Torah Pearls #12 – Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)

Jacob, Ephraim, and Manasseh Painting - The Original Torah Pearls Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)In this episode of The Original Torah Pearls Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26), the final Genesis portion, Nehemia Gordon provides the cultural and geographical significance of the blessings to the 12 tribes. We learn the special inheritance given to the Levites, why their descendants are still traceable, why Reuben’s portion went to Joseph’s sons, and the significance of the “right hand.” From Jacob’s insistence that Joseph “swear” to him, we learn that the patriarchs knew God’s name and how to use it.

While Jacob’s artful use of the Hebrew poetic form is soul-stirringly beautiful in the original language, it leaves us with some guesswork in English. Gordon takes us on a literary tour of the quadruple alliterations, the sophisticated triple-plays on words, the dropped prepositions, and the use of rare words (or common words with rare connotations) that could be translated in wildly different ways. Other word studies include: “blessing,” “Shechem,” “Shiloh,” “gathered to his people,” the rare context of “angel,” and the unique structure of the name “Issachar.”

In closing, Gordon pronounces the traditional Sabbath blessing—“May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh”—and encourages listeners to receive from Yehovah—as a child at his knee with his hand on our head.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Download Torah Pearls Vayechi Transcript
Torah Pearls #12 – Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)

You are listening to The Original Torah Pearls with Nehemia Gordon, Keith Johnson, and Jono Vandor. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Jono: G’day to everybody listening wherever you may be around the world. Thank you for your company. It’s time for The Keith Johnson Show, together with his trusty sidekick Nehemia Gordon.

Nehemia: Wait, what?

Keith: Listen, I’m so glad you said that, Jono. Guess what, ladies and gentlemen? Starting out the New Year, my microphone is finally fixed. I’m no longer in the box of a phone, and I am so excited to be starting off the year here with Nehemia and Jono, where I can have some ability to speak clearly. So thank you Jono and Nehemia for finally teaching me how to do this.

Jono: Yeah, you’re no longer in “the cave in Siberia”, as one listener put it, and you’re absolutely crystal clear.

Nehemia: I’ve been trying to keep him in the cave. Why did you let him out, Jono?

Jono: Yes, the Keith Johnson Show. So since you’ve got your trusty sidekick Nehemia Gordon, karate expert. Since you’ve got your microphone fixed and everyone can hear your wonderful voice and I don’t have to do so much crazy editing every program, it’s wonderful having you. It is the final portion for Beresheit. This the first book of the Torah, we’re almost finished. This is the final one, and I just want to take the opportunity to say thank you, Keith and Nehemia, for all that you’ve brought to us in these discussions, and thank you to the listeners who have given us so much positive feedback regarding the Torah Pearls. It’s so encouraging.

Keith: Well, it’s interesting for me. I would just say this has become the highlight for me when we get a chance to sit and do this. It’s an anchor in my own personal reading programs that I have and things that I do for my connection to the Word of God. But it’s such a blessing when I think about Nehemia being in Israel and you being in Australia and myself being in the United States, and the many, many people that I keep hearing from that are so blessed by this. So I’m glad to finally have my microphone fixed. We’re gathering people in regards to all of the many things that are happening, and so many things are happening, and this is just an important part of it. So Jono again, we both are extremely thankful that you’ve given us this radio time.

Jono: Oh, it’s my absolute pleasure. I’m having so much fun. And again, as you’ve just said, it’s anchoring me to the Torah and making me do systematic study, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it with you guys. And this week we are in a Vayechi, is that correct Nehemia?

Nehemia: Yes sir.

Jono: Vayechi, Beresheit 47 verse 28 to 50 verse 26 and it begins like this: “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years. So the length of Jacob’s life was 147 years. When the time drew near that Israel must die he called his son Joseph and said to him, ‘Now, if I have found favor in your sight,’” here we go, “‘please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.’ And he said. ‘I will do as…’” now I find this interesting. He says, “I will do as you have said.” So he’s agreed, but then Israel says, “‘Swear to me,’ and he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.” Keith, what is the difference between saying that you’ll do something and swearing that you will do something?

Keith: Well, you know, I just have to say - up until I met this guy over in Israel, when I would see the words, “swear to me”, based on my background, that meant something completely different. I grew up in the inner city of Minneapolis, and so if someone said, “swear to me,” I mean, we used to be able to string words together like you couldn’t believe. And that was kind of the way that I read it until I met this guy named Nehemia Gordon. I remember it was a long, long time ago now, almost 10 years. We were sitting over in the Old City of Jerusalem and we were talking about the significance and the importance of swearing in God’s name. I mean, this was one of the first in-depth conversations we had. And so when I read this now, what I’m realizing is it’s one thing when he says, “Yeah, sure I’ll do as you say.” But when he asked his son, he says, “Swear to me”, he’s literally raising the stakes because he understood that if you swore to him, you’re going to swear by the Name, the Creator of the universe, and adding this idea of swearing, like I said, raises the stakes.

Now, I would love to hear what Nehemia thinks about this, but I’ve been doing a lot of reading most recently regarding the understanding of not only the Patriarchs and their understanding that God had a name, but the importance of swearing. So I’d like for Nehemia to say something about that.

Nehemia: Okay, yes. You know I think the significance of swearing is what it says in the Ten Commandments. And the third commandment, it’s usually translated as, “You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain”, but that Hebrew phrase “to take a name in vain” in ancient Hebrew means to actually speak it falsely. Actually, the ancient Jewish commentaries and translations all explain that this means not to swear falsely in the name of God. If you translate it literally, then you have, “Do not take the name Yehovah your God in vain or falsely,” and it says, “for Yehovah will not make clean or innocent he who takes His name in vain or falsely.”

What that means is that this is essentially the only unforgivable sin in the Bible. There’s no other sin in the Bible where it says that God’s not going to make clean or forgive if you do that sin. There’s always the option of repentance. Here it’s telling you if you make an oath or a vow and you swear in His name and you swear falsely, then don’t expect forgiveness from Him. That’s something that binds you if you do that.

There are actually examples in the Bible of that, where in the book of Joshua, the people of Israel made this oath with the people of Gibeon and later they found out they were deceived, and it didn’t matter; the oath was still binding, because it was made in the name of Yehovah the Creator of the universe.

Keith: I just want to say, it’s funny - not funny, but as you look at this, I think we could check a couple of different verses, but we didn’t address it earlier, but in both Genesis 21:23 and Genesis 25:33, it says here, “And Jacob said, ‘First swear to me.’ So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.” So this is Jacob asking his brother and he understood the significance of swearing, which means his father must have explained it to them. Genesis 21:23 also.

So when we get to 47 and he says, “Swear to me,” it’s not like he pulled that out of the air. This was something that was a part of culture, a part of the understanding that when we get to this issue of swearing, that it literally raises the stakes. I mean, that’s something you don’t do lightly. So I think it’s really interesting that we’re seeing that here.

Nehemia: Now for like a practical application, which is… all people, especially Americans, I hear them all the time saying, “I swear to God, I swear you know, that that was the best sandwich I ever had. I swear, I swear to God.” That’s not something to be said lightly.

In Ecclesiastes, he says, “Be careful not to make an oath before God because if you don’t pay it’s a very serious thing. It’s better not to make an oath or to swear at all.” There is no commandment to swear; under certain circumstances, perhaps. But just to swear lightly is something you don’t need to do, and it’s probably something best left for really extreme circumstances. You know, like making an oath in court or various other things. But really, just in daily speech, it’s probably not something that one should be doing.

Jono: I guess playing with fire. I mean, as Keith said, it just adds so much weight, so it’s not something to be taken lightly. And then, Nehemia did I understand you, did you say that Yehovah says that if we take His name… if we use His name falsely, if we swear by His name falsely, that that’s something that He will not forgive?

