• Torah (T): Wayiqra (Leviticus) 21:1-24
• Prophets (P): Ezekiel 44:15-31
• Apostolic (A): 2 Corinthians 11:1-4
• Additional (ADD): Sirach 22:1-12

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Leviticus 19:27-28; Deuteronomy 14:1-2 (T)
• Genesis 38:11-24 (T)
• Revelation 17:1-18 (T)
• Leviticus 10:1-7 (T)
• Deuteronomy 22:13-21;
• Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (T)
• Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:1- (T)
• Ephesians 1:1-4; Ephesians 5:25-27; Colossians 1:21-23; Philippians 2:14-16 (T)
• Ephesians 5:25-33 (T, A)
• John 14:1-4 (T)
• Revelation 19:6 (T)
• Hosea 2:1-23 (T)
• Matthew 25:1-13 (T)
• 2 Peter 2:12-16 (T)
• Matthew 11:1-6 (T)
• Luke 7:11-23 (T)
• John 5:1-9 (T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Jubilees 41:16-22 (T) – (cf. Genesis 10:22; Jubilees 41:1; Testament of Judah 2:10)
• A Sectarian Manifesto 4QMMT Section B:14-15 (T)
• Sirach 18:1-33 (T)
• Sirach 31:1-13 (T, A)
• Sirach 35:1-17 (A)
• Leviticus 21:1-24 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 3.12.2 (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)

21:1 YHWH said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘He will not be unclean for a soul among his people 2 except for his near kin that are nearest to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother, 3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has no man; for her he may be unclean. 4 A master among his people will not be unclean, to profane himself. 5 They will not shave their heads or shave off the corner of their beards or make any incisions in their flesh. 6 They will be holy to their Elohim, and not profane the name of their Elohim, for they bring the offerings of YHWH made by fire, the bread of their Elohim. Therefore they will be holy. 7 They will not marry a woman who is a whore or chalalah. A priest will not marry a woman cast out from her man; for he is holy to [YHWH]^(LXX) his Elohim. 8 Therefore you will sanctify him, for he brings the bread of [YHWH]^(LXX) your Elohim. He will be holy to you, for I YHWH, who sanctify [them],^(DSS) am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, she profanes [the house of]^(DSS) her father. She will be burned with fire. 10 He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and filled his hand to put on the garments, will not let the hair of his head loose, or tear his clothes. 11 He must not go in to any soul of the dead or be unclean for his father or for his mother. 12 He will not go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his Elohim; for the dedication of the anointing oil of his Elohim is upon him. I am YHWH. 13 He will take a woman in her virginity. 14 He will not marry a widow, or one cast out, or chalalah, or a whore. He will take a virgin of his own people as a woman. 15 He will not profane his seed among his people, for I am YHWH who sanctifies him.’ ” 16 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your seed throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to bring the bread of his Elohim. 18 For whatever man he is that has a blemish, he will not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a disfigured nose, or deformity, 19 or a man who has a crushed foot, or a crushed hand, 20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a cataract in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. 21 No man of the seed of Aaron the priest who has a blemish will come near to bring the offerings of [Elohim]^(LXX) made by fire. Since he has a blemish, he will not come near to bring the bread of his Elohim. 22 He will eat the bread of his Elohim, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 He will not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he may not profane [the sanctuary of his Elohim],^(LXX) for I am YHWH who sanctifies them.’ ” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the sons of Israel.

Prophets Portion (P)

44:15 “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, will come near to me to minister to me. They will stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord YHWH. 16 “They will enter into my sanctuary, and they will come near to my table, to minister to me, and they will guard my instruction. 17  It will be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they will be clothed with linen garments. No wool will come on them while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They will have linen turbans on their heads, and will have linen trousers on their waists. They will not clothe themselves with anything that makes them sweat. 19 When they go out into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they will put off their garments in which they minister and lay them in the holy rooms. They will put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments. 20 They will not shave their heads, or allow their locks to grow long. They will surely trim the hair of their heads. 21 None of the priests will drink wine when they enter into the inner court. 22 They will not take for their wives a widow, or her who is cast out; but they will take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They will teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a controversy they will stand to judge. They will judge it according to my judgments. They will guard my Torot and my statutes in all my appointed times. They will make my Sabbaths holy. 25 They will go in to no dead person to be unclean; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has no not become a man’s, they may be unclean. 26 After he is cleansed, they will reckon to him seven days. 27 In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he will offer his sin offering,” says the Lord YHWH. 28 They will have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you will give them no possession in Israel. I am their possession. 29 They will eat the grain offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs. 30 The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, will be for the priest. You will also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. 31 The priests will not eat of anything that dies of itself or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.”

