Exodus 70.1 -- The Lord said to Moses, “See how important I have made you? In speaking to Pharaoh, you will be like God, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
In Hebrew, the letter "Pe" (פ) is the 17th letter in the Hebrew Alpha-beyt. Both the ancient and modern form of the letter is shaped like a mouth. Pe's gematria value is 80. "Pe" (פ) and the number 80 signify the power of speech and communication.
Prophets are called to be a mouthpiece of God. For example in Jonah 2.2, after the great fish spewed Jonah out of it's belly, the Lord comes to Jonah a second time and says:
"Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim upon it the proclamation that I speak to you."
Before Jonah was the prophet Moses. Moses was 80 years old when Adonai came to him to free the Children of Israel from Pharoah in Egypt.
Exodus 6:10-12 -- Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.” But Moses answered, “Lord, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.”
Exodus 6:28-29 -- He said, “I am the Lord. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you.” But Moses, standing there before the Lord, said, “You know me. I’m a very bad speaker. How will I make the king listen to me?”
The mouth is not just a physical organ but a spiritual instrument that can bless, curse, teach, and connect humanity to the divine.
Speech has tremendous power. A king rules with his words. An ordinary person also has great power in his or her mouth. With words of praise we can raise a person to great heights, and with a bit of gossip we can destroy a person’s reputation.
The letter can appear in three forms: The standard Pey (פ) used in the beginning or middle of a word is written with a dot (dagesh) in the center is pronounced as a "p" sound. When the dot is absent, it is pronounced as an "f" sound. When Pey is used at the end of a word, the final form of the letter has a descending "tail" that extends below the baseline and looks like (ף). This form is called Pey Sofit.
Here are some notable Bible verses that emphasize the significance of the mouth:
Proverbs 18:21 -- The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Psalm 141:3 -- Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Proverbs 21:23 -- Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.
The power of the mouth to speak is no less meaningful in the Christian bible, as evidenced by these versus I selected:
Romans 10:9 -- If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
James 3:5-6 -- The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.
Matthew 12:36-37 -- But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
Ephesians 4:29 -- Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
All of the bible verses above highlight the power of speech and the importance of guarding one's words. What comes out of the mouth can have spiritual impact.
80 "If We Are Strong"
In Exodus 7:7, "Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh." This marks the beginning of Moses' leadership in freeing the Israelites from Egypt, symbolizing maturity and readiness for a divine mission.
Psalm 90:10 tells us that, "The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."
This verse reflects on human lifespan, with eighty (80), the age of Moses (Pe) representing strength and endurance.
The Power of the Tongue
Rabbi Yeshua told us in Matthew 15:11 (NIV) --"What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
What "comes out of our mouth" can stay in another person's mind and heart for the rest of their lifetime. What we say can lift or lower a person, a group or even a nation. It is important to pray that the Lord guides us in our speech, and even to provide us the message.
Speak to the Rock
יִֽהְי֥וּ לְרָצ֨וֹן | אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ יְ֜הֹוָ֗ה צוּרִ֥י וְגֹֽאֲלִֽי:
Psalm 19:14 from the Hebrew above says -- May the sayings of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
In Numbers 20:8 Adonia instructs Moses to, "Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water. You shall bring forth water for them from the rock and give the congregation and their livestock to drink."
God Almighty told Moses to speak to the Rock!
The Lord tells us in Numbers 20:10-12 -- Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
If you ask me, Moses begging Hashem to be allowed to enter the Land God Promised with his chosen people is one of the saddest scenes in the Torah:
As I said at the beginning of this post, Pe" (פ) is the 17th letter in the Hebrew Alpha-beyt. What is significant about that? Perhaps this detail from the Gospel of Matthew will offer an insight. The 17th "triangle number" is 153. That is the number of fish in Simon Peter's "miraculous catch.
Epilogue:
Below is a famous story regarding the letter Pey and the Great Lubavitch Rebbe from the last century.
In Israel, a fifteen-year-old girl woke up one morning to discover that she could suddenly no longer speak. After three days of shock and denial, her parents brought her to an elite doctor in Tel Aviv. The physician examined her. Then he told the mother and father, “It is impossible that this girl has ever spoken. She has no vocal chords.” The parents protested that their daughter had been speaking for 15 years! Nevertheless, the doctor proclaimed he could do nothing to help her.
The father was reluctant, but the mother insisted. She started making phone calls and arranged their trip to the United States. The family went into the Rebbe’s office and the mother immediately started to sob uncontrollably. After several minutes she got hold of herself and told the Rebbe their story. The Rebbe asked the parents to leave the room so that he could speak to the girl alone. He said to her, “I know you are an intelligent girl and will appreciate what I have to say. In your previous gilgul (incarnation), you did many things that were not very good. What they were isn’t important. What is important is to know that it was decreed in Heaven that your punishment was to come down to this world and be born mute. However, because you were blessed with great and holy forebears, for their merits you were given 15 years of speech. From now on, you will not be able to speak … unless you agree to use your mouth to talk to other children about keeping Shabbat. If you agree to do this, you will once again speak. Do you agree?”
The girl nodded. The Rebbe pressed her for a commitment. “So, we have a deal?” The girl opened her mouth and out came the word “yes.” To this day, that girl—now a grown woman—gathers children together every Shabbat to speak to them about the sanctity of the day.1
