Wann M. Fanwar (SDA) on the Verb ברא bara

  

In Isaiah, the verb ברא is used 21 times, always with God as the subject. The things created include cloud and fire (4:5), heaven and its starry hosts (40:26; 42:5; 45:18), the earth (40:28; 42:5), mankind (45:12), the nation of Israel (43:1, 7, 15), and new things such as a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem (65:17, 18). However, it is not only things that are created. The verb also takes as objects of creation such states of being as righteousness and prosperity and "peace and calamity" (45:7, 8 ) and natural phenomena such as light and darkness (45:7) and the environment (41:20).

 

As already noted, ברא with the sense of "create" is used largely in the Qal and Niphal. With the exception of 48:7, which is in the Niphal, the 21 instances of the verb in Isaiah occur in the Qal, either as perfect or participle. The participial form referring to God as the "creating one" is used 12 times in Isaiah and comprises the majority of the instances of ברא in the book. (Wann M. Fanwar, “Creation in Isaiah” [PhD Dissertation; Andrews University, April 2001], 54-55)

 

 

In attempting to grasp the concepts nuanced by ברא, the issue of creatio ex nihilo frequently comes to the forefront. There are different opinions as to whether the word conveys the concept of creatio ex nihilo or not. On the one hand, it could be argued that the idea of creatio ex nihilo is not innate to the word ברא, which appears to focus more on the result of God's act than on the process of creation. To suggest that ברא addresses this issue would overstep the bounds of legitimate deduction as far as the meaning of the word is concerned. On the other hand, it could also be argued that ברא is a legitimate candidate for expressing the idea of creation out of nothing and that it comes as close to speaking of creation in this way without actually using the expression. It seems that the term is related to the idea of creatio ex nihilo even though this idea itself is not necessarily inherent in ברא. (Wann M. Fanwar, “Creation in Isaiah” [PhD Dissertation; Andrews University, April 2001], 56-57; this is an important admission, as the author is a Seventh-day Adventist and therefore subscribes to creation ex nihilo)

 

Andrew of Caesarea (d. 637) on Revelation 12:6

  

When, it says, the devil, acting through the Antichrist, has arrayed himself against the Church, her chosen and supreme ones, who have spit upon the noisy public approbations and the pleasures of the world, will flee to a manner of life devoid of every evil and abundant in every virtue, according to Methodios. And there they will avoid the assaults from both the hostile demons and people. [128] Of course, the actual physical desert will save those fleeing from the plot of the Apostate <devil> in the “mountains and caves and the dens of the earth,” as did the martyrs previously for three-and-a-half years, that is, the one thousand two hundred sixty days, during which apostasy will prevail. The Great Official, “who does not allow anyone to be tested beyond his strength,” will deliver us from this, granting us steadfast disposition and manly strength in the assaults against us, so that “legitimately contending” “against the principalities and powers of darkness” we might be adorned with the “crown of righteousness” and receive the rewards of victory. For to him are due victory and power through the weak ones, <him> who routs the strong “aerial powers,” together with the Father and the Life-giving Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen. (Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, Section 11, chapter 33, in Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse [trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou; The Fathers of the Church 123 [Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011] 141)

 

Midrash Tanchuma, Eikev 7 and God’s People Fleeing into the Wilderness (cf. Revelation 12:6)

  

