Hyssop ~ Hebrew Word Picture ~ Ezob

Shemen TovaTM

Hebrew Word Pictures

of the Plants of the Bible

 Copyright 2014 ~ Cynthia Hillson

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Ezob ~ Hyssop

In Hebrew, hyssop is Ezob. The Hebrew Word Picture isn't just fascinating, but it is amazing how the word picture links to the health properties of the hyssop plants, and the spiritual meaning of protecting.

Ezob begins with aleph. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.  Aleph is not only the first letter and equivalent to our letter "A" it has a spiritual principal considered by some Jewish Theologians as being the letter that was created in the image of God, or "The Leader" and often referred to as the letter of the Father. 

The ancient picture is an ox and represents strength and might. The ox was "all powerful" and "all versatile" in the ancient world as an ox was used for "everything" from pulling carts and plowing, providing food, leather, and was a sacrifice. While the aleph is the first letter it is silent letter.

Aleph is related to the cornerstone of the Jewish people "Hear O' Israel! The Lord is Our God, The Lord is One." The letter is written in three strokes of the pen and the numeric value is one, thus we can understand the symbolism of Aleph to be "Three-in One".

Zayin is the second letter of Ezob. This letter's picture is a mattock or a hoe, an agricultural cutting tool used in taking care of crops by cutting the roots of weeds. The zayin can be interpreted as "food" from the harvest.

The mattock was also used as a weapon, or a sword. We read in Ephesians 6 that Believers need to put on the "whole armor of God" which includes the Sword of the Spirit, The Word of God. It is interesting to read about Paul's day when he wrote this verse. The sword was the military weapon of choice and there were different shapes that served different purposes for protection and in battles.

When you consider the power of God's Word as the Sword of the Spirit, it isn't only a figure of speech, it is powerful, and effective for every area of our lives.

There are two benefits of zayin; spiritual nourishment and spiritual protection. Those who study the Hebrew alphabet show us how the letter is of both bread and war as it can be spelled two ways,

!yz       !z

            weapon  or "to nourish or sustain"     

The vav is a “connector” connecting heaven and earth, and the past to the future. The picture of a vav is a hook, tent peg or a nail. Think of vav as “and” to make a thought complete. You can’t write a book without words and phrases that form sentences, paragraphs and chapters.

There are many important characteristic of vav that must be included as we learn the preciousness of Ezob; it is in the first occurrence of the word "hyssop" and how it was to have been used.

"And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning."

Exodus 12:22 

The hyssop and blood was used on the side posts and lintel of the house. They were "connected" together at the entrance of the home. The lintel was the overhang. In the Hebrew the word for side post is the same thing that is found at the entrance of every Jewish home, the mezuzah. מזוּזה

An interesting note about the root word of mezuzah pronounced zı̂yz (zeez)  זיז

As you look at the word you will see two zayin's (weapons) with the yod in between. The yod is letter that represents "The Hand of God".

You may be asking "What is a Mezuzah?"  A Mezuzah is a parchment scroll that has been handwritten by a professional scribe. It contains two sections of the Torah that discuss the Jewish faith. Every Mezuzah, no matter how simple or elaborate the exterior casing may be, contains the exact same inscription, the Shema Yisrael: “Hear o’ Israel, the L-rd Our G-d, the L-rd is One.”  The verses in the Shema are Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. The mezuzah is attached to the doorposts and a ‘kosher’ mezuzah is thought to bring protection, and blessing.

As we continue to study “ezob” we can learn how the connection of the vav joins the next letter, beit.



Beit is the first letter of the Hebrew Bible ("In" the beginning) although it is the second Hebrew letter in the alphabet. The beit is a tent, house, tabernacle and dwelling, it symbolizes family. In Hebrew a son is “ben” בּן and daughter is “bayt”  בּת. Also take note, and don’t be confused that the beit can be transliterated into English as “b” or a “v”. An example of this is that you often find Abraham written as Avraham.

