Judges 13 - Part 42

August 26, 2022

‍ Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 42 and today’s date is August 26, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Today we want to start by taking a look at the latter half of verse 22 …because we have seen God.

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We Have Seen [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT* 2095] God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c]

The two terms, we have seen and God (which is the plural form for God or ’Elohiym) surface together in 143 passages, and we will consider some of them:

A similar account to this one in Judges 13 appears in verse 30 of  Genesis 32:24-30 

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. {25} And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. {26} And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. {27} And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob. {28} And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. {29} And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. {30} And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c]  face to face, and my life is preserved.

Verse 24 of Deuteronomy 5:23-29 reiterates this same theme: And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, [even] all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;{24} And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c] hath shewed [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095]  us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] this day that God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c] doth talk with man, and he liveth. {25} Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. {26} For who [is there of] all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we [have], and lived? {27} Go thou 

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

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near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear [it], and do [it]. {28} And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. {29} O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Verse 2 of Psalm 42:1-5 also renders these expressions as ’Elohiym along with and appear:  

[To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.] As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. {2} My soul thirsteth for God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c], for the living God: when shall I come and appear [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] before God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c]? {3} My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where [is] thy God? {4} When I remember these [things], I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. {5} Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and [why] art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him [for] the help of his countenance.

And in verse 5 of Psalm 66:1-2 the works of God are in view and God’s elect both rejoice and magnify the Almighty for His great goodness and undeserved favor towards them:  

[To the chief Musician, A Song [or] Psalm.] Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: {2} Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. {3} Say unto God, How terrible [art thou in] thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. {4} All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing [to] thy name. Selah. {5} Come and see [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] the works of God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c]: [he is] terrible [in his] doing toward the children of men. {6} He turned the sea into dry [land]: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. {7} He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. {8} O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: {9} Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. {10} For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. {11} Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. {12} Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy [place].

Verse 24 of Psalm 68:18-25 similarly extols for His salvation program which results in the worship and thanksgiving that His saints offer to Him continuously: 

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, [for] the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell [among them]. {19} Blessed [be] the Lord, [who] daily loadeth us [with benefits, even] the God of our salvation. Selah. {20} [He that is] our God [is] the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord [belong] the issues from death. {21} But God shall wound the head of his enemies, [and] the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. {22} The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring [my people] again from the depths of the sea: {23} That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of [thine] enemies, [and] the tongue of thy dogs in the same. {24} They have seen [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] thy goings, O God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c]; [even] the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. {25} The singers went before, the players on instruments [followed] after; among [them were] the damsels playing with timbrels.

Verse 4 of Isaiah 64:1-12 includes these two words as well: Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, {2} As [when] the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, [that] the nations may tremble at thy presence! 

{3} When thou didst terrible things [which] we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.{4} For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen [ra`ah:H7200/TWOT 2095], O God [’elohiym:H430/TWOT 93c], beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. {5} Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, [those that] remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. {6} But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. {7} And [there is] none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. {8} But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand. {9} Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we [are] all thy people.

Let’s proceed to verse 23,  But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. 

Jehovah [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a] Were Pleased [chaphets:H2654/TWOT 712, 713] To Kill [muwth:H4191/TWOT 1169] 

The three terms in the phrase, Jehovah were pleased to kill are only found together again in verse 25 of 1 Samuel 2:12-17 and 22-35 which is a historical parable that highlights God’s judgment that began at His own house first, and spans chapters 2-4. Notice how verse 12 starts out by remarking that Eli’s sons…knew not Jehovah! 