כָּל הַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם. כָּל הַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה, אֱמֹר כְּאִלּוּ הַיּוֹם שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּסִינַי מִמּשֶׁה, שֶׁכֵּן כָּתוּב, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת. לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן, אַתֶּם וּבְנֵיכֶם, לְמַעַן תְּחַיּוּן לָאֲחֵרִים. לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וּרְבִיתֶם, בְּבָנִים. וּרְבִיתֶם, בִּבְהֵמָה. וּרְבִיתֶם, בְּכֶסֶף וְזָהָב. וּרְבִיתֶם, בִּנְכָסִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, מְדַבֵּר בַּמָּשִׁיחַ שֶׁיָּבֹא בַּעֲגָלָא. וּרְבִיתֶם, בְּקוֹמָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, עָתִיד כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל לִהְיוֹת גָּבֹהַּ מֵאָה אַמָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בְּנוֹתֵינוּ כְּזָוִיּוֹת, מְחֻטָּבוֹת תַּבְנִית הֵיכָל (תהלים קמד, יב). וְנֶאֱמַר (יחזקאל, מד) וְהַהֵיכָל, מֵאָה אַמָּה. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַאי אוֹמֵר, מָאתַיִם אַמָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וָאוֹלֵךְ אֶתְכֶם קוֹמְמִיּוּת (ויקרא כו, יג). וְעָתִיד כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל לִהְיוֹת יוֹצֵא מֵעִיר, וְאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם רוֹאִין אוֹתָן. אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּא בַּר יַעֲקֹב, יֵשׁ מְקוֹמוֹת שֶׁקּוֹרִין לַפַּת לִיפְתּוּתָא, פִּיסָתָא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יְהִי פִּסַּת בַּר בָּאָרֶץ וְגוֹ' (תהלים עב, טז). רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פַּפָּא וְרַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר מַנְיָיא. אֶחָד הָיָה אוֹמֵר, הַלֶּפֶת לֹא פַּת הָיְתָה. וְהָאֶחָד אוֹמֵר, לֹא הָיְתָה פַּת אֶלָּא עֲתִידָה לַעֲשׂוֹת פַּת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יְהִי פִּסַּת בַּר בָּאָרֶץ. אֵימָתַי, אֵלּוּ יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ. וְכַמָּה יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁעָשׂוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה. וְהוּא גּוֹרְרָן וּמוֹצִיאָן לַמִּדְבָּר וּמַאֲכִילָן מָלוּחַ וְרֹתֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: הַקּוֹטְפִים מָלוּחַ עֲלֵי שִׂיחַ וְשֹׁרֶשׁ רְתָמִים לַחְמָם (איוב ל, ד). רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, מֵאָה שָׁנָה. רַבִּי בְּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי דּוֹסָא אוֹמֵר, שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּימֵי צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרִים אַרְאֶנּוּ נִפְלָאוֹת (מיכה ז, טו). מַה מִּצְרַיִם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה, אַף יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, אֶלֶף שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: שַׂמְּחֵנוּ כִּימוֹת עִנִּיתָנוּ (תהלים צ, טו). רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ אוֹמֵר, שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי יִבְעַל בָּחוּר בְּתוּלָה יִבְעֲלוּךָ בָּנַיִךְ (ישעיה סב, ה). מַה יְּמֵי הַמִּשְׁתֶּה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, אַף יְמֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה. רַבּוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ, שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי יוֹם נָקָם בְּלִבִּי וּשְׁנַת גְּאוּלַי בָּאָה (שם סג, ד). וְאַחַר יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ בָּא הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מוֹפִיעַ בִּכְבוֹדוֹ וּמַרְאֶה זְרוֹעוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: חָשַׂף ה' אֶת זְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ לְעֵינֵי כָּל הַגּוֹיִם וְרָאוּ כָל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ אֶת יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹהֵינוּ (שם נב, י). בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה רוֹאִין יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּכְבוֹדוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: כִּי עַיִן בְּעַיִן יִרְאוּ בְּשׁוּב ה' צִיּוֹן וְגוֹ' (שם פסוק ח).

 

All of the commandment that I command you today (Deuteronomy 8:1): Any commandment that you do, say [that] it is as if you heard it today at Sinai from Moshe; as so is it written, "that I command you today guard to observe in order that you shall live." You and your children, in order that you shall live to others, in order that you shall live in the world to come. (Deuteronomy 8:1) "And increase," with children; "and increase," with livestock; "and increase," with silver and gold. Another interpretation: "And increase," (which can be read as grow tall) is speaking about the messiah who will come in a chariot. "And increase (or grow)," in height. Rabbi Yehudah says, "In the future, each and every one in Israel will be a hundred cubits tall, as it is stated (Psalms 144:12), 'our daughters are like cornerstones trimmed to give shape to a chamber'; and it is stated (Ezekiel 42:8), 'the chamber a hundred cubits.'" Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says, "Two hundred cubits, as it is stated (Leviticus 26:13), 'and walked with you upright (komemiyut, which sounds like the plural of height).' And in the future, each and every one of Israel will be seen by the nations when he leaves the city." Rabbi Chiya bar Yaakov said, "There are places [in which] they call pat liftoota, pisata, as it is stated (Psalms 72:16), "Let abundant (pisat) grain be in the land, etc." Rabbi Chaninah bar Pappa and Rabbi Shmuel bar Maniya [differed about the matter]. One said, "Turnips (lefet) was not bread." And the other said, "It was not bread, but rather it will make bread in the future; as it is stated (Psalms 72:16), "Let abundant (pisat) grain be in the land, etc." When? In the time of the messiah. And how many are the days of the messiah? Rabbi Akiva says, "Forty years, in the same way that Israel was in the wilderness forty years. And He drags them and pulls them out to the wilderness and feeds them saltwort and broom, as it is stated (Job 30:4), 'They pluck saltwort and wormwood; the roots of broom are their bread.'" Rabbi Eliezer says, "One hundred years." Rabbi Berachaya says in the name of Rabbi Dosa, "Six hundred years." Rabbi says, "Four hundred years, as stated (Micah 7:15), 'As in the days when you left from the land of Egypt I will show him wondrous deeds.' Just like [the sojourn in] Egypt was four hundred years, so [too] will the days of the messiah be four hundred years." Rabbi Eliezer [beRebbi Yose the Galilean] says a thousand years, as it is stated ([Psalms 90:15], 'Give us joy for as long as You have afflicted us.') [(Psalms 90:4), 'For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that has passed.']" Rabbi Abahu says, "Seven thousand years, as it is stated (Isaiah 62:5), 'As a youth espouses a maiden, your sons shall espouse you' - just as the days of rejoicing (for a marriage) are seven, so will the days of the messiah be seven thousand years." Our rabbis said, "Two thousand years, as it is stated ([Isaiah 63:4], 'For I had planned a day of vengeance, and My year of redemption arrived.') [(Psalms 90:15)], 'Give us joy for as long as (literally, like the days) You have afflicted us.']" And after the days of the messiah is the world to come. And [then] the Holy One, blessed be He, appears in His glory and shows His forearm, as it is stated (Isaiah 52:10), "The Lord will bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and the very ends of earth shall see the victory of our God." At that time, Israel sees the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, as it is stated (Isaiah 52:8), "for every eye shall behold when the Lord returns to Zion, etc." (source)

