Week 1

• Torah (T): Bereshiyt (Genesis) 1:1-31
• Prophets (P): Isaiah 42:5-9
• Apostolic (A): Colossians 1:1-23
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 2:1-33

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• John 1:1-18 (T, A)
• Revelation 19:11 (T, A)
• Job 9:1-9; Job 26:1-14; Job 36:26 – 37:24 (T)
• Job 38:1-38 (T)
• Isaiah 13:9-10 (T)
• Psalm 33:6-9; Psalm 89:11; Psalm 136:4-9; Hebrews 11:1-3 (T)
• Acts 14:8-17 (T)
• John 1:1-18 (T)
• 2 Corinthians 1:1-6; Ephesians 3:8-12 (T)
• Hebrews 1:1-14 (T)
• Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:47-50 (T)
• Joshua 10:12-14 (T)
• Psalm 19:1-6 (T)
• Psalm 104:1-35 (T)
• Proverbs 8:1-36 (T)
• Proverbs 3:19-20 (T)
• 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (T)
• 2 Peter 3:1-18 (T)
• Isaiah 42:5-10; Jeremiah 10:6-16; Jeremiah 51:15-19 (T)
• Psalm 148:1-14 (T)
• Psalm 24:1-10 (T)
• Psalm 74:1-17 (T)
• Isaiah 40:22-28 (T)
• Amos 9:6 (T)
• Ezekiel 1:1-28; Ezekiel 10:1 (T)
• Psalm 92:1-15 (T)
• Jeremiah 31:35-37 (T)
• Genesis 8:15-17 (T)
• Genesis 5:1-3 (T)
• Genesis 9:1-7 (T)
• 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (T)
• Matthew 19:4-6 (T)
• Colossians 3:1-13 (T)
• Ephesians 4:17-25 (T)
• 1 Timothy 4:1-5 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Enoch 2:1-3; Enoch 3:1; Enoch 4:1; Enoch 5:1-3 (T)
• Enoch 18:1-16 (T)
• Enoch 17:1-8 (T)
• 2 Esdras 4:7-11; 2 Esdras 6:35-59; 2 Esdras 16:54-67 (T)
• Testament of Levi 1:9-15 (T)
• Apocalypse of Baruch (3 Baruch) 2:1 – 3:1 (T)
• Sirach 43:7; Baruch 6:67; 2 Esdras 6:45; Wisdom of Solomon 7:29 (T)
• 2 Baruch 21:4 (T)
• Selections from The Great Psalms Scroll – 11Q5 Psalms^a (T)
• Genesis 1:1-31 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 1.1.1 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

Bereshiyt (Genesis) 1:1-31

1:1 In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the land. 2 The land was [unseen and unmade].^(LXX) Darkness was on the surface of the deep and Elohim's Spirit was fluttering upon the face of the waters. 3 Elohim said, "[light will exist],"^(MTT) and light existed. 4 Elohim saw the light, and saw that it was good. Elohim divided the light from the darkness. 5 Elohim called the light [“daytime”],^(DSS) and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 Elohim said, “A firmament [will exist]^(MTT) in the middle of the waters, and it [existed,]^(MTT) dividing the waters from the waters.” 7 Elohim made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so. 8 Elohim called the firmament “the heavens”.  [And Elohim saw that it was good.]^(LXX) There was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9 Elohim said, “The waters [underneath]^(DSS) the heavens will be gathered together to one [gathering],^(DSS)(LXX) and the dry ground appear;” and it was so. [And the waters under the heavens gathered to their gatherings and the dry ground appeared.]^(DSS)(LXX) 10 Elohim called the dry ground “land”, and the [gatherings]^(LXX) of the waters he called “seas”. Elohim saw that it was good. 11 Elohim said, “The land will yield grass, plants yielding seeds [after their kind],^(LXX) and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the land;” and it was so. 12 The land yielded grass, plants yielding seed after their kind, and [fruit]^(LXX) trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind, [on the land];^(LXX) and Elohim saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 Elohim said, “The lights [will exist]^(MTT) in the firmament of the heavens [for the illumination of the day],^(LXX) [to give light upon the land],^(DSS) [and to rule the day and the night],^(LXX) to divide the day from the night; and [they exist]^(MTT) for signs and appointed times, days, and years; 15 and [they exist]^(MTT) for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the land;” and it was so. 16 Elohim made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Elohim set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light to the land, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. Elohim saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20 Elohim said, “The waters will swarm with swarms of living souls, and birds will fly above the land in the open firmament of the heavens. [And it was so]”^(LXX) 21 Elohim created the great sea animal and every living soul that treads, with which the waters swarm, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good. 22 Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and birds multiply on the land.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 Elohim said, “The land will produce living souls after their kind, livestock, creeping, and animals of the land after their kind;” and it was so. 25 Elohim made the animals of the land after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. Elohim saw that it was good. 26 Elohim said, “[We will make]^(MTT) a man in our image, after our likeness. He will have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, [and over all the wild animals of the land],^(syr) and over every creeping that creeps on the land.” 27 Elohim created the man in his own image. In the image of Elohim he created him; male and female he created them. 28 Elohim blessed them, [saying],^(LXX) “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the land, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, [and over all the wild animals of the land],^(syr) [and over all the souls that crawl]^(LXX) on the land.” 29 Elohim said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed, which is on the face of all the land, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every wild beast of the land, [and to every livestock of the land],^(mss) and to every bird of the heavens, and to every treader upon the land, in which there is a living soul, I have given every green plant for food.” 31 Elohim saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Prophets Portion (P)

Isaiah 42:5-9

42:5 Elohim YHWH, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says: 6 “I, YHWH, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, 7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. 8 “I am YHWH. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. 9 Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”

Apostolic Portion (A)

Colossians 1:1-23

1:1 Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of Elohim, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the holy ones and faithful brothers in Messiah at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from [Elohim our Father].^(mss) 3 We give thanks to Elohim the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Messiah Yeshua and of the love which you have toward all the holy ones, 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News 6 which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of Elohim in truth, 7 even as you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Messiah on [our]^(mss) behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. 9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim, 11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who made [you]^(mss) to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light, 13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Reign of the Son of his love, 14 in whom we have our [redemption],^(mss) the forgiveness of our sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the land, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the land or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross [through him].^(mss) 21 You, being in past times separated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds, 22 yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him, 23 if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under the heavens, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

Additional Portion (ADD)

