Parashat VaYera'

(Genesis 18:1 - 22:24)

Then: linked to his having circumcised himself, his son, his 318 trainees, and any sons they had. Being at least 14 years after he had taken them to rescue Lot, a conservative estimate would place this at probably 1,000 men and boys. In other words, he had done his part to initiate the covenant, proving his faith genuine through his actions, so YHWH returns in a fuller measure to carry out His next step. Every covenant has "ifs", and though it offends our modern sensitivities, YHWH also showed that He had confidence in Avraham simply by asking him to do this. He also will not ask of us anything that is impossible. (Deut. 30:10ff) Yahshua would not have told us to follow him if we could not actually do so. Mamre (located at Hevron) means "strength", setting the tone for this passage, in which the man whose greatest strength is lovingkindness or mercy needs to operate in the area of judgment, bringing his personality to a place of balance and wholeness. The tent: it does not say "his tent". On the literal level it may have been, but on a deeper level, a tent is often symbolic of a place of spiritual learning. Sitting is a Hebrew idiom for study; the word "Yeshiva"--a Jewish seminary--is based on the word for "sit". YHWH appeared to: or "YHWH was perceived by". Being focused on YHWH, he had a deeper level of spiritual insight.

All the men would include Lot's sons-in-law.

My Masters: Since this greeting seems to indicate that he recognized them, the leader among them may have been Melkhitzedeq (Shem) himself, whom Avraham already considered his teacher. He had met Pharaoh and other kings, but did not treat them with this much honor. Notice that he even asks permission to serve them, since it will bring him blessing if he is permitted to do so. He understood that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Wash your feet: a culturally important aspect of hospitality in an arid, dusty environment. This concept also links us to Passover, perhaps the "appointed time" mentioned in 17:21, when Yahshua would wash his disciples' feet. He explained then that after one had bathed, he needed only to wash his hands and feet. I.e., having already repented in the major sense, we need only to confess the everyday sin and cleanse our "walk", so we can enter the "tent". (Yochanan 13:9ff) Also, if their feet were clean, it would be much harder for them to "shake the dust off their feet" when they left, indictaing that they had found him an unworthy host. (Mat. 10:14) He brings them under the shade of a big tree so they can relax. He is acclimating them to a new and strange place. It is hard to be hospitable to somsone who is uptight and will not relax.

A piece: not a whole loaf, but a part that is broken off. This also strongly hints of Passover, when Yahshua stated that broken bread symbolized His body (Matt. 26:26), that "one bread". Melkhitzedeq had given Avram bread; he may be returning the hospitality now that he is Avraham. Bread is not only a sustainer of life for travelers, but a picture of fellowship and unity. He says, "This is why it is me to whom you have come", because he can provide such community. Of course, he has more in mind than merely a small piece of bread. He has the advantage of Hebrew, in which lekhem can mean any kind of food--whatever is devoured. This is an appetizer so they will not leave while he prepares the rest. Refresh: or sustain. Notice that it is not for their bodies, but their hearts. This is why: so he can show them hospitality, even if it inconveniences them! Note that he was prepared as well; he had something on hand to provide for unexpected guests. When we purchase food or build a house, we should include room for hospitality. YHWH commands us to let strangers within His Land so they can see that His Land is one of provision. (Lev. 19:9ff)

A bedouin camp much like Avraham may have lived in

6. So Avraham ran into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, prepare three se'im of fine meal; knead it and make pitas."

Hurry: He responds quickly to the words of YHWH through His messenger. Haste is indeed the watchword at Passover. In 19:3 we see Lot serving them unleavened loaves, which can be made more hastily, and this is the reason unleavened bread commanded on the first Passover--because the leavening process requires a long delay. He only promised them a snack, but prepared a feast. Three se'im is 28 cups (or 20 liters) of flour! It could easily make eight large loaves of Sabbath challah! So he went far beyond the minimal standard. Leaven is not permitted in any grain offered on YHWH's altar (Lev. 2:11); leavened loaves such as those at Sukkoth or other firstfruits are only waved as a presentation before YHWH, and not burned. And YHWH's messenger is here to bless Sarah with the firstfruits of her womb (the same word as "firstborn" in Hebrew). So what we are to offer to YHWH must be without sin, but what we offer to our neighbor can be leavened. Why the difference? Because while at Passover leaven is a picture of sin, the larger picture in leaven is that of any kind of total permeation. (1 Corinthians 5:6) In a parable, Yahshua compares the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven that a woman hid in three measures of flour. (Matt. 13:3) Sarah is the only woman we see in Scripture preparing three measures of flour. So while Sarah did not literally leaven this bread, Yahshua added an element to the allegory: what we are to offer to our neighbors is the Kingdom. The mother of many nations would now be expected to have materials on hand to be ready to provide hospitality with no warning. But Sarah did not need Avraham to tell her how to cook; his specifications are to teach the reader. Three se'im make one eyfah (a dry measure equal to ten omers, each omer representing a person, Ex. 16:16, and ten of them making a full congregation, based on v. 32). The bread sustains one (v. 5) until "the Feast", which symbolizes the Kingdom, when all things are in readiness. Ephesians 4 also alludes to this "rebuilding the fallen Adam" through ministering to one another when it speaks of spiritual gifts enabling us to grow up into the "MEASURE of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Messiah"--the complete Man, the Last Adam, the only perfect example of humanity seen since Adam, and of which we can each mystically become a partaker. This image, lost by Adam, began to be restored through Avraham, was guaranteed by Yahshua, and is completed as we behold that likeness in the mirror of His word (Yaaqov/James 1:23) and are changed into the same image. (2 Cor. 3:18) We each contribute different aspects to the building up of this body; the chief among these attributes that characterized Avraham was his mercy. This passage is Yahshua's authority to teach that "this bread is My body". When it has reached its full measure, the three measures will no longer be offered to YHWH separately, but as a "threefold cord" (Eccles./Qoheleth 4:12). That context emphasizes the strength of two instead of one, but three woven together provides the real strength. Traditionally the People of YHWH are divided into three categories: Israel, the Levites, and the Priests. The restored Adam will include all three. The High Priest of our calling is Yahshua (Heb. 4:14, etc.), for he bore the weight of the whole congregation on his shoulders (Matt. 20:26) like Aharon's breastplate with the names of all the tribes on it. The Levites took the place of the firstborn, and they served both YHWH and the congregation. Efrayim (and by extension the northern kingdom of the House of Israel) is called YHWH's firstborn (Yirm./Jer. 31:9). Since Yahshua came for its lost sheep, Efrayim and Yahshua have been bound together, and spiritually we have had enough to survive in a way we could not on our own. (Mat. 18:20) But now the hearts of Efrayim are beginning to be bound to the rest of the people of YHWH, Yehudah, who have preserved the letter of the Torah, apart from which the spirit has no substance. Without the Hebraic roots of faith that they have preserved, the final battles necessary for the establishment of the Kingdom cannot be won. Hoshea 1:11 says that when the two houses (Yehudah and Israel) choose one head (Yahshua, of David's kingly line), the Day of Yezreel (those scattered/sown of Elohim) will be great, and this cord cannot be broken. Thus Avraham was telling Sarah to hurry and build this congregation, this dwelling place for YHWH, so He could walk among men again as He had with Adam and Chawwah.

He is still hurrying. The youth: probably Yishmael, because he, too, needed to be taught hospitality. And he learned well. Probably the reason this "wild man's" descendants have not disappeared from the earth is because they excel at hospitality. His eagerness to meet their needs has a parallel in Shim'on Keyfa (Peter) wanting to hurry and build three sukkoth when he saw three glorified men, one of whom may have been the same as the chief spokesman in this account.

Curds: or butter; from the root for "join", but also "a wall of protection". Milk: from "the best or choicest part". Calf: literally "son of the herd", or plower, which comes from a root meaning "to break forth like the dawn", investigate, judge, and admire. Thus it suggests that as we join ourselves with YHWH as our protector, and give him our best, we will break forth like the dawn (cf. Isa. 58:13ff) and be judged to be something worthy of His admiration. The fact that Avram waited until all was ready to serve anything (except the bread to tide them over) calls into question the common view that Ex. 23:19; 34:26; and Deut. 14:21 mean that dairy products and meat should never be eaten together. Gen. 26:5 says that Avraham kept all of YHWH's statutes, decrees, and instructions (toroth), so we know that what he did here does not conflict with the true intent of the Torah. The Renewed Covenant writers also place the milk before the meat, signifying that we need to learn the "letter" first (1 Peter 2:2), then go on to the greater maturity of being able to understand the "spirit" or the deeper intent (Rom. 7:6; 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13) by being able to carry the principles into other contexts as well. Set them before them: or, stood by them, i.e., to protect his guests. He stood by them: probably referring to the servant, because Avraham would have partaken of the fellowship meal with them, since this seals their friendship.

10. And he said, "I will certainly return to you at the time of life, and behold, a son shall be born to Sarah your wife." And Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, and it was behind him.

Note the parallel in Elisha's words to the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4:16). I will return: yet there is no record of this "messenger" ever returning to Avraham in the same way that he had come this time. He came back through the birth of this promised son, who kept the lineage going. Time of life: the period of gestation, but the word for life can mean "green", suggesting the green ears of barley that mark the arrival of the month in which Passover will fall at the full moon. On the opposite side of the calendar), six months later, there is another "first" month (the civil or secular one), commemorating the birth of the world. The two calendars parallel each other in many ways. It appears that Avraham's son was born at one, and his other son (Yahshua), whom this one foreshadows, was born at the other. He would also "return the life" to Sarah's womb.

12. so Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have become old, will I still have pleasure--my master also being old?!"

Curds: or butter; from the root for "join", but also "a wall of protection". Milk: from "the best or choicest part". Calf: literally "son of the herd", or plower, which comes from a root meaning "to break forth like the dawn", investigate, judge, and admire. Thus it suggests that as we join ourselves with YHWH as our protector, and give him our best, we will break forth like the dawn (cf. Isa. 58:13ff) and be judged to be something worthy of His admiration. The fact that Avram waited until all was ready to serve anything (except the bread to tide them over) calls into question the common view that Ex. 23:19; 34:26; and Deut. 14:21 mean that dairy products and meat should never be eaten together. Gen. 26:5 says that Avraham kept all of YHWH's statutes, decrees, and instructions (toroth), so we know that what he did here does not conflict with the true intent of the Torah. The Renewed Covenant writers also place the milk before the meat, signifying that we need to learn the "letter" first (1 Peter 2:2), then go on to the greater maturity of being able to understand the "spirit" or the deeper intent (Rom. 7:6; 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13) by being able to carry the principles into other contexts as well. Set them before them: or, stood by them, i.e., to protect his guests. He stood by them: probably referring to the servant, because Avraham would have partaken of the fellowship meal with them, since this seals their friendship.

