- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Dec 3, 2021 15:24:20 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 12:1-13:18
Haftara- Joshua 24:3-18
D’rash: Our parashah starts with the famous call to Abram and the even more famous promise by the Almighty:
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” [Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves].
Biblically we as believers are here command to bless the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people. Or if you prefer, given the choice to bless them or receive a curse from Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18). But let’s look a bit deeper.
Boreh Ketzot HaAretz, the Creator of the Ends of the Earth (Is 40:28) here promises Abram that, “everyone who curses him” מְקַלֶּלְךָ mekalelcha will in turn “be cursed” אָאֹר aor.” The character of this promise is lost in translation. The first term translated “curses” is מְקַלֶּלְךָ mekalelcha and comes from a root meaning “to make light of something heavy.” The second word for “curse” אָאֹר (aor) comes from a different root meaning “to destroy utterly.” So a better translation might be “I will bless those who bless you, but the one who disrespects you, I will utterly destroy.”
The Hebrew for the verb “to bless” is לברך levarech, from the root בָּרַךְ barach. As I believe jimmy once pointed out, this root is connected to the word “knee” בֶּרֶךְ berech, and as used here implies kneeling, rendering service. So the meaning could be “I will serve those who serve you.” El-Shaddai, Almighty God / Might of the Powerful Ones (Gen 17:1) more or less abases Himself to “serve” mortal men! It does not mean He subordinates Himself to us, but since He knows us and knows our needs better than even we do, whatever He gives I will gratefully take!
There is also a clear guarantee of El Ha’Ne’eman, The Faithful God’s (Deu 7:9) protection over Abram/Abraham and his descendants:
Genesis 12:7a Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your [seed] I will give this land.” He or his descendants would have to be there to receive it.
Even when Abram lost faith and almost corrupted the blessing by giving away Sarai to a pagan ruler, his God protected him:
Genesis 12:18-20 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
As we’ve seen here already, just reading the Bible in our English translations is like a grade-school level Bible class (the level at which even most adult classes are taught in churches today). We miss all the deeper meanings as well as the cultural references which can give us insights into how an ancient people thought. For example:
Genesis13:14-17 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
How would Abram have seen, or understood that? “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, צָפֹנָה tsafonah to the north and נֶגְבָּה negbah south, קֵדְמָה kedmah east and יָמָּה yamah west.”
We understand these as the cardinal directions, however Hebrew is very earthy, visual language. So these terms have their origin in the environment in which Abram now existed, the land of his promise.
The Hebrew term צָפֹנָה tsafonah north relates to Mt. Tsaphon which lies in contemporary Syria and which lay north of Abram when God spoke to him here. נֶגְבָּה negbah south literally denotes the Negev, a dessert area in the south of Yisroel. The biblical Negev is typically the mountain pass from Be’er Sheva to ancient Arad, however here it refers to the entire desert region to the south-southwest which was promised to Abram. יָמָּה yamah west indicates to the sea; the Mediterranean Sea.” קֵדְמָה kedmah east arouses echoes of “going back” to something long past, likely the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was planted in the eastern part of Eden (the Garden of Eden is NOT the same thing as the Land of Eden).
- The garden was planted in the east of Eden
-The land of Eden was to the east
- Cherubim were stationed on the east side of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Chavah were expelled
This would have been a powerful image for Abram, since oral history would have been very fresh when he lived. Noach died about 2 yrs before Abram was born, and Noach’s son Shem (from whose line all Semites, including Abram came) died only 25 yrs before Abram. These were godly men from whom the true oral history could have come. Liars, those who changed history to suit their views would have been easily exposed. So it is highly likely that in spite of being brought up in a pagan system himself Abram would have known the true history of the word to that time.
Then there is the fact Abram himself came to ha’aretz from the east. So looking back he would have seen his own history and all he had left to follow this God, Elohei HaElohim, God of Gods (Deu 10:17).
