“Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”

There are supplements for so many things! There is supplemental material to help you study for a big test. Often times people will take another job to supplement their income. There’s health and nutrition supplements, dietary supplements, and you can even get supplemental insurance! A supplement is something that is added to something else that enhances, completes, or strengthens it. What about faith? Have you ever thought about supplementing your faith?

Well, in the second letter from the Apostle Peter (or Kepha), he admonishes the followers of Messiah to begin to add to, or furnish and supply certain qualities to be presented in addition to their trust and belief. Peter says, “do your utmost to add to your belief uprightness, to uprightness knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control endurance, to endurance reverence, to reverence brotherly affection, and to brotherly affection love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Uprightness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, reverence, brotherly affection, and love.  These qualities aught be present in the halakha of the true believer and disciple of Messiah Yeshua.  If they are to be present in our lives, then we should understand what they mean.  Let’s break these qualities down, and see if we can derive a deeper understanding of these words from other places in the Bible.

Uprightness: ἀρετή, ar-et’-ay.

According to the Strong’s definition (we’ll be using Strong’s for most of these definitions as found on blueletterbible.org, unless otherwise noted.) this word aretay (G703) means a “virtuous course of thought, feeling and action, virtue, moral goodness, any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity.”  To be upright means to be virtuous in thought, feeling, and action; to be morally excellent.  This isn’t self-righteousness, but is integrity of character before the Almighty and man.

The Greek word ἀρετή (aretē, “uprightness”) occurs six times in six verses in the Greek Septuagint (LXX): Isaiah 42:8 & 12, 43:21, 63:7; Habakuk 3:3; Zechariah 6:13. Often it is translated in English passages of these verses as “praises,” or “virtues,” and is in place of the Hebrew words tehillah (Strong’s H8416), or hodu (Strong’s H1935).

“I am יהוה, that is My Name, and My esteem I do not give to another, nor My praise (H8416) to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

In Hebrew Isaiah 42:8 literally says v’tehilloti (וּתְהִלָּתִי), “and my praises”. Tehilla means praise, song or hymn of praise, adoration, thanksgiving (paid to Elohim).  Therefore we can see that to be upright, Hebraically, means that we give adoration and thanksgiving to Elohim in the form of song and praise.

Another place where ἀρετή (aretē, “uprightness”) is used is in Habakkuk.

“Eloah comes from Těman, And the Set-apart One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor (H1935) shall cover the heavens, And His praise shall fill the earth.” (Habakkuk 3:3)

The Hebrew word used here is hodu (הוֹדוֹ) and means grandeur, imposing in form and appearance; beauty, comeliness, excellency, glorious, glory, goodly, honor, majesty.  (Interestingly, a form of tehilla is used in Habakkuk 3:3 where it says “His praise shall fill the earth,” but the Greek (G133) ainesis is used instead.)

To be upright not only means to give adoration and praise to Elohim, but also to be representative of His majesty on the earth.  We see an example of this use of ἀρετή, ar-et’-ay, being a prime example for all of us in Zechariah chapter 6.

“Thus said יהוה of hosts, saying, “See, the Man whose name is the Branch! And from His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the Hěḵal of יהוה. It is He who is going to build the Hěḵal of יהוה. It is He who is going to bear the splendor. And He shall sit and rule on His throne, and shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” (Zechariah 6:12-13)

As ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, and image-bearers of the Living Elohim, we to are not only to be upright in moral character, but give all praises and honor to Elohim.  Likewise, as followers of the One called “The Branch”, and co-heirs with Him, we too are to bear His splendor knowing that He is the One who rules from His throne. In addition to uprightness, we are to  be furnished with knowledge.

Knowledge: γνῶσις, gnosis.

If uprightness, in its basic understanding meant “moral excellence”, then knowledge is right in its wheelhouse in that it means “moral wisdom, such as is seen in right living.” It signifies intelligence and understanding, but a deep and more perfect spiritual insight.  Not a “secret knowledge” as some might understand as Gnosticism, but rather a maturity and advanced understanding of walking in the way of righteousness.

According to Blue Letter Bibleγνῶσις (gnōsis) — “knowledge”occurs 42 times in the LXX translation of the Tanach.

