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Please read the Introductory Notes to this commentary.

Maps, when used, are are from BibleAtlas.org. Created using BibleMapper 3.0.
Additional data from OpenBible.info. Source of Dates Used

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית • B'resheet
(“In Beginning” or “At First”)
The First Book of Moses,
Commonly Called
Genesis

Genesis: Introduction • Videos
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25 
26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50
Yosef as a type of Yeshua    Source of Dates Used

Parashot: Index   1. B'resheet   2. Noach   3. Lech Lecha   4. Vayera   5. Chayei Sarah
6. Toldot   7. VaYetze   8. VaYishlach   9. VaYeshev   10. Miketz   11. Vayigash   12. Vayechi
 

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Parashah 6: Tol’dot (continued)
(“History” Genesis 25:19–28:9)
(Small Roman numerals in the text indicate each 'aliyah.)

~ 28 ~

[Be'ershiva [MAP] 1730 BCE]

D. Ya'akov Prepares to Leave for Haran (27:42-28:9)

1. Rivkah Plans Ya'akov’s Exile (27:42-45)

2. Yitz’chak Blesses the Mission (27:46-28:5)

1Yitz'chakIsaac summoned Ya'akovYa'akov, blessed him, and commanded him, “You must not take a wife from among the Kena'aniCanaanite women. 2Go right away to Paddan Aram, [MAP] to the family of your mother’s father B’tu’elBethuel, “God destroys” or “man of God” or “dweller in God”, and take a wife from among the daughters of LavanLaban, “white”, your mother’s brother. 3May El ShaddaiGod Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4And may He give the blessing of Avraham to you and to your dsescendants, so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land Elohim[GN] gave to Avraham.”

 
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(vii) 5Yitz'chak sent Ya'akov away to Paddan Aram to Lavan Ben-B’tu’elson of Bethuel the AramiSyrian, the brother of Ya'akov’s and 'Esav’s mother Rivkah.

3. 'Esav Takes a Wife for Spite (28:6-9) [1730 BCE]

6Now 'Esav learned that Yitz'chak had blessed Ya'akov and sent him away to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “You must not take a Kena‘aniCanaanite woman,”

 
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 (Maftir) 7and that Ya'akov had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8'Esav understood that his father Yitz'chak disapproved of the Kena'ani women, 9so 'Esav went to Yishma‘el and married — in addition to the wives that he already had — N’vayotNebaioth, “heights”’s sister MachalatMahalath, “stringed instrument”, the daughter of Avraham’s son Yishma‘el.

[Continue Reading Chapter 28]

 

Now that you’ve read Tol'dot,
watch Rabbi Greg Hershberg’s teaching

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Haftarah

Haftarah Toldot is Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1–2:7
Listen to it read from the Complete Jewish Bible

1 An oracle, the word of Y^ehovah[GN] to Isra'el through Mal’akhi.

2 “I have loved you,” says Y^ehovah.

Yet you say, “How have you loved us?”

“Wasn’t Esav Ya'akov’s brother?” says Y^ehovah, “Yet I loved Ya'akov; 3 but Esav I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.” 4 Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places,” Y^ehovah-Tzva’otarmies, hosts says, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom Y^ehovah shows wrath forever.”

5 Your eyes will see, and you will say, “Y^ehovah is great—even beyond the border of Isra'el!”

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot to you cohenimpriests who despise My Name.[GN] “You say, ‘How have we despised Your Name?’ 7 You offer polluted bread on My altar. You say, ‘How have we polluted You?’ In that you say, ‘Y^ehovah’s table is contemptible.’ 8 When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn’t that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn’t that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot.

9 “Now, please entreat the favor of Elohimאֱלֹהִ֑ים, God that He may be gracious to us. With this, will He accept any of you?” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot.

10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on My altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot, “neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, My Name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name, and a pure offering; for My Name is great among the nations,” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot. 12 “But you profane it when you say, ‘Y^ehovah’s table is polluted, and its fruit, even its food, is contemptible.’ 13 You say also, ‘Hinneh,[GN] what a weariness it is!’ And you have disdainfully turned up your nose at it”, says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot; “and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?” says Y^ehovah.

