Parashat Lekh L'kha

Proceed for yourself: Literally walk (away). Avram had come the first leg on his father's terms, but now he is called to act on his own and totally leave familiar territory. Your land: Originally Ur, his actual place of birth. Native people: the term actually includes everything into which he was born—natural family, as well as the culture and circumstances into which he was born. Yet he had already left Ur long ago. In doing so, his route had to take him through Bavel, the first ancestral home of everyone who descended from Noach. To get where he was going he had to revisit where he had come from, because he needed to leave Bavel. Whether or not he himself was an idolater, many of his traditions undoubtedly stemmed from Nimrod’s religion just because of where he was born. We, too, did not realize that many of our traditions, like crosses, steeples, Christmas trees, and a trinity were pagan ideas that started all the way back with Nimrod and came down to Christianity through Mithraism. So we, like Avram, have inherited the sin of trying to overthrow YHWH, and until we confess that our fathers have inherited lies and that we have perpetuated them, and kill off the idolatry latent within ourselves, we cannot say they are just a thing of the past. But now Charan has been his home for some time. His father had stopped short of his original goal and built a life here. A “father’s house” is a Hebrew idiom for the authority one is under, and his heritage had only been carried to a new location. Charan, bearing the same name as his deceased son, may have seemed enough like home to Terakh. But each new location meant different deities would be introduced to him. Charan was attached to the moon god Sin, which is the root of Islam, though most Muslims do not realize this. Charan means “crossroads”, and he could choose either of the two religions most prevalent today (which all acknowledge Avram as significant, yet neither brought him far enough.) Or he could remain like his father and refuse to choose—which is actually to choose the lukewarmness that Yahshua.found nauseating. So there had to be another stage of the journey. He had another land to leave behind. He had to be “born again” again, just like the moon, which goes through many renewals. He was called to go beyond where his father’s walk had taken him. Though we may have left behind “the world” and come to the Messiah under our parents’ influence (or that of pastors or other mentors), we cannot rely on them forever. Our fathers camped in “the place of the deceased Son”, but we must not remain there; the resurrection tells us to move on from there. There is still a land of promise to enter, as in the pattern repeated at the Exodus. The theme of leaving behind all one knows still continues: after many of Avram's descendants were mixed with the nations, the Kinsman Redeemer would send his envoys out to bring us back out of the nations. Each of the temporary "holding tanks" where we assemble in each location before returning all the way home is called an ekklesia, the Greek word for "called-out".(cf. Yirm./Jer. 16:9) The focus has to be on preparing to leave, not on becoming a part of where we are still located. If Avram had stayed behind in order to "be a light" to those around him who would now have no light, when he had YHWH’s command to move on, he would be compromising, and would prove he did not really believe the very message he was to bring to them. We have to be more defined by where we are going than where we came from.. We are Hebrews—descendants of the man who belongs to the other side. It is a place YHWH will show him—literally “make him see”, or perceive. “The other side” would come to be defined as the Land of Israel, and so it is for us today. It was not the Land itself that He wanted to show him, like a tourist. Though it was more beautiful to look at then, that was not the main thing YHWH had in mind. There is a palpable difference in the air when one goes there. It is a place to perceive the truth about YHWH. He is not limited to this Land, but He does consider it sacred, possibly because it was there that He first had a relationship with Adam. Avram could not find the fullness of YHWH’s presence until he left these other people and places behind.

Note the contrast already with Bavel, whose citizens tried to make their own name great. Avram's prospects for advancement seemed greatly weakened by his move away from all he knew, yet the whole theme of his new nation was "not by might, not by power [or the arm of the flesh], but by My Spirit, says YHWH." A great nation: based on Deut. 1:10-11, Rabbi Moshe Koniuchowsky calculates that Avram's descendants down through history would now total 4 to 5 billion! We can see the rest of Scripture as "a tale of two cities": Babylon and Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). Bavel (Babylonia), which, with Nimrod as its founder, has come to represent the antithesis of the new nation Avraham was being called to found. The spirit of Babylon has continued in one form or another throughout history, and is building toward its climax even today.

"Be grafted": or simply "bless themselves", but the former rendering is supported by such usage of this tense (Nif'al) in the Mishnah, and forms the basis for Sha'ul/Paul's discourse in Romans 11. So as to fulfill His promise to bless Shem, yet not to show favoritism to any of the 70 nations, YHWH took a man away from his own land and created a new culture, a counter-history that put men's plans to shame and was an exception to the rule that "under the sun, all is vanity". The one who despises you: perhaps any individual, but probably an allusion to haSatan (the adversary), whose malice toward Avram underlies everyone else's. The blessed ones, though, are plural, reminding us of a similar contrast in Exodus 34:7, where a curse remains for 3 or 4 generations, but a blessing lasts for thousands.

Having no son of his own, Avram may have adopted his orphaned nephew--much like the laws of levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5). Lot was not called by YHWH to go as Avram was; Avram had “left him behind” as far as he was concerned, but Lot apparently believed Avram had truly heard directions from a reliable source, and chose to go along. One is never too old to heed YHWH’s call. Avram did not use the excuse that he was already too set in his ways. As it turns out, he had not even reached “mid-life” yet when he walked away from his past.

It was now not his father’s house, but his own. Persons whom they had prepared: literally, “souls they had made”. None of these were his blood relatives; already people were being grafted into his family (v. 3). By eleven years later we see 318 trained men who have been “born in his household”. (14:14) This began well before he left Charan, and/or some of them were not born physically in his household, but were “born” into his sphere of authority by deciding to be dedicated to what Avram had taught them. Kanaan could only be taught through servanthood, so he has made servants part of his “family” to demonstrate to the Kanaanites what to be like. This was part of the promise that he would be made great. (24:35) When they entered: Unlike his father, Avram actually achieved what he set out to do. He was not distracted, but knew where he needed to go and went there.

The site of Sh’khem: The city was probably not there yet, as its namesake was contemporary with Avram’s great-grandsons. Avram’s father had actually set out to go to Kanaan. Why would a son of Shem want to go there? It could only be for one of two reasons: to gratify the flesh (the hallmark of Kanaan) or to fulfill his role as a son of Shem and teach the Kanaanites to serve YHWH instead. Avram seems to have this in mind, as the first place he goes in the Land is a place dedicated to teaching. He may have gone to see what was being taught by the Kanaanites, and thus confirmed that Shem’s teaching was indeed needed. (This tree may also have had some connection to Shem, the great teacher, himself, who would still be alive for two more generations. We later see him living about 30 miles away from here.) Today Elon Moreh is a “settlement” full of faithful Torah-keeprers completely surrounded by hostile Palestinians, the sole foothold preventing them from controlling the whole Tirtzah Valley from the Yarden to Sh'khem.

[Year 2000 from creation / 2000 BC]

7. Then YHWH appeared to Avram and said, "I will give this land to your seed." And he built an altar there to YHWH, who appeared to him.

Appeared: YHWH was no longer just a voice in the wind, speaking from a distance. He allowed Avram to perceive Him here, as He had said He would. (v. 1) He is now in the position to become not just the servant, but the friend of YHWH. (Yaaqov/James 2:23) This promise was later narrowed to specific descendants of his. Little by little, YHWH was indicating through whom the promised "Seed" of the woman would be born, for "seed" is a singular word. An altar: as a testimony to the promise that was made there. Later, as the Israelites would travel through the wilderness back to this land, they would build a base for the brazen altar of sacrifice at each stopping point, and these were left behind to mark the route back to the Land. There have always been spiritual milestones of this sort as well. Each of our forebears who had faith in YHWH has left us a legacy, and we need to be strengthened by them in our walk. Now as we move back toward the Land again, we are called to be the altars built of uncut stones, no longer shaped by men's doctrines, but held together by the mortar of love for one another.

He was in sight of Beyth-El, the "House of Elohim". Ay means "Twisted ruin" (see Yehoshua 8:3). East also means "ancient" in Hebrew, so in the context of tents (a symbol of religious study), we see him at the place of decision between the "water" of YHWH's word versus the ruins of his heritage at the tower of Bavel. Here where he could choose between the two, Avram learned to call on Elohim by the name of YHWH. There were more aspects of its meaning that He would show to Moshe (Ex. 6:3), but His Name was not unknown at this time. This would also be the perfect place to teach Kanaanites the two extremes of what they could become.

He retained a nomadic lifestyle even in the Land, so he could easily move when YHWh led him to. Negev: the desert which forms the southern portion of Israel today.

Sojourn: live as an outsider. "Went down": To this day in Hebrew, entering the Land of Israel by whatever means is referred to as "ascending". Conversely, to leave--even to a place of higher elevation--is to descend, because one is going to a place of lesser holiness. He also lowered himself to the standards of Egypt (see 13:4), reacting to them rather than living deliberately as the man he actually was becoming:

Beautiful: literally, shapely. Sarai was already over 65 years old!

This was not an imaginary fear; this was a common practice among pharaohs as described by contemporary papyri. This may be why David was chastised so heavily for doing the same; he was following the practice of Gentile kings.

This was not quite a lie, but only a half-truth (see 20:12). Having descended into the Land that pictures the church of today, he used a loophole and just did not mention the part about her being his wife also. He said, in essence, "I love you, but I do not want to die for you!" Those who stay in the church, already knowing they are intimately connected to the Torah, are tempted to compromise like this, though not forsaking her altogether. They feel they dare not appeal to YHWH's instruction lest they be "stoned" for following it too closely. Instead of declaring their commitment to it, they may just call it "wisdom", our "sister". (Prov. 7:4)

Household: that is, out of Avram's tent and into Pharaoh's harem. She was just one of many to him, and likewise the church has said the Torah is her property now, yet considers it only one of many options, not its one true love, which it is to Israel. Sarai means "my princess", and she was probably taken for a Babylonian princess, and Babylon was the only other major power in the world at that time, so of course Pharaoh would want to establish a military and economic treaty through marriage--a common practice among kings, as we see with Shlomo (Solomon).

