On this website, you may encounter some terms or Hebrew words that may be new or unfamiliar to you. You can always learn what they mean by coming to this page.

Adonai – Hebrew word for “Lord” or “Master.” Originally, written Hebrew does not have vowels, and pronunciations are based on the context and what has been passed down over the generations. Over the centuries, the exact pronunciation for God’s name, YHVH, was lost as the Jewish people did not pronounce His name out of reverence and as a prevention for using His name in vain. Today, it is customary to say Adonai in place of YHVH when reading the Bible in Hebrew. In most of our English Bible translations, “the LORD” is typically used when YHVH appears in the Hebrew text. 

Elul – the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar. This month starts exactly 40 days before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and marks the start of the traditional 40 days of prayer and repentance. In Hebrew, Elul is the acronym for the phrase, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved’s is mine” (Song of Solomon 2:16, 6:3).

Mashiach – Hebrew word meaning “Messiah” or “Anointed One” and often translated as “Christ” in the New Testament. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed for their special God-given roles in the Bible. Yeshua, Jesus, is our Mashiach. He is our King, our High Priest, and the Prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Mo’edim – Hebrew word meaning “appointed times” and also translated in English as “feasts” or “seasons.” God’s mo’edim include the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:1-3) and the 7 yearly biblical feasts (Leviticus 23:1-2,4-44).

Shemitah year – every 7th year is called the shemitah year. God commanded His people Israel to rest and not work the land every 7th year. After seven shemitah years was the year of Jubilee, the 50th year.

Shabbat – the 7th day in the Bible and day of rest (Genesis 2:1-3).

Shofar – a trumpet made from a ram’s horn, blown at Rosh Hashanah and other appointed times in the Bible.

Rosh Hashanah – another name for Yom Teruah (see definition for Yom Teruah below)

Teshuvah – “repentance” in Hebrew. The root word, shuv, means to “turn” or “return.” Repentance is turning away from our sins and returning to God and His ways.

Tishrei – the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar that contains the three fall mo’edim: Yom Teruah / Rosh HaShanah on the first day, Yom Kippur on the 10th day, and Sukkot starting on the 15th day.

Torah – Hebrew word that means “instruction” and is often translated as “law.” Typically refers to the five books of Moses or God’s instruction. 

Year of Jubilee – every 50th year, the year after seven shemitah‘s (7-year sabbaths). All debts were canceled, slaves set free, and land returned to their original owners. Like in the shemitah year, the land rested from work and was not cultivated. The Year of Jubilee was proclaimed on Yom Kippur.

Yeshua – Hebrew name of our Lord and Messiah that means “salvation.” This name is a shortened version of Yehoshua, translated as Joshua in the Bible. Yeshua was translated into Greek, then into Latin, and finally into English as “Jesus.”

Yom Kippur – the “Day of Atonement.” Yom Kippur takes place on the tenth day of the seventh month and is the one day of the year when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies. In the Year of Jubilee the trumpet of the Jubilee year was sounded and liberty was proclaimed on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 25:9-10).

Yom Teruah – is the biblical feast of trumpets and the first of the three fall mo’edim (appointed times) of the LORD. Jewish tradition calls this day Rosh HaShanah and marks it as the beginning of the Jewish new year. Yom means “day” and teruah means “trumpet blowing,” “shouting,” or “joyful sound” Yom Teruah takes place on the first day of the seventh month on the Biblical calendar. You can read more about this day in Lev. 23 and Num. 29. This feast foreshadows the second coming of our Lord when He will return with the sound of the trumpet, the shofar (1 Thess. 4:16, 1 Cor. 15:52, Matthew 24).