Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has set us apart with His commandments and has commanded us to engross ourselves in the words of Torah. Please, YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Torah in our mouth and in the mouths of Your people, the family of Israel. May we and our offspring and the offspring of Your people, the house of Israel – all of us – know Your Name and study Your Torah for its own sake. Blessed are You, YHVH, who teaches Torah to His people Israel.
Introduction to the Torah portion:
"The only thing standing before YHVH and the
complete and utter annihilation of mankind is the chosen family of Jacob"
I then submitted this statement to Grok (AI platform)
Their response:
‘’The claim is theologically potent and biblically grounded’’
Then AI asked me to please unpack my statement.
I responded:
I have been a pastor for almost 40 years – I have been
studying the Torah for more than 20 years.
What bothers me deeply is that if Jacob and his family
were alive today – I don’t think they would be welcome in any church or
synagogue in the world.
I say this because Jacob had two wives and two concubines
– a patriarchal way of life banned by Rabbi Gershom a long time ago.
Then Jacob’s family was to put it mildly extremely dysfunctional
– your eldest son sexually violating one of your wives? And that was not the
end of it.
Either God made a huge mistake or we are incredibly
deceived!
AI responded:
Your conclusion is brutally logical: Either God made a
colossal mistake in choosing this family, or we (modern religious systems) are
the ones who are deceived.
I want to say this plainly and without religious spin:
God did not make a mistake, this is holy ground you’re
walking on - (Grok)
My conclusion (not submitted to AI):
Luk
19:38 saying, “ ‘Blessed is the Sovereign (king Messiah) who is
coming in the Name of יהוה!a
Psa_118:26 Peace in heaven and esteem in the highest!” Footnote: a Mat_23:39.
Luk
19:39 And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher,
rebuke Your taught ones.”
Luk
19:40 But He answering, said to them, “I say to you that if these shall
be silent, the stones would cry out.”
The ‘’stones’’ are crying out - AI is like a lifeless
stone.
The term "ישׂראל"
(Yisrael/Israel) is primarily a proper noun, but its etymological origin is
a verbal phrase found in Genesis 32:29. It is constructed from
the future-tense verb śārâ ("he will
strive/struggle") and El ("YHVH"). We are about
to enter the time of Jacobs distress Jer 30:7
ויצא יעקב
Jacob's Dream
Gen 28:10 And Ya‛aqoḇ
went out (ויצא
יעקב) from Be’ěrsheḇa
and went toward Haran (Heb – ‘’mountaineer or ‘’parched place’’) to climb the
most important mountain in the world – Mount Tzion. Presently the most ‘’parched’’
piece of real estate in the world.
Midrash (e.g., Genesis Rabbah) highlights the phrase
"וַיֵּצֵא" as
carrying emotional weight: Jacob "goes out" not just physically but
in a sense of leaving behind security, facing uncertainty, and the possibility
of severe persecution and hostility. Some midrashim portray Jacob's departure
as leaving the spiritual "light" of Beersheba (associated with oaths
and fulfillment) toward a higher aspiration ‘’Haran’’ linked to a mountaineer
preparing to climb a very high dangerous mountain.
In essence, Genesis 28:10 is deceptively simple, a travel
notice, but it launches one of the Torah's most profound episodes: a fugitive's
lonely journey becomes the site of heaven touching earth, covenant renewal, and
Jacob's awakening to YHVH's calling and ongoing presence ("Surely YHVH is
in this place, and I did not know it" verse 16). It underscores that YHVH's
promises endures even amid human failure, deception, great trials and even
exile.
Acts 14:22 (words of Paul) “through many pressures (affliction
and anguish persecution, tribulation, trouble) we have to enter the reign of
Elohim.”
Joh
16:33 (Yahshua) “These words I have spoken to you, that in Me you
might have peace. In the world you have pressure,(affliction and anguish persecution,
tribulation, trouble ) but take courage, I have overcome the world.”
This
Torah portion contains a very important end time prophetic message for an end
time generation that is being prepared by YHVH to enter into the millennial
reign of Messiah.
An end
time generation may have to prepare itself for almost total isolation, the loss
of all personal property and a level of hatred and opposition never before
experienced by the family of Jacob.
Jer
30:5 “For this is what יהוה said, ‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
of fear, and not of peace.
Jer
30:6 Ask now, and see if a man is giving birth. Why do I see every man
with his hands on his loins like a woman in labour, and all faces turned
pale?