The connection of vav to the beit is amazing in ezob when we think of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and how the vav hooked the curtains of the tabernacle. This truth is also found as the lintel and side posts were also connected to form the entrance of the house, but how it connects in the story of Passover.

I could write much more about the Hebrew word picture of ezob, hyssop but want to end it by telling you the beit b begins the word beracha (blessing), and that is what hyssop was, and should be to us. To sum ezob up this is what it is.

Ezob is as strong as an ox and a powerful weapon. When used at the entrance of your home, it will be protected, and a blessing.

To Learn more about hyssop ~ ezob, a plant of the Bible go to my Apothecary Mama blog. www.ApothecaryMama.WordPress.com.

Questions or comments please e-mail ApothecaryMamaCynthia@gmail.com

To purchase Shemen Tova "hyssop" pure essential oils e-mail PreciousOils@gmail.com. In the subject line write "send price list of hyssop".





Apothecary Mama Blog and Shemen Tova

 

 



Dear Friends, I'll be posting the Hebrew Word Pictures on this blog from my new blog Apothecary Mama. Please check back often so you can see the amazing insight of Biblical plants through the pictographs of the Hebrew language. Amazing! Each plant will be available through Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils as we post. 

 

 

 

Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils ~ Lesson One ~ Part Three ~ Hebrew Picture of Precious Oils

Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils will be available Summer 2014

 

Part Three ~ Tova ~ Precious & Costly.

To this day I remember the details how Precious Oils was named in 1991 and set me on the path of studying about the oils and the plants of the Bible in greater detail. With the enhancement of using pure, essential oils along with my studies has allowed me to share bits and pieces through the years while my husband and I raised our family of six children (now ages 21 to 31). In 1991 when Precious Oils was named I had been studying on the two anointing’s of Yeshua (Jesus) which lead me into a deeper study of anointing’s and oil, which took me to Psalm 133. (I wrote about the 2 anointing’s in my book Precious Oils ~ A Study of the Fragrances of the Bible.)

There are seven Hebrew words for Precious, but only four times is the Hebrew word “Tov” defined as the word “Precious”, each time it is linked to “precious ointment”. (II King’s 20:13, Psalm 133:2 and twice in Isaiah 39:1&2.)

Tova begins with the Hebrew letter Tet. J This is a very interesting letter as the picture is a serpent; the letter has dual meanings representing evil, the serpent, and judgment. The dual meaning of Tet is seen in God's objective goodness working through the permissive will of sinful men.  I have a visionary, Messianic Jewish friend whose life has been devoted to sharing the Gospel through the Hebrew language. She taught me that the dual nature of the Tet represents the judgment of God that rested upon Yeshua when he bore our sin, and the sin of the world. Yes, the serpent represents evil but the redemptive purpose of God was fulfilled. Remember when Moses raised his pole in the desert in Numbers 21? In John 3:14-17 Yeshua brings teaching using the story of the Children of Israel and how they could look at the serpent, and live.

The Tet also begins the word tikvah, which is hope found numerous times in Scripture. Tikvah can also be found in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected (tikvah) end.”

Precious, essential oils often are a good, (tov) healing modality for those who need hope and encouragement. Each person has their own health profiles, while we encourage essential oil therapy as a natural remedy please be sure to explore other health modalities that fit your lifestyle.

As we continue with the ancient keys found in the Hebrew of Shemen Tova™ we find vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Interestingly it ties in with Shemen Tova™ in its own unique way as it was on the sixth day of creation when the physical world was completed, man was made in His image, and the blessing of herbs, trees and fruits was given. (Day three is the creation of plants; day six is the blessing to consume herb bearing seeds, and fruit trees from the earth as food.) Each Day of creation ended with God telling us that what he created that day “was good”, except for the sixth day when he tells us that it was “very good”.

The vav is a “connector” connecting heaven and earth, and the past to the future. The picture of a vav is a hook, tent peg or a nail. Think of vav as “and” to make a thought complete. You can’t write a book without words and phrases that form sentences, paragraphs and chapters.

