Covenants from a Hebrew Perspective

By Jeff A. Benner

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They said, "We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you." (Genesis 26:28, ESV)

We will begin this study with the Hebrew word for a "covenant," which is ברית (b'riyt, Strong's #1285). This noun is derived from the verb ברה (B.R.H, Strong's #1262), which means "to select the best."

He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me." (1 Samuel 17:8, ESV)

In this passage the Hebrew verb ברה is used for the choosing of the best man to fight Goliath. This word can also mean to eat, in the sense of selecting, such as we see in the following verse.

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand." (2 Samuel 13:6, ESV)

The Hebrew language is a root-oriented language, meaning that every Hebrew word is derived from a root word and that root word is the foundation to other Hebrew words. Each word derived from one root will be closely related in meaning to all the other words derived from the same root. In the case of the word ברית (b'riyt) we found that it was derived from the root verb ברה (B.R.H), but also derived from this verbal root are the nouns ברות (barut, Strong's #1267) meaning "choice meat" and בריה (bir'yah, Strong's #1274) meaning "fattened." Livestock that will be slaughtered are fed special grains to make them fat and thereby making the meat of the fattened livestock the choicest.

So how is fattened choice meat related to the word for "covenant?" The phrase "make a covenant," such as we saw in the verse that began this study, appears eighty times in the Hebrew Bible and in every instance, it is the Hebrew phrase כרת ברית (karat b'riyt), which literally means "cut a covenant."

A covenant was instituted by the two parties of the covenant who would take a fattened animal, the best of the flock or herd, and "cut" it into two pieces. Then the two parties of the covenant would pass through the pieces symbolizing their dedication to the covenant and by this action are saying, "If I do not hold to the agreements of this covenant, you can do to me what we did to this animal." This methodology of "making" a covenant is clearly recorded in Jeremiah 34:18-20.

18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like[a] the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. (ESV)

With this understanding of a covenant, we can better understand what is going on in Genesis chapter 15.

9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. (Genesis 15:9-10, ESV)

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made (Hebrew - karat) a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates," (Genesis 15:17-18, ESV)

Yahweh is cutting a covenant with Abram. However, Abram does not pass through the pieces, only the pot and torch, representations of Yahweh himself, pass through the pieces. Because Abram did not pass through the pieces, the actions of Abram, or his descendants, are not a condition of the covenant. The only person responsible for the fulfilling of this covenant is Yahweh and Yahweh alone.

Besides this covenant, Yahweh has made several other covenants with his people, such as the one he made with Noah and his descendants (Genesis 6:18, Genesis 9:9) and the one he made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made (Hebrew – karat) with you in accordance with all these words." (Exodus 24:8, ESV)

Unlike the unconditional covenants that Yahweh made with Noah and Abram, this covenant will be upheld only on the condition that Israel obeys the words of Yahweh.

14 But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, 19 and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. (Leviticus 26:14-20, ESV)

And in Deuteronomy 31 Yahweh foretells of the day when Israel will break this covenant by following after other gods.

For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. (Deuteronomy 31:20, ESV)

It is interesting to note that when Israel does break this covenant, Yahweh "cuts" Israel into "two" nations, Israel and Judah. But Yahweh promises that he will make a new covenant with the children of Israel and he will unite these two nations into one nation again.

And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. (Ezekiel 37:22, ESV)

31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jereimaih 31:31-33, ESV)

 

The Aaronic Blessing from a Hebrew Perspective

By Jeff A. Benner

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Once we have a basic understanding of the Hebrew alphabet, vocabulary, language and philosophy, we can now begin to interpret the Bible from an Ancient Hebrew perspective rather than from a Western one.

Most people are familiar with the English translation of the Aaronic blessing.

The LORD bless you and keep you: The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26 RSV)

Notice that many of the words in this translation are abstract words, including; bless, keep, gracious, countenance and peace. Each of the Hebrew words behind the English in this passage, is filled with images that are lost when translated into the English language. When we examine each of these words from their original cultural and linguistic perspectives, the message in this passage comes alive.

