Parasha Terumah

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Sh’mot (Exodus) 25:1 – 27:19
Haftarah: M’lakhim Alef (1 Ki.) 5:26 – 6:13
Brit Chadasha: Heb. 8:1 – 6; 9:23 – 24 and 10:1

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.”
  • Zech. 13:8 – 9 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says Yehovah, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third (יתִ שִׁ לְ שַּׁ ת־הֶ א (through the fire, will refine them as silver is ) אֶ ת־הַ זָּהָ ב) gold as them test and, refined is ) אֶ ת־הַ כֶּסֶ ף ) tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘Yehovah is my Elohay.’ ”

Parasha Terumah

הָ רוּמְ תּ meaning contribution, offering or heave/elevated offering

Parasha Highlights:

  • Instructions for the collection of donations for the Sanctuary (the Mishkan) of Yehovah.
  • Instructions regarding the pattern of construction for the Ark of the Covenant, the Cover to the Ark, the Table of Showbread and the Menorah.
  • Instructions regarding the Covers of the Tabernacle, its walls and partitions.
  • Instructions regarding the Great Altar.
  • Instructions regarding the courtyard.
  • The ancient meaning of Terumah would read: “We were sealed from the beginning securing ourselves to the mighty who would be revealed.
  • The identity of the One who would be revealed is found in Is. 28:16 Therefore thus says Yehovah Adonai: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.
  • Yeshua, the Bridegroom, the Living Word, is our tried foundation. His counterpart, Covenant Israel, the Bride, was chosen from the foundation of the world.
  • Eph.1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Messiah to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (New living Translation)
  • 1 Cor. 3:10 – 11 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua HaMashiach.
  • The numerical value of “Terumah” is 651; 6 + 5 + 1 = 12. Yeshua, the elevated offering, will be raised or elevated for all 12 tribes.
  • Yeshua is the “tried” foundation stone. The Hebrew word for “tried” is ןַ חֹבּ and means tested or tried.
  • Was Yeshua tested and tried?
  • This word is used only once in the Tanakh. The numerical value for ןַ חֹבּ is 60. At His first advent He became the “tried” stone, laying down His life for all 12 tribes. Recall that every believer confessing faith in the completed work of the Mashiach is “grafted” onto the Olive tree, Israel.
  • The root of “bochan” is ןַ חָ בּ which means to test, prove, try (of gold, persons, the heart or man of God). Job 23:10 says But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

The Refiners fire

  • Mal. 3:2 – 3 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to Yehovah in righteousness. **To refine is to purge, separating the pure metal from its impurities.
  • What will our appearance be like after having gone through the “refiner’s fire; after the dross has been cleaned away?”
  • 1 Jn. 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
  • revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. **Certainly Yeshua is our example.
  • His appearance post resurrection is recorded in Rev. 1:14 – 17 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two- edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me,

“Do not be afraid; I am

the First (א ( and the Last ( ת.(

  • 25:1 – 7 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering ( הָ רוּמְ תּ .( From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering ( יִֽ תָ רוּמְ ת־תֶּ א ( And this is the offering ( הָ רוּמְ תַּ ה ( which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.”
  • Terumah is used three times in our Sidra. The first mention is with regard to the offering of those with a willing heart.
  • The second mention is different. The second mention is referring to Yeshua, the Alef Tav, as The Fathers’ own heave or elevated offering (יִֽ תָ רוּמְ ת־תֶּ א .( Yeshua is the Fathers elevated offering. Jn. 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
  • The third mention is “the offering,” הָ רוּמְ התּ . ַThe definite article Hey make this offering unique.

The Terumah

  • We can learn a lot from this Sidra by examining its name, Terumah. As we can see from the final letter, Hey, Terumah ( הָ רוּמְ תּ ( is feminine in gender.
  • The elevated offerings are to be forthcoming from the “bride;” anyone whose heart motivates him. We learned that the Hebrew word for “heart” is לב .The first and last letters of Torah. The “bride” with a love of Torah would have a willing heart.
  • The first donated item mentioned is gold. Gold is associated with kingship. Gold is akin to the splendor or brilliance of the heavens, the abode of Yehovah.
  • The rule of first mention takes us back to Ge. 2:11 – 12 The name of the first river is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good.
  • Havilah means circle. A circle is a cycle i.e. the Festivals of Yehovah. The “good gold” is Covenant Israel, those keeping His moedim/appointed times.
  • The Hebrew word for gold is בָ הָז . בָ הָז can mean a precious metal, a measure of weight, brilliance or splendor (recall the
  • appearance of Yeshua in Rev. 14). The numerical value of “zahav” is 14. The 14th letter of the Hebrew Alef Bet is the Nun.
  • The Nun means life, heir or continue. As I said, the “good gold” is Covenant Israel. Yeshua is the heir apparent. Jn. 14:6 Yeshua
  • answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  • Yeshua, the life = is the Living Torah.
  • Covenant Israel follows Yeshua, who is the life, Torah = becoming the “good gold.”
  • In Parasha Terumah (Exodus 25:1–27:19), we are introduced to the detailed instructions for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the wilderness. The word Mishkan is etymologically related to the word shachan, which means ‘to dwell’, and also forms the shoresh (root word) of Shekinah. The Mishkan served as a mobile Temple, as Israel journeyed through 42 stages to the Promised Land, eventually coming to rest at the site of Shiloh, where it stood for 369 years (Zevachim 118b). (Ladder of Jacob, Ben Burton)
  • Inside the Mishkan, inside the Holy of Holies, is the “dwelling place” of Yehovah.
  • 25:8 – 11 “And let them make Me a sanctuary ( שָׁ דְּ קִ מ (that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. THE FIRST ARTICLE OF
  • FURNITURE: And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a crown of gold all around.”
  • The command to build a “Mikdash” follows the betrothal at Mt. Sinai. This suggests a “place” where Yehovah and Covenant Israel would dwell together.
  • Because the revelation at Mt. Sinai symbolized the act of betrothal between the bride and bridegroom, the Mishkan became the temporary residence until the full stage of marriage (nesuin) was completed.
  • The numerical value for “Mikdash” (שָׁ דְּ קִ מ ( is 444.
  • Yeshua said He is the First and the Last. Beginning with the Alef and ending with the Tav speaks to a completed cycle. When the cycle concludes it begins again much like a double helix DNA strand.
  • The festival cycle is continuous, the Alef to the Tav. The Hebrew word meaning to do constantly or continue is “tamad” (תמד .( Tamad has the numerical value of 444; thereby connecting us to the Mishkan.
  • The stone tablets, the Luchot (ותֹחֻל ,( on which the Ten Words were written, also has a value of 444 indicating they are also continuous; they are eternal. The tablets are to be placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25:16).
  • Is. 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite ( אָכַּ ת־דֶּ א (and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. **The Father is eternal, the heavenly Mikdash is eternal and His values are eternal.

