Lesson date: 7/13/5855AA

It was Shemoth (Exodus) Chapter 1 that changed my perspective on Torah. Upon realizing that the names of the patriarchs were not in their proper order I began looking at the meanings of the names and found that there was a message embedded in the names. After that point I began looking at all names to see if there was something I was missing in each chapter of Torah. Since that time I have began looking for the specific usage of words and meaning of letters. Each step lead me a little farther down the path. Now, back in Shemoth it is with a little fear that I start this study, afraid that I have not grown enough spiritually to learn even more.

Verse 1 – Unfortunately, our religious upbringing is dependent or at least influenced by modern media such as television. When people envision the Exodus images of Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Yul Brynner and others come flooding into our minds and begin to shape our thoughts and feelings about the Exodus of the Children of Yisra’el. Even the name (shem) Exodus evokes a certain emotional response but, is Exodus all about the departure for Mitsrayim or is it more than that. The Hebrew name Shemoth I believe is more descriptive of the actual contents of this Book of Torah. We have the names of the patriarchs, Mosheh, Aharon but most importantly we learn the name of the Almighty YHVH ‘eheyeh – ‘asher – eheyeh or ayah ashar ayah. There are many other names we will learn in our study of Shemoth.

Verses 2-4 –

1 – Re’uḇĕn – ראוּבן – Strong’s H7205 – ‘behold a son’
2 – Shim’on – שִׁמעוֹן – Strong’s H8095 – ‘heard’
3 – Lĕvi – לוי – Strong’s H3878 meaning, ‘joined to’.
4 – Yehuḏah – יהוּדָה – Strong’s H3063 – ‘praised’
5 – Yissasḵar – ישָשכָר – Strong’s H3485 – ‘there is recompense’ (9th born)
6 – Zeḇulun – זבוּלוּן – Strong’s H2074 – ‘exalted’ (10th born)
7 – Binyamin בניָמין – Strong’s H1144 – ‘son of the right hand’ (12th born)
8 – Dan – דָן – Strong’s H1835 – ‘judge’ (5th born)
9 – Naphtali – נַפתָלי – Strong’s H5321 – ‘wrestling’ (6th born)
10 – Gaḏ – גָד – Strong’s H1410 – ‘troop’ (7th born)
11 – Ashĕr – אָשֵׁר – Strong’s H836 – ‘joyful one’ (8th born)

Behold a Son, of whom we’ve Heard and are Joined To, to Praise Him, in whom There Is Recompense; for He is the Exalted Son of the Right Hand and the Judge, Whose Wrestling for the Troop brings Joy.

Verses 5-7 – We see an accounting of those that went into Mitsrayim and the number was 70. Seventy is also the number of the “nations” found in the “list of nations” in Bereshith Chapter 10. Seventy was also the total number of bulls sacrificed during Sukkot. In Debarim Chapter 32 verses 8&9 in both the LXX and the Dead Sea Scroll Scriptures we see that the nations were divided among the Sons of Elohim. Remember, the LXX and the Dead Sea Scroll Scriptures are the two oldest existing original versions of Scriptures and the least tampered with, especially the DSS.That would indicate that there were seventy gods as well, one for each country.

Another thing to remember about the number 70 is found in Luke: Luk 9:1  And having called His twelve taught ones together, He gave them power and authority over all demons, and to heal diseases.

Luk 9:2  And He sent them to proclaim the reign of Elohim and to heal the sick.

Next, we see Yeshua appoint more disciples and sends them out afterward: Luk 10:1  And after this the Master appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of Him into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.

Luk 10:2  Then He said to them, “The harvest indeed is great, but the workers are few, therefore pray the Master of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

Verse 10:2 above leads into the next part which is verse 7 which talks about Yisra’el being fruitful, multiplying, increasing and becoming very strong. As Yisra’el, our Father expects us to be fruitful for His Kingdom, to increase and become strong.

Mat_3:10  “And the axe is already laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, then, which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Mat_7:17  “So every good tree yields good fruit, but a rotten tree yields wicked fruit.

Mat_7:18  “A good tree is unable to yield wicked fruit, and a rotten tree to yield good fruit.

Mat_7:19  “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Mat_12:33  “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit.

Mat_13:23  “And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

We are expected to yield fruit for the Kingdom. No, this is not a numbers game and we go out on visitation on Thursday night and blanket the community to see how many folks we can have on Shabbat morning. This is about bringing truth to a world that is starved for truth, so much so, that churches are losing members in record numbers because they feel as though they are just there for the fleecing.

H6509 – פָּרָה – pârâh – paw-raw’ – A primitive root; to bear fruit (literally or figuratively): – bear, bring forth (fruit), (be, cause to be, make) fruitful, grow, increase.

H8317 – שָׁרַץ – shârats – shaw-rats’ -A primitive root; to wriggle, that is, (by implication) swarm or abound: – breed (bring forth, increase) abundantly (in abundance),

H6105 – עָצַם – ‛âtsam –  aw-tsam’ – A primitive root; to bind fast, that is, close (the eyes); intransitively to be (causatively make) powerful or numerous;

H3966 – מְאֹד – me’ôd – meh-ode’ – From the same as H181; properly vehemence, that is, (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated):

“Meod” is repeated to indicate a superlative condition.

Psa 105:23  Then Yisra’ĕl came to Mitsrayim, And Yaʽaqoḇ sojourned in the land of Ḥam.

Psa 105:24  And He increased (“parah”)  His people greatly (“meod”) , And made them stronger (‘atsam) than their enemies.