Now the sons of Eli [were] sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. {13} And the priests' custom with the people [was, that], when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; {14} And he struck [it] into the pan,

or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. {15} Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. {16} And [if] any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and [then] take [as much] as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, [Nay]; but thou shalt give [it me] now: and if not, I will take [it] by force. {17} Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. ... {22} Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. {23} And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. {24} Nay, my sons; for [it is] no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress. {25} If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. {26} And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. {27} And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? {28} And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel [to be] my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? {29} Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded [in my] habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? {30} Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed [that] thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. {31} Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. {32} And thou shalt see an enemy [Satan] [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. {33} And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. {34} And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. {35} And I will raise me up a faithful priest [Christ], [that] shall do according to [that] which [is] in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 

It looks like we are out of time. Lord willing, in our next study, we will continue examining the rest of verse 23. ‍

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Judges 13 - Part 43

August 29, 2022

‍ Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 43 and today’s date is August 29, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

We have landed on verse 23, in which in the historical context, Manoah’s wife is reassuring her husband that in spite of “seeing God” (the angel of Jehovah) they would not die because of the burnt offering (pointing to Christ’s atonement) as well as the meat offering (another portrait of Christ offering Himself on behalf of the elect), in addition to the instructions that He gave to Manoah and his wife as to how they were to raise Samson. So we can understand, spiritually, that both Manoah and his wife were qualified to “see God” without being killed. And this would be true of all of God’s elect who are clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness as we read in Isaiah 61:10,

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth [herself] with her jewels.

In our last lesson we examined the phrase, …Jehovah were pleased to kill…; however the two terms, have received and a burnt offering were discussed previously as they appeared in verse 16. So let’s take a closer look at the phrase …and a meat offering at our hands…which is composed of two Hebrew words that surface together in 19 other Scriptures.

And A Meat Offering [minchah:H4503/TWOT* 1214a] At Our Hands [yad:H3027/TWOT 844]

We actually encountered these two expression in Judges 3:15 when were learning about Judge Ehud and how he delivered the Israelites from Eglon, king of the Moabites at that time; these words are rendered as lefthanded: and by him  

But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him [yad:H3027/TWOT 844] the children of Israel sent a present [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a] unto Eglon the king of Moab.

These are the only two references in the entire book of Judges, but the following passages illustrate God usage of these terms elsewhere in the Old Testament:

In verses 8 and 9 of 2 Kings 8:1-15, these two words are expressed as a present and in thine hand or with him: 

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

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Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. {2} And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. {3} And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. {4} And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. {5} And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this [is] the woman, and this [is] her son, whom Elisha restored to life. {6} And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that [was] hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now. {7} And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. {8} And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a] in thine hand [yad:H3027/TWOT 844], and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? {9} So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a] with him [yad:H3027/TWOT 844], even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? {10} And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die. {11} And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. {12} And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. {13} And Hazael said, But what, [is] thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou [shalt be] king over Syria. {14} So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me [that] thou shouldest surely recover. {15} And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped [it] in water, and spread [it] on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

Verses 10 and 13 of Malachi 1:6-14 include these two words as an offering and at your hand/this of your hand in this passage, in which God denounces Israel for their outward vain offerings instead of what God is always looking for, which is obedience from the heart:

A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master: if then I [be] a father, where [is] mine honour? and if I [be] a master, where [is] my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? {7} Ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar [Christ is the Altar] and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD [is] contemptible. {8} And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. {9} And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. {10} Who [is there] even among you that would shut the doors [for nought]? neither do ye kindle [fire] on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering[minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a] at your hand. [yad:H3027/TWOT 844] {11} For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. {12} But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD [is] polluted; and the fruit thereof, [even] his meat, [is] contemptible. {13} Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness [is it]! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought [that which was] torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a]: should I accept this of your hand? [yad:H3027/TWOT 844] saith the LORD. {14} But cursed [be] the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I [am] a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name [is] dreadful among the heathen.

