Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.
אשׁר ישׁחט – in earlier days the head or
priest of every family would slaughter animals for household use.
Lev 17:1
And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Lev 17:2 “Speak to Aharon, to his sons, and to all the
children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘This is the word which יהוה has commanded, saying,
Lev 17:3 “Any man from the house of Yisra’ĕl who
slaughters (אשׁר ישׁחט) a bull or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it
outside the camp,
Lev 17:4 and does not bring it to the door of the Tent
of Meeting, to bring an offering to יהוה before the
Dwelling Place of יהוה, blood-guilt (Heb – dam chashav – or blood judgment) is reckoned to
that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his
people,
In ancient near eastern cultures, it was not considered proper to slaughter an animal without deep consideration of the value of the life of the animal. Its blood was considered to have significant worth and was associated with the worship of YHVH or sadly in many other instances for the purpose of pleasing or worshipping angry gods and demons.
Lev 17:5 in order that the children of Yisra’ĕl bring
their slaughterings which they slaughter in the open field. And they shall
bring them to יהוה at the door (threshold) of the
Tent of meeting, to the priest, and slaughter them as peace offerings to יהוה.
Lev 17:6 “And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on
the altar of יהוה at the door of the Tent of
Meeting, and shall burn the fat for a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 17:7 “And let them no longer
slaughter their slaughterings to demons, after whom they whored. This is a law
forever for them throughout their generations.” (in a modern context - any celebration that does not honour the One True Elohim
of Israel and His only brought forth Son should be considered with suspicion)
Lev 17:8 “And say to them, ‘Any man of the house of
Yisra’ĕl, or of the strangers who sojourn among you, who offers a burnt
offering or slaughtering,
Lev 17:9 and does not bring it to the door of the Tent
of Meeting, to do it to יהוה, that man
shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 17:10 ‘And any man of the house of Yisra’ĕl, or of
the strangers who sojourn among you, who eats any blood, I shall set My face
against that being who eats blood, and shall cut him off from among his people.
Gentile believers are not excluded from this responsibility
or guarding all aspects of Torah.
Heb 10:28 Anyone
who has disregarded (disregarding – present tense)the Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the
witness of two or three witnesses. Heb 10:29 How much worse
punishment do you think shall he deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim
underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart as common,
and insulted the Spirit of favour?
Lev 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood,
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your lives, for
it is the blood that makes atonement for the life.’
Lev 17:12 “Therefore I said to the children of
Yisra’ĕl, ‘No being among you eats blood, nor does any stranger who sojourns
among you eat blood.’
Lev 17:13 “And any man from the children of Yisra’ĕl,
or from the strangers who sojourn among you, who hunts and catches any beast or
bird, which is eaten, shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust,
Lev 17:14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood is
for its life. And I said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Do not eat the blood of
any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it is cut
off.’
Lev 17:15 “And any being who eats a carcass or what was
torn by a beast, be he a native or a stranger, he shall wash his
garments and bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Then he shall
be clean.
Lev 17:16 “And if he does not wash or bathe his body,
then he shall bear his crookedness.”
This is just another
confirmation of the Apostle Paul’s teaching why the Torah was given- why the
Torah is so important - to show us the
exceeding sinfulness of sin – Rom 7:13
Even as seekers of the truth,
we often don’t realize the seriousness of sin. There is a great deception and
delusion amongst many believers that sin is no longer such a serious issue. The
modern grace doctrines could in fact be doctrines of demons – YHVH has clearly shown
us the path of our redemption.
Lev
18:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 18:2 “Speak to the
children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘I am יהוה your
Elohim.
Lev 18:3 ‘Do not do as
they do in the land of Mitsrayim, where you dwelt. And do not do as they do in
the land of Kena‛an, where I am bringing you, and do not walk in their
laws.
Lev 18:4 ‘Do My
right-rulings and guard My laws, to walk in them. I am יהוה your
Elohim.
Lev 18:5 ‘And you shall guard My laws and My right-rulings, which a man does and lives by them. I am יהוה.