Jer
30:7 Oh! For great is that day, there is none like it. And it is the time
of Ya‛aqoḇ’s distress, but he shall be saved out of it. (distress in Heb ‘’tzara’’
in LXX Gk ‘’thlipsis’’ same Gk word in Acts 14:22 and Jn 16:33)
Jer
30:24 The burning displeasure of יהוה shall not turn back until He
has done and established the purposes of His heart. In the latter days you
shall understand it.b Footnote: bSee Jer_23:20.
Mat
24:21 “For then there shall be great distress, (Gk ‘’thlipsis’’)c such as
has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever
shall be. Footnote: cOr great pressure, or great affliction.
Mat
24:22 “And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved, but
for the sake of the chosen ones (Jacob and his family – Jew and gentile) those
days shall be shortened.
How do
we know that life will become increasingly difficult for believers in the last
days?
2Th
2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way, because the falling away is
to come first, and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed, the son of
destruction
In
fact most believers will fall away in the last days – confirmed by AI with several
scripture references.
Signs
of the End of the Age
Mat
24:3 And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the taught ones came to Him
separately, saying, “Say to us, when shall this be, and what is the sign of
Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Mat
24:4 And יהושע answering, said to them, “Take heed that no one leads you
astray.
Mat
24:5 “For many shall come in My Name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and
they shall lead many astray.
Mat
24:6 “And you shall begin to hear of fightings and reports of fightings.
See that you are not troubled, for these have to take place, but the end is not
yet.
Mat
24:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and reign against reign. And
there shall be scarcities of food, and deadly diseases, and earthquakes in
places.
Mat
24:8 “And all these are the beginning of birth pains.
Mat
24:9 “Then they shall deliver you up to affliction and kill you, and you
shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake.
Mat
24:10 “And then many shall stumble, and they shall deliver up one
another, and shall hate one another.
Mat
24:11 “And many false prophets shall rise up and lead many astray.
Mat
24:12 “And
because of the increase in lawlessness,(in the house of Jacob) the love of many
shall become cold.
Mat
24:13 “But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.a Footnote:
aSee Mat_10:22.
Yasher Chapter
29 – gives interesting insight into this Torah portion. (Josh 10:13)
vs30.
And Isaac finished commanding Jacob and blessing him, and he gave him many
gifts, together with silver and gold, and he sent him away; and Jacob hearkened
to his father and mother; he kissed them and arose and went to Padan-aram; and
Jacob was seventy seven years old when he went out from the land of Canaan from
Beersheba 31. And when Jacob went away to go to Haran Esau called
unto his son Eliphaz, and secretly spoke unto him, saying, Now hasten, take thy
sword in thy hand and pursue Jacob and pass before him in the road, and lurk
for him, and slay him with thy sword in one of the mountains, and take all
belonging to him and come back. 36. And Eliphaz came near to Jacob and he
answered and said unto him, Thus did my father command me, and now therefore I
will not deviate from the orders which my father gave me; and when Jacob saw
that Esau had spoken to Eliphaz to employ force, Jacob then approached and
supplicated Eliphaz and his men, saying to him, 37. Behold all that I have and
which my father and mother gave unto me, that take unto thee and go from me,
and do not slay me, and may this thing be accounted unto thee a righteousness.
38. And the Lord caused Jacob to find favor in the sight of Eliphaz the son of
Esau, and his men, and they hearkened to the voice of Jacob, and they did not
put him to death, and Eliphaz and his men took all belonging to Jacob together
with the silver and gold that he had brought with him from Beersheba; they left
him nothing – end quote.
From the time Jacob left Beersheva until the present
day – Jacob and his descendants have always faced the possibility of total annihilation
and extinction from the earth.
Zec
13:8 And it shall be throughout all the soil,” (Heb ‘’ha aretz’’ the land
of Israel) declares יהוה, “that two thirds therein
are cut off and die, and one third is left therein.
Zec
13:9 “And I shall bring the third into fire, and refine them as silver is
refined, and try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My Name,b and I
shall answer them. I shall say, ‘This is My people,’ while they say, ‘יהוה is my Elohim.’ ” Footnote: b
Zep_3:9.
Gen 28:11 And he came upon a place and
stopped over for the night, for the sun had set. And he took one of the stones
of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place
to sleep.
Three times in this one verse (Ber 28:11) the Hebrew word
“ha makom” or “the place” is used.
Traditional Rabbinic interpretation (Rashi) identifies
this specific spot as Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the same
location where Abraham was bound to sacrifice Isaac (the Akeida).
Gen 28:12 And he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on
the earth, and its top reached to the heavens, and saw messengers of Elohim
going up and coming down on it.
Yahshua explicitly references Jacob's ladder in John
1:51, telling Nathanael, "You will see heaven open, and the messengers of
Elohim ascending and descending on the Son of Man." This portrays Yahshua
as the ultimate bridge between heaven and earth, the true "ladder" or
mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). (And Jacob the family that Yahshua belongs to.)
