So we’re going to try our best, am I right, Nehemia? We’re going to try our best to do what we can to keep things going. In fact, we almost didn’t even have the opportunity to do this recording. Now, we’re doing this technology thing, and it’s going to be a challenge. We were recording together, we had our special computer, we could look at each other and talk.
And if there’s some knocking, folks, I’m just going to say right now - it was easier when Nehemia and I were in the same room together. Right now, it’s the beginning of a new year, and so that’s where I am right now. I will try my best to bring people up to date. Nehemia: Wait, you’re in Shanghai, China? Actually, presently, I’m in the most populous city in the world you may hear some knocking on the outside. Keith: Well, I’ve been on a few airplanes, trains, and automobiles, myself. Then ended up going to Tennessee, through Arkansas, and then finally, the whole length of Texas and ended up in “San Antone,” as the locals call it. You went off somewhere that you’ll tell them about in a minute, but I got in the car, drove in my 2002 Honda Accord and started driving to Cherokee, North Carolina, had an amazing experience there on the Trail of Tears. Nehemia: So last time they heard from us we were together at your house in Charlotte. Bring everybody up to date, you and I, we were… okay. And how did you get there? Tell me how you got there. Nehemia: Keith, I am, after a very long journey of nearly 2,000 miles, I have settled down for a time, as the Wandering Jew, in San Antonio, Texas, not far from the Alamo. This is Prophet Pearls, Keith Johnson, along with my friend, chaver sheli, Nehemia Gordon. We are actually in a new calendar year, and I am in a new place, and Nehemia is in a new place. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. You are listening to Prophet Pearls with Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson. Prophet Pearls #12 - Vayechi (1 Kings 2:1-12)
"Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die and he charged Solomon his son" (1 Kings 2:1) Gordon closes with a prayer that the descendant of David will soon sit on the throne to keep and to teach the treasure of Yehovah, and that his kingdom will be established “meod.” The last word of the Portion reveals that Solomon’s kingdom was established “firmly”-in Hebrew “meod” / mem-alef-dalet. Regarding David’s instructions for dealing with Joab, Shimei, and the sons Barzillai, we learn additional context for each story-and why David selected these friends and foes for special bequeathals. Gordon provides insight into rabbinical and Karaite views on the Torah of Moses, the oral Torah, and also the theory of the “Hexateuch”-a view that Joshua completed the Torah. Johnson explores the only verse in Scripture where “commandments,” “statutes,” “ordinances,” and “testimonies” occur together and intuits why David chose them. David’s “command” to Solomon to “be a man” and to “keep” the “Torah” yields strand after strand of pearls as Nehemia Gordon teaches on these key words-their first usage, roots, forms, and the versatile ways in which they are used (and connected) throughout the Tanakh. In this episode of Prophet Pearls, Vayechi (1 Kings 2:1-12), King David nears death and gives final instructions to Solomon in this portion that parallels the blessings Jacob gave to his sons.