There is one more important characteristic of vav that must be included as we learn the preciousness of Shemen Tova™, it’s in the hand written Torah Scrolls that are read weekly in synagogues around the world.

Torah Scrolls are written on kosher parchment paper.  If you ever have a chance to closely examine a Torah Scroll you will find some interesting features that are common in nearly every Torah Scroll ever written. Scrolls consist of 245 ruled columns and each column contains 42 lines. There are no chapter or verse markings, and no capitalization or punctuation. The only way one knows they have ended one of the five books of Torah is that there is a space of four blank lines to indicate where one book ends, and another begins.

Alfred J. Kolatch’s book, This is the Torah,  shares an insight of vav that is exciting to me as I’ve created Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils™.  He shares how nearly every column of a Torah Scroll (with the exception of five columns) begins with a vav. As the Scribes write each letter they understand the importance of vav and how it points to the significance of the instructions of God to Moses in the details of constructing Tabernacle in the Wilderness (a/k/a The Tent of Meeting).  While the meaning may seem hidden, it really isn’t when you look at the instructions of the Tabernacle’s curtains found in Exodus 26 and the “hanging of the curtains”. The word “curtains” (yerı̂y‛âh) in this Scripture passage is interesting as it also is the same word for “parchment”. As each curtain was hung, it was “hooked” onto a pillar (column), thus bringing understanding how the Vav begins nearly every column of a Torah Scroll.  

As we continue to study “tova” we can learn how the connection of the vav joins the next letter, beit. Beit is the first letter of the Hebrew Bible ("In" the beginning) although it is the second Hebrew letter in the alphabet. The beit is a house or tabernacle and it symbolizes family. In Hebrew a son is “ben” בּן and daughter is “bayt”  בּת. Also take note, and don’t be confused that the beit can be transliterated into English as “b” or a “v”, and I will often write Abraham as Avraham.  The connection of vav to the beit is amazing when we think of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and how the vav hooked the curtains of the tabernacle.

The beit b begins the word beracha (blessing).  In Jewish tradition blessings over every aspect of our lives is found in the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) from the time we open our eyes, to asking the Lord to give us restful sleep. In my Precious Oils Study book I give you the “Blessing over the Fragrances”. It is important to me to take a moment to acknowledge the Creator of the Universe for his blessings of the fragrant plant world each time I blend, bottle, write and use my essential oils. I do this in the same manner as I thank God for blessing me with my family, home, daily sustenance of clean water and healthy food, my Precious Oils ministry, the freedoms that we have in America and my new opportunity to plant the “Garden of the Ages” in the desert of Israel. As the Apothecary of Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils™ I pray that our essential oils are a blessing to you and your family and that you find healing and health as you use them, even daily.

The final Hebrew letter of Tova is the hey h.  The word for good (as in the days of creation) is written “tov”. Adding the hey to my essential oil name to make it Tova with the knowledge of the spiritual significance and power that the Hebrew letters bring to understanding the Oils and Plants of the Bible in a new, and exciting way.

The hey’s Hebrew word picture is a window, and the hey symbolizes the “breath of God” or His spirit.

To better explain how the breath of God is in the hey let’s look into the story of Avraham and Sarah.

When we are first introduced to the Bible characters we find that their names are Abram and Sarai, until Genesis 17 when God changes their names; Abram אברם becomes Abraham אברהם, and Sarai שׂרי  becomes Sarah שׂרה (The letter hey, the breath of God, is added to both names). We read the story and find that their names were changed at the same time that God was telling Abraham that he was going to be a father to the nations, and that his wife was going to bear him a son who would be named Isaac.

Biblical commentators agree that it was when the hey was added to Avram and Sarai it was the breath of life, God’s spirit that allowed them a new identity. It allowed them strength to consummate and bring forth the promise given that his wife would bear him a son. Hey is a soft-sounding letter and when applied at the end of a name or word it adds femininity as we see in Sarai becoming Sarah, from a barren woman to the Matriarch of the entire world.