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

Jubilees 2:1-33

1. And the angel of the face spake to Moses according to the word of the Lord, saying: Write the complete history of the creation, how in six days the Lord Elohim finished all His works and all that He created, and kept Sabbath on the seventh day and hallowed it for all ages, and appointed it as a sign for all His works. 2. For on the first day He created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the spirits which serve before Him–the angels of the face, and the angels of sanctification, and the angels [of the spirit of fire and the angels] of the spirit of the winds, and the angels of the spirit of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels of the voices and of the thunder and of the lightning, and the angels of the spirits of cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring and of autumn and of summer, and of all the spirits of His creatures which are in the heavens and on the earth, (He created) the abysses and the darkness, eventide (and night), and the light, dawn and day, which He hath prepared in the knowledge of His heart. 3. And thereupon we saw His works, and praised Him, and lauded before Him on account of all His works; for seven great works did He create on the first day. 4. And on the second day He created the firmament in the midst of the waters, and the waters were divided on that day–half of them went up above and half of them went down below the firmament (that was) in the midst over the face of the whole earth. And this was the only work (Elohim) created on the second day. 5. And on the third day He commanded the waters to pass from off the face of the whole earth into one place, and the dry land to appear. 6. And the waters did so as He commanded them, and they retired from off the face of the earth into one place outside of this firmament, and the dry land appeared. 7. And on that day He created for them all the seas according to their separate gathering-places, and all the rivers, and the gatherings of the waters in the mountains and on all the earth, and all the lakes, and all the dew of the earth, and the seed which is sown, and all sprouting things, and fruit-bearing trees, and trees of the wood, and the garden of Eden, in Eden, and all (plants after their kind). These four great works Elohim created on the third day. 8. And on the fourth day He created the sun and the moon and the stars, and set them in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon all the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and divide the light from the darkness. 9. And Elohim appointed the sun to be a great sign on the earth for days and for sabbaths and for new moons and for feasts and for years and for sabbaths of years and for jubilees and for all seasons of the years. 10. And it divideth the light from the darkness [and] for prosperity, that all things may prosper which shoot and grow on the earth. These three kinds He made on the fourth day. 11. And on the fifth day He created great sea monsters in the depths of the waters, for these were the first things of flesh that were created by His hands, the fish and everything that moves in the waters, and everything that flies, the birds and all their kind. 12. And the sun rose above them to prosper (them), and above everything that was on the earth, everything that shoots out of the earth, and all fruit-bearing trees, and all flesh. These three kinds He created on the fifth day. 13. And on the sixth day He created all the animals of the earth, and all cattle, and everything that moves on the earth. 14. And after all this He created man, a man and a woman created He them, and gave him dominion over all that is upon the earth, and in the seas, and over everything that flies, and over beasts and over cattle, and over everything that moves on the earth, and over the whole earth, and over all this He gave him dominion. And these four kinds He created on the sixth day. 15. And there were altogether two and twenty kinds. 16. And He finished all His work on the sixth day–all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the seas and in the abysses, and in the light and in the darkness, and in everything.

Related Scriptures

John 1:1-18 (T, A)

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. 2 The same was in the beginning with Elohim. 3 All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it. 6 There came a man sent from Elohim, whose name was John. 7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light. 9 The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. 12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become sons of Elohim, to those who believe in his name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Elohim. The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born son of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John witnessed about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’ ” 16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. 17 For the Torah was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Yeshua the Messiah. 18 No one has seen Elohim at any time. The [only son],^(mss) who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.

Revelation 19:11 (T, A)

19:11 I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself. 13 He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called דְּבַר הָאֱלֹהִים Davar HaElohim (“The Word of Elohim.”) 14 The armies which are in heaven, clothed in white, pure, fine linen, followed him on white horses. 15 Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod (cf. Psalm 2:9). He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of Elohim, the Almighty. 16 He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, מֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים Melech HaMelachim v’Adonai HaAdonim “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Job 9:1-9; Job 26:1-14; Job 36:26 – 37:24 (T)

Job 9:1 Then Job answered, 2 “Truly I know that it is so, but how can man be just with Elohim? 3 If he is pleased to contend with him, he can’t answer him one time in a thousand. 4 Elohim is wise in heart, and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered? 5 He removes the mountains, and they don’t know it, when he overturns them in his anger. 6 He shakes the earth out of its place. Its pillars tremble. 7 He commands the sun and it doesn’t rise, and seals up the stars. 8 He alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea. 9 He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the rooms of the south.

Job 26:1 Then Job answered, 2 “How have you helped him who is without power! How have you saved the arm that has no strength! 3 How have you counseled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully declared sound knowledge! 4 To whom have you uttered words? Whose spirit came out of you? 5 “The departed spirits tremble, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. 6 Sheol is naked before Elohim, and Abaddon has no covering. 7 He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing. 8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not burst under them. 9 He encloses the face of his throne, and spreads his cloud on it. 10 He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the confines of light and darkness. 11 The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at his rebuke. 12 He stirs up the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab. 13 By his Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift nachash. 14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Job 36:26 Behold, Elohim is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable. 27 For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor, 28 which the heavens pour down and which drop on man abundantly. 29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunderings of his pavilion? 30 Behold, he spreads his light around him. He covers the bottom of the sea. 31 For by these he judges the people. He gives food in abundance. 32 He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. 33 Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also, concerning the storm that comes up. 37 1 “Yes, at this my heart trembles, and is moved out of its place. 2 Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth. 3 He sends it out under the whole heavens, and his lightning to the ends of the earth. 4 After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty. He doesn’t hold back anything when his voice is heard. 5 Elohim thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can’t comprehend. 6 For he says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his mighty rain. 7 He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he has made may know it. 8 Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens. 9 Out of its room comes the storm, and cold out of the north. 10 By the breath of Elohim, ice is given, and the width of the waters is frozen. 11 Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning. 12 It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world, 13 whether it is for correction, or for his land, or for loving kindness, that he causes it to come. 14 “Listen to this, Job. Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of Elohim. 15 Do you know how Elohim controls them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? 16 Do you know the workings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge? 17 You whose clothing is warm when the earth is still by reason of the south wind? 18 Can you, with him, spread out the heavens, which is strong as a cast metal mirror? 19 Teach us what we will tell him, for we can’t make our case by reason of darkness. 20 Will it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up? 21 Now men don’t see the light which is bright in the heavens, but the wind passes, and clears them. 22 Out of the north comes golden splendor. With Elohim is awesome majesty. 23 We can’t reach the Almighty. He is exalted in power. In justice and great righteousness, he will not oppress. 24 Therefore men revere him. He doesn’t regard any who are wise of heart.”