Nehemia: He says, “For Yehovah will not make innocent he who swears falsely in His name,” or literally “he who takes His name in vain.” So taking His name in vain in a false oath is something He won’t make innocent. He won’t forgive that, and of course He has the capacity to do anything, but He’s warning you here in advance, don’t make a vow and then not keep it.

Keith: That’s why, you know, what’s gonna be interesting when we do get to that section later… but again, I think it’s just significant that the Patriarchs had a practice of swearing and understanding the significance of swearing. Like in this particular verse, he’s literally saying, “Okay, yeah, I’ll do it.” No, no, no. Let’s raise the stakes. Will you swear to me? Yes, I will. So I think it’s important.

Jono: So, he knows, he absolutely knows that this is what’s going to happen after he passes. “Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told,” this is chapter 48, “‘Indeed, your father is sick.’ And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, ‘Look, your son Joseph is coming to you.’ And Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz and in the land of Canaan and blessed me. And He said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and I will make you a multitude of people and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession. And now your two sons,’” and this is interesting, I find this interesting too, “‘your two sons, Ephraim, and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt, for I came to you in Egypt, are mine. As Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.’” And now he goes on to what’s about to take place, this is fascinating. But what does it mean, Nehemia, that Jacob is saying to Joseph, “Now these, your sons are now mine”?

Nehemia: Well, so the way inheritance worked in the ancient world is that if you had 12 sons, the first born got a double portion and the other 11 sons each got a single portion. So you divided everything up into 13 sections, gave 2/13th to the oldest and 1/13th to everybody else. What he’s saying here is by saying that Ephraim and Manasseh are going to be his sons as if they were Reuben and Simeon, Jacob is saying they’re each going to get 1/13th. They’re not going to just going to get half of that as what they’d normally have been entitled. This actually ties to something we’re going to read in the next chapter, which is that Reuben is the first born and he’s supposed to get the double portion, and he forfeited that double portion through what we’ll read about in the next chapter. So essentially what he’s saying to Joseph is, “I’m giving you a double portion of inheritance rather than a single portion.” That’s really what he means.

Keith: So this is really interesting because this has been something that when I’ve read this in the past, I look at this and what hits me more than even him saying he’s going to take his two sons… not take his two sons but the idea that these two sons are mine, just like my other sons are mine. And then there’s this verse that we get to that’s next and it says, “When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he says, ‘Who are these?’” So it wasn’t like… here’s what kind of hits me. It wasn’t like he looked and said, “Oh geez, man, those are good looking strong boys there. I think I’m going to, you know, I’m going to have them come… I’ll claim those two, but not the other two.” It’s literally as if he says, “I’m going to take these two, sight unseen.” It’s like, because of who they are and what they represent, these two are going to be a part of Israel as, you know, Reuben and Simeon. And I don’t know… anytime I’ve read that I never understood what it actually meant, but I just thought it was significant that he said, “Look, they’re mine.” I mean, and to this day, you know, when we talk about the tribes, we speak of…

Jono: Two half tribes of Joseph, right? Manasseh and Ephraim. So that unpacks a little further here, as you mentioned, “Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, ‘Who are they?’ And Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons whom God has given me in his place.’ And he said, ‘Bring them to me and I will bless them.’ Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age so that he could not see. Joseph brought them near him and he kissed them and embrace them. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘I had not thought to see your face, but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring.’” What a wonderful blessing for him, because when he arrives in Egypt, it seemed as if the way he was talking, he didn’t think he was long for the world. He lasted another 17 years. And not only did he see his son, but he saw his grandsons as well.

It goes on to say “So Joseph brought them from beside his knees and he bowed down with these face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand towards Israel’s right, and brought them near to him. And then Israel straightened out his hand, his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, but Manasseh was the first born,” and it goes on to state that he blessed Joseph.

Now, Nehemia is there some sort of magical power in the right hand or is this just a custom?

Nehemia: Oh no, it’s not a magical power. It’s definitely a custom, and it has symbolic significance. The right hand is obviously… physiologically, for most people the right hand is the stronger hand and therefore represents the more important blessing. Joseph’s thinking is that the firstborn has to get the better blessing. So he wanted the right hand to go on Manasseh. Jacob intentionally switched the hands, he had difficulty seeing but he knew exactly what he was doing, and he gave the bigger blessing onto Ephraim.

Later on in history we see that manifesting in that Ephraim becomes the head of the northern tribes of Israel. Even before that we have Joshua, who was the leader of Israel, and he’s from Ephraim, and then after that, we have Jezreel, which is the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel for a time. That’s in the territory of Ephraim. You have Ephraim becoming then the symbol of all 10 tribes of the northern kingdom. Especially in the prophets, like Hoshea or Hosea, you see it’ll refer to all the 10 tribes as Ephraim. So Ephraim became the leader of those tribes, and I think that’s what this prophecy is foretelling – this blessing is foretelling.

Keith: Well I just have to stop, you know, you read this, and of course when I’m reading this I can’t help but think about Jacob’s life, and obviously this is something he’s been led to do, the younger and the older. Then immediately when I read it I go back to his life - Jacob and Esau, which one is the older, which is the younger? It’s hard not to imagine that a part of him is sort of doing the next thing. Okay. So he was the younger with his brother, and now he then sends this same thing. And again, I’m not saying that he just created this on his own, I mean, this is from Yehovah that this blessing is going to be this way. But you just almost wonder what’s the connection between what he dealt with in his own life, and now he’s then passing this on to Joseph’s sons, the younger and the older connected to him being the younger and the older with his brother. And you know, we see that in different times of Scripture. So that’s kind of what jumped off the page for me.

Jono: It’s not just that, but it’s interesting the way that Joseph reacts to that. It says, starting from verse 15, “And he blessed Joseph and he said, ‘God, before whom I my fathers, Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil. Bless the lads.’”

Nehemia: That’s extremely unusual, that statement, and it’s worth noting, that he asked the angel who redeemed him from all evil to bless the children. I’m not aware of anything else in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, where we have anything like that. Where a prayer is made and reference is made to an angel. It’s interesting, I’m not sure what to make of it. This passage always raised a question for me.

But we’re definitely dealing here with this specific angel. Presumably, this is the angel he wrestled with, and so he’s actually encountered this angel, and maybe that’s why he could make reference to the angel. But we definitely have here some kind of a concept that there is an angel that seems to accompany at least Jacob. I don’t know, maybe we each have a personal angel that accompanies us.

Jono: Ah, the concept of Guardian Angel?

Keith: Hold on Nehemia what are you talking about?

Nehemia: Wait, wait, wait – edit that out… It says what it says…

Keith: No, no, no. Well, let me say this. Let’s ask this question and I think anyone that’s been listening to us would probably maybe want to slow down a little bit on this too. So what do we believe happened for Jacob, as we’ve mentioned this, when he was wrestling? Okay, so there’s this physical manifestation, but how does he understand it? Still, this is from God. Not that it is Yehovah Himself.

Nehemia: This angel isn’t like… in other words, he understands that the angel - because angel in Hebrew literally means messenger - and he understands the messenger doesn’t do anything that the Creator of the universe doesn’t send him to do. So he understands it’s actually not the angel, the messenger, who’s protecting him. It’s really the One who sent the messenger, but he still has had this direct interaction with the messenger, which is kind of unusual.

Keith: And that’s why I think it’s important. Even when you did say what you said, I think we ought to leave it there. Does everyone have an angel or whatever, regardless of how the Creator of the universe does what He wants to do? Yehovah, as He leads and guides us in our life here on this earth, it’s still all ends up being about Him, and the mistake becomes when the focus is, “Okay, now it’s going to be on this manifestation, this angel, this sign, this symbol, this thing,” versus it being Him. I think that’s what’s so powerful about it.