14. "Is any thing too difficult for YHWH? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son."

Too difficult: "beyond" or "wonderful/miraculous". Thing: word or matter. Could also read: "Is a word from YHWH a wonder [or not]?" This rhetorical question emphasizes that we should expect things to look impossible when YHWH is about to speak a word--especially the "Word" that is Messiah, who came through this child's line. "Appointed time" is a term used of the prescribed feast days of YHWH. This was an anniversary in advance of the event it foreshadowed. As we have seen, it appears to be Passover, the time of death for the Egyptians, but the time of life for those freed from them. The blood on the lintels and doorposts would have also formed the Hebrew letter "khet", which is the first letter in the Hebrew word for life.

What a shame to be caught lying by YHWH! But notice that when YHWH was speaking to Avraham, Sarah heard it as well, so he was not off in a trance when he heard Him.

A Bedouin host still escorts his guests to the edge of his territory as the final stage of his hospitality. Bedouins are descendants of Avraham and the wife he married after Sarah died, so they learned this practice from him.

18. now that he is sure to become a great and numerous nation--him into whom all the nations of the earth shall be grafted?

He does nothing without revealing it to His prophets. (Amos 3:7) But it is as if YHWH felt He needed to justify to Avraham why He needed to destroy some of the peoples into whom his seed might potentially be grafted. Naturally, he would be likely to have mercy on them, so he needed to hear the whole counsel of why justice was needed. (v. 19) Would these not be counted like the Filistines (note on 10:14) as latecomers or a mixed people (not truly unified, but only living together because of the fruitfulness of the place, much like the U.S. today)? The Palestinians, who call themselves Philistines, are also not a separate people, but exist only in relation to what they oppose.

TThe reason YHWH could see that he was trustworthy was his faith (15:6; which would lead to his deduction in Heb. 11:19) and the influence he had in making his servants willing to go through the painful procedure of circumcision without revolting against him. YHWH could also only bring all His promises to pass for Avraham if he destroyed these cities. Command: as a general. Keep the way: or "guard the path". Carry out: or accomplish. The first strand of the cord (Yahshua's part) has been set in order already, but the ball is in our court to continue accomplishing righteousness and justice (a system of right ruling). He had taught his whole household to use the right hand of mercy (through his hospitality especially) as well as the left hand of judgment. Until we teach our whole house to be righteous, rather than just forcusing on self being righteous, YHWH will not offer us covenant.

Their sin: Not just their well-known perversion which acquired the new name "Sodomy" from them, but their heinous mistreatment of the poor and "impiety towards YHWH" (Josephus; cf. Y'hezq'el/Ezekiel 16:49f). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan said they decreed that whoever would give a morsel of bread to the needy would be burned with fire. The Midrash says they had made a pact together not to entertain guests from outside, but only steal from them. They did not want anyone who was not rich to remain in the area, so they sodomized them to chase them away. Thus YHWH's judgment on them was mercy on the rest of the world, sparing them both cruelty and disease. (Lot was wealthy enough to seem beneficial to them.)

Every physical deed makes waves in the heavenlies as well, and there was so much spiritual wickedness emanating from this city that it called for YHWH's direct attention. These cities were populated by those who were spared in the process of Avram's rescuing Lot, yet they turned back to their wickedness. As Yahshua's disciples have gone out to find the "lost sheep of the House of Israel", many others have been introduced to the opportunity for salvation, but most have not chosen to be part of the people of Israel, preferring a Babylonian-Greco-Roman lifestyle instead.

Only two of the messengers arrived in S'dom, for, according to the Targums, one was sent to rescue Lot and the other to destroy S'dom; the third had come to announce Sarah's conception, and thus would not need to continue on, but could remain behind as YHWH's special emissary (Rashbam).

His first thought is of his "brother". This is the first time a man is recorded as interceding in prayer on another's behalf. As the spiritual "father of many nations", he is sorrowful over the doom even of the most wicked. (Akeidat-Yitzhaq) He foreshadows his Seed, who "lives to make intercession for [us]" (Heb. 7:25). Noah recognized YHWH's decision to judge was irreversible, but Avraham caught the hint of uncertainty in YHWH's pronouncement (v. 21) and took the opportunity. (Hoffman)

Why 50? He may have begun with the ideal--the fully-leavened loaves that have come to completeness by Shavuoth (the fiftieth day of the Counting of the Omer).

Foreign: or profaning. Avraham's descendant, the Messiah, echoed this theme when he spoke of disregarding 99 sheep to rescue one.

27. And Avraham responded by saying, "Here I am now, undertaking to speak to my Masters, though I am but dust and ashes!

My Masters: Heb., Adonai, which can also be a majestic-plural way to speak of YHWH. Dust: that from which Adam was made; ashes: he indeed represented the beginning of a human race that was rising from the ashes, but here the emphasis is probably on mourning (perhaps for these cities?).

The word "righteous" here is masculine, while the adjective "five" is feminine (the same with "ten" in v. 32), so that they do not agree, possibly symbolizing that his request did not line up with true justice.

30. And he said, "Please do not let the Master be upset if I speak on: Might it be that there will be found 30 there...?" And He said, "I will not do it if I find 30."

31. And he said, "Look at me now--still undertaking to speak to Adonai! What if 20 will be found there?" And He said, I will not destroy it on account of the 20."

He would not utterly destroy, but He did not say He would not punish. Avraham knows he will be hard pressed to find so many righteous there, since those house-dweller would look out for themselves first, so he has no confidence in this matter. Yet if one asks the questions, he will receive the truth: there are far fewer righteous than he expected. Do not ask if you are not ready to face the facts. We, too, find that those who seemed righteous by Christian standards are not, if they do not keep YHWH's Torah. By that morality, Avraham and Shem would have been doing wrong to drink wine together. Yet the truth is plainly written for all who will look at the Scriptures themselves.

Ten was the bare minimum, for it represents ten omers or one whole congregation. He will not spare for anything less than a righteous congregation. If we are not about one another, it does not count if we are individually righteous. From this came the custom of ten being a quorum, or "minyan", for a public prayer. All ten "s'firoth"/character emphases (see note on verse 6) are needed to hold back YHWH's judgment. Messiah, as the Head, represented the whole Body of the restored Man in holding back His wrath upon earth, but we are still called to join together as a body that lives out all aspects of righteousness and brings a complete healing to a condemned world. There were only eight righteous people left after Methushelach died--not enough to hold back the deluge. When Messiah's bride is taken out of the world, again "that which restrains will be taken out of the way" and lawlessness will be dealt with. (I Thess. 2:7) The letter that has the numeric value of ten is yodh, which depicts a hand. For the sake of His "right hand" (Messiah), His righteous one, He has spared Israel and the world.

YHWH had promised not to destroy the whole earth again, but localized judgments are sometimes necessary. He does not wish for anyone to perish, but people make that choice for themselves. The presence of the Kingdom holds His judgment back as long as possible. But Lot was not enough. If YHWH had not destroyed these cities, many of Avraham's descendants would undoubtedly have been led astray by their influence.

CHAPTER 19

[Year 2047 / 1953 BC]

1. Two of the messengers arrived in S'dom at evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of S'dom. When Lot saw them, he rose up to meet them, and bowed his face to the earth.

Sitting in the gate: where a city's elders and judges assembled to discuss legal issues, conducted town business, or even decided which traders would be let into the city. Not just anyone could walk past the gates; they had to be screened. This in itself was a form of judgment. Having camped near the evil city, he has now been sucked into not just living in it, but being one of its leaders. He may have been given an honorary position because his uncle had rescued all its townspeople; in any case he was respected as someone capable of judging matters, but he was in the wrong place--not in the tent but in the gate of an evil city. So his judgment was not enough to save the city. Because he had already amassed wealth before he lived there, like the men of Sh'khem (chapter 34), they may have thought they would become sharers in Lot's wealth if they allowed him to settle there. In any case, he had ceased to be a tent-dweller (as Avraham was, symbolic of one who is always seeking more of YHWH and has to trust Him for protection against his enemies). He could afford to let others care for his flocks and herds, and thus he could live in the city. Tent-dwellers expect to move on, and part of that expectation is the understanding that they must help others who are also doing so. Though he still knew YHWH, he had moved here because of wealth, and due to its influence on him he trusted in the "insurance" of the city. As we grow in spiritual knowledge and find that we are outstripping even our mentors, we may be offered positions of influence in churches that want the information we have but are not willing to submit to its implications about Torah observance. We must be careful to avoid letting the benefits they offer us tempt us to compromise and thus actually come under their authority. Bowed his face (literally, nostrils) to the earth: in lavish Middle Eastern hospitality. Though he may not have immediately known that these were messengers of YHWH, he may have recognized them as having been present when Avram was met by Melkhitzedeq after he had rescued Lot. But the very fact that he was at the gates during "non-business hours" suggests that, like Avraham, he was there specifically for the purpose of seeking someone to whom he could offer hospitality. He was a paradox of a man. He had left Avram before his camp was circumcised, so he was not part of that covenant, yet though he was involved in all of this city's worldly affairs, he had not lost Avram's influence completely. He was very much a hybrid, too close for comfort to what Christians are today--and this chapter shows what the results of that will be.

Spend the night in the square: in modern terms, "I'll sleep in the park", but this was a common practice for visitors to a city in that time if no one took them in. But if hospitality is such an important trait, if one refuses it, he has robbed the offerer of being allowed to express this important desire. So why did they refuse? Because, being in a walled city, they had a general expectation of being treated "civilly". One would not want to create the impression of wanting to impose on anyone, and to be constantly receiving without giving back to the community would upset the balance. And it was somewhat of a cultural game, still common among the Arab and Bedouin descendants of Avraham, to pretend to reject an offer the first two times, even if one had the intention of ultimately accepting it, to see whether the offer is really serious. If it is offered the third time, one commonly accepts the offer. Typically a guest was offered three days' lodging, but he knew this was not a place that was hospitable to strangers, so he tactfully encouraged them to get away from its influence as quickly as possible. While Lot was accepted there because he had something the townspeople coveted, these men had no obvious wealth, and he knew the S'domites would thus demand of them whatever they did have. He knew they would be better off to leave early in the morning before the townspeople were up and about.

