Parashah #48 Shof’tim (Judges) D’Varim 16:18-21:9

Who is watching the signs of the times? Who is waiting, seeing prophecy being fulfilled? Who knows the prophecy who is coming? Who is God fearing and who is fearing man? Who is watching at the gate, your gate, the city gate, and seeing the stubborn, rebellious lives wildly drunk on wickedness and bribes scattered throughout society, along with false charges? A clarion call is going throughout the Nations; the land has become defiled just like the people. In Chapter 23 of D’Varim, the word curse קללה qᵉlalah pronounced kel-aw-law is someone who turns away from learning, turns their head away only showing the back of the head in definance, not face to face, to face the truth.  God hears the cries of the less fortunate, He sees the hardened hearts. You measure and judge for yourselves, you make the change. Do not be faint hearted, you have not been rejected.

Extra Note: (On 5786 Av 29, (12 August 2026), Solar Eclipse (Total) Europe, North/East Asia, North/West Africa, much of North America, Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic. On 5786 Elul 14, 15 (27, 28 August 2026), Lunar Eclipse (Partial) much of Europe, South/West Asia, Africa, much of North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.)) See further notes below.

This week covers topics and commands (guidelines) for and against; Community, Idolatry and Related Practices, Sacrifices (Not current), Justice, Monarchy, Prohibitions Resulting from Historical Events, Torah, Priests, Concerning Animals for Consumption, Donations to the Temple (Not current), Temple and the Priests (Not current), Loans, Business, Treatment of Slaves, War.

Lets look at some keys words in this weeks portion of scripture.

Dt 16:18 Judges שׁפט shaphat shaw-fat’ a primitive root word – noun and verb; judge, plead, avenged, condemn, execute, judgment, defend, deliver, govern, vindicate, punish

• to act as law-giver or judge or governor (of God, man)
• to rule, govern, judge
• to decide controversy (of God, man)
• to execute judgment
• discriminating (of man)
• vindicating
• condemning and punishing
• at theophanic advent for final judgment
• to enter into controversy, plead, have controversy together
• to be judged
• judge, opponent-at-law (participle)

Dt 16:18 Officers שׁטר shoter pronounced sho-tare. Act part of, an otherwise unused root probably meaning to write. Ruler, overseer.

In support of: θύρα Thura pronounced thoo’-rah. From a root word [“door, gate “]

• the vestibule
• used of any opening like a door, an entrance, way or passage into
• in a parable or metaphor
• the door through which sheep go in and out, the name of him who brings those who follow his guidance
• “an open door” is used of the opportunity of doing something
• the door of the kingdom of heaven (likened to a palace) denotes the conditions which must be complied with, in order to be received into the kingdom of God.

Dt 16:18 gates שׁער sha‘ar pronounced shah’-ar. From the noun and adjective Illyricum = “the lyric band”. In scripture, Illyricum is an ancient Roman province on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It marks the northwestern border of Macedonia and covers parts of modern-day Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. (Rom 15:19)

gate, city, door, port, porters

• gate (of entrance)
• (of space inside gate, i.e., marketplace, public meeting place)
• city, town
• gate (of palace, royal castle, temple, court of tabernacle)
• dwelling place of God

Note: A bit of background and numerals in brackets are foot/endnotes.

God is patient as He waits for the correct timing of fulfilling the prophecy of 51:12-16. If Isaiah had listened to the words of the prophecy in 49:1-2, he would know it is not yet time for the Messiah to arise. Now is the time for God’s people to trust in their God’s wisdom and sovereignty and perfect timing. Now is the time for Zion to be hidden in the shadow of his hand, meditating on his words while it awaits the perfect moment for the Messiah to come. They need not fear during the long delay. (1)  He is still “the Lord your Maker” and The Lord your God’ and he, still says to them “You are my people. (2)

God sounds a fresh prophesy in 51:17-23 (3). It’s the Jewish exiles in Babylon who need to look lively, because their reaction to the destruction of Jerusalem will dictate how long they have to spend in far-off Babylon. ‘Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath.” They are not to be like the sleeping drunkards, (Connecting point: D’Varim 21:20) who opens the eyes only to look for a fresh bottle of wine for breakfast. Their days of heavy drinking from the cup of the Lord’s judgment are over. (4) Now it is Babylon’s turn. The Jewish exiles need to be clear thinking, as they commit themselves to swift repentance and to a speedy return to Mount Zion.

The final wake up call comes in 52:1-12. This time he cries out to Zion itself, declaring to this great symbol of his people throughout history that its problems never stem from his sleepiness, but only ever from their own. ‘Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Pit on your garments of splendour, Jerusalem, the holy city.” (5) He tells them that the promise which he made in 40:29-31 about clothing weak human flesh with divine strength was not a promise for the Messiah alone. Divine strength is to be their everyday attire. Knowing that his people always struggle to believe this, God spells it out for us by saying literally, “clothe yourself with your strength” and “put on your garments of splendour.” God is stronger than we think and he offers to clothe us with his strength whenever we admit our naked weakness. We don’t have to work hard to obtain God’s strength, it has already given while still sleeping!

