Parasha Bo

Sh’mot (Exodus) 10:1 – 13:16

Haftarah: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 46:13 – 28

Brit Chadasha: Lk. 2:22 – 24;

Jn. 19:31 – 37; Acts 13:16 – 17 and

Rev. 8:6 – 9:12, 16:1 – 21

The Alef Tav

In the Revelation of Yeshua HaMashiach to John we find 4 references to the Alef Tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew Alef Bet; Rev. 1:8, 1:11, 21:6 and 22:13.

The translation reads “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.”

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet.
Messiah Yeshua is a Hebrew man and not a Greek man therefore He would have said “I am the Alef and the Tav, the beginning and the ending.
He is the entire Hebrew Alef Bet from A to Z so to speak therefore He is ALL the Hebrew letters, ALL the Hebrew words. Jn. 1:1 confirms this understanding. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim.”
In its ancient form the Alef Tav would read “strength of the covenant.”
Jer. 11:10 “They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words (אֶת־דְּבָרַי ), and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant (אֶת־בְּרִיתִי ) which I made with their fathers (אֶת־אֲבֹותָֽם ).”

בֹּא meaning to go in, enter, come, go or come in

Parasha Highlights:

Last three plagues; locusts, darkness and death of the firstborn
The beginning of the year, Rosh Chodesh, the first Pesach and unleavened bread
Redemption of the firstborn
In its ancient form בֹּא would read: “The family came from the leader.” Bo is normally spelled בּוֹא, which includes the letter Vav. The Vav having been excluded will alter the numerical value of the word.
The numerical value of Bo, בֹּא, is 3. This number brings our attention to the 3^rd day creation; the day when all seed bearing vegetation was made. Yeshua being the ultimate “pure seed.”
10:1 – 2 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, “and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
On the surface the narrative is speaking to the heart of Pharaoh. Certainly it is the Pharaoh who will grant Israel her liberty or not.
Now lets examine the same text in the Hebrew.
10:1- 2 Now Yehovah said to Moshe, “Go (Bo) in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart (אֶת־לִבֹּו ) and the heart (אֶת־לֵב ) of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, “and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs (אֶת־אֹתֹתַי ) which I have done among them, that you may know that I am Yehovah.”
The Alef Tav heart, twice, shows us there is more to this narrative than we originally thought.
The Hebrew word for heart is ל ב. The Bet, ב , is the first letter of Torah and the Lamed, ל , is the last letter of Torah. Now we know the heart of The Father is His Torah.
Who then is the Alef Tav heart?
The Alef Tav heart is Yeshua; twice is representative of the “two” advents of the Mashiach.
V 3 So Moshe and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says Yehovah Elohay of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
The Hebrew word for “humble” is עָנָה . The numerical value of which is 125; 1 + 2 + 5 = 8. Since eight is the number for covenant we can see Pharaoh is not only rejecting Yehovah but also Yeshua by extension.
If Pharaoh refuses to humble himself he is refusing to repent. To be humble, עָנָה , means to “bow down.” The opposite of “bowing down” is standing proud.
Scripture tells us Yeshua was humble:
Is. 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted (humble), yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly (humble) and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
On a larger scale Pharaoh and the people of Egypt represent the nations of the world; those that refuse to repent.
This is the parable of the wheat and tares. Mt. 13:24 – 30 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Plagues precede the first redemption and plagues precede the second redemption; but they repented not.
Rev. 9:20 – 21 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorcerie or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Rev. 16:9 – 11 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
There will come a time when all men will bow down.
Prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in 45:22 – 24 “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am El, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘surely in Yehovah I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come ( בּוֹא ), and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In Yehovah all the “seed” of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”
Phil. 2:10 – 11 That at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Yeshua HaMashiach is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Rom. 14:11)
In its ancient form Anah (humble) would read: “watch for the heir who will be revealed.” To watch for the heir, Messiah Yeshua, means that you understand the “rules of the kingdom,” including the coming Messiah.
V 4 – 5 ‘Or else, if you refuse to let My people (אֶת־עַמִּי ) go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. And they shall cover the face (אֶת־עֵין ) of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth (אֶת־הָאָרֶץ ); and they shall eat the residue (אֶת־יֶתֶר ) of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree (אֶת־כָּל־הָעֵץ ) which grows up for you out of the field.

The locust

Locusts do damage by eating the leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark and growing-points, and also by breaking down trees because of their weight when they settle. The locusts destroy the “seed.”