 

Robert H. Mounce on Revelation 12:6

  

6 The woman flees into the wilderness to be taken care of there by God for 1,260 days. The flight of the woman may in part reflect the escape of the Palestinian church to Pella at the outbreak of the Jewish war in a.d. 66. The intent of the verse, however, is not so much the flight of the church as the provision of God for her sustenance. To the Jewish people the wilderness spoke of divine provision and intimate fellowship. It was in the wilderness that God had rained down bread from heaven (Exod 16:4ff.) and nourished his people for forty years. Of Israel God said, “I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her” (Hos 2:14; cf. 1 Kgs 17:2–3; 19:3–4). For John’s readers the wilderness in this context would not suggests a desert waste inhabited by evil spirits and unclean beasts, but a place of spiritual refuge. The purpose of the vision is to assure those facing martyrdom that God has prepared for them a place of spiritual refuge and will enable them to stand fast against the devil. The duration of divine nourishment (1,260 days) corresponds to the period of persecution (cf. 11:2; 13:5). The place is one set in readiness by God himself. (Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation [The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1997], 234)

 

Strack and Billerbeck on Revelation 12:7 and Michael Traditions

  

12:7 A: Michael and his angels.

 

1. Michael. — See ample material about the archangel Michael in W. Lueken, Michael. — On the name מיכאל see Num. Rab. 2 (137C) at § Luke 1:19 B; Pesiq. Rab. 46 (188A) at § Rev 8:2, n. b. — In rank Michael was the highest among the angels, the actual representative of God (= the angel of Yahweh).^a Therefore Israel is entrusted especially to his care^c (partly sharing this care with the angel Gabriel).^b As the patron of Israel, he defends them against all accusations of Satan^d and will one day join in helping to bring about the ultimate redemption of Israel.^e

 

a. See b. Yoma 37A and Gen. Rab. 48 (30B) at § Luke 1:19 A, #3, n. e. ‖ Exodus Rabbah 2 (68C): “The angel of Yahweh appeared to him” (Exod 3:2). R. Yohanan († 279) said, “It was Michael”; R. Hanina (ca. 225) said, “It was Gabriel.…” Everywhere where Michael appeared, the glory of the Shekinah (divinity) was there.

 

b. See Exod. Rab. 18 (80C) at § Luke 1:19 A, #4, n. f.

 

c. Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1. ‖ See 1 En. 20:1ff. at § Rev 8:2, n. a. ‖ In b. Yoma 77A God says to Michael, “Michael, your nation (= Israel) has sinned.” ‖ See Tg. Pss. 137:7 at § Luke 1:19 A, #4, n. e. ‖ In ספר חנוך (Beth ha-Midrash 5.187.1) Michael is called in brief שרם של ישראל “the (angel) prince of Israel.”