Nehemia: Hey man, did you manage to get me back in the box?

Keith: No, I need you back in the box, Nehemia. You can’t just start talking about angels. Are you kidding me? Let’s move on now, Jono.

Jono: No, no, no. I’m glad that he’s stopped there, because that is a fascinating verse. “The angel who has redeemed me, the Messenger…” I like that better “The Messenger who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. Let my name be named among them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Now here it is. “Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim and it displeased him. And so he took his father’s hand and removed it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, ‘No, my father, this one here he’s the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said, ‘I know, son, I know. He shall too become a people and he shall also be great, but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.’”

Keith: Nehemia, if you were back in those times, and let’s just say you had your brother Joseph, and he had his kids, what would be a normal response in seeing this being done by your father? What would you understand the significance of them getting the same as you, though they are the sons of your brother?

Nehemia: Well, so what that means is that Joseph is essentially being treated like the firstborn rather than Reuben. He’s getting a double portion of inheritance. I think that’s a powerful symbol, because Jacob - and we talked about this - if you look at Jacob’s blessing versus Esau’s blessing, they’re essentially pretty similar blessings, and the difference is that Jacob got the double portion of inheritance, both the physical and the spiritual, whereas Esau only got the physical. Here again, Joseph is getting this double portion of inheritance. I think there’s a powerful symbol here.

In verse 20 it says, “In you will Israel bless,” meaning the descendants of Israel, “saying, ‘Yisimcha Elohim ke’Ephraim ve’cheManashe’” – “May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” And to this day, Jewish fathers throughout the world bless their children, putting a hand on their head, they bless their children with this blessing. My father, when I was growing up, used to put his hand on my head every Friday night and he would make the blessing. “Yisimcha Elohim ke’Ephraim Ve’cheManashe” – “May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” And what that blessing is a blessing of a double portion of inheritance, a physical and a spiritual. So it’s a powerful blessing.

Keith: It’s a very powerful blessing. Jono, I know we have to go forward, but when Nehemia does something like that, my spirit just jumps. I was in the house with Nehemia when I saw his father actually do this. Nehemia, you probably don’t remember, because you know his father used to say… We were sitting there at Shabbat and his father would say, [imitating] “I want to say the blessing, will you let me say the blessing?” And it was so humbling. I saw you do this Nehemia, and you said you didn’t do it often, but I actually saw you allow him to actually…

Nehemia: I think I was 38 at that time, so that’s why it was a little bit unusual. When I was a child, it was every Friday night.

Keith: Okay. But I saw this happen. And now I’m sitting here reading this ancient, ancient text where this father, the power of this father, who gives this blessing to his son, and I want to stop here and say something. Who was Ephraim and Manasseh? They weren’t the ones that came directly from his loins. I mean, they came from his loins through his son. But the other thing that makes me stop is, who are they in terms of bloodline? They were Joseph’s, but who was Joseph’s wife? And what is the connection of these two, who kind of were - in my neighborhood we would call them mulattos. They were connected. I’m telling you, they had the mixed blood of both Israel and Egypt, and yet when it’s time for this blessing to come, and this blessing that came from the Creator of the universe, He didn’t even look at the bloodline. He didn’t even look at who was the mama.

It came down to purpose. And the purpose is walking itself out today. I’m sitting in a house in Israel with my friend Nehemia, and his father says, “I want to say the blessing.” And what blessing does he say? “May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh.” I just think that’s powerful, and I think we’ve got to stop for one second here if we can, and we’re going to have to have my friend Nehemia, who’s received this blessing upon his head, to bless those that are listening, that our eyes would be open to see the hidden things in our Torah. And so Nehemia, I know every time we said we would do it, it’s the beginning of the new year for us Methodists, here in January. I would like for you to pray the prayer that we would have our eyes open that we would see the hidden things, and this is one of them - the power of the blessing of the father that comes upon the children. So it’d be great if you could do your special prayer for us.

Nehemia: Okay. “Avinu she’bashamayim,” our Father in heaven, Yehovah the Creator of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “ga’al eyneinu ve’nabita niflaot mi’Torateicha,” open our eyes that we may see the wonderful hidden things of Your Torah. “Simenu, Yehovah, ke’Ephraim ve’cheMenashe,” make all of us Yehovah, like Ephraim and Menashe. Amen.

Keith: Oh my goodness. He’s adding extra things, that’s powerful. Thank you, Nehemia.

Nehemia: Did I stray from the formula?

Keith: He strayed from the formula, let’s move on.

Jono: Thank you for that, Nehemia.

Nehemia: I was being led by the Spirit.

Keith: Amen.

Jono: Amen.

Nehemia: Hey, so one other thing in this passage that’s worth noting, and you could almost miss this. I missed it numerous times reading this. So there’s this Hebrew word, blessing, levarech bracha, that comes from the word berech, which means knee. The question is, what is the connection between a blessing and this literal meaning knee? Keith and I, in our book A Prayer to Our Father, we talk about how when you come before a king or when you come before God, in ancient times, what you would do is kneel down on your knees and give praise. That’s what it means to bless God, for a man, a human being to bless a superior, whether God or a king. You’re essentially, whether literally or symbolically, you are getting down on your knees and paying homage, praying, praising him.

But what does it mean when God blesses us? Or a king blesses us? You know, the king or God is not getting down on their knees, and that doesn’t even make sense. We can see there’s a very subtle passing reference here to that literal context. I think that we read it, in verse 12, that the sons of Joseph were sitting between his knees, or on his knees, when they came for the blessing, and that may be the literal meaning that a child would be sitting on the knee of the father when he would be giving him the blessing. Hence the connection to knee.

It’s a powerful image. When God blesses us that means He’s taking us like a son, putting us on his knees, placing His hand on our heads and wishing us well. Can I get an amen?

Keith: Amen.

Keith: Ladies and Gentlemen, let me just make a plug here. Nehemia’s going to be talking about this more in an upcoming book, which I think he’s just about done with, where he talks about this idea of a blessing from our Father. And I cannot wait until I’ve gotten a chance to see and read some of it. It is just… it’s going to be worth the wait, and this one little thing mentioned…

Nehemia: I can’t share…

Keith: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I just want to say one of the things that’s powerful is just this whole idea of the blessing from our Father, and again this point that when we as fathers, and when we receive that blessing from Him and pass that blessing on, I think that it’s not only for the ears of the children, that they hear it, but the ears of our Father who says, “Yes, bless your sons and your daughters.”

Jono: Amen.

Keith: So pretty powerful. But now it’s time for blessing of… I think this section is… we’re going to really need some help here.

Nehemia: One last thing, in verse 22, can you read your English?

Jono: “Moreover, I have given to you one portion of both your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

Nehemia: Okay. So there’s a play on words here in Hebrew, which you’d completely miss in English, which is that the word here that they translate as portion is the word schem or Shechem and that’s actually the name of the city that he’s referring to that was captured with the sword and the bow, and that is being given to Joseph. That is within the territory of Joseph, the city of Schem.

So there’s the double portion here, one portion above your brothers, meaning Joseph is getting a double portion, they’re getting a single portion. But in addition to that, it also refers to the city of Schem, which is a major city in northern Israel, or it was in ancient times.

Jono: Okay, excellent. Yeah. Well, I did I totally missed that, so I’m glad you brought that up. Chapter 49, “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘gather together that I might tell you what shall befall you in the last days.’” In the last days?

Nehemia: Yes, that’s really interesting. Well, “Achrit ha’yamim”, that phrase “last days”, can also be translated as “latter days”, and in many prophecies that refers to what we call end times, the Messianic era, lion laying down the lamb, that kind of stuff. But then there’s other prophecies where “Achrit ha’yamim” the last days or latter days, just refers to something that’s going to happen many years from now.