Short
Summary of ‘’The Threshold Covenant’’ - H. Clay Trumbull. The Threshold
Covenant; or, The Beginning of Religious Rites – written 1896 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49216/49216-h/49216-h.htm
The
primitive altar of the family would seem to have been the threshold, or doorsill,
or entrance- way, of the home dwelling-place. This is indicated by surviving
customs, in the East and elsewhere among primitive peoples, and by the earliest
historic records of the human race. It is obvious that houses preceded temples,
and that the housefather was the earliest priest. Sacrifices for the family
were, therefore, within or at the entrance of the family domicile.
In Syria and
in Egypt, at the present time, when a guest who is worthy of special honor is
to be welcomed to a home, the blood of a slaughtered, or a "
sacrificed," animal is shed on the threshold of that home, as a means of
adopting the newcomer into the family, or of making a covenant union with him.
And every such primitive covenant in blood includes an appeal to the protecting
Deity to ratify it as between the two parties and himself. While the guest is still outside, the host
takes a lamb, or a goat, and, tying its feet together, lays it upon the
threshold of his door. Resting his left knee upon the bound victim, the host
holds its head by his left hand, while with his right he cuts its throat. He
retains his position until all the blood has flowed from the body upon the
threshold. Then the victim is removed, and the guest steps over the blood,
across the threshold; and in this act he becomes, as it were, a member of the
family by the Threshold Covenant – ‘’brit miphtan’’
It would
seem to have been in accordance with this primitive law of the East that
Yahshua said : " He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the
sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep I am the door (threshold
covenant).
If any man enters
in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. The
thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that
they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
The
threshold, as the family altar on which the sacrificial blood of a covenant
welcome is poured out, is counted set apart, and is not to be stepped upon, or
passed over lightly; but it is to be crossed over rever- ently, as in
recognition of Him to whom all life belongs. " On passing the
threshold," in Arabia, " it is proper to say, ' Bismillah/ that is, '
In the name of God.' Not to do so would be looked upon as a bad sign, alike for
him who enters and for those within."
In Syria the belief prevails " that it is ‘’unlucky’’ to tread on a
threshold."
THRESHOLD
COVENANTING IN THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY.
Marriage
customs in various parts of the world, in ancient and modem times, illustrate
this idea of the set apartness of the threshold as the family altar. In
portions of Syria, when a bride is brought to her husband’s home, a lamb or a
kid is sacrificed on the threshold, and she must step across the outpoured
blood. This marks her adoption into that family.
In the
building of a house, as a new home, the prominence given to the laying of the
threshold, or to its dedicating by blood, is another indication, or outcome, of
its altar-like set apartness. In Upper Syria a sacrifice is often made at the
beginning of the building of a new house, and again at the first crossing of
its threshold.
Because the
threshold is recognized as an altar, nearness to the altar is nearness to YHVH,
or to the gods worshiped at that altar. Hence appeals are made, and justice is
sought at the gate, or at the threshold, as in the presence of mighty ones or
Elohim.
See the Scriptural
references to this idea. Moshe stood “in the gate of the camp,” at a crisis
hour in Israel’s history, when he would execute judgment in YHVH’s cause. (Ex
32:26)
Exo 32:26 And Mosheh stood in the entrance of
the camp, and said, “Who is for יהוה?
Come to me.” And all the sons of Lěwi gathered themselves to him.
All Israel
was aroused to do judgment against the sinning Benjamites because of the appeal
of the dying woman who fell at the door of the house, “with her hands upon the
threshold.”(‘’saph’’)[ the Levites concubine - Judges 19:25-30] Boaz “went up
to the gate,” to meet the elders there, when he would covenant to do justice by
Ruth and the kinsman of Naomi.[ Ruth 4:1-10]
Pro 8:34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
YHVH’s
call to Israel, through the prophets, was: “Establish judgment in the gate,”[ Amos 5:15] and
“Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.”[ Zech 8:16] A
reference to a just and righteous man is to “him that reproveth in the gate.”[ Is 29:21]
It is written in the Torah, that, when a bondman would bind
himself and his family in permanent servitude to his loved master, “his master
shall bring him unto YHVH
[or to the place of judgment and of covenant], and shall bring him to the door,
or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl;
and he shall [thenceforward] serve him forever;”[ Ex 21:5-6] or, as it
is elsewhere said, the master shall thrust the awl “through his ear, unto [or
into] the door.” Here, apparently, the master and servant appeal together at
the household altar, in witness of their set apart
covenant.
