1/06/2023

Parashat 11 (Vayegash) Portion 43a- Ber 46:28- 47:31 Zech 10:6-12 + 11:4; 1 Kings 2:1-4


Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.

ואת יהודה – The Hebrewאת  is a direct object marker. Yehudah now appears to be the focus of our attention.

Gen 46:28  And he sent Yehuḏah before him to Yosĕph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen – (Hebrew root – ‘’nagash’’)

The Hebrew name for Judah, Yehudah (יהודה), literally "thanksgiving" or "praise," is the noun form of the root Y-D-H (ידה), "to thank" or "to praise’’ for the irreversible calling and birth right blessing.

Gen 49:10  “The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor an Inscriber from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of peoples. (‘’shila yavo’’ he will come to whom it belongs – gematria 358 same as ‘’Mashiach’’)

Judah was chosen By YHVH to lead the ‘’called out’’ ones back to Himself – It is significant that the only difference in spelling between YHVH and Yahudah is the addition of the ‘’daleth’’ in Yahudah. A ‘’daleth’’ in Hebrew is a symbol of a door. It may be concluded that Yahudah would play a future prophetic role of bring about a coming together of all the ‘’called out’’ ones to YHVH – ‘’Vayigash’’

Yahshua said in Joh 4:22  “….. the deliverance is of the Yehuḏim.’’

Rom 3:1  What then is the advantage of the Yehuḏi, or what is the value of the circumcision? 

Rom 3:2  Much in every way! Because firstly indeed, that they were entrusted with the Words of Elohim.a Footnote: aSee Rom_2:20. (almost all scripture has Jewish authorship)

Speaking of the Yehudaim Paul says in Rom 9:4   to whom is the adoption, and the esteem, and the covenants, and the giving of the Torah, and the worship, and the promises, 

Rom 9:5  whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, Elohim-blessed forever. Aměn. 

For the most part Christians have established the doctrine of replacement theology and ignored the Torah. Many Jewish rabbis have kept the study of the Torah alive for millennia.

Isa 8:20  To the Torah and to the witness! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no daybreak.[a] Footnote: aOr light.

Gen 46:29  And Yosĕph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Yisra’ĕl. And he appeared to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.

Gen 46:30  And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”

Gen 46:31  And Yosĕph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I am going up to inform Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Kenaʽan, have come to me.

Gen 46:32  ‘And the men are shepherds, that they have been men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds, and all that they have.’

Gen 46:33  “And it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’

Gen 46:34  that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been men of livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ so that you dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Mitsrites.”

There seems to be a deeper spiritual application as to why shepherds were an abomination to Mitsrites (Egyptians). The very Heart of YHVH is revealed through the image of a Good Shepherd.

Psa 100:3  Know that יהוה, He is Elohim; He has made us, and we are His – His people and the sheep of His pasture.

The pagan religious spirit still hates shepherds!  Why?  The Egyptians possibly worshipped sheep – the Hebrews sacrificed them. Egyptians also despised the low estate of shepherds.

True shepherds (leaders) laid down their lives for the flock. False shepherds (leaders) exploit the flock for their own selfish purposes. True shepherds by their actions expose the ulterior motives of false leaders and shepherds. This is the difference between the descendants of Yakov and Esav. The descendants of Yakov built altars, pitched tents, looked after sheep, and studied Torah. The descendants of Esav controlled and manipulated ‘’sheep’’ so that they could build cities and increase their power and control over them.

Joh 10:11  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Joh 10:12  “But the hireling, and not being a shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.

Joh 10:13  “Now the hireling flees because he is a hireling and is not concerned about the sheep.

Joh 10:14  “I am the good shepherd.1 And I know Mine, and Mine know Me, Footnote: 1Ezek. 34:11-12, Heb. 13:20, 1 Peter 2:25, 1 Peter 5:4.

Joh 10:15  even as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.

Joh 10:16  “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold – I have to bring them as well, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.1 Footnote: 1Ezek. 34:23, Ezek. 37:24.

Joh 10:17  “Because of this the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, in order to receive it again.

Eze 34:1  And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

Eze 34:2  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Yisra’ĕl, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה to the shepherds, “Woe to the shepherds1 of Yisra’ĕl who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? Footnote: 1See Jer. 10:21.

Eze 34:3  “You eat the fat and you put on the wool. You slaughter the fatlings – you do not feed the flock.

Eze 34:4  “You have not strengthened the weak, nor have you healed the sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back the straying, nor sought what was lost; but you have ruled them with might and harshness.

Gen 47:1  Then Yosĕph went and spoke to Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Kenaʽan. And see, they are in the land of Goshen.”

