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SOME STUDY GEMS:
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Study Gem : Making a vow
Genesis 47:31 And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So far there has already been 3 instances of swearing oaths. Genesis 24, 25 and 26 with Abraham twice, and Jacob making his brother Esauw swear for his birthright. And not just swear – but swear by the name of YHVH. So to absolutely make an oath by YHVHs’ name is not a sin – BUT – see the warnings we get from doing this:
Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you make a vow to Elohim, do not delay to pay it, for He takes no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you have vowed.”
Even Yeshua quoted the laws from Moses, that we are not to swear falsely or use YHVHs’ name falsely (3rd commandment), see how serious your words and commitments are:
Matthew 5 : 33 “Again, you heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to YHVH.’ 34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by the heaven, because it is Elohim’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Yerushalayim, for it is the city of the great Sovereign; 36 nor swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 “But let your word ‘Yea’ be ‘Yea,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ And what goes beyond these is from the wicked one.
Study Gem : Josephs' 2 sons
Again we have a story of two sons! And the focus on olders vs younger.
Gen 48:5 “And now, your two sons, Ephrayim and Menashsheh, who were born to you in the land of Mitsrayim before I came to you in Mitsrayim, are mine – as Re’uḇĕn and Shim‛on, they are mine.”
The 12 tribes have 2 extra members! Although there are always talked about the 12 tribes. Later there is a change in the members. We see Joshua who takes the Hebrews into the promised land, is from the tribe of Ephraim (the younger one who is promised to lead).
Genesis 48:14 “And Yisra’ĕl stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephrayim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Menashsheh’s head, consciously directing his hands, for Menashsheh was the first-born.”
Later when the tribes split into North and South, there are 10 tribes in the North – and Ephraim is the symbol or head of those tribes. When prophets like Hosea prophesied over Ephraim – they were talking about all 10 tribes.
Study Gem : Knees
Genesis 48:12-15 – and Joseph took his two grandsons by his knees (H1290 – bereḵ), and he blessed them. In a previous notes (genesis-22-24) we looked at the meaning of the word Bless ( H1288 – bāraḵ) which means knee. And the knee also means to graft in – like a branch into a tree. And this is exactly what Joseph is doing – he says, these two sons are now HIS OWN SONS. But also, just the classic picture of a grandfather putting the grandchildren on his knees and blessing them.. so beautiful!