The locust, Arbeh, would completely devour any remnant of vegetation after the plague of hail. Mal. 3:11 and Joel 2:25 speak to the locust being the “devourer.”
Throughout history the “devourer” has come along time and again to extinguish the remnant of Yehovahs’ believers. A plague of locust will also be used to bring judgment in Rev. 9:3.
Rev. 9:3 – 4 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of Yehovah in their foreheads.
What is the seal?
Is. 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the תֹּורָה among my disciples. **the seal is Torah!
The plague of locusts was 8^th in order. Eight speaks to division; some choose to belong to Covenant Israel while others do not. Some of the earlier plagues may have been separated by extended intervals, but the eighth plague followed immediately on the heels of the seventh: locusts came upon the land.
The 9^th plague was the plague of darkness. 10:21 – 23 Then Yehovah said to Moshe, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
So Moshe stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another (אֶת־אָחִיו ); nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
The Hebrew word for darkness is אֲפֵלָה which can mean darkness, gloominess, calamity and wickedness (fig.) It is a feminine noun and is used 10 times in the Tanakh. Can we be speaking of the 10 tribes lost in spiritual darkness?

Darkness: physical and spiritual

There were Israelites living outside the protective womb of Goshen. 4/5ths of the Israelite population perished in the plague of darkness. (Torah Anthology, pg. 17, Vol. 11, 5)

They chose the physical world over the spiritual.

The first Pesach/Passover

12:1 – 8 Now Yehovah spoke to Moshe and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you (On Jan. 7, 2019 the new moon, Rosh Chodesh, was sighted. We are in the 11^th month of Sh’vat counting down until the designated first month). “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
‘And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּֽיִם ). And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.
Then they shall eat the flesh (אֶת־הַבָּשָׂר ) on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. **Basar means flesh and good tidings.
The Hebrew word for lamb is שֶׂה which is used six times in our sidra. Six representing the six thousand years of mankind. The numerical value of שֶה is 305; 3 + 5 = 8. The lamb represents the covenant.
Yeshua, our pascal lamb, surrendered His life “between the evenings, on the 14^th day of the first month.
V 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is Yehovahs’ Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Yehovah.
Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood (אֶת־הַדָּם ), I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial (a remembrance); and you shall keep it as a feast to Yehovah throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
Keeping a remembrance is what Yeshua was doing with his disciples in Lk. 22:15– 16.
Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Yeshua would not be able to celebrate the Seder the night after the sacrifice of the lambs, as he himself was the Lamb.
Another connection to the triangle of 17 and the 153 fish can be found in the numerical value of “the pesach.”

12:12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Yehovah. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, (אֶת־הַדָּם ) I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to Yehovah throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
It is when Yehovah sees the Alef Tav blood that He will Passover you. Clearly the blood of the lamb, sacrificed at Passover, is a covenant event.
The blood is a “sign.” The Hebrew word for “sign” is אוֹת. The numerical value of which is 407; 4 + 7 = 11, a number associated with Yeshua.
The word אוֹת is spelled with the Alef and Tav with the letter Vav in the center. The Vav is the 6^th letter, the connecter. Yeshua, the Vav, connects the beginning to the end with his death on the stake.

There is only one Hebrew letter that means sign, seal and covenant, the letter Tav. This is the only letter that makes sense to have been the “sign.”

The letter Tav is the 22^nd letter of the Alef Bet. The numerical value is 400, achieved by simply adding 2 + 2. Four, yet another number associated to our Mashiach. The Tav, then, is the sign of the living, those in covenant.

Ez. 9:3 – 4 speaks to another sign: Now the glory of the Elohay of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side;
and Yehovah said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark (תָּו ) on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. “Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark (תָּו ); and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
How do we reconcile both marks?
The Talmud explains it this way: the divine judicial pronouncement that was used when Elohim decreed the destruction of Jerusalem and ordered the angel Gabriel, as seen in the vision of Ezekiel 9, to put a mark (the Hebrew Tav) on the foreheads of the of the citizens of Jerusalem to differentiate the righteous ones destined for the World to Come from the wicked who were doomed to perish in this world and in the next, ink and blood were used respectively. A Tav in ink was placed on the forehead of the righteous, denoting “you shall live” and in blood for the wicked a Tav denoting “you shall die.” (Beyond the Hebrew Lexicon, Chaim Bentorah, pg. 129)
In conclusion, the nations of the world will be humbled prior to the second redemption just like their predecessor, Egypt, was humbled prior to the first redemption.
The instructions for the first Pesach mirror the week of Messiahs’ death. Embedded in the narrative we also find the first three festivals, Pesach, Unleavened Bread and First fruit (the mixed multitude).
The sidra gives allusion to Yeshua as the righteous judge, the seal (Torah), the “firstborn” son and His blood as the sign.
Jere. 46:13 – 28
Just as Israel was enslaved in Egypt our Haftarah speaks to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.
46:27 speaks to Israel’s’ redemption: “But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid. This Scripture speaks to the 2^nd redemption.

Brit Chadasha

Lk. 2:22 – 24 Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to Adonai.
Jn. 19:31 – 37 Not one of his bones will be broken.
Acts 13:16 – 17 With a stretched out arm he led them out of that land.
Rev. 8:6 – 9:12 Rev. 16:1 – 21 speak to the judgment of the nations.