Gen 47:2  And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

Gen 47:3  And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”

Gen 47:4  And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the scarcity of food is severe in the land of Kenaʽan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

Gen 47:5  And Pharaoh spoke to Yosĕph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

Gen 47:6  “The land of Mitsrayim is before you. Settle your father and brothers in the best of the land, let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of capable men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

Gen 47:7  And Yosĕph brought in his father Yaʽaqoḇ and set him before Pharaoh. And Yaʽaqoḇ blessed Pharaoh.

Gen 47:8  And Pharaoh said to Yaʽaqoḇ, “How old are you?”

Gen 47:9  And Yaʽaqoḇ said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”

Gen 47:10  And Yaʽaqoḇ blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

Heb 7:7  And it is beyond all dispute that the lesser is blessed by the better.

Gen 47:11  So Yosĕph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Mitsrayim, in the best of the land, in the land of Raʽmeses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Gen 47:12  And Yosĕph provided his father, and his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread for the mouth of the little ones. (Matt 5:25)

Gen 47:13  Now there was no bread in all the land, because the scarcity of food was very severe, and the land of Mitsrayim and all the land of Kenaʽan became exhausted from the scarcity of food.

Gen 47:14  And Yosĕph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kenaʽan, for the grain which they bought. And Yosĕph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.

Gen 47:15  And when the silver was all spent in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kenaʽan, all the Mitsrites came to Yosĕph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the silver is gone!”

Gen 47:16  And Yosĕph said, “Give your livestock, and I give you bread for your livestock, if the silver is gone.”

Gen 47:17  So they brought their livestock to Yosĕph, and Yosĕph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks they owned, and for the herds they owned, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

Gen 47:18  And when that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We do not hide from my master that our silver is all spent, and my master also has the livestock we owned. There has not any been left before my master but our bodies and our lands.

Gen 47:19  “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and let us and our land be servants of Pharaoh. And give us seed, and let us live and not die, and let the land not lie waste.”

Gen 47:20  And Yosĕph bought the entire land of Mitsrayim for Pharaoh, because every man of the Mitsrites sold his field, because the scarcity of food was severe upon them. And the land came to be Pharaoh’s.

Gen 47:21  And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Mitsrayim to the other end.

Gen 47:22  Only the ground of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had portions allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portions which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their ground.

Gen 47:23  And Yosĕph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

Gen 47:24  “And it shall be that in the harvest you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. And four-fifths is your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

Gen 47:25  And they said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favour in the eyes of my master, and we shall become Pharaoh’s servants.”

Gen 47:26  And Yosĕph made it a law over the land of Mitsrayim to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the ground of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Gen 47:27  And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim, in the land of Goshen. And they had possessions there and bore fruit and increased exceedingly.

Gen 47:28  And Yaʽaqoḇ lived in the land of Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Yaʽaqoḇ’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.

Gen 47:29  And the time for Yisra’ĕl to die drew near, and he called his son Yosĕph and said to him, “Now if I have found favour in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, and show kindness and truth to me. Please do not bury me in Mitsrayim,

Gen 47:30  but I shall lie with my fathers, and you shall take me up out of Mitsrayim and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I do as you have said.”

Gen 47:31  And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him, and Yisra’ĕl bowed himself on the head of the bed. (or leaning on his staff – Heb 11:21)

Zec 10:6  “And I shall make the house of Yehuḏah mighty, and save the house of Yosěph. And I shall bring them back, because I have compassion on them. And they shall be as though I had not pushed them aside. For I am יהוה their Elohim, and I answer them. 

Zec 10:7  “And Ephrayim shall be as a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. And their children shall see and rejoice, their heart exulting in יהוה

Zec 10:8  “I shall whistle for them and gather them, for I shall ransom them. And they shall increase as they once increased. 

Zec 10:9  “Though I sow them among peoples, they shall remember Me in places far away. And they shall live, together with their children, and they shall return. 

Zec 10:10  “And I shall bring them back from the land of Mitsrayim, and gather them from Ashshur, and bring them into the land of Gil‛aḏ and Leḇanon, until no more room is found for them. 

Zec 10:11  “And He shall pass through the sea of distress, and strike the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the River shall dry up. And the pride of Ashshur shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Mitsrayim be taken away. 

Zec 10:12  “And I shall make them mighty in יהוה, so that they walk up and down in His Name,” declares יהוה

How long?

Isa 6:11  Then I said, “יהוה, until when?” And He answered, “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, and the houses are without a man, and the land is laid waste, a ruin, 

Isa 6:12  and יהוה has removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. Isa 6:13  “But still, there is a tenth part in it, and it shall again be for a burning, like a terebinth tree and like an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. The set-apart seed is its stump!” 

 

Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein