Yeshua (Jesus) read Biblical Hebrew.

“And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
And the book (scroll; written in Biblical Hebrew) of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.  And He opened the book (scroll) and found the place where it was written,

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”   (Luke 4:16-21)

Yeshua of Nazareth had been reading from Isaiah chapter 61, a Messianic passage.

The Hebrew word for “Nazareth” is nitzehret, and it is not surprising that the modern Hebrew word for “Christians“–followers of Yeshua of Nazareth, is ‘notzrim’. (These words have the same Hebrew root consonants: nun, tsadke and resh–sounds like ‘n’, ‘tz’ and ‘r’.)

Did you know that ‘notzrim’, the modern Hebrew word for “Christian”, is found in the very powerful prophetic chapter, Jeremiah 31?

First, please note that this chapter in Jeremiah declares:

1. There will be a New Covenant made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. (vs. 31-34)  This promise is repeated in the New Testament Book of Hebrews chapter 8!
2. The LORD’s everlasting love for Israel. (v. 3)
3. There will be a worldwide regathering of the Jewish people back to their land. (vs. 8-14)
4. The guarantee of Israel’s preservation as a nation. (vs. 35-37)

Sandwiched between these awesome promises,
we find the word “Notzrim” in verse 6:

כִּי יֶשׁ־יֹום קָרְאוּ נֹצְרִים בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם קוּמוּ וְנַעֲלֶה צִיֹּון אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ פ

I’ll transliterate the verse:  “Key yesh yom karoo notzrim b’har Ephraim koomoo vehnaahleh Zion el Adonai eloheinu.”

“For there shall be a day,
that the watchmen shall call upon the mount Ephraim:
‘Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion,
unto the LORD our God’.” (Jer 31:6 Jewish Publication Society translation [JPS])

There are three Biblical Hebrew (root) words for “watchman”:

natsar נצר; tsaphah צפה; shamar  שמר

The more common Biblical Hebrew (root) words for ‘watchman‘ are:

1. ‘tsaphah’ (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary [SHD], entry 6822)–to look out, spy;
2. ’shamar’ (SHD, entry 8104) –to keep, watch, preserve.  By the way, the word used for God as the “Keeper of Israel” is shomer, which comes from shamar.

But, the word used in Jeremiah 31 for ‘watchmen’ is notzrim. As just stated, the modern Hebrew word for ‘Christians’ is notzrim. I asked an Israeli friend of mine about this and he was baffled.  I showed him the passage.  He did a double-take.  He said he would speak to someone he knew, who had been in the Ministry of Education in Israel, to see if it could be explained.  I have not received an answer.

So, the third (and less common) Biblical Hebrew (root) verb from which we get ‘watchmen’ is ‘natsar’ (SHD entry 5341) — which has a primary root meaning “to watch, guard, keep”; and out of which comes the word, notzrim.

(Not to bore some of you, but here’s a quick Hebrew lesson:  Hebrew verbs are based on a root system, where generally three consonants comprise the root of a particular verb.  When certain vowel points or a prefix and suffix are added, the verb becomes a noun.  For instance, the verb,’to guard’, and the noun,’watchman’, share the same root.)

“Notzrim” appears three times in the Hebrew text.  It’s found in Job 27:18, describing the temporary nature of the house of the wicked as being like “a hut which the watchman has made.”    It’s found in a negative context in Jeremiah 4:16 where “watchers (notzrim) come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.”

And, it is found in the Jeremiah 31:6 passage we have been discussing.

Another Biblical Hebrew word which is derived from ‘natsar’ (from which we get the word ‘notzrim‘) is ‘netser’ (SHD entry 5342).
It means “sprout” or “shoot”, literally “branch”.

So what’s the connection between “branch, sprout, or shoot” and ‘watchman’?  What does this mean to people of faith?

The prophetic Messianic passage in Isaiah 11: 1-6 (JPS Translation) declares:

“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse (King David’s father),
And a twig (branch) (netsar, entry 5342) shall grow forth out of his roots.
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and might,
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD;
And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
Neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor…”

Netsar is only used two other times in the Hebrew Scriptures:

The first is in Isaiah 14:19, speaking of the demise of one fallen from heaven who had said in his heart that he would raise his throne above the stars of God and make himself like the Most High.  Most biblical scholars conclude that this is speaking of satan (Hebrew ’satan’–deceiver, adversary).