There are prophecies, for example, where Jeremiah talks about the last days, or one of the prophets talks about the last days, and they’re talking about the Babylonian invasion of Israel and the destruction of the Temple. So it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of days. A lot of Jewish commentators understand this whole passage as referring to the history of Israel in the time of the judges and the early kings.

Jono: Okay. So he’s basically saying, let me tell you this stuff that’s coming up. Keith?

Keith: Well, I just want to say that this is where my trusty Nearly Inspired Version got it right. Because it says, “I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come,” not necessarily the last days. So I want to thank the translators of the Nearly Inspired Version.

Jono: Nearly Inspired Version - one point to you.

Keith: For their balanced approach in English translation.

Jono: Okay verse 2, “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father. Reuben, you are my firstborn,” now it starts kind of cool for him, I like the way it starts. “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.” And then it just sort of goes downhill from there “Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it. He went up to my couch.”

Nehemia: What that’s referring to is Reuben’s sin of sleeping with Bilha, who was one of his father’s wives. So because of that, he forfeited the right to receive the firstborn that was rightfully due to him. He should have been the king and he should have been the line of priests, not Aaron and not Judah. It should have been Reuben. But he forfeited it. He lost it.

Jono: Lost it, lost it. Moving along. “Simeon and Levi are brothers, instruments of cruelty,” and it gets these guys together, “are in their dwelling place, let not my soul enter their council, let not my honor be united to their assembly, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”

Keith: I want to say about these two guys. I still have them in my hall of fame for them going and getting their sister. And I read this, I thought about Simeon and Levi, and I know their dad didn’t like what they did, but I give them honor for their going and getting their sister, who had been kidnapped. Okay?

Jono: So you’d buy them a beer at the pub. But he’s not giving them much here. Seems like he’s still cranky at them.

Keith: Okay, go ahead.

Nehemia: So I want to point out something here that may almost seem trivial, but in verse five of Chapter 49, we have, you translate it “instruments of cruelty…”

Jono: “Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.”

Nehemia: Right. So the word that they translate as dwelling place is mecheroteihem. This is an example which isn’t so rare actually, of a word in the Bible that we don’t really know the meaning of. We’re kind of guessing based on context and comparing to other passages. But for example, in this particular word, mecheroteihem, there are several possible explanations that different Jewish Bible commentators have offered.

One of them is, in fact, their dwelling places. Others actually explained that it comes from a similar word, the word machar, which is to sell, and therefore means their merchandise. Therefore implying that they not only used weapons of violence, they traded in weapons violence. Then another explanation is that mecheroteihem actually means their sister, and essentially what it’s saying here is they are brothers, Simeon and Levy, and weapons are their sister. And this also is a reference to the fact that they use weapons in the context of trying to defend the honor of their sister, but also symbolically that they’ve made this their sibling, the weapons.

This whole passage, starting in verse 2 or 3 and all the way toward the end of the chapter, is kind of unusual from what we’ve seen so far in Genesis. This may be the first passage in the Bible like this in which the whole section is what’s called the poetic style. There are two different styles in biblical Hebrew. There’s the prose, which is kind of telling stories, giving commandments, and there’s the poetry. We’ve had a snippet of poetry here and there. By poetry, I don’t mean like it rhymes… it’s actually a different style of Hebrew writing. So we’ve had a few snippets of that earlier in Genesis, but an entire long section of nearly over 20 verses, which is poetry, I think this is the first section if I’m not mistaken.

If you read, for example, the prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, in any of the smaller books of the prophets, almost the entire book is written in the poetic style, not in the prose style. So here, this is actually, as far as I can remember, the first passage of any length where we have this poetic style. That’s one of the reasons that we’ll have a word like that, which, who knows what it really means?

Keith: Well it is interesting and I’m glad that Nehemia brought that up because we do see these little sections where there’ll be poetry. Like when Jacob… it’s funny, Jacob gets Isaac’s blessing. So what does Yitzchak do? When it’s time for him to bring the blessing he uses the poetic form in verse 27 of Chapter 27, “So he went to him and kissed him, and when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and he became a poet.” And there literally, it’s time for this blessing and he uses this poetic form, and it’s three different times, actually, speaking both to Jacob and to Esau, he uses this form.

So I think it’s again this idea that Jacob going back and having this happen to him, that when his father blessed him, he used this poetic form, but then he goes and takes it to a completely different level. I mean, how many verses, as you mentioned, 27 verses. So yeah, it’s pretty powerful.

Jono: We’re not even halfway.

Nehemia: One of the things about poetry that I guess I didn’t really state, but I alluded to, is that ancient Hebrew poetry is difficult to understand for two main reasons. One is it uses rare words, or it’ll use a common word with a rare meaning. And the second reason, that may be kind of complicated without going into more detail, is it’s very concise and it will often drop things like prepositions - words like to, for, about, and that’s just simply part of the style, and you kind of have to provide those based on the context sometimes. That’s why a single verse can sometimes be translated several different ways, and we’ll see examples of that if we have time to look at them. There are some examples where the different translations are just wildly different, and that’s because we’re dealing here with biblical Hebrew poetry.

Jono: “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise.” Now that’s a…

Nehemia: A play on words.

Jono: A play on words. Thank you.

Nehemia: Yes. There’s a triple play on words. Yehuda which is Judah, yoducha which sounds like Yehuda, is “they will praise you”, and yadcha is “your hand”, which also sounds like it. So Yehuda yeducha yadcha, it’s alliteration.

Keith: You could rap that Nehemia, I’m telling you.

Jono: “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion, as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,” Keith, “until Shiloh comes.”

Nehemia: Uh oh.

Keith: No, I think, I think that’s what’s so cool. We’re going to do this as we’re going through this. I know we have some time to do this, but I just think it’s amazing that we see these things being said, we see a confirmation, as Nehemia was talking about with Ephraim and Manasseh, we see confirmation historically, but then we also have this future hope. So you see these things happening. So these guys, their kids, their children’s children saw these things happening, some of them, and some of them we’re not going to see happen until when? Until the redemption. So I think it’s… when I read it, I read it sort of with two eyes - one eye, where do I see the confirmation of it in present life? And where am I looking for the future fulfillment? That’s all I’ll say.

Nehemia: So, all right, so this is a famous verse, which of course Christians say refers to Jesus. Some Jews say this actually refers to the rise of David and Solomon, and then others say it refers to David and his descendant, the Messiah, who has yet to come. And really there are a couple of controversial points there. One is the word shilo, which some people say… or Shiloh, some people say it’s actually the city of Shiloh. Then others say shilo means “his descendants”. That’s actually within the Jewish tradition as well, you have those different interpretations. Being poetry, it could be read two different ways - it could be read “ad ki yavo Shilo”, “until Shiloh comes”, or it could actually be read “until he comes to Shiloh” or “it comes to Shiloh”, and you know, which is it?

Then the last statement, ‘ve lo yikatamim, “and to him, nations will gather” or possibly “to him, nations will be obedient,” or “give honor,” and that seems to be the more accurate explanation. But there’s several different possibilities here. You could look within the Jewish sources, even take Jesus out of the equation, just look at the Jewish sources, and you have several different possible understandings here.

Jono: It’s a fascinating phrase. “And to him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.”

Nehemia: What does that mean?

Jono: Well, who knows what that means? But all I can imagine is that it sounds much more elegant in Hebrew than it does…

Nehemia: Well it does sound quite elegant in Hebrew, and what apparently it means, or certainly the common explanation that’s offered in the Jewish sources, is that this is foretelling a time of great peace and abundance, of prosperity, that when this event takes place of the rulership of Judah, whether that’s David or Solomon or the Messiah, that under the rule of this Judaic king, this king from the line of Judah, that there will be this period of peace and tranquility.