Job 38:1-38 (T)

38:1 Then YHWH answered Job out of the whirlwind, 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me! 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6 What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Elohim shouted for joy? 8 “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb, 9 when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10 marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors, 11 and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves will be stopped here’? 12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? 14 It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment. 15 From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken. 16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? 18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all. 19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place, 20 that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house? 21 Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24 By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth? 25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm, 26 to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man, 27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow? 28 Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew? 29 Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the heavens? 30 The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen. 31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? 32 Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? 33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth? 34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you? 35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind? 37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the heavens, 38 when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?

Isaiah 13:9-10 (T)

13:9 Behold, the day of YHWH comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it. 10 For the stars of the heavens and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Psalm 33:6-9; Psalm 89:11; Psalm 136-4-9; Hebrews 11:1-3 (T)

Psalm 33:6 By the word of YHWH, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear YHWH. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 89:11 The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours, the world and its fullness. You have founded them.

Psalm 136:4 to him who alone does great wonders, for his loving kindness endures forever; 5 to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his loving kindness endures forever; 6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his loving kindness endures forever; 7 to him who made the great lights, for his loving kindness endures forever; 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loving kindness endures forever; 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness endures forever

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. 2 For by this, the elders obtained approval. 3 In faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of Elohim, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

Acts 14:8-17 (T)

14:8 At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked. 9 He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked. 11 When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 They called Barnabas “Jupiter”, and Paul “Mercury”, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a slaughter along with the multitudes. 14 But when the emissaries, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and sprang into the multitude, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of the same nature as you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living Elohim, who made the heavens, the land, the sea, and all that is in them; 16 who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave [you]^(mss) rains from the heavens and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

2 Corinthians 1:1-6; Ephesians 3:8-12 (T)

2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of Elohim, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of Elohim which is at Corinth, with all the holy ones who are in the whole of Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 3 Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of mercies and Elohim of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by Elohim. 5 For as the sufferings of Messiah abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Messiah. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.

Ephesians 3:8 To me, the very least of all holy ones, was this grace given, to proclaim to the Nations the unsearchable riches of Messiah, 9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in Elohim, who created all things; 10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of Elohim might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. 12 In him we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.

Hebrews 1:1-14 (T)

1:1 Elohim, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” (cf. Psalm 2:7) and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?” (cf. 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13) 6 When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of Elohim worship him.” (cf. Deuteronomy 32:43) 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire.” (cf. Psalm 104:4) 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Reign. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore Elohim, your Elohim, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” (cf. Psalm 45:6-7) 10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the land. The heavens are the works of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does. 12 You will roll them up like a mantle, and they will be changed; but you are the same. Your years won’t fail.” 13 But which of the angels has he told at any time, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?” 14 Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:47-50 (T)

Isaiah 66:1 YHWH says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest? 2 For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says YHWH: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.

Acts 7:47 But Solomon built him a house. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says, 49 ‘heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me?’ says the Lord. ‘Or what is the place of my rest? 50 Didn’t my hand make all these things?’ (cf. Isaiah 66:1-2)

Joshua 10:12-14 (T)

10:12 Then Joshua spoke to YHWH in the day when YHWH delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel. He said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!” 13 The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the heavens, and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, that YHWH listened to the voice of a man; for YHWH fought for Israel.

Psalm 19:1-6 (T)

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of Elohim. The firmament shows his handiwork. 2 Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their [voice]^{(LXX)(mss)(cf. Romans 10:18)} has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course. 6 His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 104:1-35 (T)

104:1 1 Bless YHWH, my soul. YHWH, my Elohim, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty. 2 He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. 3 He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes his [angels]^(LXX) winds, and his servants flames of fire. 5 He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away. 8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth. 10 He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the heavens nest by them. They sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works. 14 He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth: 15 wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart. 16 YHWH’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted, 17 where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from Elohim. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening. 24 YHWH, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. 25 There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. 26 There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there. 27 These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. 28 You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good. 29 You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust. 30 You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground. 31 Let YHWH’s glory endure forever. Let YHWH rejoice in his works. 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to YHWH as long as I live. I will sing praise to my Elohim while I have any being. 34 Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in YHWH. 35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless YHWH, my soul. Praise Yah!

Ecclesiastes 12:2; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 30:26; Isaiah 60:19-20; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Ezekiel 32:7; Habakkuk 3:11; Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27 (T)

Ecclesiastes 12:2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Isaiah 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that YHWH binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.

Isaiah 60:19 The sun will be no more your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but YHWH will be your everlasting light, and your Elohim will be your glory. 20 Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for YHWH will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end.

Jeremiah 31:35 YHWH, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar— YHWH of Armies is his name, says: 36 “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says YHWH, “then the seed of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.” 37 YHWH says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” says YHWH.

Ezekiel 32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon won’t give its light.

Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.

Matthew 24:29 “But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the heavens, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the heavens with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, 25 the stars will be falling from the heavens, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. (cf. Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4) 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

Proverbs 8:1-36 (T)

8:1 1 Doesn’t wisdom cry out? Doesn’t understanding raise her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands. 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud: 4 “I call to you men! I send my voice to the sons of mankind. 5 You simple, understand prudence! You fools, be of an understanding heart! 6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things. 7 For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction rather than silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can’t be compared to it. 12 “I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of YHWH is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. 14 Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power. 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth. 17 I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me. 18 With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, my yield than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, in the middle of the paths of justice, 21 that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries. 22 “YHWH possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed. 24 When there were no depths, I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born; 26 while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, 29 when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him, 31 rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men. 32 “Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise. Don’t refuse it. 34 Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and will obtain favor from YHWH. 36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 3:19-20 (T)

3:19 By wisdom YHWH founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (T)

12:2 I know a man in Messiah who was caught up into the third heavens fourteen years ago—whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; Elohim knows. 3 I know such a man, whether in the body, or outside of the body, I don’t know; Elohim knows, 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

2 Peter 3:1-18 (T)

3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you 2 that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the emissaries of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 5 For they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and a land formed out of water and amid water by the word of Elohim, 6 by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished. 7 But the heavens that exist now and the land, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat; and the land and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of Elohim, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new land, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight. 15 Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Isaiah 42:5-10; Jeremiah 10:6-16; Jeremiah 51:15-19 (T)

Isaiah 42:5 Thus says, Elohim YHWH, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 “I, YHWH [Elohim],^(LXX) have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, 7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. 8 “I am YHWH [Elohim].^(LXX) That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. 9 Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.” 10 Sing to YHWH a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.