Urged them profusely: literally, pushed them. Knowing the city's reputation, he knew that if they survived a night in the square of this particular town, it would not be without a brush with the city's disgusting practices. Note the additional Passover themes--unleavened bread as a precursor of the urgency with which the messengers would drive them out (see v. 15 below), as Pharaoh did, and a messenger of death. Many such catastrophes occurred throughout history on the anniversary of Passover (see note on v. 24 below). Ate: compare the messenger who was sent to Shimshon's parents. (Judges 13:16) Though the Hebrew word for messenger can also mean "angel", over and over these are called "men", and the root meaning of this word in Hebrew is "mortal".

From every quarter: literally, "from all the city limits". Note how complete the wickedness of the city was. They were all in one accord, but for the wrong reasons. This underscored the fact that indeed there were by no means "ten righteous" there. All the men would include Lot's sons-in-law.

Know them: not in the sense of acquaintance, but sexually; note the parallel in Judges 19:22ff. Since sexual practices are commonly a part of pagan religion, there may have been an element of these men wanting to worship these perfect specimens of "men". In S'dom it was a common practice to initiate visitors into their customs, knowing that if this was distasteful to them, they would never come back, since they were generally not fond of outsiders. In Lot's mind, this was a great "mission field", but this city wanted to be left alone so no one would question their ways, which followed their ancestor Kanaan's very closely.

He should have known better, but up to this point, they, being "polite" as dwellers in close quarters must be, they still had some respect for one's private space. And he thought he had "earned a hearing" with them, so he treated them as better than they deserved:

Brothers: Targum Neofiti says Lot's wife was a daughter of this city, so in that sense they were literally his brothers-in-law. But they were like-minded in their pursuit of wealth; the reason the city had been attacked 13 years earlier was because it was so rich. And what we are after will determine who our brothers are. At the moment his goals were not the same as theirs, but he lived there because he sought security like they did. Lot was trying to walk the fence between two opposing worldviews that can never coexist peacefully. But also, Lot's "philosophy of ministry" was very much like that of Christians, who consider all men to be brothers. He feels he has become accepted as one of them, hoping his influence will be enough to persuade them to straighten out and do the right thing. But it never works for one who is attached to Avraham to also be attached to the wicked. This usually just ends up with people who do the same things but put the label "Christian" on them. Avraham knew that the influence of one man was not enough to bring salvation, for he stopped asking at ten. Even Yahshua's influence is not enough until he has a righteous congregation. Their grandparents might have repented and been spared, but since he treated them as brothers, they did not respect him. We must set standards, not blend in; like Avraham, we have to instead provide a place for those who hunger for righteousness to learn how to be righteous. By this point, Lot was simply in the wrong place. It drove him to an unthinkable depth of compromise:

NNot that he took his daughters' virginity (and probably their lives) lightly. Rather, it shows how seriously he took his hospitality; this was an extreme, last-ditch effort to dissuade them from doing something far worse. In Middle Eastern hospitality, once someone comes "under one's roofbeam", he is responsible to protect them at any cost--even if they were former enemies. If a guest died in your household, his family had a legitimate blood libel against you. These city dwellers saw things in the opposite way: "If you come within our gates, you had better have something to offer us!" But his commitment to hospitality, though strong, is still out of context. He has left his tent and built a house among them, but he cannot save them, because they are not a hospitable people. His neighbors were not truly neighbors in the Hebrew sense of being from the same flock. Lot belonged with Avraham. Being in the wrong place, his own descendants lost the trait of hospitality, and for this reason YHWH forbade them from becoming part of His people. (Deut. 23:3ff) Y'hezq'el 16:48-49 points out that even more than their abominations, what brought about S'dom's downfall was the fact that they were rich and idle, having plenty of time and resources and no excuse, but did not help the poor or needy. In contrast with Yahshua's command in Luke 14:13ff, they were only hospitable to those who could pay them back. Note our ancestress Rivqah's examplke of going above and beyond what is expected in chapter 24, where she not only waters ten camels (probably requiring well over a hundred gallons), but also offers lodging and a meal in her home. Her hospitality was the proof Avraham's servant needed that she could be a wife for his master's son. Yoseyf was only able to spend a short time in tents, but these were h is formative years, and many years later we still see him strong in hospitality to his brothers. (Gen. 43:24ff) They expected to eat bread in his house, and that is the expectation the rest of Israel should have of Yoseyf's descendants now.

Stand back: i.e., Get out of our way! They wanted no one to be their judge, just like today. Those who seem tolerant of anything will change as soon as you hold them to a standard. As soon as he stood in the way of their desires, they brought up the fact that (although he had a position of authority in the city) he was really not one of them after all. Compare the way Yahshua was treated by the P'rushim and the usurpers of the priesthood. They questioned His social class (and thus His right to teach in Yerushalayim) as well as His pedigree. (Yochanan 7:49; 8:41) The Sodomites refused women and wanted men; thus they had to already be the last generation alive in these cities, so YHWH judged them unfruitful, and thus having no need to continue any longer. (Mark 11:13; Luk. 13:7) He made himself the door between them and the evil they want to do. Many remain in such untenable situations because they feel that they are the only thing that is keeping their friends out of trouble. But these people have rejected the idea of closed doors already. All they want to do is make Lot just like them. He is casting his pearls before swine.

Shutting the door behind one would be yet another characteristic of Passover, adding yet another confirmation that this was the season. Lot had "gone to seminary", and now he wanted to be "out among the people" who needed what he had to teach. But the messengers of YHWH did not invite the rest of them inside in order to "have the Gospel preached to them". They brought in the only one who was supposed to be inside, and shut out the ones who should be outside. People know where to find the door, and if they really want it, they will come looking for you. Yahshua already said he was the door; are we to try to do his job?

The entrance: literally, "opening", the same as where Avraham sat at his tent. Remember, these are people whom Avraham had rescued, and thus symbolize those who have been offered salvation through Yahshua, but, having been used to the less strict Gentile ways, find his lifestyle too difficult and thus decide to compromise, building a house to their own liking instead of continuing to search for the narrow gate. (Luke 13:23-30) Those who would not come in for the right reasons find that they no longer have eyes to see. YHWH did this to our ancestors, but thankfully He is now allowing us to reach back further and lay claim to the legacy of our earlier ancestors, the patriarchs. We have been on the outside, but now we have the choice to come inside; woe to us if we do not take it. From the small to the great: a foreshadowing of everyone who receives Babylon's mark (Rev. 13:16) just before it too goes up in smoke (14:8-11). That they could strike men blind on this occasion does not mean they could do it at any other time, because normally YHWH wants us to give sight to the blind. But in season they were given this power. They are not necessarily twilight-zone "angels"; the timing may have even coincided with he release of some of the noxious gases that would soon ignite, and this may have been the physical cause of their blindness. If we always YHWH's heroic messengers as supernatural beings, we will use this as an excuse to not even take up any responsibility to bring about His work in the earth.

While only Lot was required to leave (v. 22), others were offered the choice. Moshe (the Torah) and Eliyahu (the spirit of the one who restores all things) have come to take us out of the lawless system as well, because they are going to destroy it.

14. So Lot went out to speak with his sons-in-law--those who were taking his daughters [as wives], and said, "Get up and leave this place, for YHWH is about to destroy the city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed as if he were playing a prank.

Went out: Now that the citizens of S'dom were all blind, he could leave the house undetected. We, too, sound foolish to people who have been conditioned to believe that "God" tolerates everything with a blanket forgiving wink, when we say His judgment is coming. Even this long ago, people who said, "the end is near" were not taken seriously.

Dawn: at another Passover, the Israelites stayed indoors until the sun rose, then left Egypt. Who have been found: those whom you have been able to persuade to join you. Apparently he had four daughters, and those whose husbands' authority did not allow them to leave (v. 14) remained "lost". They had to leave these behind, though they may have loved them. (Mat. 10:34) They had been surviving under Lot's covering, but unless he left, they would never seek YHWH's direct protection. As it turned out, there was no one else righteous there. They had come to make sure it was this bad, and their experiences more than confirmed it deserved destruction. Like the Passover some 400 years later, there are messengers of death, and the righteous hesitate to leave until driven out.

YHWH had apparently given orders to remove Lot from the city either by persuasion or force--whether he appreciated the mercy of this yet or not. This was real love; if He had let them hesitate it would have proved He did not really care about their welfare. Lot was not a "vessel for destruction"; to be rescued was a decision made for him. Even the righteous had to be dragged away. Note that though they had to be given a choice, if Lot's other daughters and their husbands had decided to come, there would not have been enough hands to drag them away too. YHWH, in His foreknowledge, had only provided four hands, so four people could be pulled out.

He said: note the constant alternating between calling them "he" and "they". YHWH was the one acting by the agency of the others. Take care: literally, be slippery; i.e., don't let the city hold you back, for it will try. Don't look back: have no regard. Possibly the flash of conflagration woiuld blind them too, but she should also have no regrets about leaving a place that had become so evil. There is no room for such deadly nostalgia. Concerning Babylon, we are also told, "Come out of her… lest you participate in her sin and be taken away by her plagues." (Rev. 18:4) They were to get as far away as they could, because the destruction would be even bigger than they thought. They could only be saved if they left before the destruction began. If you bide your time, it may be too late when you finally decide it is time to go--like the five foolish virgins. (Mat. 25:1ff) Counting on a "deathbed salvation" is playing with fire--and brimstone! The mountain: all the clues in the context suggest that this refers to Hevron, the mountaintop location where Avraham was. It is not enough just to leave the false temple; He advised them of the best place they could go. When Yerushalayim is occupied by the Counterfeit Messiah, Yahshua forewarns those of His own who are there to also flee to the mountains. (Mark 13:14) May we heed him this time! There was a precedent in the true priesthood leaving the Temple when usurpers came in just before His time. Yerusahalyim was even spiritually called S'dom at that time. (Rev. 11:8)

"We have already tried living with Avraham; I'm glad to be away from this evil influence, but now it's just You and us. I don't want to ascend. Avraham is in a war camp. I just want a place of safety." This is the attitude of many in the church, who want to be saved from destruction, but feel like the Hebrew way has already been tried and did not work. However, Lot now has no possessions to cause strife with Avraham, and going back would allow him to learn much more about YHWH and righteousness.

The evil: Possibly he thought enemies might attack him if he went back to living in a tent like Avraham. There is no natural protection in a tent; one must trust YHWH directly, and Lot, though righteous, was not ready for that level of faith.

