So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him.

Num. 27:18 NIV

Yoshua, son of whom?

Moshe was the first redeemer who, with the Eternal's help, got the people out of Egypt's bondage. But he couldn't finish the task of taking the people into the promised land. His successor, Yehoshua, had to finish the work that Moshe started.

What Moshe couldn't do, Yehoshua did. The name Yeshua is an abbreviation of Yehoshua. For the final redemption Moshe is not enough, Yeshua is also needed. The one who follow only Moshe will get to the tomb; but the follower of Moshe and Yeshua, who continued Moshe's work, will pass from this world to the coming world with everlasting life.

Yehoshua was the son of Nun – נון. Nun means to sprout, to spring, to propagate, to remain, to continue. His father's name is also the name of the letter nun – נ. The meaning of the letter nun is 'fish' and its number 50, which is the number of redemption. There were 50 days between the departure from Egypt and the giving of the Torah in Sinai when the first part of the first redemption was completed. The number 50 also speaks of the year of jubilee which is the great celebration of the final redemption. The numerical value, that is, the addition of the numerical values of each letter, of the Hebrew word ha-geulah – הגאולה, the redemption – is exactly 50.

The letter nun is considered to be the letter of the Messiah. One of the names of the Messiah is Yinon – which comes from the letter nun and means "he will reign". This name comes from Psalm 72:17 where it's written: "May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.” (NIV) The Hebrew text literally reads: לפני שמש ינון שמו – lifnei shemesh yinon shemoh – before the sun his name will remain (existed), or; before (time and position) the sun his name is Yinon.

Nun is the 14^th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each Hebrew letter has a numeric value and when a word is written, numbers are also written. The three Hebrew letters of the name David – דוד – add up 14 (dalet, vav and dalet, 4+6+4=14, cf. Matt. 1:17). In that way there is a relationship between Yehoshua son of Nun and David. The Messiah son of David is the future redeemer and eternal king of Israel and his name is Yehoshua/Yeshua.

The name Nun – נון – has two nuns, one at the beginning and one at the end. The first redemption is represented by the first nun and the final redemption is represented by the last nun. Between the nuns there is a vav that has a numeric value of 6 and represents man, who was created the sixth day, and the main purpose of both redemptions. The final nun is written slightly differently and it continues lower than the line which shows us that the final redemption will reach underground to cause the resurrection of the dead.

Yehoshua bin Nun was the one who finished the task during the first redemption. His name hides the secret of the second Redeemer who will carry out the final and complete redemption of the people of Israel and the whole world.

Blessed are those who wait for him!

Ketriel