When it is understood that the inscribing, on the
doorways, of dedications to protecting deities, was common among primitive
peoples, it would seem to be in accordance with that custom that the Hebrews
were commanded to dedicate their doorways to the one living Elohim. It is said
of the words of the covenant of YHVH with his people, as recorded in
Deuteronomy 6 : 4– 9 and 11 : 13– 21, “Thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thy house,
and upon thy gates.” To this day, among stricter Jews, these covenant words
inscribed on parchment, and enclosed in a cylinder of glass, or a case of metal
or of wood, are affixed to the side-posts of every principal door in the house.
This case and inscription are called the “mezuza.” On the outside of the
written scroll, the divine name, Shaddai, –“the Almighty,”– is so inscribed
that it may be in sight through an opening in the case or cylinder. This name
stands for “the Guardian of the dwellings of Israel,” whose protection is thus
invoked above the primitive altar of the household on the threshold of the
entrance way.
Originally
the covenant sacrifice at the threshold was with the one Elohim of life. But as
monotheism degenerated into polytheism, the idea came to prevail of different
deities at the gates. Each gate of an Assyrian city was dedicated to a special
god, and named after it, – as the gate of Bel, the gate of Beltis, the gate of
Anu, the gate of Ishtar.
EARLIEST
TEMPLE ALTAR.
A temple is
only a more prominent house. As a house was the dwelling of the earlier priest
of his household, who was in covenant for himself and his family with the
guardian deity of that household; so, afterwards, a temple was a dwelling for
the deity guarding an aggregation of families, and for the priests who stood
between him and the community.
In all
stages of the transition from house to temple, the sacredness of the threshold,
of the door, of the entranceway, of the gate, was recognized in architecture
and in the ceremonial. Often the door, or the gate, stood for the temple, and
frequently the threshold was an altar, or an altar was at the threshold.
Yahshua did
not hesitate to say of himself as the Way to YHVH: “I am the Door: by me if any
man enter in he shall be saved.”[ John 10:9]
Light is
thrown on the dream of Jacob at Bethel by the shape of the ancient temple in
the East. In his vision it was probably not a ladder, but a conventional
stepped-temple structure, with its stairways rising heavenward, and its
sanctuary, that Jacob saw. The angel ministers were passing up and down the
steps, in the service of the Most High Elohim, who himself appeared above the
structure. When Jacob waked he said: “Surely YHVH is in this place [or
sanctuary]; and I knew it not.... How dreadful is this place! this is none
other but the house of YHVH, and this is the gate of heaven;” and he took the
stone which had been his pillow at the threshold of that sanctuary, and set it
up for an altar pillar.[ The word “sullam,” here translated “ladder,” is a
derivative from “salal,” “to raise up in a pile, to exalt by heaping up as in
the construction of a mound or highway.” Comp. Isa. 57 : 14; 62 : 10; Jer. 50 :
26 – Gen 28:10-22]
“Gen
28:12 And he dreamed and saw a ladder
set up on the earth, and its top reached to the heavens, and saw messengers of
Elohim going up and coming down on it.
“ladder” in Hebrew is
“sulam” this is the only place in scripture where this word is used. The
gematria for “sulam” and “Sinai” are the same – 130.
The events and message that
come from these two locations (Sinai and Mount Tzion) reveal YHVH’s complete
redemptive agenda (gateway thresholds) for mankind. These two places have
influenced the life of man on this planet more than any other places in
history.
