Ten plagues occur in Egypt, and the eleventh judgment transpires at the Red Sea. Exodus begins with Pharaoh’s desire to cast the male, Hebrew infants into the water, and at the end, Pharaoh meets his death in water. There were six hundred thousand men of war departing Egypt, not counting the women and children, which some rabbis estimate may have been up to three million individuals. The sea opens and all of Israel crosses the sea during the night (v. 21).
According to Dr. E. L. Terry, for all of Israel to cross the sea in a night, the opening in the sea would have to have been wide enough for five thousand people to cross side-by-side, nonstop! God calls this a “path” in the sea (see Ps. 77:19), which is a word for a passageway.
The Ark and the table of bread listed in this passage (25:10-40) were constructed with shittim wood (from the Hebrew, shittah), which is the wood of acacia tree that grows in desert regions. The Egyptians referred to this tree as the “tree of life.” The Septuagint calls it “incorruptible wood,” as the wood can strengthen with age. Once constructed, the furniture was covered with pure gold. The Ark of the Covenant, called in Hebrew Aron Habrit, was a box that held a gold pot containing some manna, the rod of Aaron, and the tablets of the Law written on stone (see Heb. 9:4). The lid on the Ark was called the mercy seat, or kapporeth in Hebrew, and was a thick plate of gold with two cherubim, constructed of one sheet of gold, sitting on top of this lid (see v. 17-22). The Ark was the lone piece of sacred furniture in the Holy of Holies in both the tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple. Once a year, the high priest sprinkled blood on the east end of the mercy seat and God communicated with the high priest from between the wings of the cherubim (see v. 22).
The Jewish commentator Rashi explains that the Ark consisted of three boxes. The primary box was made of acacia wood. The second box was larger than the first and made of gold; the primary box was placed inside it. The third box was also gold, but smaller than the other two, and it was placed inside the wooden box. Thus, the main box was covered with gold from the inside out (Source: The Chumash, Stone Edition, Shemos/Exodus, page 477). A gold rim encircled the top of the Ark. The Ark was carried by four priests who placed its wooden staves on their shoulders. The four priests carrying the Ark may be an earthly picture of a heavenly reality, as Ezekiel saw four cherubim bearing the throne of God upon their shoulders (see Ezek. 1).
The Table of Showbread
The English word showbread in Hebrew is lechem (bread) and panim (face), called the “Bread of Face” or “Bread of Presence.” This table held two columns, stacked with six loaves of bread on each column. The bread contained two omers of flour and was mixed with frankincense (see Lev. 24:5-7). The bread, baked each Friday, remained on the table for one week and was replaced on the Sabbath. The priests were permitted to eat the replaced bread, but only in the holy place. The table of showbread was positioned at the northern wall of the temple, inside the holy place, directly across from the golden menorah. The twelve loaves are representative of the Word of God, as the Word is compared to bread (see Matt. 4:4; 6:11; 7:9; John 6:31-51). The New Testament contains twelve major doctrines that are parallel with the twelve loaves:
Salvation (Acts 4:12)
Justification (Rom. 5:1)
Water baptism (Matt. 28:19)
Sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3)
Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11)
Laying on of hands (Heb. 6:2)
Second Coming of Christ (Acts 1:11)
The resurrection of the dead (Heb. 6:2)
Judgment of the righteous at the Bema (Rom. 14:10)
Judgment of the unrighteous at the white throne (Rev. 20:11-15)
Eternal life for the righteous (John 3:15)
Eternal punishment for the unrighteous (Rev. 20:14)
The Golden Lampstand (Candlestick)
The seven-branched golden menorah provided light for the holy place at the tabernacle and the temple. According to Jewish history, it weighed about a hundred pounds. The temple menorah had seven branches that stayed lit by a supply of olive oil. The base was a three-legged tripod and the top contained cups, knops, lilies, and flowers, totaling sixty-six ornaments. Each lamp held about “six eggs” of measured oil, enough for one day. It was believed to hold a log (approximately half a pint) of oil. According to the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, the menorah was roughly six feet tall. The greatest controversy surrounding the menorah exists over the basic structure, shape, and direction of the branches. Some suggest they were curved or rounded at the bottom, and others believe they rose diagonally out of the middle of the main shaft.
Each day the menorah had to be cleaned. Each cup was refilled with oil, and gold tweezers were used to remove the old wicks and relight the new wicks for the light. According to Josephus, the seven branches represented the seven original planets.
The mystical Jewish interpretations for the menorah are endless. The lamp served as the light for the holy place but symbolized the divine illumination of the human intellect. The golden seven-branched light was made from one talent of gold (see Exod. 25: 39), which was 3,000 shekels or approximately 2,400 ounces. If the price of gold were to be $1000 per ounce, this menorah would be valued at $2.4 million.