One more reference that we can look at is in verses 15 and 26 of Genesis 43:11-26 when Joseph’s half brothers go back down to Egypt again with Benjamin and a present for the Egyptian Vice-Regent (who unbeknownst to them is Joseph); once again these terms are translated as present and in their hand:

And their father Israel said unto them, If [it must be] so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: {12} And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; peradventure it [was] an oversight: {13} Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: {14} And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved [of my children], I am bereaved. {15} And the men took that present [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a], and they took double money in their hand [yad:H3027/TWOT 844], and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. {16} And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring [these] men home, and slay, and make ready; for [these] men shall dine with me at noon. {17} And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. {18} And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. {19} And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, {20} And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: {21} And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, [every] man's money [was] in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. {22} And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. {23} And he said, Peace [be] to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. {24} And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave [them] water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. {25} And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. {26} And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present [minchah:H4503/TWOT 1214a] which [was] in their hand [yad:H3027/TWOT 844] into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. 

Would He Have Shewed [ra’ah:H7200/TWOT 2095] & Have Told [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a]

The next two terms that we want to investigate are would he have shewed and have told. The expression shewed or seen has emerged quite a few times already in this chapter. Both of these words, would he have shewed along with have told surface together in 80 other passages. Because of time we will just consider one of them in Deuteronomy 4:12-36, in which these terms appear in verses 12, 28, and 36, and are rendered as some form of see or shew and hear:

And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] the voice of the words, but saw [ra’ah:H7200/TWOT 2095]  no similitude; only [ye heard] a voice. {13} And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. {14} And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. {15} Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day [that] the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: {16} Lest ye corrupt [yourselves], and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, {17} The likeness of any beast that [is] on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, {18} The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that [is] in the waters beneath the earth: {19} And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. {20} But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, [even] out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as [ye are] this day. {21} Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance: {22} But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. {23} Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing], which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. {24} For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God. {25} When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt [yourselves], and make a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing], and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: {26} I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong [your] days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. {27} And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. {28} And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see [ra’ah:H7200/TWOT 2095], nor hear [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a], nor eat, nor smell. {29} But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. {30} When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; {31} (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. {32} For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it? {33} Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? {34} Or hath God assayed to go [and] take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? {35} Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him. {36} Out of heaven he made thee to hear [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed [ra’ah:H7200/TWOT 2095]  thee his great fire; and thou heardest [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] his words out of the midst of the fire.

Lord willing, in our next study, we will focus on the rest of verse 23.

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Judges 13 - Part 44

August 31, 2022

Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 44 and today’s date is August 31, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Today we want to finish our examination of verse 23. I would like for us to consider the two terms, would as at this time along with have told. In Part 43 we investigated the expressions, would he have shewed and have told in Deuteronomy 4:12, 28, and 36. We really did not have time to discuss how God employed these in that significant account which has to do with God qualifying His people to hear, see, and most importantly, to obey all that He commands. As I have stated numerous times, obedience is the essence of love. As we focus on these two words, would as at this time and have told, it highlights the Biblical principle that there is a set “time and a season” for God to reveal His Word to His elect sheep. For example, we read the following parables in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, in which the same word for would as at this time appears in all these verses as the refrain a time along with and a time for a total of 29 times!

To every [thing there is] a season, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT* 1650b] to every purpose under the heaven: {2} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]  to be born, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to die; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to plant, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]   to pluck up [that which is] planted; {3} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]   to kill, and a time[`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to heal; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to break down, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to build up; {4} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to weep, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to laugh; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to mourn, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to dance; {5} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to cast away stones, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to gather stones together; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to embrace, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to refrain from embracing; {6} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]   to get, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to lose; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to keep, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]   to cast away; {7} A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to rend, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to sew; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to keep silence, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to speak; {8] A time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] to love, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]   to hate; a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] of war, and a time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]  of peace. 

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

Time is also intimately connected with judgment, according to these next  citations:

Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 acknowledge: Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] and judgment. [mishpat:H4941/TWOT 2443c] {6} Because to every purpose there is time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] and judgment [mishpat:H4941/TWOT 2443c] , therefore the misery of man [is] great upon him.

Jeremiah 8:7 underscores the truth that God brought His judgment to bear on His own house first: Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] of their coming; but my people know not the judgment [mishpat:H4941/TWOT 2443c] of the LORD.