The order of what was given to him may show the value that the Egyptians set on each. They worshipped sheep, which may be why they are placed before oxen. All of the animals here are redeemable except camels, yet they too were invaluable for travel in that region. In any case, he got what he needed; he gained more servants, thus building up his household and the new nation he was forming.

What the plagues may have been is suggested in a similar incident in 20:18.

19. "Why did you say, 'She is my sister', so that I was taking her to myself as a wife? Now then, here is your wife! Take her, and go!"

Was taking: or took--a common Hebrew term for the betrothal stage of marriage, but there was as yet no consummation. Avram did not explain his rationale here as he would in 20:12, when he was speaking to someone who had more understanding of YHWH—possibly one of the Kanaanites Avram had already influenced.

Pharaoh means “great house”, but Sarai already belonged to another house. Orders: probably to spare his life. This scenario is a picture of the Bride of the Messiah being held in a pagan household, because it is not realized that she belongs to a Hebrew. Though we have been enriched by the sojourn, once it is recognized who we are, it is clear that we do not belong in a place of exile, and together they will all return to the Land promised to both houses of Israel. Avram also opened a portent here for his descendants to later plunder Egypt, who would also go there because of a famine and then be driven out with great possessions. He thus foreshadowed many of the events in their lives.

CHAPTER 13

Negev: the desert region in the south of what is now the land of Israel. Since he was leaving Egypt for holier land, it was considered an ascent. All that was his: referring primarily to the servants he had acquired in order to teach.

Rich: literally, heavy. And indeed, riches often do prove to weigh us down. Yahshua would tell a man who thought he had been keeping all the commandments that if he was wealthy, he must not really be fulfilling the commands toward his fellow men, because too many around him were still poor. (Mat. 19:16-30) One cannot honor YHWH if he is not caring for his brothers when he is able. He also said those who (like Avram) left behind home, relatives, or lands for the sake of the Kingdom would receive great reward. He had to do some seemingly foolish things which would not look promising for his estate, but YHWH provided enough to support all those Avram had acquired, for he did not go to Egypt to get rich; the purpose of Shem going into Cham’s territory is to acquire servants to train, and he had done so, and thus his work there was done. The midrash says he was even willing to part with it in trying to guarantee the safety of his greatest treasure, his wife. He needed a lot of resources to support all who he was teaching and continue showing hospitality. But unlike those who are unwilling to leave behind a secure job in order to move into a community of like-minded Israelites, Avram did not try to stay close to the place provision had come from, but went back as soon as possible to the place YHWH had told him to go. He took only the wealth that was portable. This is a litmus test for whether our wealth is useful for the Kingdom or a hindrance to it. If you cannot take it with you and remain mobile enough to follow YHWH wherever He leads, your wealth owns you, not the other way around. YHWH calls His people His most special treasure (Deut. 7:6), and Avram had the same attitude. The silver and gold were not listed among what Pharaoh gave him as a bride-price for his “sister”, but were either part of how he was “treated well” for her sake (12:16) orhow Pharaoh “gave his men orders” when sending him away. (12:20) Part of the strategy to keep us dependent on earthly securities has been to take away our right to possess much silver or gold, so the search for security now inhibits our mobility. But Yahshua warns us against “laying up” treasures anywhere but in the Kingdom. (Mat. 6:19ff) What we treasure comes out in our words; we will be judged or vindicated by them. (Mat. 12:35) The safest position to be in is to have the Torah coming forth from our storehouses, evidencing that we are well-trained in it. (Mat. 13:52) To get to that point we need to meditate on it day and night. (Y’hoshua 1:8) To have the treasure of the Kingdom, we have to sell everything else we have. (Mat. 13:44) That is not just speaking about material things, but also leaving behind old priorities, old beliefs, and old intimacies—as Avram did. To be perfect, Yahshua says for the wealthy to sell what they have and give to the poor. (Mat. 19) He does not mean this in an abstract sense of anyone who is starving because he has wasted his resources on the worship of demons, but of the Israelites who are right around us and in need. We need to use what YHWH gives us to care for one another. The true treasures are the Kingdom, YHWH’s words, and the other members of our “flock”. Avram used his livestock to teach his servants how to be shepherds, but what he really treasured were the people that he used the gold and herds to take care of.

Sometimes one has to descend to a lower place before he can move higher. When we do come to a low place in our walk, we should not feel sorry for ourselves or complain, but search out what YHWH wants us to learn there so we can bring it back and bless our fellow Israelites with the treasures we have gathered. If you think it is only for yourself, you have wasted the experience.

Like his descendants who would return from the land of Egypt, and those later who would come back from an Egyptian lifestyle in all nations, he returned to his own spiritual roots. He wanted to be back where YHWH had met him the first time, for a cleansing breath so he could put Egypt behind him. We need to revisit the places He has intervened in our lives to regain the proper perspective on where we are now and remember that He has not left us.

Tents: again, an idiom for a place of teaching. Lot was a descendant of Shem, too, on whom it was incumbent to teach the Kanaanites to be servants. He, too, had his own tents, and this may be the root of what is discussed next. He was called “righteous”, but he had a different approach to presenting who YHWH is, which will come out more in the succeeding chapters, and this interfered with Avram’s. Thus far he had found it best to remain with Avram. But did he want to remain separate from the 318 men Avram was training, because he, too, was descended from Terakh? Did he not want to accept Avram’s authority as one YHWH had directly spoken to, because he would not then be able to teach the way he wanted to? Similarly, Christianity has some degree of righteousness, but does nfot want to accept Moshe’s authority. The events that followed would prove where the power really lay.

Together: or "in unity". They had too many possessions to continue to live in community. Why should a person serve something that he owns? Yet Lot was possessed by his possessions. He was in the company of a great man; why did he not sell some of them so they could remain together? What they allowed to cling to them drove them apart. Was it really worth that? The early believers in Yahshua seem to have kept this in mind and dealt with the problem that had haunted their forefathers by selling their possessions and having everything in common instead. (Acts 2:40ff; compare 2 Tim. 6:6-7)

Notice it is not the relatives themselves who are at odds, but their hireling shepherds. Avram's descendants are called “dust” (v. 16), and dust makes up a land. So it is really a picture of people who are being fought over by those who think Avram's descendants are only food for their sheep and not something holy in themselves. The ones they are trying to teach are being taught two different ways, and strife is inevitable. Peritzite means "dweller in unwalled villages". They seem to interrupt the flow of the narrative here, but they are actually mentioned in the right place. The Peritzites are also Kanaanites, and thus are servants of the flesh. Their presence was having some influence on Lot, and even if some of their advice about how to get along in the world was worthwhile, it was not what YHWH’s community needed. He, too, ended up serving his flesh:

Grown men: i.e., “Let’s not act like children about this!” Brothers: the term applies also to cousins or other relatives in Semitic languages. Tradition also does say that Sarai was Lot’s sister, which would make this true in a more direct sense.

Avram trusted YHWH’s promise that the land would be his. (12:7) Every decision has far-reaching ramifications. According to Jewish mystics, Avram's outstanding quality was his mercy/lovingkindness. It was against his nature to separate with the only one who remained who had been with him since the beginning, but to protect the rest of his students, he had to. If a disease is allowed to stay in the camp, all the sheep may die. But on the other hand, if it is a secondary issue causing the strife, should it really be given that much prominence?

Yarden River: At that time it probably flowed all the way to the Red Sea. It was a beautiful place, but Yarden means "descender"—which should have warned him that if he chose that direction, he would indeed end up in a “lower” place than where he was at this time.

For himself: this was where his downfall began. He chose to leave behind the Land of Kanaan proper, which was where YHWH had called Avram. He saw a different “mission field”:

As far as S’dom: or toward S'dom, possibly with the hint of beginning to lean toward its philosophy of life. This was another step downhill for him.

Lot would have been better off to have stayed with Avram. No possessions are worth separating brothers who are both righteous, but now he was going to lose both—and more.

Avram allowed Lot to choose this world's best, but he inherited something better. This part of the blessing could not alight on him until now, because even righteous Lot was withholding the blessings because deep in his heart was a different kind of teaching. Now that division has left the camp, everyone left there is “on the same page of the same story”. It is like Bavel again, but for a righteous purpose this time. But he would also inherit "the east"--the part Lot had chosen, for it too is visible from where he stood; Lot’s descendants would have to move further eastward. "Lift up your eyes" is a phrase often linked to prophecy, and indeed the promise has reached its full borders only in a token sense for a short time during the reign of Shlomo; a greater fulfillment still awaits us.

Elohim compensated for his selflessness with a far richer promise. But for the first time Avram had also completely fulfilled the commandment to leave his native people (12:1). Today, however, his descendants who live in the Land are not considering it valuable enough to hold onto it all.

Like the dust of the earth: of course the main parallel is with inability to count his descendants, and one of the reasons for this is that many of them do not realize that they are his descendants. But Adam was also created from the dust of the earth (the only reference to dust in the Scripture prior to this), and again "seed" is singular (though it can refer to all his descendants). Paul applied this concept to Yahshua in particular, and anyone who shares Avram's faith is considered his "seed" as well, since they become part of Messiah's "Body" even if not from Avram's physical line (Galatians 3:29), though most who have been reborn through history will probably prove to have been his descendants through the Northern Kingdom without realizing it. Yahshua is "like" Adam in being the one who began the reconstitution of the image of YHWH. So Avram's seed are used to bring the shattered Adam back together! Yahshua made a different sort of allusion to this analogy when he told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet of those who refused his message that the scattered nation of Israel was being put back together under one King. (Mat. 10:12ff) He said it would be more tolerable for S’dom in the day of judgement, so clearly he is thinking of Avram as he speaks. It is a testimony against them. (Mark 6:11) What he is saying is that such people have no true claim to being the seed of Avram, because their actions contradict what he was all about.