Apostolic Portion (A)

11:1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am zealous over you with a pious zeal. For I promised you in marriage to one man, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Messiah. 3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the nachash deceived Chavah in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Messiah. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Yeshua whom we didn’t proclaim, or if you receive a different spirit which you didn’t receive, or a different “good news” which you didn’t accept, you put up with that well enough.

Additional Portion (ADD)

Sirach, or Wisdom of Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Ben Sira, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira. 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 Ya’aqov (James) 1:19 (cf. Sirach 5:11).

22:1 A slothful man is compared to a stone that is defiled. Everyone will hiss at him in his disgrace. 2 A slothful man is compared to the filth of a dunghill. Every man who takes it up will shake out his hand. 3 An uninstructed child is a disgrace to his father, and a foolish daughter is born to his loss. 4 A prudent daughter will inherit a man of her own. She who brings shame is the grief of her father. 5 She who is impudent brings shame upon father and man. She will be despised by both of them. 6 Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning, but stripes and correction are wisdom in every season. 7 He who teaches a fool is as one who glues a potsherd together, even as one who wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep. 8 He who teaches a fool is as one who teaches a man who slumbers. In the end he will say, “What is it?” 9 [… …] 10 [… …] 11 Weep for the dead, for he lacks light. Weep for a fool, for he lacks understanding. Weep more sweetly for the dead, because he has found rest, but the life of the fool is worse than death. 12 Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a fool and an impious man, all the days of his life.

Related Scriptures

Leviticus 19:27 Do not round the corner of your head or destroy the corner of your beard. 28 Do not give an incision for the soul in your flesh nor tattoo any writings in you. I am YHWH.

Deuteronomy 14:1 You are the sons of YHWH your Elohim. You will not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to YHWH your Elohim, and YHWH has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the land.

38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;” for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house. 12 After many days, Shua’s daughter, the woman of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his shepherd Hirah, the Adullamite. 13 Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 She took off the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a woman. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a whore, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?” 18 He said, “What pledge will I give you?” She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his shepherd, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her. 21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the whore, that was at Enaim by the road?” They said, “There has been no whore here.” 22 He returned to Judah, and said, “I haven’t found her; and also the men of the place said, ‘There has been no whore here.’ ” 23 Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.” 24 About three new moons later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has whored. Moreover, behold, she is with child by whoring.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the land committed fornication Those who dwell in the land were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.” 3 He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the fornication of the land. 5 And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE WHORES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Yeshua. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 7 The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the land and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and will be present. 9 Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no reign as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.” 15 He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns which you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore, will make her desolate, will strip her naked, will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. 17 For Elohim has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, to be of one mind, and to give their reign to the beast, until the words of Elohim should be accomplished. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the land.”

10:1 Nadab and Abihu, the [two] sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered [foreign] fire before YHWH, which [YHWH] had not commanded them. 2 Fire came out from before YHWH, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what YHWH spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” Aaron held his peace. 4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they came near, and carried them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which YHWH has kindled. 7 Do not go out the door of the Appointed Tent, lest you die; for the anointing oil of YHWH is on you.” They did according to the word of Moses.

Deuteronomy 22:13 If any man takes a woman, and goes in to her, hates her, 14 places on her actions of words, gives her a bad name, and says, “I took this wife, and when I came near to her, I didn’t find in her virginity;” 15 then the young lady’s father and mother will take and bring the young lady’s virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 The young lady’s father will tell the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man as his wife, and he hates her. 17 Behold, he has placed actions of words, saying, ‘I didn’t find in your daughter’s virginity;’ and yet these are my daughter’s virginity.” They will spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 The elders of that city will take the man and chastise him. 19 They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has given a bad name to a virgin of Israel. She will be his wife. He may not put her away all his days. 20 But if this word is true, that the virginity was not found in the young lady, 21 then they will bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to whore in her father’s house. So you will remove the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 24:1 When a man takes a woman and marries her, then it will be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a word of nakedness in her, that he will write her a certificate of divorce, put it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 When she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s. 3 If the latter man hates her, and write her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife; 4 her first master, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that would be an abomination to YHWH. You will not cause the land to sin, which YHWH your Elohim gives you for an inheritance.