As we take the word tov, and change it to tova, we are praying that you will experience every aspect of pure, Shemen Tova™ essential oils. This includes healing of the emotions and of physical body as many people experience when they use unadulterated essential oils.

To end our introduction of the Hebrew letters of Shemen Tova we must look at one more facet of the hey; it says “Behold” which is an amazing Word study in itself. In a nutshell “behold” is “Hey, Look, See; the root word adds in “with surprise”. God told us many things in the opening chapters of the Bible. In Genesis 1:29 we read

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

He tells us in Psalm 133 why the hey is important in the name of Precious Oils ~ Shemen Tova™.

A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment (tov shemen) upon the head that ran down upon the beard even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Psalms 133:1-3

© 2014 ~ Precious Oils Up On The Hill®   

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils™

is the ministry of Apothecary Cynthia Hillson.

Shemen Tova™ pure essential oils

will be available Summer 2014.

To learn more about Apothecary Cynthia Hillson

go to the following web sites and blogs.

www.TheFragrantBride.com

www.Precious-Oils.com
 

www.PreciousOils.WordPress.com

 

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Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils ~ Lesson One, Part Two ~ Hebrew Picture of Precious Oils

Part Two ~  19 June 2014

In 2011 I created the logo for Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils™ using a Hebrew letter font that shows life. I discovered the life of the Hebrew letters a number of years ago when I was selling “Your Name in Hebrew” with the individual Hebrew letters. When I made the first necklace I thought “If someone drops this necklace can they put it back together to read their name?” This began an intense study to learn more of the Hebrew alphabet, and it was in the pictorial I found a new perspective of the wisdom of God in all things. I obtained five books that described the pictorial language of the Hebrew alphabet and eventually made a chart instead of having all of the books opened at one time as I created a personal, and frame-able post card for each person. On the card I shared information about each letter of their name, and wrote a prophetic and encouraging declaration from the letters. In the beginning, little did I realize how healing the alphabet became to those who received those cards?  I have found life in the Hebrew letters thus my choice to use them in the logo for Shemen Tova™ because precious, essential oils brings life to many each day.  

Before we go into the Hebrew letters individually to see the pictorial understanding of Shemen Tova™ we go to the story of Jacob at Beit El (Genesis 28); this is the first occurrence of the word shemen in Scripture. Jacob anointed the stone pillar as a memorial of the mercy and goodness of God that was shown him in his dream. The ladder was set up in earth, and it reached into heaven. This oil was pure olive oil, as was the custom of the day for each person to have for food, light, and refreshment. The oil was a consecration of the holiness of God, and an offering from one who was grateful for the dream that showed that angels go from earth to heaven, and then back to earth.

Shemen begins with the shin w a letter that represents peace and protection. The shin also begins the word shalom; a study in itself. In a nutshell, shalom is safety, wellness, good health, prosperity, rest and peace, and wholeness. The root word says to be safe (in mind, body or estate), be friendly, reciprocate, make good and restore, wholeness and reward. The shin is also the same letter that begins the word Shabbat, the day of rest where perfect peace (shalom shaleem) is weekly sought by those of Jewish faith. The shin represents God’s divine power and provision to you in all things.

The second letter of Shemen is the mem, the letter that represents “living waters”. While it is true that oil and water don’t mix, they do when you see it in the Hebrew. The mem symbolizes the concealed and the revealed will of God; it one of the Hebrew letters that has two forms. The m (called open mem) is used anywhere in a word, except at the end; it represents Kingship and reminds us that when kings were anointed, it was with oil. The word “king” is melek, and means royalty. The closed mem represents dominion.