Had he lost his ability to live in tents? Probably not, but his wife was from the city, and he thought she and his daughters would not cooperate with the complete change in lifestyle. He did not understand the gravity of the matter. He probably thought that living in a smaller town might not be as spiritually detrimental as the big city. He still wanted the security of numbers, possibly to feel safe from the threats of the desert that drove him to the fertile plain in the first place. Yet YHWH's presence is the only true security. Did YHWH really want him to leave everything behind? Today one might ask,"Wouldn't a Christian home Bible study be less tainted than continuing to attend an actual church with its pagan steeple? Do I really have to be completely holy?" Judging by where his descendants ended up dwelling, it appears that he chose to run to the other side of the Rift, even further from Avraham and Yerushalayim (THE Mountain).

It was YHWH's intent to destroy this city too. It is a dangerous thing when He lets us have our way. Lot would have a high price to pay for insisting on this.

I cannot do anything: The angels are told to do nothing to judge the earth until the 144,000 who have a special calling are sealed. (Rev. 14) But stopping here was a curse. Tsoar means "Tiny" or "insignificant"; "a trifle", or "petty". YHWH had provided the deliverance, but what he did with it after that was up to him. He chose a smaller measure of obedience. If we only go "so far", we will be doomed to live our lives in a lukewarm manner that Yahshua hates, having nothing to be remembered for. Just as he had no male progeny to carry on his name, he was opting to live out his days in fruitfless insignificance. He chose to go from a position of authority in a city which, though evil, even Heaven recognized, to being a peon in a town where he could influence no one, just so he could be safe, when he could have joined Avraham and become truly great. But he had grown used to dwelling in a house rather than a tent. It was when King Shlomo moved YHWH's "house" from a tent to a building that the series of events that began the division of the Nation of Israel were set in motion.

The word for "risen" here specifies that the sun was visible in the sky--later than the dawn, because the eastern horizon here is very mountainous. But this also exemplifies the fact that YHWH does His work in broad daylight, not stealthily. (Contrast Luk. 22:53) By Jewish tradition, YHWH destroyed the city at the sun's first appearance to demonstrate the impotence of the sun, their chief deity, to save them.

Usually when He brings judgment, the name Elohim is used rather than YHWH, but the rabbis note that it says He "rained"--so He sent blessing--an open door to repent, but it was their choice of whether to enter or not. He wants no one to perish, but if we misuse His provision, it becomes death to us. There is evidence of enough springs and rivulets being there in the past to have supported thriving civilizations. But where oil and asphalt are abundant (14:10) there will also be highly-flammable gases. Something ignited a pocket of them and casued the whole valley to explode open, and the salt and brimstone thrown into the sky rained back down. Patten, Hatch, and Steinhauer cite evidence that a close flyby of Mars (which then had an orbit that overlapped earth's and came "shockingly" close every 108 years) packed enough gravitational pull to swing the earth's axis so quickly that the equatorial bulge (earth's diameter being 26 miles longer there than at the poles) had to shift location so rapidly that it simply tore a perpendicular gash in the earth's crust--the Great Rift Valley, which stretches form Syria to Zimbabwe. Asteroid showers also often accompany such events--see Yehoshua 10. Massive volcanism followed, but geologic strata show that this whole segment of the valley sank down, so that it is now the lowest point on the earth's surface, and its end dammed the Yarden/Jordan River, so all it could now do was fill in the 40-mile long crater that is now the mineral-rich but lifeless lake we call the Dead Sea. The Arabs call it "Lot's Lake". The deepest gash was filled in by Josephus' day. He said it was cuased by a "thunderbolt", which was typical of the electrical discharges between Mars and Earth when their paths used to cross an dthey would have close flybys every 54 years until 701 B.C. The dimensions he gives--and the fact that a road then crossed the valley near Matzada (Masada), giving the stronghold a strategic location--show that spillover that filled the much shallower southern section of the Sea did not come until much later. Salt-caked trees were still visible beneath the water in the 19th century, and the level was still low enough for there to be islands and fords then. It now averages only 13 ft. in depth, while the northern part reaches 13,000 ft.--possibly the crater from this blast. The area remained desolate until the returning Israelis in modern days began recovering its fruitfulness.

The Rift created by this cataclysm.

25. And He overturned those cities, and all of the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the produce of the ground.

Produce: Targum Onqelos has "vegetation". This was the reason he had brought his flocks here to start with. Now it was gone, so he had no excuse not to return to Avraham. But he had become used to making his own decisions rather than following the orders of someone he might not have wished to admit was greater.

Targum Onqelos adds "until the time the dead are brought to life". Rather than looking ahead to where she was going, she was more concerned about what she had lost. If she had not been in a place that still reminded her of the bigger city, she might not have been reminded of the house she left behind. This pillar was still said to have been visible in Josephus' day. Perhaps she thought so many people could not all be wrong, but more likely she was just wanting one last look at all she had known. Her children may have been born there; perhaps she had too. But placing too much importance on the things we are used to can be another form of idolatry; it was time to rise above the natural and seek the best instead of the merely good. But "those who put their hand to the plow and look back are not fit for the Kingdom" (Luk. 9:62).

He was not afraid to come up to the mountain, closer to YHWH. During Shakharit prayers, we ask for the return of the exiles to the one camp. While Lot's hospitality might have been enough to mark him for salvation, it may have taken Avraham's effective, fervent prayers (see Yaaqov/James 5:16) for the messengers to drag him out. Avraham's pre-dawn prayer could have long preceded their "dawn". (See note on v. 23.)

Asphalt such as that which filled this valley (14:10) causes tar-filled smoke. Compare Rev. 18, in which Babylon's sins also reach to Heaven, two witnesses are sent, and the city's smoke goes up forever.

Elohim: the name emphasizing YHWH's judgment. He had some mercy on the city where Lot lived because of Lot, but the other cities may have been deserving of nothing but judgment.

Like the man who followed Yahshua anyway despite having asked to go bury his father, Lot now no longer had his wife's opinion to consider, Lot finally goes where he knew he should have gone at first, but with heavy losses already. But he left because of fear (probably thinking Tsoar, too, would be destroyed) rather than spontaneous obedience, so he still ends up concealing himself from the exposure that would be required of him in Avraham's camp. This is just one case proving that "cavemen" are often not pre-civilized, but post-civilized, being outcasts who became diseased and their facial muscles distorted by the stress of gnawing uncooked food. They sank into more primitive conditions, having the vestiges of technology but lacking the pooled resources of populated areas. However, this apparently became part of Moabite culture, for when the Edomites later took some land from them, they were said to be still cave dwellers.

32. "Come on, let's get our father to drink wine, then let's lie with him, so we can preserve our father's seed."

33. So they got their father drunk with wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father, but he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

34. And it was on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, "Look here: last night I lay with our father; let's go in and drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him, so that between the two of us we can be sure to keep our father's seed alive."

35. So they got their father drunk that night too, and the younger rose up and lay with him, but he did not notice it when she lay down, nor when she got back up.

Contrast this with Noach, who recognized what had taken place when he got up, for Lot was even fooled the second time.

They acted stealthily since such a righteous man (2 Kefa/Peter 2:7) would be unlikely to participate in seeming incest, but they probably really thought they were the only human beings left alive on the earth, and thus there was no other way of preserving the race. At the least, in a levirate manner, their intention was to preserve his seed in particular, and this way two new nations did replace S'dom and Ghamorah for Avraham's seed to be grafted into. Still, they did it itheir own way rather than waiting on YHWH for the right way, and their progeny later became an annoyance to their distant relatives. (Deut. 23:3f) This could have been avoided had Lot taken his daughters to Avraham's camp, where they could have found wonderful husbands.

Moav's territory was the mountains southeast of the Dead Sea. The Moavites were significant enough by the day of Egypt's Ramses the Great that he boasted of having conquered them. Ruth became the first Moavite to enter the assembly of Israel; others had not been allowed to make reparation for Lot's choice. (Deut. 23:3) But she represented the return of the lost northern Kingdom, because Moav can also mean "away from the Father", i.e., YHWH For a time they were called "not my people" (Lo-Ammi, cf. Hoshea) --noteworthy in the context of the name of Lot's other son/grandson (v. 38).

At least some worthwhile fruit came out of Moav--Ruth, who became David's and Yahshua's ancestress; there was no such redeeming factor in Ammon. Sons of Ammon: B'nai Ammon--the same pattern as the name of their ancestor, in the plural. The evidence that they inhabited the region north of Moav is carried on in the name of Jordan's capital (Amman) to THIS day.

CHAPTER 20

1. Avraham then moved from there to the land of the Negev, and was settling between Qadesh and Shur. When he was sojourning in Gerar,

Moved: Literally, pulled up tent stakes; the things he had trusted in to keep his home in place did not hold him back. What actually connected him to the ground did not hold him back. He was not "nailed down" as Lot had been, by the doctrines of men or his own ideas. Regret for what he was leaving behind did not stop him. He moved partly because YHWH had moved on (18:33), partly because it was the season to move, now that judgment had come on S'dom and Ghamorah, and partly because YHWH had given him the general command to walk throughout the length and breadth of the land. (13:17) Of course, he would also move on when his sheep had exhausted the pasture wherever he was camped. Though he had received the promise here, he needed to keep moving through every aspect of his inheritance to see the covenant fully come to pass. Though he was responsible for hundreds of people, he was still ready to move when YHWH told him to. He did not go looking for Lot or build a memorial to S'dom, though he had been indirectly responsible for preserving it 13 years before. Even YHWH kept His own tent mobile and often had the Levites pull up its stakes. It is the wicked who say they will never be moved. (Psalm 10:3-6) After each mve, momentous events took place, and YHWH wanted him to see from many different points of view so he could gain more complete understanding. Gerar: halfway between ‘Azzah (Gaza) and Be'er-sheva'. Negev: Israel's large southern desert region. Qadesh means "set apart" amd Shur means "a wall" or "a traveler" (as Avraham still was). So he is between two types of separation. He has rejected the security of walled cities, but is establishing his security in YHWH, built not of stone but of walking in His instruction. He does not know where the door through the wall might be, but he is not worried; he justr keeps setting up camp. There is even a clue in the text as to how to maintain this equilibrium. Gerar means "a lodging place", but one form of the same word means "to chew the cud"--one of the signs of a clean animal. This is also an idiom for meditating on YHWH's word--thinking on it over and over so it sinks in and brings us the full nisight into all it can mean. (Y'hoshua 1:8)

While people would often kill a man for his wife, they might befriend a brother, hoping to win her through his consent as her protector. Avraham had used this tactic with Pharaoh. (chapter 12) Avraham had also just seen evidence that very few people are actually righteous, but will tend to follow their flesh, so he overreacts to that knowledge. Avimelech's name means "My father is a king"--a Hebrew name, so he may have been a descendent of Shem, preserving the original language, but not in Avraham's immediate family. Sarah must still have been very beautiful at 90 years old, but kings often looked to marry royalty or to make a covenant with someone as powerful as Avraham by marrying into his family. So Avimelekh was unlike Pharaoh in many ways. He was not part of Avraham's house, but he dwells in the place of meditating on YHWH's word, and He knows who YHWH is.

