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| Gilgal |
Proverbs 25:2—"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Yesterday I got a call from a dear friend and teacher who loves the bible and has studied it most of his long life. He asked me a question about certain verses in the book of Joshua. We found the answer in the book of Deuteronomy. We found proof in archaeology.
I like the expression that "archeology is catching up to the bible." Modern archaeological discoveries increasingly support the historical reliability of the Bible, validating numerous figures, places, and events previously questioned by skeptics. Over 25,000 finds—such as the Tel Dan Stela, Pool of Siloam, and Pilate Stone—align with biblical narratives, prompting many to argue that archaeology is affirming, rather than refuting, the scriptural record.
Joshua 4 describes a memorial set up by Joshua and the Israelites to commemorate the crossing of the Jordan River. The narrative slows down and becomes a bit repetitive in order to emphasize the importance this event was for the Israelites. The 12 stones were to be carried from the place in the dry riverbed where the feet of the priests stood as the Israelites crossed. The stones were to be carried on the shoulders of twelve men, one from each tribe, and taken to the campsite of the Israelites at Gilgal, east of Jericho, a place where miracles will occur. There is so much more that needs to be said about the significance of those events and what those stones tell us. I will share one important point in my epilogue. But this post is not specifically about the book of Joshua.
There is so much hidden in the bible. Why should we assume that all that is hidden has been found? Besides, sometimes what is to be found requires future events to be seen. The past, present and future are like keys that unlock the mysteries in the bible. And sometimes it just takes a certain person to meditate.
PROPHECY HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
A huge amount of biblical material is prophetic, but prophecy in Scripture is broader than predicting the future. It includes God’s words spoken through prophets that interpret history, call for repentance, announce judgment, and promise restoration, as well as specific foretellings that later readers see as fulfilled.
Many prophecies speak to the future, but they can also speak to the present or uncover the deeper meaning of past events. Some have a near-term fulfillment, while also pointing beyond themselves in ways that later readers have continued to explore.
One standard example is Israel’s exile and return. Prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah said that Judah would go into exile in Babylon and later be brought back to the land. Many readers see the Babylonian exile and the later Persian-sponsored return as a clear meeting point between prophecy and history.
The prophet Daniel presents a sequence of empires through symbolic beasts and visions, which many interpreters align with the emoires Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Isaiah’s naming of Cyrus as the ruler who would enable Jerusalem’s rebuilding is another well-known case of prophecy tied to later history.
Much of the prophetic material in the bible is familiar. Less attention is paid to quieter verses in the Torah that look purely narrative or legal on first reading, yet later seem to line up in striking ways with historical developments. Some verses do not arrive with the usual markers of prophecy. They are ordinary sentences, but when later events are set beside them, the wording, placement, and structure can begin to look more suggestive than they first appeared.
Isaiah 45:15—Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!
“Secret of Sentences”
In Hasidic (חסידות) philosophy, the "secret of sentences" refers to the concept that every word and letter of the Torah—not just its stories—contains hidden divine wisdom, energy, and practical instructions for daily life. The Chabad movement seeks to uncover this inner dimension. Chabad is an acronym for Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. Chochmah sees, Binah understands, Da’at connects and transforms.
Central to Hasidic thought is that there are always 36 righteous people (Tzaddikim) in the world who hide their true spiritual stature. The founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, was a hidden tzaddik for many years before revealing himself.
Under classic Jewish practice, the Torah is divided into individual pesukim—verses or sentence-units. Hebrew/Jewish sages read and interpret the scriptures on a different level. There is peshat (plain sense), remez (hint), and derash (interpretive exposition) levels. There is also a mystical layer of interpretation called sod, the "secret” or "hidden" level.
This is the realm of mystery. In this view, a verse can be read as a deliberately framed unit whose opening words, closing words, repetitions, and numerical position all matter.
Hebrew mystical reading starts with the assumption that each "pasuk" (verse, from Aramaic pesaḳ to cut off/divide), is a self-contained unit with its own message. The Masoretic* tradition treats the breaks between verses as fixed, not arbitrary in the layout and transmission of the Torah. The literary and theological importance of parashah openings stands on solid ground even before any numerological or historical correspondences are proposed.
* "Masoretic" refers to the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) standardized by Jewish scholars, known as Masoretes, between the 6th and 10th centuries AD
One of the clearest places to see individual pesukim is in the opening sentence of a parashah (Torah section). The first verse of a Torah portion is often more than a heading. It frequently introduces, in compressed form, the main movement of the section that follows. Here are a few examples:
Book: Bereishit / Genesis
Verse: Genesis 1:1
English opening “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Theme: Creation establishes the ordered world in which all later covenant history unfolds.
Book: Shemot / Exodus
Verse: Exodus 1:1
English opening: “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came.”
Theme: The move from family to nation sets up bondage, redemption, and the revelation of God’s name.
Book: Vayikra / Leviticus
Verse: Leviticus 1:1
English opening: “And the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying…”
Theme: The portion opens with divine summons, fitting a book centered on holiness, sacrifice, and access to God.
Book: Bamidbar / Numbers
Verse: Numbers 1:1
English opening: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting…”
Theme: Israel is ordered in the wilderness as a people on the move toward the land.
Book: Devarim / Deuteronomy
Verse: Deuteronomy 1:1
English opening: “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan…”
Theme: The final book begins with covenant speech, fitting a section built around review, warning, and preparation for entry into the land.
The way the text is cut into sentences can also be read as part of the Torah’s deeper design. That pattern matters on its own. Hebrew mystics extend it further by paying attention to other textual features as well: crowns on letters, unusual spacing, and special layouts.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (or 29:28 in some editions): "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of His law.
I could provide numerous examples of knowledge and meaning that "appears" hidden in the bible, but I am not trying to convince you that it is there or what it is here. My purpose of writing this blog is much simpler than that.
Amos 5:4: "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: 'Seek me and live'".
The "Word" of Adonai is a pathway to Him. Letting my mind become a vessel for His presence is changing my heart and actions.
Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart".
This is how “knowing God” becomes not just theology but inner acquaintance. Proverbs advises us to keep God's words in sight and in the heart for a very good reason.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Epilogue:
If the stones set up on either side of the river Jordan came from the dry riverbed center, that means the waters we're stopped. If archeologists find a monument of those same stones in the center of the Running River today that is archaeological proof of the events in the bible. In the bible, there are several such stories where round stones were used to mark significant events. You could call them milestones. They have been called the "footprints of God."
Archaeological surveys conducted by Adam Zertal (1996-2008) identified five 12th–13th century BC, foot-shaped stone enclosures in the Jordan Valley and Samaria, known as "Gilgal" sites. These massive "footprints of God" likely symbolize the Israelites taking ownership of Canaan, matching the biblical theme of claiming land by treading upon it.
There is another "rolling stone" in the Gospels that marks the pathway the Yeshua walked.
