After the flood, Noach is given meat to eat along with green plants. In the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle, the fellowship or peace offerings were eaten by the priests or with the individual making the offering. This is not only prophetic to Elohim’s outline for worship in the Tabernacle, but He is showing Noach the required animal offerings. At the same time, Elohim reveals to Noach the difference between the animals he may eat and the animals he may not. This is the second time Elohim gives a dietary command, and this event occurs one thousand years before the Israelites received the Torah at Mount Sinai.
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.
Pillar – Hebrew: Netzab
Pillars are used as imagery to describe the earth’s foundation. When it quakes, Elohim holds the pillars firm for all the people on the earth (Psalm 75:4). The first reference to a pillar is in Genesis 35:14 when Ya’akov (Jacob) sets up a standing stone or pillar at Beit-el. While the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, the glory of Adonai led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. His pillar shaded them from the heat of the day and kept them warm at night. His pillar protected them from their enemies and moved with them for 40 years. His pillar lived above the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle; His pillar was their sukkah of covering for 40 years.
Zion – Hebrew: Tziyon
In ancient times, Mount Tziyon was the highest point in Jerusalem; today its is the mountain south of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. The word Tziyon occurs 161 times in the Complete Jewish Bible and means ‘signpost’ or ‘monument.’ King David attacked the Jebusites in Jerusalem and captured the fortress of Tziyon and it became the City of David (2 Samuel 5:6-7).