In Hebrew there’s this image you have in the prophets, “Every man will dwell… will sit under his vine and under his fig tree.” That is the ultimate symbol of peace, because when you’re sitting under your vine and fig tree, you’re kicking back and you’re cooling off in the heat of the afternoon under your vine and fig tree, and you’re plucking grapes or figs off the tree and you’re eating, that’s in the Hebrew thinking, the ultimate symbol of peace and prosperity.

That’s what’s been described here. He’s going to bind his donkey or his ass to the vine. That’s because the vine is going to be so overloaded with grapes, he’s just going to have to load it up and it’s going to take him a while to load it up, there are going to be so many grapes, and he’s going to just be splashing and pouring in wine and in the blood of grapes, meaning in grape juice, as they’re stomping the grapes, and then his eyes are going to be darker than wine. In Hebrew, it actually “says his eyes will be sparkling with wine,” or actually probably more literally “dilated with wine.” I mean, there’s going to be all this wine and he’s not going to have to worry about anything - it’s a symbol of peace and great prosperity. And may it be soon in our days. Amen.

Jono: Amen. Amen.

Keith: I’m reading this thinking of his father thinking, “Okay, Judah, you’ll be like ready for Hollywood here. You’re going to have the teeth that are bleached and your eyes are going to be perfect.” And you know what I mean? And now you just took that away from me Nehemia. So here I’ve got to say to the next statement… here’s where I just have to tell you when I read this, I feel bad for guys like Zebulun. You’re waiting in line.

Jono: No, hang on…

Keith: No, wait, let me Jono. Let me just say, you’re waiting in line, you’re watching your brothers. “Oh, Reuben, he got it. Dad knew about that. Oh boy. Simeon and Levy. Oh boy. No, but I didn’t do anything. I’m sure I’m about to get a blessing.” And it says, “Zebulon will live by the seashore.” What? I mean I hope there’s something in the Hebrew that makes this guy… I mean, he waits in line and this is what he gets, Nehemia? Tell us some Torah Pearl here.

Jono: No wait, wait, Keith, fishing and surfing? What are you talking about?

Keith: Np, I want to know, what’s the Torah Pearl here? What does the guy get?

Jono: He’s relaxing on a towel on the seashore by the beach.

Nehemia: It’s describing that he’s going to be involved in international trade, that there’s going to be some kind of merchandise.

Jono: Ahhh.

Keith: Exactly, see what I mean? The Australian thinks it’s just going to be that he’s going to beach. This is the Torah Pearl?

Jono: Oh, come on, I read that, and I thought, “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea.” Yes!

Keith: No, what do you mean it was obvious? Jono thought it had to be where he was going to be surfing.

Nehemia: Are we, like, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef or something like that?

Keith: Exactly. That’s what Jono thinks. No, he’s about to do international trade. He’s going to be a big papa.

Jono: “He shall become a haven for ships and his borders shall adjoin Sidon.”

Nehemia: Sidon is a city on the shore of Lebanon, which was essentially near the northern border of the promised part of Israel, and it was a major… that’s what Sidon was known for - as an international… that was the Antwerp of ancient times. It was the international trade center.

Jono: Okay.

Keith: So my reason for bringing that up is that I would feel bad, I’m just reading through this and I’m kind of thinking like Jono, “Heck, so he’s going to have some water?” But in other words, he’s waiting in line, he gets his blessing and he’s like, “Okay, don’t say any more. I’ll take it and run.”

Jono: He’ll take that and run. “Just one verse is all I want, I’ll go now. Thank you!”

Keith: Don’t say anything else.

Jono: Going out on a high note, “Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens, he saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a band of slaves.” Party on with Issachar. What is that about?

Nehemia: Well, okay, so let me, let me talk about the name Issachar just for a second, which is really an unusual name. If you look at it in Hebrew, it’s Yisachar, and in the middle of that word Yisachar, there’s this Hebrew letter, the letter Shin, which doesn’t have any vowel in it, which is unusual - not only unusual, it’s unique - that this letter in the middle of the word has no vowel.

This actually goes back to an ancient… I don’t know if it’s a controversy or a division of two different traditions about how to pronounce this name between two different families of scribes that copied down the Hebrew Bible. One was called Ben Asher, and the Hebrew Bible that most of us use today, that we all use today, come from the line of Ben Asher.

But we also know their rivals were the family of Ben Naftali, and these were two different families in Tiberias in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th centuries in Israel, and they were the ones who preserved the Bible for us. So the Ben Asher family, when they copied their Bible, they were nice enough to record the differences between them and Ben Naftali, and not just nice enough, they knew that these were both ancient traditions that maybe even went back to two different ways of pronouncing the name in ancient times.

It turns out that that second Shin that’s silent wasn’t originally silent, that according to the Ben Naftali tradition the name is not Yis’sachar, but it was Yisaschar, which if you don’t know Hebrew that might not mean anything to you. But basically what we’re seeing is that in ancient times there were two different ways of pronouncing this name, and apparently the original one, and which is preserved by the letters that are recorded in Scripture, is the Ben Naftali tradition of Yisaschar.

Now about the actual blessing here, it says here at the end, “And he will become ‘mas oved’”, which yours translated as “a band of slaves”. What it literally means is “working tax”, and in ancient times when the king would levy a tax, he wouldn’t say, “Okay, pay 20% of your income or 50% of your income.” He’d say, “Come and work in my mines for a month or come and work cutting down trees for a month,” and that type of work tax, it’s called mas oved in Hebrew. We could translate that in modern times or in medieval times as a vassal or a serf. I mean, you’re doing work for the king. That’s essentially what it says is going to happen to Yisaschar - that he’s going to be a mas oved, and possibly he’s going to be a mas oved maybe for some foreign nation, because why else is it saying that? But I don’t know. We’ll find out.

Jono: I guess so. Wow. There’s a lot in that. “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent, by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that the rider shall fall backward.” Now do you reckon guys… do you think… I’m just wondering, Keith, what do you think? Are all 12 of them standing around Jacob…

Keith: No, I’m telling you, they’re waiting in line for their blessing… over the words…

Jono: They’re scratching their heads going, “What’s going on?”

Keith: They’re sweating…

Nehemia: Well, we’re scratching our heads saying, “What’s going on?” So surely they were as well. There’s a play on words, here, obviously in Hebrew, which is that the name Dan means judgment. So when it says Dan yadin amo, Dan will judge his people, that’s a play on words - like one of the tribes of Israel, that’s kind of strange, because he is one of the tribes of Israel. Now, what is the statement about, “He’s going to be a viper on the way”? The truth is, I don’t really know, but one possibility is that Dan is at the northern end of Israel, literally the northern border of ancient Israel is Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south, and any foreign nation that would come and invade the land would have to pass through Dan. Maybe that’s what it means - that Dan is a viper on the way that’s going to bite the heel of the horse, that if you come to invade the land of Israel, you’re going to have to deal with Dan, and he’s going to bite the heel of your horse.

Jono: So the rider has to retreat.

Nehemia: Right. Well, hopefully, or at least he’ll be harassed. Now another possibility, and this is one of the traditional Jewish interpretations, there are different traditions about this - one of them is that this actually is a prophecy referring to Samson, because Samson was from the tribe of Dan. Dan biting the heel of the horse is Sampson harassing the Philistines.

The next statement says, “I wait for your deliverance, oh Yehovah,” and literally it says, “for your salvation,” your yeshua, leyeshuatcha kiviti Yehovah – “I wait for your Yeshua, your salvation, Yehovah.” Maybe, according to some, this was Jacob’s response when he saw in his vision what would happen to Samson - that Samson was going to be harmed so badly - or simply that Dan is going to be, as the tribe, is going to be holding back the invaders of Israel. Their response is, “Yehovah, we wait for your salvation. That’s what we need.”

