Genesis 1

Genesis 1
Parashah 1: B’resheet (In the beginning) 1:1–6:8

¹ In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and HaRuach Elohei hovered over the surface of the water. ³ Then Elohim said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ Elohim saw that the light was good, and Elohim divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.

⁶ Elohim said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” ⁷ Elohim made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, ⁸ and Elohim called the dome heaven. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ Elohim said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. ¹⁰ Elohim called the dry land earth, the gathering together of the water he called seas, and Elohim saw that it was good.

¹¹ Elohim said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹² The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and Elohim saw that it was good. ¹³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

(A: ii) ¹⁴ Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹⁶ Elohim made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. ¹⁷ Elohim put them in the dome of the heavens to give light to the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and Elohim saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ Elohim said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” ²¹ Elohim created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and Elohim saw that it was good. ²² Then Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

(A: iii) ²⁴ Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. ²⁵ Elohim made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and Elohim saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then Elohim said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”

²⁷ So Elohim created humankind in his own image;
in the image of ELOHIM he created him:
male and female he created them.

²⁸ Elohim blessed them: Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” ²⁹ Then Elohim said, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. ³⁰ And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant.” And that is how it was. ³¹ Elohim saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day

Genesis 2

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. ² On the seventh day Elohim was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. ³ Elohim blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day Elohim rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.

(A: iv, S: ii) ⁴ Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when יהְוַה, Elohim, made earth and heaven, ⁵ there was as yet no wild bush on the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for יְהוַה, Elohim, had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the ground. ⁶ Rather, a mist went up from the earth which watered the entire surface of the ground.

⁷ Then יְהוַה, Elohim, formed a person from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being. ⁸ יְהוַה, Elohim, planted a garden toward the east, in ‘Eden, and there he put the person whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground יְהוַה, Elohim, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river went out of ‘Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four streams. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it winds throughout the land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gichon; it winds throughout the land of Kush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ יְהוַה, Elohim, took the person and put him in the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate and care for it. ¹⁶ יהְוַה, Elohim, gave the person this order: “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden ¹⁷ except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.”

¹⁸ יְהוַה, Elohim, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” ¹⁹ So from the ground יְהוַה, Elohim, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) ²⁰ So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.

²¹ Then Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. ²² The rib which יְהוַה, Elohim, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person. ²³ The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called WoAdam , because she was taken out of Adam .” ²⁴ This is why Adam is to leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and they are to be one flesh.

²⁵ They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

Genesis 3

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which יְהוַה, Elohim had made. He said to the woman, “Did ELOHIM really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, ³ but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden ELOHIM said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; ⁵ because ELOHIM knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like ELOHIM, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.

⁸ They heard the voice יְהוַה, Elohim, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of יְהוַה, Elohim, among the trees in the garden. ⁹ יְהוַה, Elohim, called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?” ¹² The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ יְהוַה, Elohim, said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me, so I ate.”

¹⁴ Y יְהוַה, Elohim, said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live. ¹⁵ I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. ¹⁹ You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground — for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.”

²⁰ The man called his wife Havah [life], because she was the mother of all living.

²¹ יְהוַה, Elohim, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

(A: v, S: iv) ²² יְהוַה, Elohim, said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever — ” ²³ therefore יְהוַה, Elohim, sent him out of the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east of the garden of ‘Eden the k’ruvim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

 

Genesis 4

¹ The man had sexual relations with Havah his wife; she conceived, gave birth to Kayin [acquisition] and said, “I have acquired a man from יְהוַה.” ² In addition she gave birth to his brother Hevel. Hevel kept sheep, while Kayin worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Kayin brought an offering to יְהוַה from the produce of the soil; ⁴ and Hevel too brought from the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat. יְהוַה accepted Hevel and his offering ⁵ but did not accept Kayin and his offering. Kayin was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ יְהוַה said to Kayin, “Why are you angry? Why so downcast? ⁷ If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.” ⁸ Kayin had words with Hevel his brother; then one time, when they were in the field, Kayin turned on Hevel his brother and killed him.