Verse 8 – This is a verse that many will find controversial but I will express it anyway because during Sukkot I will present a teaching about Yoseph that I have never presented before. I think you will find it interesting, to say the least. Remember, I sent you an assignment to look into Bereshith 45:8. Now let’s look at the word used for to “know” Yoseph: H3045 – יָדַע –  yâda‛ – yaw-dah’ – ((there are many definitions of “yada” but I want to concentrate on two)) kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to, let, make) know,

Now, let’s retranslate verse 8 with this different meaning: Exo 1:8  Then a new sovereign arose over Mitsrayim, who was not a kinsman of Yosĕph,

Notice it is not in red because it is not Scripture.

I sent the timeline below to everyone showing the 430 years in Egypt a year or two ago. If you did not receive it or just forgot it I included it here for reference.

Verse 9 – ((Warning!! History lesson ahead)) What Pharaoh says is deeply rooted in Egyptian history. Egypt has only been reunited for about 200 years. In fact, fighting was still going on in the south, in what is now Sudan. There were three kingdoms Lower, Middle and Upper. The Upper Kingdom was headquartered in Aswan in the south. The Middle Kingdom was between Asyut and Karnak and the Lower Kingdom was centered at Thebes/Memphis. ((Remember, Upper and Lower are based upon their position relative to the Nile River NOT north and south.)) The whole of Mitsrayim is referred to as the Kingdom of the Two Lands.

When Yosef, which is Yusef in Egyptian, married Asenath they were given the former Amorite capital of Avaris as their city to rule from. Avaris was tied to the Nile by a series of ingenious canals that enabled the Egyptians to finally defeat the Amorites. This was accomplished during Ya’aqob’s lifetime but not Yoseph’s. Avaris was a fortress and a prison and this may have been the prison in which Yoseph was placed. It is in Goshen and not far for On, where his father-in-law was High Priest.

Why is Pharaoh worried about the Yisra’elites if he is ruling in Thebes? Because during the drought the center of government was moved to Heliopolis and remained there about 120 years before it moved back to Thebes. In all likelihood it moved because of the invasion of the Philistines.

Now, back to Scripture.

Verse 10 – The word “wisely” is  hakam – H2449 and it is written in the Hithpael verb tense. What difference does this make? It changes the meaning from wise to shrewdly or deceptively or you could say wise according to man’s knowledge. Here is an example of man’s wisdom: 1Ki 12:4  “Your father made our yoke hard, and now, lighten the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, then we serve you.”

1Ki 12:5  And he said to them, “Go away for three days, then come back to me.” And the people went.

1Ki 12:6  Then Sovereign Reḥaḇ’am consulted the elders who stood before his father Shelomoh while he still lived, and he said, “What do you advise me to answer these people?”

1Ki 12:7  And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are a servant to these people today, and shall serve them, and shall answer them and speak good words to them, then they shall be your servants all the days.”

1Ki 12:8  But he ignored the advice the elders gave him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

1Ki 12:9  And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

1Ki 12:10  And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Say this to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us.’ Say this to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!

1Ki 12:11  ‘And now, my father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I add to your yoke; my father flogged you with whips, but I, I flog you with scourges!’ ”

Verse 11-14 – Once again the word for afflict is ‘anah – H6031 with the noon (N) being the central character and it looks like a person on their knees and bent over. But even with the affliction of the Mitsrites could not keep the Children of Yisra’el for flourishing and growing stronger: Psa 119:92  If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

The location of the two cities mentioned, Ramses and Pithom, is and has been the subject of a huge debate that still continues to this day. Almost everyone agrees that they were located in the land of Goshen. Between the main channel of the Nile and the present location of the Suez Canal. There are 3 primary channels in the Delta today but during the time of Yoseph there were 8 primary channels. In one of the locations believed to be Pithom or Pi-Tum, it should be noted that the construction is in three stages: the lowest one of brick with straw, the middle layer with bricks and river reeds and the last stage or upper stage was just Nile River mud with no straw or reeds. Coincidence?

Verses 15-22 – This is the tale of the two faithful midwives who put their fear in YHVH and not Pharaoh: Mat 10:28  “And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the being. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both being and body in Gehenna.

Shiphrah – H8236 – fair or fairness comes for the root H8231 – beautiful, comely.
Pu’ah – H6326 – “Splendid” in the sense of glittering.

I do not begin to believe that there were only two midwives for all the women in Mtsrayim. Instead, I believe these two were the teachers or trainers of midwives throughout the community of  the Yisra’elites and were responsible for the actions of the others.

Birthing stools being employed in Mitsrayim at this time were either two blocks spread shoulder width apart and the women expecting would stand on the blocks and squat down slightly and deliver the baby. The other type was a triangle of crossed sticks that were supported by either legs or ropes and the mother sat on the frame and delivered the baby through the opening. There was a scene in the movie The Da Vinci Code in which Mary Magdalene is seen standing on two blocks about to deliver.

The two midwives are told to kill the boys but let the girls live. But the midwives refuse to obey a man’s command and instead obey Elohim and they explain that the Hebrew women are different for Mitsrian women and are lively: H2422 – חיה – châyeh – BDB Definition: 1) vigorous, lively, having the vigour of life

In being faithful to Elohim they were rewarded by YHVH.

Verse 22 perfectly sets the stage for Chapter 2 in telling that Pharaoh commanded that all male children be thrown into the river.

Ahavah,