Hebrew Word Study – In Them – Betokam בתוכם Beth Taw Vav Kap Mem

Finding a Home For God on Earth

Exodus 25:8: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”

There is a grammatical error in this verse. The problem is that I do not believe there are errors in Scripture. I believe the Word of God is not only inspired but inerrant.  So, my liberal friends may call it an error,  I call it an anomaly of Divine Intent. 

It should read “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell in you”  The words rendered as “among them” is betokam which is in a plural form and should be in a singular form as the nominative, sanctuary, is also in a singular form. On top of that the preposition is a Beth which is either in or on. Translators tend to walk in lock step and translate it as “among them” as they believe there are errors in Scripture and God has called them to correct His errors and translate it as “among them” which they feel is correct, bless their hearts. Thus, they translate this to read as if God desired to dwell in the tabernacle.

But I, like the Jewish teachers, believe there is a definite reason why God intended this to read “in them” and not follow the singular form of the nominative.  For His intention was to dwell in the people, individually, personally,  as well as the tabernacle. Note what Paul says in I Corinthians 6:19: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

In Aramaic the word for body is bagar which is a word used for one who leases a ship and at the same time he pays for the rent he also pays to indemnify the vessel, regardless of liability,  for any damage that it may sustain during its journey, even if it is lost at sea during a storm. When we invite Jesus into our lives He becomes a tenant. We do not become little gods we become partners with  God.  The Holy Spirit dwells within us. The word temple is ‘amar which can mean a temple, palace or just a dwelling place. However, the word ‘amar in Aramaic also has the idea of bonding. God becomes a tenant in our bodies where it becomes a place where he bonds with us. In this combination of dwelling and bonding we have a picture not of just a dwelling place but a home.  A home is where you bond with those  you live with. It becomes a place of refuge from the world where your presence is receptive.  It is a place where you are your true, private self, as opposed to the public self you assume outside your home. 

God commanded Moses to build a sanctuary.  The word in Hebrew for sanctuary is maqodesh which literally means from holiness. He is commanding Moses to make a holy place  where He can dwell and in this holy place others may come to become holy so that He can betokam, dwell in in them.  Clearly God dwells in the entire world and the universe according to Scripture as it says in Jeremiah 23:24: “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”  God dwells in the entire world, He is omnipresent, yet the world is not His home. He desires and longs for a place in this world to be a home, not just a place to dwell.  He can dwell in a world of sin, but He cannot make it His home.

The tabernacle was intended to be a dwelling place and home for God.  But as we see from Exodus 25:8, despite it’s grammatical anomaly, God intended to extend his home beyond the tabernacle to His people and where ever they went God had a home in this world in His people. The tabernacle was where people went to be purified and cleansed of their sin so their bodies could be a home for God.  That is why Paul said: “Know you not that your bodies are the temple of God.”  This was something every Jew knew and strived to accomplish. They wanted to be such a righteous person that God could dwell in them and their bodies could be a temple or a home for God.

But it is more than that. In Song of Solomon 5:1 we learn “I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,”  We find in Genesis 3:8: “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:” The garden was God’s home on earth until sin entered. In fact Jewish teachers tell us that the first letter of the Bible is a Beth which is the letter for a house indicating that God created the world to be a home for Him. In Song of Solomon he calls for His bride in the garden – His bridal chamber, his principle abode since the beginning. 

Our bodies become a bridal chamber when we invite God into our lives. When we invite God into our lives, we declare our love for Him and according to Zechariah 3:17 we learn “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”  What does that mean He will rest in His love?” The word rest is charash which is a word used for enchantment.  Enchantment not in a mystical sense but in the sense of feeling great pleasure of delight, like the enchantment of a mountain scene. God is like a giddy teenager experiencing first love, that first kiss that sends  you into Cloud 9, leaves you with that quiet sense of joy and peace over having been chosen by someone to be loved.  So too, when we invite God into our lives, our bodies He comes into a bridal chamber and is filled with charash that first love.  God loves to be in love and like us made in His image, He are sent into a world of delight when His love is returned.

Our mission on earth is find as many as possible who will also invite God into their lives so that God will find a home here on earth in our bodies – betokam and rejoice in being in love.

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