Jeremiah 10:6 There is no one like you, YHWH. You are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who shouldn’t fear you, King of the nations? For it belongs to you. Because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is no one like you. 8 But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood. 9 There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the engraver and of the hands of the goldsmith. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of skillful men. 10 But YHWH is the true Elohim. He is the living Elohim, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his indignation. 11 “You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’ ” 12 Elohim has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens. 13 When he utters his voice, the waters in the heavens roar, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries. 14 Every man has become brutish and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his engraved image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation they will perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. YHWH of Armies is his name.

Jeremiah 51:15 “He has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he has stretched out the heavens. 16 When he utters his voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries. 17 “Every man has become stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his image, for his molten images are falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are vanity, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation, they will perish. 19 The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he formed all things, including the tribe of his inheritance. YHWH of Armies is his name.

Psalm 148:1-14 (T)

148:1 Praise Yah! Praise YHWH from the heavens! Praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his army! 3 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens. 5 Let them praise YHWH’s name, for he commanded, and they were created. 6 He has also established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which will not pass away. 7 Praise YHWH from the earth, you great sea creatures, and all depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling his word, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all livestock, small creatures and flying birds, 11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, 12 both young men and maidens, old men and children. 13 Let them praise YHWH’s name, for his name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and the heavens. 14 He has lifted up the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, even of the sons of Israel, a people near to him. Praise Yah!

Psalm 24:1-10 (T)

24:1 The earth is YHWH’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. 3 Who may ascend to YHWH’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from YHWH, righteousness from the Elohim of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face—even Jacob. Selah. 7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? YHWH strong and mighty, YHWH mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? YHWH of Armies is the King of glory! Selah.

Psalm 74:1-17 (T)

A contemplation by Asaph.

74:1 Elohim, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived. 3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary. 4 Your adversaries have roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs. 5 They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees. 6 Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers. 7 They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name. 8 They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where Elohim was worshiped. 9 We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long. 10 How long, Elohim, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them! 12 Yet Elohim is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth. 13 You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. 14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. 15 You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers. 16 The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. 17 You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.

Isaiah 40:22-28 (T)

40:22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in, 23 who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. 24 They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble. 25 “To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking. 27 Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, “My way is hidden from YHWH, and the justice due me is disregarded by my Elohim”? 28 Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting Elohim, YHWH, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

Amos 9:6 (T)

9:6 It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth—YHWH is his name.

Ezekiel 1:1-28; Ezekiel 10:1 (T)

Ezekiel 1:1 Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Khevar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of Elohim. 2 In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 YHWH’s‡ word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Khevar; and YHWH’s hand was there on him. 4 I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of the middle of it as it were glowing metal, out of the middle of the fire. 5 Out of its center came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man. 6 Everyone had four faces, and each one of them had four wings. 7 Their feet were straight feet. The sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 They had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. The four of them had their faces and their wings like this: 9 Their wings were joined to one another. They didn’t turn when they went. Each one went straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man. The four of them had the face of a lion on the right side. The four of them had the face of an ox on the left side. The four of them also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above. Two wings of each one touched another, and two covered their bodies. 12 Each one went straight forward. Where the spirit was to go, they went. They didn’t turn when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. The fire went up and down among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning went out of the fire. 14 The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now as I saw the living creatures, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. The four of them had one likeness. Their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in their four directions. They didn’t turn when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and the four of them had their rims full of eyes all around. 19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. When the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit was to go, they went. The spirit was to go there. The wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went. When those stood, these stood. When those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22 Over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like an awesome crystal to look at, stretched out over their heads above. 23 Under the expanse, their wings were straight, one toward the other. Each one had two which covered on this side, and each one had two which covered their bodies on that side. 24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of an army. When they stood, they let down their wings. 25 There was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings. 26 Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone. On the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man on it above. 27 I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of YHWH’s glory. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and see, in the expanse that was over the head of the keruvim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

Jeremiah 31:35-37 (T)

31:35 YHWH, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar— YHWH of Armies is his name, says: 36 “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says YHWH, “then the seed of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.” 37 YHWH says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” says YHWH.

Genesis 8:15-17 (T)

8:15 Elohim spoke to Noaḥ, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth.”

Genesis 5:1-3 (T)

5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that Elohim created man, he made him in Elohim’s likeness. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them. On the day they were created, he named them Adam. 3 Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

Genesis 9:1-7 (T)

9:1 Elohim blessed Noaḥ̣ and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the land. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every [wild]^(LXX) beast of the land, [and on all livestock of the land,]^(LXX) and on every bird of the heavens. All that move along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand. 3 Every creeping thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given all to you. 4 But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat. 5 I will surely seek accounting for your life’s blood. At the hand of every animal I will seek it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will seek the soul of man. 6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for Elohim made man in his own image. 7 Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the land, and multiply in it [and have dominion over it]”^(LXX)(mss)

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (T)

11:1 Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Messiah. 2 Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things, and hold firm the traditions, even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know that the head of every man is Messiah, and the head‡ of the woman is man, and the head of Messiah is Elohim. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head. For it is one and the same thing as if she were shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or be shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of Elohim, but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man; 9 for man wasn’t created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this cause the woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is the woman independent of the man, nor the man independent of the woman, in the Lord. 12 For as wife came from man, so a man also comes through a woman; but all things are from Elohim. 13 Judge for yourselves. Is it appropriate that a woman pray to Elohim unveiled? 14 Doesn’t even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 But if any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither do Elohim’s assemblies.

Matthew 19:4-6 (T)

19:4 He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, (cf. Genesis 1:27) 5 and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? (cf. Genesis 2:24) 6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore Elohim has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.”

Colossians 3:1-13 (T)

3:1 If then you were raised together with Messiah, seek the things that are above, where Messiah is, seated on the right hand of Elohim. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in Elohim. 4 When Messiah, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 For these things’ sake the wrath of Elohim comes on the children of disobedience. 7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them, 8 but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. 9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, 11 where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Messiah is all, and in all. 12 Put on therefore, as Elohim’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Messiah forgave you, so you also do.