“Do not multiply words so proudly, proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for יהוה is an Ěl of knowledge, and by Him deeds are weighed.” (1 Samuel 2:3)

Emphatically speaking, this is referring absolute knowledge.  The Hebrew equivalent used in the above verse is Strong’s H1844, דֵּעָה (day-aw), is a feminine noun derived from the root masculine noun H1843 דֵּעַ (da-ah) meaning “knowledge, opinion, judgement”.  Like most all Hebrew words, these nouns are rooted in the verb-tense of the word, and the verb-tense for the above nouns is H3405 יָדַע “yada” which means to have an intimate knowledge, to learn, to see or know by experience, among other things; to perceive, recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess.

The masculine form of the noun (H1843), da-ah, which means “knowledge, opinion, judgement” is spelled with a dalet and an ayin (דֵּעַ). Interestingly, if you switch the order of the letters to ayin-dalet (עֵד), you get the word for “witness, testimony, evidence.”  Witnesses give testimony, or admit, acknowledge, and confess to something that they know. Witnesses often times know something because of their experience, and they have an intimate knowledge of what they are confessing, or giving testimony of.

“You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is none. I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:1-11)

Witnesses have a deep understanding and knowledge of the Living Elohim. They give their testimony by walking in belief, embodying His royal majesty in their behavior, not in self-righteousness, but in humble adoration and moral excellence. In addition to being upright, and having knowledge, they also display self-control.

Self-control: ἐγκράτεια, eng-krat’-i-ah.

Defined as temperance, it is the virtue of one who masters their desires and passions, especially sensual appetites. The Greek work ἐγκράτεια, “self-control” (G1466) does not seem to appear in the LXX. It does, however, show-up in Galatians chapter 5 as one of the Fruits of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah. (Galations 5:22-23).

Engratiah comes from Greek root ἐγκρατής, eng-krat-ace’ (G1468), meaning strong, robust, having power over; mastering; controlling; restraining oneself; temperate; continent.  This Greek root word (G1468) is also not in the Septuagint, but it is found in Titus 1:8: “For it is necessary for the overseer to be without reproach, as God’s manager; not self-willed, not prone to anger, not intemperate in the use of wine, not a brawler, not profiting through vice; but hospitable, a friend of good men, discreet, just, sacred, self-controlled.”

In the book of Genesis, Elohim gives an admonition to Cain: “Is it not if you do good, you are to be accepted? And if you do not do good, towards the door is a sin. He is lying and towards you is his desire, and you must rule over him.” (Genesis 4:7).  As disciples of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, we are to not only walk with moral excellence of character, having a deep knowledge and understanding of who Elohim is and how to better our walk with Him, but we are also to be master over our own fleshly desires and rule over the sin which battles against our members.  With that, we must do so with endurance.

Endurance: ὑπομονή, hoop-om-on-ay’.

Synonymous with steadfastness, endurance is the characteristic of someone who is not swerved from their purpose even during trial and suffering; especially when it’s easier to give up or walk away. It means patiently waiting for the deliverance that is to come while unswervingly maintaining what you are assigned to do with perseverance.

The Greek word ὑπομονή, hoop-om-on-ay’ (G5281) can be found 8 times in the LXX. (Blue Letter Bible actually listed 9 times, but I did not find it in Ezra 10:2). G5281 is used in place of three Hebrew words with Strong’s numbers: H4723, H6960, and H8615.

1 Chronicles 29:15: “For we are sojourners and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without permanence.”

Permanence: H4723, מִקְוֶה, mik-veh; hope, ground of hope, things hoped for, outcome, collection, collected mass. A masculine noun from the verb H6960, קָוָה, “qava”: to wait, look for, hope, expect; to wait or look eagerly for, linger for; to collect, bind together, to be collected.  As we can see from these definitions, to have endurance means to have a hope and expectation that one waits and looks eagerly for.

Job 14:19: “As water wears away stones, its outpouring washes away the soil of the earth – so You have destroyed the expectancy of man.”

Expectancy: H8615, תִּקְוָה, tik-vah; cord, hope, expectation, hope, ground of hope, things hoped for, outcome. A feminine noun also from the verb H6960 “qava”.

