Beresheeth / Genesis 25:19 – 28:9

By Matthew Moshe Nolan

Beresheeth/Genesis 25:19: Ve’eleh toldot Yitzchak ben-Avraham Avraham holid et-Yitzchak.

These are the descendants of Yitzchak son of Avraham.  Avraham was the father of Yitzchak.

²⁰ Yitzchak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of Betuel, the Arammi, of Padan Aram, sister of Lavan, the Arami, for a wife.  ²¹ Yitzchak prayed to YHWH on behalf of his wife, for she was barren.  YHWH granted his prayer and his wife, Rivkah, conceived.  ²² The children clashed inside her, and when this happened she said, “If this is so, why did I desire this?”  She [then] went to inquire of YHWH.  ²³ YHWH said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two Kingdoms will separate from within you.  One government will be mightier than the other, but the greater one will serve the smaller one.”  ²⁴ When her days of pregnancy were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.  ²⁵ The first one came out with a reddish complexion, covered completely with what was like a hairy robe, and they named him ‘Esav.  ²⁶ After that his brother came out, his hand grasping the heel of ‘Esav, and he [Yitzchak] named him Yaakov.  Yitzchak was sixty years old when she [Rivkah] gave birth to them.  ²⁷ The lads grew up.  Esav became a skilled trapper, a man of the field.  Yaakov was a man without fault, living in tents.  ²⁸ Yitzchak loved Esav because he ate of his trappings, but Rivkah loved Yaakov.

Overview:

• 25:19:  Two nations are in the womb; selling of the birthright at the funeral of Avraham
• Chapter 26:  The wells of Yitzchak and Abimilech (a shadow prophecy of the current Middle East situation with the Palestinians)
• Chapter 27:  The blessing of Yaakov, honor your mother, and the voice of YHWH
• 27:30b:  The tears of Esauv, wanting the gifts without the covenants

Beresheeth 25:7 – Avraham dies this sets the stage for our Torah parsha – to render honor to Avraham from afar.

Beresheeth 25:17 – Ishmael died – he fell as he lived:  in hostility about his brethren.

Beresheeth 25:19: And these are the generations of Yitzchak. [Eleh toldot Yitzchak – the Hebrew root of toldot is leidah which means birthing; toldot/generations are the result of leidah/birthing.  The Hebrew language infers “Eleh toldot Rivkah” – These are the birth stories of Rivkah.] Avraham’s son:  Avraham begat Yitzchak. [Yitzchak … Yitzchak = double status which means the rightful heirs will be both physical and spiritual.  The Jewish people are living as physical seed in the covenants of Torah but without the life-giving ruach found in Moshiach.  Yet many of our brethren may be living in the ruach-filled faith found in Moshiach but they are not living as physical seed in the covenants of Torah.  In Chapter 27, Yitzchak is blind in part just as Yaakov/all Israel has become blind in part today to either the Torah covenants or Ruach-filled faith in Yahushua.]  ²⁰ And Yitzchak was forty years old when he took Rivkah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethu-El the Aramean of Padan-Aram, the sister of Lavan the Aramean.  ²¹ And Yitzchak sought YHWH for his wife, because she was barren:  and YHWH was found by him, and Rivkah his wife conceived.  ²² And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it is so, why am I like this?  And she went to inquire of YHWH. [A rare example in Torah of an “oracle” as opposed to a prophecy.  An oracle is obscure and cryptic unlike the usual prophecy common to the Hebrews.  In Bamidbar/Numbers 12:8, YHWH said, He spoke plainly to Moshe Rabainu not in oracles/hidot.] ²³ And YHWH said to her, two nations are in your womb [two goyim/seeds/nation – the first ultrasound!  Bringing forth a nation or ministry takes a lot of struggle if you’re the seed and you have the calling.  If you’re not the seed and don’t have the calling, often times you’ll give birth with ease.  I must learn to inquire of YHWH with you in intercession and prayer.] and two kinds of peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. [The power of the future to transform our understanding of the past.  The word et, spelled aleph-tav, signaling the object of the verb is missing from the text.  Thus the phrase told to Rivkah, “The older shall serve the younger” could also mean “The younger shall serve the older.”  This ultimately will depend upon the presence or absence of the Aleph-Tav.  Israel’s military conquests are recorded in II Samuel 8:14:  David killed 18,000 Edomites and all that remained became servants.] ²⁴ And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, see, there were twins in her womb. [Twins, spelt Tav-Vav-Mem-Mem:  We’re missing an Aleph and the Yud.  What we’re missing tells a story!  Aleph pictographically is an ox, meaning strength, and is used to represent Elohim.  Aleph is the first letter of Elohim and the pictograph for the Yud is the hand, which represents work or the hand of man … meaning they have nothing in common in relation to their works for Elohim – and they’re not identical twins.] ²⁵ And the first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esav.  ²⁶ And after that came out his brother, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Yaakov.  And Yitzchak was sixty years old when Rivkah bore them. [The first is the natural man, the second is the spiritual.]

