I see, rather regularly, people associating the Aleph-Tav (את) with Messiah Yeshua. If you are already familiar with what I am talking about, you may want to skip the next paragraph. If you're not familiar, here is a brief explanation. In the Hebrew Aleph-Bet (alphabet), the first letter is Aleph (א) and the last is Tav (ת). This letter combination is pronounced et, as in "et cetera." People take the statement from Revelation where Yeshua says He is the "Alpha and the Omega" and they say, "Well Yeshua didn't speak Greek, so what He actually said was 'I am the Aleph and the Tav' since those are the Hebrew/Aramaic letters." They then take note of the number of places the et symbol (word) is used, and state that this symbol is actually a placeholder, or some sort of "hidden code" for Yeshua. Their favorite verse is Genesis 1:1, where we read (in English), "In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth." However, they say, in Hebrew, the untranslated et actually appears between the words ha'shamayim (heavens) and ha'arets (earth). Thus, since this symbol is a stand-in for Yeshua, we see how Yeshua "connects" heaven and earth. Fascinating, right? Yet there are some issues. I will say that I cannot deny the original words may very well have been "I am the Aleph and the Tav." I wasn't there, and I didn't hear them. However, whatever alphabet He chose, it doesn't matter, He was simply using it as a parallel idiom to what else He said: "I am the First and the Last." So does the et symbol really stand in for Yeshua? Look it up in any lexicon or grammar textbook, and they will tell you this "word" is a direct object pointer. That is, it identifies and precedes the direct object. It also serves as a preposition meaning "with" and as a feminine pronoun. So in our Gen. 1 example, the direct objects are "heaven" and "earth" because those are the "objects" that are being affected by the "verb" (created). Thus the "action" is something being created, the subject is who is creating (Elohim), and the object is what is being created (heaven and earth). So of course we expect a direct object indicator in one form or another, to show what is receiving the action. Opponents of this explanation, and supporters of the "Yeshua is the Aleph-Tav" point of view, however, say that there are many times when the word et is NOT used to indicate an object at all. And this is true. But that is because it has multiple uses.
In some cases, it can stand in for the Hebrew preposition עם (eem) which means "with." It is also used to express the second person feminine singular ("you" if "you" are one single female). This word, which appears more than 10,000 times in the Tanakh, is used a number of ways. Now, you may read this and still be convinced that not only did Yeshua say "Aleph and Tav" but He also truly IS the et, no matter what I say, and it IS a hidden sign for Him. Well if that's true, is it true EVERY TIME the symbol appears? Most people that believe the theory say yes. So let's look at a few times where, if the et truly does mean "Messiah" that it would cause some major problems… Genesis 9:22 – "Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside." (NASB). In Hebrew, the words for "Canaan" and "nakedness" are כנען and ערות respectively. Right between these two words in Hebrew is the Aleph-Tav, et. So if this means "Messiah" then our verse here would read, "…Canaan saw Messiah the nakedness of his father…" Seems a bit absurd (and blasphemous) to me. Next example. Exodus 8:26 – "But Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to YHWH our Elohim what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?" In this sentence, the words for "sacrifice" and "abomination" are נזבח and תועבת respectively. In between these words is the Aleph-Tav. So if the et stands for "Messiah" then this verse would read as, "…If we sacrifice Messiah an abomination to the Egyptians…" Again, absurd. Next. Leviticus 26:40 – "If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me;" (NASB). Here the word for "iniquity" is repeated (once applied to the Israelites, once applied to their ancestors), and the word is עון. Between the two uses of it we have the Aleph-Tav. Thus it could be written as, "If they confess their iniquity Messiah and the iniquity of their forefathers…" But wait, there's more… Exodus 32:19 – "It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain." (NASB). Here we the word "saw" (as in, "he saw") and the word "calf" which are וירא and העגל, respectively. In between these two words is the Aleph-Tav. So it would read as, "…as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw Messiah the calf…" This also appears the same way in the next verse, which says that Moses, "took et the calf that they had made…" so if the et means "Messiah" then Moses took Messiah the golden calf, and burned him, and ground him into dust. Genesis 34:3 – "He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her." (NASB). Here the words "loved" and "girl" are ויאהב and הנער respectively. In between these two is the et, so if it means "Messiah" we would read, "and he loved Messiah the girl…" Deuteronomy 22:24 – "Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor's wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you." (NASB). Here the words for "you shall bring them" and "both" are והוצאתם and שניהם, respectively. Between these two is the Aleph-Tav. So it would read, "then you shall bring them Messiah both out to the gate of