A Study in the Torah
Jebus/Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Torah as being the place of any covenant, nor is it described by Torah as where the Tabernacle should rest. Torah means “doctrine”, “teaching”, or “instruction”. Does our doctrine teach about Jerusalem? I’ve heard it said that all things are contained in the Torah from beginning to end, and we are not to add to (embellish) its instruction or take away from (diminish) it.Moshe is the greatest prophet, so where does Moshe speak of a Temple in Jebus/Jerusalem?
In fact Moshe says something completely different in Deuteronomy 31:10-11, “…‘At the end of seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the festival of Sukkot, when all Israel is come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this Law before all Israel in their hearing.’” Deut. 31 is speaking about the House of Israel crossing over the Jordan after the death of Moshe, which means it is upon entrance to the land that the seven year cycle count begins. After crossing over, the Tabernacle and High Priest are found in the territory of Ephraim. At the end of seven years is the shmitah, “release”. Seven years after crossing the Jordan, during Sukkot, they were still found gathering the tribes together in the territory of Ephraim, and the Law was read in the hearing of the whole assembly. This is “the place of rest”, in my opinion, not Jebus/Jerusalem. Jebus means “trampled”, “polluted”, “trodden”, “to loath”, and Jerusalem means “pointing to Shalem”. There is a place east of Shechem which is called Shalem.
Gen 33:18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which isin the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
Gen 33:19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
Gen 33:20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.
Shalem can also mean “peace”, and in some translations the verse reads, “Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem”, but in any case, it is interesting that a city does exist east of Shechem called Shalem.
SHALEM
“sha'-lem (shalem; eis Salem): The word as a place-name occurs only in Genesis 33:18. With Luther, following Septuagint, Peshitta and Vulgate, the King James Version reads "And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem." the Revised Version (British and American) with the Targums Onqelos and pseudo-Jonathan, the Samaritan codex and the Arabic, reads "came in peace to the city of Shechem." There is a heavy balance of opinion among scholars in favor of the latter reading. It is certainly a remarkable fact, supporting the King James Version, that about 4 miles East of Shechem (Nablus), there is a village bearing the name Salem. If the King James Version is right, this must represent the city referred to; and East of Salem would transpire the events recorded in Genesis 44. Against this is the old tradition locating Jacob's well and Joseph's tomb near to Shechem. Eusebius (in Onomasticon) gets over the difficulty by identifying Shalem with Shechem.”
(Source: bibleencyclopedia.com/shalem.htm)
Mount Moriah does not exist at Jerusalem. “Aphesis” (used in the paragraph below) is a linguistics term and it makes sense that this would be the case. Especially when looking at the text of the Syriac Peshitta and the Septuagint. The definition of aphesis is the loss of an initial, usually unstressed, vowel. The vowel which comes at the beginning of a word.
“Most modern biblical scholars, however, regard the name as a reference to the Amorites, losing the initial letter ‘A’ via aphesis; the name is thus interpreted as meaning land of the Amorites. This also agrees with the biblical text as it appears in the Syriac Peshitta – where the near-sacrifice occurs at the land of the Amorites, and in the Septuagint, where, for example, 2 Chronicles 3:1 refers to the location as Amōriā. This would give it the same etymological root as Hamor, a person's name in the narrative at Genesis 34 which concerns Shechem. Some biblical scholars also identify it with Moreh, the location near Shechem at which Abraham built an altar, according to Genesis 12:6. Hence a number of biblical scholars believe that Moriah refers to a hill near Shechem, supporting the Samaritan belief that the near-sacrifice of Isaac occurred on Mount Gerizim – a location near Shechem.” (Source: bibleencyclopedia.net/index.php/Mount_Moriah)
It is very helpful to study Torah alongside a map of Israel, from Bereshit to Devarim, constantly asking - who, what, and where. A map which includes place names in transliterated Arabic seems to be more reliable, as far as retention of the ancient place names. The ideal situation would be to examine the oldest possible map of Israel that includes place names, preferably B.C.E., but it is not known to be possible, or if a map of this caliber is in existence.
Melchizedek, priest of the Most High, king of Shalem, in the context of the paragraph above is this: The high priest was to make his dwelling in front of the Tabernacle to the east. (Numbers 3:38) So, because of the way the land is situated, Mt. Ebal to the north, Shechem and Shalem to the east, and Mt. Gerizim to the south…once they were across the Jordan and in the Land, the high priest dwelling to the east of the Tabernacle corresponds with Shechem and Shalem. It is a common rabbinic view that Melchizedek was Shem, who lived until the time Yaakov was born. Thus “the place where I put My Name” possibly takes on a whole new meaning. A High Priest is not replaced, but is High Priest for life, and the office is passed on to the oldest living family member through the correct lineage, firstborn line of succession. Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Heber, (Shem would have known all the descendants of Heber up to Isaac. Isaac was approx. 50 years old when Shem died, so all of these descendants perhaps would have been groomed for the office of the High Priest. Some - like Terah - were guilty of idolatry.), there is a possibility that Abraham stepped in for Heber if Heber became infirm, but that is unknown. What we do know is that the covenant was established with Abraham’s line, so next is Isaac, then Jacob. It is here that the priesthood is separated from the firstborn double portion inheritance, but because the High Priest originally served at the place of the double portion inheritance, the High Priest is to be found at this place. Jacob describes the double portion inheritance as the region of Shechem, which includes Luz, Shalem, Mt. Gerizim, Mt. Ebal, etc. After Jacob, the House of Israel was in Egypt. The double portion inheritance went to Joseph, Ephraim, Joshua, etc. and the office of the High Priest went to Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, etc. Shem received the double portion inheritance from Noah, which Ephraim eventually inherited. Shem received the priesthood from Noah, which Levi, and specifically, Aaron eventually inherited. The High Priest serves in the territory of Ephraim. (All of the above, theoretically speaking…I am not a scholar.)