“But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch (netsar) …” (King James Version)

The other time we find netsar is in Isaiah chapter 60.  The context is Israel’s condition when Messiah returns:

“Thy people also shall be all righteous,
They shall inherit the land for ever;
The branch (netsar) of My planting,
The work of My hands,
Wherein I glory.
The smallest shall become a thousand,
And the least a mighty nation;
I the LORD will hasten it in its time.” (Isa. 60:21-22 JPS)

Immediately after this Isaiah 60 passage, we obviously come to Isaiah 61– the same section wherein Yeshua read in the synagogue in Nazareth (nitzehret)!

So, this unusual root Hebrew word (nun, tsadke, resh) is spoken of in the context of Messiah, Israel, satan, enemies of Judah,  and in modern Hebrew:  Christians!

Therefore, who are the watchmen -notzrim- mentioned in Jeremiah 31:6, who say: “Arise, and let us go up to Zion, unto Yahweh our God?”

Notwithstanding that in the Isaiah 62 passage,  “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem…” — the word for “watchmen” is from the root shamar; could the watchmen mentioned in Jeremiah 31 verse 6 prophetically be today’s Christians, who intercede day and night for the LORD to watch over Israel and make Jerusalem a praise on the earth?

Please note: This verse about watchmen (notzrim) saying “Arise, let us go up to Zion, unto the LORD our God”, is followed by a command to “sing with gladness for Jacob, and to announce ye, praise ye, and say, “O LORD, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel.“” (Jeremiah 31:7)

Is this remnant, which is described as weeping as it returns to the Land of Israel, the Holocaust survivors?

Who is commanded to rejoice with Jacob (Israel; the Jewish people) in verse 7?

How could it be Jacob that rejoices with a broken Jacob that is described in verse 9 as returning to the Land (v.8) with weeping?

That does not make sense.

I offer that it was Gentile believers in Yeshua, true Christians, who knew the Holy Scriptures and the promise of restoration for the Jews.  These are the modern day watchmen for Israel:  The ‘Notzrim’!

History notes that this modern regathering, which began in the late 1800’s, was preceded by Christian Zionists who spoke out, even before Theodore Herzl, about God’s promises to restore Zion!

We welcome your thoughts on the matter!

The return of the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel from the four corners of the earth, in the last century, was not a fluke, nor simply a random political event.

This virtual human impossibility was prophesied in the Scriptures 3,500 to 2,600 years ago by Moses, the Psalmist, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Remember, it was not just that the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth.  They were persecuted by a majority of their host nations, suffering expulsion after having been established, having laws passed against them, enduring torture, and even experiencing organized murder.  Spain, Germany, Russia, the Arab lands, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, France and England all participated in this sin of anti-Semitism.

That the Jewish People still exist is a miracle.  Clearly the reason why is the faithfulness of the God of Israel in keeping the covenants He made with them.

He declared a “thus saith the LORD” when He said that the sun, moon and stars would have to be destroyed in order for Israel to cease from being a nation.  (Jeremiah31:35,36)

“The Prophetic Regathering of Israel” lithograph was created to artistically document this modern day miracle. There are scores of prophetic passages on this regathering; I was limited by space and, unfortunately, could not include them all.

Below are the passages that appear “in the map” on the artwork:

Thus saith the LORD who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night; Who stirs up the sea, that the waves roar, the LORD of Hosts is His name:  If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the descendants of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.  (Jeremiah 31:35,36)

No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.  (Isaiah 54:17)

Behold, He that keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  (Psalm 121:4)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  (Psalm 122:6)

And He shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  (Isaiah 11:12)

The LORD will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  (Isaiah 52:12)

Fear not for I am with thee.  I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, keep not back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth, even everyone who is called by My name, for I have created him for My glory.  (Isaiah 43:5-7)

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3)

He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations which covenant He made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac, and confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.  (Psalm 105:8-11)

He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.  (Jeremiah 31:10)

If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts…from there will the LORD thy God gather thee. (Deuteronomy 30:4)

And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries to which I have driven them and will bring them again to their own folds and they shall be fruitful and increase. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the LORD lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country and from all countries to which I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land.  (Jeremiah 23:3,7-8)

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh, is anything too hard for me?  (Jeremiah 32:27)