Ephesians 4:17-25 (T)

4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of Elohim because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts. 19 They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you didn’t learn Messiah that way, 21 if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Yeshua: 22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of Elohim has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. 25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 (T)

Related Additional Readings​

Enoch 2:1-3; Enoch 3:1; Enoch 4:1; Enoch 5:1-3 (T)

The Book of Enoch (also known as 1 Enoch) was written during the second century B.C. The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) of the text are estimated to date from about 300–200 B.C., and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to 100 B.C. Various Aramaic fragments found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Koine Greek and Latin fragments, were proof that The Book of Enoch was known by early Jews and Christians.

Enoch 2:1 Observe ye everything that takes place in the heavens, how they do not change their orbits, ⌈and⌉ the luminaries which are in the heavens, how they all rise and set in order each in its season, and transgress not against their appointed order. 2. Behold ye the earth, and give heed to the things which take place upon it from first to last, ⌈how steadfast they are⌉, how ⌈none of the things upon earth⌉ change, ⌈but⌉ all the works of Elohim appear ⌈to you⌉. 3. Behold the summer and the winter, ⌈⌈how the whole earth is filled with water, and clouds and dew and rain lie upon it⌉⌉.

Enoch 3:1 Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees ⌈⌈seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new comes.

Enoch 4:1 And again, observe ye the days of summer how the sun is above the earth over against it. And you seek shade and shelter by reason of the heat of the sun, and the earth also burns with growing heat, and so you cannot tread on the earth, or on a rock by reason of its heat.

Enoch 5:1 Observe ⌈⌈ye⌉⌉ how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give ye heed ⌈and know⌉ with regard to all ⌈His works⌉, and recognize how He that liveth for ever hath made them so.2. And ⌈all⌉ His works go on ⌈thus⌉ from year to year for ever, and all the tasks ⌈which⌉ they accomplish for Him, and ⌈their tasks⌉ change not, but according as ⌈⌈Elohim⌉⌉ hath ordained so is it done. 3. And behold how the sea and the rivers in like manner accomplish and ⌈change not⌉ their tasks ⌈from His commandments⌉.

Enoch 17:1-8 (T)

17:1 And they took ⌈and⌉ brought me to a place in which those who were there were like flaming fire, and, when they wished, they appeared as men. 2. And they brought me to the place of darkness, and to a mountain the point of whose summit reached to the heavens. 3. And I saw the places of the luminaries ⌈and the treasuries of the stars⌉ and of the thunder ⌈and⌉ in the uttermost depths, where were a fiery bow and arrows and their quiver, and ⌈⌈a fiery sword⌉⌉ and all the lightnings. 4. And they took me to the living waters, and to the fire of the west, which receives every setting of the sun. 5. And I came to a river of fire in which the fire flows like water and discharges itself into the great sea towards the west. 6. I saw the great rivers and came to the great ⌈river and to the great⌉ darkness, and went to the place where no flesh walks. 7. I saw the mountains of the darkness of winter and the place whence all the waters of the deep flow. 8. I saw the mouths of all the rivers of the earth and the mouth of the deep.

Enoch 18:1-16 (T)

18:1 I saw the treasuries of all the winds: I saw how He had furnished with them the whole creation and the firm foundations of the earth. 2. And I saw the corner-stone of the earth: I saw the four winds which bear [the earth and] the firmament of the heavens. 3. ⌈⌈And I saw how the winds stretch out the vaults of the heavens⌉⌉, and have their station between the heavens and earth: ⌈⌈these are the pillars of the heavens⌉⌉. 4. I saw the winds of the heavens which turn and bring the circumference of the sun and all the stars to their setting. 5. I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds: I saw ⌈⌈the paths of the angels. I saw⌉⌉ at the end of the earth the firmament of the heavens above. And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. 7. And as for those towards the east, 〈one〉 was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. 8. But the middle one reached to the heavens like the throne of Elohim, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. 9. And I saw a flaming fire. And beyond these mountains 10. is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. 11. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns ⌈⌈of the heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns⌉⌉ of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. 12. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heavens above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. 13. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, 14. The angel said: ‘This place is the end of the heavens and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of the heavens. 15. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. 16. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) ⌈for ten thousand years⌉.’

2 Esdras 4:7-11; 2 Esdras 6:35-59; 2 Esdras 16:54-67 (T)

2 Esdras, consisting of chapters 3-14, (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra) is the name of a book in many English versions of the Bible. Its authorship is ascribed to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the 5th century B.C., although modern scholarship places its composition between 70 and 218 A.D.. It is reckoned among the apocrypha by Roman Catholics, Protestants, and most Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Ethiopian Church considers 4 Ezra to be canonical, written during the Babylonian captivity, and calls it “Izra Sutuel” (ዕዝራ ሱቱኤል). It was also often cited by the Fathers of the Church. In the Eastern Armenian tradition it is called 3 Ezra.

2 Esdras 4:7 He said to me, “If I had asked you, ‘How many dwellings are there in the heart of the sea? Or how many springs are there at the fountain head of the deep? Or how many streams are above the firmament? Or which are the exits of hades? Or which are the entrances of paradise?’ 8 perhaps you would say to me, ‘I never went down into the deep, or as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up into the heavens.’ 9 Nevertheless now I have only asked you about the fire, wind, and the day, things which you have experienced, and from which you can’t be separated, and yet have you given me no answer about them.” 10 He said moreover to me, “You can’t understand your own things that you grew up with. 11 How then can your mind comprehend the way of the Most High? How can he who is already worn out with the corrupted world understand incorruption?” When I heard these things, I fell on my face

2 Esdras 6:35 It came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted seven days in like manner, that I might fulfill the three weeks which he told me. 36 On the eighth night, my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the face of the Most High. 37 For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress. 38 I said, “O Lord, truly you spoke at the beginning of the creation, on the first day, and said this: ‘Let the heavens and earth be made,’ and your word perfected the work. 39 Then the spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence were on every side. The sound of man’s voice was not yet there. 40 Then you commanded a ray of light to be brought out of your treasuries, that your works might then appear. 41 “On the second day, again you made the spirit of the firmament and commanded it to divide and to separate the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath. 42 “On the third day, you commanded that the waters should be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth. You dried up six parts and kept them, to the intent that of these some being both planted and tilled might serve before you. 43 For as soon as your word went out, the work was done. 44 Immediately, great and innumerable fruit grew, with many pleasant tastes, and flowers of inimitable color, and fragrances of most exquisite smell. This was done the third day. 45 “On the fourth day, you commanded that the sun should shine, the moon give its light, and the stars should be in their order; 46 and gave them a command to serve mankind, who was to be made. 47 “On the fifth day, you said to the seventh part, where the water was gathered together, that it should produce living creatures, fowls and fishes; and so it came to pass 48 that the mute and lifeless water produced living things as it was told, that the nations might therefore praise your wondrous works. 49 “Then you preserved two living creatures. The one you called Behemoth, and the other you called Leviathan. 50 You separated the one from the other; for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both. 51 To Behemoth, you gave one part, which was dried up on the third day, that he should dwell in it, in which are a thousand hills; 52 but to Leviathan you gave the seventh part, namely, the watery part. You have kept them to be devoured by whom you wish, when you wish. 53 “But on the sixth day, you commanded the earth to produce before you cattle, animals, and creeping things. 54 Over these, you ordained Adam as ruler over all the works that you have made. Of him came all of us, the people whom you have chosen. 55 “All this have I spoken before you, O Lord, because you have said that for our sakes you made this world. 56 As for the other nations, which also come from Adam, you have said that they are nothing, and are like spittle. You have likened the abundance of them to a drop that falls from a bucket. 57 Now, O Lord, behold these nations, which are reputed as nothing, being rulers over us and devouring us. 58 But we your people, whom you have called your firstborn, your only children, and your fervent lover, are given into their hands. 59 Now if the world is made for our sakes, why don’t we possess our world for an inheritance? How long will this endure?”

