Jephunneh, the Kenizzite: The First Grafted Gentile

 

There’s been a huge resurgence of interest in family history lately with millions of people ordering services from Ancestry.com, 23andMe, amongst dozens of others. People have been delighted and oftentimes astonished by what they find in their personalized reports. Whether it’s a cultural history they didn’t know about or discovering something new about a distant family member, these revelations can help people feel closer to their past and help them understand who they are today. In this article, we’ll be exploring Bazelel’s great great grandfather: Jephunneh, the Kenizzite.

Anyone who has read the books of Chronicles understands that some parts of the Bible are kind of like the family history websites previously mentioned, with hundreds of genealogical records going back, in the case of the Bible, thousands of years. Those who have been on said websites also know the frustration of coming across dead ends in a family history. There’s a name, but not much is known about the person except maybe birth, death, and maybe children if they had any. There’s no property listings, no occupation, no mentions in local papers, or any kind of distinguishing information about who they were or how they lived.

Jephunneh is kind of like that; a random branch that comes from out of nowhere.

It’s tempting to skip Jephunneh’s name entirely and move on to his more famous son Caleb, but we’d miss out on one of the most important and often overlooked characters in the Bible. Doing a little bit of modern genealogical exploration will help better understand more about him.

Many surnames hold key information about family histories. Smith, one of the most common American names, comes from the Old English word “smite”, as in to strike something, in reference to the metal work occupation the family may have been involved with. Some last names explain what country, province, or city families immigrated from. Alemán, which is the Spanish word for German, is also a surname and though it’s tempting to think it’s a description of what Spaniards thought of Germans (i.e. ale man: people who drank beer), it’s actually the name of the Germanic people, Alemanni, before Germany united as a country.

Jephunneh was called a Kenizzite, which were one of the tribes listed living in the Promised Land when God makes His Covenant with Abram (ref Genesis 15:19). Jephunneh was most likely not a recently freed slave, but a foreigner whose ancestors once lived in the lands that Israel would soon be conquering. The word kenaz, which is the likely root of Kenizzite, means hunter, so Jephunneh and his forefathers may have roamed the regions of the Promised Land, learning intimately the different regions’ terrains during their hunts.

It’s hard not to entertain the romantic notion that Jephunneh shared stories of his hunts with his son describing the beauty of the region and the fertile lands that the plentiful populations of wildlife thrived on, inspiring Caleb to excitedly volunteer as one of the first Israelites to explore the Promised Land as a scout. Perhaps Hebron, the region Caleb asked for as an inheritance for his part in the invasion of the Promised Land (ref Joshua 14:13-14), held distinctive significance to his father Jephunneh.

Hebron stood as one of the most indispensable sites for the Israelites, as the plain of Mamre, as Hebron had been previously called, was the first piece of land purchased by Abraham in the Promised Land. Abraham had also built an altar to God there and buried his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23). The Tomb of the Patriarchs, which still stands in Hebron today, is believed to be the burial place of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as the Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. Hebron remained the first foothold the Israelites had as a legitimate claim to the land and stood as the first root Abraham planted in the region.

Granting such a historically important location to the son of a foreigner would not have been done thoughtlessly.

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, as just another name amongst hundreds. But his name’s meaning is significant. Translated as “nimble” or “beholder” by Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Jephunneh perfectly exemplifies someone who saw what God was doing and who quickly ran towards it. Smith’s Bible Dictionary translates his name as “for whom a way is prepared” which not only describes his pathway to joining the Israelite tribes, but also set the model for our joining God’s Family.

Jephunneh, the Kenizzite being accepted into the Israeli community, his son Caleb representing the royal tribe of Judah as a scout into the Promised Land, and Caleb receiving perhaps the most historically valuable piece of land all served as prophetic signs of Christ’s relationship with His future Church. Not only would Gentiles be accepted, but fully grafted onto the roots that God had already established with His People. Christ’s Followers would not be second rate citizens but totally integrated Sons and Daughters representing His Royal Lineage. And His Church would not be allocated table scraps, but first choice of the best aspects of His Inheritance.

It’s fun and exciting to look back at history and explore what happened in the past. It’s also extremely important to learn from, to be able to understand what is happening today. Jephunneh’s decision to follow God’s prompting was not only rewarded with his son Caleb claiming one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the Promised Land, but his great great grandson Bezalel would serve as the chief architect of the Sacred Tabernacle.

Jephunneh recognized that God was moving in a new direction and had the wisdom and courage to leave the life he knew and embrace the blessings God had for him and his family. His family’s constant support of God’s messenger from the beginning of their journey to the Promised Land granted them a far more exciting and prosperous life than they could have ever imagined and set the precedent for our future relationship with Christ. We pray there will be many others who follow Jephunneh’s example and recognize the way God is moving in this new era and head His Calling.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Ripples through the Nile River

We need to bring up a possible concern that some of our more researched subscribers and readers might have had with our previous article regarding the genealogy of Bezalel, the chief architect of the Tabernacle: It is not fully clear that Moses’ sister Miriam and mother Yocheved are in fact the midwives Shiphrah and Puah who defied the Pharaohs’ order to murder the Israelite males by drowning them in the Nile as recorded in Exodus 1:15-22.