The Land had already been deeded to him, but YHWH told him to also go stake it out. "The Land" that is our inheritance includes all that belongs to Israel--holiness, purity, etc., and we need to claim these for ourselves. He foreshadows his descendants, who were told they would be given every place the sole sof their feet would tread. (Deut. 11:24; Y’hoshua 1:3) Like the Torah, He does not give it as such; He offers it to us. You possess only what you actually walk out. When you know where you are weak and lacking, start walking in that direction too, and strength will come. You will never get there if you do not begin, even if the fullness is years away. He gives us what we actually walk in, not what we simply hope for.

After looking over all the places where he could settle, he chooses Hevron, for it is physically the highest in elevation of all cities in Israel, and thus symbolizes taking the highest possible path. Note, though, that though he is very wealthy, he is still a tent-dweller, not tied down by his possessions, but ready to move if YHWH wanted him to. The city's name comes from "friendship", alliance, or unification in Hebrew. David's reign, which first united all of Israel into one nation, would begin here at Hevron. Avram staked the claim to it with the altar for this purpose, yet it is a city of strife today. Muslims prevent Jews from praying at the tomb of Avram, their common ancestor. Mamre was the Emorite who owned the site (14:13), and we later find him allied with Avram. Like David, he allied himself with whomever was YHWH’s provision for him at the moment, and even brought honor to them because of this, but did not become attached to them unless they were willing to learn from him to worship his Elohim. His name means fatness or strength. Olive oil is often associated with fatness in the sense of plenty; in the context of unity, the juxtaposition of trees, oil, and unification here suggest the symbolism of the two olive trees (Zech. 4) from Avraham's stock that are reunited into one nation again (Y'chezqel/Ezekiel 37) at the end of this age. Avram had not built an altar while he was in Egypt; Yeshayahu/Isa. 19 tells us an altar to YHWH will not be there until the Messianic Kingdom.

CHAPTER 14

Amrafel: "sayer of the darkness" or "fall of the sayer". Shin’ar: land of two rivers (Mesopotamia), the kingdom started by Nimrod. Ariokh: "Lion-like" (Sumerian, Eri-Aku). Ellasar: "El is chastener". Kedarlaomer: Kudur-Laghamaru, "servant of an Eylamite goddess". Eylam: east of Babylonia, between Assyria and Persia. Tidal: "Great son". Tidal: or Tud-khula. Nations: probably a particular alliance, but the word is Goyim, also used in particular of the sea peoples, certain of the Yafethites (10:5), or Gentiles in general.

Made war: In Hebrew, the root is related to the word for bread (or in general what is eaten), hence they intended to completely “devour” these former vassal city-states. Bera: "Son of evil". S’dom: "burning". Birsha: "Having wickedness". Ghamorah: "submersion" or "a pile of ruins". (Story in chapter 19.) Shin’av: "Splendor of the father", or "father is altered", king of "the ground" (a picture of Lucifer, who was cursed to crawl the ground after once having been the most splendid being). Shem’ever: "name of lofty flight", king of "gazelles"; and the king of "destruction". Bela: “swallower”—described in Aramaic as the city that would swallow itys inhabitants. Burning, submersion, and destruction were indeed the very way these cities would meet their end!

Joined: the same word from which the name Hevron stems. Siddim means "fields" or "plains". Salt Sea: also known as the Dead Sea. At that time, it was just the Yarden River valley, and the river still probably had an outlet to the Reed Sea. The story of how it changed to what it is today (and was by the time Moshe wrote this) will be seen in chapter 19.

Kedarlaomer was the most valiant of these kings, and hence the leader of the “unity government” they shared.(vv. 3, 5) In Hebrew, Kedarlaomer sounds like "handful of sheaves". An omer is the word for sheaf, as it is also the measurement of how much actual grain is yielded by one standard sheaf of wheat or barley. Each person’s allotment is to be one omer per person (Ex. 16:6), bolstered by the fact that a chomer, which is 100 omers, is valued at 50 sheqels (Lev. 27:16), and a half-sheqel is the price to redeem anyone counted by a census. (Ex. 30:12-16) Each is a half-sheqel, and must be supplemented by someone else in Israel to be a whole. YHWH has not shown us which other Israelite is our “other half”, so we must be united with the whole congregation to be complete. The truth is, one person may complete us in this instance (such as a spouse), whereas we need another type of partner in other sorts of ventures to fulfill our other roles properly. This king wanted more than he was assigned—a whole handful of sheaves. He was not satisfied with what YHWH had provided, but wanted to present himself as more valuable than others, and to define his own kingdom. Of course, this was only tolerable for so long. A principle of Hebrew prophecy is that “what has been is what will be.” (Eccles./Qoheleth 1:9) So one of the things we will again have to battle is those who set themselves up as overly important. But we will face it still more in our own selves. We must rebel against the concept of being whole in ourselves. The “Me generation” has been trained to put self first, and so we have to remind ourselves constantly that each of us is only a half-sheqel. Granted, some are spent more honorably than others, and none of Yahshua’s was wasted. Whether we are “dented’ or “shiny”, our goal is to be used completely for the Kingdom.

Refaim means "slackers" or "lazy ones", or possibly a type of giants; targum Onqelos calls them “mighty ones”. Ashteroth-Qarnayim: "stars of the two horns/peaks". Zuzim: "roving creatures" or “movers”; Ham: possibly a variation on Cham, "hot" or "sunburnt"; Eymim: "terrors" or “fearsome ones”. They occupied the area that would later be known as Moav. (Deut. 2:10-11)

Chorites: "cave dwellers"—so cavemen are a very recent phenomena, contrary to popular belief. They were not prehistoric; they are recorded right here in history. Paran also means "caverns" This demystifies the idea of "cavemen". They did not live millions of years ago, but contemporary with Avram. Mt. Seir, or "mountain of the shaggy goat", is where his grandson Esau would later settle.

Qadesh means "holy". There were several locations with this name. The Aramaic targums interpret this as Reqem, which Davies has tentatively identified with Petra. But Eyn-Mishpat means “spring of judgment”, and tradition identifies it with the Waters of Meribah, where Moshe and Aharon would be judged. But the more basic meaning of the word spring is “eye”, so the phrase can figuratively tell us that one way to holiness is to turn back to having an eye for judgment. Yahshua uses this Hebrew idiom that relates one’s eye to generosity or lack thereof. (Mat. 5:29) He warns of a right eye that causes one to sin. That is not the job of the right eye, but the left eye (conceptually the evil inclination). The right eye is designed to keep us out of sin by the exercise of judgment, and the left eye is to be subjected to it. People do not like to be juidged, but those who do not judge themselves must be. (1 Qorinthians 11:31) If we do not warn each when we are getting off the path of righteousness, we do not really love each other. Right judgment is seeing how our ways measure up to Torah, and every judgment in the Torah is carried out by men. It will indeed set us apart from many people, our old habits, and our previous actions and functions, as Avram was. This will lead to the destruction of the ways of the Amaleqites and the Emorites, which YHWH later designates as His enemies. Chatzatzon-Tamar: "place of cutting dates", another name for the oasis of Eyn-Gedi west of the Dead Sea (2 Chron. 20:2). Amaleq: "people of lapping"; Emorites: "talkers".

9. against Kedarlaomer, the king of Eylam, and Tidal king of the Nations, and Amrafel king of Shinar, and Ariokh king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

10. And the Valley of Siddim was full of [consisted of] asphalt pits, and the kings of S'dom and Ghamorah fled and fell into them, and those that remained fled to the hills.

The whole valley was called "Slime Pits", also translatable as "oil wells". (Oil has been discovered deep under a salt dome here.) Later, clods of bitumin did rise to the surface of the Dead Sea, known in Josephus' day as "Lake Asphaltitis, and the Nabateans grew wealthy by selling it as caulk for ships. Lightning storms would set it ablaze, earning this "Salt Sea" the nickname "the Lake of Fire". An earthquake later sealed off the seepage, but a quake when the Messiah returns to Jerusalem may open it back again, allowing Rev. 19:20 to come true literally.

12. And they took Lot, the son of Avram's brother, and his goods, and left; he had been living in S'dom as well.

It was common for those who lived in unprotected areas on the outskirts of the city to move into the walled city for refuge during wartime or a siege. Because of his possessions, he was living too close to avoid being drawn into what affected the city, and now his possessions were taken away as well.

A fugitive: Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says he was Og, the king of Bashan, who was with those kings and decided to tell Avram so that he, too, would be captured. By tradition he came on the eve of the day that would later be Passover, when Avram was preparing unleavened bread. This is the first time anyone is described as a Hebrew, which means "a descendant of Ever", the one whose name means “the one from the other side”. (10:24). Had made a treaty: literally "were masters of a covenant". He lived in what was then still their territory, by their consent. Their names mean "fatness/vigor", "cluster", and "boy". He had an alliance with them by mutual agreement for the benefit of both, but he was not united with them. He had a “deal” with them as one another’s “suppliers”, and treated them fairly, but he did not join himself to anyone else. Egypt had enriched him, but he did not become part of it. He had even sent Lot away, taking YHWH’s side even against his own relative—his last connection with his past--so he has a right to call himself a Hebrew. No matter who it is, other than YHWH, Avram is on the other side. He is only on YHWH’s side. Our alliances may come and go, but we must always keep ourselves in a position to remain on YHWH’s side, not making commitments to any of them that would stand in His way.