14 “But the deceiver is cursed who has in his flock a male, and vows and sacrifices to AdonaiY^ehovah a defective thing; for I am a great King,” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot, “and My Name is awesome among the nations.”

1 “Now, you cohenimpriests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My Name,”[GN] says Y^ehovah-Tzva’otarmies, hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. 3 Hinneh,[GN] I will rebuke your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. 4 You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may be with Levi,” says Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot. 5 “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent toward Me; and he was reverent toward Me, and stood in awe of My Name. 6 The Torah of Truth[6] was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a cohenpriest should preserve knowledge, and the people should seek instruction[7] from his mouth; because he is the messenger of Y^ehovah-Tzva’ot.

 
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Ketuvei HaShalichim (Apostolic Writings)

Basar (Gospel)

Matthew 10:21–38

21“A brother will betray his brother to death, and the father his child. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. 22Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever holds on[22a] to the end will be preserved from harm.[22b] 23But when they persecute you in one town, flee into the next; truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Yisra'el before the Son of Man comes.[23]

Cost and Benefits of Discipleship

24“A talmid is not greater than his rabbi, nor is a slave greater than his master. 25It is enough for the talmid for him to become like his rabbi, and the slave like his master. Now, if they have called the master of the house Ba`al-Zibbul,[25a] how much more those of his household![25b] 26So don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. 28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gei-Hinnom.[28]

29“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion?[29a] Not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s permissive will.[29b] 30As for you, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. 32Everyone who acknowledges Me in the presence of others, I will also acknowledge him in the presence of My Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns Me in the presence of others, I will also disown him in the presence of My Father in heaven.

34“Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. 35I came to set a man at odds against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.[36] 37Anyone who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who loves son or daughter more than Me isn’t worthy of Me. 38Anyone who doesn’t take up his stauros[38a] and follow after Me, isn’t worthy of Me.[38b]

 
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Kepherim: Letters (optional)

Romans 9:6–16

6But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Isra'el that are of Isra'el. 7Neither, because they are Avraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.” [Genesis 21:12] 8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as heirs. 9For this is a word of promise: “At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” [Genesis 18:10,14] 10Not only so, but Rebekah also conceived by one, by our father Isaac. 11For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, 12it was said to her, “The elder will serve the younger.” [Genesis 25:23] 13Even as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” [Malachi 1:2-3]

14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 15For He said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” [Exodus 33:19] 16So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.

Hebrews 11:20; 12:14–17

11 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

12 14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see Y^ehovah, 15 looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and many be defiled by it, 16 lest there be any sexually immoral person or profane person, like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal. 17 For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears.

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Torah

Listen to VaYetze read from the CJB

[Beith-El (Luz) [MAP] 1730 BCE]

VII. Parashah Vayteze (He went out) (28:10-32:3)

A. Ya'akov’s Dream (28:10-17)

(i) 10Ya'akov left Be-ersheba“well of the sevenfold oath”, [MAP] and went toward Haran“mountaineer”. [MAP] 11He reached a certain place and stayed the night there, and because the sun had set. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head, and lay down to sleep. 12He dreamed and saw a stairway set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and Elohim’s angels were gong up and coming down on it. 13At the top stood Y^ehovah, Who said, “I am Y^ehovah, the God of your [grand]father Avraham and the God of Yitz'chak. I will give you and your descendants the land you are now lying on. 14Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and east, and north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15Hinneh,[GN] I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. Because I will not leave you until I have done everything I have promised you.”

16When Ya'akov awoke from sleep he said, “Surely Y^ehovah is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” 17He was afraid, and said, “How awesome[17] this place is! This is none other than the house of Elohim! This is the gate of heaven!”

