The  “Who are the Sons of Israel?” blog continues here.

The words בנים (benim – sons) the plural of בן (ben – son) and בני (benai – sons), as in sons of Israel, NEVER include women. This is a very difficult concept to comprehend without understanding the differences between men and women in the scriptures. Beginning with Adam and Chavvah (Eve) the birth of a woman is rarely even recorded unless she is going to give birth to a significant male. A woman can be joined to a בן through marriage and the two do become one flesh, but she is still the woman and the husband becomes a בני. The בני is the head of his household and can have בנים (sons) and daughters.  Again, daughters are always listed separately if they are listed at all. The word בני (sons) is not exclusive to the men of Israel, but is in fact used for all nations; there are בני (sons) of Heth (a Canaanite), בני (sons) of Ammon and בני (sons) of Edom to give just a few examples.

After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had בנים (sons) and daughters. (Gen 5:4)

If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him בנים (sons) or daughters, the wife and her children [the word here is ילד (yelad) as offspring] shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. (Exo 21:4)

And YHVH passed before him and proclaimed, “YHVH, YHVH God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the בנים (sons) and the בני (son’s) בנים (sons) to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exo_34:6-7)

She conceived again and bore a בן (son), and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three בנים (sons)” Therefore his name was called Levi. (Gen 29:34)

And the בני (sons) of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, (Gen 23:5)

All males born in the flesh to a בני are בן (ben – son in the singular) or בנים (benim – sons in the plural).

בני, however, can be used as a singular or as a plural noun. But this word בני has an additional aspect that makes it very special. The above examples talks about the בני of the flesh. But בני can also have a spiritual component; for a בני can also give birth to בני! These בני are the spiritual and literal sons of YHVH/Israel and when these men take a wife their wives become the daughters of YHVH/Israel. This is where my “Born Again” series will help us understand the difference between the ger (the one who has joined himself to YHVH’s ezrach (born in in the land בני, sons, of Israel.

Also, this spiritual בני does not have to be married and can be very young; they are the spiritually born בני of YHVH/Israel because their father’s are the spiritually born בני of YHVH/Israel. The reason this is so is because the בני in the flesh who has joined himself to Israel, to eat the Passover and become as one born in the land must be circumcised in the flesh along with all the males of his household.

And when a stranger [ger] dwells with you [the ezrach] and wants to keep the Passover to YHVH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; AND HE SHALL BE [come] AS A NATIVE OF THE LAND [an ezrach] For no uncircumcised [man] shall eat it. One law shall be for the native-born [the ezrach]  and for the stranger [the ger] who dwells among you.” (Exo 12:48-49)

Listen to what Sarah says about Ishmael and Isaac; it is profound!

Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her בן (son) [son in the flesh]; for the בן (son) of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son בני (son) [the spiritual son], namely with Isaac.” (Gen 21:10)

Amazing! This is why Yeshua said to Nicodemus that evening during the feast of unleavened bread, “that which is born of flesh is FLESH and that which is born of the spirit is SPIRIT“; THE SPIRITUAL HEIR WITH ISAAC!

All those בנים (sons) born of Jacob became בני (sons) of Israel as a result of keeping the Passover all their lives. Interesting enough what we call the Passover was originally called the “time of life” in Genesis 18; this is the very day that Isaac, the spiritual son of Abraham was born. Go figure! YHVH is amazing; I know I used that word once already, but He is!

Is anything too hard for YHVH? At the appointed time (the moed) I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son [on that very day].” (Gen 18:14)

But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this מועד (moed – set time) next year.” (Gen 17:21)

Incidentally, the time of life was the very day that Isaac was to be killed by his father Abraham but YHVH provided a ram in his place; and all this happened at the very place that Yeshua was killed, Mount Moriah. Coincidence? I think not.

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:2)

And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. (Gen 22:8)

And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of YHVH it shall be provided.” (Gen 22:14)

Are you excited as I am yet? In just a few paragraphs it is going to get even cooler!

And all his [Jacob's] בני (sons) and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave, to my בני (son) [Joseph] in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. (Gen 37:35)

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says YHVH: “Israel is My בני (son), My firstborn. (Exo 4:22)

Since you (this is the 144,00) were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life. Say to the North, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My בני (sons) from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. (Isa 43:4-8)

The following two verses speak to me personally as I no longer have a wife and especially after my own בנים (sons) and daughter were stolen from me by the world.

OK, this is what I told you about. Are you ready? Here it is!

The בני (sons) of Israel can have בני (sons) of Israel with out a woman even being involved! My fleshly wife left me because she did not like the way my life was going in respect to my walk with YHVH; and she did that after I had a vasectomy to please her desire to not have any more בנים (sons) and daughters. Without YHVH’s intervention and a Torah compliant woman (I won’t make that horrid mistake again), I have no way to have any more בנים (sons) and daughters, it would seem. But by YHVH’s spirit I have already had dozens, and with each Passover I add more בני (sons) and daughters to my life!

The בני [spiritual sons of Israel] you will have, after you [this is the man already born in the land בני] have lost the others, will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; give me a place where I may dwell.’ Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost the others and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; but these, where were they?’ ” Thus says the Lord YHVH: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; they shall bring your בני in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Isa 49:20-22

“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the בני of the desolate than the בני of the married,” says YHVH. (Isa 54:1)

Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him for new בני and daughters! We serve a great Elohim!

In conclusion:

We enter into grave error when we begin to use what seems right to us in trying understand what our Father is saying. We can not be arbitrary in how we translate the Father’s words. To make “sons”, “children” is the beginning of a never-ending spiral of error and self-deception. Our Father has chosen His words carefully and we had better pay attention. Here is a great example of what I am talking about.

“Speak to Aaron, to his sons (בני) and to all the children (בני) of Israel, and say to them … (Lev 17:2)

Both words are בני, but one is translated as sons and the other as children. How capricious is that? If this is acceptable, why not let women become priests also by changing both words to children? Many already live that way anyway. How many denominations have women serving as pastors, evangelists and the like already?

When our Father talks about bringing out the בני (sons) of Israel from all the places that He has scattered them, He is talking about the SPIRITUAL MEN, men who have eaten the Passover and become as ones “Born in the land“; but these men will have wives and children, widows, orphans and strangers (ger) that are included with them and under their authority. But it is ALWAYS men that YHVH is talking about when He says בני (sons) of Israel!

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