Three things are needed to live in the good of this. First, we need to recognize that God has called us to be very different from the world (52:1-6). The Holy One of Israel has called us presently to be his “holy city”, so we must not allow any room in our lives for things that are “uncircumcised and defiled”. If we have learned anything from the history of Israel in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, it is that sin never pays. It merely drags those who ought to be reigning on thrones with the Lord down into the dust. (6) It merely causes the Lord’s name to be despised by unbelievers, who assume his people’s actions must be a reflection on his character (7).

Second, we need to recognize the Messiah for who He is (52:7-10). The Lord exclaims in both the Hebrew text and the Greek Septuagint, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news!” He is therefore talking primarily about his Messiah. It’s Paul who expands on his meaning by changing the words slightly in Romans 10:15 to “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Our strength depends on our seeing the Messiah for who he really Is, and other people’s strength depends on our proclaiming this good news to them. Most people around the world are longing, like Isaiah, for God to help them. We get to tell them that he has. We get to fulfil the prophecy that “The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations.”

Third, we therefore need to recognize that we have a powerful opponent in this mission (52:11-12). Although Isaiah no longer utters the name of defeated Babylon, these verses are an obvious reprise of his warning in 48:20. (8) The earthly city of Babylon fell in 539 and 520 BC, but Paul quotes from these verses in 2 Cor 6:17 to warn us that the struggle between spiritual Zion and Babylon still carries on; Zion must not only come out of Babylon, but it must also drive what belongs to Babylon out of Zion!               .

Foot/Endnotes to this section:

1. Fear of God ends, fear of man (51:12), but those who stop fearing God, always start fearing people (51:13).
2. We need to exhibit this same patient faith ourselves; Psalm 121:3-4 tells us that the community is never in disarray because the Lord is asleep. It is only ever in disarray because we are.
3. Isaiah’s wake-up call in 51:9 was the simple עור uwr prounounced oor, meaning “Awake, awake!” (a primitive root through the idea of opening the eyes. Also comes from the primitive root – naked, to be exposed, be bared, be laid bare); in the (Gk) ἐκλείπω ekleipo pronounced ek-li’-po. A verb that can also emphasise fail, to leave out, omit, pass by, to leave, quit, to leave off, cease, stop, of the failing or eclipse of the light of the sun and the moon.

Extra Note: (On 5786 Av 29, (12 August 2026), Solar Eclipse (Total) Europe, North/East Asia, North/West Africa, much of North America, Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic. On 5786 Elul 14, 15 (27, 28 August 2026), Lunar Eclipse (Partial) much of Europe, South/West Asia, Africa, much of North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.))

On August 12, 2026, the moon is positioned directly between the Earth and the Sun in a New Moon phase (in the sign of the Lion). The moon reaches its exact new moon phase conjunction at 8:36 PM local Jerusalem time in Israel. At this precise time, the moon lies nearly directly between the Earth and the sun in the sky, rendering it essentially invisible (a waning crescent transitioning to a new moon) and positioned close to the sun’s coordinates.

The Lord intensifies his wake-up call in 51:17 by making the verb reflexive: hith’Orñ hith’Orñ, meaning “Wake yourself, wake yourself!”.

4. Matthew 20:11-23 and 26:30 tell us that Yeshua has now drunk God’s cup of judgment for us. As Isaiah 52:3 reminds us, our soberness was bought at the redemption price.
5. Now the same simple command as 51:9 – “Awake, awake!” In parallel, Ezra 1:5 uses this same verb to tell us God woke up Jewish hearts to leave Babylon in 538 BC.
6. The enemy of the soul loves to drag believers down into the dust through his voice of condemnation. One needs to remind the Adversary of 40:23 and 52:2. We are seated on heaven’s throne in Yeshua.
7. Paul quotes 52:5 in Romans 2:24 it’s a sobering thought that our sin and weakness makes other people despise God, but it is also encouraging. It means He longs to raise us up to vindicate his own power.
8. The Israelites left Egypt in a hurry (D’Varim 16:3), so the scripture points out that this new Exodus is better by telling us that we have all the time we need while still breathing to leave It all behind.

Yesha’yahu uses vivid metaphors to describe the human condition in 64:6. The middle word of the book of Yesha’yahu,  (which has 66 chapters) is the first word of Chapter 34. In Hebrew, the first word is קרב qarab pronounced kaw-rab, which means “near” or “draw near.” Believers while they have breath are able to draw near to “The One” who matters.

Verses 5:39-42 are commands. 18:15-17 are commands, and 18:18-20 are promises. 18:16 refers to Dt 19:15.

5:38 eye ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos pronounced of-thal-mos. Sight, Metaphor: the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing. (Symbolically, ways of seeing something).

5:38 tooth  ὀδούς odous pronounced od-ooce. On perhaps from the base of ἐσθίω esthio pronounced es-thee’-o. Strengthened for a primary εδω edo (to eat); used only in certain tenses, eat, live, devour (Symbolically, what is being devoured, consumed).

18:17 “he shall neglect to hear“. παρακούω parakouo pronounced par-ak-oo’-o. Meaning causally or carelessly or amiss, to be unwilling to hear, on hearing to neglect, to pay no heed to, to refuse to hear, pay no regard to, disobey.