HEBREW WORD STUDY – LIGHT FROM THE DWELLER – ‘OR BEMOSHEVOTHAM – ~אור במושׁבתמ

Exodus 10:23: “They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

You most likely remember the story about the plagues that came upon Egypt? One plague was darkness.  This so unnerved Pharaoh that he agreed to let the people of Israel go.  Is it just me or has anyone else ever thought: “What? Didn’t Pharaoh have candles, torches, oil lamps?    What was so unnerving about total darkness, it only lasted three days and when the lights came on you find a willing Pharaoh ready to let the people go.

To get total darkness it meant God had to extinguish the lights of the sun, moon, and stars for three days. The Egyptians worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. Their chief god was Ra which was the sun god.  They worshipped the stars, it was constellations that told them when to plant their crops when to harvest when the Nile would overflow its banks it irrigate the land.  God Jehovah was doing a real number on their so-called deities.  Then they looked toward the community of Hebrews and saw light.  That would be even more unnerving because of where the light came from. 

The Talmud teaches that this light literally came from the people themselves. But it was not through them, it was reflected off of them.  The light in the Hebrew community was the Light of God reflected off His people.  The people of God literally had a light shining from their countenance.  Now that would really unnerve the Egyptians.  The Hebrew says in this verse that there was ‘or bemoshevotham. This literally means “a light from within their dwellers.”  The use of the word “dweller” might suggest angelic beings. One thing is sure, this light (‘or) was a divine light.  This is the light of Genesis 1:3 when God said: “Let there be light.”   Where did that light come from? He had not yet created the sun, moon or stars?   This was Divine light.  Now what the sages do is take the preposition and pronoun away from the in bemoshevotham and you have Moshev which is a literal play on the word  Moshiach or Messiah.  It was not the light coming from the people but reflected off the people. The Shechinah glory was present in each household but that use of the word dweller and it’s play on the word Moshiach suggest to me that the Light was Jesus and was reflecting off the people.  The word Moshovotam spells out moshav tam or a complete resting place. Where you find the light of God you will find a complete resting place. 

The Bible tells us Jesus is the light of the world.  He is the light of God and so in Him, we can find moshav tam.  What must it have been like in those Hebrew households for three days basking in the light of the Messiah, the light of God? Not only that but to look around and see that light reflected off the people around you.  That must have been some three days of worship and praise for the people of Israel. That was enough to spook out even Pharaoh.