'H' = behold, revealed​

​So putting it all together would create a message within a message: ‘behold and revealed, the nail and hand’. The Torah- following Jews know that Jehovah is the name of God that means ‘Covenant’. So from the time our history began, and when Hebrew was first used, one of God’s names had the message of a Covenant from Him to the Israelites, and later all mankind, that involves a hand and nail! To we believers in Jesus as God’s Son, this of course would represent our Savior being nailed to the wooden C​ross at Calvary as a sacrifice for all of humanity!

Now read on for the amazing message of the aleph tav!

​For this next part, you may want to pull up an online copy of the Interlinear Bible. That publication shows the English, Greek and Hebrew equivalents for a given passage, and if applicable. Keep in mind that Hebrew is read from right to left.

On the Home Page for my site, I mention that the Bible, although written over a 1600 year period… and by 40 authors… holds a consistent theme… the amazing story of Jesus Christ! The aleph tav is no exception, and it is another example of the super intelligence and complexity of God the Father, and the Holy Trinity.

Aleph (‘a’ or ‘e’) is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and tav (‘t’) is the last, or 22nd. I know it’s confusing, but remember there are no truevowels in Hebrew. Their Greek (remember the Septuagint?) counterparts would be ‘alpha’ and ‘omega’…’beginning’ and ‘end’. In Hebrew, as can be seen in an Interlinear Bible, the aleph tav (‘et’) is a conjugating phrase, and one for which there is NO English equivalent. In other words, it does not show up in English translation Bibles at all!

Aleph (e) means ‘strength’ and Tav (t) means ‘covenant, seal, mark, cross’ This is very important as we continue…​​

Now pull up Genesis 1:1 in the Interlinear Bible. In the original Hebrew, and as first recorded by Moses, it reads (NIV):

 "In the beginning, God created ('et' or aleph tav) the heavens and the earth."

So within the first verse, as laid out supernaturally in our Bibles, is the promise of the ‘strength of’ the (God’s) Covenant to us all that involves a seal or mark for believers, and is centered around a cross! Amen! Now the aleph tav (et)​ next appears in Genesis 5:22 (NIV), and in a description of the Godly character Enoch, who was the great-grandfather of Noah; and thus in the God-worshiping lineage from Adam:

 "After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years..."​

Now I must point out that in this passage, the English word ‘with’ was substituted for the aleph tav… a very poor translation indeed! So the promise of God’s Covenant… His Divine plan for us all… lies within this scripture! The ‘strength of the covenant, seal, mark and cross’! The aleph tav was also encoded in Zechariah 12:10. But perhaps the most stunning example can be found in Genesis 9:12 (NIV), and when God Almighty met with Noah after the Flood. The Lord told Noah that the rainbow symbol represented a covenant, or promise, that the Lord will never again destroy the earth by water:

 "And God said, "This is the sign of the Covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you; a Covenant for all generations to come.""

Now please pay close attention: there is also the added Hebrew letter vav (‘v’), which means ‘nail’! In the above passage, the ‘hidden’ aleph tav + vav is found, where in English is written: “the sign of”. So here the promise from Jehovah God is that a covenant was forged involving the ‘strength of the cross along with a nail’! The first 5 books of the Bible were written down by Moses 1,500 years or so before Jesus was born!

But how does a promise given to the progenitor of the Jewish nation connect with today’s Christians, and those of us who have accepted the peace and love of Jesus Christ into our lives? In Galatians 3:29 (NIV) the Apostle Paul…who converted from Judaism to Christianity…lays it out:

 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

You see, Jesus came to us through the bloodline of Abraham. Jesus was Jewish. We are children adopted into the Hebrew lineage when we accept the Lord ​Jesus Christ as our Savior… thus receiving the FREE gift of God’s grace and mercy manifested through Jesus’ sacrifice!

Read NOW how the Aleph Tav shows up in the New Testament, as well…

Jesus’ 12 Disciples, along with other early Christian Church Leaders, studied the Old Testament scrolls (books). In other words, they would have read them in Hebrew, or in Greek. They knew of the aleph tav Promise, and that Jesus’ death on the Cross was a fulfillment of that Covenant from God the Father. The Apostle John is one such example. Here is how he began the Gospel of John, in 1:1 (NIV):

 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

If you continue to read John Ch. 1, you will realize that it transitions into the early life story of Jesus. So in respect, Jesus IS the Word, and He became flesh! John also may have known that the first verse in the Septuagint was what would later be organized as Genesis 1:1; as it is today in our Bibles. John also wrote the Book of I John, which many scholars theorize was written after what became Revelation. Let’s take a look at I John 1:1 (NIV):

 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life."

Here was one of Jesus’ closest friends, the ‘one that He loved’, who had just seen the eternal Jesus Christ sitting on his Throne in highest heaven, and via an amazing vision. As I read that scripture, I can sense the awe and reverence filling John’s words. The next passage will explain to you why, if in fact I John was written after Revelation… as some Biblical scholars believe.

But what about Jesus, the Son of God Himself? Did He address the aleph tav? The Trinity Father/Son/Holy Spirit did so, and to John during the Apostle’s aforementioned vision, as recorded in Revelation 1:8 (NIV). The Godhead is seated on ‘His’ throne in highest heaven:

 ""I am the Alpha (Aleph) and Omega (Tav)", says the Lord God, "who is, who was, and who is to come; the Almighty.""

Recall that the Greek for the Hebrew aleph is the letter alpha, and the Greek letter for tav is omega…the first and last letters of the Grecian alphabet!