I see, rather regularly, people associating the Aleph-Tav ( )with Messiah Yeshua.

If
you are already familiar with what I am talking about, you may want to skip the next
paragraph. If you're not familiar, here is a brief explanation.
In the Hebrew Aleph-Bet (alphabet), the first letter is Aleph ( )and the last is Tav (
). This letter combination is pronounced et, as in "et cetera." People take the
statement from Revelation where Yeshua says He is the "Alpha and the Omega" and
they say, "Well Yeshua didn't speak Greek, so what He actually said was 'I am the
Aleph and the Tav' since those are the Hebrew/Aramaic letters." They then take note
of the number of places the et symbol (word) is used, and state that this symbol is
actually a placeholder, or some sort of "hidden code" for Yeshua. Their favorite
verse is Genesis 1:1, where we read (in English), "In the beginning, Elohim created
the heavens and the earth." However, they say, in Hebrew, the untranslated et
actually appears between the words ha'shamayim (heavens) and ha'arets (earth).
Thus, since this symbol is a stand-in for Yeshua, we see how Yeshua "connects"
heaven and earth. Fascinating, right? Yet there are some issues.
I will say that I cannot deny the original words may very well have been "I am the
Aleph and th Tav." I wasn't there, and I didn't hear them. However, whatever
alphabet He chose, it doesn't matter, He was simply using it as a parallel idiom to
what else He said: "I am the First and the Last." So does the et symbol really standin for Yeshua? Look it up in any lexicon or grammar textbook, and they will tell you
this "word" is a direct object pointer. That is, it identifies and precedes the direct
object. So in our Gen. 1 example, the direct objects are "heaven" and "earth"
because those are the "objects" that are being affected by the "verb" (created).
Thus the "action" is something being created, the subject is who is creating
(Elohim), and the object is what is being created (heaven and earth). So of course
we expect a direct object indicator in one form or another, to show what is receiving
the action. Opponents of this explanation, and supporters of the "Yeshua is the
Aleph-Tav" point of view, however, say that there are many times when the word et
is NOT used to indicate an object at all. And this is true. But that is because it has
multiple uses.
In some cases, it can stand in for the Hebrew preposition ( eem) which means
"with." It is also used to express the second person feminine singular ("you" if "you"
are one single female). This word, which appears more than 10,000 times in the
Tanakh, is used a number of ways.
Now, you may read this and still be convinced that not only did Yeshua say "Aleph
and Tav" but He also truly IS the et, no matter what I say, and it IS a hidden sign for
Him. Well if that's true, is it true EVERY TIME the symbol appears? Most people that
believe the theory say yes. So let's look at a few times where, if the et truly does
mean "Messiah" that it would cause some major problems
Genesis 9:22 "Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and
told his two brothers outside." (NASB). In Hebrew, the words for "Canaan" and
"nakedness" are and respectively. Right between these two words in
Hebrew is the Aleph-Tav, et. So if this means "Messiah" then our verse here would

read, "Canaan saw Messiah the nakedness of his father" Seems a bit absurd
(and blasphemous) to me. Next example.
Exodus 8:26 "But Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to YHWH
our Elohim what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an
abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?" In this
sentence, the words for "sacrifice" and "abomination" are and
respectively. In between these words is the Aleph-Tav. So if the et stands for
"Messiah" then this verse would read as, "If we sacrifice Messiah an abomination
to the Egyptians" Again, absurd. Next.
Leviticus 26:40 "If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers,
in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting
with hostility against Me;" (NASB). Here the word for "iniquity" is repeated (once
applied to the Israelites, once applied to their ancestors), and the word is .
Between the two uses of it we have the Aleph-Tav. Thus it could be written as, "If
they confess their iniquity Messiah and the iniquity of their forefathers"
But wait, there's more
Exodus 32:19 "It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw
the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from
his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain." (NASB). Here we the
word "saw" (as in, "he saw") and the word "calf" which are and ,
respectively. In between these two words is the Aleph-Tav. So it would read as, "as
soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw Messiah the calf" This also
appears the same way in the next verse, which says that Moses, "took et the calf
that they had made" so if the et means "Messiah" then Moses took Messiah the
golden calf, and burned him, and ground him into dust.
Genesis 34:3 "He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he
loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her." Here the words "loved" and "girl" are
and respectively. In between these two is the et, so if it means "Messiah" we
would read, "and he loved Messiah the girl"
Deuteronomy 22:24 "Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city
and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city,
and the man, because he has violated his neighbor's wife. Thus you shall purge the
evil from among you." (NASB). Here the words for "you shall bring them" and "both"
are and , respectively. Between these two is the Aleph-Tav. So it would
read, "then you shall bring them Messiah both out to the gate of that city and stone
them to death"
Note there are many more examples of how not only absurd it would be to place
Messiah Yeshua where the et is, but also blasphemous.
Now all that is not to say that Yeshua isn't saying that He is the Aleph-Tav, just that I
do not believe He is saying that every place the Aleph-Tav is written, that's where
He is "hidden." I think it is more along the lines of Aleph-Tav being first and last, and
encompassing the whole "word" since it contains every letter. The same goes for

Alpha and Omega, and A and Z, and so on. The Aleph-Tav is also the word that
occurs more frequently than any other in the entire Tanakh. There are hardly any
verses without it, and many contain multiple.
Though as I said, we must understand that if it is true and "Messiah Yeshua" can
directly replace the et in cases where it appears, then it must be able to do so every
time. Not only times when it is convenient to come up with a "cool new theology."
I also realize there is a very popular Bible out there today that's sole purpose is to
identify every time the et occurs. An interesting purpose, but not one very valuable
for study. I will reserve my comments on this Bible for a future article in the How We
Got Our Scriptures series, when I will be addressing many different English
translations.
Please recognize I am not attacking anyone, or bashing them. There is an honest
attempt to see Yeshua in the Aleph-Tav, and I honor that. However, Truth is always
more important than opinion. Yeshua is all over the Tanakh as it is, we do not need
to invent ways to place Him there. As with many of my writings, I do not believe
anyone will be completely convinced if they have believed this for a while, but
please, test the information presented here for yourself. Nothing I have pointed out
requires anything beyond a simple Interlinear, which you can find at biblehub.com.
My purpose for writing this is to encourage people to seek TRUTH, not simply what
sounds good. Always be wary of these "new" teachings and doctrines. One must
wonder why it has been "previously unknown" to all generations of the past, and
why we have no historical record of it being believed by anyone in antiquity, Jew or
Christian.
Be Berean. Shalom.