The same message Moshe
received on Sinai, Yahshua will proclaim (has proclaimed) from the temple mount
or Mount Zion (mount Moriah) in the future – Is 2:2-4
Leaping over
the threshold is at times spoken of in the Scriptures as if it had a taint of
idolatry. Thus Zephaniah, foretelling, in the name of the YHVH, the judgments
on idolaters, says: “In that day I will punish all those that leap over the
threshold. מִפְתָּן [ Zeph 1:9] This is explained in the
Targum as “those that walk in the customs of the Philistines.” Yet the Scriptures
sometimes refers to the temple threshold as a fitting place of worship, and its
recognition as a set apart altar as commendable. Ezekiel prophesies that the
restored Prince of Israel (Messiah) “shall worship at the threshold of the
gate of YHVH’s house; Eze 46:1
‘Thus said the Master יהוה,
“The gate of the inner courtyard facing east is shut the six days of work, but
on the sabbath it is opened, and on the day of the new moon it is
opened. Eze 46:2 “And the prince(Messiah)
shall enter by way of the porch of that gate from the outside, and he shall
stand by the post. And the priests shall prepare his ascending offering and his
peace offerings. And he shall bow himself at the threshold of the gate, and
shall go out, but the gate is not shut until evening.’’
Ezekiel sees, in a vision, “the esteem of the YHVH ... over the
threshold of the house.” [Ez 10:4 and 9:3] Again YHVH complains of the
profanation of his temple by idolaters “in their setting of their
threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post, (this
is what the church has done) and there was but the wall between me and them.”[
Eze 43:8 “When they placed their threshold by My threshold, and their
doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My
set-apart Name by the abominations which they have done. So I consumed them in
My displeasure. Eze 43:9 “Now let them put their whoring and the
corpses of their sovereigns far away from Me, and I shall dwell in their midst
forever.]
That it was the threshold or doorway of the tabernacle,
which was counted set apart, is evident from the wording of the Levitical laws
concerning the offering of blood in sacrifices. “This is the thing which YHVH
hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel,
that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without
the camp, and hath not brought it unto the door of the tent of meeting, to
offer it as an oblation unto YHYV before the tabernacle YHVH: blood shall
be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off
from among his people: to the end that the children of Israel may bring their
sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, even that they may bring
them unto YHVH, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and offer
them for offerings of peace offerings unto YHVH. And the priest shall
sprinkle the blood upon the altar of YHVH at the door of the tent of meeting
and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto YHVH.... Whatsoever man there be of
the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that offereth
a burnt offering or sacrifice, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tent
of meeting, to offer it unto YHVH; even that man shall be cut off from his
people.”[ Lev 17:2-9] It was at the doorway of the tent of meeting that
Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the set apart priesthood;[ Ex 29:4]
and it was there that the bullock was offered, and its blood was poured out as
an offering at the base of the altar.[ Ex 29:10-12] It was at the doorway of
that tent, above the threshold, that the pillar of cloud descended in token of YHVH’s
presence, when Moshe met YHVH there in loving communion, while the people stood
watching from the doorways of their own tents.[ Exod. 33 : 8– 10; see, also,
Num. 12 : 5; 20 : 6; Deut. 31 : 15.]