“ladder” in Hebrew is “sulam” this is the only place in
scripture where this word is used. The gematria for “sulam” and “Sinai” are the
same – 130.
Deu
4:12 “And יהוה spoke to you out of the
midst of the fire. You heard a voice (‘’kol’’ gematria 130) of words, but saw
no form, you only heard a voice. (From Sinai)
Pirkei Avot 6:2 Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: every day a
bat kol (a heavenly voice) goes forth from Mount Horeb/Sinai and makes
proclamation and says: “Woe unto humankind for their contempt towards the Torah.
This numerical links are seen as intentional, symbolizing
a deeper prophetic foreshadowing in Jacob's dream of the future revelation at
Mount Sinai, where YHVH establishes the covenant through the giving of the
Torah exclusively to Jacob's descendants, the nation of Israel.
Gen 28:13 And see, יהוה
stood above it and said, “I am יהוה Elohim of Aḇraham your father and the
Elohim of Yitsḥaq. The
land on which you are lying, I give it to you and your seed.
Gen 28:14 “And your seed shall be as the dust of
the earth, and you shall break forth to the west and to the east, to the north
and the south. And all the clans of the earth shall be blessed in you and in
your seed.
Gen 28:15 “And see, I am with you and shall guard
you wherever you go, and shall bring you back to this land. For I am not going
to leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Gen 28:16 And Ya‛aqoḇ
awoke from his sleep and said, “Truly, יהוה
is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Gen 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome
is this place! This is none other than the house of Elohim, and this is the
gate of the heavens!”
There is an interesting connection between vs 11 and vs
18:
Gen 28:11 And he came upon a place and stopped over
for the night, for the sun had set. And he took one of the stones (plural)
of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to
sleep.
Gen 28:18 And Ya‛aqoḇ
rose early in the morning, and took the stone (singular) that he
had put at his head, set it up as a standing column, and poured oil on top of
it.
There are several notable midrashic comments and
interpretations specifically tied to the word מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו
(merahashotav / m'ra'ashotav), the plural form meaning "at his head"
or "as his headrest/pillows" in Genesis 28:11 (where Jacob takes
"stones of the place" and places them מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו),
which directly connects to verse 18 where he takes "the stone"
(singular) that he had placed מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו
and sets it up as a pillar.
The word itself is rare and emphatic in its plural form
(related to ראשׁ,
"head"), and midrashim focus on why it's plural at first but singular
later, using it to uncover profound lessons about unity, divine favor,
protection, and Jacob's destiny.
Peter addresses this same issue:
1Pe
2:4 Drawing near to Him, a living Stone – rejected indeed by men,
but chosen by Elohim and precious –
1Pe
2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual
house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings
acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah.
1Pe
2:6 Because it is contained in the Scripture, “See, I lay in Tsiyon a
chief corner-stone, chosen, precious, and he who believes on Him shall by no
means be put to shame.” Isa_28:16.
1Pe
2:7 This preciousness, then, is for you who believe; but to those who are
disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
corner-stone,” Psa_118:22.
1Pe
2:8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock that makes for falling,” Isa_8:14
who stumble because they are disobedienta to the Word, to which they also were
appointed. Footnote: aSee Jhn_3:36, Heb_3:18.
1Pe
2:9 But you are a chosen race,b Deu_10:15 a royal
priesthood,c Isa_61:6 a set-apart nation,d Exo_19:6 a people
for a possession,e Isa_43:2 that you should proclaim the praises of
Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light, Footnotes: bAlso
see Isa_43:20. cAlso see Isa_66:21. dAlso see Deu_7:6.
eAlso see Exo_19:5, Tit_2:14.
1Pe
2:10 who once were not a people,f but now the people of Elohim;f
who had not obtained compassion,f but now obtained compassion.f Hos_1:9-10,
Hos_2:23. Footnote: fAlso see Isa_65:1, Hos_1:9, Isa_63:16,
Isa_64:8, Rom_9:25-26.
Peter is quoting Isaiah 8:14, where YHVH is
described as a stone of stumbling for both houses of Israel. Peter identifies Yahshua
as that stone. Those who reject Him, despite being recipients of the Torah and
prophets, stumble over Him.
Isa
8:13 “יהוה of hosts, Him you shall set
apart. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.
Isa
8:14 “And He shall be for a set-apart place, but a stone of stumbling and
a rock that makes for falling to both the houses of Yisra’ěl, as a trap and a
snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Isa
8:15 “And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken and
snared and taken.”