Relative: literally "brother". Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us "there is an appointed time for everything to be a delight to heaven", then goes on to say there is a time for war. Avram here shows us that the time when war is a delight to heaven is when our brothers are taken captive. Many of our brothers, though once taken from the evil kings of v. 2, are still enslaved by, among other things, the institutional church, which "frees the bound, then binds the free". Anyone, whether seemingly righteous or evil, who takes a Hebrew captive must be confronted by other Hebrews. (Num. 32:5ff) Avram would have ignored the wars of both sides if they had not involved his relative, for he was “on the other side”. He did not buy into any of their ambitions; he was separated unto YHWH, and lived his life according to what YHWH said, not what situations seemed to dictate. The “poor cavemen” (v. 6) were not his concern, unless YHWH had said they were. The fact that the people of S’dom were taken away had nothing to do with him. As his descendants would find out the hard way, it is presumptuous to go to war when it is not YHWH’s timing. (Deut. 1:40ff) But now someone farther on the other side has tyaken captive on who at least follows YHWH to some degree—one who had been part of the same camp. Now it was no longer permissible to stand idly by. But it was not his job alone to free his brother; he needed others to help him. Trained [men]: "instructed" or "dedicated", from the root word for "Hanukkah". Tradition says they were his disciples, who had joined him on his journey because they wanted to learn about his monotheistic faith. It is not time to go if we are not yet trained, for the sword one wields can take one’s own head off too. It is not time to go if one is fearful, for we will discourage our brothers. (Deut. 20:1ff) There is no glory if we stay back to learn to be better disciplined, but it is necessary. It is not time to go if we cannot get our mind off what is our own, for many other people will get hurt if we are so distracted. Fear and lack of commitment are contagious. Only those with a mind to fight and win should be in battle. Dan is about 100 miles due north of Sodom; Avraham was in Hevron, on the ridge west of S'dom. The added energy needed to chase these men so far may have existed because the speed of light was much faster at that time. (See note on 1:19) Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says his men did not want to go with him, so he selected one of them, Eliezer (who shows up in 15:2), who was as strong as them all. The reason for this tradition is that his name has the numeric value of 318 in Hebrew. His name means “Elohim is my help”, so conceptually, it was only Avram and Elohim who went out against them all. With 318 men and their families, there were probably close to 2,000 people in Avram's camp, and this would normally constitute an average-sized city. Yet Avram did not live behind a wall; he saw YHWH as sufficient refuge.

Divided: implies smoothness in apportioning something out. He knew who was best at which aspect of the battle. Each part is important in the job of setting others free, and if we are trying to do someone else’s job, things will not run smoothly. The trained men did not decided which part they would each do; Avram did. Left: "Orientation" means "facing east"; directions were reckoned this way in antiquity. Thus Ps.-Jonathan and Onqelos add "north" (it is 25 miles north); Josephus simply says "Hoba...belong[ed] to Damascus", possibly alluding to the meaning of "left hand" as representing despised servitude. Chobah is called Chelbon in Ychzql. 27:18 (Gen. Apoc.). Damaseq (or Damascus): the present-day capital of Syria.

17. Then the king of S'dom went out to meet him, after he returned from striking down Kedarlaomer and the kings which were with him, to the Shaweh Valley, that is, the one [now called] the King's Valley.

King of S'dom: again, his name meant "son of evil" and his city means "burning", so he is a picture of the Adversary, who tries to lay claim to the hero who passes through his area of jurisdiction. (See v. 21) He must have remained hidden in the tar pit he fell into until the attackers were gone (v. 10), then escaped, for he has not been carried away captive himself. Shaweh: "Equal", or by extension, "levelled".

Highest Elohim: Heb., El Elyon. The knowledge of YHWH had not yet totally disappeared from Kanaan; this spot was a priestly site from the very start (cf. notes on 2:8ff. Melchitzedeq: "My king does what is right", or "the righteous king", linked by many to Shem himself (targums Pseudo-Jon.; Neofiti). Having been born in "the former world"--before the Flood--and living 600 years old in an age when lifespans were much shorter, an elaborate complex of eschatological legends grew up around this mysterious personage, including the one that he had no beginning or end. (Heb. 5:6; 7:1-21) He was sometimes referred to as if an angel or divinely-appointed judge in the heavenly court (DSS; cf. Ps. 82), but this must be demystified. Shalem (which means peace or completeness) later formed part of the name "Jerusalem" (“teaching of peace”), and Psalm 76 verifies that this is where YHWH’s tabernacle was in David’s time. The first one called a “priest after the order of Melkhitzedeq” is not Yahshua, but Shlomo (Solomon), in Psalm 110. It is one of the titles conferred on a righteous king who reigns from Yerushalayim, and as such it applies to Yahshua. Shlomo had a priestly aspect to his kingship. He built the Temple and inaugurated the use of the altar by dedicating it. We later see Yoshiyahu rededicating it. (2 Kgs. 22:3) So this is the king’s prerogative. Three times a year he offered ascending offerings, peace offerings, and burned incense on the altar. (1 Kgs. 9:25) He blessed all of Israel in YHWH’s name (1 Kgs. 8:14ff; 2 Shm. 6:17-18) as the high priest also did. (Num. 6:22; 1 Chron. 23:13) The Torah tells us that a priest’s role is to provide judgment and justice. (Deut. 17:9-12; 21:5) David did the same. (2 Shmu’el 8:15) Yoshiyahu restored the worship of YHWH after a long period of paganism in Yehudah, and he tells the high priest how to spend money brought into the Temple treasury. (2 Kings 22) So the king had authority over the finances of the Temple (which explains Yahshua’s right to do what he did in Mark 11:15ff; 12:41-43). But this did not infringe in any way on the duties of the Levitical priests; Uzziyahu tried to do so, but was struck with leprosy for doing so when warned by the priests not to. (2 Chron. 26) The king acts in a priestly role only on special dedicatory occasions. We see evidence in Y’hezq’el (Ezekiel) 45-46 that this will again be done in the Messianic Kingdom. This helps us understand why the writer to the Hebrews emphasizes that Yahshua’s sacrifice was “once and for all”. Bread and wine are the things Yehudah has preserved as a celebratory feast. The one who went to war ate the bread (as the two words are related). We have to fight in order to partake of community, and the “one bread” that results from the correct “counting of the omer” can defeat the one who wants to be seens as a “handful of omers”.

El: a general term for a mighty one or judge, a shortened for of the term Elohim; owner: originator and possessor.

Tithe: ten percent, the portion later due the Levitical priests for their livelihood (Num. 18:21) and also tribute paid to a teacher. Tradition says that Shem and his grandson Ever set up a yeshiva (school) where knowledge of the one true Elohim was passed down, and that the patriarchs studied there in Yerushalayim under them. Shem did not die until Yaaqov/Jacob was 35 years old. "Levi" (while within his great-grandfather Avram) paid tithes to Melchitzedeq, thus acknowledging the precedence taken by the latter's order of priesthood (Hebrews 7:10), to which Yahshua (not a Levite) belonged. However, Avraham represents one of the ten characteristics that make up the "Adam Qadmon" (Ancient Adam), also called "the tree of life" and the "godhead" in mystical terms. Thus he is, in a sense, a tithe himself. By tradition, a line of firstborns constituted the priesthood from Noach until the Levitical system was set up under Moshe. Shem was apparently Noach's firstborn--and thus the one to inherit the priesthood before it was assigned to the Levitical line. Here the tithe was not strictly agricultural as it would always be after Moshe's time. Melkhitzedeq (Shem) was not a Hebrew himself in the same way that Avram was not an Israelite—they were the ancestors of the ones through whom their character was preserved. This king took no armies to this battle, but he has come out to celebrate a brother delivering a brother. He is thus recognizing that Avram, who now teaches in the “tents of Shem”, is representing him well, and in supportiveness of him, passes the priesthood of the family along to him. Some of the further covenants yet to be conferred on Avram could not come about until the “mantle of the firstborn” had been passed on to him. Avram in turn recognizes him as his teacher and his priest.

The soul: a particular person--the one Kefa/Peter calls "righteous Lot", whom the king may have known would be needed to preserve the wicked city from judgment. Alt: "give me the life" (i.e., the survivors). "The life of the flesh is in the blood", so the evil king could have been saying, "Just give me the wine, and keep the bread for yourself." Yahshua was given the same offer: "You can have all the kingdoms of the world if you simply bow down and worship me!" Yahshua knew the Father had already deeded those to Him in His inheritance, and Avram also took the attitude that YHWH had given him all He wanted him to have. HaSatan asks us only to make compromises at the soul level in exchange for a multitude of material things. It may be the choice between having a well-paying job and being able to keep the Sabbath. But Yahshua says to seek YHWH's Kingdom first, and the rest will then be ours as well. Having once been warned, Lot nonetheless chose to return to this city which was a vessel for destruction. YHWH had reserved this right to for Himself. He used Avram to take this privilege away from the other kings.

Raised my hand: in oath. He had to live by his word. YHWH is named directly, so there is no doubt as to whom the highest Elohim is.

He would not let a man take credit for what YHWH has brought about. He would not put himself in a position in which someone outside the camp was taking care of him. Thread means "cord" or "string", as one would expect, but its verb form means "to repair foundations" or "patch up". Thong is from a word for "twisted" or "entangled". A sandal is for walking. So in relation to these pagans whom he refused to credit for who he became, Avram refused to be "bound" to them or "entangled" in any of the ways they "walked", nor would he even allow them to "patch up" the pagan foundations of his life that YHWH had already overthrown. He knew this was not where true riches lay.

Anyone else, who measured things the way this king did, could have all they wanted. They were not against Avram, and thus were for him (cf. Mark 9:40), so he did not begrudge them any of this world's goods, nor did he force them to live up to his convictions. He was grateful and they received a just reward, but his own standard had to be higher. The only thing we, who from our fathers, like Avram's, have also inherited lies (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 16:9), should carry away from them is that which truly fed us--for YHWH has not left Himself without witness. The popular church does have some truth mixed in with error, and He brought us step by step by a path He chose for each of us. But once we learn enough to transfer our faith to its only real object, we have to reject any other source of inheritance in order to choose the "pearl of great price" (Luk. 14:26; Matt. 13:46). Though by leaving his family and prior commitments in Ur he must have seemed a "traitor", someone had to get out of the quicksand and onto firm footing in order that all nations could also be led into purer truth.

CHAPTER 15

1. After these words, the word of YHWH came to Avram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Avram; I am a shield to you; your reward [will be] very great."