2 Esdras 16:54 Behold, the Lord knows all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts. 55 He said, “Let the earth be made,” and it was made, “Let the heavens be made,” and it was made. 56 At his word, the stars were established, and he knows the number of the stars. 57 He searches the deep and its treasures. He has measured the sea and what it contains. 58 He has shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word, he hung the earth over the waters. 59 He has spread out the heavens like a vault. He has founded it over the waters. 60 He has made springs of water in the desert and pools on the tops of the mountains to send out rivers from the heights to water the earth. 61 He formed man, and put a heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding, 62 yes, the spirit of El Shaddai. He who made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places, 63 surely he knows your imagination, and what you think in your hearts. Woe to those who sin, and try to hide their sin! 64 Because the Lord will exactly investigate all your works, and he will put you all to shame. 65 When your sins are brought out before men, you will be ashamed, and your own iniquities will stand as your accusers in that day. 66 What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before Elohim and his angels? 67 Behold, Elohim is the judge. Fear him! Stop sinning, and forget your iniquities, to never again commit them. So will Elohim lead you out, and deliver you from all suffering.

Testament of Levi 1:9-15 (T)

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is comprised of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Orthodox Bible of 1666. Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts.

Though many parts of the popular collections of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs contain interpolated Christian idea added by later copyists, these testaments were originally Jewish works composed during the same period as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are preserved only in Greek, but most scholars now agree that the testaments were modeled after Aramaic or Hebrew originals. This fact is particularly clear in the case of the Testament of Levi.

Although the Greek Testament of Levi was not found at Qumran, scholars did discover portions of the present work, an Aramaic composition that seems to have influenced it.

Numerous small fragments representing the Aramaic Testament of Levi from Cave 4 all date to the mid-first century B.C. Part of the Testament of Levi involves Levi being taken to the heavens and promised the priesthood forever, and then seven angels physically give him the insignia of the priesthood (as described in Exodus). This part parallels the beginning and end of a vision in the Aramaic Levi Document, whence the body of the vision is now lost; and is thought to preserve that part of the text.

1:9 And behold the heavens were opened, and an angel of Elohim said to me, Levi, enter. 10 And I entered from the first heavens, and I saw there a great sea hanging. 11 And further I saw a second heavens far brighter and more brilliant, for there was a boundless light also therein, 12 And I said to the angel, Why is this so? And the angel said to me, Marvel not at this, for thou shalt see another heavens more brilliant and incomparable. 13 And when thou hast ascended thither, Thou shalt stand near the Lord, and shalt be His minister, and shalt, declare His mysteries to men, and shalt proclaim concerning Him that will redeem Israel. 14 And by thee and Judah will the Lord appear among men, saving every race of men. 15 And from the Lord’s portion will be thy life, and He will be thy field and vineyard, and fruits, gold, and silver.

The Apocalypse of Baruch (3 Baruch) was written some time between the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 A.D. and the third century A.D. Pilchan Lee asserts that the text was originally written in Greek by someone with a Semitic background. Other scholars find significant that the Old Church Slavonic versions do not contain the Christian overtones of the Greek text and conclude that the extant Greek text represents a rewriting in the Christian age. “The Apocalypse of Baruch is a composite work written in the latter half of the first century of the Christian era. It is thus contemporaneous with the chief writings of the New Testament. Its authors were orthodox Jews, and it is a good representative of the Judaism against which the Pauline dialectic was directed.” – Alexander Kulik

2:1 And he took me and led me where the firmament has been set fast, and where there was a river which no one can cross, nor any strange breeze of all those which Elohim created. And he took me and led me to the first heavens, and showed me a door of great size. And he said to me, Let us enter 3 through it, and we entered as though borne on wings, a distance of about thirty days’ journey. And he showed me within the heavens a plain ; and there were men dwelling thereon, with the faces of 4 oxen, and the horns of stags and the feet of goats, and the haunches of lambs. And I Baruch asked the angel, Make known to me, I pray thee, what is the thickness of the heavens in which we journeyed, 5 or what is its extent, or what is the plain, in order that I may also tell the sons of men? And the angel whose name is Phamael said to me: This door which thou seest is the door of the heavens, and as great as is the distance from land to the heavens, so great also is its thickness; and again as great as is the distance (from North to South, so great) is the length of the plain which thou didst see. And again the angel of the powers said to me, Come, and I will show thee greater mysteries. But 6, 7 I said, I pray thee show me what are these men. And he said to me, These are they who built the tower of strife against Elohim, and the Lord banished them.

3:1 And the angel of the Lord took me and led me to a second heavens. And he showed me there 2 also a door like the first and said, Let us enter through it. And we entered, being borne on wings 3 a distance of about sixty days’ journey. And he showed me there also a plain, and it was full of 4 men, whose appearance was like that of dogs, and whose feet were like those of stags. And I asked 5 the angel: I pray thee, Lord, say to me who are these. And he said, These are they who gave counsel to build the tower, for they whom thou seest drove forth multitudes of both men and women, to make bricks; among whom, a woman making bricks was not allowed to be released in the hour of child-birth, but brought forth while she was making bricks, and carried her child in her apron, and 6 continued to make bricks. And the Lord appeared to them and confused their speech, when they 7 had built the tower to the height of four hundred and sixty-three cubits. And they took a gimlet, and sought to pierce the heavens, saying, Let us see (whether) heaven is made of clay, or of 8 brass, or of iron. When Elohim saw this He did not permit them, but smote them with blindness and confusion of speech, and rendered them as thou seest.