1 Peter 4:17 repeats this refrain as well: For the time [kairos:G2540] [is come] that judgment [krima:G2917] must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Would As At This Time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] & Have Told [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] 

So in light of the fact that God has a specific timetable for revealing Truth to His elect, let’s see how He utilizes these two expressions, would as at this time and have told, which surface in 13 other verses. I’m not sure of the spiritual implications that are embedded in this verse, so we will have to wait to see if God gives further understanding as we make our way through these chapters on Samson and his parents. 

These terms are employed in verse 10 of Genesis 18:10-14 with regards to the “miracle baby” Isaac that God promised to Abraham and Sarah, in which these words are translated as according to the time and heard: 

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And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him. {11} Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old [and] well stricken in age; [and] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. {12} Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? {13} And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? {14} Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

These two expressions are rendered as them and in the time or times and heardest  in Nehemiah 9:27-28, which is actually pinpointing the cycle of rebellion>oppression>deliverance>rest  that is so prevalent in the book of Judges:  

Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] [them] from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. {28} But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] [them] from heaven; and many times [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

The theme of God’s judgment beginning at His own house first runs all through the book of Jeremiah and these two terms emerge in verse 14 of Jeremiah 11:1-17, as hear and in the time: 

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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, {2} Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; {3} And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, {4} Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: {5} That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD. {6} Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. {7} For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. {8} Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not. {9} And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. {10} They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. {11} Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. {12} Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. {13} For [according to] the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and [according to] the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to [that] shameful thing, [even] altars to burn incense unto Baal. {14} Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] [them] in the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b]  that they cry unto me for their trouble.

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Verse 12 of Song of Solomon 2:10-14  also expresses these as the time and is heard, in this passage which appears to be referring to after the Great Tribulation (which ended on May 21, 2011):

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. {11} For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over [and] gone; {12} The flowers appear on the earth; the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] of the singing [of birds] is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] in our land; {13} The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines [with] the tender grape give a [good] smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. {14} O my dove, [that art] in the clefts of the rock, in the secret [places] of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet [is] thy voice, and thy countenance [is] comely.

The analogies of the winter is past and the rain is over and gone substantiate this. In Matthew 24 we read about winter in verse 20a, But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter… With respect to rain, the early rain had to do with the Pentecost al rain and the start of the New Testament churches and denominations, as the outward representation of His Kingdom on earth. On the other hand, the latter rain occurred during the last 17 years of the Great Tribulation (1994-2011), as God, in tandem with His people, sought to reach the last of the nations of the elect.  James 5:17 mentions both of these periods of rain: 

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 

Verse 16 of Isaiah 48:12-22 also include these words as me hear and from the time:  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am] he; I [am] the first, I also [am] the last. {13} Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: [when] I call unto them, they stand up together. {14} All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these [things]? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans. {15} I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. {16} Come ye near unto me, hear [shama`:H8085/TWOT 2412, 2412a] ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time [`eth:H6256/TWOT 1650b] that it was, there [am] I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. {17} Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go. {18} O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: {19} Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. {20} Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. {21} And they thirsted not [when] he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. {22} [There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

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We have to conclude today’s study. Lord willing, in our next lesson we will work on verse 24.

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Judges 13 - Part 45

September 2, 2022

‍ Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 45 and today’s date is September 2, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Well, we have finally arrived at the birth of Samson in verse 24.  Samson will be the protagonist in the next three chapters, as we learn more about his life and exploits, keeping in mind that He is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is also mentioned, significantly, in the “heroes of faith” in Hebrews 11:32-40,

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [of] Barak, and [of] Samson [Sampson:G4546], and [of] Jephthae; [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets: {33} Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, {34} Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. {35} Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: {36} And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: {37} They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; {38} (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. {39} And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: {40} God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

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The first phrase in verse 24 is:  And the woman bare a son… which is made up of three Hebrew words. We actually encountered these three terms in verse 3, so let’s proceed to the next phrase …and called his name… or qara shem which was the clue phrase that helped Mr. Camping unravel the calendars of Genesis 5 and 11, an indicated an immediate father-son relationship, as opposed to a distant relative.