These words: those in 14:22-24, in which Avram revealed where his heart really was. He had proven his fellowship was with Shem, not with S’dom. This is therefore when THE Word comes to him. Later “the shield of Avraham” would become a common title for YHWH among the Jews. He had just come back from battle, where a shield would have been heavily on his mind. YHWH was saying it could not protect him like He could. If Avram had been afraid, he would not have gone to war in the first place (Deut. 20:1ff), but he had just ascended a step and things looked more fearful from here. YHWH was telling him that indeed there was another type of battle coming down the road, and he was not to fear that either. Fear is a “YHWH repellant”; He does not want to come close to us when we indulge in it. Avram had just called Him the possessor of heaven and earth; He now wants him to trust Him as such. Your reward will be very great: Or, "I [Myself] am … your very great reward"—i.e., I am what you are really fighting for. I am what you will receivefor overcoming what oppresses you. This is a foreshadowing of YHWH Himself being the Levites' portion of the inheritance (Num. 18:20), especially since Avram too was landless. YHWH knew he might question his wisdom in not accepting the payment from the king of S’dom for having brought Lot back. But YHWH was saying His presence was wealth far beyond what any king could ever give him. Avram took the first step by committing to not receiving any wages but what YHWH wanted to give him, and YHWH counts this as having passed a test. He did not go to war for booty, but to rescue his brother.

What can you give me? He has just passed up another kind of wage, so he asks an honest question, not in a rebellious way, for he calls Him “Master” (for the first time). YHWH has just said He would be his wages; now he asks what He will be paying. He Stripped: Literally, "razed", a cultural idiom for childlessness (Neofiti). He had also just away his human prospects for wealth. Avram had to be very brave to leave behind everything he had known to travel to an unknown place with no guarantees, and to challenge very powerful kings. But there still remains in him a deep-seated fear—that his line would not continue. YHWH had also just said He would be Avram’s reward; he may have wondered if that meant he would not have a son after all. Granted, one’s name can be carried on in other ways. If we have no children, it does not mean that what we sow into the lives of others will be lost. We know who Heimlich was because of the technique of saving lives that he taught the world. Luther’s and Wesley’s names were carried on because of denominations built around their doctrines. There is no guarantee that our children will carry on what we started, as David knew well. Avram’s teaching had already ensured that his name would continue, because the following he had earned knew it was worth carrying on. But Avram was afraid this was the only way his name would survive, and this was not enough for a man whose name means “exalted father”. It had to be true in both senses. It was not enough to have students; he needed a true firstborn. A king’s son is made the next king because he is assumed to have in himself something of the former king’s ways, because he carries his DNA. By requiring its best and brightest to be celibate, the Catholic Church kills off its “fittest” lines, and thus guarantees its decline. Eliezer cannot be another Avram, because he has none of Avram actually in himself. Damaseq Eliezer: possibly something like “Pecos Bill”—someone well-known for something that took place in that city. The Aramaic targums say wonders had been worked by his hand at Damascus. This may have even been on their recent trip to that area (14:15). But it also is worded this way rather than “Eliezer of Damascus” because the city’s Hebrew name, Dameseq, is only one letter different from mesheq, the word for inheritance here.

"Son of my household": my servant. Aramaic targun Pseudo-Jonathan: the manager of my house. If one had no heir, he had to "take" a son.

5. And He brought him outside and said, "Please gaze at the sky and count the stars—if you can count them!" And He told him, "This is what your seed will be like!"

The primary idea is that his descendants would be innumerable. But again the term "seed" is singular (Gal. 3:16), and so a secondary interpretation concerns the Mazzaroth--the original, pure zodiac--"signs", cf. 1:14, which foretold the story of the promised Redeemer: "Enumerate the stars in order--this is what [Messiah] will be like!" (cf. Psalm 19:1ff: i.e., the promised Seed will fulfill this other form of prophecy as well). Avraham's descendants would also one day make up the "hosts [i.e., armies] of heaven." (Yehudah/Jude 14) This promise was fulfilled (Deut. 1:10) then rescinded because of Israel's unfaithfulness (28:62), but a reiteration of this promise is being fulfilled by those of all nations who are Avram's seed by faith (Gal. 3:7). With very little of the haze and “light pollution” that we have today, Avram would see many more stars than we usually can see with the unaided eye.

Believed: stood firm in his trust or confidence; based on the verb form of "amen", which means "established" or "trustworthy". He merited being written in the Book of the Righteous (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 20:12) because he trusted confidently in YHWH's promise, though it was impossible! This can apply to us too. (Gal. 3:9) The same affirmation is given to Pin’has (Ps. 106:31) because he acted on his belief: he intervened when even Moshe stood by, and held off a plague. But Romans 4:9ff points out that Avram was counted righteous before he was circumcised--before he had done any particularly religious acts, though he could not have gotten to where he was without trusting YHWH at each juncture. Now he believes his line will continue, but he still had to do his part in fathering a child. He must still walk in a way that proves he believes. (Yaaqov/James 2:20ff) If he had stopped here, none of this would have come about.

He is saying, “Think about who I am. Remember where I brought you from—and why. Consider what I have already done, and continue trusting in My promise. Remember who is in control, even when My ideas of how it needs to be accomplished are different from your own.”

This is an honest question, but it seems he is doubting self more than doubting YHWH. He is not being arrogant, but asking how someone like himself—childless and with no one to pass it on to--could be worthy of such a gift. The answer is always “You are not”, despite the merit he earned in verse 6. But we do not want the equation to include our own worthiness, even when we do faithfully walk in His ways. It is YHWH’s choice that counts, not how fit we appear to be. Avram is not looking for an excuse to let it drop, but just wanting to know how to keep walking in the right direction. If he keeps this up, he will receive what was promised.

This is a strange response. Cattle represent our security, for they not only can plow our fields, but also provide us with plentiful food and even clothe us. Then YHWH asks for the male and female form of the same type of animal, a picture of Avram and his wife and all their wealth. Thus this covenant requires us to turn over all of our security and the fertility that other nations became idolatrous to ensure. A three-year old heifer foreshadows the red heifer (slain when three years old) by the ashes of which the Temple priests would be sanctified (Num. 19:2). This is the oldest of aany animals YHWH ever asked anyone to offer Him. They are fattened and fully grown, so they are a picture of the fact that this covenant requires a greater degree of maturity than the ones that came before. The number three is heavily featured here, possibly because there are also three parties to this covenant—Avram, YHWH, and Avram’s seed.

A "covenant-cutting" included the exchange of weapons, robes, names (17:5), and blood (Mat. 26:28), and told a vassal, "This is what will be done to you if you break the treaty." (Compare Yirmeyahu 4:18-22) The kingdom of Israel was indeed cut in two when we did not keep our part of the covenant. They walked between the pieces in a figure 8, symbolizing the eternal nature of the covenant. Birds were the offering of those who could not afford anything better. They are not cut because trusting YHWH only in small things is not enough for this covenant. These birds were very young, and the immature cannot satisfy YHWH without further training in the Torah.

In the midst of the covenant-cutting, Avram is given another test. All birds of prey are unclean, picturing evil spirits that try to defile YHWH's work. (Rev. 18:2) The Aramaic targums identify them as the kingdoms of the earth who want to plunder Israel’s property. We have seen many unclean people (those motivated by selfishness) try to feed off the covenant to which they have no right, and thus misuse it. They make their living by creating new doctrines so people will think they can only enter the Kingdom through themselves. We get rid of these “vultures” by becoming Avram again—leaving behind these who falsely claim to represent his heritage, and truly identifying with him.

YHWH often puts people into this deep sleep (Heb., tardemah) to set the stage for great things He wants to do, as in Gen. 2:21; 1 Sh'muel 26:12; Yesh./Isa. 26:10, interpreted by Rom. 11; Yochanan/John 11:11ff; 1 Thess. 4:14.

Not that they'd be enslaved for the full 400 years; rather, his seed (those not yet born) would be without a land of their own for that long. Even while in the Land of Israel they would still be sojourners (e.g., ch. 26, Zlotowitz). They would actually be enslaved fewer than 83 years, because Aharon, 3 years older than Moshe, did not have to be protected as Moshe was, and Moshe returned at age 80 to deliver them. They were delivered from slavery 430 years later (to the day, Ex. 12:41; cf. Gal. 3:17; the Torah was given just 7 weeks later). It also foreshadows the exile of Avraham's spiritual children in the present age (Heb. 11:13; 1 Kefa 2:11). What sort of promise is this? Kanaan, not Shem, is supposed to be the one enslaved. But this bondage is part of His plan, so that we can see who is really in control. Part of the reason for the Sabbath is to recall this time of slavery, so we can again disengage from the idea that we are the ones in control. Entering this new covenant seems dark and scary. Much more is at stake than the responsibility we feel upon signing a mortgage. But again, He says in so many words, “Do not be afraid; it will be worth it if you hang on long enough”:

I will judge: Not just Egypt or Babylon/Assyria, but anyone who is served in any capacity by Israel, will have certain expectations placed upon them by YHWH.

16. "Then in the fourth generation, they shall come back here, because now the iniquity of the Emorites is not yet filled up."

Fourth generation: from the time they entered Egypt (Yaaqov's day); Moshe was Yaaqov's great-grandson, and in the generation of his own son, he led them out. (Exodus 6:14-20) Iniquity of the Emorites: When Elohim knows a nation's sins have reached the point of irreversibility, His grace period ends, and He sends another nation to judge them and take their place (Env. 17:26)—but not before. He is not yet justified in killin them off. The name Emorites comes from the word for "to speak". Filled up: shalem (complete), related to the word "shalom". Likewise, the Messiah, like the Flood, will come "when what is being said is fully perverted". With our actions and attitudes, we fill up our cups, and when the “last straw” makes them spill over the top, YHWH decides to deal with it, for better or for worse. We might have thought we were getting away with wrong, but now there will be a price to pay. Taking Avram’s descendants out of the Land allowed it to reach that state, so that YHWH could with complete justice dispossess them. There also had to be enough righteousness in His people to be able to take the Land without ourselves bringing defilement to it afresh.

