Why Study the Torah? Because it is very important to YHVH:
1 Corinthians 10:11
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How does this week’s Torah Portion relate to the Haftarah and Brit Chadasha Portions?
What did you find most interesting about this week’s reading?
What is the general theme of this reading and how does it apply to our lives today?
The Facebook Notes Rob talked about:
Numbers 5:
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: yarek
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-rake')
Short Definition: thigh
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Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: beten
Phonetic Spelling: (beh'-ten)
Short Definition: womb
Numbers 5:
King James Version (KJV)
17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
Colossians 2
King James Version (KJV)
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
1 John 3:4
Paul's Nazirite Vow - Acts 18:18
Paul Kept A Nazirite Vow - Acts 18:18
Acts 18:18-19 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. NKJV
Let's be clear. There’s no explicit reference in this scripture to a Nazirite vow, but let’s see what the commentaries have to say about this.
Commentators Agree That Paul Kept A Nazirite Vow
Firstly the Wycliffe Bible Commantary. Acts 18:18
Paul now stayed in Corinth ….Before leaving Corinth, he assumed a Nazarite vow (see Num 6:1-21) which was an OT act of thanksgiving or of dedication to God. During the period of the vow, the devotee allowed his hair to grow uncut, and at the end of the period he cut his hair. ………. As he came to Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, on his way to Syria and Palestine, the time of his vow elapsed, and he therefore cut his hair.(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
Barnes Notes 1997 Acts 18:18
[For he had a vow] …. The most remarkable vow among the Jews was that of the Nazarite, by which a man made a solemn promise to God to abstain from wine, and from all intoxicating liquors, to let the hair grow, not to enter any house polluted by having a dead body in it, or to attend any funeral. This vow generally lasted eight days, sometimes a month, sometimes during a definite period fixed by themselves, and sometimes during their whole lives…. Those who made the vow out of Palestine, and who could not come to the temple when the vow was expired, contented themselves with observing the abstinence required by the Law, and cutting off the hair where they were. This I suppose to have been the case with Paul. His hair he cut off at the expiration of the vow at Cenchrea, though he delayed to perfect the vow by the proper ceremonies until he reached Jerusalem, Acts 21:23-24. (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Expositors Bible Commentary says:
Nevertheless, that Paul cut his hair at Cenchrea shows that he had earlier taken a Nazirite vow for a particular period of time that had now ended. Such a vow had to be fulfilled at Jerusalem…
Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on Numbers 6:
"On other cases of this kind in the Talmud, and particularly on the later form of the Nazarite vow-for example, that of the Apostle Paul (Acts 18:18) - see Winer, bibl. R. W. ii. pp. 138-9, and Oehler in Herzog's Cycl.)" (from Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Now let’s take a look at what Matthew Henry has to say. Acts 18:18-23
At Cenchrea, which was hard by Corinth, the port where those that went to sea from Corinth took ship, either Paul or Aquila (for the original does not determine which) had his head shaved, to discharge himself from the vow of a Nazarite:
Matthew Henry then goes on to argue that Paul kept a Nazirite vow to be "all things to all men". Was Paul really a hypocrite?
Remarkably then, in the view of all of these commentators, Paul himself kept the “ritualistic old testament law” of the Nazirite vow, but at the same time was preaching that it was all "done away with".
Doesn't that argument beg some rather big questions?
21 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
22 “You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first crop of the wheat harvest, and celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season. 23 Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out the other nations ahead of you and expand your territory, so no one will covet and conquer your land while you appear before the Lord your God three times each year.
Also listen to John William Galt (the voice of the movies) reading
Psalm 91:
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More study resources related to the subjects of this week's study can be found at: www.babylonrisingblog.com and www.babylonrisingbooks.com
The Scriptures for this week's study are:
TORAH:
PROPHETS:
John 7:37-8:11;
Acts 21:17-32