Isa
8:16 Bind up the witness, seal the Torah among my taught ones.
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.
Once
again the severity of the consequences of Jacob and the nations not walking in
all the words of YHVH’s Torah will be devastating.
Isa
24:1 See, יהוה is making the earth empty and making it
waste, and shall overturn its surface, and shall scatter abroad its
inhabitants.
Isa
24:2 And it shall be – as with the people so with the priest, as with the
servant so with his master, as with the female servant so with her mistress, as
with the buyer so with the seller, as with the lender so with the borrower, as
with the creditor so with the debtor;
Isa
24:3 the
earth is completely emptied and utterly plundered, for יהוה has spoken this word.
Isa
24:4 The earth shall mourn and wither, the world shall languish and
wither, the haughty people of the earth shall languish.
Isa
24:5 For
the earth has been defiled under its inhabitants, because they have
transgressed the Torot,a changedb the law, broken the everlasting covenant.c
Footnotes: aTorot - plural of Torah - teaching. b Jer_23:36. cSee also Isa_13:9,
Isa_13:11, Isa_26:21, Isa_66:24, Mic_5:15, Zep_1:2-18.
Isa
24:6
Therefore a curse shall consume the earth, and those who dwell in it be
punished. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth shall be burned, and few men
shall be left.
Gen 28:19 And he called the name of that place
Běyth Ěl, however, the name of that city had been Luz previously.
Gen 28:20 And Ya‛aqoḇ
made a vow, saying, “Seeing Elohim is with me, and has kept me in this way that
I am going, and has given me bread to eat and a garment to put on –
Gen
28:20 And
Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way
that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
Rashi (citing midrashic tradition): The "if" is
not skepticism but a humble recognition that YHVH's promises (from verses
13–15) are not unconditional. Jacob fears his own potential sins might cause
the promises to be abrogated or delayed. Thus, he's saying, "If YHVH
fulfills these despite my flaws (or if He keeps His word to me), then I will
respond with devotion." It's an expression of humility and self-awareness
rather than a demand.
Php
3:11 if (Gk ‘’ei’’) somehow I might attain to the resurrection from the
dead.
Gen 28:21 when I have returned to my father’s house
in peace, and יהוה has been my Elohim,
Gen 28:22 then this stone which I have set as a
standing column shall be Elohim’s house, and of all that You give me, I shall
certainly give a tenth to You.”
The pillar as foreshadowing the Temple: Midrashic sources
(e.g., Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer ch. 35) teach that the stone Jacob anointed and
set up became (or prefigured) the ‘’Even ha-Shetiyah’’ (Foundation Stone), the
central stone in the Most Set Apart place of the future Temple on Mount Moriah
(Temple Mount in Jerusalem). The midrash describes YHVH sinking this stone into
the depths as the "navel of the earth," from which creation expanded
and upon which the Sanctuary stands. Jacob's declaration that "this
stone... shall be YHVH's house" is seen as prophetic of the Beit HaMikdash,
(Temple) the permanent dwelling place for YHVH's presence among Israel.
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
Gen 29:1 And Ya‛aqoḇ moved on and came to the land of the people of
the East.
Gen 29:2 And he looked and saw a well in the field,
and saw three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well they watered
the flocks, and a large stone was on the well’s mouth.
In the last days before the Messiah returns the flocks of
Jacob will be fully assembled before the stone is rolled,(end time revelation
of Messiah) symbolizing Jacobs's unity and the in gathering before receiving
the full outpouring of YHVH's Spirit (Acts 2, Joel 2). The three flocks
(debated) could be the two houses of Isael (Judah and 10 lost tribes of Israel)
and those grated into these two houses. This echoes prophetic visions of Israel
and Judah reuniting under one shepherd (Ezekiel 37:15-24), fulfilled in
Messiah.
Gen 29:3 And all the flocks would be gathered
there, then they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth and water the
sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth. (Mat 27:60
– a large stone was used to seal the tomb of Yahshua)
Gen 29:4 So Ya‛aqoḇ
said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Ḥaran.” (an end time remnant
declaring ‘’we have made it to the end’’)
Gen 29:5 And he said to them, “Do you know Laḇan son of Naḥor?” And they said, “We know
him.”
Gen 29:6 So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they
said, “Well. And see, his daughter Raḥěl
is coming with the sheep.”
Gen 29:7 And he said, “See, it is still high day,
not the time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go
and feed them.”
Gen 29:8 But they said, “We are not allowed until
all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the
well’s mouth, then we shall water the sheep.”