To read about the significance of tabernacle furniture, see the articles “The Sacred Furniture Is a Picture of the Messiah” and “Cross Imagery Hidden in the Old Testament” in Exodus in Depth.
Where sacrifices and offerings were concerned, there was a difference between sins against God and sins against other human beings. When an Israelite sinned against God, he presented a sin offering. If he sinned against a fellow man, he presented a guilt offering called the asham, an offering of compensation or restitution. This offering forgave theft, false oaths, extortion, or lying. The asham was presented to God, but its purpose was to remove guilt associated with the mistreatment or sin against another person. God required restitution for a sin or trespass against a fellow human (see Exod. 22:3, 5-6).
The Old Testament word restitution (see Exod. 22:3) is shalam (not shalom) and means to “make amends, to finish, or to make good again.” Making restitution involves making wrongs right in relationships with others. Other offerings, such as the fellowship or peace offerings, were voluntary offerings presented to God in appreciation for His goodness.
Under the New Covenant, our spiritual blessings can be placed on “hold” if we walk in disobedience to God’s Word by holding grudges and harboring unforgiveness in our hearts toward our fellow man. When believers walk contrary to the truth, God can and will restrain the fullness of His blessings from their lives until they repent and turn from their disobedience. Jesus said it this way:
“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24)
In western culture, we think of an altar as a wooden structure at the front of a church and the word gift as a monetary offering. In Christ’s day, the altar was the brass altar at the temple, and the gift comes from a Greek word used for sacrifice. In the Matthew 5 reference above, Christ was referring to the guilt offering when a person has wronged another; the Savior revealed that God would not accept this offering at the altar unless the offender made amends with his offended brother. To Christ, the spiritual attitude of the heart was more important than the public presentation of the sacrifice. James also indicated that believers should “confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).
Abraham takes Isaac to the very land where, many years prior, Abraham had met the king-priest Melchizedek (see Gen. 14). Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb?”
Abraham reveals that God will “provide himself a lamb.”
However, a ram and not a lamb replaces Isaac. When the ram appears, Abraham calls the name of the place
Jehovah-Jireh, meaning “the Lord will see to it.”
Moses writes, “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” (Gen. 22:14). What will be seen in the mount of the Lord? I believe that, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, Abraham saw something that is not actually recorded in the story. He knows a lamb would one day appear on the mountain to bring redemption. That lamb is Christ. This is what Christ spoke of when He said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it” (John 8:56).
The act of circumcision became the sign of the Hebrew covenant beginning with Abraham and continuing to this day among the religious Jews. Circumcision is a removal of the foreskin on the Jewish male child, eight days after birth. From the days of the patriarchs, when a son of Abraham marries and consummates his union with his wife, the seed (sperm) in the man’s loins passes through the “mark” of the covenant; thus, the seed is marked by the covenant before it ever enters the woman. This may be why God continually uses the word seed when describing future generations of Hebrews who have not been born (see Gen. 12:7; 13:16; 17:8). God marks the seed while still in the loins of the father (note Heb. 7:9-10).
This passage describes the miracle of the manna, a heavenly form of sustenance God provides for the Israelites during their forty years in the wilderness.
Manna was a small, round substance (see Exod. 16:14)
Manna appeared like a hoar (white) frost on the ground (see Exod. 16:14)
Manna looked like a coriander seed (see Num. 11:7)
Manna was the color of bdellium, similar to the color of a pearl (see Num. 11:7)
Manna tasted like fresh oil (see Num. 11:8)
Manna also tasted like wafers made with honey (see Exod. 16:31)
Manna was called “angels’ food” (see Ps. 78:25)
Manna was called the “corn of heaven” (see Ps. 78:24)
Christ says He is the “living bread which came down from heaven,” comparing Himself to the manna in the wilderness (see John 6:23-51). The manna represented salvation, as it nourished the people of Israel in the wilder- ness; without it they would have perished. Manna was crushed and beaten before it was eaten (see Num. 11:8), just as the body of Christ was beaten and bruised for man’s redemption (see Isa. 53:4-5).
The phrase hoar frost (v. 14) is unique. The root word for hoar frost in Hebrew is kephowr, a word akin to the word kippur. Yom Kippur is the Hebrew phrase meaning “Day of Atonement,” the sixth appointed season of Israel’s seven feasts. It was the day when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant to “atone” for himself, the priests, and the people. The word atone- ment is mentioned eighty times in the English Bible; the Hebrew word is kaphar, meaning “to cover, to appease and to purge,” is used seventy-five of those eighty times. It is a word used to describe what happened once a sacrifice was offered before God. When the Lord saw the blood being poured out, the sacrificial blood was cover- ing the sin and purging the conscience of the offender. Many blood offerings were atonement offerings for sins and transgressions.