The smoke shows that the oven is still being heated up; it has to get to over 600 degrees Fahrenheit. When this stage is finished, the fuel and fire are removed, and the heat the earth or brick oven retains is enough to bake bread. The torch is to light the fire and to provide light. The word for “torch” here is the same word used of the “lightning flashes” seen at Mt. Sinai when YHWH gave the Torah. (Ex. 20:18) Thus the responsibility of Avram’s seed in the covenant is to “bake bread” (form a community as per 1 Qorinthians 10:17) and to be a light to the nations. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 31:9 reveals that this will take place in Yerushalayim, from which righteousness and deliverance will go forth (62;1) as the Torah goes forth from it. (Mikha 4;2) The way Avram knew he would inherit this Land in particular was because here YHWH showed him Yerushalayim—and his descendants within it. The original Hebrew text does not have the vowel points or even spaces between words. Part of this verse, if the words are cut differently, reads,"Fire, fire an evil [thing] into Rabin, decrees the Eloah on that day." As soon as the sabbath on which this portion was read in synagogues all over the world in 1995/ 5756 was over, Israel's Prime Minister Rabin was shot twice by a man claiming Elohim had told him to do it!

River of Egypt: either the Nile (as per targum Ps.-Jon.) or Wadi El-Arish in N.E. Sinai. In That Day: The first occurrence of this oft-repeated phrase that, on the prophetic level, alludes to the Day of YHWH (Yoch./John 2:1). Israel had these borders for a short time under David and Shlomo, whose reigns of justice, peace, and wisdom foreshadow "That Day"--an idiom for the final "day" of the "world-week", the millennial Messianic Kingdom, when the promise will be fulfilled in entirety.

[smiths, hunters, and most ancient easterners]

[terrors, villagers, and invigorators]

[the sayers/talkers, the zealous low-lying merchants, dwellers on clay soil, and residents of the threshing place--a particular one, the site of the later Temple, because it was on a hilltop where the wind (or spirit) could carry away the chaff: 1 Chron. 21:15-28.] After they have fully passed away, the Land can be fully given to Avram’s descendants. He was fighting for this even as he left Ur, though he did not yet realize it. Receiving it requires being like Avram: being honest about our doubts, and not being satisfied to turn over only the small things to YHWH; maintaining the Land requires defending it by driving away the unclean.

CHAPTER 16

2. And Sarai said to Avram, "Look here, now, YHWH has kept me from bearing children; please go into my maidservant; maybe I can be built up from her." And Avram listened to Sarai's voice.

Built up: the Hebrew word for "son" is from a root word meaning "build". "House" in Hebrew can also mean "household", and a household is built up through children. Sarai attributed her barrenness to being frowned on by her Elohim, but she does not include Avram in this perceived curse. This was not a new idea that she came up with. Hammurabi’s code, which was in force in the area where Avram had grown up, said that if a woman was barren, she could give her female slave to her husband and any offspring she had would remain with her mistress. Adoption would not be necessary, because Sarai owned her, so any son she had would also belong to her. (Compare Exodus 21.) But if he was taken as her own child, he would not be a slave. Adherence to this accepted set of rules may be what Avram was being judged by until he had more direct revelation from YHWH. An ancient Nuzi contract said essentially the same thing. So this was an accepted norm in that day. It was seen as right and natural, and in other cases it was permitted. (30:3-10) It appeared to be a step toward something they knew was YHWH’s will, but in this case it was not what YHWH really intended. There would be severe consequences (to our very own day) because it was not done the right way. The whole Middle East conflict is rooted in this one bad choice. What YHWH allows is not always what He intends. Listened to: Includes the idea of accepting what she said. When Adam had listened to his wife’s voice (saying essentially the same thing—“take the fruit, and you will continue”), thorns, thistles, and death resulted. On a later occasion YHWH would tell Avram that his wife was right (21:12), but this time it was just her human logic.

As his wife: Her job was to “be Sarai” as her representative, but she was not to have the same relationship to Avram as his true wife had. Ten years after the promise, they wondered if they had understood it correctly, and the weight of the “exalted father” still having no children was heavy upon her; she may have thought, "Elohim promised you children, but not necessarily through me!" (Sforno) Ten barren years was seen as a sign of permanent unfruitfulness, and considered grounds for divorce. Since she could not seem to give him children, she thinks she is doing YHWH’s will, but this would get in the way of her own fruitfulness. She is actually trying to create YHWH’s will in her own strength. In Scripture, what is Egyptian often symbolizes paganism--the earthly, natural way of thinking. It is also a codename throughout Scripture for the False Messiah, the counterfeit heir (Lev. 24:10; Ps. 87:4). The son of promise is not meant to come from the line of Cham, but only through Shem’s descendants. Now “the one who needs to be taught” is bringing confusion to the line that is to teach. Paulus calls this son “the one born after the flesh” as opposed to the son of promise. (Galatians 4:23) He would only be Sarai’s son in a figurative sense, and was therefore in some sense a lie. They “cheated” a little, finding a “loophole” by which they could still claim to have a son, but they had given up on waiting for YHWH’s timing, and chose what was definitely only second-best. Doing YHWH’s will in His way creates blessing not just in the immediate situation, but has much farther-reaching results. It is our privilege and responsibility to do YHWH’s will, but we do not have the right to define how it should be accomplished. Yifthakh tried to do this, with heartbreaking results. (Judges 11) Nor may we impose our timing on Him. They thought they had waited long enough—a very common problem in our day. But YHWH will fulfill His promises when it is most profitable, not necessarily when we think we need them. (Yeshayahu 55:8-11) The son of this union would be out of season. It was not time for Sarai to have a son. We are responsible not only to get to where He wants us, but get there His way. His ways are not the ones we would naturally walk in if we did things on our own terms, but the way that seems right ends in death. (Prov. 16:25) We may be able to arrive at YHWH’s will by our own path, but it will be with much less blessing, profit, or understanding. Christianity’s path to loving our neighbors as ourselves is morality; YHWH’s higher path is the Torah. The former bogs us down in doing what those around us expect, so that we never get to the specifics of what He has asked for. If a sheep was prone to wander from the shepherd, he would often break its leg, then carry it on his shoulders until it healed, so it would become accustomed to staying very close to the shepherd. We get a much better view from His higher path, and if we take the low road, the whole community of Israel will suffer for it. His path to the feast of Sukkoth includes the day of trumpetings and the fast of Yom Kippur; if we try to go around these and yet arrive at Sukkoth, it is as if we were trespassing.

Lightly esteemed: literally, she grew lighter (while Hagar grew heavier with child, and “heavier” is a Hebrew idiom for “more important”. She realized that she conceived: literally, she saw (or perceived) because she had conceived. As in English, the term “conceived” can also refer to coming up with an idea in one’s mind. Because Hagar was no longer serving Sarai day and night (since she was serving Avram by night), the thought occurred to her that she could now take the place of her mistress. As paranoid people perceive things that are not actually the case because they have an obsession, Hagar now saw an open door to act on this delusion of grandeur. It may be that Avram, who was known for his kindness, was too easy on her, making her feel too much like a soulmate, though she had only been given to him for the purpose of procreation. In any case, just as a child that is conceived needs to grow before being birthed, we have to pause and examine our “concepts” and ask whether they are thoughts that should be aborted or thoughts that she be allowed out into the world. Will the kingdom profit from our saying what is on our mind? Will our immediate community be helped or hurt by our words? What we allow to keep growing is the fruit we will bear. This is where Paulus got the idea of “taking every thought into captivity.” (2 Qorinthians 10:5) In the text here, the conception and realization are separated by the two-letter word “ki”. It has the numeric value of 30. The single Hebrew letter that has the same numeric value is lamed, whose name is from the root word meaning “learn”. This tells us that the more we learn YHWH’s instruction (Torah), the more capable we will be of judging our thoughts. Hagar was not learned, and therefore she let her mind convince her that Sarai was not as powerful as she really was. The Hebrew word for “mistress” is g’vereth, which usually indicates royalty or nobility. Rashi’s midrash on this text says Pharaoh had given Hagar (his daughter) to Sarai because he knew she would be better-taught than she would be even in his household! (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan bases this idea on 12:16-20.)

Targum Onqelos: "I have cause for legal complaint against you.” I.e., “She no longer takes me seriously as mistress. She thinks this is her child, when it is legally mine! This is your fault!" The responsibility was with Avram, who, like Adam, could have vetoed his wife's wish. The root of Sarai's name means "dominance", but this is not what was taking place anymore. Apparently Avram had taken his dominant traits of hospitality, lovingkindness, and mercy too far, and Hagar was thinking of herself as more than a slave. She saw herself as “somebody” now. Her descendants have the same attitude. Rather than enjoying the rights they could have as citizens of the awesome nation of Israel, the Palestinians are trying to take dominion and think of themselves as rightful rulers, when they are only guests permitted to stay in the Land if they follow Israel’s rules. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “injustice” here is hamas. But Egypt is also often a metaphor for the church, and it holds true here, since, as Paulus outlines in Rom. 11:17-23, Gentiles were grafted into Avram's family in order to build up his house and bear him more children, but since Constantine granted them a "separate legitimacy", they have tended to exalt their ways over the pure Israelite lifestyle, calling it inferior. Christians think they have replaced Israel, because they are not learned about who they really are. They can only twist Scripture like this because they stopped learning it too soon. Ifthey had even paid attention to the “New Testament” (Romans 11:13ff), they would know that this could never be the case. We are not meant to just be a “spiritual Israel”, but Israel in spirit and in truth. The "child" they have born--"Jesus"--is not the legitimate heir; the true Yahshua, seen in his proper context and role, is.

In this case, Sarai would have done better to emulate some of Avram's traits. King Shlomo's son, Rehavam, would later run the Northern tribes off with similar behavior. Note that a woman could own female slaves that we not technically the property of her husband. Because of this rift between them, Sarai apparently released her claim to Hagar’s son. Hammurabi’s code also stipulated that a slave girl taken as a surrogate mother could not be sold or driven out because she has been humiliated (and the Torah has similar rulings in Deut. 21:14; 22:29). Therefore Sarai probably beat her to the point where she would want to leave of her own volition.