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Samson’s [Shimsown:H8123] Name

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Samson’s name is derived from the Hebrew word for s-u-n, or shemesh (H8121/TWOT* 2417a). As such we see another way in which he represents the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is described in Malachi 4:2 as shall the Sun:

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

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But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun [shemesh:H8121/TWOT 2417a] of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

The following citations include this word sun as well:

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Sun [shemesh:H8121/TWOT 2417a]

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Psalm 84:11includes this expression as a sun too: For the LORD God [is] a sun [shemesh:H8121/TWOT 2417a] and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

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This word also appears in connection with the blessing of Joseph, (who is another great representation of the Savior), in  Deuteronomy 33:13-17; in verse 14 this expression is translated as by the sun:

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And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD [be] his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, {14} And for the precious fruits [brought forth] by the sun [shemesh:H8121/TWOT 2417a - i.e., Christ], and for the precious things put forth by the moon [i.e., Word of God], {15} And for the chief things of the ancient mountains [i.e, God’s Kingdom], and for the precious things of the lasting hills [i.e, God’s Kingdom], {16} And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let [the blessing] come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him [that was] separated from his brethren. {17} His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, [i.e., the elect] and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh. [i.e., the elect] 

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The Child [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a] Grew [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315]

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The next phrase that we want to turn our attention to is, the child grew, which is made up og two words, and surfaces in the following 5 citations:

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Verse 20 of Genesis 21:20 speak of Ishmael who was born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maid; these words are rendered the lad along with and he grew:  And God was with the lad [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a]; and he grew [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315], and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. {21} And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

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In verse 27 of Genesis 25:21-28 one learns of the two twin boys that God gave to Isaac and Rebekah - Jacob and Esau - who picture the elect and the non-elect respectively; every human being is placed by God into one of these two classifications:   

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And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she [was] barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. {22} And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. {23} And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than [the other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger. {24} And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. {25} And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. {26} And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them. {27} And the boys [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a] grew [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315]: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob [was] a plain man, dwelling in tents. {28} And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of [his] venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

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The next entry has to do with the boy Samuel, who was the last Judge in verse 21 of 1 Samuel 2:18-21, 

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But Samuel ministered before the LORD, [being] a child, girded with a linen ephod. {19} Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought [it] to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. {20} And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. {21} And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a]  Samuel grew [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315] before the LORD.

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Verse 41 of 1 Samuel 20:30-42 contains these two words and records the interesting  parabolic agreement that Jonathan and David made (which involved a youngster) because of King Saul’s vehement desire to kill David which is a spiritual portrait of Satan wanting to kill Christ; these terms are translated, as soon as the lad, and exceeded: 

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So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. {35} And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. {36} And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. [And] as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. {37} And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, [Is] not the arrow beyond thee? {38} And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. {39} But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. {40} And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry [them] to the city.  {41} [And] as soon as the lad [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a]  was gone, David arose out of [a place] toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315] {42} And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

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Verse 5 of 1 Chronicles 22:5-13 include these expressions as young and magnifical as David seeks to encourage Solomon with the task of constructing the Temple (a simile of Christ and His elect Bride):  

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And David said, Solomon my son [is] young [naʿar:G5288/ TWOT 1389a] and tender, and the house [that is] to be builded for the LORD [must be] exceeding magnifical [gāḏal:H1431/TWOT 315], of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will [therefore] now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

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And Jehovah [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a] Blessed [barak:H1288/TWOT 285]

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The last phrase in verse 24 is And Jehovah blessed him…  which are two Hebrew words that are found in 140 verses, and we will consider a few of them:

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Ruth 3:10 is another spiritual representation of Christ and His Eternal church as typified by Boaz and Ruth respectively: And he [Boaz] said, Blessed [barak:H1288/TWOT 285]  [be] thou of the LORD [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a] my daughter [Ruth]: [for] thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

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Job is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ who forsook His glory, honor and majesty to become Flesh and demonstrate the atonement that He accomplished at… the foundation of the world  as He secured the salvation of all within the Bride of Christ. In verse 12 of Job 42:10-13 we find these same terms, Jehovah and blessed:  

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And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. {11} Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. 