Even if he knew her only once, a permanent psychological connection would be formed (1 Cor. 6:16), and even if she were then returned to Avraham, the purity of the mother of all Israel would have forever been lost. YHWH later required the Levites (the holiest in Israel) to marry only within their own tribe, and the priests (holier than other Levites) to marry only virgins unless they were widows, and the one in line to be high priest was not even permitted to marry a widow, for he had to be the closest possible picture to the purity of the Messiah. (Lev. 21). In our day of such loose standards, it is harder to sense the impact defilement has on a people, and such standards seem unrealistically strict, but it only shows how far we have come from a real understanding of holiness.

A righteous nation: unlike the cities of the plain. He knew who had destroyed them, and is claiming to bear no resemblance to them. Knowing Avraham was a prophet, Avimelech may have seen him as the agent who had dispatched the destruction of S'dom and ‘Amorah, and feared the same would become of his people. So he uses the same prayer pattern that Avraham had used in regard to those cities. Verse 18 tells why not just he, but his whole nation, was threatened. But "a righteous nation" links us to the only other place this same phrase is used, Yeshayahu 26:2: "Open the gates, so the righteous nation that keeps the faith may enter." The rabbis say this is Efrayim. Even though the northern kingdom ceased to be a nation, Yahshua sent emissaries to call them back into covenant, and they are again called "a people" even while still stubborn. (Rom. 10:21) As this is taking place just before Sarah conceived (21:1), it must be about the time of Shavuoth, which commemorates the Torah being offered to other nations as well, and the glad news of the Kingdom going out in many languages. (Acts 2) It may be permissible for the truly Gentile believers called out from all nations to remain in the church--another "righteous nation"--but it must release those who are truly descendants of Israel, because they are already Someone's bride; the church will not be fruitful (v. 18) as long as it hangs onto Efrayim, and once it knows it needs to let them go instead of trying to persuade them to keep seeing themselves as Gentiles and denying their true Master, any hesitation to do so will be its death-knell. (Consider Romans 11:20ff in this light.)

6. And Elohim said to him, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, and I Myself also held you back from sinning against Me; that is why I did not give you the occasion to touch her.

YHWH acknowledges that his intentions were right, but this did not suffice to make him blameless. Rabbi Hirsch wrote in regard to this passage, "If it is wrong in YHWH's eyes, [right] intentions do not give it sanction. Moreover, lack of knowledge is itself sinful for a person because one has the obligation to seek instruction."

Intercede: This is the first time this particular word is used in Scripture. It means to pray as a mediator, but with a sense of discriminating or judging. This is the only time Avraham is called a prophet (again like Yahshua), but YHWH said it, so once is enough. A prophet is anyone who brings YHWH's word. Even one with the best intentions has to be on the right terms with the prophet to be in the right relationship with YHWH. His "hands are tied" until Avraham himself determines Avimelekh can be spared. Though he belongs to and is the leader of a righteous nation, he has no covenant, and must be under the covering of one to whom it belongs. Even his land is promised to Avraham, so if he wants to survive, he must be a friend of Avraham's. Of course this is a prototype of Yahshua, but even there, YHWH's covenant with Avraham must still be in the picture.

9. Then Avimelech called for Avraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And what have I done to wrong you, that made you bring such a great sin upon me and my people? You have done things to me that should never be done!"

While asking forgiveness, he also rebukes Avraham at the same time, because he has acted foolishly by treating a righteous nation the same way as the wicked.

What did you see: Either "what did you take me for?" or "What were you meditating on? Where did you get this point of view?" Knowing he was a prophet or seer, the king may have thought something was revealed about him that he did not know about himself. But Avraham was following his own perception rather than the reality that was on the ground, in this case.

Like Lot's daughters, Avraham may have thought there were no righteous people left anywhere on earth but in his own camp. Though they had shown much greater hospitality than S'dom, still only the fear of Elohim could ultimately deter unrestrained lust, says Radak. It was an honest mistake, but unrealistic nonetheless; there was in fact more fear of Elohim here than Avraham expected.

He also finds a loophole that makes his statement a half-truth rather than an outright lie. It is not necessarily the case that his father was polygamous, though it is probable. He could have assumed the levirate position of husband to his brother's widow, and therefore become her adopted father, or have had a daughter in the process of trying to raise up a son to carry on his brother's name. As a foster-sister who had grown up under the same roof, they would easily have known they were compatible enough to marry. Every brother in his society also had a special duty to protect the sister nearest him in age. The picture is an approprate one, for Yahshua also calls members of his bride "brothers and sisters" (Luk. 8:19ff; Yochanan 20:17). His bride is not truly Gentile, but a relative (the northern kingdom, sister to Yehudah) who got mixed up with the Gentiles. (Hos. 7:8) Yet Avraham's actions here seem like another example of using natural methods to try to guarantee that a spiritual promise will be fulfilled. It backfired on him yet again. "Man's heart plans his way, but YHWH arranges His steps." (Prov. 16:9; see also note on 12:13.) Out of fear he only claimed her as sister, not as wife. Admitting to only the less intimate relationship with Sarah affected an entire community. Though he was royalty as well, she belonged in a different context. She is supposed to be viewed as Avraham's companion in the context of YHWH's covenant with him, in which she plays a pivotal part, since the seed of promise is to come through her.(17:21) He could not fulfill the covenant if she remained in another context. Since he does not put her in her rightful place, another, who does not know this, sees the obvious benefit in having this connection with her. YHWH wanted her returned from the household of the "king's son" to that of the prophet. As such, what is she a picture of? The prophet's companion is always the Torah. Because some of his descendants claimed only a loose connection to the Torah, saying it was fine to have as a sister but too demanding as a wife, the righteous Gentiles have tried to use it to make it serve their goals, but YHWH will not let it uphold their approach to righteousness. One might argue with his sister, but it is not acceptable to argue with Torah. The Torah must be in the context of the covenant with Avraham, which includes circumcision and the Land, or death will result. Those who have wrongfully claimed authority over it (whether Christianity or Rabbinic Judaism) must release it back to its original context. And the heirs to Avraham's promise must not let fear of them lessen our relationship to Torah. The two captivities of Sarah are prophetic of her descendants not being only physically held captive in Egypt, but having the way of Egypt hold onto us as well. They give two perspectives on the love story that emphasizes the fact that YHWH wants us to be not just his servant but His wife. Though other places we have lived might have bigger and better characteristics, He wants us not in Egypt but in His Land, because that is where He has chosen to make His name dwell, and He wants His bride with Him where He is.

This tradition was motivated by fear, and it almost got a righteous nation killed. He was building the wrong "wall", and following a "policy" too strictly rather than walking in the promises YHWH had already given him, which he knew to be true. Since he did not get the point the first time that he should trust YHWH instead, YHWH repeats the lesson with much greater clarity.

Both his flock and his pool of trainees became even larger, and this time they came from a righteous nation. Gave back: the same word for "repented", so now he was no longer just a righteous Gentile, but a Hebrew as well.

Part of the Promised Land is made available to Avraham even within his lifetime. His son would also accept this offer--and repeat the same mistake so he could learn the same lesson!

Because of all the trouble he had to go through over this situation, he still expresses some sarcasm by calling Avraham her "brother" rather than her husband. "Covering of the eyes" denotes a restoration of "face", or honor. This thousand pieces of silver may be related to the ten-coin dowry that was worn around one's forehead, to remove a woman's shame in society (indicating why it was so important for a woman who lost one of these coins to find it again, as in Yahshua's parable). But eyes play an important part in temptation. (1 Yochn. 2:16) Avimelech already had a wife (v. 17), yet he had let his eyes lure him to take Sarah as well. For this reason, Iyob (Job) made a covenant with his eyes upon marriage. (Iyov 31:1ff) It may also be a prophecy that Yahshua will be "repaid" 1,000 years as King since His wife was taken into someone else's house. (Hos. 1, 2) Cleared: Vindicated; i.e., "Everyone knows it was My mistake, not your decision." She did nothing wrong, but those who meditate on righteousness must still give Torah its due when they come into the context of the covenant with Avraham. If we do not claim it as our intimate, the Torah will also not "confess us before men".

18. (because YHWH had completely restrained every womb of the household of Avimelech because of Sarah, Avraham's wife).

Womb: literally, the place of tender compassion. It may have been in part as a reward to Avraham for his compassion in considering their plight that his own wife's lifelong infertility ended just then. (21:1) Avraham himself was granted continuance. Because they had misused her, the curse that had always been present in her became theirs as well. This is what Paul refers to as the curse of the Torah. When we try to fit it into our own plans, it does not fit and causes much frustration. But when it is returned to its original context, the result is fruitfulness for everyone. Just in time for Shavuoth, there are now two loaves of "bread"--symbolizing two righteous congregations. (1 Qorinthians 10:17)

CHAPTER 21

Then: in connection with the incident with Avimelekh in which Avraham finally "confessed his wife before men", admitting that she did not merely have the same father, but she was his beloved. When he did not, the fruitfulness of another righteous nation was diminished. (20:17-18) If we do not fully confess the Torah, we prevent those in the Church who are truly seeking YHWH from finding their way out of it, and the Church, to which the Torah does not belong, will block His people's access to it.. We too have a place to take as "husband" to the Torah, for we cannot see YHWH's Kingdom, when YHWH and His Name will both be one (Zkh. 14:8ff), until we are united with the Torah, which Sarah represents as the prophet's closest associate. Then we will be united BY the Torah. (Y'hezq'el 37:19ff) Dwelling together in unity is not only beautiful; it is possible. (Ps. 133) We should have no apologies for the Torah, for it is YHWH's idea, not our own. Confessing Yahshua before men means bringing the Torah to its fullest form with no compromise. Looked after: He did a miracle in her womb, as he would later do in Miryam's, enabling one normally unable to bear children to give birth. (Luqa 1:35)

Appointed time: or "rehearsal"; the term refers to one of the festivals mandated by YHWH. In this case, it is Passover. (See notes on 18:5-6) So this interlude in Gerar had taken approximately two or three months, so that the son was born at the same time of year the messengers had come to Avraham. We, too, must be "in season"--moving by YHWH's if we wish to see fruitfulness.