that city and stone them to death…" Note there are many more examples of how not only absurd it would be to place Messiah Yeshua where the et is, but also blasphemous. Now all that is not to say that Yeshua isn't saying that He is the Aleph-Tav, just that I do not believe He is saying that every place the Aleph-Tav is written, that's where He is "hidden." I think it is more along the lines of Aleph-Tav being first and last, and encompassing the whole "word" since it contains every letter. The same goes for Alpha and Omega, and A and Z, and so on. The Aleph-Tav is also the word that occurs more frequently than any other in the entire Tanakh. There are hardly any verses without it, and many contain multiple. Though as I said, we must understand that if it is true and "Messiah Yeshua" can directly replace the et in cases where it appears, then it must be able to do so every time. Not only times when it is convenient to come up with a "cool new theology." I also realize there is a very popular Bible out there today that's sole purpose is to identify every time the et occurs. An interesting purpose, but not one very valuable for study. I will reserve my comments on this Bible for a future article in the How We Got Our Scriptures series, when I will be addressing many different English translations. Please recognize I am not attacking anyone, or bashing them. There is an honest attempt to see Yeshua in the Aleph-Tav, and I honor that. However, Truth is always more important than opinion. Yeshua is all over the Tanakh as it is, we do not need to invent ways to place Him there. As with many of my writings, I do not believe anyone will be completely convinced if they have believed this for a while, but please, test the information presented here for yourself. Nothing I have pointed out requires anything beyond a simple Interlinear, which you can find at biblehub.com. My purpose for writing this is to encourage people to seek TRUTH, not simply what sounds good. Always be wary of these "new" teachings and doctrines. One must wonder why it has been "previously unknown" to all generations of the past, and why we have no historical record of it being believed by anyone in antiquity, Jew or Christian. Be Berean. Shalom.
17 Comments
william sanford
5/4/2018 10:43:32 am
I have a very simple question, "if the aleph tav is simply a direct object pointer, why isn't it in every verse throughout the old testament that has a transitive verb with direct objects"? I emailed the rabbis in Israel that have the web site, "ASK THE RABBI", and asked them what they thought of the aleph tav and they gave me quotes from the writings of the most famous Jewish rabbis down through history, like Akiva, and R.S. Hirsch who believed and taught the aleph tav was a mark of the hand of the Almighty with profound spiritual significance. There are over 200 chapters in the old testament with no aleph tav's and hundreds of more chapters with only one or two aleph tav's and few people know this. All this evidence supports the aleph tav as being something extraordinary.
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5/4/2018 10:58:53 am
William,
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william
5/4/2018 11:25:24 am
You have very harshly misjudged me and know very little about me or my research on the A/T. I was simply sharing a testimony that happened to me nearly 8 years ago that rather encouraged me in my discovery process to continue my work. I also wanted to add some food-for-thought, that most people do not realize when reading your article. I do not believe in placing the name Yeshua in the places the A/T appears, for I believe from my research the character symbol to be a covenant mark and consequently incorporates the Yah-head. Over the last 10 years of studying the A/T I have put together 17 short videos on my findings. When I set out on this quest, it was to honestly study where the A/T was placed and look for patterns and to do that I needed to have a study bible that would reveal the A/T in English verses, in the same place it appeared in Hebrew text. Consequently, I had to re-write every verse to accomplish this and it took me 4 years to do the entire Tanakh. But in that time, I learned much about where it was placed and where it was not placed. I have never studied Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism and I am not into bible codes, but the Ruach lead me to some profound re-discoveries. I have always been after the whole truth of this matter. Please watch this short video on the Spiritual Significance of the Aleph Tav, the findings are very profound, if you care to watch a short video to learn about just some of my findings. Thank you for your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG-E0nH9qms
TAZ
9/13/2024 09:56:55 am
Gn. 9:22 The "Aleph/Tav nakedness" means that Ham saw the vulnerability of the Covenant Messiah(Noah), and turned his brothers, whom were in the Covenant Aleph/Tav from the way to "outside" the Covenant Aleph/Tav.
TAZ
9/16/2024 03:00:10 pm
Exodus 8:26 Moses is respecting the laws of the governing authority of the land, which is Pharaoh in Egypt, MTzRYM, now the Sacrifice Moses is referring to is the Aleph/Tav Covenant. In this case this Sacrifice is an abomination to the Egyptians in their land. so to write this "Aleph/Tav Sacrifice, the abomination to the Egyptians". Now Moses is requesting to Sacrifice outside the land of Egypt hence the three days journey without Egypt.