How unique that manna fell from heaven, covering the ground like a frost. It was as though God was looking ahead in time when the true bread from heaven, Christ, would come down and spill His blood on the ground to atone for all mankind, providing the eternal covering for all who would receive this eternal Bread of Life.
Balaam makes four major predictions called “parables” (see Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 21, 23), which are actually prophecies concerning Israel.
The First Prophecy (23:9-10)
Balaam’s first prophecy predicts that Jacob (Israel) will become a countless multitude as plentiful as dust. God gave Abram (Abraham) a similar prediction when He said Abram’s seed would be numerous as dust (see Gen. 13:16). Balaam says Israel will “dwell alone” and not be “reckoned among the nations.” From AD 70 to 1948, Israel did not exist as a nation; thus, other nations did not recognize her. Since 1948, the Jewish state has often stood alone as enemies have risen from within and without, and Israel has conducted six major wars. The “fourth part of Israel” may allude to the division of the camps into four sections around the tabernacle. From the mountain, Balaam could not even count one-fourth of the number of people in one section of the camp.
The Second Prophecy (23:21-24)
Balaam states that Israel has maintained its spiritual integrity, avoided perverseness, and is destined to become a ruling nation. He mentions a great lion and a young lion, a statement similar to Jacob’s final words of blessing to his son Judah. Jacob predicted Judah would be as a lion and that the ruler would come from Judah (see Gen. 49:9-10).
The Third Prophecy (24:5-9)
The promise of blessing on those who bless and cursing on those who curse Israel (v. 9) is the same promise given to Abram (Abraham) at the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen. 12:3). The phrase his seed shall be in many waters (v. 7) may allude to the Jewish people who will eventually dwell throughout the world. As in the second prophecy, the lion emblem represents Judah, the tribe of David, and Jesus Christ.
The Fourth Prophecy (24:17)
The prophecy “a Star out of Jacob” is believed to be what the wise men allude to when they search for the infant Christ Child and report, “We have seen his star in the east” (Matt. 2:2). The word Sceptre used in Numbers 24:17 relates to rulership; Jacob used the word when he predicted that the sceptre would not depart from Judah until Shiloh (a name used to identify the Messiah) comes (see Gen. 49:10). Christ’s birth, accompanied by a unique cosmic sign, occurred in Bethlehem of Judea (see Matt. 2:1).
Rabbis have taught of two Messiahs: a suffering Messiah, the Messiah son of Joseph, and a conquering Messiah, the Messiah son of David. Rachel was near Bethlehem (Ephrath), the very area where both King David and Jesus would be born. Christ’s first appear- ing was as the son of “sorrows” (Isa. 53:4), but when He appears again He will be the Son of God’s “right hand” (Luke 22:69; Acts 7:56). Just as Benjamin was first called a “son of sorrow” and became the son of his father’s right hand, Christ the Lamb of God came to suffer, yet He will return as the Lion of Judah to rule from the right hand of power (see Rev. 5:5).
These chapters detail the various types of offerings God requires the Israelites to present to Him at the tabernacle. Five major types of offerings were offered at the tabernacle and later at the temple in Jerusalem. In the New Testament Jesus speaks of Korban (see Mark 7:11). The original Hebrew meaning of the word Korban was “sacrifice.” The English word sacrifice is found 194 times in the English Old Testament and is translated as zaback or “to slaughter an animal” (see Exod. 3:18), and as olah, meaning to “go up,” referring to the smoke of the offering ascending to God (see Lev. 1:3). Most believers perceive a sacrifice as something they must “give up” as an offering to God. The Hebrew meaning, however, is far from this. Below is a Hebrew commentary on the meaning of Korban:
“It is most regrettable that we have no word that really reproduces the idea that lies in the expression ‘Korban.’ The unfortunate use of the term ‘sacrifice’ implies giving up something of value to oneself for the benefit of another, or having to do without something of value, ideas not only entirely absent from the nature of ‘Korban’ but diametrically opposed to it. In addition, the idea of an ‘offering’ presupposes a wish on the part of the one to whom it is brought . . . But the idea of ‘Korban’ is far away from all this. It is used exclusively with reference with human- ity’s relationship with God, and can only be understood from the meaning that lies in its root, ‘K.R.V.’—to approach, to come near, to enter into a relationship. Korban implies closeness (the root is K.R.V.—near); bringing things together . . . it engenders compassion, never harshness. That is why it is Korban L’Hashem, a gift to the name of Hashem.” (Source: R. Shimshon Refael Hirsch, opening to Sefer Vayikra, The Pentateuch Judaica Press, 1962).