Bless

Camels kneeling down

The Hebrew verb ברך (Barakh, Strong's #1288) means to kneel as seen in Genesis 24:11. However, when written in the piel form, such as it is in Aaronic blessing, it means to show respect (usually translated as bless). However, as "respect" is an abstract word, we need to uncover its original concrete meaning, which we can do by examining other words related to this verb. One such related word is the noun ברך (berekh, Strong's #1288) meaning "knee." Another related Hebrew word is ברכה (berakhah, Strong's #1293) meaning a gift or present. From this we can see the concrete meaning behind the piel form of the verb barak. It is to bring a gift to another while kneeling out of respect. The extended meaning of this word is to do or give something of value to another. Elohiym "respects" us by providing for our needs and we in turn "respect" Elohiym by giving him of ourselves as his servants.

Keep

Thorns

The Hebrews were a nomadic people raising livestock. It would not be uncommon for a shepherd to be out with his flock, away from the camp, over the night. In order to protect the flock, the shepherd would construct a corral of thorn bushes. The shepherd would then guard over the flock and the corral would be a hedge of protection around them. The Hebrew word for a thorn is שמיר (shamiyr, Strong's #8068) and derived from the verb שמר (shamar, Strong's #8104), which literally means to guard and protect and is the word used in the Aaronic blessing.

Face

Norman Rockwell's painting of a girl's expression

In the painting above you can "read" the faces of each of the people within the painting. The face reflects the many different moods, emotions, and thoughts of the person. The Hebrew word פנים (paniym, Strong's #6440), means "face," but is always written in the plural form (the ים suffix identifies this word as plural), reflecting this idea of multiple faces of each person. This word can also mean “presence” or the “wholeness of being” of an individual.

Shine

Light brings order to chaos

The word אור (or, Strong's #215), as a noun means "light" and as a verb, as it is used here, means to "give light" or "shine" and is equated with bringing about order as light illuminates or reveals what has been dark.

Gracious

A nomadic camp

Most theologians will define “grace” as “unmerited favor,” but notice the abstractness of these words. The Hebrew verb translated as gracious in the Aaronic blessing is the verb חנן (hhanan, Strong's #2603) and is often paralleled with other Hebrew words meaning healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength and rescue. From a concrete Hebraic perspective this verb means to “provide protection.” Where does one run to for protection? The camp, which in Hebrew is חנה (hanah, Strong's #2583), a word related to חנן (hhanan).

Grant

A meal that is set and arranged

The Hebrew verb שים (siym, Strong's #7760), literally means to "set down in a fixed and arranged place."

Peace

A windmill that is "not complete."

When we hear the word peace, we usually associate this to mean an absence of war or strife. However, the Hebrew word שלום (shalom, Strong's #7965) has a very different meaning. The root of this word is שלם (shalam, Strong's #7999) and is usually used in the context of making restitution. When a person has caused another to become deficient in some way, such as a loss of livestock, it is the responsibility of the person who created the deficiency to restore what has been taken, lost or stolen. The verb shalam literally means to make whole or complete. The noun shalom has the more literal meaning of being in a state of wholeness, or being without deficiency.

A Hebraic interpretation of the Aaronic Blessing

With the Hebraic understanding of each of these Hebrew words, we can better understand the true meaning of the Aaronic blessing as it was understood by the Ancient Hebrews.

YHWH will kneel before you^[1] presenting gifts and will guard you with a hedge of protection.

YHWH will illuminate the wholeness of his being toward you bringing order and he will give you comfort and sustenance.

YHWH will lift up his wholeness of being and look upon you and he will set in place all you need to be whole and complete.

1. Many people have contacted me concerned about the phrase "kneel before you" as they cannot perceive of God kneeling before us. We too often see God as the judge and ruler who sits high above us. But I see more of a familial type relationship with God, rather than a government type relationship. God is the father of us all, agreed? Well, if my young son came to me with a request, would I tower over him looking down upon him? Or would I get down on his level by "kneeling" down and getting eye to eye with him and say, "What is it my son, what can I do for you?" Let me add that this is not a literal kneeling down, but a figurative one; the common Hebrew way of expressing an abstract thought through concrete means.