444

  • The first four represents the 4th word of Scripture; the first Alef Tav.
  • The second four represents the 4th day of creation. The creation of the luminaries for a single purpose, the moedim
  • or appointed times.
  • The third four represents the 4th festival, the Matan Torah or the giving of Torah.
  • The Alef Tav is eternal. The moedim are eternal and the Torah is eternal. They are “tamad” or continuous.
  • THE SECOND ARTICLE MENTIONED IS THE COVER TO THE ARK: 25:17 – 22 “You shall make a mercy seat (תֶ רֹ פַּכּ ( of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
  • The cherubim are one of three different angelic beings. The cherubim, also called archangels, are the angels of the highest and most powerful order. The seraphim are the middle order and the teraphim are the lowest order. (Lost in Translation, Vol., 1 pg. 81-82)
  • The first mention of cherubim takes us back to Gan Eden. Ge. So He drove out the man (םָ דָ אָֽ ת־הֶ א ;( and He placed cherubim (יםִ בֻ רְכַּ ת־הֶ א ( at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the ְ ֶת־דֶּ רֶ ך) way א ( to the tree of life.
  • Gan Eden, the garden of Eden, was the first place of the presence of Yehovah. We just read that the Alef Tav “kapporet” would the meeting place between Yah and the designated priest. Recall the Alef Tav voice met with the Alef Tav Adam inside the garden therefore it seems Gan Eden was the first earthly Holy of Holies answering the question of why it was the cherubim that was sent to stand guard.
  • The cherubim stand between “heaven,” the realm of Yehovah, and “earth,” the realm of man.
  • 26:31 – 35 gives the instructions for the curtain, the parquet, that hangs between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place.
  • “You shall make a veil (תֶכֹרָפ ( woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. And you shall hang the veil (תֶכֹרָ פַּ ת־הֶ א ( from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.
  • You shall put the mercy seat (תֶ רֹפַּכַּ ת־הֶ א ( upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. You shall set the table (ןָ חְ לֻ שַּׁ ת־הֶ א ( outside the veil, and the lampstand ( ֙הָ רֹנְ מַּ ת־הֶ א ( across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.
  • The same letters are used for the mercy seat (תֶ רֹפַּכּ ( and the veil (תֶכֹרָ פּ ( so their numerical value is the same, 700. Seven is the number for completion.
  • At His death this veil would be rent in two. Mt. 27:50 – 52 When Yeshua had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised….
  • THE THIRD ARTICLE MENTIONED is the Table of Showbread. 25:23 – 25 “You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a crown of gold all around. You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold crown for the frame all around.”
  • V 30 “And you shall set the showbread on the table before (face or presence of Israel) Me always.”
  • The picture being presented is twofold:
  • The only article of furniture located inside the Holy of Holies is the Ark of the Covenant which has a crown of gold. The Ark of the Covenant is where the “bridegroom,” Yeshua, resides.
  • Like Gan Eden, the veil separates the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place where the Table of Showbread, also having a crown, resides. The “face” of Israel always before the Ark. Israel, Covenant Israel, is the “bride.” Once the veil is rent in two the separation no longer exists. The bridegroom and bride can be united in the final stage of marriage.
  • In conclusion, the entirety of Scripture tells the story of Yeshua, the Bridegroom, and Covenant Israel, His Bride.
  • From Avraham, the first Hebrew (Ivri = crossing over) to the sons of Yehovah revealed in the end of time. For 6000 years the Bride has received instruction from the Most High God (El Elyon). She has been disobedient and rebellious.
  • The Bride price has been paid. She has been redeemed and will be restored. She will be refined and eventually make herself
  • ready. At Yehovahs appointed time she will partake of the marriage supper and be joined in unity to her Bridegroom.

Haftarah

  • M’lakhim Alef ( 1st Kings ) 5:26 – 6:13
  • The connection to our Parasha is as follows:
  • The Parasha speaks to the instructions for the building of the Mishkan. Our Haftarah speaks to the building of Solomon’s Temple.

Brit Chadasha

  • Heb. 8:1 – 6 See to it that you make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.
  • Heb. 9:25 – 26 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
  • Heb. 9:27 – 28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Messiah was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look (watch) for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.