Keith: I’ve got to stop.

Nehemia: “Dan can mess with the foreign invaders, but we need your salvation, Yehovah, because Dan can’t do it alone. He can only bite the heel of the horse. We need your salvation.” Come on!

Jono: An opportunity for the Methodist to break out of his box!

Nehemia: Come on Methodist!

Keith: No, I’ve got to break out of my box because I’m reading through this deal, and I’m thinking and I’m imagining these guys waiting in line. They’re waiting in line. You’re waiting in line and the dad is speaking, and the dad is speaking and it’s almost like there’s a commercial. You know, he’s doing what he’s doing...

All of a sudden there’s this commercial and he stops and he says, “Okay, let me just take a break here. I look for your salvation, oh Yehovah. Now let’s move on. Gad will be attacked...” I mean, the line just jumps off the page for me. And of course, the other reason the line jumps off the page is because in this poetic section - and I would like to be challenged here, I did not get a chance to do great study on this for what I’m about to bring up - but I think this is the only time in this section where he actually uses the personal name Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey, in the midst of these blessings. And again, we can do a search on that and maybe get back to it. So he’s going about his business, he’s talking about this, he’s talking about this, he’s talking about this, he’s doing this with his children, and this line comes in.

When I saw this line, Nehemia, I didn’t particularly look just at the issue of Dan. I looked at him moving to this level of speaking of “Looking for your deliverance, oh Yehovah,” not just with Dan, but it’s almost like right in the middle of giving his blessings. It’s almost like, “This has to do with Dan and it has to do with all of my sons and it has to do with me and it has to do with Israel. And of course, because I’m about to say this, I’ve got to do only one thing. I’ve got a call upon Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey himself, Yehovah, saying, ‘I look for your deliverance oh Yehovah.’” Now let’s get back to speaking to his sons. So that’s why…

Nehemia: I just did a quick search on the computer. Not only in Genesis 49 that somebody speaks the name Yehovah, the last time somebody spoke the name Yehovah before this… if we talk about the last time it was mentioned was in Genesis 39, 10 chapters earlier.

Jono: Oh, wow.

Keith: Right. So that’s why when I saw this, you guys I said we needed a short little Torah Pearl, because here it is that this man, Yaacov, who had this wrestling match, who became Israel, here he calls upon the Name. And he doesn’t call upon the Name in a vacuum - he calls upon the Name to be a name of action. I look for Your name of action. I look for You to bring deliverance.

Nehemia: Of course, we know that when he actually spoke it, he used the circumlocution, and he said, “LORD,” right?

Keith: Quickly Jono, we must move on.

Jono: All right so now - Gad, even a small little verse for Gad: “A troop shall tramp upon him,” oh thanks, “but he shall triumph at last.” Oh, okay. Moving on.

Nehemia: That’s also a play on words, obviously: “Gad gadu digudeinu ve’hu yagud akev,” it’s a quadruple alliteration.

Jono: Okay.

Keith: Rap of the rap.

Jono: It comes good, it comes good with him. This is the one that I like. I reckon this is the winner. “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.” Yum! He’s going to have a little pastry shop. What do you reckon?

Nehemia: I don’t know.

Jono: Yeah, that’s what that means.

Keith: I’m convinced that Jono, your wife came from Asher. There’s no question.

Jono: She’s a good cook, there’s no doubt.

Keith: Chani - I’m telling you, she came from Asher, there’s no question.

Jono: She yields royal dainties…

Nehemia: Well, he’s definitely describing that the tribe of Asher is going to be very productive, it’s going to have a territory that produces great prosperity. I mean that’s what it means…

Jono: He’s going to have a string of pastry shops?

Nehemia: Sure, why not?

Keith: I will say this, for those that are listening, one of the things that they can do that would really bless them in this study is to go back for when these actual children were named, to when they were named, and what those names meant. We talked about that, Nehemia did an excellent job in speaking about these names, but when you go back to those names and then bring forward what’s actually happening, there are some wonderful little things there that I think that are a blessing. Because with Asher’s name, food and being rich and providing delicacies for a king, he will be blessed. He will be happy. I mean, if that’s what you’re going to have connected to it. So, anyway…

Jono: Cinnamon swirls, oh my. Okay. Verse 21, “Naphtali is a deer let loose, he uses beautiful words.” All right.

Nehemia: So here’s a great example of how it can be translated in wildly different ways. So for example, the JPS, the Jewish Publication Society translation, says, “Naphtali is a hind let loose which yields lovely fawns.” So lovely fawns or goodly words, and both of those are legitimate translations. Here it’s even possible that both are meant, because one of the things poetry sometimes does is it will use a word that could have two different meanings and intend both of them as a very sophisticated play on words. So lovely fawns is something that’s produced by a hind, by a doe, a female deer, but also the same phrase could mean “goodly words” and possibly “good announced”, words that are announced. Meaning this is good news that’s coming. This is the good news.

Jono: Both of these guys are breathing a sigh of relief after that, I suppose. But then the majority of it goes into Joseph, and here we are. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well, his branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength and the arm of his hands were made strong by the hands of almighty God of Jacob.” And then it says, “From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.” Keith?

Keith: That’s what it says - the rock of Israel, the mighty one of Jacob. When I read this, I get excited because again - and I know there’s a lot of controversy regarding Joseph and his sons and the lost tribes and all of these things - but when I read this, it clearly speaks to me of the one who has sustained and kept, and who he is and what he is and how he does what he does, you know, because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the shepherd, the rock of Israel. I mean, to me that just speaks of his story. And when I read the story of Joseph, I mean, who’s the one that’s reminding… using him with Pharaoh, dealing with his brothers, giving them the vision, all of that stuff other than the one who has many, many beautiful titles, and here are a couple of them right here.

Jono: Amen.

Nehemia: I got to ask that we read verse 22 in a couple different translations, and I’ll try to do it quick, I know we’re running out of time. So the one is the, I don’t know, New Revised Standard Version: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring. His branches run over the wall.” JPS, Jewish Publication Society: “Joseph is a wild ass, a wild ass by a spring. Wild colt on a hillside.”

Jono: Wow.

Nehemia: That’s like wildly different. If you translate it literally you could say Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a spring or possibly according to the eye, or in the eye. Daughters march over seeing or the wall. I mean there’s different ways of translating this and it’s funny because this verse has become in Jewish culture almost like the ultimate blessing. People will have this verse engraved on plaques on their wall and it’s considered to be a blessing. What this verse actually means is just about anybody’s guess. Are we talking about an ass, a bow, a vine, a son? I don’t know. You don’t really get that if you read it in English.

Keith: You know Jono, Nehemia is always looking for an opportunity to swear. I’m telling you.

Nehemia: Wait, no! What?

Keith: Every time. He knows that this gets me every time he uses these words, but let’s move on.

Jono: All right, verse 25, “By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings from the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors.” Huge. “Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.” Everlasting hills?

Nehemia: Ancient hills.

Jono: Ancient hills?

Keith: Age old hills.

Jono: Age old hills. “They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.”

Nehemia: That’s the double portion! That’s what I’m talking about.

Jono: There’s the double portion! Benjamin. Now, this…

Nehemia: I might just have to shake the tree and find out I’m from Joseph.

Keith: No, we already know that you’re from David, so I mean...

Nehemia: That’s on my mother’s side. It doesn’t count.

Jono: Benjamin, okay, he ends with this: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” He ends there with Benjamin like that.

Keith: So can I just ask a question for the Methodists who have always wondered when we look at these tribes and we see them present day, you know, I walked into a place this Shabbat and they had the 12 tribes and the different names of the 12 tribes. So why is one tribe not called Joseph?