But did this view stand the test of time? Looking forward:
- The tabernacles’s entrance faces east
- In Ezekiel’s vision God’s glory comes from the east and enters the temple from the east
- The same temple faces east
- The Messiah is prophesied to come from the east
So coming from the east might be seen as a good thing.
- Cain was exiled to the east after murdering Abel.
- People travelled to the east to build the Tower of Babel.
- When Abraham and Lot separated from each other, Lot travelled east to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
- Ya’akov went east to find a wife, and ended up with four very contentious women and a very dysfunctional family
- The Tribe of Judah was exiled to Babylon in the east
And going to the east (especially to the lands east of Yisroel) might be seen as a bad thing.
The takeaway here is we should be looking deeper, using reference books from many sources to enhance our understanding. I highly recommend the Jewish Publication Society Study TNK. And I have many other Jewish books. But unfortunately most of our reference materials are from Christian sources. Strong’s is the first place we often go, but be careful as it misses a lot and is rooted in Catholic theory and doctrine (in spite of its’ being written at a New England Methodist seminary). Vines Expository Dictionary gives a lot more understanding, but to a lot fewer words. Then there are the Brown/Driver/Briggs and Thayer lexicons. Most of the Christian history of the ancient world is pretty good, as are their maps. But their New Testament history goes beyond being just skewed; much of it is an outright lie! And beware Christian commentators. They tend to know nothing of Judaism and the Jews (the people who wrote the entire Bible, including the NT) and they strictly follow the teachings of the church fathers, most of whom were unrepentant pagans. I do glean some from them, and have some I actually like (Wiersbe and Meyer, for example). One source I like which is very Jewish and very well grounded biblically, but which is geared more for educating Christians than Messianics is the Israel Bible Center. But whatever you use from any source, even (especially) those claiming to be Messianic, always use an extra helping of discernment!
Mekorot: all scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Dr. Eli and Dr.Cindy Parker of the Israel Bible Center; JPS Study TNK; jimmie; my notes; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 14:1-24
Haftara- Is 41:2-14
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 12:1-13:18
Haftara- Joshua 24:3-18
D’rash: Our parashah starts with the famous call to Abram and the even more famous promise by the Almighty:
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” [Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves].
Biblically we as believers are here command to bless the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people. Or if you prefer, given the choice to bless them or receive a curse from Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18). But let’s look a bit deeper.
Boreh Ketzot HaAretz, the Creator of the Ends of the Earth (Is 40:28) here promises Abram that, “everyone who curses him” מְקַלֶּלְךָ mekalelcha will in turn “be cursed” אָאֹר aor.” The character of this promise is lost in translation. The first term translated “curses” is מְקַלֶּלְךָ mekalelcha and comes from a root meaning “to make light of something heavy.” The second word for “curse” אָאֹר (aor) comes from a different root meaning “to destroy utterly.” So a better translation might be “I will bless those who bless you, but the one who disrespects you, I will utterly destroy.”
The Hebrew for the verb “to bless” is לברך levarech, from the root בָּרַךְ barach. As I believe jimmy once pointed out, this root is connected to the word “knee” בֶּרֶךְ berech, and as used here implies kneeling, rendering service. So the meaning could be “I will serve those who serve you.” El-Shaddai, Almighty God / Might of the Powerful Ones (Gen 17:1) more or less abases Himself to “serve” mortal men! It does not mean He subordinates Himself to us, but since He knows us and knows our needs better than even we do, whatever He gives I will gratefully take!
There is also a clear guarantee of El Ha’Ne’eman, The Faithful God’s (Deu 7:9) protection over Abram/Abraham and his descendants:
Genesis 12:7a Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your [seed] I will give this land.” He or his descendants would have to be there to receive it.