⁹ יְהוַה said to Kayin, “Where is Hevel your brother?” And he replied, “I don’t know; am I my brother’s guardian?” ¹⁰ He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! ¹¹ Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. ¹² When you farm the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive, wandering the earth.” ¹³ Kayin said to יְהוַה, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ You are banning me today from the land and from your presence. I will be a fugitive wandering the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ יְהוַה answered him, “Therefore, whoever kills Kayin will receive vengeance sevenfold,” and יְהוַה put a sign on Kayin, so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Kayin left the presence of יְהוַה and lived in the land of Nod [wandering], east of ‘Eden.

¹⁷ Kayin had sexual relations with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Hanokh. Kayin built a city and named the city after his son Hanokh. ¹⁸ To Hanokh was born ‘Irad. ‘Irad fathered Mechuya’el, Mechuya’el fathered Metusha’el, and Metusha’el fathered Lemekh.

(S: v) ¹⁹ Lemekh took himself two wives; the name of the one was ‘Adah, while the name of the other was Tzilah. ²⁰ ‘Adah gave birth to Yaval; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have cattle. ²¹ His brother’s name was Yuval; and he was the ancestor of all who play lyre and flute. ²² Tzilah gave birth to Tuval-Kayin, who forged all kinds of tools from brass and iron; the sister of Tuval-Kayin was Na‘amah. ²³ Lemekh said to his wives,

“‘Adah and Tzilah, listen to me;
wives of Lemekh, hear what I say:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man who injured me.
²⁴ If Kayin will be avenged sevenfold,
then Lemekh seventy-sevenfold!”

²⁵ Adam again had sexual relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Shet [granted], “For Elohim has granted me another seed in place of Hevel, since Kayin killed him.” ²⁶ To Shet too was born a son, whom he called Enosh. That is when people began to call on the name of יְהוַה.

Genesis 5

(vi) ¹ Here is the genealogy of Adam. On the day that Elohim created man he made him in the likeness of Elohim; ² he created them male and female; he blessed them and called them Adam [humankind, man] on the day they were created. ³ After Adam lived 130 years he fathered a son like himself and named him Shet. ⁴ After Shet was born, Adam lived another 800 years and had both sons and daughters. ⁵ In all, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

⁶ Shet lived 105 years and fathered Enosh. ⁷ After Enosh was born, Shet lived another 807 years and had sons and daughters. ⁸ In all, Shet lived 912 years; then he died.

⁹ Enosh lived ninety years and fathered Kenan. ¹⁰ After Kenan was born, Enosh lived another 815 years and had sons and daughters. ¹¹ In all, Enosh lived 905 years; then he died.

¹² Kenan lived seventy years and fathered Mahalal’el. ¹³ After Mahalal’el was born, Kenan lived another 840 years and had sons and daughters. ¹⁴ In all, Kenan lived 910 years; then he died.

¹⁵ Mahalal’el lived sixty-five years and fathered Yered. ¹⁶ After Yered was born, Mahalal’el lived another 830 years and had sons and daughters. ¹⁷ In all, Mahalal’el lived 895 years; then he died.

¹⁸ Yered lived 162 years and fathered Hanokh. ¹⁹ After Hanokh was born, Yered lived 800 years and had sons and daughters. ²⁰ In all, Yered lived 962 years; then he died.

²¹ Hanokh lived sixty-five years and fathered Metushelach. ²² After Metushelach was born, Hanokh walked with Elohim 300 years and had sons and daughters. ²³ In all, Hanokh lived 365 years. ²⁴ Hanokh walked with God, and then he wasn’t there, because ELOHIM took him.

(vii) ²⁵ Metushelach lived 187 years and fathered Lemekh. ²⁶ After Lemekh was born, Metushelach lived 782 years and had sons and daughters. ²⁷ In all, Metushelach lived 969 years; then he died.

²⁸ Lemekh lived 182 years and fathered a son, ²⁹ whom he called Noach [restful]; for he said, “This one will comfort us in our labor, in the hard work we do with our hands [to get what comes] from the ground that יְהוַה cursed.” ³⁰ After Noach was born, Lemekh lived 595 years and had sons and daughters. ³¹ In all, Lemekh lived 777 years; then he died.

