We were going to touch on several concepts before we move on to Chapter 16. The first concept we will be looking into is who Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, really was. The the other concept is women and the tzitzit. We are not going to go into massive detail on these subjects, but we will give an opinion on them and give some research sources that will help you make up your own mind.
First, we want to deal with Caleb. There are some who believe that Caleb was a non-Jew, and he was first introduced to us by Moses when he sent out the twelve scouts (Num 13.1-6). It seems from these passages that Caleb was a member of the tribe of Judah, but not just a member, he was a prince (Num 13.2…”leader” is “nasi” in Hebrew). There is an article called “Caleb the Goy” by Dean and Susan Wheelock that puts forth their belief that Caleb was a non-Jew. This article can be read on the Internet at “Caleb the Goy” at “www.petahtikvah.com.” In our opinion, this is an interesting article but it has some problems.
Then there are those who believe that Caleb was indeed a Jewish man from the tribe of Judah, just as the Scriptures say he was (Num 13.1-6). He was also a leader of the tribe, or “nasi.” A good article in support of this view is called “Caleb the Gentile?” by Avram Yehoshua at “www.seedofabraham.net.” This article presents a refutation of the belief that Caleb was a non-Jew. Both articles are recommended for your study so that you can see both sides of this issue. These articles are too long to go into here, that is why we have given these sources here, but you will get some valuable information on this topic if you read them. You can decide which view is more accurate. There are many more articles covering both sides of this issue if you really want to get into it in the Internet and in commentaries. It is our opinion at this time that Caleb was Jewish and a leader (nasi) of the tribe of Judah, but there are some good arguments pointing to the other side as well.
The second concept we want to cover is women and the tzitzit. We will look at an article called “Women and Tzitzit” by a Messianic Rabbi named Rav C Yahkov Hartley of Malkaynu Shuvah Ministries in Lapeer, Michigan. This article has some good points and we will like to present it for your consideration.
Hartley says, “The idea that the talit is a gender specific garment is not based on any written Torah mitzvah. In the KJV, Numbers 15.37-41, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue. And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that you seek not after your own heart and your eyes, after which you use to go a whoring that you may remember to do all my commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.'”
“The word translated as “children” comes from the Hebrew word “ben” can mean children, son or people (of a nation) depending on the context. When used in conjunction with “nation” it always denotes “people” and is thusly translated in the TaNaKh as such. The women of Israel were considered “people” of the nation of Israel. The word “borders” can mean borders, ends, wings or corners and is translated as “corners” in the TaNaKh.”
“In the KJV, Deuteronomy 22.12, ‘Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.’ The word “quarters” comes from “kanaph” which again means borders, wings, ends or corners. The word “vesture” comes from the Hebrew “kesooth” meaning covering, raiment, clothing. Neither of these two verses is directed to any specific gender. And as you will notice these mitzvoth directly involve only the tzitzit and not the garment on which they are to be affixed. What type of garment is left unspecified.”
“It is my conclusion that the “people” of Israel (men, women and children-as well as the mixed multitude) were (are) commanded to wear “fringes” or “tzitzit” in four places in the corners, borders or ends of their garments with a strand of blue. If a woman feels “uncomfortable” wearing the style and form of the traditional Rabbinic talit there are a variety of forms and options available to women, since any “for cornered” garment can be a talit.”
“Moreover it baffles common sense and logic to claim a rectangular piece of cloth a “male garment.” Men wear shoes, hats, gloves, scarves and coats, are these “male garments” and thus prohibited for women? Before anyone accuses me of being a “women’s libber” I am assuredly most keenly aware and sensitive to the erosion, in modern society, of the distinct roles of men and women vividly described in Torah; and no one is more opposed to the blurring of those distinctions than I. However, I do not consider women wearing a talit to be an overt or covert act of transvestism; such an act is clearly commanded against in KJV, Deuteronomy 22.5, ‘The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto YHVH thy Eloah.’ Not withstanding, I suggest that if the only way one can differentiate between men and women in any given congregation is the wearing of talit, then there are some much deeper problems in that congregation.”
“Traditionally or customarily in Judaism, Jewish men have worn the talit (four cornered rectangular shawl) for prayer and synagogue services with the understanding that men must wear it, but women are not obligated to do so: nor are they prohibited from wearing one (as is clear from the above Scriptural verses). The idea of what is a man’s obligation versus what is a woman’s obligation regarding Torah is also debatable. It has been a Rabbinic opinion (not supported by written Torah) that men are obligated to both the 248 positive commandments and the 365 negative commandments, while women are obligated only to the 365 negative commandments. Thus men have to obey 613 commandments (totality of Torah) but women only 365. Thus we have the “Man’s Torah” and a “Women’s Torah” according to the Rabbinic tradition or custom. Due to this concept, women don’t “have to wear talit or attend synagogue on Shabbat” among other things. I don’t see any evidence in the entirety of Scripture to support such tradition. I am certainly not opposed to all the men’s traditions, except where such tradition inhibits the perfect freedom under Torah.”