Gen 29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Raḥěl came with her father’s
sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
Gen 29:10 And it came to be, when Ya‛aqoḇ saw Raḥěl the daughter of Laḇan his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laḇan his mother’s brother, that
Ya‛aqoḇ went near and
rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laḇan his mother’s brother.
Gen 29:11 And Ya‛aqoḇ kissed Raḥěl, and lifted up his voice
and wept. Zech 12:10
Gen 29:12 And when Ya‛aqoḇ told Raḥěl
that he was her father’s relative and that he was Riḇqah’s son, she ran and told her father.
Gen 29:13 And it came to be, when Laḇan heard the report about
Ya‛aqoḇ his sister’s son,
that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to
his house. Then he told Laḇan
all these matters.
Gen 29:14 And Laḇan
said to him, “You are indeed my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for
a new moon. (Laban is lying – he is a religious imposter – trying to
portray purity- white)
There is a direct, deliberate connection between the
Eden narrative in Genesis 2 and Laban’s statement to Jacob in Genesis
29:14 ("You are indeed my bone and my flesh"). Laban’s words
are a conscious echo of Adam’s declaration upon meeting Eve in Genesis
2:23 ("This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh) is an
idiom for the closest possible kinship or blood relation.
There is a profound, direct, and foundational connection
in Jewish tradition between the concept of a Zivug (a
predestined soulmate or pairing) and Adam’s declaration in Genesis 2:23: "This
is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh
Zivug - Two souls destined to be together in this
world and the next.
According to teachings from scholars, the marriage to
both sisters allowed Jacob to bridge two worlds: A Zivug rishon or first
(Rachel) and a ‘’Zivug’’ sheni or second (Leah)
While Rachel is the Zivug Rishon, the Torah
teaches that both women were necessary to build the house of Israel. See also
Ezek 23:4
Gen 29:15 Then Laḇan
said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Because
you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for naught? Let me know,
what should your wages be?”
Gen 29:16 And Laḇan
had two daughters, the name of the elder (‘’gedolah’’means ‘’greater’’)
was Lě’ah, and the
name of the younger (‘’qetannah’’) means ‘’smaller’’
was Raḥěl. (The choice of these
words allows the text to hint at more than just birth order — a literary
subtlety the Torah often employs.)
Gen 29:17 And Lě’ah’s eyes were weak, but Raḥěl was beautiful of form and
beautiful of appearance.
Gen 29:18 And Ya‛aqoḇ
loved Raḥěl, so he said,
“Let me serve you seven years for Raḥěl
your younger daughter.”
Gen 29:19 And Laḇan
said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to
another man. Stay with me.”
Gen 29:20 So Ya‛aqoḇ
served seven years for Raḥěl,
and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
Gen 29:21 Then Ya‛aqoḇ
said to Laḇan, “Give me
my wife, for my days are completed, and let me go in to her.”
Gen 29:22 And Laḇan
gathered all the men of the place and made a feast.
Gen 29:23 And it came to be in the evening, that he
took Lě’ah his daughter and brought her to Ya‛aqoḇ.
And he went in to her.
Gen 29:24 And Laḇan
gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Lě’ah as a female servant.
Gen 29:25 And in the morning it came to be, that
see, it was Lě’ah. So he said to Laḇan,
“What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Raḥěl that I served you? Why then have you deceived
me?”
Gen 29:26 And Laḇan
said, “It is not done this way in our place, to give the younger before the
first-born.
Gen 29:27 "Complete the week of this one, then
we give you this one too, for the service which you shall serve with me still
another seven years.”
Gen 29:28 And Ya‛aqoḇ
did so and completed her week. Then he gave him his daughter Raḥěl too, as wife.
Gen 29:29 And Laḇan
gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Raḥěl
as a female servant.
Gen 29:30 And he also went in to Raḥěl, and he also loved Raḥěl more than Lě’ah. And he
served with Laḇan still
another seven years.
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 –
Pesikata
Rabbati 36
Rabbi Isaac said, "In the year that the King of the
Messiah will appear, all the kings of the nations of the world will taunt one
another. The king of Persia will taunt the king of Arabia. The king of Arabia
will go to Edom to seek advice from them. The king of Persia will return and
destroy the entire world. All the nations of the world will tremble and be
terrified and fall on their faces. He will seize them with labor pains like the
labor pains of a woman in labor. Israel will tremble and be terrified, saying,
'Where shall we go? Where shall we come?' And he will say to them, 'My sons, do
not be afraid.' The time for your redemption has come. Not like the first
redemption, so the last redemption. For the first redemption was for you sorrow
and the bondage of (other) kingdoms.' But the last redemption is for you no
sorrow and the bondage of (other) kingdoms.'