What’s really significant about all of this is that Shiphrah and Puah may not have been Israelites at all and may actually have been Egyptians who served the pregnant Israelite community. We are not certain if they were Israelites, converts, or simply regional midwives who were inspired by the faith of the Israelite mothers.

While some, though not all, Jewish traditions contend that they are Moses’ mother and sister, the possibility that these women were not related to Moses, had no real personal connection to the consequences of the Israelite genocide, and were motivated wholly because they “feared God, [so they] did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do” (Exodus 1:17) makes for a far more compelling and inspiring story.

Their fear of God is not based in self-interest, as they were defying the Pharaoh of Egypt, the most powerful leader in their country, exposing themselves to possible execution for treason. They realistically could have believed their obstacle was too large and their contribution was too small.

They had everything to lose.

These extreme consequences are the reason why Exodus 1:21 expounds that “because the midwives feared God, He (`asah bayith)”. This last part has been deciphered many different ways, with “built them houses”, “gave them their own families”, & “established their family dynasty” all being reputable translations. This relates to the true definition of prosperity, since they were not just blessed in a financial aspect, but more importantly, Pharaoh, with his zeal for murder, was unable to touch or harass them. In fact, even though they remained in Egypt, their names and families gained power and prestige because they carried the weight of God’s blessing.

This phrase (`asah bayith) is also seen in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain”. All our efforts to ensure the PMT Campus’ completion will fail if God is not in it. But because we have already seen His Hand moving mightily, our greater concern is that people will miss out on the blessings God has for those who fear Him and do as He wills. We need to remember that Shiphrah and Puah’s names could have been replaced by others who had the courage to claim the blessing.

We’ve had several God-fearing readers ask what they can do to help contribute to the Vision of the Tabernacle if they don’t feel called to make the PMT Campus their long-term homestead. Prayers and financial gifts are of course always needed, but sharing our articles, videos, and podcasts with your friends, family, and other networks helps us reach others that God may intend to be a part of this new move He has for the Church.

We’ve received many other relevant questions and will be addressing them in a weekly segment during our Sunday broadcasts.

God will bless you and your family for following His Voice. Your actions have a profound ripple effect that spreads out to the rest of your family, church, community, and the World as a whole as we see with the midwives’ decision to fear God more than man, leading to the emancipation of Israel. As we’ll see in our next few articles, regular people’s decision to trust God’s Voice not only lead to great blessing for themselves and their families, but caused tidal waves which shook the known world.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Laying the Foundation

Our previous article touched on a special man mentioned in the Bible, who lacks a lot of modern recognition for the great things he accomplished.

(בְּצַלְאֵל), Bəṣalʼēl, or Bezalel in its Anglicized form, was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle, which seems fitting since his name translates to “in the shadow of the Lord“. He is also responsible for building the Ark of the Covenant, the consecrated utensils for worship, the sacred furniture, the priestly garments, and preparing the oil and incense for service.

In Exodus 31:1-5, God informs Moses that He has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, with Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding and the ability to be a skilled artisan crafting things out of gold, silver, and brass. Bezalel would be able to cut stone and set them, and carve wood with intricate detail.

Bezalel and his amazing talents follow a long line of accomplishment seen throughout his distinguished family tree.

He was the son of Uri, whose name means my light/my flame/illumination, which could be a reference to his upstanding ethics or possibly an extremely enlightened mind.

Bezalel’s grandfather was Hur, the companion of Moses who helped Aaron keep Moses’ hands up to win the battle of Rephidim against the Amelekites in Exodus 17:12. In 1 Chronicles 4:4, Hur is listed as the father of the town of Bethlehem. When Moses goes up to Mount Sinai, he tells the Israelites that “Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them ( Exodus 24:14)” indicating that Hur was a key right hand man to Moses and deeply trusted by him. Afterwards, Hur is no longer mentioned in Biblical account and Jewish Talmudic tradition holds that he was killed while trying to prevent the making of the Golden Calf.

Though not fully clear in Biblical text, rabbinic folklore holds that Bezalel’s great grandparents were Miriam and Caleb.

Most will remember Miriam as Moses’ sister, who helped Moses survive in the Nile and offered the Egyptian princess her family’s services to nurse him. Some Jewish scholars believe that Miriam and Moses’ mother Yocheved were actually the famous midwives Shiphrah and Puah. These are the women whom the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered to kill the Hebrew boys as they were being born, but instead saved them in Exodus 1:15-22. If Miriam and Yocheved were midwives, they would have possibly known that the Egyptian princess was open to adopting. It also makes more sense that the Egyptian princess would not trust some random girl to look after her newly embraced baby, but would recognize the midwife’s daughter who regularly visited the Pharaoh.