Act 2 from a Jewish perspective

 

Interpreting the events of Act 2 from a Jewish perspective

By Jeff A. Benner

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The following commentary is based on the teachings of my mentors; Dr. William Bean, Dr. Larry Hirsch and Joseph Frankovitch.

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Pentecost is the Greek name for Shavu’ot, the Feast of Weeks. In Jewish tradition, God gave Moses the two tablets of the Torah (the Law) on Mt. Sinai, on Shavu’ot, and therefore, in the minds of the Jewish people, this feast is closely equated with the events at Mt. Sinai.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

The “mighty wind” is reminiscent of the “loud trumpets” on Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:16) Most people assume that the “house” is the “upper room,” but it is probably the Temple, the “house” of God as all male Jews are required to go to the temple on Shavu’ot. After all, how could the “multitude” in verse 6 witness these events if they were in an “upper room?”

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Just as the top (which in Hebrew is rosh and means “head”) of Mt. Sinai was on fire (Ex 19:18), we see fire on their “heads.” But who are “they?” Is it just the twelve disciples? Nowhere in the account does it say, but Yeshua (Jesus) had many more disciples than just the closest twelve and it is very possible that there was a very large crowd of believers present.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

When God brought the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, it was his intention to fill them with the Holy Spirit right then and there, but the people were afraid and backed off and told Moses that he should speak to God for them (Ex 20:18-19). So God went with an alternate plan. If they could not understand what it meant for God to indwell them individually, then he would dwell with them in the camp, which he did when he had them set up the tabernacle in the center of the camp. But now, in Acts 2, God is bringing back his original plan to indwell them individually.

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

These Jews have all come to Jerusalem for the feast as commanded in the Torah (Ex 23:14–17).

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

When Israel came out of Egypt, they came out with a “multitude” of people from other nations (Exodus 12:38). In Jewish tradition, there were seventy nations, which in Judaism represents “all” nations (from Genesis 10, which lists seventy nations), represented at Mt. Sinai. Another tradition in Judaism is that when God spoke to the people gathered at Mt. Sinai they all heard him in their native languages, which is what is happening again in Acts 2.

Now, let’s just to verse 41 for one more connection back to Mt. Sinai.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

In Exodus 32, we read that Moses was taking a long time on Mt. Sinai and the Israelites had lost hope in Moses and they made the golden calf. When Moses came down from the mountain, he was angry and destroyed the golden calf. Moses then instructed the Levites to kill all of those who had sinned against God and, according to verse 28, “about three thousand” were killed.

On Shavu’ot, at Mt. Sinai, in Exodus 32, about 3,000 were killed, but on Shavu’ot, at the Temple, in Acts 2, about 3,000 are saved.

In conclusion, when studying the New Testament, it is imperative that the Jewish culture and traditions of the people of the New Testament period be taken into consideration when attempting to interpret the text.

The Touch of the Unclean Woman

Matthew 9:20–22

(Hebraic-Cultural & Linguistic Priority )

I. Immediate Context

This account is embedded within the larger narrative of Yeshua’s journey to raise the daughter of a synagogue ruler (Jairus). While walking through a pressing crowd, a woman suffering continuous blood flow for twelve years approaches from behind and touches the kraspedon of His outer garment. The interruption reveals both her desperate condition under Torah purity laws and the concrete power flowing from the Messiah.

Parallel accounts appear in Mark 5:25–34 and Luke 8:43–48, providing fuller details (her spending all on physicians, the power going out from Him, etc.), but Matthew’s version is concise and focused on her internal conviction and the immediate result.

II. Greek Text (Nestle-Aland / Majority Text base)

20 Καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ αἱμορροοῦσα δώδεκα ἔτη προσελθοῦσα ὄπισθεν ἥψατο τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτοῦ·

21 ἔλεγεν γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῇ· Ἐὰν μόνον ἅψωμαι τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτοῦ σωθήσομαι.

22 ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς στραφεὶς καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν εἶπεν· Θάρσει, θύγατερ· ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε. καὶ ἐσώθη ἡ γυνὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης.

Literal sense:

And behold, a woman flowing-with-blood twelve years, having approached from-behind, touched the fringe/tassel of His outer-garment. For she was saying within herself, “If only I touch His outer-garment, I will be made whole/rescued.” But Yeshua, having turned and having seen her, said, “Take courage, daughter; your firm-trust has made-you-whole.” And the woman was made-whole from that hour.

III. Cultural & Historical Setting (Ancient Near Eastern / Hebraic Worldview)

• Ritual impurity: Continuous uterine bleeding (zavah) rendered a woman unclean according to Leviticus 15:25–27. Anything or anyone she touched became unclean. For twelve years she lived in isolation from Temple, synagogue, family intimacy, and normal social life—functionally cut off from the covenant community.
• Tzitzit / Kraspedon: Torah commands Israelite men to attach fringes (tsiytsiyt / ציצית) with a blue cord to the four corners (kanaph / כנף = wing, corner, edge) of their outer garments (Numbers 15:37–41; Deuteronomy 22:12). These served as concrete, visual reminders to keep all the commandments and not follow one’s own heart/eyes.
• Messianic expectation: Malachi 4:2 (Hebrew 3:20) promises that the “Sun of Righteousness” will arise “with healing in His wings” (kanaph). The same word kanaph that denotes the corners of the garment where the tsiytsiyt hang is used for “wings.” First-century Jewish hearers understood the Messiah’s garment corners as the locus of promised healing.
• The woman does not touch Yeshua randomly or out of mere desperation; she deliberately reaches for the kraspedon (the Greek term the Septuagint uses for tsiytsiyt). Her action is an informed, covenant-rooted act of trust in the Messiah who carries healing in His “wings.”

IV. Key Linguistic / Pictorial Word Studies (Concrete Hebraic Sense)

• αἱμορροοῦσα (haimorroousa) – “flowing with blood.” Concrete picture of continuous, uncontrolled outflow. Parallel to Hebrew zav / zavah (one who flows).
• κράσπεδον (kraspedon) – fringe, tassel, edge. In the Septuagint it regularly translates tsiytsiyt. Not a generic “hem,” but the knotted tassel attached to the kanaph (wing/corner).
• ἅπτομαι (haptomai) – to touch, grasp, take hold of. Often carries the sense of intentional contact that transfers something (power, impurity, or authority).
• σῴζω (sōzō) – “save / make whole / rescue.” In Hebraic thought this corresponds to the concrete root ישע (yashaʿ) – to bring into a wide, open, safe place; to deliver from distress, enemy, or sickness. Not primarily an abstract “spiritual salvation” but restoration to wholeness of life, body, and community standing. The perfect sesōken and aorist esōthē emphasize completed, effective rescue.
• πίστις (pistis) – firm trust / faithfulness. Behind the Greek stands the Hebrew emunah (from root אמן aman = to be firm, reliable, support-bearing). It is not mere mental assent but a steadfast leaning of one’s full weight upon the object of trust, demonstrated in concrete action.
• θύγατερ (thygater) – “daughter.” A term of intimate covenant belonging and restoration of relational status.

V. Exegetical Outline of the Passage

A. The Approach of the Unclean Woman (v. 20)

1. Sudden appearance (“behold”) in the midst of the crowd.
2. Twelve-year duration of blood-flow – long-term exclusion and hopelessness.
3. Approach from behind – shame, fear of detection, and desire not to render others unclean.
4. Deliberate touch of the kraspedon (tzitzit) – the concrete place of Torah reminder and Messianic healing promise.

B. The Woman’s Internal Conviction (v. 21)

1. Continuous inner speech (“she was saying within herself”).
2. Conditional confidence: “If only I touch His garment…”
3. Expected result: “I will be made whole/rescued” (sōthēsomai). – Her trust rests not in magic cloth but in the identity of the One whose kanaph carries the promised healing of Malachi 4:2.

C. Yeshua’s Response and the Instant Restoration (v. 22)

1. He turns and sees her – the hidden act becomes public.
2. Command: “Take courage / be firm” (Tharsei).
3. Address: “Daughter” – immediate restoration of covenant belonging and dignity.
4. Declaration: “Your firm-trust has made you whole.”
5. Result: She was made whole from that very hour – physical cessation of the flow, removal of impurity, and reintegration into community life.

