The Ark’s Unseen Window: The Prophetic Meaning of the Tzohar ☀️
In the story of Noah’s Ark, we usually focus on the dimensions and the animals, but the window holds a unique, prophetic meaning about how God provides divine light and protection during times of total global chaos.
1. The Peculiar Word for Window
When God gives instructions for the ark, He says, “You shall make a window for the ark” (Genesis 6:16). The Hebrew word used here is Tzohar (צֹהַר).
- The Shocking Detail: This word, Tzohar, appears only one other time in the entire Bible, and it is not used for a normal window (ḥallōn, like the one Noah later opens to send out the dove).
- Literal Meaning: Tzohar is closely related to the Hebrew word for “noon,” “brilliance,” or “noonday light.” It means “light-producer” or “illumination.”
2. The Unseen Source of Light
The implications of using Tzohar are profound:
- It Was Not a Pane: A normal window allows light in from the outside. The Tzohar suggests a structure designed to produce or filter light from an unseen source, independent of the stormy, dark world outside. Many rabbinic traditions suggest it was a special kind of brilliant stone or gem that glowed.
- The Divine Illumination: The Tzohar represents the supernatural, self-contained illumination provided directly by God, sustaining life and hope within the ark while the world outside was consumed by chaos and darkness. The light was not borrowed from the doomed world; it was sourced from heaven.
3. The Eschatological Tie
The Ark is the ultimate prophetic type for the Church (or the remnant) being preserved through the final, catastrophic judgment of the world.
- The Final Refuge: Just as the Ark was sealed off from the corruption of the world and illuminated by the supernatural Tzohar, the end-time people of God will be separated from the moral and spiritual darkness of the world and sustained by a direct, internal source of God’s light and revelation during the final storms.
- No Need for External Light: In the final New Jerusalem, there is no need for the sun or moon, for “the glory of God gives it light” (Revelation 21:23). The Tzohar is the Old Testament precursor to this truth—a guarantee that even in absolute darkness, God provides His own light for those within His covenant of protection.
The Return Question
If the ark was illuminated by the supernatural Tzohar (Divine Brilliance), what part of your current spiritual life is still dependent on the fading light of the ‘world’s system’ rather than relying entirely on the direct, self-contained illumination of God’s Word and Spirit?