Baruch ata YHVHEloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the
blessed One for all eternity. 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.
Gen 38:1 And at that time it came to be that Yehuḏah left his brothers,
and turned aside to a man, an Aḏullamite
whose name was Ḥirah.
Rashi comments: “ va yered yehudah” Yehudah went down – his
descent was figurtative in the sense that his brothers deposed him from his
position of leadership. This narrative interrupt the story of Yosef to teach
how Yehudah’s brothers lowered him in esteem because of the incident with
Yosef, for when they saw their father’s intense grief, they blamed Yehudah for
it. “You told us to sell him,” they charged. “Had you advised us to send us to
send him back to Father, we would have listened!” As a result of their
disenchantment with him, Yehudah moved away from the family and settled in Adullam,
where he became the business partner of Chirah.”
Adullam means “justice
for the people,” the sages tell us that because of Yehudah’s culpability for
Yakov’s suffering, he was repaid by losing his two oldest sons, so he would
experience the same grief as his father – Sforno.
As the old adage goes
“what goes around comes around” or as the second writings succinctly states -
Gal 6:7 Do not be led astray: Elohim is not mocked,
for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap.
“Chirah” refers to a
noble family – Strongs 2437. However the Hebrew root of this word – charar - is
to “shame or to wax pale” Strongs 2357 – (Deut 7:1-3 forbids marriage with
Canaanites)
This
sounds like Yehudah was so down because of what happened that he simply decided
to assimilate.
Assimilations
is the struggle of Yehudah and all those grafted into the same family tree
today. We are so pressured by the world and by the spirt of this world to
conform to the pattern of this world.
Instead
of taking a stand we succumb to the pressure. This is the curse of the “galut”
See
commentary Stones Chumash page 208 vs 2&6-10.
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good
and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.
Gen 38:2 And
Yehuḏah saw there a
daughter of a certain Kenaʽanite whose name was
Shuwa. And he took her and went in to her.
Kenanite – is never referred to as a merchant in
the Torah. The Torah describes Kenanites as the descendants of Cham; only later
did the word Canaanite, acquire the
additional meaning of trade or merchant (Zephaniah 1:11, Ezekiel 16:29). Shuah – meaning wealth.
The Hebrew word “galut” applies to those who live
outside the land. The Hebrew word “gala” which means to go into exile can also
mean to be naked or uncovered – and thus to be ashamed and vulnerable.
Gen 38:3 So
she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Ěr. (Heb – awake)
Gen 38:4 And
she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. (Heb –
strong)
Gen 38:5 And
she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shĕlah.(Heb –
petition) And he was at Keziḇ (Heb – false)
when she bore him.
Gen 38:6 And
Yehuḏah took a wife for Ěr
his first-born, and her name was Tamar. (Heb – palm tree)
Gen 38:7 But
Ěr, Yehuḏah’s first-born, was
evil in the eyes of יהוה, and יהוה took his life.
Gen 38:8 And Yehuḏah
said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir
to your brother.”
Gen 38:9 And Onan
knew that the offspring would not be his. And it came to be, when he went in to
his brother’s wife, that he spilled on the ground, lest he should give an
offspring to his brother.
Gen 38:10 But what
he did displeased יהוה, so He took
his life too.
Gen 38:11 Then
Yehuḏah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in
your father’s house until my son Shĕlah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also
die as his brothers did.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Book of Jasher 45:23-24
23. And in those days Judah
went to the house of Shem and took Tamar the daughter of Elam, the son of Shem,
for a wife for his first born Er. 24. And Er came to his wife Tamar, and she
became his wife, and when he came to her he outwardly destroyed his seed, and
his work was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord slew him. (Gen 10:22)
‘’The three women in
Samson’s life were Gentiles. The first was the woman from Timnah whom he
married, the second was the whore from Gaza, and the third was the only woman
mentioned by name, Delilah, with whom Samson “fell in love. The Rabbis
also learn of Samson’s many liaisons with foreign women from his end. When
Samson was imprisoned in Gaza he was a “mill slave [tohen] in the
prison” (Jud. 16:21). The Rabbis understand the word “tohen” as meaning
sin, specifically sexual misdoing, which they deduce from Job 31:10: “May my
wife grind [tithan] for another, may others kneel over her!”
Each of the Philistines would
bring his wife to Samson’s prison, that he might impregnate her, so that they
would have a child as strong and powerful as Samson. In this vein, the Rabbis
cite the popular saying: “Before a wine drinker, set wine, before a plowman,
set a basket of roots.” Since Samson was such a womanizer, they brought women
to him (BT Sotah 10a). With these statements the Rabbis might
mean to demonstrate, once again, that Samson’s beginnings determined his end
and that his punishment fit the crime.’’
Gen 38:12 And
after a long time the daughter of Shuwa, Yehuḏah’s
wife, died. And Yehuḏah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers at
Timnah, he and his friend Ḥirah the Aḏullamite.
Gen 38:13 And it
was reported to Tamar, saying, “See, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah
to shear his sheep.”
Gen 38:14 And she
took off her widow’s garments, and covered herself with a veil and wrapped
herself, and sat at the entrance to Ěnayim which was on the way to Timnah. For
she saw that Shĕlah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.
Gen 38:15 And
Yehuḏah saw her, and reckoned her for a whore, for she had
covered her face.
Gen 38:16 And he
turned aside to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you,” for
he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What do you
give me to come in to me?”
Gen 38:17 And he
said, “Let me send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “Do you give
me a pledge until you send it?”
Gen 38:18 So he
said, “What pledge should I give you?” And she said, “Your seal and your cord
and your staff that is in your hand.” And he gave them to her, and went in to
her, and she conceived by him.
