Tehillimandpoetry

Pidyon Haben

Redemption of the Firstborn! Numbers 18: 15, 16.

I. This Biblical ceremony has been absorbed into the church and renamed and repackaged as, “Baby Dedication”. Nonetheless, it can only be appreciated from a Torah perspective. To properly understand then we must look at the role of the Firstborn in YHVH’s plan.

Two most famous firstborn sons.

Adam – Matt. 3: 38. Yahshua – Rom. 8: 29.

• Throughout Scripture the firstborn is charged with the Priestly duties of the Household. Adam is the High Priest of the House of YHVH. The word Son, Heb. #1121, ben, son, from #1129, banah, to begin to build, as in a family name. The Seed is within the son! He is entrusted with face to-face meetings with YHVH at specified, appointed, TIMES (divine encounters) to hear the Voice or Word. Adam becomes disqualified in Gen. 3:10 - 21 and must hide. Adam is naked, without his Priestly Robe or covering, so, he is now in need of redemption/restoration! Since he is a disqualified Cohen or priest, then a substitute priest must be found. In this instance, YHVH Himself officiates as High Priest and slaughters a lamb, until such time as a suitable Priest is found. Ex. 32: 25 Aaron causes Israel to be made naked before her enemies.

The Hebrew language picture.

II. Pidyon HaBen is comprised of 8 Hebrew letters: The number 8 indicates a

New Beginning!

Pidyon

• Pey, means mouth, word, voice, breath.

• Dalet, means door.

• Yud, arm, authority.

• Vav, the hook, peg, nail that connects.

• Nun, fish, life’s activities, the humbled One.

The Voice / Breath of YHVH is the Door of Authority that connects us to the Humbled ONE!

HaBen

• Hey, means, look, behold.

• Beit, means house.

• Nun, life’s actions, the Bent, humbled one.

Behold the House of the Humbled One! The Firstborn Son!

The Voice – Torah of YHVH is the Door that connects us to the House of the

Firstborn Son!

A Kingdom of Priests!

III. As with Adam, in Israel YHVH intended to have a People who were Holy Priesthood. Ex. 19: 6, 1Pet. 2: 9. These Priests, represent the Firstborn!

• Ex. 19: 5 qualified the priest hood. “If you obey my Voice indeed, and Keep my Covenant”. If you are “covered” properly, you will not have to hide yourself from the Voice as Adam did!

• Gen. 3: 21 clothed, #3847, lebesh, garment – compare Malachi 2: 15

garment, #3830 lebush, and wife.

The role of Priest is like that of the “Friend of the Groom who administers the terms of the wedding contract until the marriage is consummated. It is a blood covenant like the marriage. With the shedding of blood the Virgin seals the Covenant. It is this fleshly barrier or Veil that separated the Holy Place. Only the friend of the Groom could verify the evidence of this veils removal to the public. Moshe was the Groom’s attendant at Mt. Sinai. Note the breaking of the Tablets of Stone Ex. 32: 19, beneath, #8478, ת חַּ תַ tachath, the place in which one stands. In this instance, it infers HIS STATION as one charged with the wedding contract! The contract is voided – those responsible are

made to drink the bitter water. Numbers: 5.

• It is the role of the priest to serve as the “Covering” of the people or

house before YHVH. After Adam’s fall, the priest could not come before

YHVH without a blood covering for him.

A. Israel was intended to be the Firstborn and continue the “House”. Passover revealed that purpose. Ex. 13: 2, sanctify, #6942, qadash, to hallow, dedicate. Firstborn, #1060, bechor, from #1069, bakar,

first, first fruit.

B. Yom Habikkurim, the 17th of Aviv, 3rd day after Passover. Yahshua is resurrected! He offers this “first fruit” offering to His Father! On the Eternal calendar of YHVH, which is based on this

same 7-day period (1Pet. 3:8, Ps. 90:4), Yahshua will offer again on the 7th day (Compare Passover [His Execution] that took place on the 4th day of Creation, the 4000th year, and 3 days (The Sabbath Millennium). Hosea 6: 1 – 3.

