When people say that Yeshua (Jesus) is found throughout the Old Testament, they probably don’t visibly see him in the written Word, that little Alef and Tav –– את (et). While writing out several verses in Hebrew the other day, three contained the Alef and the Tav, the ‘sign’ of Yeshua. The Torah and Prophets revealing what Yeshua meant when when he said, “I AM the Alef and the Tav, the beginning and end” in Revelation 22:13.
Tag: alef and tav
Parashah 1: B’resheet (In the beginning) – GENESIS
In Hebrew, the ‘Spirit of God’ is Ruach Elohim. Ruach literally means ‘wind’ so this would be the ‘wind of God’ hovering over the surface of the water. The Hebrew word yovel used in this verse means ‘brooding.’ ‘Brooding’ means to ‘cover with one’s wings for protection’ like a hen covers her baby chicks (Matthew 23:37). The Hebrew Word Pictures for verse 2: The breath of Elohim hovered over the void and dark chaos like wings of protection.
Revelation Chapter 21 – The Restoration and Renewal
When born again into the Kingdom of God, each of us became ‘new creations’ in Messiah (2 Corinthians 5:17). We remained in a mortal state, a flesh body that had to die because of sin. At the first resurrection, everyone who put their faith in Yeshua received their promised immortal bodies. As ‘new creations,’ Jews and gentiles receive their inheritance in the ‘new heaven and new earth’ (Galatians 6:15). They become ‘one new man’ in its fullness. Just as the former heaven and earth required mortal beings; the new heavens and earth require ‘new creations’ in Messiah.
Sign of Yeshua – Hebrew: Alef Tav
As a Jew who spoke Hebrew, Yeshua would never have used Greek or English letters to describe himself. A more correct translation would be: “I am the alef and the tav, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” as the alef and the tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alef-bet; not the ‘alpha’ and ‘omega’.