{12} So the LORD [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a] blessed [barak:H1288/TWOT 285]   the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. {13} He had also seven sons and three daughters.

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Psalm 5:12 refers to God’s infinite blessings upon His saints in salvation: For thou, LORD  [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a], wilt bless [barak:H1288/TWOT 285] the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as [with] a shield.

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The prayer found in Numbers 6:24-27 likewise affirms: The LORD  [Y@hovah:H3068/TWOT 484a bless [barak:H1288/TWOT 285] thee, and keep thee: {25} The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: {26} The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. {27} And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

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With that beautiful promise in mind we have to bring today’s study to a close. Lord willing, in our next study we will investigate the last verse in this chapter - verse 25.

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Judges 13 - Part 46

September 7, 2022

Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 46 and today’s date is September 7, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

We have arrived at the last verse in Judges 13, as Jehovah …began to move him [Samson] at times in the camp of Dan…

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The phrase …began to move him at times…is made up of two words that only surface together in this passage, so we will have to address them individually.

Began [chalal:H2490/TWOT* 660, 661] To Move Him At Times [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793]

Began [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] 

The term began is an interesting one that we encountered previously in verse 5 of this chapter, and we will see it again in Chapter 16 in verses 19 and 22 respectively:

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] to afflict him, and his strength went from him. ... {22} Howbeit the hair of his head began [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] to grow again after he was shaven.

Even though it is primarily rendered as begin or began, the next most common ways it is translated are: profane, pollute, and defile, as the following Scriptures affirm:

Verse 21 of Ezekiel 24:15-24 is a historical parable that underscores God’s judgment beginning at His own house first, in which Ezekiel’s wife represents national Israel whom God was married to, and then divorced her because she committed spiritual adultery. The penalty for spiritual adultery is death by stoning, and as a result God demonstrates this by taking Ezekiel’s wife in death in this living tableau. 

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

However, it is important to understand that God could not kill the entire nation, as the Messiah had to be born through national Israel, along with all the elect Jews, which is why God gave a temporary law allowing for divorce (according to Deuteronomy 24:1), even though God hates divorce.  The divorce went into effect historically when Christ hung on the Cross, and the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This term appears in verse 21 as I will profane:

Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {16} Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. {17} Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not [thy] lips, and eat not the bread of men. {18} So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. {19] And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these [things are] to us, that thou doest [so]? {20} Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {21} Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. {22} And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover [your] lips, nor eat the bread of men. {23} And your tires [shall be] upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. {24} Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.

God is also emphasizing this in Ezekiel 20:13, in which this word is  expressed as polluted:  But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which [if] a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661]: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

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Verse 7 of Psalm 74:3-7 inserts this word as they have defiled: Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; [even] all [that] the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. {4} Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns [for] signs. {5} [A man] was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. {6} But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. {7} They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled [chalal:H2490/TWOT 660, 661] [by casting down] the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.

To Move Him At Times [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793]

Let’s now turn our attention to the next word in verse 25 …to move him at times… This term is employed in the following four passages, and in every case (except for our verse in Judges 13:25), it is rendered always as a form of troubled:

In Genesis 41:8 we learn of how Pharaoh was troubled by his dream, which eventually, Joseph interpreted for him: And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled  [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793]; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

Verse 4 of Psalm 77:4  includes this expression as I am so troubled: [To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.] I cried unto God with my voice, [even] unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. {2} In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. {3} I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. {4} Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793] that I cannot speak.