This was in accordance with YHWH's command. (17:19) This is a very patriarchal society, but Sarah was very important to the fulfillment of ther promise.

By being obedient to YHWH, Avraham spared Yitzhaq from having the choice. Avraham did not invent circumcision; an Egyptian priestly caste was practicing it centuries before him. Many other ancient peoples practiced it, but most circumcised a boy at puberty to prepare him for marriage, but an Israelite's lifelong purpose is fruitfulness. The Traditional Jewish circumcision ceremony begins with "Blessed is he who comes!"--the very greeting given to a bridegroom at his wedding. The liturgy continues, "Just as he has entered into the covenant, may he enter into the Torah, the marriage canopy, and righteous deeds." (Artscroll Siddur) If we waited 12 years, the child would have ample time to choose a different lifestyle. Avraham took up the responsibility to see that no to nly he, but his son, was fruitful. By preparing them early on for intimacy with the Torah, circumcision in the flesh opens the door for us to teach our children circumcision of the heart and to be an example of this before them so they will see it is more than just words to us. Since a week only has seven days, then reverts to the first day, there really is no "eighth day" in the normal order. Thus circumcision is symbolic of going beyond the present order, when the Kingdom is the exception, to the time when it is the standard. The "eighth day" represents a new beginning, and is an idiom for the "new heavens and a new earth" after seven millennia, when the excess flesh will be removed.

Part of the significance of telling us his age is that in 17:16, the word for the "kings" that were to come forth from Sarah has the numeric value of 100. So does the phrase "would have said" in verse 7 below. YHWH intervened by having him born when it seemed too late, but only because Avraham did the right thing. It was in season, but every season takes preparation; we cannot pick the fruit if we have not planted the tree ahead of time. If Avraham had remained in fear and not gotten his relationship with Sarah in the proper order, we would not have had Yitzhaq or the kings that came from him.

Laughter: related to the name "Yitzhaq". The type of laughteyr described here is (as seen in verse 9) a scornful laugh or one of disbelief. I.e., no one would believe it.

Who would have? Only YHWH, so it is clear who is responsible. As seen in the Mishnah's "Pirkey Avoth", which quotes the enigmatic question from a rabbi, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?", "who" can sometimes be idiomatic for YHWH Himself.

8. When the child had grown and was weaned, Avraham made a great feast on the day Yitzhaq was weaned.

Feast: not the same word used for the holy convocations and appointments of YHWH; the word is rather based on "to drink or be drunk". So Yishmael's actions below may have been affected by this. Weaned: literally, having fully dealt with himself or having been ripened. The Talmud says this was typically at 18 to 24, and the book of Maccabees says it would have been at the age of three years. So it was somewhere in this age range.

Jeering: the same word for "laughing" (like Yitzhaq's name), but in its intensive form, i.e., he was making fun of him. This shows that not all laughter is the same. Sarah said everyone would laugh with her, but Yishmael was laughing when she was not. He was laughing AT Yitzhaq, possibly out of a sense of superiority as the bigger son (now between 14 and 16 years old), when Yitzhaq was still a toddler. He was not rejoicing in Yitzhaq or upholding him, but was rather defiling Yitzhaq's name by laughing with the wrong motives. He was not showing the proper respect for one whose equal he could never be. A "wild ass of a man" he was proving to be (16:12). "Man" in tha verse is "Adam", and thus, as "fruit of Adam", he was like Qayin, Adam's firstborn, who was also violent toward his second, more righteous, son. An alternate possibility is that he was simply playing with Yitzhaq, indicating that Yitzhaq had become attached to him and would be influenced by his Egyptian mother's ways, of which Sarah (as a picture of the Torah) did not approve.

Slave-girl: though she was legally married to Avraham as well, she was still Sarah's slave. Note that Sarah does not even mention her or her son by name. She was Egyptian, and though she lived in the camp of Avraham, she never considered herself to be anything else. Thus she had not become a Hebrew like Avraham, and carried Egypt in her heart. Paul likewise said that if the Torah is used in the wrong way, it creates bondage, and actually makes us tend to see it as similar to pagan magic (Gal. 4:8-10). Thus it is comparable to this "son of the flesh". (cf. Galatians 4:30) Taking it as a means of justification rather than as a tutor that restrains us from evil (Gal. 3:21) will cause us to rival and mock others who are not as advanced as we, just as Yishmael did to Yitzhaq. (Gal. 5:26) It never had the power to justify us; only the promised Son, Yahshua, could ever do that. Once we have faith to recognize YHWH is truly our Father (Gal. 4:7) and the tutor was there to bring us to that realization (Gal. 3:23-4:3), the Torah takes on a different role: that of leading us to maturity, or perfecting us. But when understood properly, it always leads us to freedom (Gal. 5:1), for it reveals that we are His heirs after all and can know the Father face to face. Her son: Yishma'el was meant to have been adopted by Sarah (16:2), but his mother apparently had not allowed him to become intimate with Sarah. Because of the arrogance of Hagar (who by tradition may have even been Pharaoh's daughter), Yishma'el was following another mother rather than being intimate with the Torah. He is therefore here a picture of those who follow "mother church" and sideline the Torah.

Crushing blow: denotes something that made him shudder. His compassionate heart was exposed immediately. But this time it would stand in the way of the covenant if he followed it. The Hebrew word for "son" comes from "building stone", and occasionally stones that endanger the rest of the house must be removed. (Lev. 14:34-55)

YHWH tells him how to feel about it; he is not permitted to consider it a bad thing. YHWH knows better what the outcome of allowing Yishma'el to remain would be, and though we would naturally regard such an action as cruel, if it is YHWH's word, we cannot regard it as wrong or even difficult--like His command to exterminate the Kanaanites and the Amaleqites, who became a thorn in Israel's side for having been left a remnant. He is warned not to miss the joy that is meant to come of this. We must have the right attitude, not just do the right thing. Otherwise we are nothing more than Christians, and that is the bondwoman. If we hate the obedience the whole time we are doing iot, it accomplishes little. We might as well be Christian, though that is like the bondwoman, whose teachings hold no water. We will learn much more if we satisfy not only our conscience but the relationship with YHWH as well. "Seed" (singular) especially refers to the Messiah, but also the rights of inheritance. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan reads, "but this son shall not be recorded in the genealogies after you." Only offspring through Yitzhaq would be considered Avraham's true heirs. Thus the Arabs have no claim to the land of Israel except by Israel's permission to dwell as sojourners there under its laws. Pseudo-Jonathan calls Yishma'el "the boy who abandoned the training you gave him". Your handmaid: Though Sarah had a right, as Hagar's owner, to cast her out (16:6), she wanted her husband to do the right thing. YHWH has put him in the leadership position, and wants him to take a stronger stand against this "project" that had failed, though Yishma'el was his firstborn son. We, too, must confess that our fathers inherited lies.

YHWH considered him Avraham's offspring, and thus deserving of a decent life, but did not count him as his "son" in the sense of an heir to the covenant.

Got up early: He wasted no time before obeying, not even dragging his feet to do a job that was distasteful to him. Yishma'el was old enough to be responsible for himself, and thus Avraham had fulfilled his responsibility to him. Be'er-Sheva is 28 miles southwest of Hevron, and east of Gerar. Desert: clear from the context, but the word literally means "[place] of speaking" or "promise". The desert would later be the place of the "ten words", i.e., the ten commandments, and that may be its primary denotation. But it proved to be where Elohim spoke to Hagar as well. (v. 17).

16. And she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, because she said, "Don't let me see the boy's death." So she sat opposite [him] and raised her voice and wept.

A bowshot: at least 500 meters.

Elohim has heard: Heb., Yish'ma Elohim. (Note the word play on her son's name.) Heard the voice of the lad: through his mother on his behalf. Yet he, rather than her, was the one he responded to, possibly because he had a part in Avraham, while she did not. Elohim: He does not refer to himself as YHWH to her, only as the Mighty Judge. To the extent that we walk after the flesh, we are Yishmael, and must be judged by the Torah. To the extent that we walk in confidence that the Father loves us and has chosen us, and thus we do not need to mock others or put them down to build ourselves up, we are Yitzhaq (5:17), and are thus not repressed by the Torah (5:18), but find it a joyful thing, for it lets us know what our Father is like, and what He is making us to be as well.

Muslims consider Yishma'el to be the ancestor of one sixth of them.

The well had been there prior to this, for it was in Be'er-sheva (v. 14). That is probably the reason why Avraham, who was known for his generous hospitality, did not give her more water than she scould carry on her shoulder. He knew this well was there; in fact, he had dug it himself. (v. 30)

Lived in the desert: most of his descendants have as well. Accomplished archer: the Hebrew phrase can either mean "shooter of a bow" or "multiplier of fierce stubbornness". His bow has protected the Temple Mount from further desecration of the type the Crusaders had begun, and we can learn more about the ancient ways of life so common to Avraham and his earliest descendants than we can from Yishma'el than from any other source. There is more in them to honor than there is in Constantine and the popes, but today they are also pointing their bow at the earth in very fierce ways. Thankfully, there is a third way that is better than both: the way of Yitzhaq's son Israel.

Desert of Paran: near Eilath at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, the east fork of the Reed Sea. She had him marry back into Egypt--a parallel with those who use what they receive from Avraham (the Torah) to serve the purposes of the flesh (selfishness or personal security) and the elemental spirits, as the letter to the Galatians outlines. Thus Yishmael's descendants are three parts Chamitic and only one part Semitic. That is, they incline more to the Egyptian way than the way of Avraham.

At that time: probably at the very same weaning feast spoken of earlier in the chapter, the context to which we return after a long "parenthesis". Avimelekh's name means "My father is a king", giving us a clue as to who he represents. This is a foreshadowing of the days when ten men from every nation will take hold of the tzitziyoth of a Jew and say, "We will go with you, because we have heard that Elohim is with you."

Not deal falsely: Avraham had told him a half-truth that endangered him, so he wanted to be sure this would not take place again. He knows he is meant to be attached to Avraham, the "light set on the hill".

Avraham did not seek out such alliances, but this man came seeking him. Avraham knows he represents a righteous nation, and will not profane the house. But because of this request, Avraham's descendants could not inherit his land until after at least his son, or possibly even grandson, had died. In fact (based on 15:16) it took place six generations after this.