Sirach 43:7; Baruch 6:67; 2 Esdras 6:45; Wisdom of Solomon 7:29 (T)

Sirach, or Wisdom of Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Sirach, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Sirach of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer Sirach. The Sirach was almost completely uncovered in Hebrew in the Dead Sea Scrolls, at Masada, and the Cairo Geniza. The multiplicity of manuscript fragments uncovered in the Cairo Genizah evidence its authoritative status among Egyptian Jewry until the Middle Ages. Quotes from Sirach can be found in Rabbinic literature in multiple places including the Talmud in Bava Kamma 92b:13 and Hagigah 13a:2. Additionally, the Gospels and other Apostolic Scriptures quote from the Book of Sirach including the Song of Miriam in Luke 1:52 (cf. Sirach 10:14); the description of the seed in Mark 4:5, 16–17 (cf. Sirach 40:15); the statement by Yeshua in Matthew 7:16,20 (cf. Sirach 27:6); and James 1:19 (cf. Sirach 5:11).

The Book of Baruch is named after Baruch ben Neriah, Jeremiah’s well-known scribe, who is mentioned at Baruch 1:1, and has been presumed to be the author of the whole work. Although not in the Hebrew Bible, it is found in the Septuagint, in the Eritrean/Ethiopian Orthodox Bible, and the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox Churches. In some Bibles, Baruch chapter 6 is listed as a separate book called The Letter of Jeremiah, reflecting its separation from Baruch in some copies of the Greek Septuagint. Some scholars propose that it was written during or shortly after the period of the Maccabees. Although the earliest known manuscripts of Baruch are in Greek, linguistic features of the first parts of Baruch (1:1-3:8) have been proposed as indicating a translation from a Semitic language.

2 Esdras, consisting of chapters 3-14, (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra) is the name of a book in many English versions of the Bible. Its authorship is ascribed to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the 5th century B.C., although modern scholarship places its composition between 70 and 218 A.D.. It is reckoned among the apocrypha by Roman Catholics, Protestants, and most Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Ethiopian Church considers 4 Ezra to be canonical, written during the Babylonian captivity, and calls it “Izra Sutuel” (ዕዝራ ሱቱኤል). It was also often cited by the Fathers of the Church. In the Eastern Armenian tradition it is called 3 Ezra.

The Wisdom of Solomon, or Book of Wisdom, is a Jewish work, written in Greek, and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid first century B.C. It is uncertain whether the book has a single author or comes from a school of writers, but recent scholarship has favored regarding it as a unified work. Fragments of the Wisdom of Solomon were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in the first discovered and excavated cave at Qumran in 1949.

Sirach 43:7 From the moon is the sign of feast days, a light that wanes when it completes its course.

Baruch 6:67 They can’t show signs in the heavens among the nations, or shine as the sun, or give light as the moon.

2 Esdras 6:45 “On the fourth day, you commanded that the sun should shine, the moon give its light, and the stars should be in their order

Wisdom of Solomon 7:29 For she is fairer than the sun, and above all the constellations of the stars. She is better than light.

2 Baruch 21:4 (T)

2 Baruch 21:4 O hear me, You who created the earth, the one who fixed the firmament by the Word and fastened the height of the heavens by the Spirit, the one who in the beginning of the world called that which did not yet exist and they obeyed you.

2 Baruch 29:4 And Behemoth will reveal itself from its place, and Leviathan will come from the sea, the two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation and which I will have kept until that time. And they will be nourishment for all who are left.

Selections from The Great Psalms Scroll – 11Q5 Psalms^a (T)

The Great Psalms Scroll, also referred to as 11Q5 Psalms^a, was written in Hebrew and is the most substantial and well preserved manuscript of Psalms of the thirty-seven discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Qumran caves. It is one of six Psalms manuscripts discovered in Cave 11. Each of these psalms was unknown prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and found only in this scroll.

“Plea for Deliverance”

1 For a maggot cannot praise you nor a worm tell your loving-kindness. 2 The living, the living can praise you, even those whose foot stumbles can praise you. 3 When you reveal your loving kindness to them and you teach righteousness to them. 4 For in your hand is the soul of every living thing; the breath of all flesh you have given. 5 Deal with us, YHWH, according to your goodness, according to your great compassion, and according to your many righteous deeds. 6 YHWH hears the voice of those who love his name and does not abandon his loving kindness to them. 7 Blessed be YHWH, who does righteous deeds, crowning his saints with loving kindness and compassion. 8 My soul cries out to praise your name, to praise in song for your loving kindness 9 to proclaim your faithfulness, of your praise there is no end! 10 I was near death for my sins, and my iniquities have sold me to Sheol; 11 but you delivered me, YHWH, according to your great compassion, and according to your many righteous deeds. 12 Indeed I love your name, and in your shadow I find refuge. 13 When I remember your strength my heart is brave, and I lean on your mercies. 14 Forgive my sin, YHWH, and purify me from my iniquity. 15 Give me a spirit of faith and knowledge; don’t let me be dishonored in iniquity. 16 Don’t let Satan rule over me, nor an unclean spirit; 17 neither let pain nor the evil purpose take possession of my bones. 18 For you, YHWH, are my praise, and in you I hope all the day. 19 My brothers rejoice with me and the house of my father, who are astonished by the graciousness… 20…forever I will rejoice in you.

“Hymn to the Creator”

1 Great and holy is YHWH, the Holy of Holies, from generation to generation. 2 Glory walks before him, and the roar of many waters behind him. 3 Loving kindness and truth surround him. Truth, justice and righteousness are the foundation of his throne. 4 The one who separates light from thick darkness, he established dawn in the knowledge of his heart. 5 Then all of his angels saw this and rejoiced, for he showed them what they did not know. 6 He crowns the hills with produce, good food for all that live. 7 Blessed is the one who created the earth with his strength, who founded the world with his wisdom. 8 With his understanding he spreads out the heavens, And brings out wind from his storehouses, 9 He makes lighting for rain and lifts up clouds from the end… [..]