The altar of
burnt offering, at the base or foundation of which the blood of the offerings
was outpoured, was itself at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and he who
offered an offering to YHVH offered it at that threshold.[ See, for
example, Exod. 40 : 6, 29; Lev. 1 : 3, 5; 3 : 2; 4 : 4, 7; 8 : 1– 36; 12 : 6;
14 : 11, 23; 15 : 14, 29; 16 : 7; 17 : 4– 9; 19 : 21; Num. 6 : 10– 18.] A post
of honor in the temple was as a guardian of the threshold, as was also the
place of a keeper of the gate. In the assignment of the priests and Levites to
service, by Jehoiada the priest, in the days of Athaliah, a third part of them
were in attendance at the “threshold,” and a third part “at the gate of the
foundation.”[ 2 Chron. 23 : 4, 5.] Later, in the days of Josiah and Hilkiah,
the guardians of the threshold had the care of the money collected for the
repairs of YHVH’s house.[ 2 Chron 34:8,9] And a keeper of the threshold, or of
the door, of the house of YHVH, was always mentioned with honor.[ 1 Chron. 15 :
23, 24; Jer. 35 : 4; 52 : 24, etc.] When the Psalmist contrasts the house of
Elohim with the tents of wickedness, he speaks of the honor of a post at the
temple threshold, not of the humble place of a temple janitor, when he says:
“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere]. I had rather
stand at the threshold of the house of my Elohim, Than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness.” [ Ps 84:10- For a day in Your courts Is better
than a thousand days. I have chosen rather to be a doorkeeper In the
House of my Elohim, Than to dwell in the tents of the wrong.] See also Ex 38:8 set apart woman
stood guard at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
At Jerusalem
the Temple was built on Mt. Moriah, where the ark of the covenant rested after
its return from Philistia, [ 2 Sam 6:1-19] and where David erected an altar to YHVH
after the staying of the pestilence from Israel. [ 2 Sam24:15-25] And it is
supposed that this same Mt. Moriah was where Abraham offered a sacrifice to
YHVH on an altar he had built for the sacrifice of his son.[ Gen 22:1-13] And
this site of the Temple at Jerusalem is held set apart to-day, in view of its
being deemed by multitudes a Set Apart place from the beginning of the world.
Now we can understand why Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling for all
nations –
In a prophecy
of the Messiah as the foundation, or threshold, of a new temple, it was
declared by YHVH: “Behold, I lay [or, I have laid] in Zion for a foundation a
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation.”[ Isa. 28 :
16; 1 Pet. 2 : 6.] again, it was the promise of YHVH to the Israelites that
they should be restorers of worship on former foundations. “They that shall be
of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations
of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, The
restorer of paths to dwell in.” [ Is 58:12]
NEW MEANING
IN AN OLD RITE. How the significance of the Hebrew passover rite stands out in
the light of this primitive custom! It is not that this rite had its origin in
the days of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, but that YHVH then and there
emphasized the meaning and set apartness of a rite already familiar to
Orientals. In dealing with his chosen people, YHVH did not invent a new rite or
ceremony at every stage of his progressive revelation to them; but he took a
rite with which they were already familiar, and gave to it a new and deeper
significance in its new use and relations.
Long before
that day, a covenant welcome was given to a guest who was to become as one of
the family, or to a bride or bridegroom in marriage, by the outpouring of blood
on the threshold of the door, and by staining the doorway itself with the blood
of the covenant. And now YHVH announced that he was to visit Egypt on a
designated night, and that those who would welcome him should prepare a
threshold covenant, or a pass-over sacrifice, as a proof of that welcome; for
where no such welcome was made ready for him by a family, he must count the
household as his enemy.[Ex 12:1-20] In announcing this desire for a welcoming offering
by the Hebrews, YHVH spoke of it as “YHVH’s passover,” as if the pass-over rite
was a familiar one, which was now to be observed as a welcome to YHVH.[Ex
12:11] Moshe, in reporting YHVH’s message to the Hebrews, did not speak of the
proposed offering as something of which they knew nothing until now, but he
first said to them, “Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families,
and kill the passover”– or the threshold cross-over;[ Exod. 12 : 21, 27.] and
then he added details of special instruction for this new use of the old rite.