B. Ya'akov Erects a Standing Stone (28:18-22) [Beit-El]

18Ya'akov arose early in the morning, took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its top. 19He called the name of that place Beit-ElHouse of God, but the name of the city was originally Luz. [MAP] 20Ya'akov made a vow, saying, “If Elohim will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I return safely to my father’s house, then Y^ehovah will be my God 22and this stone I have set up as a pillar will be Elohim’s house. Of all that You will give Me I will surely give a tenth to you.”[22]

 
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 Continue Reading
 

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17. Prior to this moment, Ya'akov had no first-hand knowledge of Y^ehovah, Who alone is worthy of our total and absolute awe. [BACK]

22. Notice that Ya'akov got it exactly backwards. He said that if Y^ehovah would do all these things for him, then he would accept Y^ehovah as his God. We must be careful to first acknowledge Y^ehovah as our God, and only then do we have the right to ask Him for anything. [BACK]

Notes on the Malachi passage

 6. Or “true instruction.” Hebrew: תּוֹרַ֤ת (tō·w·raṯ), law, direction, instruction; אֱמֶת֙ (’ĕ·meṯ), firmness, faithfulness, truth, sureness, reliability. [BACK]

 7. Instruction, or “Torah.” Hebrew תּוֹרָה (to-raw'), law, direction, instruction. [BACK]

Notes on the Matthew passage

22a. Holds on, endures; Greek upomeno, hupomeno. To bear ill treatments bravely and calmly; to hold fast under misfortunes and trials to one’s faith in Messiah to preserve. [BACK]

22b. Preserved from harm; Greek sozo, sozo, to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. Since all of the emissaries except Yochanan were eventually murdered for their faith, Yeshua was obviously referring to being preserved only for this particular mission; see verse 23. [BACK]

23a. Amen. See Matt. 5, note 18a. [BACK]

23b. If you are reading this, it is painfully obvious that the Son of Man has not yet returned to establish His kingdom (or maybe the King will preserve the Internet in the Kingdom; I certainly don’t know.) Yeshua was therefore obviously not telling this talmidim that the kingdom would be established before they finished preaching the gospel throughout the towns of Isra'el. He was not misleading them; the “Son of Man” (the Messiah) was literally revealed through His crucifixion and resurrection, which indeed occurred before they had completed preaching the gospel throughout Isra'el. [BACK]

25a. Ba`al-Zibbul or Ba`al-Z'vuv (manuscripts differ), Beelzebul or Beelzebub; Hebrew bwbz l[b, “lord of a fly” or “lord of the dung-heap.” In post-Biblical Hebrew, the root bwbz means “dung” (not surprising if one considers where flies prefer to hang out.) A derogatory name for the Adversary, Satan. Worshipped by the Philistines in Ekron (2Kings 1:2). There is an interesting note in Matthew: A Tabbinic Source Commentary and Language Bible by Al Garza, PhD (pages 204-205). [BACK]

25b. Matthew’s chronology seems to be a bit out of sequence, since he doesn’t record until 12:24-27 the event to which Yeshua is here referring. But that’s not a problem, since only Luke intentionally presented a chronological narrative, and Matthew’s narrative is thematic. [BACK]

28. Gei-Hinnom, Hebrew ~nnh ayg; Greek geenna Geenna. Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, the city dump south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned. The fires of Gehenna never burned out, making it an appropriate metaphor for the Lake of Fire, the place of eternal torment for Satan, his demons, and unredeemed humanity. [BACK]

29a. An assarion is a small coin worth one tenth of a drachma or a sixteenth of a denarius. An assarion is approximately the wages of one half hour of agricultural labor. [BACK]

29b. We need to understand that there are two separate aspects to God’s will. Everything that happens is according to His will, yet He permits things to occur that He does not directly desire. For example, Lucifer, Adam, and Eve fell contrary to His preference, and He does not desire that anyone should die without being redeemed. Thus we can see that His determinate will speaks of those things that He decrees to come to pass, or those things He directly or indirectly causes; His permissive will speaks of those things which He allows to come to pass, whether or not He desires them. [BACK]

36. “For a son insults his father, a daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a person's enemies are the members of his own household.” (Micah 7:6) [BACK]

38a. Stauros, Greek stauroß, may either be the familiar upright cross, an X-shaped cross, or a single upright stake, especially a pointed one. Because of a 2,000-year history of persecution committed in the name of “the cross,” most Jewish Bible teachers translate the word as “execution stake.” I have simply chosen not to translate it. See more HERE. [BACK]

38b. How very different this is from the "free grace, no responsibilities" message of the Church! [BACK]

 

Originally posted on Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Revised and updated on Friday, 14 October 2022
 

Page last updated on Friday, 26 May 2023 10:42 AM (Updates are generally minor formatting or editorial changes. Major content changes are identified as "Revisions”) ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN, SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!

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