The Hidden Word in Genesis
In the first line of Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, there is a word in Hebrew that has not been translated. It has not been translated into any language, because it is 'untranslatable'. In the AV, Genesis 1 verse 1 says: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." In Hebrew it says, “In the beginning God ( ... ) created the heavens and the earth.”
The additional word is the Hebrew letter Aleph followed by the Hebrew letter Tav. Although it cannot be translated into one word, it is a profound revelation of Gods entire plan of redemption, hidden in plain sight in the first line of the Bible. But you can only 'see' it in Hebrew!
The first letter, Aleph (א), is the very first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (the beginning). The second letter is the Hebrew letter Tav, which is - not coincidentally - the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav (ת) is the last (until the end). So the missing word is Aleph-Tav and looks like this: את (Hebrew is read from right to left) In Hebrew, saying 'Aleph and Tav' is the same as saying 'A to Z' in English . In Greek it is 'Alpha and Omega'.
So, if we add this Word to our translation, Genesis 1 verse 1 actually says, "In the beginning God (the A and Z, the beginning and the end) created the heavens and the earth."
Jesus (Yeshua) is called the "Alpha and the Omega" four times, "the beginning and the end". All four of these references to Himself are found in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation (1.8, 1.11, 21.6, 22.13). And yet in the Hebrew Bible, He is called that at the beginning, in the first line of Genesis!
Hebrew is the language of God. Paul was a Jew and he says this plainly in the New Testament when he tells King Agrippa about his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
“And I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you persecute.”
So Jesus spoke in Hebrew, the 'Lashon Kodesh', which literally means 'the Holy Tongue'.
Among the Jewish people, the Biblical Hebrew language is so highly revered that even today Torah writers will bury the Hebrew if they make a mistake in a scroll. They don't just throw it away. This is because they, like Christians, believe that this is the living word of God.
So, for centuries, the Scribes have copied this “extra” Hebrew word, even though some of them do not know what it fully means in its entirety. Such is their respect for God's Word as it was originally written.
Now let's look at the meaning of each of these two Hebrew letters in this hidden word. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet – aleph – is considered extremely important. Not only does it have a meaning, but the letter Aleph represents God Himself. This is because it is the first letter of the alphabet, comes before everything else and is a silent letter in itself. Just as God was silent before He spoke creation into existence. The letter Aleph only makes a sound if you place small vowel signs under or around it. So it can make different sounds depending on which little 'vowel marks' you add. Just as God makes different “sounds” through each of the gifts He gives us as we submit to Him.
The first letter, Aleph "ת" means: "Power, Leader, Ox" And the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tav "א" means: "Mark, Sign and Covenant
Now we can see that the LORD of the Bible has hidden a beautiful meaning and depth in the first line of Hebrew: "In the beginning God (the A and Z, the beginning and the end, God who was the Power, the Leader and the Ox who was a Mark, Sign and Covenant) created the heavens and the earth."
To a Christian this is so clearly a description of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus (Yeshua) is in the first line of the Bible in Hebrew! The Hidden Word is like a neon sign that tells us Who the Messiah is, but it is turned off in English, and flashing in Hebrew. It cannot be seen until one sees Yeshua as Messiah.
But there's more!
If we go back in time, every Hebrew letter also has an age-old image, a picture, if you like.
The icon for Aleph is an ox head. Jesus called Himself an Ox. He says His yoke is easy (Matthew 11:29-30). In the Jewish faith, the responsibility of living a Torah-obedient life is called “the yoke of the Torah.” It is the unique responsibility of the Jewish people to the nations described in the Bible. (Deuteronomy 26:17-19 and Isaiah 49:6) But it is a heavy yoke, one that comes with the responsibility to live and obey all 613 laws in the Bible. No human can accomplish that. It is tiring. It is an impossible yoke that only a perfect man can fulfill.
In the Old Testament the ox also seems to signify the Messiah. In Ezekiel 1.10, God describes the four characteristics of Himself using four 'faces'. One is an eagle, one is a lion, one is a human and one is an ox. The ox represents the serving face of God, the one who takes on our burden. Yet it is not a photo of a whole Ox. The icon for the letter Aleph is only the ox head. So even in the state of being a servant, Jesus says that He is the Head. This paradox is so deeply true! An ox head - serving authority.
But it gets even more perfect and even more amazing. For what is the icon for the second letter in this hidden word in Genesis? What is the icon for Tav? The icon for Tav is a crucifix! So for centuries, Christians have worn the icon of the Hebrew letter Tav around their neck!
A Hebrew-speaking Jew who knew their icons would therefore see around your neck the letter meaning: “Mark, Sign, Covenant that was crucified!” But if they don't "see" it, it's not because they're somehow stupid or forgotten by God. It is because He has blinded them temporarily (Romans 11).
But the day will come, when God Himself will lift the veil from the eyes of His beloved people, the Jews, and they will see Yeshua HaMoschiach, sitting there in the first line of the Torah.
