Vayechi 5769 – Him That Was Separate

jay c — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:38:16 +0000

Genesis 49:31
�there I buried Leah. Jacob’s concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, were not buried in this cave because they probably died sometime later in Egypt. The real question is why Rachel was not buried here. It was certainly not because Leah held a higher place in Jacob’s affections. I do not believe that it had anything to do with whom Jacob married first or who was a real wife and who was not. I suspect that the separate burial of Rachel was prophetic of the separation of the two houses of Israel and Judah. The latter has remained physically identifiable with the patriarchs while the former has been scattered and has forgotten their origins. The blessing of Joseph in verse 26 reinforces this idea in my mind: “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.”

Vayekhi 5768 – Jacob and the Children

jay c — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:35:13 +0000

Genesis 47:28 Jacob was 147 years old when he died, which means he was seventy-seven years old when he married Leah and Rachel. Jewish tradition says that they were twins, fourteen years old, when they first met Jacob and twenty-one years old when they married him. They were certainly younger than thirty. He must have been a pretty spry old man, that’s all I can say.

Jacob’s age at death	147
Years in Egypt	-17
Years of famine before he came to Egypt	-2
Years of plenty	-7
Joseph’s age when he stood before Pharaoh	-30
Years of marriage before Joseph’s birth	-14
Jacob’s age at marriage	77

Genesis 48:1-20 Reuben and Simeon had substantially failed their father. Jacob chose to pass over them and bestow the blessing of Abraham onto Joseph’s two sons, especially Ephraim. Their names were a prophecy of the future of the northern kingdom of Israel. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, because God caused him to forget his people. He named the second Ephraim, because God blessed him doubly in his exile in Egypt. After the Assyrians scattered the northern tribes, they forgot their identity. Some of them kept a few odd traditions of their ancestors, but they forgot that they were Israelites and were assimilated into the nations. While in exile, God has blessed them and multiplied them beyond the numbering of men. But God knows who they are and will call them back to Israel when the time is right.

Genesis 48:16 What angel can redeem anyone from all evil? On one level guardian angels protect us from harm, but no ordinary angel has the power to transfer Abraham’s blessing. Jacob had in mind another messenger, who would redeem all mankind from ultimate adversity.

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Soil from Stone » Parsha 12 – Vayechi

Vayechi 5769 – Him That Was Separate

Vayekhi 5768 – Jacob and the Children