The Mystery of Ephraim

Draft Ib

Chapter 3 – 4

In Chapter 3 and 4, Fred Coulter takes issue of the word evening (h6153 bā·`erev), which according to him, was correctly translated as “dusk” or elsewhere by other English translations as “twilight.” By quoting JPS translation, Fred felt he was right to have a Jewish Publication Society on his side, but he didn’t know that publications from JPS was from a movement by Reform Jews, and not by the Rabbinic Jews. More on this later, but in the meantime, we’ll consider the term bā·`erev’ which is translated as “at evening” or in some other places ben ha arbayim, translated as “between the two evenings.” Since Strong Concordance locates both terms as h6153, it indicates both words came from the same root.

Both word or phase are used in Exodus 12 to describe the timing of the Passover.

(1) Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening (h6153 ben ha arbayim).

(2) Exodus 12:18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even (h6153 bā·`erev, same root word as ben ha arbayim), ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even (h6153 bā·`erev). Or Deuteronomy 16:6 But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even (h6153`erev).

Fred Coulter says in Chapter 4: “At sunset,” or ba erev, is a very short period of time. It begins when the sun appears to touch the horizon, and ends when the sun drops below the horizon. The total duration of its setting is no more than 3-5 minutes.” Ch 4, Christian Passover. He wrote further: the “phrase ba erev, or “at sunset,” designates the end of one day and the beginning of the next day.”

In Chapter 3 earlier, Fred defines ben ha arbayim as the time between sunset and dark.“Between the two evenings’ is usually taken to mean between sundown and dark, a period of about an hour or so….”

The difference in the two definitions create confusions. Do the lamb have to be killed within the five minute period or within the one hour period? If the lamb were killed early during the five minute period it might be designated as the previous day, and therefore it would be an invalid sacrifice, since Fred Coulter advocates bā·`erev could mean the ending or beginning of a day.

Also do the two periods bā·`erev followed by ben ha arbayim? If so, then two lambs would be needed, one at bā·`erev to fulfil Exodus 12:18, and another at ben ha arbayim to fulfil Exodus 12:6. One lamb definitely couldn’t fulfil both timing.

But if the two periods bā·`erev and ben ha arbayim start at the same time then the killing must be sometimes after the half waymark into the five minute period. Then this would render the commandment to sacrifice the passover lamb at ben ha arbayim in Exodus 12:6 irrelevant.

Fred Coulter’s analysis can only adds to more confusion. His followers are not thinking. If they did, they wouldn’t be following him.

Consider the daily sacrifice, for every morning and evening (Exodus 29:38-39; Numbers 28:4)
Exodus 29:38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even (h6153 ben ha arbayim):
Numbers 28:4 The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at evening (h6153 ben ha arbayim).

For over three thousand years ago until the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the Jews and Levites had been killing the daily sacrifice at 9 am in the morning and 3 pm in the afternoon. Actually “between the two evenings” is an idiom meaning “between the beginnings of the two evenings.

His work is a slight of hand!

A touch of Simon Magus.

~ by Joel Huan on July 5, 2019.

Posted in Judiasm, Mystery, Passover, Scriptures