“David’s Compositions” of 2 Samuel 23:7

2 Samuel 23:7 (David’s Last Words) 7 But the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. They will be utterly burned with fire in their place. [..] Now David son of Jesse was wise, and a light like the light of the sun, a scribe, and understanding and perfect in all his ways before Elohim and men. And YHWH gave to him a spirit of understanding and light. And he wrote three thousand six hundred psalms, including songs to sing before the altar over the whole burnt offering for every day, for all the days of the year, three hundred and sixty-four, and for Sabbath offerings, fifty-two songs, and for the first day of the month and for all the holidays, and for the day of atonement, thirty songs. So all the songs which he spoke were four hundred and forty-six, and four songs for making music over those who are possessed. So there were four thousand and fifty. All these he spoke in prophecy which had been given to him before the Most High.

Genesis 1:1-31 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 1 At the beginning (min avella) the Lord created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was vacancy and desolation, solitary of the sons of men, and void of every animal; and darkness was upon the face of the abyss, and the Spirit of mercies from before the Lord breathed upon the face of the waters. [JERUSALEM TARGUM. In wisdom (be-hukema) the Lord created. And the earth was vacancy and desolation, and solitary of the sons of men, and void of every animal; and the Spirit of mercies from before the Lord breathed upon the face of the waters.] And the Lord said, Let there be light and to enlighten above; and at once there was light. And the Lord beheld the light, that it was good; and the Lord divided between the light and the darkness. And the Lord call the light Day; and He made it that the inhabiters of the world might labour by it: and the darkness called He night; and He made it that in it the creatures might have rest. And it was evening, and it was morning, the First Day. [JERUSALEM TARGUM. And it was evening, and it was morning, in the order of the work of the creation, (or of the beginning,) the First Day.] And the Lord said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between the waters above and the waters beneath. [JERUSALEM. And let there be a separation between the waters above and the waters below.] And the Lord made the expanse, upbearing it with three fingers, between the confines of the heavens and the waters of the ocean, and separated between the waters which were below the expanse, and the waters which were above, in the collection (or covering) of the expanse; and it was so. And the Lord called the expanse Heavens. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Second Day. And the Lord said, Let the lower waters which remain under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and the earth be dried, that the land may be visible. And it was so. And the Lord called the dry (land) the Earth, and the place of the assemblage of waters called He the Seas; and the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord said, Let the earth increase the grassy herb whose seed seedeth, and the fruit-tree making fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so. And the earth produced grasses (and) herbage whose seed seedeth, and the tree making fruit after its kind. And the Lord saw that it was good. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Third Day. And the Lord said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to distinguish between the day and the night; and let them be for signs and for festival times, and for the numbering by them the account of days, and for the sanctifying of the beginning of new moons, and the beginning of years, the passing away of new moons, and the passing away of years, the revolutions of the sun, the birth of the moon, and the revolvings (of seasons). [JERUSALEM. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for the sanctifying by them of the beginning of new moons and years.] And let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And the Lord made two great luminaries; and they were equal in glory twenty and one years, less six hundred and two and seventy parts of an hour. And afterwards the moon recited against the sun a false report; and she was diminished, and the sun was appointed to be the greater light to rule the day; and the moon to be the inferior light to rule in the night, and the stars. And the Lord ordained them unto their offices, in the expanse of the heavens, to give forth light upon the earth, and to minister by day and by night, to distinguish between the light of the day and the darkness of the night. And the Lord beheld that it was good. And it was evening, and it was morning, Day the Fourth. And the Lord said, Let the lakes of the waters swarm forth the reptile, the living animal, and the fowl which flieth, whose nest is upon the earth; and let the way of the bird be upon the air of the expanse of the heavens. And the Lord created the great tanins, the lev-ya-than and his yoke-fellow which are prepared for the day of consolation, and every living animal which creepeth, and which the clear waters had swarmed forth after their kind; the kinds which are clean, and the kinds which are not clean; and every fowl which flieth with wings after their kinds, the clean and the unclean. And the Lord beheld that it was good. And He blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the fowl multiply upon the earth. And it was evening, and it was morning, Day the Fifth. And the Lord said, Let the soil of the earth bring forth the living creature according to his kind; the kind that is clean and the kind that is unclean; cattle, and creeping thing, and the creature of the earth, according to his kind. And it was so. And the Lord made the beast of the earth after his kind, the clean and the unclean, and cattle after their kind, and every reptile of the earth after its kind, the clean and the unclean. And the Lord saw that it was good. And the Lord said to the angels who ministered before Him, who had been created in the second day of the creation of the world, Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl which are in the atmosphere of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every reptile creeping upon the earth. And the Lord created man in His Likeness: [JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the face of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them.] In the image of the Lord He created him, with two hundred and forty and eight members, with three hundred and sixty and five nerves, and overlaid them with skin, and filled it with flesh and blood. Male and female in their bodies He created them. And He blessed them, and the Lord said to them, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth with sons and daughters, and prevail over it, in its possessions; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth. And the Lord said, Behold, I have given you every herb whose seed seedeth upon the face of all the earth, and every unfruitful tree for the need of building and for burning; and the tree in which is fruit seeding after its kind, to you it will be for food. But to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to every reptile upon the earth in which is the living soul, (I have given) all green herbs. And it was so. And the Lord beheld every thing He had made, and it was very good. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Sixth Day.

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 1.1.1 (T)

Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

1.1.1. In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. But when the earth did not come into sight, but was covered with thick darkness, and a wind moved upon its surface, Elohim commanded that there should be light: and when that was made, he considered the whole mass, and separated the light and the darkness; and the name he gave to one was Night, and the other he called Day: and he named the beginning of light, and the time of rest, The Evening and The Morning, and this was indeed the first day. But Moses said it was one day; the cause of which I am able to give even now; but because I have promised to give such reasons for all things in a treatise by itself, I will put off its exposition till that time. After this, on the second day, he placed the heavens over the whole world, and separated it from the other parts, and he determined it should stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] round it, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture and rain, and for affording the advantage of dews. On the third day he appointed the dry land to appear, with the sea itself round about it; and on the very same day he made the plants and the seeds to spring out of the earth. On the fourth day he adorned the heavens with the sun, the moon, and the other stars, and appointed them their motions and courses, that the vicissitudes of the seasons might be clearly signified. And on the fifth day he produced the living creatures, both those that swim, and those that fly; the former in the sea, the latter in the air: he also sorted them as to society and mixture, for procreation, and that their kinds might increase and multiply. On the sixth day he created the four-footed beasts, and made them male and female: on the same day he also formed man. Accordingly Moses says, That in just six days the world, and all that is therein, was made. And that the seventh day was a rest, and a release from the labor of such operations; whence it is that we Celebrate a rest from our labors on that day, and call it the Sabbath, which word denotes rest in the Hebrew tongue.