VI. Original Intent & Concrete Insight

From the ancient Hebraic perspective, this is not primarily a story about “faith as mental belief” or abstract theology. It is a concrete picture of:

• A woman cut off by impurity reaching for the physical reminder of covenant faithfulness (the tsiytsiyt).
• Her action grounded in the prophetic promise that the coming Sun of Righteousness would carry healing in His kanaph (wings/corners).
• The Messiah’s power flowing through the very symbols of Torah obedience, restoring her body, status, and relationship in a single moment.
• Pistis/emunah as active, weight-bearing trust that lays hold of the promised Deliverer.

The passage demonstrates that the same concrete power that would later raise the dead girl is already present and accessible through humble, informed contact with the Messiah who fulfills the Torah’s visual reminders and the prophets’ promises.

VII. Application in the Original Sense

The invitation remains the same: approach the One who wears the kanaph of healing, lean the full weight of one’s trust upon Him, and experience concrete rescue into wholeness—body, community, and covenant standing—now.

“Healing in His Wings”

 Malachi 4:2 (Hebrew Bible: Malachi 3:20)

“Healing in His Wings” – Original Hebraic Linguistic & Cultural Exploration ( Concrete, Pictorial, Ancient Near Eastern Context)

1. The Hebrew Text

וְזָרְחָ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם יִרְאֵ֤י שְׁמִי֙ שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ צְדָקָ֔ה וּמַרְפֵּ֖א בִּכְנָפֶ֑יהָ וִֽיצָאתֶ֥ם וּפִשְׁתֶּ֖ם כְּעֶגְלֵ֥י מַרְבֵּֽק׃

Literal sense (concrete): “And she will rise for you, fearers of My name — Sun of righteousness — and healing in her wings/corners; and you will go out and you will frisk/leap like calves of the stall.”

Note: The verb and pronouns are feminine because shemesh (sun) is grammatically feminine in Hebrew. English translations often shift to “his” for theological reasons.

2. Key Words – Concrete Pictorial Meanings

שֶׁמֶשׁ צְדָקָה (shemesh tsedaqah) – “Sun of righteousness”

• Shemesh: the concrete, daily rising orb that brings light, warmth, and life after darkness.
• Tsedaqah: from the root צדק (tsadaq) – to be straight, right, in proper order / balance. Not abstract “moral virtue,” but functional rightness that restores order. Together: the rising light that sets things right and brings order after the darkness of judgment (the preceding verse describes the day burning like a furnace).

מַרְפֵּא (marpe) – “healing”

• From the root רפא (rapha) – to mend, repair, restore to soundness (as a physician mends a wound or a potter repairs a vessel).
• Concrete picture of restoration to wholeness, not merely “spiritual forgiveness.”

בִּכְנָפֶיהָ (bi-k’napheha) – “in her wings / corners / extremities”

• Root: כנף (kanaph, Strong’s H3671).
• Primary concrete meaning: the outer extremity or edge of something.
  • Wing of a bird (the farthest, protective extremity).
  • Corner / edge / skirt of a garment.
  • Edge of the earth, border, or extremity of anything.
• In Numbers 15:38 the same word kanaph is used for the four corners of the garment where the tsiytsiyt (fringes/tassels) are attached: “fringes on the kanaph of their garments.”

The pictorial image is not primarily “angel wings” or abstract rays of light, but the outer extremities that extend outward — whether the rays of the rising sun or the corners of a garment.

3. Cultural & Linguistic Context

In the ancient Hebraic worldview, the four-cornered outer garment (simlah / tallit-like cloak) carried the tsiytsiyt on its kanaph (corners). These tassels with the blue cord were a visible, concrete reminder of the commandments (Numbers 15:37–41).

Because kanaph means both “wing” and “corner of the garment,” the phrase “healing in his/her kanaph” naturally evoked the idea of healing power associated with the extremities of the Messiah’s garment.

This is precisely why the woman with the twelve-year flow of blood deliberately reached for the kraspedon (Greek for tsiytsiyt) of Yeshua’s garment in Matthew 9:20–22. She was acting on the concrete prophetic picture of Malachi: the rising Sun of Righteousness carries marpe (restoration to wholeness) in His kanaph.