Qorintyah Aleph/First Corinthians 15:46: But the spiritual man was not first, but the natural man and afterwards the spiritual One.  ⁴⁷ The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Master YHWH from the shamayim.  ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, so also are those that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those that are heavenly.  ⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the earthy one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One.

Enmity between the seeds … protecting the head from being crushed, protecting the soft spot … protecting Israel.

Beresheeth/Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your zera and her Zera; He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

The seed of the serpent Eauv tries to reverse this prophecy by trying to crush the head of the seed of the woman who, in turn, grabs the heel to protect his head.  Also note sixty in Verse 26.  Sixty, six hundred, six thousand!  This represents Zion – when Zion is birthed in the earth’s six-thousandth year, the war between the two seeds will escalate and Yaakov will overcome when his name is changed to Israel just as Theodore Herzl realized with the dream of the birth of the State of Israel.

²⁷ And the boys grew:  And Esav was a skilled hunter, a man of the field, and Yaakov was a plain man, dwelling in tents. [A hunter of souls, a trapper, of men.  Yaakov was a plain/tam, perfect, complete and balanced, both physically and spiritually.  A man of the field/sadeh = tiller, cultivator like Qayin/Cain.  Dwelling in tents/ohel = wilderness tent or tabernacle.] ²⁸ And Yitzchak loved Esav, because he did eat of his venison; but Rivkah loved Yaakov. [Yitzchak loved Esav for carnal reasons, not because he was his son.  Rivkah loves Esav ,present tense.] ²⁹ And Yaakov cooked pottage; and Esav came from the field and he was faint. [“faint,” “walked to the point of death,” “halak muwth”; Halacha = walk:  his walk was killing him! ³⁰ And Esav said to Yaakov, Please feed me with that same red pottage, for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom. [Edom/red – red hairy beards and Islam  – feed me or “swallow with veracity, animal-like.  It appears only here in the whole TaNaKh to illustrate the depth of Esav’s savagery] ³¹ And Yaakov said, Sell me this day your bechora. [He wants to honor and be part of the covenants and to render honor to Avraham and needs the birthright.  The firstborn is supposed to officiate and lead in the honoring of the deceased family member as a Cohen and Esav cares not!  The carnal man is occupying his life with worldly pursuits and now wants to be fed.  Here the stew represents the fruit of the spiritual man’s life spent in the tents.  The carnal man cries “Feed me, teach me in ten verses or less!”  The spiritual man is always ready to forsake food and carnal pleasures for the opportunity to serve YHWH as the bachor/firstborn].  ³² And Esav said, See, I am at the point of death: so what profit shall this bechora be to me? (Careful!  The exaggeration of Esav:  “I’m starving” = an uncontrolled appetite.] ³³ And Yaakov said, Swear to me this day, and he swore to him and he sold his bechora to Yaakov.  ³⁴ Then Yaakov gave Esav lechem and a pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way; so Esav despised his bechora. [Many call Yaakov/Jacob a deceiver or a supplanter.  This comes from Medieval Christian anti-Semitism.  Scripture records that this is the testimony of the seed of the serpent, Esav and later Lavan!  Yaakov literally means “One who takes the heel”.]

Malachi 1:4: But cursed is the deceiver. [Yaakov was blessed not cursed!]

Beresheeth 30:43: Yaakov increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and female avadim, and male avadim, and camels, and donkeys.

Yitzchak and Avimalech and the Issue of the Wells

Avimalech says, “You have become too powerful for us”.  Later Pharaoh says “Behold the children of Israel have become greater in number and power than we are.”  With Avimalech we have the birth of what’s proven to be the most deadly trait of the human race:  anti-Semitism.  Three conditions are essential for anti-Semitism to exist.  The hated group must be:

• conspicuous
• successful
• a minority

All three conditions are present in the case of Yitzchak.  Anti-Semites must be able to hold together two beliefs that seem to contradict one another:  Jews are so powerful that they should be feared and, at the same time, so powerless that they can be attacked without fear.

For example, in Germany, German banks in Hitler’s time were judenrein.  In France under the Second Empire, Jews held most of the powerful positions.  Yet it was later under the Third Republic when few Jews held the powerful positions that French Jewry was persecuted.

Today in our time we find the same phenomena:  perceived powerlessness and ascribed power.  The media is globally hostile to Israel, the Jewish State, yet many will then turn around and say the media is controlled by the Jews.  Again Hollywood movies are generally pro-Palestinian, yet many will claim that the Jews control Hollywood.

Perceived powerlessness and ascribed power.  Wealth without power.