Bereshit (Genesis) 25:19 –28:9
Haftarah: Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1 –2:7
Brit Chadasha: Rom. 9:6 –16;
Hebrews 11:20and 12:14 -17
The Aleph Tav
- In the Revelation of Yeshua Ha Mashiach to John we find 4 references to the Aleph Tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew Aleph Bet; Rev. 1:8, 1:11, 21:6 and 22:13. The translation reads “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. Messiah Yeshua is a Hebrew man and not a Greek man therefore He would have said “I am the Aleph and the Tav, the beginning and the ending. He is the entire Hebrew Aleph Bet from A to Z so to speak therefore He is ALL the Hebrew letters, ALL the Hebrew words. Jn. 1:1 confirms this understanding. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim.”
- In its ancient form the Aleph Tav would read “strength of the covenant.”
- Jere. 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified (pure or clean) you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Parasha Tol’dot
תֹּולְדֹת meaning “generations” (seed)
Parasha Highlights:
- Isaac intercedes for Rebekah’s barrenness
- Rebekah gives birth to twins, Esau and Jacob
- The account of the second famine of the land
- Esau sells his birthright
- Isaac blesses Jacob
- Our Parasha opens in 25:19: “This is the genealogy ( תֹּ ולְדתֹ) of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac ( אֶת־יצְִחָֽק).”
- The first word to examine is Tol’dot. The normal spelling of תּוֹלְדוֹת is with two Vav’s. When Elohim created the
- universe, everything was perfect. Ge. 2:4: “This is the history of the generations ( אלֵּהֶ תֹ ולדְֹ ות השַָּׁמיַםִ והְאָרֶָץ ) of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Yehovah Elohim made the earth and the heavens.”
- It doesn’t take long for corruption to set in. By Ge. 5:1 we are told: “This is the book of the generations ( זֶה סֵפֶר תּולְדתֹ
- אדָָם ) of Adam. In the day that Elohim created man, in the likeness of Elohim made he him. It is spelled with only one Vav! The Vav remains missing all the way down through the generations of Yitzchak. In the genealogy of Yishmael, it becomes even more defective, missing both Vav’s. And these are the generations of Yishmael…” Genesis 25:12:
אְֵלֶּה תֹּלְדֹת יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם
What does this ‘Hidden Vav’ represent? When will it be restored? Amazingly, the book of Ruth reveals the secret in the genealogy of the Messiah: “Here is the genealogy of Peretz…” Ruth 4:18
אְלֵּהֶ תֹּ ולדְֹ ות פּרֶָץ
- “Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron (אֶת־חֶצְרֽוֹן ); Hezron begot Ram ( אתֶ־רָם ), and Ram begot Aminadav (אֶת־עַמִּֽינָדָֽב ); Aminadav begot Nachshon (אתֶ־נחְַשֹׁ ון ); and Nachshon begot Salmon ( אֶת־שַׂלְמָֽה); Salmon begot Boaz (אֶת־בּעֹזַ );and Boaz begot Obed ( אֶת־עֹובֵֽד); Obed begot Jesse ( אתֶ־ישִָׁי ); and Jesse begot David ( אתֶ־דָּודִֽ).”
Why is the Aleph Tav connected to all these men? These men are the ancestors of Messiah Yeshua. Does anyone remember who Perez is? The result of the physical encounter between Judah and Tamar resulted in a pregnancy. Ge. 38:27: “Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, ‘this one came out first.’ Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, ‘how did you break through? This breach be upon you!’ Therefore, his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.”
The pattern of the 2nd son
Physical firstborn
- The male and female from day 6
- Adam (Ge. 2:7)
- Cain
- Ishmael
- Esau
- Zerah
Spiritual firstborn
- The man formed in Ge. 2:7
- The second Adam, Yeshua
- Seth
- Isaac
- Jacob
- Perez
- 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 tells us “So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul (this is the man formed in Ge. 2:7). The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However that which is spiritual isn’t first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly.”