In the first line of Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, there is a word in Hebrew that has not been translated. It has not been translated into any language, because it is 'untranslatable'. In the AV, Genesis 1 verse 1 says: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." In Hebrew it says, “In the beginning God ( ... ) created the heavens and the earth.”
The additional word is the Hebrew letter Aleph followed by the Hebrew letter Tav. Although it cannot be translated into one word, it is a profound revelation of Gods entire plan of redemption, hidden in plain sight in the first line of the Bible. But you can only 'see' it in Hebrew!
The first letter, Aleph (א), is the very first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (the beginning). The second letter is the Hebrew letter Tav, which is - not coincidentally - the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav (ת) is the last (until the end). So the missing word is Aleph-Tav and looks like this: את (Hebrew is read from right to left) In Hebrew, saying 'Aleph and Tav' is the same as saying 'A to Z' in English . In Greek it is 'Alpha and Omega'.
So, if we add this Word to our translation, Genesis 1 verse 1 actually says, "In the beginning God (the A and Z, the beginning and the end) created the heavens and the earth."
Jesus (Yeshua) is called the "Alpha and the Omega" four times, "the beginning and the end". All four of these references to Himself are found in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation (1.8, 1.11, 21.6, 22.13). And yet in the Hebrew Bible, He is called that at the beginning, in the first line of Genesis!
Hebrew is the language of God. Paul was a Jew and he says this plainly in the New Testament when he tells King Agrippa about his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
“And I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you persecute.”
So Jesus spoke in Hebrew, the 'Lashon Kodesh', which literally means 'the Holy Tongue'.
Among the Jewish people, the Biblical Hebrew language is so highly revered that even today Torah writers will bury the Hebrew if they make a mistake in a scroll. They don't just throw it away. This is because they, like Christians, believe that this is the living word of God.
So, for centuries, the Scribes have copied this “extra” Hebrew word, even though some of them do not know what it fully means in its entirety. Such is their respect for God's Word as it was originally written.
Now let's look at the meaning of each of these two Hebrew letters in this hidden word. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet – aleph – is considered extremely important. Not only does it have a meaning, but the letter Aleph represents God Himself. This is because it is the first letter of the alphabet, comes before everything else and is a silent letter in itself. Just as God was silent before He spoke creation into existence. The letter Aleph only makes a sound if you place small vowel signs under or around it. So it can make different sounds depending on which little 'vowel marks' you add. Just as God makes different “sounds” through each of the gifts He gives us as we submit to Him.
The first letter, Aleph "ת" means: "Power, Leader, Ox" And the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tav "א" means: "Mark, Sign and Covenant
Now we can see that the LORD of the Bible has hidden a beautiful meaning and depth in the first line of Hebrew: "In the beginning God (the A and Z, the beginning and the end, God who was the Power, the Leader and the Ox who was a Mark, Sign and Covenant) created the heavens and the earth."
To a Christian this is so clearly a description of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus (Yeshua) is in the first line of the Bible in Hebrew! The Hidden Word is like a neon sign that tells us Who the Messiah is, but it is turned off in English, and flashing in Hebrew. It cannot be seen until one sees Yeshua as Messiah.
But there's more!
If we go back in time, every Hebrew letter also has an age-old image, a picture, if you like.
The icon for Aleph is an ox head. Jesus called Himself an Ox. He says His yoke is easy (Matthew 11:29-30). In the Jewish faith, the responsibility of living a Torah-obedient life is called “the yoke of the Torah.” It is the unique responsibility of the Jewish people to the nations described in the Bible. (Deuteronomy 26:17-19 and Isaiah 49:6) But it is a heavy yoke, one that comes with the responsibility to live and obey all 613 laws in the Bible. No human can accomplish that. It is tiring. It is an impossible yoke that only a perfect man can fulfill.
In the Old Testament the ox also seems to signify the Messiah. In Ezekiel 1.10, God describes the four characteristics of Himself using four 'faces'. One is an eagle, one is a lion, one is a human and one is an ox. The ox represents the serving face of God, the one who takes on our burden. Yet it is not a photo of a whole Ox. The icon for the letter Aleph is only the ox head. So even in the state of being a servant, Jesus says that He is the Head. This paradox is so deeply true! An ox head - serving authority.
But it gets even more perfect and even more amazing. For what is the icon for the second letter in this hidden word in Genesis? What is the icon for Tav? The icon for Tav is a crucifix! So for centuries, Christians have worn the icon of the Hebrew letter Tav around their neck!
A Hebrew-speaking Jew who knew their icons would therefore see around your neck the letter meaning: “Mark, Sign, Covenant that was crucified!” But if they don't "see" it, it's not because they're somehow stupid or forgotten by God. It is because He has blinded them temporarily (Romans 11).
But the day will come, when God Himself will lift the veil from the eyes of His beloved people, the Jews, and they will see Yeshua HaMoschiach, sitting there in the first line of the Torah.