Nehemia: Because it’s two tribes. There’s Ephraim and Manasseh. That one tribe got a double portion, he became two tribes.

Keith: Okay. So is it not interesting that instead of us… so in other words, and the reason I’m bringing a question that’s kind of an obvious question, but that when we’re talking about these tribes and we say Reuben and Issachar and all these things, but then when we get to Joseph, we don’t say Joseph, we say Ephraim and Manasseh. So then Joseph’s name doesn’t become standalone. His sons’ names become the representation of the tribes.

Jono: And yet there’s still reference to 12 tribes, right?

Nehemia: Sure.

Jono: So they don’t become the 13 tribes. Right?

Nehemia: Right. The reason is that the tribe of Levi or Levy ends up not getting a portion of actual land, and so there are 12 tribal districts, essentially, or 12 tribal land sections, and Levy gets cities, but he gets scattered among all the other tribes, which is actually referred to here in the blessing. But he doesn’t get its own tribal section. So essentially, Levi is then not included among the 12 tribes. Because if you include Levi, you have 13.

Jono: Okay.

Keith: There it is, ladies and gentlemen, there it is.

Jono: There it is. “And all these are the 12 tribes of Israel and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them, he blessed each one according to his own blessing.”

Let me just ask a quick question. Let’s not dwell too long on this, but Nehemia how many… who knows where they’re from today?

Nehemia: That’s an interesting point, because I’ll hear from a lot of people, “Oh, you’re Jewish,” they’ll say to me, “and therefore you’re from Judah, Right?” But actually, I always grew up being told that we were Israel and that we didn’t know which tribe we were from. When we talk about quote-unquote Jews in Hebrew, we say Am Yisrael, the people of Israel, not meaning the state of Israel. But even in diaspora, we talk about Am Israel, the people of Israel, and I have no idea which tribe I’m from. The only people who know what tribe they’re from are the Levite. All the other quote-unquote Jews, we don’t know what tribe we’re from.

Keith: So it’s possible, Nehemia, that you and I are from the same tribe? Are you telling me it’s possible?

Nehemia: Keith, you are my brother from another mother.

Jono: There it is. Now you said the only ones who know are the Levites, now tell us why are they the only ones that know? Is that because the name…

Nehemia: Because that information was kept, that they were from the tribe of Levi and you know, are they all from Levi? Well they believe they are. I mean, they’ve done genetic tests and they found that… I think like 80% of the Levites are from the same tribe. So you know, the whole Cohen thing. I think it requires a little bit further verification, but certainly, they have a tradition they’re from a specific tribe. Whereas I have no tradition about what tribe I’m from. I just know that I’m from the people of Israel.

Jono: Fascinating stuff.

Keith: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Okay, go ahead.

Jono: Well we’re going to hammer through because we’re running out of time. “He charged them and he said, ‘I’m going to be gathered with my people.’” He’s basically saying to them, “make sure you bury me in that cave in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, and in there is Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I also buried Leah,” and so on and so forth. And so he’s saying, “You make sure, when I pass, that is where I’m going.” “And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons,” this is verse 33, “he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” Gathered to his people - what do we understand from that phrase? I mean, he passed, right? But I mean… expressing that.

Nehemia: Yes, he died. In the Tanakh, the description is that when somebody dies, their spirit or their soul goes to a place called Shaol, which is the realm of the dead. In Shaol, you’re in what Ecclesiastes described as a place where there’s no knowledge or thought or action. Essentially, you’re in a state of sleep. That’s why the resurrection in Daniel is described as many of those who sleep in the dust shall arise, some for eternal life, et cetera. Daniel 12:2. So presumably “gathered to his people” describes his soul being gathered to Shaol where his dead ancestors are.

Jono: Okay. I guess in a state of sleep. Now according to some traditions… no, we don’t have time to go there. Okay. “Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his Father.” Now, this is an Egyptian custom, to embalm, which takes one or two months to complete the process…

Nehemia: Well, here’s the interesting thing - if you ask Egyptologists how long it takes, the experts of ancient Egypt, they’ll say 40 days. But if you dig and find out and you ask, well, how do you know it’s 40 days? They eventually point back to this verse in Genesis.

Jono: Is that right?

Nehemia: Where it says it takes 40 days. Because it was actually a secret in ancient Egypt how the process took place. This may be the only real clue we have of how long it took.

Keith: No, no, I thought what was interesting is that both he and his son end up going through this process – supposedly, this embalming - but that then that would mean that in terms of how his father and his mother, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, et cetera, would have been buried so that if we were to get to this place, it’s possible. Is it possible that his body would be in a state of like the Egyptian mummies? Yeah, mummified. That’s interesting.

Jono: With bits in jars next to them and so on and so forth.

Nehemia: Could be.

Jono: Could possibly be. But it begins this long and drawn out process. “They mourned for him 70 days. Now when the days of his mourning has passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh saying, ‘Now if I’ve found favor in your eyes, please let me speak in the hearing Pharoah saying, ‘My father made me swear, behold I am dying’’” and he just repeats it all. Basically, Pharaoh says, “Go, go and bury your father as he made you swear.”

So he went. But it wasn’t just him. It says all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house, the little ones stayed and so on and so forth. The chariots and horsemen. It was a very great gathering. “And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation and observed seven days of mourning for his father.”

Keith: I want to say, you know when I read this, and again I’ve read through Scripture many times, every time I read through Scripture, I always find something else. I just think it’s kind of powerful that it’s almost like a rehearsal - here’s what it’s going to be like when they leave Egypt. So they leave Egypt, they go into Canaan, they do this, and then pretty soon we find ourselves cycled back into Egypt in preparation for them coming out again. And we see this throughout the Tanakh, as we’ve gone through Beresheit you know, Abraham will leave Canaan and he’ll go to Egypt, come out of Egypt, Isaac will go to Egypt, come out of Egypt. And each time it’s a bigger group of people, a bigger group of people. And of course, eventually we get to the most amazing exodus of all, which is what we’re going to talk about next time. But I just think it’s a wonderful foreshadowing of them coming out of Egypt.

Jono: Amen. “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘Perhaps Joseph will hate us and will actually repay us for all the evil we did to him’. And so they sent a message,” and basically we see again a couple of things: in verse 18, “His brothers also went and fell down before his face and said, ‘Behold, we are your servants.’” Again, that’s another manifestation of the original dream that Joseph had. But again, it’s also another manifestation of the reconciliation that he had already established. He said, “Don’t be afraid. This is what God meant to happen.” And so on and so forth. And he spoke kindly to them.

So moving along, Joseph dwelt in Egypt in his father’s household, Joseph lives to 110 years old. Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. Wow. “And then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel saying, ‘God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here.’ So Joseph died being 110 years old, and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” And that’s the way it ends. And we do know that we’re going to be reading about that sometime soon, that they do indeed take his bones with them when they leave.

Keith: Amen.

Jono: Amen.

Nehemia: Yep.

Keith: I hope people will keep sharing this with others. I keep finding more and more people that didn’t know we were doing this, and so hopefully others will share that we’re going to be continuing in Torah portions throughout this calendar year all the way till next year. It’s pretty fun. It’s a lot of fun.

Jono: So there we are. We’re finished. Thank you, Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson, we have finished Beresheit. Next week, Shemot, Exodus chapter 1 through 6 verse 1. Until next week, be blessed and be set apart by the truth of our Father’s word. Shalom.

You have been listening to The Original Torah Pearls with Nehemia Gordon, Keith Johnson and Jono Vandor. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon’s Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

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  • shell says:

    Maybe this is a leftover from church, but whenever i hear verse 11 with the garments washed in wine, i always thought of this verse, and vise versa. Do you think theyre related or do you think they just have a similar look?