Gen 38:19 And she
arose and went away, and removed her veil and put on the garments of her
widowhood.
Gen 38:20 And
Yehuḏah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Aḏullamite,
to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her.
Gen 38:21 And he
asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the cult prostitute who was
beside the way to Ěnayim?” And they said, “There was no cult prostitute in this
place.”
Gen 38:22 And he
returned to Yehuḏah and said, “I have not found her. And the men of the
place also said there was no cult prostitute in this place.”
Gen 38:23 And
Yehuḏah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we become
despised, for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
Gen 38:24 And it
came to be, about three months after, that Yehuḏah was
informed, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has whored, and see, she has
conceived by whoring.” And Yehuḏah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
Gen 38:25 When she
was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom
these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please examine whose these are:
the seal and the cord and the staff.”
It is rather ironic that the same
words “identify if you please” used by Yehudah to ask his father to identify
Yosef’s garment(37:32) are the same words Tamar uses when revealing Yehudah’s
infidelity with her – see vs 38:25 – “haker na” –
Gen 38:26 And Yehuḏah examined and said, “She has
been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shĕlah my son.” And
he never knew her again.
Gen 38:27 And it
came to be, at the time for giving birth, that see, twins were in her womb.
Gen 38:28 And it
came to be, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand. And the
midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came
out first.”
Gen 38:29 And it came to
be, as he drew back his hand, that see, his brother came out! And she said,
“How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” So his name was called
Perets.
Gen 38:30 And
afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. So his
name was called Zeraḥ.
Isa 37:31 “And the remnant who have escaped of the
house of Yehuḏah shall again take
root downward, and bear fruit upward. (perfect balance between the physical and
spiritual)
Isa 37:32
“For out of Yerushalayim comes forth a remnant, and those who escape
from Mount Tsiyon – the ardour of יהוה of hosts does
this.
The only difference between the name of YHVH and Yehudah
is that Yehudah has a “daleth” – daleth
is a symbol of a door. Yehudah was destined to be a doorway for the remnant.
Yud Hey Vay Hey = YHVH. Yud hey vav DALETH hey = Yehudah.
Jer 36:3 “It could be that the house of Yehuḏah hears of all the
evil which I plan to bring upon them, so that each one turns back from his evil
way, and I shall pardon their crookedness and their sin.”
The key is possibly Yosef – he was the one who united the
brothers again.
Is
'The Church' Israel?
So, just what does fullness of the Gentiles mean? There are three prominent views to be considered. First, some say that the ‘Church’ is Israel; thus the fullness of the Gentiles refers to the glory of the Church. The idea that the Church replaces Israel is sometimes called ‘replacement theology.’ This view of the glory of the Church is incorrect for several reasons.
First, not only is this view grammatically impossible, it is contextually impossible. All the way through Romans 11, “Israel” is referred to as the Jewish people, and distinct from the Gentile believers (vv. 2, 7, 25, 26). Also, it is redemptively impossible. In 11:25, it says blindness in part has happened to Israel, but of the “Ekklessia” (called out ones) Paul says that the eyes of our understanding have been enlightened as to who Messiah is (Ephesians 1:18). Thus the Ekklessia/Kehelah as Israel being blind simply makes no sense. Plus, in Romans 11:26 a ‘saved Israel’ is equated with a ‘delivered Jacob’: …The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. The Ekklessia, which is not spoken about in this chapter, is made up of those already redeemed, both Jews and Gentiles. Here blinded Israel is spoken of as one that is not yet redeemed, but will be. Finally, the view of the glory of the Church is thematically impossible. The whole theme and purpose of Romans 9-11 is to show YHVH’s faithfulness to the Jewish people, who are Israel (see Romans 9:3,4); it simply does not speak of Israel being replaced by, or identified as the Church.
Faithful Friends
The fullness of the Gentiles leading to “all Israel” being saved begs the question: When will this happen? When the greatest Jew-hater of all time, the Anti-Christ, comes on the scene. He will attempt to destroy all the Jews (Revelation 12) as well as all believers in Yeshua (Revelation 13:17), and
So, just what does fullness of the Gentiles mean? There are three prominent views to be considered. First, some say that the ‘Church’ is Israel; thus the fullness of the Gentiles refers to the glory of the Church. The idea that the Church replaces Israel is sometimes called ‘replacement theology.’ This view of the glory of the Church is incorrect for several reasons.
First, not only is this view grammatically impossible, it is contextually impossible. All the way through Romans 11, “Israel” is referred to as the Jewish people, and distinct from the Gentile believers (vv. 2, 7, 25, 26). Also, it is redemptively impossible. In 11:25, it says blindness in part has happened to Israel, but of the “Ekklessia” (called out ones) Paul says that the eyes of our understanding have been enlightened as to who Messiah is (Ephesians 1:18). Thus the Ekklessia/Kehelah as Israel being blind simply makes no sense. Plus, in Romans 11:26 a ‘saved Israel’ is equated with a ‘delivered Jacob’: …The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. The Ekklessia, which is not spoken about in this chapter, is made up of those already redeemed, both Jews and Gentiles. Here blinded Israel is spoken of as one that is not yet redeemed, but will be. Finally, the view of the glory of the Church is thematically impossible. The whole theme and purpose of Romans 9-11 is to show YHVH’s faithfulness to the Jewish people, who are Israel (see Romans 9:3,4); it simply does not speak of Israel being replaced by, or identified as the Church.
Faithful Friends
The fullness of the Gentiles leading to “all Israel” being saved begs the question: When will this happen? When the greatest Jew-hater of all time, the Anti-Christ, comes on the scene. He will attempt to destroy all the Jews (Revelation 12) as well as all believers in Yeshua (Revelation 13:17), and