Puah (Miriam’s midwife name), comes from the root pa’ah which means ‘to cry out or scream” referring to the newborn child’s cries. It also translates as “cooing” which implies Miriam’s role in the midwifing process was looking after and comforting the baby after birth. This makes sense that, after years of singing lullabies after the birth of a baby, Miriam’s natural instinct after crossing the Red Sea, a symbolic birthing of Israel out of Egypt, is to lead the newly freed Israelite women to start singing Miriam’s Song recorded in Exodus 15:19-21. Miriam also served as a prophetess and the leader of the women during the 40 year march in the wilderness.

Caleb, Bezalel’s great grandfather, was one of twelve spies sent out into the Promised Land to scout the region and conduct reconnaissance. He, along with Joshua, were the only ones who brought back a positive report of the area, trusting, that with God’s help, they would be able to conquer the land (Numbers 14:6-9). Caleb’s name means “dog”, which has been interpreted different ways. His father Jephunneh (Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6, 14) was a Kenizzite (Genesis 15:19), which were a foreign Gentile tribe, so Caleb being a “dog” might refer to his mixed race heritage. Customary Jewish sources paint a more positive picture of Caleb as a man with a dog-like loyalty to Moses and most importantly, to God. Caleb’s voice was so booming and loud that in a Jewish legend, he rescues the other spies in the Promised Land with his shouts and “barks” by frightening away giants who had cornered them.

Caleb’s dog-like loyalty and courage are profoundly expressed when he confronts Joshua before the final invasion of the Promised Land. Caleb reminds Joshua of their Special Forces mission forty-five years earlier and how at “eighty-five years old, [Caleb was] still as strong as the day Moses sent [him] out“, and that after all this time Caleb still believes that with “God’s help, [he would] drive [the giants] out” (ref Joshua 14:6-15).

I hope you understand that I am not arguing that God’s spiritual gifts are genetic or that only special lineages helped complete His plans, but that His promises are accomplished by a long stream of people with different talents each deciding to be courageous and follow the role and path God had laid out for them, building upon the accomplishments of those who came before them.

Some are blessed with a myriad of spiritual gifts and huge public positions, like we see with Bezalel, the chief architect of the Tabernacle. Others may at first seem insignificant or un-profound like the father of Caleb, Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, until we consider that if it were not for his Faithful decision to bravely leave behind his family and homeland to convert and join the Israelite Nation, the rest of his family’s story wouldn’t have taken place. God did not overlook the sacrifices and choices of these characters and their legacies stand thousands of years later for us to learn from today. The decision to turn from the world by joining the Vision of the Tabernacle, living by God’s principles, and employing your spiritual gifts, may not seem profound in your lifetime but it has ripple effects for generations to come.

In the next articles, we’ll be exploring the parallels between the roles and gifts seen in the building of the Tabernacle and what God is constructing today.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

The Shadow of the Lord

Recently, Prophet Kent Simpson sent out a challenge to our eldership and associated ministers asking them for advice and direction concerning their thoughts on our current and future steps towards making the PMT Campus a reality. We have been extremely grateful for their heart-filled responses, suggestions, and prayers. But one particular response rang intensely to me.

This elder’s response was filled with great wisdom and insight but it was their closing sentence that deeply spurred me to begin to write.

“I pray God will give you the words to activate your builders and resources and bring substance to that shadow you are building on earth as in heaven.”

First, I want to clarify any confusion someone might have over the word “shadow“.

While most Christians might automatically connect shadow with something terrible, dark or frightening, as seen in Psalms 23:4, which is most often quoted through its King James translation, with the line, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death“, we need to remember that God’s Shadow is often described as a place of safety, calm, & rest.

Psalms 91:1 explains that “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty“. Psalms 36:7 shouts “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings“. Psalms 121:5 reminds us that “The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand“.

There are many more examples, but I just wanted to include a few verses from the book of Psalms where the “shadow of death” comes from.

Regarding our elder’s message, I was instantly reminded of a little known character from the Bible. This person activated his fellow builders and took the resources he was provided and built a shadow on Earth as in Heaven. In fact, his name actually meant “Shadow of the Lord“.

I’ll reveal who this mystery person is in my next article but I want to briefly explain that the PMT Campus is not something that can be created using only the efforts of those who received the challenge message. We need Christians of varied knowledge, talents, and spiritual gifts to be able to make the PMT campus a reality.

While I understand our elder’s words were initially meant for Prophet Kent Simpson, I know this elder is open to being used by God in whatever capacity He intends. God will direct His Team of Prophets, like a battalion of archers, quivers filled with prophetic words, to strike the heads, hearts, and hands of His people to redirect their focus, to drive their passions, and guide their actions.

This series will explore the different roles that God’s people serve in His Spiritual Military, how you can recognize and develop your spiritual gifts, how they can be used in your ministerial mission, and if God directs you, how you can help us realize the Vision of the Tabernacle.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator