What Is The Ineffable Name of God?

The Ineffable Name of God YHVH in Hebrew Letters

In the Bible, the Ineffable Name of God is spelled with the letters YHVH. But in biblical times, Hebrew had no written vowels. So how was the name actually spoken? Some folk think it was pronounced Yahweh (or Yahveh). But the evidence for this is so small that it doesn’t hold up at all. In fact, the evidence suggests they pronounced it Yehovah or Y’hovah, with the accent on the final syllable. Don’t believe me? Follow it with me here.

Read more

Messiah ben Joseph: A Sacrifice of Atonement for Israel

Messiah ben son of Joseph - Mitchell

Does Messiah ben Joseph die as a sacrifice of atonement? Scholars say no. But I believe that is a misconception which we should challenge.

I have recently addressed common misunderstandings about Messiah ben Ephraim ben Joseph, the eschatological Ephraimite king who is slain before the coming of Messiah ben David.[1] In particular, I have proposed, contrary to current opinion, that his essential characteristics derive from Deut. 33:17 and so predate the turn of the era.[2]

I would now like to challenge another popular misconception: that is, the widespread claim that Messiah ben Joseph’s death has no atoning power.

Read more

Messiah bar Ephraim in the Targums

Messiah ben son of Joseph - Mitchell

Messiah bar Ephraim (Messiah ben Joseph) appears in the targums of Zech. 12:10, Exodus 40.9-11, and the Song of Songs. I examine all three passages here. I conclude that the Targumic Tosefta to Zech. 12.10, where Messiah bar Ephraim is vanquished, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Exod. 40.9-11, where he is the vanquisher, both predate the Christian period. The apparent conflict between his suffering and conquering roles may indicate a belief that Bar Ephraim’s death effects the final redemption. References in the Targum to the Song of Songs are also considered.

Read more

Firstborn Shor and Rem: A Sacrificial Josephite Messiah

Messiah ben son of Joseph - Mitchell

Two mysterious bull figures, a firstborn shor and a rem, feature in 1 Enoch 90 and in Deuteronomy 33. All agree that the figures in 1 Enoch speak of the Messiah. But what about those in Deuteronomy? Could they be about the Messiah too? Here I argue that they are. In fact, they speak about a Josephite Messiah, that is, a Messiah ben Joseph.

Read more

Messiah ben Joseph in the Talmud: Rabbi Dosa & the Rabbis Differ

Messiah ben son of Joseph - Mitchell

There are three references to Messiah ben Joseph in the Talmud. They all appear on a single page of the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52. This paper discusses the interpretation and dating of these texts.

Read more

Messiah ben Joseph | Origins #2 (Deuteronomy)

Messiah ben son of Joseph - Mitchell

In our last post we saw how Rabbinic literature features the figure of Messiah ben Joseph, the slain Galilean Messiah, and how his origins lie in the Seed of the Woman promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3, and in the Shepherd-Rock from Shaddai, promised to Joseph in Genesis 49. But it’s when these two promises are joined together in the book of Deuteronomy that we see Messiah ben Joseph as a dying and rising figure.

Read more