Matthew 5:31 It was also said, ‘Whoever will put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’ 32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the word of fornication (cf. Deuteronomy 22:20), makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

Mark 10:1 He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them. 2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.” 5 But Yeshua said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, Elohim made them male and female. 7 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore Elohim has joined together, let no man separate.” 10 In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 If a woman herself divorces her man and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of Elohim, to the holy ones who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Messiah Yeshua: 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, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Yeshua the Messiah to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.

Ephesians 5:25 Men, love your wives, even as Messiah also loved the assembly and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without defect.

Colossians 1:21 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.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without complaining and arguing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of Elohim without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, 16 holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Messiah that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.

5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Messiah also loved the assembly and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without defect. 28 Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own woman loves himself. 29 For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly, 30 because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones. 31 “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife. Then the two will become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Messiah and the assembly. 33 Nevertheless each of you must also love his own woman even as himself; and let the woman see that she respects her husband.

2:1 “Say to your brothers, ‘Ami!’ and to your sisters, ‘Ruchamah!’ 2 Contend with your mother! Contend, for she is not my wife, neither am I her man; and let her put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts; 3 lest I strip her naked, and make her bare as in the day that she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst. 4 Indeed, on her children I will have no mercy, for they are children of unfaithfulness. 5 For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ 6 Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she can’t find her way. 7 She will follow after her lovers, but she won’t overtake them; and she will seek them, but won’t find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first man, for then it was better with me than now.’ 8 For she didn’t know that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. 9 Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my new wine in its season, and will pluck away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness. 10 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of my hand. 11 I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies. 12 I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me,’ and I will make them a forest, and the animals of the field will eat them. 13 I will visit on her the days of the Ba’alim, to which she burned incense when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers and forgot me,” says YHWH. 14 “Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 It will be in that day,” says YHWH, “that you will call me ‘Ishi,’ and no longer call me ‘Ba’ali.’ 17 For I will take away the names of the masters out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name. 18 In that day I will cut a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow, the sword, and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down safely. 19 I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion. 20 I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you will know YHWH. 21 It will happen in that day, that I will respond,” says YHWH. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the land; 22 and the land will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel. 23 I will sow her to me in the land; and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘You are My Elohim!’ ”

14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in Elohim. Believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. 4 You know where I go, and you know the way.”

19:6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our Elohim, the Almighty, reigns! 7 Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the holy ones. 9 He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’ ” He said to me, “These are true words of Elohim.”

25:1 “Then the reign of the heavens will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Amen, amen, I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

2:12 But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; 14 having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin, enticing unsettled souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; 16 but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet.

11:1 When Yeshua had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and proclaim in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of Messiah, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” 4 Yeshua answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the infected are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the afflicted have good news preached to them. 6 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

7:11 Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Na’im. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him. 12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only born son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Don’t cry.” 14 He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” 15 He who was dead sat up and began to speak. Then he gave him to his mother. 16 Fear took hold of all, and they glorified Elohim, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “Elohim has visited his people!” 17 This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. 18 The disciples of John told him about all these things. 19 John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Yeshua, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?” 20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Immerser has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?’ ” 21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind he gave sight. 22 Yeshua answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the infected ones are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 23 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

5:1 After these things, there was a Jewish festival, and Yeshua went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed [… …] 5 A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Yeshua saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Yeshua said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked.

Related Additional Readings​

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.

41:16 And when she had completed three new moons, it was manifest that she was with child, and they told Judah, saying: “Behold Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, is with child by whoredom.” 17. And Judah went to the house of her father, and said unto her father and her brothers: “Bring her forth, and let them burn her, for she hath wrought uncleanness in Israel.” 18. And it came to pass when they brought her forth to burn her that she sent to her father-in-law the ring and the necklace, and the staff, saying: “Discern whose are these, for by him am I with child.” 19. And Judah acknowledged, and said: “Tamar is more righteous than I am. And therefore let them burn her not.” 20. And for that reason she was not given to Shelah, and he did not again approach her. 21. And after that she bare two sons, Perez and Zerah, in the seventh year of this second week [2170 A.M.]. 22. And thereupon the seven years of fruitfulness were accomplished, of which Joseph spake to Pharaoh.