ת ו ל ד ו ת
- Sandwiched between the Tav’s and Cholem Vav’s we have a Lamed and Dalet. The numerical value of the Lamed is 30. The Lamed is a shepherd’s staff. Yeshua is the “good shepherd.” The numerical value of the Dalet is 4. The Dalet is a door. Yeshua is the door. The Lamed is the 12th letter of the Aleph Bet. The Lamed then connects us to the 12 tribes of Israel, the generations (Tol’dot), 1 + 2 = 3. The numerical value of the Lamed is 30. The 3rd day of creation is all “seed” bearing vegetation with the ultimate “seed” being Yeshua. Tol’dot is all about “seed.” The Dalet is the 4th letter corresponding to the 4th word of Scripture, the Aleph Tav.
- Why are the Vav’s significant? What do they mean? The letter Vav is the 6th letter of the Hebrew Aleph Bet. The pictograph in ancient Hebrew is that of a tent peg which means to add or secure. In the Hebrew language the Vav is used to connect one sentence to another and one sidra to another. It is also used as the word “and.” The two Vav’s in the word “Tol’dot” represent the two advents of Messiah; after all, Messiah Yeshua would be the ultimate descendant. The restoration of all things means that the word will be used in its correct form containing two Vav’s.
- After Adam and Chava sinned in the garden one Vav was removed from Tol’dot. Their sin caused a disconnect between “heaven” and “earth,” thereby the removal of one Vav. A reconnection requires something or someone to be placed back on a tree. Messiah Yeshua is the Vav. His death on the stake reconnected “heaven” and “earth.”
- Ge. 25:20 -21: “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah (אתֶ־ רִבקְהָ) as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. Now Isaac pleaded with Yehovah for his wife, because she was barren; and Yehovah granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
- V 22 “But the children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘if all is well, why am I like this?’ So, she went to inquire of Yehovah ( אֶת־יְהוָֽה).” The Hebrew word for struggle is רָצץַ which means raw-tsats’; a primitive root; to crack in pieces, literally or figuratively: —break, bruise, crush, discourage, or oppress. I think it’s safe to say that one baby was trying to crush the other baby to prevent the “pure” seed of Messiah from being born.
- On the day of Abrahams funeral Isaac was making a pot of stew. V 23 And Yehovah said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” There are two distinct people groups, one is holy and the other is profane. The “birthright” blessing is still a matter of contention to this day.
- V 24: “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so, they called his name Esau (meaning hairy or rough). Afterward, his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so, his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. So, the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau (אתֶ־עשֵָׂו ) because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob (אֶתֽ־יעַקֲבֹֽ).
- Isaac was forty when he took Rebekah to wife and sixty when the twins were born. These are interesting numbers when you consider who Isaac is. The Aleph Tav son, the only Aleph Tav son; a type and shadow of the Mashiach. Rebekah asked women if they have had such a traumatic experience in the birth of a baby. They said none other, except the pregnancy of Nimrod’s mother. (Ginzberg, 1909, p. 314) [6]
- There is yet another connection between Esau and Nimrod. Yasher 27:4 –8: “And on a certain day Esau went in the field to hunt, and he found Nimrod walking in the wilderness with his two men. And all his mighty men and his people were with him in the wilderness, but they removed at a distance from him, and they went from him in different directions to hunt, and Esau concealed himself from Nimrod, and he lurked for him in the wilderness. And Nimrod and his men that were with him did not know, and Nimrod and his men frequently walked about in the field at the cool of the day, and to know where his men were hunting in the field. And Nimrod and two of the men that were with him came to the place where they were, when Esau started suddenly from his lurking place, and drew his sword, and hastened and ran to Nimrod and cut off his head. And Esau fought a desperate fight with the two men that were with Nimrod, and when they called out to him, Esau turned to them and smote them to death with his sword.”
- Yasher 7:24 -30: “And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his woman when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush. For after the death of Adam and his woman, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Yared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son. And at the death of Methuselah, Noach took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark. And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noach his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers. And when Ham begat his first-born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days. And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old, he put on those garments. And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments.…
- Yasher 27:10 –11: “And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance, he fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of Nimrod, which Nimrod’s father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with which Nimrod prevailed over the whole land, and he ran and concealed them in his house. And Esau took those garments and ran into the city on account of Nimrod’s men, and he came unto his father’s house wearied and exhausted from fight, and he was ready to die through grief when he approached his brother Jacob and sat before him.”