4. The Larger Picture in Malachi

The verse stands in sharp contrast to the previous one (Malachi 4:1 / 3:19):

• For the arrogant and doers of wickedness → a burning furnace that leaves neither root nor branch.
• For those who fear His name → the rising Sun that brings light, order (tsedaqah), and concrete healing/restoration (marpe) in its extremities.

The result is joyful, free movement: going out and leaping like calves released from the stall — a vivid agricultural picture of restrained animals suddenly set free into open space and vitality.

5. Hebraic Insight (Benner-style)

The original audience would not have heard an abstract theological slogan. They would have seen:

• A concrete rising light that repairs what is broken.
• Extremities (kanaph) that extend outward carrying restoration.
• A direct visual and prophetic link to the garment corners where covenant reminders hung.

When the woman touched the tsiytsiyt on the kanaph of Yeshua’s garment, she was laying hold of this very promise in concrete action. The power that flowed was the marpe promised in the rising Sun of Righteousness.

This is not later Christian allegory imposed on the text; it is the natural Hebraic reading of the words in their original cultural and linguistic soil.

Ivermectin - Truth About Its Formulation

 Ivermectin
Chemical Composition and the Truth About Its Formulation

Ivermectin is one of the most widely discussed antiparasitic medications in recent years. Two common questions often arise: What exactly is it chemically made of, and have manufacturers recently added controversial inactive ingredients such as Polysorbate 80 and Titanium Dioxide to the tablets?

Here is a clear, evidence-based overview based on official pharmaceutical data.

Chemical Composition of Ivermectin

Ivermectin is not a single pure molecule. It is a semi-synthetic mixture of two closely related compounds derived from natural avermectins produced by the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis.

The two components are:

Component	Full Name	Molecular Formula	Molecular Weight	Typical Proportion
Major	22,23-dihydroavermectin B₁a	C₄₈H₇₄O₁₄	≈ 875.1 g/mol	≥ 80–90%
Minor	22,23-dihydroavermectin B₁b	C₄₇H₇₂O₁₄	≈ 861.1 g/mol	≤ 10–20%

• The only structural difference between the two is the side chain at the C-25 position (sec-butyl in B₁a versus isopropyl in B₁b).
• Both belong to the 16-membered macrocyclic lactone class.
• CAS number for the mixture: 70288-86-7.

Ivermectin is produced by selectively hydrogenating the C22–C23 double bond of natural avermectin B1. Official specifications (including FDA-approved products) require a high proportion of the B₁a component.

Do Human Oral Ivermectin Tablets Contain Polysorbate 80 or Titanium Dioxide?

A claim has circulated that manufacturers have “now” added Polysorbate 80 and Titanium Dioxide to Ivermectin tablets. This claim does not hold up when checked against official product labels.

Current inactive ingredients in human oral tablets:

Stromectol (brand-name, Merck): Microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, magnesium stearate, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and anhydrous citric acid.

Common generic 3 mg tablets (U.S. examples): Colloidal silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, and pregelatinized starch.

Neither Polysorbate 80 nor Titanium Dioxide appears on these lists. These formulations have remained consistent for years, with no evidence of a recent reformulation that introduced the two ingredients.

Where These Ingredients Actually Appear

Formulation Type	Polysorbate 80	Titanium Dioxide	Notes
Human oral tablets (Stromectol & generics)	No	No	Official FDA/DailyMed labels
Ivermectin 1% topical cream (rosacea treatment)	Yes (in some versions)	No	Used as an emulsifier
Veterinary pastes (e.g., horse paste)	Sometimes	Frequently	Titanium dioxide is used as a white colorant

The circulating claim appears to result from confusion between different product types — particularly mixing human oral tablets with veterinary pastes or topical creams.

Summary

• Chemically, Ivermectin is a well-defined mixture of two macrocyclic lactones (primarily B₁a with a smaller amount of B₁b).
• Standard human oral tablets do not contain Polysorbate 80 or Titanium Dioxide according to current official labeling.
• Claims that these ingredients were recently added to the tablets are not supported by regulatory documents.

For the most accurate information about any specific product, always refer to the package insert or the official FDA DailyMed entry for that exact manufacturer and NDC number.