The promise that he would not bring harm to the righteous nation came with a condition: we must clear up the unsettled issue that remains between us.

The Hebrew word for "well" is be'er, from the verb ba'ar, meaning "to explain or clarify". It is specifically called a "well of water"(v. 25), which would seem redundant unless we recognize the symbolism. Water is often a picture of the Torah, or YHWH's word in the broader sense. This "righteous nation" had once taken control of Sarah (who here pictured the Torah), but all of his fruitfulness was cut off at that time, so he did not try that again, but now his underlings are taking control of the interpretation of the Word of YHWH. They could not take the Torah itself, but gave their own "take" on it. They seized the right to explain what it "really means", saying it is all spiritual, and is deadly if you actually practice it. Therefore, Avraham demands it back, because these explanations are wrong. If the Church can control the doctrines, they can remove the critical importance of Avraham in the minds of those who drnbk from their well. However, this was not the intent of the original leaders who began bringing the Northern Kingdom (the righteous nation of Yeshayahu 26:1 according to Yehudah) back to YHWH, and certainly Yahshua did not do this; maybe not even Paul. Like Avimelekh, most of the Church's leaders today are indeed unaware of how the change to what we have today took place, since it was done so smoothly by Constantine and others so many centuries ago when they put a Christian veneer over paganism and passed it off as completely biblical.

Since Avimelekh had a valid point in that Avraham should have brought this to his attention sooner, Avraham himself provides restitution in a sense by supplying Avimelekh with the part he needed to bring to the covenant-ratifying ceremony in addition to his own part. In doing so, Avraham gave back some of what Avimelekh had given him. (20:14) On another level, the provision for the covenant has to come from the one who was directly chosen by YHWH, not just one who believes in and worships Him, in order to be pure and worthy of YHWH. How do we know when to bring the fact that the right to interpret Scripture has been stolen to the attention of those who are in the Church without casting what is holy before dogs? Avraham's example is that he began to teach after Avimelekh, the one whose father is a king, had initiated the conversation, thus proving that he was really interested in dealing with Avraham, and had lowered himself and recognized Avraham as his superior. Avraham also does not ask for anything from the righteous nation, which twice wanted what was his, thus tactfully giving a second reprimand.

29. and Avimelekh asked Avraham, "What are these seven ewe lambs that you have set aside for?"

30. And he said, "Take the seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may serve me as a testimony that I am the one who dug this well."

Seven female sheep were also aboard Noakh's ark to assure the continuation of their kind. An oath assured the continuation of the covenant. But this particular term for "ewes" is found nowhere else in Scripture in conjunction with the number seven. However, it is not the usual word for "ewe", but the feminine form of a different masculine counterpart meaning ones just old enough to begin butting with their horns. The male form is found in conjunction with "seven" numerous times throughout Scripture. Seven lambs are offered at the New Moon, Shavuoth, Passover, Yom Truah, and the eighth day of Sukkoth. (Lev. 23:18; 28:19; 29:2, 8, 32, 26) Moshe would have recalled the seven female lambs when YHWH commanded the offering of seven male lambs, and would have remembered that the Torah as given at Sinai was not the beginning of the path, but the precedents set by Avraham. Seven lambs were also part of the sin offering for the whole nation at Hizqiyahu's cleansing and restarting of Temple services (2 Chron. 29:21) and upon return from the Babylonian captivity. (Ezra 8:35) As we, the other "righteous nation" of Scripture, move further back from our exile and repent and return to our roots and the eventual linkage with our counterpart in Yehudah, we must recall that the proper understanding of the Torah itself must be found in the life and covenant of Avraham, just as the Renewed Covenant can only be properly understood through the Torah. As history expanded outward from Adam and Avraham, it is contracting back now, and our focus is again getting narrower. Fikhol: in Hebrew it sounds like "the mouth of all", reminding us that every tongue must swear to YHWH. (Yeshayahu 45:23) Here, every tongue had to admit that Avraham--not the righteous nation, not Constantine, not Eusebius, not Paul, not Moshe, not even Yahshua--had dug this well. Only this confession will give us the proper context for confessing that Yahshua is master.

Be'er-Sheva: a word play combining "well of the seven" with "well of the oath". The number seven thus represents an oath sworn by witnesses, or a complete witness, since seven is the number of completion. This particular oath was indeed honored for centuries. (26:13ff). At left: the well beside the tel of Be'er-Sheva.

32. And so they cut a covenant in Be'er-Sheva, and Avimelekh and Fikhol rose up and returned to the land of the Filistines.

This does not necessarily indicate that Avimelekh was a Filistine; it may only be a clarification by Moshe of the area in which he lived. On the other hand, it may mean that the Filistines were already settling in the Land by this time, and that they were not yet as evil as they would later be.

Tamarisk: A tree that does not grow tall but very wide, with abundant foliage so as to provide ample shade. It can even absorb salt water, and since it can use water other plants cannot, its bark is unattractive to insects and birds, making it a very pleasant place to entertain guests. The Mishnah calls it the "tree of hospitality", saying that its Hebrew name, ashel, is an acronym for akkolah (food), shetiyah (drink), and lavayah (escort)--the three things an ancient host was always expected to provide for his guests. Targum Neofiti says he planted an entire orchard and fed passersby from it, and when they asked the price, he said it was to give praise to the one who fed them, who had created heaven and earth. Eternal Elohim: or "Elohim of the [whole] world". At this place of completion (by its connection to the number seven, where the Sabbatical cycle is complete), the whole "circle" of the earth is seen to be under his sovereignty. By swearing an oath (the same word for seven), one is saying that the other party is the one who completes him. So seven is the number of a promise. But seven is the number of the Sabbath as well, a sign of the covenant. (Ex. 31:13-17) Should we enter into an agreement with anyone who does not observe YHWH's Sabbath? How could such a person uphold us? Called on the Name: appealing to the merciful side of His nature--perhaps because of what he did next:

CHAPTER 22 - The Akkeydah (Binding)

These things: the years in which he lived in the Filistine territory. But the phrase literally means , "these words". Which words? The last recorded words are that he proclaimed the Name of YHWH as the eternal Elohim, or the Elohim of everything. (21:33) YHWH now tested whether he actually believed what he had said. Did he see that eternity as touching his own life? Have the insights he has received really shaped who he is? Did He really believe YHWH controls everything? He had learned many things about YHWH--that He is both just and merciful, that He provides, but that there will be trouble if we do things our own way instead of His, and that He alone is to be feared, not men. Our words will be judged--not just the evil things we do, like a judge in a courtroom, but how well we did the right things, as a judge at a county fair who proves who has really done the best. He has received many blessings from YHWH, and that is when the test usually comes. He has learned not to be attached to what is not YHWH's perfect wil; now He must learn whether he is more attached to YHWH or to what He has promised and provided:

He has already passed the first part of the test well by responding quickly and presenting himself as ready to do whatever YHWH might ask. Your only one: a term for one specially-beloved, but literally the one united to you, which Yishmael was not, spiritually. He is told to view Yitzhaq as his only son. He was the result of Avraham's unity with Sarah after he had ceased to describe her as merely a sister. Yet now that he has learned to properly love her, YHWH is testing whether he still loves Him more than Sarah. Will what unites them stand between him and YHWH? With Yitzhaq, he would no longer be an individual of faith, but a people. Whom you love: Avraham, in his natural heart, did love Yishmael (21:11-12), but he had to choose one over the other--often the meaning of "love" in Hebrew--instead of letting his natural emotions rule. What is natural must be challenged. Avraham's strong points were mercy and hospitality, but he needed to rise above this inclination and do as the situation called for, even when it was not easy. We too have to lay down our preferences so that Avraham's house may be built in the way YHWH desires. A midrash recorded in Aramaic targum Pseudo-Jonathan says Yishma'el was arguing that he was more worthy to be Avraham's heir because he had been circumcised at 13, when he could have refused, but did not, while Yitzhaq had been too young to choose. To this Yitzhaq replied, "Am am now 37 years old [a tradition based on the age of Sarah in 23:1], and if He were to ask for all of my members, I would not withhold them." YHWH heard him and this precipitated the test here. Moryah: "Myrrh of YHWH", or "YHWH's Teacher". Ascending: this foreshadows the pilgrimage festivals, which would have this spot as their focus for Yitzhaq's progeny. The word "offering" does not appear in the text, and the word "burnt" is not here, although what is burnt will "go up" in smoke. YHWH intended the ascent to take another form than burning (for He would later say that such an act is an abomination to Him), yet he knew that to obey would mean to give up his son. For a man known for his compassion, this was a very difficult thing to do. But a person cannot build up one side of his body and let the other side remain limp. David could be both deeply compassionate as well as a man of war, and YHWH said he was a man after His own heart. So, as the Maccabean priests who were not required to go to war were the first ones to start the revolt against the Greeks, he trusted YHWH and did what was unnatural:

Rose early: He did it as soon as he could. Many people in Scripture rose early to meet YHWH, for in the early hours before the noise of the day drowns out YHWH's still, small voice, we can hear Him more clearly. We need to become so close to Him that we can recognize His voice. Avraham had nothing to go on but this voice and a vision (v. 4), and he could easily have reasoned that this could not be YHWH. He had none of the Torah and prophets that we have today by which to verify that it is really Him speaking. Yet he did not hesitate or wait for confirmation, but went as far as he could on the limited information he had. He did not ask ask YHWH to explain Himself, or put it off until he had gone through his normal daily routines or even let Yitzhaq spend a last day with his mother. He does not let what Sarah would think of this influence his decision. He might have many valid reasons to delay, but this was now the only calling on his life, and became his only priority. He was not even deterred by the humiliation he would bear in the eyes of his pagan neighbors to whom he had preached against sacrificing their children to their elohim. This is the main way he differed from them; he worshipped his Elohim by instead by caring for his family and students. We often think of Avraham's faith mainly as belief in one Elohim, but in Hebrew the basic meaning of "faith" is trust and confidence that YHWH's promise is a sure foundation though everything else seems to be crumbling. YHWH appeared to be rescinding his only connection with His promises, but he knew that if he obeyed, the rest was YHWH's responsibility. This request went against everything he was about, which showed that he was not "about" enough yet, for staying within our comfort zone brings little advancement to the Kingdom. Like a child trying new things, what we overcome makes us more mature. It made no sense to him, but he must have reasoned that it did make sense to YHWH. Though he had gotten where he was by rebelling against paganism, He now had to trust that he would learn something new from YHWH in the process. Thus, rather than taking something from him, YHWH was actually giving him something--making him more flexible and well-rounded so he could go beyond his own strengths, preferences, or even beliefs. Young men: i.e., servants. He may have thought there would be more work to do on the way, or may have thought that YHWH would ask for even more of an offering than Yitzhaq. The young witnesses are not named, because they represent the Torah and the prophets, which cannot come to maturity until Yitzhaq is fruitful. Split the wood: a foreshadowing of the branches of his family tree being split so that more branches could be grafted in. (v. 18)

He had come as far as he could with the information YHWH had given first, but note that he did not wait for all the details before acting, but took what steps he could to obey, and got to where YHWH could show him the specifics. Lifted up his eyes: an idiom for foreseeing in the spirit as well. A day is like a thousand years to YHWH. (Ps. 90:4) Prophetically, the third millennium after this is when Messiah would be seen. "The Place" is a Jewish euphemism for where YHWH would set His name (Neh. 1:9), and indeed Moryah would later become the Temple Mount. (He seems to have perceived this in v. 5.) Yaaqov, being a "man of tents" (25:27) who understood this "language", would have heard of it and thus recognized it when he came upon it. (28:17) It is first visible from a point south of Yerushalayim called Talpioth.