A WELCOME
WITH BLOOD. A lamb was the chosen offering in the welcome to YHVH. Each
household, or family, was to take one lamb for this offering. No directions
were given as to the place or manner of its sacrifice; for that seems to have
been understood by all, because of the very term “pass-over,” or threshold
cross-over. This is implied, indeed, in the directions for the use of the blood
when it was poured out: “Kill the passover,” in the usual place; “and ye shall
take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is at the threshold
[Hebrew, saph which can mean basin, goblet, bowl and secondly can mean
threshold, sill], and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood
that is at the threshold.”[ Ex 12:22]
In that
welcome with blood there was covenant protection from YHVH as he came into Mitsrayim/Egypt
to execute judgment on his enemies. The Mitsrites/Egyptians had already refused
him allegiance and put themselves in open defiance of his authority. They were
now to be visited in judgment. [ Exod. 2 : 23– 25; 3 : 7– 10; 5 : 1, 2; 6 : 1–
7; 10 : 21– 29.] But in order to the distinguishing of YHVH’s people from his
enemies, the Hebrews were to prepare a blood welcome at their doorway, and YHVH
would honor this welcome by covenanting with those who presented it. “And Moshe
said, Thus saith YHVH, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of cattle.... But
against any of the children of Yisrael shall not a dog move his tongue, against
man or beast: that ye may know how that YHVH doth put a difference between the Mitsrites
and Yissrael.” [ Exod. 11 : 4– 7.] In furtherance of this purpose, YHVH asked
for the offering of the threshold cross-over by the Hebrews: “For YHVH will
pass through [the land] to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood
upon the lintel, and on the two side posts [of the Hebrew homes], YHVH will
pass over [cross-over or through] the door, and will not suffer the destroyer
to come in unto your houses to smite you.”[ Ex 12:23] Obviously the figure here
employed is of a sovereign accompanied by his executioner, a familiar figure in
the ancient East. When he comes to a house marked by tokens of the welcoming
covenant, the sovereign will covenant-cross that threshold, and enter the home
as a guest, or as a member of the family; but where no such preparation has
been made for him, his executioner will enter on his mission of judgment.[
Compare Josh. 2 : 1– 21; 6 : 16– 25.]
BASIN, OR THRESHOLD. It is strange that sometimes the Hebrew word for “threshold” (saph) in this narrative is translated “basin” in our English Scripture. It is because of this that the identity of the passover sacrifice with the primitive Threshold Covenant is so generally lost sight of. This word ‘’saph’’ occurs many times in the Old Testament text, and in nine cases out of ten it is translated “threshold,” or “door,” or “door-post,” or the like.[ 549 - See, for example, Judg. 19 : 27; 1 Kings 14 : 17; 2 Kings 12 : 9, 13; 22 : 4; 23 : 4; 25 : 18; 1 Chron. 9 : 19, 22; 2 Chron. 3 : 7; 23 : 4; 34 : 9; Esther 2 : 21; 6 : 2; Isa. 6 : 4; Jer. 35 : 4; 52 : 19, 24; Ezek. 40 : 6, 7; 41 : 16; 43 : 8; Amos 9 : 1; Zeph. 2 : 14; Zech. 12 : 2.] It would seem that it should be so translated in this instance. In some cases where saph is translated “basin,” or “cup,” the term “threshold” would be more appropriate, as when included in an enumeration of the temple furniture.[ Jer 52:19] Bronze and silver thresholds were often mentioned in the furniture of Babylonian and Assyrian temples; and they might well have had mention among the Hebrews. It is possible, however, that there was a cavity, as a blood receptacle, in the threshold of houses or temples where sacrifices were so frequent; and this would account for the use of the word saph as “bason,” even where it referred to the threshold of the door.
Among
primitive peoples, as among the Jews, no indignity could equal the refusal of a
special guest-welcome, in a rude trampling on the blood of the threshold
sacrifice, instead of crossing over it reverently as a mode of its acceptance.
Hence the peculiar force of the words of the Jewish-Christian writer of the
Epistle to the Hebrews, concerning the mistreatment of YHVH’s threshold
sacrifice is found in Heb
10:28 Anyone who has disregarded (disregarding – present tense)the
Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the witness of two or three
witnesses. Heb 10:29 How much worse punishment do you think shall he
deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted the blood of the
covenant by which he was set apart as common, and insulted the Spirit of
favour? (sacrifices or offerings is the
most discussed topic in scriptures as well as the most neglected)
Midrash on
how this teaching can help in restoring scriptural family life in these last
days.
Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein.