 Discover Total Healing

Series Introduction

Welcome to Part 2 of the Restoration Journey

Welcome, friend.

If you are holding this booklet, it means you have already begun an important journey. In Divine Journey to Wholeness (Part 1 of the Restoration Series), you took your first steps toward healing. You started to look honestly at your heart and opened yourself to God’s restoring work.

Now you are here for Part 2: Discover Total Healing.

This booklet is designed to take you deeper. Together we will explore how healing can touch every part of your life — your heart, your mind, your body, your relationships, and your walk with God. We will also look at the old patterns that may still hold you back and learn how to walk forward as a restored person.

You do not need to be strong or have everything figured out to continue. You only need a willing heart. God is already with you, and He is faithful to complete the good work He has started.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 1:6

This is your invitation to keep walking.

Preface

I wrote this booklet for people like you — ordinary people who are quietly carrying wounds, questions, and a longing for something more.

Many of us have been taught to keep going, to stay strong, and to hide our pain. We learn how to smile while something inside us still hurts. Over time, we become experts at surviving, but we forget how to truly live.

Discover Total Healing is Part 2 of the Restoration Series. In the first booklet, Divine Journey to Wholeness, we began the journey of turning toward God with our brokenness. In this second part, we go deeper. We look at the heart, the mind, the body, relationships, and our walk with God. We also face the old patterns that once protected us but now hold us back.

This booklet is not a manual for perfect people. It is a gentle companion for real people. You will not find complicated language or heavy demands here. Instead, you will find simple truths, honest questions, practical steps, and quiet invitations to meet God in the places that still need healing.

My prayer is that as you read, you will feel less alone. I hope you will sense God’s kindness drawing near to you. And I hope you will discover that total healing is not only possible — it is already beginning in you.

Take your time. Be gentle with yourself. Keep walking.

You are not alone on this journey.

— The Author

Prologue

There comes a quiet moment in every healing journey when you realize something important:

You no longer want to just survive. You want to become whole.

You have carried the weight long enough. You have smiled when you were tired. You have stayed strong when you needed rest. You have hidden parts of yourself because it felt safer that way.

But something inside you is beginning to awaken. A deeper longing. A gentle desire for more than coping.

This longing is not weakness. It is the voice of God calling you further into freedom.

Healing does not always come with loud breakthroughs. Often it comes quietly — through honesty, through small acts of courage, through learning to stay present with your own heart, and through discovering that God is safer than you once believed.

This booklet is an invitation to keep walking toward that deeper healing.

Not by force. Not by striving. But by gently opening yourself, one step at a time, to the restoring work of God.

You do not have to rush. You do not have to be ready for everything. You only need to be willing.

The journey continues. And God walks with you.

SUFFERING ALONE - A Report

 SUFFERING ALONE

How Loneliness Grows a Wound

Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of

an empathetic witness.

G AB O R M ATÉ

Core Thesis: Trauma is not primarily what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness. Solitary suffering causes wounds to fester, leading to disconnection from self, others, and God. Healing begins with compassionate connection and the practice of befriending suffering in the presence of God and others.

Overview

This chapter explores how loneliness and solitary suffering amplify pain into lasting trauma. Using the stories of Pierce and his brother Chase, the author’s personal reflections, scientific insights (Gabor Maté, Peter Levine, Aundi Kolber), and strong biblical theology, it contrasts God’s design for connection (Genesis 2:18) with the reality of isolated pain in a fallen world. The chapter moves from diagnosis (the slow withering of loneliness) to hope (God’s compassionate “Where are you?”) and practical response (befriending suffering through lament and community).

I. Opening Case Study: Pierce and Chase (The Twins)

Main Point: Two brothers from the same dysfunctional family respond differently to pain but both suffer alone.

Sub-points:

• Pierce (successful lawyer, charming, outwardly strong) learned “be strong, never need anyone” from his high-powered, unfaithful father.
• Chase (struggling with marijuana/opioids, unstable) was more aligned with their depressed mother and internalized worthlessness.
• Both coped through different means (success/sex vs. substances) but were running from the same wound of emotional neglect and family brokenness.
• Turning point: Pierce breaks down in the pastor’s office when met with empathetic sadness — “You seem so very lonely too” — allowing tears and presence.