Shur (also called Haluza and Khagra in the Aramaic targums): a region of Egypt between the Delta and Sinai. Apparently she was fleeing back to Egypt, where she still felt at home Tradition says she was a daughter of Pharaoh, whom he gave Sarai as a handmaid (Ps.-Jon.; note on 12:20.) The church, likewise, felt that the Torah represents a "cruel taskmistress", and has tried to go back to the "more user-friendly" customs of Rome and Babylon.

The name Hagar actually means “flighty”, and is related to the well-known Arabic hejira, referring to Muhammad’s flight from Mecca. She knows where she came from, but not where she is going, so she cannot answer the second question. She only knows she is trying to protect her child. Targum Neofiti adds, “And when will you find a household like the household of Avram your master?” The Hebrew word for "maidservant" is from the same root word as "family", indicating that she is meant to uphold the family of her owner in all her actions. But in YHWH's eyes, she is not “Avram’s wife”; Sarai still has authority over her, so she has no right to run away. Likewise, all whom He counts true believers are under the rules of Avram's household, whether they want to admit it or not.

YHWH did judge in favor of Sarai (as she requested in v. 5).

Because of the tangled web Avram wove, being a seed of Avram, part of this promise to Avram had to apply to Yishma’el as well.

This blessing was her compensation for having to go back into slavery. Yishmael means "Elohim will hear" or "El will pay attention".

Wild ass of a man: or "an undomesticated Adam", as all of us have been to some degree--still human, bearing some of YHWH's image, but not the refined, submitted persons we were meant to be; Targum Onqelos has “a rebel among mankind”. This is probably the main reason Hagar was told to return to Sarai for a while, for before he was turned loose in the world, this wild man had to have a certain amount of Avram’s influence in order to bring some honor to his father. Yet they may be the only ancient people other than the tribe of Yehudah who have maintained a clearly separate identity for 4,000 years. And wild donkeys are not loners; they run in herds, and so this may also be a prophecy that he will be a tribal people. His descendants still are; most Arabs know their tribal heritage well. Wherever they go, they cause controversy, but they are very community-oriented. In the presence of: or, "amid opposition from". Many of Yishmael's descendants, the Arabs, have indeed been warlike, yet they are forced to live today again with the presence of Israel (or, better, "in its face", as the word literally means), though the return of the legitimate heir gives the lie to Islam's claims of superceding Judaism. The reason Israel, whose Land was a backwater of the Muslim world until the Jews began returning, is such a rock of offense to the Arabs is that the Qur'an says that any land once owned by Muslims can never be ceded to any other, and must forcefully be taken back. However, Israel has the prior claim, and the most hotly disputed places--Avraham's and Yoseyf's tombs and the Temple Mount, were actually purchased, so there would be no question whose they were. As Chavvah was "set against" Adam, so the Ishmaelites have a special purpose. They have actually done better than most at maintaining Avram’s cultural lifestyle, as well as in living righteously according to Torah, except for their carrying on of the moon-god’s religion (though most do not realize they are doing so) and their vicious, unwarranted jealousy of Israel. Their extremism has often countered the Christian tendency to move toward polytheism, and though their shrine is an abomination to YHWH, they were counted worthier of protecting the site of the Holy of Holies from being trampled and profaned; Christians had begun selling pieces of the rock on which the Ark of the Covenant sat at ten times their weight in gold.

Who sees me: Or, "has been revealed to me" (Targums Pseudo-Jonathan; Neofiti; Onqelos). Looked after: Neofiti, has been revealed to me after He was revealed to my mistress Sarai.

Some Aramaic versions have, the well at which the Living and Enduring One was revealed. Qadesh and Bered were fortifications on the border of Egypt; Radak says Bered may be the same as Shur. Qadesh means "holy"; Bered shares the same root with a word meaning "mottled" or "speckled", a picture of those "on the border of Egypt" who try to stay on the fence between pure obedience to YHWH's Torah and a mingling of Hebraic and pagan ways.

Hagar was told to name him Yishmael, but Avram actually ended up having the privilege of doing so. She must certainly have recounted the story to him.

In summary, the child was not illegitimate, but he was the fruit of the "flesh" instead of the promised miracle child (Gal. 4:29-31)--a warning to any of us who might try to carry out a vision YHWH gives us but in our own natural power and timing, not His. This is especially meaningful as we recognize that He wants to bring the two houses of Israel back together. We will suffer later for any compromises we make in order to get it done more expeditiously.

CHAPTER 17

99 years old: here, literally, "a son of 90 year and 9 years”. The rabbis say this means he had the the faith and trust of a 9-year-old but the maturity of a 90-year-old. “Son of” is the Hebrew way to describe one’s age—even after his parents have died. “Son” in Hebrew comes from a word meaning “to build”. Avram has been built by all these years; they have not been wasted. He has profited from all his experiences. Every year he has moved forward and closer to YHWH. El Shaddai: YHWH is presenting another side of who He is. It is often translated "Almighty", but it seems to be related to shad (breast), i.e., Elohim's nurturing side. The Torah is often likened to milk. Here, the context has been Sarai’s lack of fertility. Disproportionately large or numerous breasts on ancient idols signified fertility goddesses. Archaeologists have found images of Ashtoreth or Astarte, from whom we derive the name Easter, having 39 multicolored egg-shaped breasts, which is where the idea of “Easter eggs” came from. If the fertilifty of the ground increased, flocks and herds would also increase, so one would need more hands to care for them and tend the crops. Therefore people prayed to be fertile. YHWH is saying, “Look to Me for this as well, rather than anywhere else. What you are seeking will not be found among the Egyptians or the seed of Hagar. Trust Me to be all that you need. I will increase you as and when you need to be increased, though it may not be the way you expect.” Dai means “enough”, so “Shad dai” would mean “the one whose provision is sufficient”. But the root word of shad can also mean“to devastate”, and depending on our response to Him, He will be either nurturing or destructive. Before Me: or in My presence; literally, “in front of My face”, which is where a child must be to be nursed. As Esther let herself be seen by the king, we need to prepare well for our approach to Him. As Yaaqov (James) says, “Draw near to YHWH, and He will draw near to you.” Become blameless: complete, perfect, or entire, a process that can only result from walking in His presence. We tend to be incomplete in our response to Him, because we do not trust Him to be our adequacy. The Sabbath makes us pause, disconnect from the rest of the world, and wait in a place where we can hear what He is saying each week so we will experience the rapidly-passing years and respond to Him more fully.

My covenant: possibly the particular agreement that He first made with Chavvah--to bring about a deliverer from the curse through her seed--and now his. Between Myself and you: literally, “in my midst and your midst”, or “in the dividing of Myself and you”. Avram had seen Him walk between the halves of the animals he divided. The provision comes with the condition of verse 1. He must stay where he can receive it. A covenant is a two-way legal document; Avram had to uphold his side by staying where he could hear from YHWH. Though he was told to walk, he heard what YHWH was actually saying and lay down, because he knew he was already in a place where he could hear from YHWH, so he was not going anywhere else!

Fell on his face: thus in a sense he had no face left, removing His presence (i.e., self life) so that YHWH’s could be better manifested. When his descendants take the same position before YHWH, the two halves of what was divided as a result of Israel’s failure to keep the covenant (the Kingdom) will be able to come back together. Spoke…saying: Now He is no longer just “saying” something to him, but is conversing with him as his friend. (Yaaqov/James 2:23)

This is an ancient legal formula for stating one’s own part of the covenant.

Avraham: "Father of Many" vs. "Exalted Father" (a name which must have seemed odd for a childless man). Lengthening a name meant an increase in honor. The name change indicated a new direction. One’s name is not just a title, but reflects all one is known by. A name change was taken very seriously, for it would indicate a change in essence. When a king ascended to the throne, he was often given a new name. YHWH is elevating him. Many from Efrayim who are now returning to Torah change their names, especially if those they had were non-Hebraic ones or even pagan-based. Yishma’el was Avram’s child; those who were to come after him would be Avraham’s children. Nations: or Gentiles, as indeed Gentiles would descend from him (cf. 48:4, 19), not just Israel, though it is the chief focus, for most of the covenants made with him were passed only to it, but people from all nations could be grafted into his root and counted his children if they have the same faith he had. (Rom. 11; Gal. 3:29)

7. "And I will establish my covenant between Myself and you, and your descendants after you, to all their generations as a perpetual covenant, to be an Elohim to you and to your descendants after you.

I will: If it is not He who is motivating it, then it is not really taking place, even if it seems so on the surface. Perpetual: i.e., forever. It is foolish to think it could be nullified if He said this. As long as we will walk in it, it will not pass away; He will do exactly what He said He would. Be an Elohim: all that comes with His being mighty in our lives. This is the most awesome part of the promise.

And your descendants: The promise must already be seen communally; it is not just for Avraham alone. And it is tied to a particular Land. YHWH has worked in many places, but this one is the aple of His eye. He has not forsaken this and made a “new Israel” somewhere else. His descendants are scattered, but that place is our home. If we want the Land back, we must walk in this covenant to get there. Possession: from the root, “to seize”, thus, a “a constant seizing” rather than a fringe benefit. He will underwrite it and make sure the result is favorable, but we have to act. Also, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance”; many enemies wish to take away our prize. But the “land” can also represent all the aspects of our lives that need to be brought under His control. Like a company buyout, we are now working for a different master. As the citizens of Babylon awoke one morning under Medo-Persian control without there having been a battle, and thus had to be educated to the fact that they were now citizens of a different empire though still in the same place, we too have been “bought with a price”, but need to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah.” (2 Qorinthians 10:5)

"Keep" in Heb. can also mean "observe" or "watch over", so His descendants were given the responsibility of guarding the purity of His revelation so it would be available to the rest of the world. This is our part--the doorway that is up to us to safeguard. This is what will enable us to stay where we can hear His voice, because it will keep us set apart; no one else will consider us one of them if we do so. Now he becomes very specific:

Part of the “guarding” is to provide this reminder. Male in Hebrew literally means "remembered" or "marked", both terms used for the people that YHWH would preserve during times of judgment. ("Depart from me; I never knew you" is what the Judge says to those who are not "remembered", and a mark is a special seal of safe-keeping, as in Rev. 7:3ff). This of course applies to both men and women, forming a basis for the teaching that true circumcision is of the heart, and everyone in this category is an Israelite in the truest sense (Deut. 30:6; Romans 2:29).