 

d. Exodus Rabbah 18 (80C): R. Yose (ca. 150? 350?) said, “Who are Michael and Sammael (= Satan) like? The defender and the accuser who stand before the court: the one speaks and the other speaks. If this one has ended his words and that defender notices that he has overcome, then he begins to praise the judge that he renders the verdict. If then that accuser tries to add (another) word, the defender says to him, ‘Be silent so that we may hear the judge!’ So Michael and Sammael stand before the Shekinah: Satan sues and Michael asserts the merit of Israel; if then Satan (still) wishes to speak, Michael tells him to be silent; for it says, ‘I want to hear what God Yahweh will speak (as judge), for he speaks peace to his people’ (Ps 85:9).” ‖ Pesiqta Rabbati 44 (185A): “Turn, Israel; Yahweh is witness” (so Hos 14:2 according to the midr.). The Israelites said to him, “Lord of the world, if we repent, who will be a witness that you have accepted us?” He said to them, “Your defender, that is, Michael; as it says, ‘And at that time Michael will arise, the great prince, who stands by the sons of your people’ (Dan 12:1).” (At Israel’s pleading, God declares himself ready to be willing to be a witness for them himself.)

e. See § Matt 1:21 D, A, n. h. ‖ Exodus Rabbah 18 (80C.37): As God carried out his deeds in this world through Michael and Gabriel, so too he will carry them out through them in the future (= in the messianic age); for it says, “Liberators will go up onto Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau (= Rome)” (Obad 21). These are Michael and Gabriel. Our holy teacher (= Rabbi [† 217?]) said, “This is Michael all by himself; for it says, ‘In that time Michael will arise …’ (Dan 12:1; see above). He arises for the needs of Israel and speaks for them; as it says, ‘Then the angel of Yahweh (= Michael) responded and said, “Yahweh Sabaoth, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem?” (Zech 1:12), and furthermore, “There is no one who assists me against them, as Michael, your prince” (Dan 10:21).’ ”

 

2. Michael and his angels. — This corresponds in the mouth of R. Levi (ca. 300) to מִיכָאֵל וְדִגְלוֹ “Michael and his host (his banner)” in Midr. Song. 2:4 (97A); see also 6:10 (124B.2). (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2021], 3:952-53)

 

M. Eugene Boring on the "woman" in Revelation 12:1

  

The woman. No Christian acquainted with the Gospels can read this story of the woman who labors to bring forth the child who shall rule the nations without thinking of Mary, the mother of the Messiah, whose divine child is saved from wicked Herod by divine intervention (Matt. 2:1–15). Yet to interpret John’s evocative symbolic language in this limited fashion would reduce it to a steno-symbol code. John the artist uses language more creatively. The woman is not Mary, nor Israel, nor the church but less and more than all of these. John’s imagery pulls together elements from the pagan myth of the queen of heaven; from the Genesis story of Eve, mother of all living, whose “seed” shall bruise the head of the primeval serpent (Gen. 3:1–16); from Israel who escapes from the dragon/Pharaoh into the wilderness on wings of an eagle (Exod. 19:4, cf. Ps. 74:12–15); and Zion, “mother” of the People of God from whom the Messiah comes forth (Isa. 66:7–9; 2 Esdr. 13:32–38). She reflects the historical experience of the People of God through the ages, Israel and the church, and yet she is the cosmic woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and crowned with twelve stars, who brings forth the Messiah. A passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QH 3:4) also pictures the elect community Israel bringing forth the Messiah. Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut captures the subtleties of this combination of a this-worldly mother and a transcendent queen of heaven. (M. Eugene Boring, Revelation [Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Louisville, Ky.: John Knox Press, 1989], 152-53)

 

The JPS The Commentators’ Bible on Numbers 23:19

  

Numbers 23:19

 

RASHI

God is not man to be capricious, or mortal to change His mind. He has already sworn to give the Israelites possession of the land of the seven nations. And you expect to be able to kill them in the wilderness?

 

RASHBAM

God is not man. He will not renege on His blessing after such a short time. For they have not transgressed since the blessing with which I blessed them earlier today. To be capricious. Literally, “to lie” (OJPS). But it is a question. Reneging on the blessing would amount to a lie—how could God do this? To change His mind. Again, the Hebrew frames a question: “God is not mortal—how could He change His mind? Would He speak and not act, promise and not fulfill? Here the translations recognize that the text is asking a question.

 

IBN EZRA

God is not man to be capricious. Balak asked Balaam to “damn them for me from there” (v. 13), but Balaam had already told him, “How can I damn whom God has not damned?” (v. 8). Would He speak and not act? More literally, “would He say and not do” what He said? Promise and not fulfill? “Utter, and not fulfill” His utterance? The fact that the verb has a suffix shows that such an object is to be understood.

 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

God is not man to be capricious, or mortal to change His mind. There are three scenarios in which human beings do not fulfill a promise—either they decide not to, or they are not able to, or the recipient of the promise has not fulfilled his side of the bargain. Balaam’s reply pertains to the first two of these (Bekhor Shor). (Numbers: Introduction and Commentary [trans. Michael Carasik; The Commentators’ Bible; Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2011], Logos Bible Software edition)