IV. The Firstborn was instrumental in the Salvation of His entire House! Many times the role of Firstborn went to another because that person displayed the actions of obedience to the Covenant. Ex. Jacob – Esau, Isaac – Ishmael, Judah & Joseph – Rueben, etc.

The parents are required to train the Firstborn in the way of the Torah. Prov. 22:6, “Train up a child…”

Acts. 16: 25 – 33 Paul, Silas, and the Jailer. Tradition teaches that the leader of a household, though not a first born, is considered such by having willingly displayed the actions that merit his being called “First Born”. Ps. 89: 20 – 28 “I too will make him a firstborn, supreme over kings of the earth.”

• Since the First born / House Father affects the entire house his compromise will also affect his home.

• Adam fails and his entire “house” is sold into bondage.

• Israel fails and is sold into bondage in Egypt.

• Pidyon literally means, “to Ransom”. Buy back. 1 Cor. 6:20.

Did Yahshua fulfill this requirement?

V. Ex. 13: 13, Numb. 18: 16 gives us Old Testament precedent but can we find evidence of the Messiah following this example?

• Lk. 2: 22 – 27. After his circumcision on the 8th day and after Mary completes the one-month purification required.

• Simeon, Heb. #8095, shim’one, heard, from #8085, shama, to hear and obey. (A reminder of the qualifications in Numb. 19: 5, 6).

• Consolation, Gk. #3874, paraklesis, a calling near, (YHVH calling Adam in the garden?) a summons, the Messianic Salvation. Rabbis refer to Messiah as “the Consoler”.

• Anna, Heb. #2584, Channah, grace, mercy.

• Phanuel, # Heb. 6439, penuel, the face of God. The name of the place where Jacob wrestled with the angel.

• Asher, #836, happy, from #833, ashar, blessed. Being from the tribe of Judah, Yahshua must be redeemed by a Levite. How ironic, that the very ones who were supposed to redeem him according to the Mosaic Covenant, end up being the recipients of His Redemption! Can daughters be considered “Firstborn”

VI. The above subject is controversial to say the least. Not one Jewish group allows for the Pidyon HaBat! Is this Torah? Let’s see! Though Torah specifically designates a ‘line of authority’ and no one would argue the necessity of the First Born implementing that authority in a Torah based community, in view of the Male having the Seed necessary to propagate the Name! However, from Gen. 2: 20 we deduce the role of the female as ע זֵ רֶ

כ נְּ גֶ דְֹ וּֽ׃ which translate as: A helper who mirrors or is of the same ‘type’. Indicating a functional duality between Adam & Eve, where the female is able to rule in the absence of or in the stead of, the Male. This fits the role of the Bride to Messiah. The New Testament [Gal. 3:28] seems to support this

premise. As in the case of Adam & Eve, where the Seed-line is cut off (Adam dies) and no heir apparent, a precedent is set! Gen. 3: 15 the Woman’s SEED! This seems to indicate, though no male available to carry on the lineage, if the Daughter has Torah/YHVH’s SEED/Yahshua in the Womb, she may petition for the Right of Inheritance on behalf of her family! However conventional wisdom reminds us of the tendency to reject the New Testament as a valid support (Though it was written in Hebrew by men who had direct contact with the Living Reference Source – Yahshua). Let’s see if we can substantiate our opinion from the Torah itself. If we visit Numbers 26: 33 we see an indication of a man who has no Male heir to pass the right of first born to. He has 5 daughters. Let’s begin be examining the text in Hebrew:

