Lesson date: 5/29/5855AA

Verse 1 – H662 – אפק – ‘âphaq – BDB Definition:1) to hold, be strong, restrain, hold back 1a) (Hithpael) 1a1) to restrain oneself, refrain. This word is written in the Hiphael verb form to emphasize that Yoseph was unable to restrain himself any longer. We see Yoseph dismissing everyone in his presence except his brothers. In verse 28 of the previous chapter we see Yehudah describe Yoseph’s death as “torn to pieces” and now he reveals that he is alive. Imagine how Miryam of Magdala felt when she heard a familiar voice utter, “Miryam” in John 20:16. She knew Yeshua was dead, she had watched as his flesh was torn to pieces by the whip. She had watched as Yeshua was nailed to the stake and then even as the spear was shoved between His ribs so, he had to be dead. Suddenly, to hear his familiar voice call out to her, “Miryam”.

H3318 – יצא – yâtsâ’ – BDB Definition: 1) to go out, come out, exit, go forth. Now, Yoseph commands all the Mitsrites to leave his presence. Rev 11:8  and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim, where also our Master was impaled,

Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 45 →

Lesson date: 6/7/5855AA

Verse 1 – What is happening here? We have talked about Be’ersheba many times and especially the word “sheba” for “oath” or “sevening oneself” but, we really haven’t talked about be’er (H875) which means well. It comes for ba’ar (H874) to make plain, expound on, to engrave (as on a stone or rock) to declare: Deu 1:5  Beyond the Yardĕn, in the land of Mo’aḇ, Mosheh undertook to declare this Torah, saying,

Deu 27:8  “And you shall write all the Words of this Torah on the stones – plainly and well.”

Hab 2:2  And יהוה answered me and said, “Write the vision and inscribe it on tablets, so that he who reads it runs.

It was at Be’ersheba that Abraham called YHVH El Olam! The Everlasting El.

Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 46 →

Lesson date: 6/14/5855AA

Verses 1-2 – This is one of those times where I realize how little I know and how inadequate I am to teach. We see Yoseph going to Pharaoh to introduce his family and he takes 5 of his brothers. Which five? We don’t know. Do these five represent the five wise virgins who had plenty of oil(Torah, Ruach Hakodesh, Wisdom?). Were they the ones that would listen to and obey the commands of Yoseph? We are not told who the five brethren were but I have an idea about 2 of them. One was Yehudah, who had so eloquently poured out his heart in repentance to Yoseph. And, one other was Binyamin, so that Yoseph could brag about his only full brother. The one brother to whom he gave five times as much food as his brothers (Gen. 43:34) and to whom he also gave 5 changes of garments(Gen. 45:22).  Did these 5 brothers represent the five wise virgins? Those that had brought sufficient oil with them while waiting for the Bridegroom? I now realize that five is also a foreshadowing of the second coming of the Messiah and will pay more attention to the occurrence of 5 in Scripture. It should also be noted that5 is the number of gifts or responsibilities in the Body of Messiah: Eph 4:11  And He Himself gave some as emissaries, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 47 — Realizing how much you don’t know →

Lesson date: 12/11/5858AA

Verses 1-2 – Here we see that Yoseph is told that his father is sick and he takes his 2 sons and goes to his father’s place in Goshen(Drawing Near). We are not told if this is the first time that the boys have met their grandfather or not. This I understand well because I did not meet my granddaughter until she was 14 and I was 64. I only knew she existed a little over 2 years before that and as a result I can identify with Yisra’el meeting his grandsons, probably young men in their twenties, possibly even their thirties, for the first time. ((Yoseph lives in Mitsrayim 22 years before his father came and his father lived there 17 years before he died.)) ((See how Sunday School, Bible School and bedtime stories have shaped our thoughts?))

Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 48 →

Lesson date: 12/115858AA

Verse 1-2  – “called” = H7121 – קָרָא – qârâ’ – kaw-raw’ – A primitive root (rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is, properly address by name,

“befall” – H7122 – קָרָא – qârâ’ – kaw-raw’ – A primitive root; to encounter, whether accidentally or in a hostile manner: – befall, (by) chance, (cause to) come (upon), fall out, happen, meet.

“Last days” – H319 – אַחֲרִית – ‘achărı̂yth – akh-ar-eeth’ – From H310; the last or end, hence the future; also posterity: – (last, latter) end (time), hinder (utter) -most, length, posterity, remnant, residue, reward.

Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 49 →

Lesson date: 7/7/5855AA

Verses 1-3 – Ya’aqob has died and we see an outpouring of emotion for Yoseph toward his father. We can tell because it says that Yospeh wept over his father: Joh 11:35  יהושע wept.

Joh 11:36  The Yehudim therefore said, “See how He loved him!”

The Hebrew custom is to bury the deceased the same day. The problem was that the trip to Hebron would have taken between one and two weeks, @10-12 days at a slow gait. We see Yoseph ordering the surgeons to embalm his father for the journey to the cave of Makpelah in Hebron. The Egyptians wept or mourned for Ya’aqob for 70 days, 40 days during the embalming process and 30 days, according to custom, after his embalming.

Continue reading Bereshith (Genesis) 50 →

We have seen in the writings of Yohannon that he uses a devise, or I would say a literary signature, of embedding 7’s in his narrative. Also, Yohannon writes topologically rather than chronologically and will say something out of chronological order to explain in his current narrative. He does this both in Revelation and also his Besorah. What if we could detect something like this in the narrative of Yoseph? Would it be important or even relevant? Wouldn’t it be fun to try? Let’s look and see if we can detect a pattern in the narrative of Yoseph.

Continue reading Random Thoughts on the Story of Yosef →

Lesson date: 12/../5854AA

Whenever I read Scripture I never know where or in which direction it will lead me. On 10/28/5854AA we began reading in Bereshith once again and we were finding gems and jewels as always. In preparing for the Torah study for Shabbat on 12/10/5854AA I read Ber. 8:21-22: Gen 8:21  And יהוה smelled a soothing fragrance, and יהוה said in His heart, “Never again shall I curse the ground because of man, although the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth, and never again smite all living creatures, as I have done,

Gen 8:22  as long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”

Continue reading The Thirteenth Month: Or, “The Day that The Earth Stood Still” →