    Isa 63: v2. Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
    v3. I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

  • Renee says:

    Hi, thank you for these wonderful teachings!

    I was curious about the phrase in Gen 48:12 translated “from between,” and the thought of the 2 boys sitting on grandpa’s knees. They could be 16-18 years old by now, so that mental image does not compute as easily. Maybe that translation is why most paintings of the event show boys in the age range of perhaps 5-8.

    The Strong’s concordance gives alternate meanings for עִם such as “toward” or “beside” or “unto,” which would also work in the context, and especially for young men… Joseph brought them toward, beside, unto his (JACOB’s) knees בֶּרֶךְ (v10) to receive the בָּרַךְ .

    Gen 49:10 also uses “from between” : “nor a lawgiver FROM BETWEEN his feet.”

    But this time translated from
    . בַּיִן

    Thank you for sharing the insight that Yah has blessed y’all with!

  • Jeremy Hula says:

    Yeshua must be the angel.

  • Cindy Vaughan says:

    Did Dina get land or a blessing ?

    • Courtney Abrams says:

      Based on the Torah, Dina did not get any inheritance. Daughters were only entitled to inheritance if their father had no son, as in the case of Zelophehad’s daughters. (Numbers 27:1-11)

      “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter.”
      (Numbers 27:8 NIV)

      Zelophehad had no sons, only daughters, so his daughters received his inheritance. (Joshua 17:3-4) However, daughters that received inheritance must marry within their father’s tribal clan. (Numbers 36:1-13)

      Another logical reason that shows Dina did not receive an inheritance is that later the promised land was divided among the twelve sons of Jacob with a double potion going to Joseph.

      Daughters who had brothers get what their husbands inherited. If Dina were given in marriage to Shechem, she would have benefited from what Shechem inherited from Hamor, his father.

  • Klodjana Keco says:

    Hello! I am a little bit late following you on this.
    I’ve been reading in English and listening in Hebrew the book of Genesis. And it came to pass that as I was listening to it, have in mind that I cannot understand Hebrew, anyway, I noticed that Judah’s third son name was something like ‘Shelah’, or ‘Shiloh’. Could it have any connection with Jacob’s blessing for Judah (‘until Shiloh comes’).
    And secondly do these words have any connection with the word ‘Selah’ that we find often in the Psalms.
    Thank you and please bear with my elementary question, if!

    God Bless you all!
    Nehemia thanks for the special blessing in this podcast!

  • Ronald Peloquin says:

    I loved this torah portion. I have a question for all three men. In Genesis 48:19
    “His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring(will become a multitude of nations.)Jewish Complete Bible
    My question is does Ephraim become a multitude of Gentile nations some time into the future losing his jewish identity i thought Ephraim would always be jewish no matter where he migrated to after being taken into Assyria? What does Jacob mean whenbbn he say’s Epgraim’s offspring will become a multitude of nations הַגּוֹיִֽם Goy gentile nations? Its a puzzle to me did the tribe lose their bloodline like at babylon it is confusion. Help me understand this verse please.

  • LOUIS C KORKAMES says:

    The image of God blessing us by putting us on His knees brings me to tears! Praise God!

  • Owen Murphy says:

    Great study – Micah 4:4 After the ‘regathering’ – Ezekiel 37:1 -28 everyone will sit under ‘his’ Joseph’s vine and ‘his’ Judah’s fig tree and none shall make them afraid. Judah and Joseph as powerful combo?

  • julie kalashnikoff says:

    The first born did not receive the blessing because it is a type and shadow of the first Adam who chose self will above the will of “I AM”. The 2nd born is a type and shaddow of the 2nd Adam which is Christ, meaning annointed, meaning the will of “I AM”

  • Fran Brashear says:

    I’ve just been pondering if the blessing for the tribe of Asher mentioned (rich food and danties fit for kings) could possibly be the ‘Words’ of Yehovah from scribe Aaron ben Moshe ben Asher (man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of Yehovah). The word of Yehovah IS rich food and danties fit for kings.

  • Gavriel Bootel says:

    I find it interesting that none of the first born received the blessings, Yishmael was the first born, Esau was the first born as was Manasheh, and all for good reason.

    • julie Kalashnikoff says:

      first born refers to spiritual aspect as in Self will being first. Self will will never be blessed. This is why the expression “you must be born again” /born of the will of “I AM” (2nd birth). IT is those sho are born of the Will of “I AM”/2nd birth that receive the blessing of “I AM” our Father. Father means “generator”. He generates His will through us!

  • Todd Corder says:

    Something to ponder. Joseph was the firstborn of the wife Jacob chose and struck the deal and worked for. However, Jacob didn’t get Rachel on the wedding night, he was given Leah and didn’t know it until morning. How? wedding wine and no electricity. Yes, technically Ruben was born first, but not by the wife he chose and worked for by contract. If you look how Jacob arranged his offspring when traveling home and going to meet Esau. Might indicate that Jacob indeed felt that Joseph was his firstborn. The same with the special coat for Joseph.

  • Tom says:

    I love your Torah pearls thank you so much I found in the book of jasher that abhram new God from the age of three

  • bigfaithgirl says:

    Thank you for the blessing.I have no family. And I consider all of you family.

  • suzanholland says:

    Observation: “Angel” = messenger of God; sent one. Discussion in this presentation (and I’ve heard this talked about in at least one other presentation), was that the angel is NOT God, but “just a messenger who represents God and can speak on His behalf (as if God).” I find this a bit difficult to accept given the specific language used in a variety of texts (in the Tanakh) that seem to imply the Angel is a manifestation/apparition of God Himself (personal pronouns, etc.). I know “the arguments”, but just doesn’t seem honest to the plain reading of the text. Furthermore, Yeshua was “sent by God” and is not “an Angel” but God, Himself (incarnate), so this is a very important subject. The Ruach is also “sent by God” and IS God, so, I feel it is an oversimplification to dismiss this “Angel” as “just an angel.” (And I fully understand that not all accept that Yeshua is God/part of the Godhead, or that the Ruach is a “third person of the Trinity”, but that is what the Brit Hadasha claims and seems, in this regard, to be consistent with the plain reading of the Tanakh.) Shabbat shalom

    • Gavriel Bootel says:

      I personally believe as no one has ever seen Yah’s face, that it had to be Yeshua / Malkitzedik, King of Righteousness. Yeshua sits at the right hand of His Father, and also we see Yeshua praying to His Father, so Yeshua is not His Father, and Yeshua is not YHWH, and that is based on Scripture.

  • Joy Mathew says:

    Maybe wherever a poetic form is used in Scripture could mean an indication of prophecy .

  • Marilou says:

    Amen

  • Jason. says:

    I listen to the podcast all day at work,they are truly a blessing,I learn so much and they are funny too. A truly great podcast.

  • Rachel says:

    I listened to this Torah pearls so many times! Nehemia, Keith and Jono did great job! May JHVH bless you all!

  • Tova Wolfson says:

    Why did you not say anything about explaining the verses for the tribe of Benjamin? You read it and then went on to the burial of Joesph. I waited for one hour and 10 minutes, then nothing. Please stay more focused and leave the levity until after the important talk. Love Torah Pearls.

  • Stubblefield, Herman says:

    Thank you (all of you) for sharing your knowledge with us…we are truly learning a lot every week.

  • Eliam says:

    I just wonder is it possible that Keith has his roots from Ham, Jono from Yapheth and Nehemia from Shem, the sons of Noach. If yes, what is Yah trying to do and the significance?

  • Janice says:

    May you be like Ephraim and Menasse? Thou you are born outside the promised land, the sons of an Eqyptian; we can adopt you into our Covenant family, Kingdom of G-d, and you will be treated as a native born.