Verses 1 and 3 of Daniel 2:1-3 contain this expression was troubled as well: 

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And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793], and his sleep brake from him. {2} Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. {3} And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled [pa`am:H6470/TWOT 1793] to know the dream.

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From the rest of Judges 13:25 we learn the location of where Samson was in Israel: …in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Quite a bit of time has elapsed since we discussed these terms at the beginning of this chapter, so it might be a good idea to review them, here at the end of this chapter as well. Let’s begin by looking at Dan, and what He signifies. 

Dan [Dan:H1835]

‍When we search the Scriptures most of what we find about the tribe of Dan is negative in character. In fact, the name Dan signifies judge, and stems from the verb judge (diyn:H1777/TWOT 426), and is predominantly translated as such. passages that deal with him: 

‍In Genesis 30:6 we read about his birth (through Rachel’s handmaid, Bilhah); in this verse the expression hath judged is the verb form from which Dan is derived from:  

And Rachel said, God hath judged [diyn:H1777/TWOT426] me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. [Dan:H1835]

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Likewise Genesis 49:16-17 contains these two terms as well:  Dan  [Dan:H1835] shall judge [diyn:H1777/TWOT426]  his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. {17} Dan  [Dan:H1835] shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

Zorah [Tsor`ah:H6881] 

‍We note that this takes place in the town of Zorah, and we wonder what the spiritual significance of Zorah might be?  It turns out that Zorah stems from a “word-family” that includes the connotation of hornets (tsir`ah:H6880/TWOT 1971b), and only surfaces in the following three verses: 

‍Verse 28 of Exodus 23:22-30 includes this word hornets as God stipulates what He would do for His corporate people if they obey Him: But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. {23} For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. {24} Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. {25} And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. {26} There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. {27} I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. {28} And I will send hornets [tsir`ah:H6880/TWOT1971b] before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

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Verse 20 of Deuteronomy 7:12-24 similarly reveals:  Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: {13} And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. {14} Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. {15} And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all [them] that hate thee. {16} And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that [will be] a snare unto thee. {17} If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations [are] more than I; how can I dispossess them? 18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: [but] shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; {19} The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. {20} Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet [tsir`ah:H6880/TWOT1971b] among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

This is also the case in verse 12 of Joshua 24:11-13, And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. {12} And I sent the hornet [tsir`ah:H6880/TWOT1971b] before you, which drave them out from before you, [even] the two kings of the Amorites; [but] not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. {13} And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

‍From the foregoing Scriptures we see that Zorah or hornets has to do with God’s judgment that was in view as the Israelites went into possess the land of Canaan - which pictures the Gospel going into the world - and at the same time to dispossess or overthrow the inhabitants of Canaan. 

Let’s stop. Lord willing, in our next study we will review the term Eshtaol, and then proceed to Chapter 14.‍

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Judges 13 - Part 47

September 9, 2022

‍ Good evening, and welcome to Searching The Scriptures! This will be Judges 13 - Part 47 and today’s date is September 9, 2022. I’ll read from Judges 13:15-25,

‍And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. {16} And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {17} And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? {18} And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret? {19} So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. {20} For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground. {21} But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD. {22} And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. {23} But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these. {24} And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. {25} And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

As I mentioned at the close of our last study, today we want to focus on the last word in verse 25, Eshtaol, which is found in six other passages:

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Eshtaol [’Eshta’ol:H847]

In Joshua 15:33, Eshtaol is included as part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah: [And] in the valley, Eshtaol, [’Eshta’ol:H847] and Zoreah, and Ashnah,

However in verse 41 of Joshua 19:40-48, Eshtaol is mentioned as part of the tribe of Dan: [And] the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. {41} And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, [’Eshta’ol:H847] and Irshemesh,  {42} And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, {43} And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, {44} And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, {45} And Jehud, and Beneberak, and Gathrimmon, {46} And Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. {47} And the coast of the children of Dan went out [too little] for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. {48} This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