I found it very interesting that “water” mayim מים is a word that contains both mem’s. A famous Jewish song and dance is called Mayim, Mayim which was inspired from the words of Isaiah found in 12:3 “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." When you look into the Strong’s Concordance of mayim you see that is a word of two meanings of water; refreshment as in a “juice” and then of urination. Any massage therapist will tell you that it is important to drink lots of water before and after a massage to detoxify. Another aspect of “water” and its link to essential oils is essential oils are the “juice” of the plant, through distillation.

 

The nun is another Hebrew letter with two forms. In shemen it is in the final form and represents faithfulness. In a Jewish home there is daily testimony of God’s faithfulness when one recites the Shema. The Shema is a three-part prayer that sums up God’s faithfulness in a chaotic, changing world to remind us that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Shema is a reminder of God’s Word and all that He has created has a purpose. He is the one who regulates night and day, cycles and seasons and keeps the whole world in His hands.

Traditionally when the Shema isn’t being recited within a minyan (group of ten) it is proceeded with three words; God, The Trustworthy King which is an acronym of the word Amen am!.  Aleph a means “first”, mem m is king, and nun !  says infinite beyond time; which basically says when everything is done and gone, God will still be there just as He was in the beginning.

The nun is also the letter of humility. A humble man will submit his life to God. When we do by studying God’s Holy Word, respecting and esteeming others, and live a thankful and selfless life we take on the very nature of God.

If you think how olives become olive oil, remember it is in the “pressings”. This is what Jacob realized when he humbly anointed the pillar knowing where he stood was not only the house of God, it was the gate of heaven. When we are being pressed down on every side of life remember shemen, the oil, and its life-giving properties because God is faithful.

www.TheFragrantBride.com

Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils ~ Lesson One, Part One ~ Hebrew Picture of Precious Oils

Shemen Tova Oils will be available Summer 2014

 

Shemen Tova™ is Hebrew for “good or precious oil”. Our goal is to provide the highest quality essential oils, carrier (fixed) oils and other natural products for your health and pleasure. Many of our products are organic or wild-crafted. Shemen Tova oils are of the highest quality; pure and therapeutic. We source many of our products from boutique growers from around the world. Shemen Tova is delighted to offer a few of our essential oils from Israel, a country and a people we support.

It has never been God’s idea to hide himself from us. Daily we can see glimpses of him in the beauty of the nature that surrounds us, and in the people we love. I'm going to share with you a unique aspect of how I choose Shemen Tova in three parts; I was going to put it all in one blog, but the teaching became too long.

 

Part One ~  19 June 2014

Precious Oils has entered our 24^th year of ministry; it seems like yesterday I had my encounter with the Lord. I’ve been looking back at some of the milestones of Precious Oils, and I’ve held close to my heart comments from the Saints who have followed my unique, and set-apart ministry through the books, teachings and fragrant oils and other related products.  There have been many milestones and significant pillars in my journey; and there have been “dreams”. Some of the dreams just had to wait until my life would slow down from my motherly responsibilities of taking care of my six children, and being the “taxi-mom”. The Bible tells us that the Lord knows each hair on our head, and He knows how many miles I’ve driven. Over the last month things began to open up my time as our youngest daughter graduated college, got a car, and a job and will soon be on her own. I am sure it will be a little scary for her, and it is for me also. This will be the first time in 31 years that I don’t have to be a full-time Mom, and try to find time for the things I love, and am also called to do through Precious Oils to "anoint the nations" and "prepare the bride".

What sets me apart from others who are teaching about, and selling essential oils and other natural fragrant products is that I was called into this ministry in 1991. As time progressed with my first journey to Israel in 1999 the Hebraic understanding of it began. As I’ve begun to sort out my files I’m very excited to begin this new blog that will be the teaching portion of The Precious Oils and Plants of the Bible with our essential oil line of Shemen Tova ~ Precious Oils™. I am looking forward to sharing with you a greater portion of my studies based on the fragrances of the Bible through more teachings, videos and seminars.

http://preciousoils.blogspot.com/2014/06/shemen-tova-precious-oils-lesson-one_19.html