“It should be noted that the custom of men wearing the talit varies from community to community. In Orthodox synagogues only the married men wear them and in the Reform and Conservative all males past the age of Bar Mitzvah (13 years). In the Ashkenazi ritual, small children under Bar Mitzvah age dress in a talit made according to their size, whereas in the Polish-Sephardi ritual only married men wear them. In the oriental ritual, only unmarried men wear them. So, you can see there is no “universal” tradition about talit in modern Judaism-because it is based on a man-made tradition, not written Torah.”
“I suggest that in the Torah there is much freedom in this area of the talit, let us not receive the condemnation of Yeshua in the KJV, Mattatiyahu 23.13, “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” This whole issue of male/female talit wearing is as relevant as the issue of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
“Written Torah only describes the wearing of tzitzit on your garment and makes no distinction about gender and does not prohibit women from wearing them on their garments. Neither does it prohibit anyone from wearing a talit after sunset which is considered by most Jews to be a violation of the Torah (another Rabbinic tradition without support from the written Torah).”
Num 16.1-50 will tell us about the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On who are displeased with who God chose, and their ambition will lead to rebellion. This is called the “Machloket (controversy) of Korah” or the “Great Mutiny” and Israel has a long history of not accepting its leaders. Korah is the cousin of Moses and Aaron and is a Levite, and Dathan, Abiram and On were from Reuben and they have an issue with Moses, Aaron and his sons. The combination of these individuals will fuel a mutiny, and there will be two separate issues. This event will test the leadership of Moses. When in the military, and God has his army in the wilderness, there are two mistakes you could make. You could go AWOL or you could be involved in a mutiny, which comes with a death penalty. In any conflict you will have three roles. One is a villain, the one causing the trouble, then you will have a hero and there are victims.
We will see how these roles are assigned by Korah. Aaron is the villain in the eyes of Korah. No matter what the “villain” does it will not be good enough. But Moses and Aaron did not choose to be leaders, they were appointed by God. Korah recruits 250 Levite princes against Moses. Moses and Aaron are not perfect men, but Korah resented them. In the case of Dathan, Abiram and On, they wanted to go back to Egypt. If they had an issue with Moses and Aaron they should have gone to them as a brother or a father, with respect. But they did not do that, and Yehovah will settle this issue after Moses goes to him for his defense.
v 1…Now Korah (baldness) the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan (fountain) and Abiram (my father is exalted), the sons of Eliah, and On (trouble) the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took (he took himself and will challenge Moses and his authority, and he also took himself out of the blessings of God, plus other men with him men),
v 2…and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders (princes) of the congregation, chosen in the assembly (kahal), men of renown (of name and reputation).
v 3…And they assemble together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy (set apart with a kedusha-Exo 19.5-6), every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord (he charges Moses with nepotism; Moses being like a king, and Aaron as high priest)?”
v 4…When Moses heard this, he fell on his face (he did not have a knee-jerk reaction, but went to his brothers knowing they were on a path to destruction; the true test of a believer is not whether he believes, but what he believes. It is not whether he obeys, but what he obeys. The critical task of a serious believer is to see through the blind obedience of the “pious” and discern the motivation of the dissenter),
v 5…and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning (giving him time to recognize his error and to correct it) the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy (the tribe and the person set apart in service with a kedusha) and will bring him near to himself, even the one whom he chose, he will bring near to himself.
v 6…Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company (an eerie parallel to Lev 10 and the sons of Aaron).
v 7…and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy (as high priest and priests). You have gone far enough (to try and assume priestly duties), you sons of Levi (Moses uses their own language in v 3 against them)!”
v 8…Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi.
v 9…is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel (being Levites), to bring you near to himself to do service in the tabernacle (Mishkan) of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them (we should be satisfied with the ministry the Lord has given us);
v 10…and that he has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?
v 11…Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him (a person truly called of God is not “hired”; they have an anointing to lead. If you rise up against that person, you are rising up against the Lord. A “hireling” is one who is paid by the congregation and they will fight because that is their livelihood, and a congregation has a right to question its leaders, but the one called by God will seek his defense from the Lord; Moses and Aaron will seek the second defensive position)?”
v 12…Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up (to listen or obey you).
v 13…Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us (you brought us out so you could make laws and setting up officers at your own discretion,etc)?
v 14…Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men (blind us to the truth). We will not come up!”
v 15…Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not regard their offering (of incense)! I have not taken a single donkey from them (by force or a bribe, even though they accuse me of tyranny), nor have I done any harm to any of them (to their person or property).”
v 16…And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron (Yehovah is going to settle this once and for all).
v 17…And each of you take his fire-pan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall bring his fire-pan.”
v 18…So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it, and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron (the doorway into the court).
v 19…Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them (not only his group, but as many of the sons of Israel he could) at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory (kivod) of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
v 20…Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
v 21…”Separate yourselves from among this congregation (that Korah got together; this is good advice today-Rev 18.4), that I may consume them instantly (by fire-16.35).”