Other uses of one of these forms of qava, mikveh, or tikvah occurs in the following verses:

Psalm 9:18, 62:5, and 71:5 all use H8615, tik-vah, Psalm 39:7 uses H6960 qava, and Jeremiah 14:8 and 17:13 use H4723, mik-ve; The “Hope” of Israel.

To have endurance implies a permanence of hope.  We are not like waves tossed around in a storm, but rather have an expectation that we eagerly wait for, one we unwaveringly and actively seek out.  This endurance, coupled with self-control, an intimate knowledge of Elohim, and uprightness of character is not to be without reverence.

Reverence: εὐσέβεια, yoo-seb’-i-ah.

Meaning respect and piety, or devotion towards Elohim, εὐσέβεια “reverence” (G2150) occurs four times in the Septuagint: Proverbs 1:7; 13:11; Isaiah 11:2; 33:6. Often translated as “fear” this is a little bit misleading of a translation into English.  Being pious, or reverent, means that one has a devotion and respect for the awesome nature of the One True and Living Elohim. We are awestruck by His holiness.  We are stricken by His power. There is no one greater, and when you have a deep and intimate knowledge of His ways, and attempt to emulate His character, you quickly realize that there is no one who even compares to the Mighty Nature of YHWH – except One, Yeshua our Master.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) Proverbs says that reverence of YHWH is the beginning of knowledge. Isaiah 33:6 says that it is His treasure! It is the beginning of knowledge, and yet we are to add reverence to knowledge, endurance, self-control, and uprightness.  With enduring reverence, and in the depths of His knowledge we seek His treasure, maintaining self-control and uprightness of character, and of course, with brotherly love.

Brotherly affection: φιλαδελφία, philadelphia.

Brotherly love, the love of brothers or sisters, the love which the Followers of Messiah cherish for each other as brethren. (At least they should.)  φιλαδελφία (G5360), “brotherly love” is another one that appears to not be found in the Tanach. There are more than a few instances of it in Romans 12:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Hebrews 13:1, 1 Peter 1:22, and in adjective form G5361 (philadelphos) in 1 Peter 3:8.

And it is not necessary to write to you about brotherly love, for you yourselves are taught by Elohim to love one another. (1 Thessalonians 4:9) It seems that the Apostle Paul thought it not necessary to write to the assembly in Thessalonika about brotherly love, since they were taught by Elohim to love one another.  In Romans 12 he describes it as being “tenderly loving towards one another,” and having “appreciation” and “preference” towards one another. In other words, putting others before ourselves.  Though it may seem redundant, but in addition to brotherly love, we are to add on top of that another serving of love.

Love: ἀγάπη, agape.

Agape love, a most favorite topic among Christian pastors.  In addition to brotherly love, this is showing affection or good will, and benevolence towards others. The Greek word ἀγάπη (G26) “love” is used in Jeremiah 2:2 in place of H160 אַהֲבָה (ahavah): “I remember you, the loving-commitment of your youth, the love of your bridehood…”

This type of love is the kind of love between a man and a woman, and Elohim’s love toward His people. Deuteronomy 7:8 says, “because of יהוה loving you… יהוה has brought you out with a strong hand.” The Hebrew reads: כִּי מֵאַהֲבַת יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם (ki me’ahavat YHWH etkem) — “Surely because of YHWH’s love for you…”

Thus, the love we are to have is one of honor, loyalty, and trustworthiness.

As the Master Yeshua said, “A renewed command I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you… By this all shall know that you are My taught ones, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)

Thus, with all diligence and in addition to our conviction of the truth that YHWH is the ruler and creator of all things, and that Yeshua is His Only begotten Son who was without sin and yet crucified and died. That on the third day He rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father, and that one day He will return to restore His throne on the earth.  That in addition to that, we as believers are to supplement this belief by being morally excellent in character, and embodying the royal majesty of our Savior in our own personal walk, while giving praise and honor to His name.  In addition to this moral excellence, we are to have a deep and intimate knowledge of the ways of the Living Elohim, bearing witness by our walk and mastering over fleshly desires. We do all of these with an enduring expectation of the world that is to come, and the inheritance we are to receive. With this knowledge, and in our walk, we show humble reverence for the Mighty Nature of Elohim and we give Him our utmost devotion.  In so doing, we are to show tender affection towards one another, putting others before ourselves, and loving one another as He loved us, selflessly and without fail.