- Why were the garments of Adam and Chava so coveted? Ge. 3:21: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did Yehovah Elohim make coats ( כּתְָנ ות ) of skins and clothed them. **the garments are made prior to their being expelled from Gan Eden.
- The kotonet is a “priestly” garment. The very same garment as referred to for Joseph and the High Priest. The very same garment of Yeshua’s’ the soldiers cast lots for.
- Let’s fast forward now to Ge. 27:15 -16: “Then Rebekah took the goodly raiment ( אתֶ־בּגִדְֵי ) of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob ( אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹב ) her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.” **It appears that the goodly raiment that Jacob wore in order to secure the birthright blessing was none other than the “priestly” garments worn by Adam and Chava.
- Twenty-two generations from Adam the “priestly” garment was restored to the son of promise, Isaac. Ge. 27:26 -27: “Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘come near now and kiss me, my son.’ And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: ‘Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Yehovah has blessed.” **This was the Aleph Tav smell was that of Gan Eden.
What is the “birthright” blessing?
- The firstborn son who opens the womb is considered the heir and recipient of all that belongs to his father upon his death. Recall the issue of inheritance between Ishmael and Isaac. 21:9-10: “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar ( אֶ ת־בֶּן־הָגָר ) the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore, she said to Abraham, ‘cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” **Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham however his mother was a slave woman having been conceived prior to the covenant of circumcision. Isaac was the firstborn son who opened the womb of Sarah, to whom the promise was given. Her first child and Abrahams second son, but the firstborn son after the covenant of circumcision. Typically, the birthright inheritance is twofold; the heir becomes the tribal leader physically and spiritually, both king and priest. Our sidra presents another issue of the birthright blessing being bestowed upon the 2nd son.
King Herod
- FYI …Flavius Josephus (approx. A.D. 30 –100), the Jewish historian, tells us that Esau’s descendants inhabited the region of Idumea at least two times in his writings.
- . . . and these were the sons of Esau. Aliphaz had five legitimate sons: Theman, Omer, Saphus, Gotham, and Kanaz; for Amalek was not legitimate, but by a concubine, whose name was Thamna. These dwelt in that part of Idumea . . . (Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews. Book 2, Chap. 2). So, he fell upon the Idumeans, the posterity of Esau, at Acrabattene, and slew a great many of them, and took their spoils. (Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews. Book 12, Chap. 8). This means the Idumeans were considered to be the descendants of Esau. Then in chapter 12, Josephus tells us that King Herod was an Idumean. This means that King Herod the Great was a descendant of Esau. But Antigonus, by way of reply to what Herod had caused to be proclaimed, and this before the Romans, and before Silo also, said, that they would not do justly if they gave the kingdom to Herod, who was no more than a private man, and an Idumean . . . (Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews. Book 12, Chap.**neverthirsty.org)
- In conclusion, the prophecy recorded in Ge. 3: 15 is played out in our sidra. Ge. 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
- Enmity meaning hostility or hatred can certainly be seen in the struggle between Esau and Jacob in the womb; that lifelong struggle between the holy and profane. The woman is Rebekah whose womb contains “two” seeds; Esau, the seed of the adversary and Jacob, the pure seed from which Yeshua would descend. Bruise and heel belong to the name Jacob. Jacob means “heel holder” or “supplanter. “Bill Cloud from Shoreshim Ministries made a profound observation; Jacob was holding onto the heel of Esau to prevent him from crushing or bruising his own head.
- Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1 –2:7: 1:1 -3: “The burden of the word of Yehovah to Israel by Malachi. “I have loved you,” says Yehovah. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says Yehovah. “Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated and laid waste his mountains and his heritage of the jackals of the wilderness.”
Brit Chadasha
- Rom. 9:6-16
- v 9 We know that the Mashiach has been raised from the dead, never to die again. This connects us to the “dew of heaven” and the concept of the resurrection. **recall resurrection is connected to the 3rdday of creation and the “pure” seed.
- Heb. 11:18; What is called your “seed” will be in Isaac. For he had concluded that Yehovah could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so receive him.
- 12:14-17 (speaking about Esau) For you know that afterward when he wanted to obtain his father’s blessing, he was rejected; indeed, even though he sought it with tears, his change of heart was to no avail.