³² Noach was 500 years old; and Noach fathered Shem, Ham and Yefet.

Genesis 6

¹ In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of Elohim saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³ יְהוַה said, “My RUACH will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.” ⁴ The N’filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.

(Maftir) ⁵ yhwh saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only. ⁶ יְהוַה regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart. ⁷ יְהוַה said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them.” ⁸ But Noach found grace in the sight of יְהוַה.

Haftarah B’resheet: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 42:5–43:10 (A); 42:5–21 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’resheet: Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:1–17; 19:3–9; Mark 10:1–12; Luke 3:23–38; Yochanan (John) 1:1–18; 1 Corinthians 6:15–20; 15:35–58; Romans 5:12–21; Ephesians 5:21–32; Colossians 1:14–17; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 1:1–3; 3:7–4:11; 11:1–7; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 3:3–14; Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5

Parashah 2: Noach (Noah) 6:9–11:32

⁹ Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with ELOHIM. ¹⁰ Noach fathered three sons, Shem, Ham and Yefet. ¹¹ The earth was corrupt before ELOHIM, the earth was filled with violence. ¹² ELOHIM saw the earth, and, yes, it was corrupt; for all living beings had corrupted their ways on the earth.

¹³ ELOHIM said to Noach, “The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gofer-wood; you are to make the ark with rooms and cover it with pitch both outside and inside. ¹⁵ Here is how you are to build it: the length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width seventy-five feet and its height forty-five feet. ¹⁶ You are to make an opening for daylight in the ark eighteen inches below its roof. Put a door in its side; and build it with lower, second and third decks.

¹⁷ “Then I myself will bring the flood of water over the earth to destroy from under heaven every living thing that breathes; everything on earth will be destroyed. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

¹⁹ “From everything living, from each kind of living being, you are to bring two into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they are to be male and female. ²⁰ Of each kind of bird, each kind of livestock, and each kind of animal creeping on the ground, two are to come to you, so that they can be kept alive. ²¹ Also take from all the kinds of food that are eaten, and collect it for yourself; it is to be food for you and for them.” ²² This is what Noach did; he did all that ELOHIM ordered him to do.

Genesis 7

¹ (ii) יְהוַה said to Noach, “Come into the ark, you and all your household; for I have seen that you alone in this generation are righteous before me. ² Of every clean animal you are to take seven couples, and of the animals that are not clean, one couple; ³ also of the birds in the air take seven couples — in order to preserve their species throughout the earth. ⁴ For in seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth.” ⁵ Noach did all that יְהוַה ordered him to do.

⁶ Noach was 600 years old when the water flooded the earth. ⁷ Noach went into the ark with his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters. ⁸ Of clean animals, of animals that are not clean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, ⁹ couples, male and female, went in to Noach in the ark, as ELOHIM had ordered Noach.

¹⁰ After seven days the water flooded the earth. ¹¹ On the seventeenth day of the second month of the 600th year of Noach’s life all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the sky were opened. ¹² It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On that same day Noach entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Yefet the sons of Noach, Noach’s isha (wife) and the three wives of his benim accompanying them; ¹⁴ they, and every animal of every species, all the livestock of every species, every animal that creeps on the ground of every species, and every bird of every species — all sorts of winged creatures. ¹⁵ They went in to Noach in the ark, couples from every kind of living thing that breathes. ¹⁶ Those that entered went in, male and female, from every kind of living being, as ELOHIM had ordered him; and יְהוַה shut him inside.