Even when Abram lost faith and almost corrupted the blessing by giving away Sarai to a pagan ruler, his God protected him:
Genesis 12:18-20 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
As we’ve seen here already, just reading the Bible in our English translations is like a grade-school level Bible class (the level at which even most adult classes are taught in churches today). We miss all the deeper meanings as well as the cultural references which can give us insights into how an ancient people thought. For example:
Genesis13:14-17 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
How would Abram have seen, or understood that? “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, צָפֹנָה tsafonah to the north and נֶגְבָּה negbah south, קֵדְמָה kedmah east and יָמָּה yamah west.”
We understand these as the cardinal directions, however Hebrew is very earthy, visual language. So these terms have their origin in the environment in which Abram now existed, the land of his promise.
The Hebrew term צָפֹנָה tsafonah north relates to Mt. Tsaphon which lies in contemporary Syria and which lay north of Abram when God spoke to him here. נֶגְבָּה negbah south literally denotes the Negev, a dessert area in the south of Yisroel. The biblical Negev is typically the mountain pass from Be’er Sheva to ancient Arad, however here it refers to the entire desert region to the south-southwest which was promised to Abram. יָמָּה yamah west indicates to the sea; the Mediterranean Sea.” קֵדְמָה kedmah east arouses echoes of “going back” to something long past, likely the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was planted in the eastern part of Eden (the Garden of Eden is NOT the same thing as the Land of Eden).
- The garden was planted in the east of Eden
-The land of Eden was to the east
- Cherubim were stationed on the east side of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Chavah were expelled
This would have been a powerful image for Abram, since oral history would have been very fresh when he lived. Noach died about 2 yrs before Abram was born, and Noach’s son Shem (from whose line all Semites, including Abram came) died only 25 yrs before Abram. These were godly men from whom the true oral history could have come. Liars, those who changed history to suit their views would have been easily exposed. So it is highly likely that in spite of being brought up in a pagan system himself Abram would have known the true history of the word to that time.
Then there is the fact Abram himself came to ha’aretz from the east. So looking back he would have seen his own history and all he had left to follow this God, Elohei HaElohim, God of Gods (Deu 10:17).
But did this view stand the test of time? Looking forward:
- The tabernacles’s entrance faces east
- In Ezekiel’s vision God’s glory comes from the east and enters the temple from the east
- The same temple faces east
- The Messiah is prophesied to come from the east
So coming from the east might be seen as a good thing.
- Cain was exiled to the east after murdering Abel.
- People travelled to the east to build the Tower of Babel.
- When Abraham and Lot separated from each other, Lot travelled east to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
- Ya’akov went east to find a wife, and ended up with four very contentious women and a very dysfunctional family
- The Tribe of Judah was exiled to Babylon in the east
And going to the east (especially to the lands east of Yisroel) might be seen as a bad thing.
The takeaway here is we should be looking deeper, using reference books from many sources to enhance our understanding. I highly recommend the Jewish Publication Society Study TNK. And I have many other Jewish books. But unfortunately most of our reference materials are from Christian sources. Strong’s is the first place we often go, but be careful as it misses a lot and is rooted in Catholic theory and doctrine (in spite of its’ being written at a New England Methodist seminary). Vines Expository Dictionary gives a lot more understanding, but to a lot fewer words. Then there are the Brown/Driver/Briggs and Thayer lexicons. Most of the Christian history of the ancient world is pretty good, as are their maps. But their New Testament history goes beyond being just skewed; much of it is an outright lie! And beware Christian commentators. They tend to know nothing of Judaism and the Jews (the people who wrote the entire Bible, including the NT) and they strictly follow the teachings of the church fathers, most of whom were unrepentant pagans. I do glean some from them, and have some I actually like (Wiersbe and Meyer, for example). One source I like which is very Jewish and very well grounded biblically, but which is geared more for educating Christians than Messianics is the Israel Bible Center. But whatever you use from any source, even (especially) those claiming to be Messianic, always use an extra helping of discernment!
Mekorot: all scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Dr. Eli and Dr.Cindy Parker of the Israel Bible Center; JPS Study TNK; jimmie; my notes; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 14:1-24
Haftara- Is 41:2-14
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