Genesis 10:22; Jubilees 41:1; Testament of Judah 2:10

Genesis 10:22 The sons of Shem were: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

Jubilees 41:1 And in the forty-fifth jubilee, in the second week [2165 A.M.], (and) in the second year, Judah took for his first-born Er, a woman from the daughters of Aram, named Tamar.

Testament of Judah 2:10 And after these things my son Er took to wife Tamar, from Mesopotamia, a daughter of Aram.

30:1 And in the first year of the sixth week [2143 A.M.] he went up to Salem, to the east of Shechem, in peace, 2 in the fourth new moon. 2. And there they carried off Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, into the house of Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite, the prince of the land, and he lay with her and defiled her, and she was a little girl, a child of twelve years. 3. And he besought his father and her brothers that she might be given to him to wife. And Jacob and his sons were wroth because of the men of Shechem; for they had defiled Dinah, their sister, and they spake to them with evil intent and dealt deceitfully with them and beguiled them. 4. And Shimon and Levi came unexpectedly to Shechem and executed judgment on all the men of Shechem, and slew all the men whom they found in it, and left not a single one remaining in it: they slew all in torments because they had dishonoured their sister Dinah. 5. And thus let it not again be done from henceforth that a daughter of Israel be defiled; for judgment is ordained in the heavens against them that they should destroy with the sword all the men of the Shechemites because they had wrought shame in Israel. 6. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the sons of Jacob that they might exterminate them with the sword and execute judgment upon them, and that it might not thus again be done in Israel that a virgin of Israel should be defiled. 7. And if there is any man who wisheth in Israel to give his daughter or his sister to any man who is of the seed of the Nations he will surely die, and they will stone him with stones; for he hath wrought shame in Israel; and they will burn the woman with fire, because she hath dishonoured the name of the house of her father, and she will be rooted out of Israel.

14. [Concer]ning the blind, who since they cannot see, are not able to guard themselves from any defiling mixture. They cannot see the defilement of the [g]uilt offering

15. [Co]ncerning the deaf, who have not heard the statute, the judgment, and the purity ruling, who have not heard the commandments belonging to Israel. For the one who has not seen or has not heard does not [k]now how to perform according to the law. They may, however, par[ticipate] in the pu[re] food of the sanctuary.

Sirach, or Wisdom of Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Ben Sira, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira. 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 Ya’aqov (James) 1:19 (cf. Sirach 5:11).

18:1 He who lives forever created all things in common. 2 The Lord alone will be justified. 3 [… …] 4 He has given power to declare his works to no one. Who could trace out his mighty deeds? 5 Who could measure the strength of his majesty? Who could also proclaim his mercies? 6 As for the wondrous works of the Lord, it is not possible to take from them nor add to them, neither is it possible to explore them. 7 When a man has finished, then he is just at the beginning. When he ceases, then he will be in perplexity. 8 What is mankind, and what purpose do they serve? What is their good, and what is their evil? 9 The number of man’s days at the most are a hundred years. 10 As a drop of water from the sea, and a pebble from the sand, so are a few years in the day of eternity. 11 For this cause the Lord was patient over them, and poured out his mercy upon them. 12 He saw and perceived their end, that it is evil. Therefore he multiplied his forgiveness. 13 The mercy of a man is upon his neighbor; but the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh: reproving, chastening, teaching, and bringing back, as a shepherd does his flock. 14 He has mercy on those who accept chastening, and that diligently seek after his judgments. 15 My son, to your good deeds add no blemish, and no grief of words in any of your giving. 16 Doesn’t the dew relieve the scorching heat? So a word is better than a gift. 17 Behold, isn’t a word better than a gift? Both are with a gracious man. 18 A fool is ungracious and abusive. The gift of an envious man consumes the eyes. 19 Learn before you speak. Take care of your health before you are sick. 20 Before judgment examine yourself, and in the hour of inspection you will find forgiveness. 21 Humble yourself before you become sick. In the time of sins, show repentance. 22 Let nothing hinder you to pay your vow in due time. Don’t wait until death to be justified. 23 Before you make a vow, prepare yourself. Don’t be like a man who trys the Lord. 24 Think about the wrath coming in the days of the end, and the time of vengeance, when he turns away his face. 25 In the days of fullness remember the time of hunger. Remember poverty and lack in the days of wealth. 26 From morning until evening, the time changes. All things are speedy before the Lord. 27 A wise man is cautious in everything. In days of sinning, he will beware of offense. 28 Every man of understanding knows wisdom. He will give thanks to him who found her. 29 They who were of understanding in sayings also became wise themselves, and poured out apt proverbs. 30 Don’t go after your coveting. Refrain yourself from your appetites. 31 If you give fully to your soul the delight of her desire, she will make you a rejoicing to your enemies. 32 Don’t make merry in much luxury, and don’t be tied to its expense. 33 Don’t be made a beggar by banqueting upon borrowing when you have nothing in your purse.