(iii) ¹⁷ The flood was forty days on ha'eretz; hamayim grew higher and floated the ark, so that it was lifted up off ha'eretz. ¹⁸ Hamayim overflowed ha'aretz and grew deeper, until the ark floated on the surface of hamayim. ¹⁹ Hamayim overpowered the earth mightily; all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered; ²⁰ the water covered the mountains by more than twenty-two-and-a-half feet. ²¹ All living beings that moved on the earth perished — birds, livestock, other animals, insects, and every human being, ²² everything in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life; whatever was on dry land died. ²³ He wiped out every living thing on the surface of the ground — not only human beings, but livestock, creeping animals and birds in the air. They were wiped out from the earth; only Noach was left, along with those who were with him in the ark. ²⁴ The water held power over the earth for 150 days.

B'reshit/Genesis 8

¹ ELOHIM remembered Noach, every living thing and all the livestock with him in the ark; so ELOHIM caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to go down. ² Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the sky were stopped, the rain from the sky was restrained, ³ and the water came back from completely covering the earth. It was after 150 days that the water went down. ⁴ On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The water kept going down until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.

⁶ After forty days Noach opened the window of the ark which he had built; ⁷ and he sent out a raven, which flew back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water had gone from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove found no place for her feet to rest, so she returned to him in the ark, because the water still covered the whole earth. He put out his hand, took her and brought her in to him in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹ The dove came in to him in the evening, and there in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf, so Noach knew that the water had cleared from the earth. ¹² He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, and she didn’t return to him anymore.

¹³ By the first day of the first month of the 601st year the water had dried up from off the earth; so Noach removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ It was on the twenty-seventh day of the second month that the earth was dry.

(iv) ¹⁵ ELOHIM said to Noach, ¹⁶ “Go out from the ark, you, your wife, your sons and your son’s wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing you have with you — birds, livestock and every animal that creeps on the earth — so that they can swarm on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noach went out with his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives; ¹⁹ every animal, every creeping thing and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

²⁰ Noach built an altar to יְהוַה. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ יְהוַה smelled the sweet aroma, and יְהוַה said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done. ²² So long as the earth exists, sowing time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

Genesis 9

ELOHIM blessed Noach and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. ² The fear and dread of you will be upon every wild animal, every bird in the air, every creature populating the ground, and all the fish in the sea; they have been handed over to you. ³ Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; just as I gave you green plants before, so now I give you everything — ⁴ only flesh with its life, which is its blood, you are not to eat. ⁵ I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being. ⁶ Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for ELOHIM made human beings in his image. ⁷ And you people, be fruitful, multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply on it.”

(v) ⁸ ELOHIM spoke to Noach and his sons with him; he said, ⁹ “As for me — I am herewith establishing my covenant with you, with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you — the birds, the livestock and every wild animal with you, all going out of the ark, every animal on earth. ¹¹ I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² ELOHIM added, “Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: ¹³ I am putting my rainbow in the cloud — it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. ¹⁶ The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between ELOHIM and every living creature of any kind on the earth.”

¹⁷ ELOHIM said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth.”

(vi) ¹⁸ The sons of Noach who went out from the ark were Shem, Ham and Yefet. Ham is the father of Kena‘an. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noach, and the whole earth was populated by them.

²⁰ Noach, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. ²¹ He drank so much of the wine that he got drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Kena‘an, saw his father shamefully exposed, went out and told his two brothers. ²³ Shem and Yefet took a cloak, put it over both their shoulders, and, walking backward, went in and covered their naked father. Their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father lying there shamefully exposed.

²⁴ When Noach awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ He said, “Cursed be Kena‘an; he will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” ²⁶ Then he said, “Blessed be יְהוַה, the ELOHEI Shem; Kena‘an will be their servant. ²⁷ May ELOHIM enlarge Yefet; he will live in the tents of Shem, but Kena‘an will be their servant.”

²⁸ After the flood Noach lived 350 years. ²⁹ In all, Noach lived 950 years; then he died.

Genesis 10

¹ Here is the genealogy of the sons of Noach — Shem, Ham and Yefet; sons were born to them after the flood.

² The sons of Yefet were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshekh and Tiras. ³ The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Rifat and Togarmah. ⁴ The sons of Yavan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. ⁵ From these the islands of the nations were divided into their lands, each according to its language, according to their families, in their nations.