The next entry in which this location surfaces is in connection which Samson’s burial place, in Judges 16:31, even as we read in Judges 13:25 that Jehovah began to deal with him in between Zorah (which signifies hornets or God’s judgment) and Eshtaol, so in a sense we see a snapshot of Samson’s life and death cycle encapsulated in between these two towns, within the tribe of Dan, which also indicates judgment: 

Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol [’Eshta’ol:H847] in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

The life and death cycle for Samson not only applies to him, but to every human being who has been conceived as we read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a,

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To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: {2} A time to be born, and a time to die… 

More importantly, we recognize that Samson is a great representation of the Lord Jesus Christ who was “born to die,” as He came to demonstrate the atonement that He had secured for all the elect at… the foundation of the world, as John 16:28 affirms:

I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 

What Jesus stated in verse 17 and 18 of John 10:6-18 is highly significant because it underscores the fact that Christ voluntarily gave up the Holy Spirit on the Cross at the precise moment that it was intended for Him to do so:

This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. {7} Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. {8} All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. {9} I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. {10} The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly. {11} I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. {12} But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. {13} The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. {14} I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine. {15} As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. {16} And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd. {17} Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. {18} No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Another way of looking at Samson’s birth as a Nazarite (and we learned previously in our study that only the Savior was the perfect Nazarite) is to understand that Christ is the firstborn or first begotten from the dead, as these next Scriptures highlight:

Colossians 1:18 testifies: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. 

And Revelation 1:5 likewise asserts: And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

These verses, in turn, comport with what we read in Proverbs 8:22-31, in which Christ’s resurrection from the dead at… the foundation of the world (and prior to the 6 days of Creation) is likened to a re-birth, by the terms I was brought forth, or was I brought forth in verses 24 and 25; notice the use of the terms when, while, and before:

The LORD possessed [“purchased”] me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. {23} I was set up [mostly rendered as: poured out, offered, melttd, molten] from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. {24} When [there were] no depths, I was brought forth; when [there were] no fountains abounding with water. {25} Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: {26} While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. {27} When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: {28} When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: {29} When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: {30} Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him; {31} Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights [were] with the sons of men. 

The terms, I was brought forth and was I brought forth in verse 24 and 25 is the expression chuwl (H2342/TWOT *623), and found for instance in the following references that deal with conception, birth, and delivery:

I Was Brought Forth [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623]

Job 15:7 poses this parabolic question, in which this expression is rendered   [Art] thou the first man [that] was born? or wast thou made [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623] before the hills?

Psalm 51:5 translates this as I was shapen: Behold, I was shapen [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 90:2 expresses this as  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623] the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.

In Isaiah 26:17-18 this is rendered as  Like as a woman with child, [that] draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623],  [and] crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. {18} We have been with child, we have been in pain [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623],  we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

Similarly, Isaiah 51:2 renders this word as bare, in which Abraham and Sarah typify God the Father and the Kingdom of God respectively:  Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah [that] bare [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623] you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

However in Isaiah 54:1 this is expressed as Sing, O barren, thou [that] didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou [that] didst not travail with child [chuwl:H2342/ TWOT 623]: for more [are] the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

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*Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)

Isaiah 54:1 links us to verse 27 of  Galatians 4:21-28 which quotes Isaiah 54:1 in the larger context of the children of the promise versus children of the flesh:

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? {22} For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. {23} But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise. {24} Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. {25} For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. {26} But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. {27} For it is written, Rejoice, [thou] barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. {28} Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 

The last three references that include the term Eshtaol are found, in Judges 18:2, 8, and 11,

And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol [’Eshta’ol:H847] , to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. ... {8} And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol [’Eshta’ol:H847] :  and their brethren said unto them, What [say] ye? ... {11} And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol [’Eshta’ol:H847],  six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

This will conclude today’s study, and Chapter 13. In our next lesson we will begin our examination of Judges 14 and learn more about the character and exploits of Samson (whose name is related to the S-u-n), as He portrays the Savior and His atonement in so many different ways.

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