TAZ
9/18/2024 09:08:57 am
Leviticus 26:40 The "Aleph/Tav iniquity" is as a confession, or if they confess it is as a Sacrifice/Guilt offering to YHWH. It is written, ONLY if they "Confess" it would be as a Guilt offering and the offering of their fathers. Because confession is pertinent to a spiritual life of the individual and a nation. Accepting the Aleph/Tav Guilt starts with confession(HThVD), confessing the name of YHWH. This is the Messiach the Sacrifice mediator for us, so that YHWH will remember His covenant with those who are in the Word Yeshua H'meshiach. Cry out to Him.
Aaron Horvat
5/27/2021 02:09:51 am
Closely related to this Alef Tav discussion is the Alpha Omega discussion. It is standard in Christian parlance to refer to Jesus as Alpha and Omega, and no one seems to deny it (JW’s are a little uncomfortable with it) but perhaps before we shy away from Jesus being Alef Tav we should note that the word Omega is not in Greek originals. It is included as letter only, not like English translations that supply the name of the letter symbol. Please offer correction if available, but with resources available no original Greek text has the word Omega spelled out anywhere in Bible (unlike word alpha). May we learn to trust divine inspiration in text, and wonder at an awesome God revealed in Yeshua.
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4/20/2019 11:31:11 am
I'm new to this idea of the Aleph-Tav being more than just a DOP and I certainly appreciate the focus on discovering the TRUTH, and not just looking for a way to shoe-horn another way that the Messiah is incorporated into the Tanakh than already is evident through the many clear references that anyone can see on their own. My question for the OP of this discussion is the following: is the Aleph-Tav typically used in Hebrew every time an action word (i.e. a verb) is used? In other words, is it ALWAYS the case (to make proper grammar) that the Aleph-Tav would precede the object of a verb? Or are there cases where this would not necessarily be done?
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from the Philippines: seeing the green sentences/ phrases, i notice something logical, meaning it drives the meaning itself. though it looks funny when translated the AT to "Messiah" inserted to the subject. but for me, just for me. it has a sense of truth.
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Y Vinoth Raj
8/26/2020 09:02:03 pm
shalom very useful messages thank you bro
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Erin Kersey
9/4/2020 04:10:06 pm
A profoundly felt, "thank you" to the brother who authored this. My very good gift of a husband presented me with the MATIS Tanakh for our anniversary and my birthday collectively and I have been feverishly studying the significance (or lack thereof) of the Aleph-Tav. I suspect it will be some time before I am "done" but I feel better about my direction after having read the above article and the responses to it. Shalom
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Mark (Technophile)
4/30/2022 01:19:50 pm
This is an interesting discussion, and maybe I can contribute in a small way. For context, I lean toward the conclusion that, without diminishing its legitimate grammatical purpose, the aleph-tav (hence AT), can also act as a remez - a hint of something deeper in SOME passages.
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Chad
6/30/2024 04:04:48 pm
I think that we are looking at a mystery. As first mention is in genesis 1:1, then it could mean all t points contained within, specific points within and infinite even undefined. So the aleph and Tav not only did messiah say I am this but when you look at its first mention it can be the person of messiah at creation and also the dimensions of the language, the meaning of the letters, the colors associated with each letter, the math of each letter, the math of the words, the letter association with specific periodic elements and this would include all gateways and all of creation including heavens, time, and purpose. The person of Messiah works in many places if you perceive shim as witnessing the sun or blessing the situation.
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Donna
3/4/2023 08:54:22 pm
I just ran across this article as I was looking up aleph tav when I was reading in Esther 1:3c-4a. The Holy Spirit stopped me at "et". Then I found your notes. I don't understand it all but I believe the "et" in the verse is speaking of the glory being revealed by the Lord. I know Gods name isn't in the book of Esther. Is this a hidden message? Thank you for your teaching.
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ja vi
1/16/2024 05:58:11 pm
I would be interested in knowing if anything has changed in the mind of the author. I know this was written in 2016 and we are now in 2024 and since then, it seems the author has completed seminary education. Thanks.
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Patrick
2/8/2024 05:59:14 am
New to the discussion in 2024, I agree with the author and many others here and also want to confirm Marks comment that if you go into any deeper coding stuff like the A/T, ELS or gematria there is never a new message to be found or one that is not written in plain text, God forbid any that is contrary to the plain text. God is not playing games with the truth.
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Gavriel Aryeh Sanders
5/22/2024 03:04:00 am
I've been a student of Hebrew for over 40 years and teaching it for more than 10. It's my functional second language today. That said, "et" is not unique to Hebrew. The grammatical concept exists in other languages, such as:
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