Thus, the true meaning of a Korban is not to give up something, but to draw near to God through a sacrifice.
These numerous offerings and sacrifices were intended to bring a person closer to God, not for a person to give up something of value and feel a sense of loss.
The Torah commands the Jews to place “fringes in the borders of their garments” (Num. 15:38). The Jewish tallit, or prayer shawl, is a white rectangular mantle-type garment worn by devout Jews during weekday morning services, on the Sabbath and during festivals. The standard Jewish tallit is made of lamb’s wool, cotton or silk, although no tallit will ever have wool and linen mixed, as this combination is forbidden in the Torah (see Lev. 19:19). Each tallit has special knotted fringes on the four corners called arba kanof. The four corner fringes are called the tzitzit and are knots tied a certain way, each knot holding a certain meaning.
For many years the stripes on the tallit were black in color, since for many years the dye used for the blue thread was unknown. However, Jewish research has uncovered that the blue dye was obtained from the shell of a Mediterranean mussel, the Helix ianthina, which provided a hue called cerulean purple. It is also defined as a violet color, a shade between blue and purple. Traditionally, a tzitzit has 613 knots as a reminder of the 613 command- ments comprising the entire code of law. The fringes themselves—knotted or not—were commanded as a reminder not to wander from God’s commandments (see Num. 15:39). A tallit can vary in size, from thirty-six by fifty-four inches to seventy-two by ninety-six inches.
A band is sown on the top called the atarah, or the crown, and often is embroidered in silver Hebrew letters with a special prayer: “Blessed are You, our God, Creator of time and space, who enriches our lives with holiness, commanding us to wrap ourselves in the tallit.”
Among more Orthodox communities, men wear the tallit but women do not. This is because the tallit is consid- ered a man’s garment and the Torah forbids women from wearing men’s apparel (see Deut. 22:5). Observant Jews are often buried in their tallit, with two exceptions: the neckband is removed, and one corner fringe is cut off, indi- cating that the deceased person is no longer required to follow the Torah obligations.
Today, observant Jews conduct a ceremony for their firstborn sons, called the Pidyon HaBen (Redemption of the Son), based on Numbers 18:15-18. Rabbis can explain why five shekels were selected as the redemption amount (v. 16). Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn son, was sold by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver, the equivalent of five shekels (see Gen. 37:28). Therefore, five shekels are given to the priest to redeem the son back. The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Hei, and was the letter God inserted into Abram’s name, changing it to Abraham (see Gen. 17:5). In Christian theology the number five represents the grace of God.
The Jewish custom of the redemption of the firstborn son begins when the infant is at least thirty-one days old. God wanted all men in Israel to be a nation of priests (see Exod. 19:6). After Israel sinned with the golden calf, God selects Levi as the single priestly tribe. By providing the five shekels to the priest, the father could redeem his first- born son from entering the priesthood. It also reminds the Jews that God preserved the firstborn sons of the Hebrew family on the night the destroying angel entered Egypt (see Exod. 12).
The Silver Tray, Jewelry, and Coins
Normally, ten men are present for the ceremony. The priest (rabbi) asks the father if he would prefer the child or the five shekels he must pay. The father says, “the child,” recites a blessing, and gives the silver coins to the priest. Holding the coins over the infant, the priest declares the redemption is paid. He blesses the child, then returns him to the parents. He usually returns the coins to the child as a gift. A festive meal follows the ceremony, sometimes including the distribution of sugar cubes and garlic cloves.
At times the child is placed on a blanket on a silver tray and surrounded by jewelry borrowed from women in attendance. This could allude to the time when the Hebrews left Egypt and borrowed jewelry from their Egyptian neighbors (see Exod. 12:35-36).
Girls are not excluded from experiencing their own naming ceremony, called Zeved HaBat among the Sephardic Jews and Simchat Bat among the Ashkenazi sect. These ceremonies often occur within the first month of a girl’s birth and can be celebrated privately in the synagogue or at a party at home. A rabbi and a cantor often participate.
The various Jewish traditions and customs involving children are too numerous to elaborate. However, some customs include lighting seven candles—representing the seven days of creation—while the infant is held or wrapped in the four corners of a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl). Other customs involve lifting the baby and touching its hands to the Torah Scroll. These detailed rituals stem from the command to redeem the firstborn found in Numbers 18.