• Zelophehad, #6765, צ לְ פָ חְ דָ , Tselophchad, ironically is translated, ‘First-born’! But, for arguments sake, we look further. Formed from a compound of #6764, Tsalaph, meaning wound or – fracture. The root of this word is cognate with Tsela, referring to a rib (Gen. 2: 21,22) and the 2-letter root stem, Tzade-Lamed, Tsal, meaning a shade, or shadow and is the word used to describe the creation of Adam &Eve – in the Tsela – image of YHVH! Next we have Chet-Dalet, Chad, meaning One! If we extrapolate from both words in the compound we can surmise that Zelophehad is a ‘shadow picture’ of Adam the First-born, who was wounded, fractured, and from whom a rib is taken to form Eve! Further, setting aside the Tzade-Lamed (shadow/image) and looking at Pey-Chet-Dalet, # 6344, pahad, a noun referring to testacies/stones, it becomes abundantly clear the seed of this man is cut off – no male is born, thus another is grafted in. This is the same pattern of Yahshua having His side pierced and the Assembly formed in His image who took the place of Adam! He is the son of Hepher.

As we look a bit further, the gematria of Zelophehad = 212, the same as

ר יִב , #7378 riyb, to conduct a lawsuit or legal case. These daughters have a “cause” and bring their ‘suit’ before Moshe. This seems to be the case of Gen. 3:20 where Adam brings the ‘Cause’ of Eve’ to YHVH’s attention!

Let’s look further:

• Hepher, #2660, ח פֵ רֶ , translated ‘a well’, as in the act of digging or searching. The previous cognate, #2659, chapher, indicates to be ashamed or confounded through the idea of detection, to blush. Remember that a well euphemistically can indicate a womb and in this case connects us succinctly with the creation of Adam and Eve as the Bride of YHVH and the subsequent piercing of the ‘womb’ followed by the shame of their nakedness. Isn’t it curious to note the similarity to the Hebrew word #3722, כ פָּ רַ , to atone or cover, to redeem! This is the picture of Gen. 3 where Adam is made ashamed and the Lamb slain to Cover – overshadow, them, in effect, covering the womb! Ironically, if you subtract the numerical values here: Kippur = 300 – Chapher = 288, the balance, 12 is the gematria of Chad, One, the very 2-letter root seen in Zelophehad! The pattern of creation reveals the same as the Ruach is seen in Gen. 1:2 upon, over (covering) the waters of rebellion, the deep –

Mayim, water, well, womb. The pattern is followed in the Gospel account (Lk. 1: 35) of the Ruach overshadowing Mary, מ רִ יְ םָ , The womb, waters of rebellion, in order to produce the Light of the World! He is setting Right, the altered course of Creation!

Now to the daughter’s names:

• Mahlah, #4244, מ חַ לְ הָ , disease, from khala, to be weak, or sick. The prefixed ‘Mem’ indicates a well or womb that is sick, diseased as a result of the penalty for adultery. However, Yahshua takes that penalty! Incidentally, this word is etymologically similar to the word for Bride – Khallah!

• Noah, #5270, נֹע הָ No`ah, rendered, ‘Motion’, from nuwa, to quiver, shake, wander, to become distorted or twisted.

• Hoglah, #2295, ח גָ לְ הָ Choglah, translated ‘partridge’, there is no other word in Hebrew to reference her name, and so we look at the root stem: Chet, indicates a fence(ed) off place of protection, the garden. While Gimmel-Lamed-Hey forms galah, to be exiled, uncovered, those in the diaspora.

• Milcah, #4435, מ לִ כְ הָּ Milkah, queen, from Mem-Lamed-Kaf, a king or sovereign, to take counsel, to give advice.

• Tirzah, #8656, ת רִּ צְ הָ Tirtsah, favorable, the root Tav-Tzade-Resh infers: to be straight, be right, directed, to set right a difficulty. The 2- letter root Tav-Resh is the same as Torah, and indicates to search out, to explore.

What is being said here? Because of her adultery the womb of the Bride became sick, diseased, its purpose distorted in the Garden, the place of protection. (After a time of Exile) she will search out the Torah, and at the counsel of the King, this difficulty will be set right!