Foreskin: “that which hangs over”, or “excess”, referring not only to the genitals but to the “fat” that grows over the figurative “heart”. (Yirmiyahu 4:4) This does not mean, as skeptics have said, that YHWH must have made man imperfect. It is not reallya removal but an addition; He finished His part of the work on the seventh day, but left a piece of the process for us to finish on the next day:

The eighth day synchronizes perfectly with the immune system: vitamin K and blood clotting mechanisms are at their peak levels. Circumcision has proven to be a tremendous hygienic measure, preventing disease in both men (which came to light in World War I trenches where no one could bathe, but Jews did not get the diseases uncircumcised men did, cf. Ex. 15:26) and their wives (through bacteria that thrive in the foreskin; cervical cancer has proven rare in women with circumcised husbands). But if done only for health reasons, it is not done unto YHWH. In contrast to the first day that begins a new cycle in the Sabbatical rhythm, the eighth day represents the sealing and eternal continuation of what was completed in the first seven days. Avraham's lineage represented this for the whole world. The final day of the feast of Sukkoth, like the Sabbath, pictures the "glorious rest" of Messiah's Kingdom; the eighth day looks forward to the "new heaven and new earth" that follow the seventh Millennium (2 Kefa 3:8ff; Rev. 20-22). A graphic reminder of this wonderful time is built right into one's own body! Performing this on the eighth day also ensures that the child has experienced one Sabbath before it is done. (Anciently this was often the time one was named as well.) Circumcision also sanctifies one's sexuality unto YHWH, keeping it within the most fruitful channels. By removing useless flesh from the place of our fruitfulness, we show that we refuse to let the flesh (self-life) dictate our actions to the point of disobedience to YHWH. And that it is done in infancy shows that the covenant is to be lifelong. It is not up to the child to choose; it is the parent’s responsibility to uphold it. If not cared for early on, the flesh can grow back. This pictures the fact that we must carefully tend to the commitment to YHWH that we instill in our sons until they are fully grown. Silver is often symbolic of blood. Thus "bought with blood" is in view here on a deeper level. The hearts of not only those natural-born Israelites, but also any redeemed from among the Gentiles by their Kinsman-Redeemer from Yehudah, are to be circumcised. Actually, thus far, none of those "born in his house" were his literal sons.

It is performed in the genitals to remind one of YHWH's promise to all generations and the abuses He forbids; thus procreation also becomes a holy act. The servants, too, cannot be sightseers; they cannot serve any other deity while in an Israelite house.

Cut off: partly a pun on circumcision. It is not likely that one would be executed for this, but he could not remain a part of Israel. Most specifically, he cannot eat the Passover in this state. (Ex. 12:48) One cannot be part of the household if he is not fully committed. Broken: or invalidated. Circumcision (which is ultimately spiritual--cutting away the encrustation of the stony heart, Romans 2:28-29) is only represented in token form by the physical act of removing this flesh as a reminder of who one is. It does nothing for one who has it done physically but does not let his heart be laid bare and enter into the meaning behind the symbol. (Y’chezq’el 36:26ff) No matter how obedient you are outwardly, if you hate your brother and devour each other like pigs, you are not really clean or acceptable to YHWH. It does not matter what Paul said; this is the covenant. No one may loosen it. Actually, Paul’s only point in downplaying circumcision was that if not accompanied by the right attitudes, the sign can be false advertising. Yahshua himself said nothing against it, so how can anyone say he did away with it? It is not just a spiritual matter, though we must see the picture in it: the flesh is not to inhibit our fruitfulness. But we must also have the physical sign on ourselves, or it is like a betrothed woman refusing to wear the ring her husband-to-be has given her. How much worse were those in the days of the Maccabees who actually had surgery to remove the circumcision so they would not be embarrassed to compete in Greek athletics. If it was not important, Antiochus IV would not have outlawed it. Circumcision also reminds us that we need to expect pain in our walk with YHWH, and that if our self-life is not being exposed for what it really is, we are on the wrong trail. This cannot be done alone; we need community, and that is the context here. Laying our hearts bare must be done among those we trust to keep it beating and not kill us; this is the only place it can be done safely.

A name change indicated a change in identity. In this particular case, a rebalancing, in which Sarai's attitude (16:6) was made more submissive and she could function as truly female, was accomplished when YHWH “made change” by taking an "i" (yodh) from Sarah's name, with its numeric value of 10, and placed an "h" (hey, numeric value 5) in each of their names. The fullness was always there, but had to be properly distributed. She was royalty and knew it. He took some of her dominance and gave it to Avram. Yodh, in the original pictographic Hebrew alphabet, was a symbol for “hand” (yad). When Sarai set her hand to solve the problem of having no son, we got Yishmael. So her “hand” was removed. This change of names changed the whole course of history. Sarai means “my princess”, which suggests being catered to and spoiled. Sarah simply means “princess” or “chief woman”—one who takes care of others and has great responsibility—a matriarch to many peoples, not just “mine”. The change is subtle but important. It is not about her but about her people. By turning Avram into the father of many and Sarai into the chief woman, YHWH in a sense reversed the curse and started creation over again. Chawwah had been told her husband would rule over her, and at that point her fertility was also discussed. (3:16) For YHWH’s will to come forth, Sarai can no longer be the dominant one. They have been the ones chosen to fix what Adam and Chawwah broke. While Avram and Sarai may have been unable to conceive, they were "no longer these people", but each had a new identity which could conceive.

Through her: emphasizing that Hagar will not fulfill the covenant. When Sarai’s dominance is removed from the household, everyone in it is blessed. This is to be the pattern for every Israelite household.

YHWH is eternal, so our age limits mean nothing to Him. So Avram must eradicate the concept from his mind that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. And how many of us is that old? So how much more should we be willing to change our ways when necessary? From his past responses, Avram seems to have understood this, but still he must have harbored some underlyings doubts.

Avraham started acting in the flesh—as Avram again. In his mind he already has a son, and wants to keep his family together. His loophole is that Yishma’el is legally Sarah’s son. But such interpretations make us miss YHWH’s perfect will. Whenever a Hebrew becomes too comfortable in his security, YHWH uproots him again to keep his focus right. If He listens to our compromises, it is only to teach us that our own way is wrong. Who wants half-best? Yahshua said He had come to divide families if they did not all follow YHWH. (Mat. 10:34ff) Avram’s new son would also show favor to the son who was less spiritual (25:27, 28), and the Israeli prime ministers are also saying the same about the Palestinians who live among them, when in fact there is another people to whom a promise has been made; the Land belongs not to these literal children of Avraham's flesh (which v. 11 tells him to cut off, or cast away), but to the children of the Promise--the tribes that have not yet joined Yehudah there. (See Romans 9:8; Galatians 4:23ff). In this sense the usurpers are the children of both Yishmael and Esau (Edom)--and literally, too, since Esau married a Yishmaelite. Their end (as defeated by Yitzhaq's descendants) is declared in Ovadyah 1:18.

Yitzhaq means "he laughed". He was not doubting YHWH’s ability, but was doubting His methods. Yet for Israel, if it makes sense to us, we have to question if it is really YHWH, because He uses the foolish things to confound the “wise”. (1 Qorinthians 1:27) If it is not beyond the normal, it is not likely to be Him. If our lives are not ironic, they are not Israelite. So Avraham will be reminded of this irony all his life. He had to mentally set Yishma’el aside to defer to YHWH’s will, for what YHWH wants to accomplish is His choice, not ours.

I have heard you: a word play on Yishmael's name (16:15). His mother named him this because YHWH heard her prayer on his behalf; now He has heard his father’s prayer for him as well. I have blessed him: i.e., “I do have plans for him, but THIS promise does NOT apply to him.” Twelve princes: this was true in the first generation (25:12-15); today we can count more than 12 nations whose "princes" trace their ancestry to Yishmael—the “left-hand” counterpart of Israel’s 12 tribes. In a sense this makes them a picture opf the counterfeit Messiah, but one thing that can be said in their favor is that if Yishma’el’s descendants had been told to go in and annihilate all the people of Kanaan, they would not have had the hesitancy Israel—the people of Avraham’s right hand—did, a hesitancy that, like Yishma’el’s own birth, would cause them many sorrows later. But it is only those people of his right hand who will be able to finally keep the Ishmaelites—the terrorizers of today’s world--at bay.

Appointed time: usually denotes one of the mandated festivals. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says this day was the 14th of Nisan—the day on which the Passover would later fall. This was the Jewish tradition in Yahshua’s day. In the next chapter, we will see ample evidence for this. (See notes on 18:5, 6.)

23. So Avraham took his son Yishmael, and all the boys of his house, and all who were bought with silver—every male among the people of Avraham's household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that same day, just as YHWH had told him to do.

That same day: Passover (see note on v. 21). Interestingly, Passover is the only festival that one is specifically required to be circumcised in order to participate in (Ex. 12:48).

If he did so at this age, no one else has an excuse not to; if one is still breathing, it is not too late.

Because Yishmael was 13 when circumcised, his descendants, the Arabs, circumcise at age 13 instead of on the eighth day.

Same day: He did not hesitate at all to do what YHWH told h im to do.

This is strong evidence that every one of them trusted him, for they put the most vulnerable part of themselves in his hand, even when he was old and one would expect his hand to be shaky!