Lesson: Even those who appear “fine” or successful can be profoundly lonely. An empathetic witness disrupts isolation.

II. All the Lonely People – Cultural & Pastoral Context

Main Point: Disconnection and loneliness are epidemic, producing addiction, illness, and spiritual alienation.

Sub-points:

• The author walks through San Francisco, observing lonely strangers and churchgoers at Communion — all hungry for true connection.
• Quote from Gabor Maté: Disconnection (alienation, loss of meaning) is our culture’s most plentiful product, leading to widespread addiction and illness.
• Irony: The pastor himself feels lost and lonely while shepherding others.
• Recognition of aloneness is the first step toward reconnection with self, God, and others.

Biblical Tie-in: God’s question “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) expresses longing for connection with image-bearers designed for worth, belonging, and purpose.

III. Alone in Our Pain – Theological & Scientific Foundations

Main Point: Solitary suffering turns normal pain into deep trauma; humans were designed for connection.

Sub-points:

• Suffering is universal (“as human as to breathe”), but suffering alone wounds the soul.
• God’s design: “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18); creation declared “very good” (Genesis 1:31) in community.
• Infants need connection (safe, seen, soothed, secure) for survival and flourishing.
• Science: Loneliness is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day; increases risks of depression, heart disease, dementia, etc.
• Metaphor: Plants withering without water/sunlight — we wither without empathetic connection.

Key Quote: “The essence of trauma isn’t events, but aloneness within them” (Bonnie Badenoch).

IV. The Slow Wither of Loneliness (Trauma as Gradual Disconnection)

Main Point: Trauma often develops subtly through chronic disconnection and self-protection.

Sub-points:

• Peter Levine: Loss of connection to self, body, others, and world happens slowly; we adapt without noticing.
• Author’s story: After job loss, self-protective “porcupine” mode (“tough it out”) led to isolation.
• Stress vs. Trauma: Overwhelming events dysregulate the nervous system (cortisol, fight/flight, hippocampus offline).
• Adaptation becomes “new normal” — a withered state far from flourishing.

Lesson: “Toughing it out” is not virtue; it’s a recipe for further isolation and trauma.

V. Say “Ouch!” – The Power of Empathetic Witness

Main Point: Connection and compassionate presence regulate the nervous system and begin healing.

Sub-points:

• Support group example: Participants minimized pain through comparison (“someone had it worse”).
• Peter Levine’s car accident story: A caring pediatrician’s presence (hand-holding, soothing voice) dropped his heart rate from shock and allowed him to process trauma.
• Good parenting model: Respond with empathy (“Ouch!”) regardless of injury size.
• God’s response: He meets us tenderly rather than demanding we “get over it.”

Lesson: No suffering is too small (or too big) to warrant care. Comparison blocks healing.

VI. The Practice of Befriending Suffering

Main Point: Instead of avoiding or minimizing pain, we are invited to mourn, name it, and bring it into the light before God and others.

Sub-points:

• Jesus: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4); “Come to me, all you who are weary…” (Matthew 11:28).
• Jesus himself suffered alone and cried out (Matthew 27:46) — modeling honest lament.
• Practices:
  • Write personal laments (in the spirit of Psalms of lament).
  • “Separating and attending”: “I am not my [emotion/addiction]… I am feeling/coping with…”
  • Companionship: Invite others into honest “Where are you?” conversations.
• Theological anchor: We are image-bearers, hidden with Christ, rooted in love (Colossians 3:3; Ephesians 3:17). Pain is part of us, not our core identity.

Closing Invitation: Bring wounded hearts to the mercy seat. You don’t have to suffer alone.

Reflection Questions & Practices (as in the chapter)

• Personal stories of suffering alone and family messages about pain.
• Normalizing vs. minimizing suffering.
• Practices: Lament writing, separating/attending exercise, soul companionship.

Key Takeaways for the Report

• Solitary suffering festers into trauma; empathetic connection (human and divine) is the antidote.
• God’s design is interdependent community, not rugged individualism.
• Befriending suffering (naming “Ouch!” and lamenting) opens the door to comfort, joy, and restoration in Christ.