v 22…But they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, thou God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will you be angry with the entire congregation (like Abraham in Gen 18.25)?”
v 23…Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
v 24…”Speak to the congregation (the people of Israel), get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram (where is On? It seems he had a change of heart; Jewish tradition says his wife saved him).’ “
v 25…Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him,
v 26…and he spoke to the congregation, “Depart now from the tents of those wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be swept away in all their sins (on account of them; we are not to see evil and stand idly by and do nothing-Lev 19.16; evil still “clings” to the kingdom of God in Matt 13.24-30; God’s people must distinguish themselves from those opposed to God’s ways, and this can be done physically like Noah and Lot, or by some mark like in Exo 12.13; Ezek 9.1-4; Rev 7.3, 13.16).
v 27…So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and ABiram, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones.
v 28…And Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds (as leader, and anointing my brother as high priest), for this is not my doing (I have not devised these things myself, being your leader and anointing my brother as high priest, but it was God’s doing).
v 29…If these men die the death of all men (as everyone dies), or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.
v 30…But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing (create a creation literally; a miracle that takes away these people in one stroke) and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol (alive into their grave), then you will understand that these men have spurned God (a true prophet of God will tell you beforehand what judgment is coming, and not after the fact-for more information on this concept, see our teaching called “Are There True Prophets of God Today” on this website).”
v 31…Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open (not from any natural cause);
v 32…and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up (Dathan and Abiram), and their households (families, tents), and all the men who belonged (sided) to Korah (not Korah himself because he was with the two hundred and fifty that had censers), with their possessions.
v 33…So they and all that belonged to them went down into Sheol (the earth opening was their grave) and the earth closed over them (covered them with no appearance that anything happened, a true demonstration of the power of Yehovah), and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
v 34…And all Israel who were around them fled at their outdry (at the screams and the terror of their voices), for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!”
v 35…Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense (the Reubenites like Nadab and Abihu; Korah is not mentioned but he was with them-v 6; but Num 26.11 says that the sons of Korah did not die, and they wrote Psalm 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87 and 88; the prophet Samuel descended from the line of Korah, whose genealogy is given in 1 Sam 1.1; 1 Chr 6.31-38 and they were Levites living in Ephraim).
v 36…Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
v 37…”Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the burning (the incense that was still burning), for they are holy (the incense had a kedusha); and you shall scatter the burning coals abroad (showing that the Lord rejected their service; away from the altar).
v 38…As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar (an additional brass covering for the altar-Exo 27.2), since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy (had a kedusha) and they shall be a sign to the sons of Israel (bringing the fate of those who were mutinous into remembrance).”
v 39…And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers which the men who were burned had offered; and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar,
v 40…as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not a descendant of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company-just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses.
v 41…But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled (the mutiny had spread so far that many of the people resented the death of Korah) against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people (they did did not try to stop what happened or gave them time to repent).”
v 42…It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud (the Shekinah/presence) covered it and the glory (kivod or radiance) of the Lord appeared.
v 43…Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
v 44…and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,,
v 45…”Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly (aas he had proposed to do earlier).” And they fell on their faces (to intercede; they did not write them off regardless of how they were wronged).
v 46…And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer (of the high priest used on Yom Kippur) and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it (like Yom Kippur-Lev 16.12), then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement (a covering) for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun (of which Moses must have had some information on)!”
v 47…Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold (take note), the plague had begun among the people. So he put on incense and made atonement for the people (but not he saw some of them drop dead in great numbers).
v 48…And he took his stand between the dead (behind him) and the living (in front of him), so that the plague was checked.
v 49…But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.
v 50…Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked (Korah’s rebellion, who is a type of the False Messiah, caused Israel to turn with contempt towards the Mishkan and what God had commanded. How can this apply today? This mutiny will happen again against the Temple, the altar and the priesthood that will be in place in the birth-pains, and the passages from v 43 to 48 are connected Rev 8.3-5; Lev 16.12 and Ezek 9.1-11. The Temple service is coming soon and God has chosen Israel and the priests to serve him there. The “average” Christian leader and believer that will see this happen will see the sons of Aaron being set apart for this worship. They must not be contemptuous by saying the “Church has replaced all this.” But they will commit the sin of Korah. They already criticize the Temple and the altar and will say these priests are illegitimate before God. After all, Christian ministers have replaced the true priests haven’t they? They will blaspheme the altar and they will speak against the Temple, just like Korah did. They will be “theologically” opposed on the grounds that “It is an offense against the one, true and final sacrifice of Jesus, and trampling on his blood.” This is flawed theology. The Temple system was separate and apart from the death of Yeshua. The Temple and its services were established by God himself. This is happening now and will happen again in the near future, and religious people will repeat this mistake and present themselves in a contemptuous manner toward the Lord, and it will be one of the reasons for the judgments that are coming in the birth-pains).
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