5. And Avraham told his young men, "You stay here with the donkey, while I and the young man go yonder, so that we may worship, and then we will come back to you."

The donkey: chamor. An unclean beast could not enter a holy place. But the root word is chamar, meaning "everything heaped together", hence a picture of the "world" outside of YHWH's covenant. (See also note on 44:3.) He left those who could not see the place with the "world". But a donkey is the only animal that can be redeemed. (Ex. 13:13) So he tells the witnesses and the redeemed world that not only Yitzhaq, but he himself would return to them. (See note on v. 19.) The young man: Yishmael was also called this (21:17-18), so Avraham was acting out the Yom Kippur ceremony before it was overt: one of his two "firstborn sons" was sent off into the desert, and the other was offered up at the Temple Mount. Worship: literally, fall prostrate before. Thus Yitzhaq could not ascend until he had lowered himself.

Laid it upon his son: Yahshua, too, had the "tree" (same word as wood in Hebrew) laid on his back to carry when He was about to be sacrificed. Walked together: in unity. Avraham was on the same "wavelength" as his son. Also reminiscent of Chanoch, who walked with Elohim (5:24).

Yahshua likewise asked His Father a question ("Can't this cup be taken from Me?") prior to His being offered.

Walked on together: i.e., they remained in agreement; Avraham's answered satisfied Yitzhaq, like Yahshua, who told His Father, "Not My will, but Yours be done". (Lk. 22:42; Yochanan 10:18)

Bound: This is where the traditional title for this chapter is derived from. It is the only chapter in the Torah with its own title, indicating how pivotal this passage is. And it is not just a story, but a launching pad to understand what YHWH is doing in us as we return to the covenant of Avraham. Avraham reasoned that since YHWH had promised to preserve his seed through Yitzhaq, YHWH must have planned to raise him from the dead (Heb. 11:19), and this faith was counted for righteousness. Tradition said Yitzhaq asked to be bound so he would not try to escape, and thus render Avraham's offering unfit and they both be destroyed. Yahshua too had to trust YHWH's power to resurrect him, and that he would one day see the fruit of his suffering (Yeshay./Isa.53:10). Jewish tradition says that at this point, YHWH spoke (possibly to the messenger seen in verse 11) and said, "Come and see two singular persons in My world: one who slaughters and does not hesitate, and one who is being slaughtered and stretches out his own neck." Above the wood: a foreshadowing of Yahshua's death being a covering or atonement for corruptible men. On the literal level, it seems to have been a two-tiered altar, with the wood for the fire on one level, and the slaying area a step higher. (In the Temple, as well, the animals were not slain on the altar, but carried there after having been cut up.)

He would not stab him like so many traditional depictions, but kill him like a kosher animal is killed, with one quick, painless slit across the jugular vein and windpipe.

12. And He said, "Do not stretch out your hand toward the lad or do anything to him, because now I know that you are a fearer of Elohim; you have not withheld even your son--your only one--from Me."

Do not stretch out your hand: Yahshua also told Miryam, "Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to My Father." (Yochanan 20:17) Fearer of Elohim: contrast Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 41:8, where he is called His friend. Your only one: YHWH did not recognize Yishmael as Avraham's true son, but was still kind to him for Avraham's sake.

There is a double meaning here: the word for "behind" can also mean "after him (in time)". Avraham had a vision of the antitype, but in v. 8, he had spoken of a lamb (a young sheep) being provided by YHWH, but here it is a ram (a full-grown one). So there remained a prophecy to fulfill. This is what Yochanan the Immerser had to have been alluding to when he identified Yahshua as the "lamb of Elohim, who bears the sins of the world", since the Passover lamb as such does not bear away sin, but wards off the death angel (though this, too, is accomplished by Yahshua). As Avraham offered up his only son, YHWH would also offer His "only Son" (Yochanan 3:16; 10:30) further up the same mountain at the very time when the lambs were offered one Passover. Ayil, the word for ram here, also means "mighty man", "pillar", doorpost", "leader", or "mighty terebinth tree". So he saw a "mighty leader at a later time". The ram may or may not also refer to Yahshua, but the fact that two different descriptions are given at least shows that there was an actual animal involved, but there was also a picture to be seen in it. . Horns: a symbol of authority, which also got Yahshua in trouble with the jealous authorities. In place of: or "below", i.e., on the lower tier of the altar (see note on v. 9). One reason for this ambiguity is seen in the note on v. 19. But he was called to ascend, and the Hebrew word for staircase means "ascender". An idiom for coming to the Land of Israel, and especially to Yerushalayim, is to "make aliyah" (ascend). Yitzhaq indeed never did leave the Land of Israel, for to do so is thus to descend. Yet since Yerushalayim is called the place where heaven and earth meet (based on Psalm 122:3), he might have been on the true altar in the permanent city which is not yet seen but sits "above" the temporary altar where the ram was offered.

YHWH would see that Avraham would withhold nothing from him. Yerushalayim may mean, "He sees a double peace"--for here YHWH would look upon the temple sacrifices, which brought atonement, as well as Yahshua, who made peace between the two estranged houses of Israel again (Efesians 2:14), for Gulgol'tha, where he died, is on the same mountain. From this mountain, too, the Messiah will reign in peace and justice for 1,000 years, for Mt. Tzion is now joined to Mt. Moryah. It is the "one of the mountains" (which can also be read as "single, unified mountain") on which all these important events took place.

16. And he said, "'I have sworn by Myself', declares YHWH, 'that on account of this thing that you have done, not even withholding from Me your son, your only son,

Sworn by Myself: thus it is no longer a two-party covenant, but an irrevocable oath. (Heb. 6:13ff; 7:20ff)

Stars: this promise is repeated. Sand: this promise was added because of his obedience. (v. 18; compare Yeshayahu 49:6.) Capture: dispossess, inherit, and occupy. Gate: stronghold of government; cf. Matt. 16:18 . Yahshua, too, was rewarded and exalted by His Father (Yeshayahu 53:12; Phil. 2:11) because of his obedient action, and is counted worthy of honor by men because of it (Rev. 5:9).

Mingled: or grafted; see 48:4, 16, 19; 49:22; Ruth 4:10ff; Hos. 7:8; Yeshayahu/Isaiah 49:6; Rom. 11:17ff. Obeyed: literally, heard (though obedience is indeed implied)--for YHWH saw that Avraham had taken both of His contradictory words ("I will continue your seed through Yitzhaq" and "kill your childless son") as truth; he "heard" what YHWH was saying, though it was incomprehensible.

Yitzhaq is conspicuously absent! Does this mean Avraham did indeed kill Yitzhaq? Asa a rabbi in the 12th century asked, what would it accomplish if Avraham had faith but did not actually complete the deed? He could still back out at the last moment. But verse 16 speaks of the act as having been done. In v. 6, Avraham had two things in his hand(s). In v. 12 Yahshua told him not to stretch out his hand toward him: yet he had already done so (v. 10), but he had both a knife and fire; he could have used the knife in one hand but not set him on fire, as those who offered their children to Moloch did, as Messiah died but was not consumed. In this context, "Do not touch the lad" would mean "Do not defile yourself with a dead body" or "Leave him there and let YHWH take care of what happens." Taking this death as literal might provide a precedent for the human sacrifice of Yahshua. It might also explain why Sarah lived in a different place than Avraham after this (23:2) and may have died of grief because she did not have Avraham's faith. In any case, the actual text, in which Yitzhaq is never unbound and he does not again appear until his bride is ready, is a picture of Messiah's ascending into heaven until His return for his bride. (He said, "You will not see me until you say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of YHWH"--a phrase traditionally associated with a bridegroom!) Despite his promise that both of them would return (v. 5), here only Avraham is seen as returning, he was a prophet, so he had confidence that eventually Yitzhaq would return. (Compare Yochanan 14:3) Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says that the reason Yitzhaq does not return yet is that Avraham sent him to the school of Shem for three years. Since Melkhitzedeq is identified with Shem and he lived but half a mile away in Shalem (which would later be Yerushalayim), it was only natural that, having ascended, he would not descend again until he had learned something worth teaching others, just like the Levites who would later come up to Yerushalayim to serve and go back down to teach the rest of Israel. Note also that it is Avraham, who represents the covenant, comes back to the witnesses and the redeemed before Yitzhaq, who represents Yahshua, does. They have not seen any of the other proceedings; that Avraham returns first is all they are witness to. We cannot expect to see Yahshua until we have the covenant with Avraham restored.

21. "Utz, his firstborn; Buz, his brother; and Qemu-El, the father of Aram;

Utz: Iyov/Job later lived in his land. Buz appears in Iyov 32:2. This Aram is not Shem's son as in 10:22.

Kessed: ancestor of the Kasdim, or Chaldeans, Iyov 1:17.

Yitzhaq's bride's (v. 23) is introduced right after his "death" or "ascension"--just as Yahshua's bride/Body was made possible only when he died. Rivqah means "ensnarer" or "captivating". She would indeed ensnare the blessing for the son she (and YHWH) loved. (ch. 27)

They inhabited Bashan/the Golan Heights, and are associated with Aram, or Syria. (1 Chron. 19:6). Thus Nakhor, like Esau, Yishma'el, and later Yaaqov, had twelve sons.