31:1 Sleeplessness that comes of riches consumes the flesh, And the anxiety thereof puts away sleep. 2 Sleepless anxiety will crave slumber; And in a sore disease sleep will be broken. 3 A rich man toils in gathering money together; And when he rests, he is filled with his good things. 4 A poor man toils in lack of substance; And when he rests, he becomes needy. 5 He that loves gold will not be justified; And he that follows destruction will himself have his fill of it. 6 Many have been given over to ruin for the sake of gold; And their perdition comes to pass in their faces. 7 It is a stumbling block to those who slaughter to it; And every fool will be taken therewith. 8 Blessed is the rich that is found without blemish, And that goes not after gold. 9 Who is he? and we will call him blessed: For wonderful things has he done among his people. 10 Who has been tried by it, and found perfect? Then let him glory. Who has had the power to transgress, and has not transgressed? And to do evil, and has not done it? 11 His goods will be made sure, And the congregation will declare his alms. 12 Sittest you at a great table? Open not your throat upon it. And say not, Many are the things upon it. 13 Remember that an evil eye is a wicked thing: What has been created more evil than an eye? Therefore it sheds tears from every face.

35:1 He that guards the Torah makes many offerings; He that takes heed to the commandments slaughters a peace offering. 2 He that returns a kindness offers fine flour; And he that gives alms slaughters a thank offering. 3 To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to YHWH; And to depart from unrighteousness is an atoning slaughter. 4 See that you appear not in the face of YHWH empty-handed. 5 For all these things are to be done because of the commandment. 6 The offering of the righteous makes the anoints the altar; And the sweet savor thereof is before the Most High. 7 The slaughter of a righteous man is acceptable; And the memorial thereof will not be forgotten. 8 Glorify YHWH with a good eye, And diminish not the first fruits of your hands. 9 In every gift show a cheerful countenance, And dedicate your tithe with gladness. 10 Give to the Most High according as he has given; And as your hand has found, give with a good eye. 11 For YHWH recompenses, And he will recompense you seven-fold. 12 Do not offer him a bribe; for he will not accept them: And set not your mind on an unrighteous slaughter; For YHWH is judge, And with him is no partiality. 13 He will not show partiality against a poor man; And he will listen to the prayer of him that is wronged. 14 He will in no wise ignore the supplication of the fatherless; Nor the widow, when she pours out her story. 15 Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek? And is not her cry against him that has caused them to fall? 16 He that serves Elohim according to his good pleasure will be accepted, And his supplication will reach to the clouds. 17 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds; And till it come near, he will not be comforted; And he will not depart, till the Most High will visit; And he will judge righteously, and execute judgment.

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.).

3.12.2. As for the priests, he prescribed to them a double degree of purity 25 for he restrained them in the instances above, and moreover forbade them to marry harlots. He also forbade them to marry a slave, or a captive, and such as got their living by cheating trades, and by keeping inns; as also a woman parted from her husband, on any account whatsoever. Nay, he did not think it proper for the high priest to marry even the widow of one that was dead, though he allowed that to the priests; but he permitted him only to marry a virgin, and to retain her. Whence it is that the high priest is not to come near to one that is dead, although the rest are not prohibited from coming near to their brethren, or parents, or children, when they are dead; but they are to be unblemished in all respects. He ordered that the priest who had any blemish, should have his portion indeed among the priests, but he forbade him to ascend the altar, or to enter into the holy house. He also enjoined them, not only to observe purity in their sacred ministrations, but in their daily conversation, that it might be unblameable also. And on this account it is that those who wear the sacerdotal garments are without spot, and eminent for their purity and sobriety: nor are they permitted to drink wine so long as they wear those garments (cf. Leviticus 10:9). 26 Moreover, they offer slaughters that are entire, and have no defect whatsoever.