⁶ The sons of Ham were Kush, Mitzrayim, Put and Kena‘an. ⁷ The sons of Kush were S’va, Havilah, Savta, Ra‘mah and Savt’kha. The sons of Ra‘mah were Sh’va and D’dan.

⁸ Kush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful ruler on earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before יְהוַה — this is why people say, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before יְהוַה.” ¹⁰ His kingdom began with Bavel, Erekh, Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shin‘ar. ¹¹ Ashur went out from that land and built Ninveh, the city Rechovot, Kelach, ¹² and Resen between Ninveh and Kelach — that one is the great city.

¹³ Mitzrayim fathered the Ludim, the ‘Anamim, the L’havim, the Naftuchim, ¹⁴ the Patrusim, the Kasluchim (from whom came the P’lishtim) and the Kaftorim.

¹⁵ Kena‘an fathered Tzidon his firstborn, Het, ¹⁶ the Y’vusi, the Emori, the Girgashi, ¹⁷ the Hivi, the ‘Arki, the Sini, ¹⁸ the Arvadi, the Tz’mari and the Hamati. Afterwards, the families of the Kena‘ani were dispersed. ¹⁹ The border of the Kena‘ani was from Tzidon, as you go toward G’rar, to ‘Azah; as you go toward S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, to Lesha.

²⁰ These were the descendants of Ham, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.

²¹ Children were also born to Shem, ancestor of all the descendants of ‘Ever and older brother of Yefet. ²² The sons of Shem were ‘Elam, Ashur, Arpakhshad, Lud and Aram. ²³ The sons of Aram were ‘Utz, Hul, Geter and Mash. ²⁴ Arpakhshad fathered Shelach, and Shelach fathered ‘Ever. ²⁵ To ‘Ever were born two sons. One was given the name Peleg [division], because during his lifetime the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Yoktan. ²⁶ Yoktan fathered Almodad, Shelef, Hatzar-Mavet, Yerach, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ ‘Oval, Avima’el, Sheva, ²⁹ Ofir, Havilah and Yovav — all these were the sons of Yoktan. ³⁰ Their territory stretched from Mesha, as you go toward S’far, to the mountain in the east.

³¹ These were the descendants of Shem, according to their families and languages, in their lands and in their nations.

³² These were the families of the sons of Noach, according to their generations, in their nations. From these the nations of the earth were divided up after the flood.

B'reshit/Genesis 11

¹ (S: vii) The whole earth used the same language, the same words. ² It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin‘ar and lived there. ³ They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them in the fire.” So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.”

⁵ יְהוַה came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ יְהוַה said, “Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they’re starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them! ⁷ Come, let’s go down and confuse their language, so that they won’t understand each other’s speech.” ⁸ So from there יְהוַה scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ For this reason it is called Bavel [confusion] — because there יְהוַה confused the language of the whole earth, and from there יְהוַה scattered them all over the earth.

¹⁰ Here is the genealogy of Shem. Shem was 100 years old when he fathered Arpakhshad two years after the flood. ¹¹ After Arpakhshad was born, Shem lived another 500 years and had sons and daughters.

¹² Arpakhshad lived thirty-five years and fathered Shelach. ¹³ After Shelach was born, Arpakhshad lived another 403 years and had sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Shelach lived thirty years and fathered ‘Ever. ¹⁵ After ‘Ever was born, Shelach lived another 403 years and had sons and daughters.

¹⁶ ‘Ever lived thirty-four years and fathered Peleg. ¹⁷ After Peleg was born, ‘Ever lived another 430 years and had sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lived thirty years and fathered Re‘u. ¹⁹ After Re‘u was born, Peleg lived another 209 years and had sons and daughters.

²⁰ Re‘u lived thirty-two years and fathered S’rug. ²¹ After S’rug was born, Re‘u lived another 207 years and had sons and daughters.

²² S’rug lived thirty years and fathered Nachor. ²³ After Nachor was born, S’rug lived another 200 years and had sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nachor lived twenty-nine years and fathered Terach. ²⁵ After Terach was born, Nachor lived another 119 years and had sons and daughters.

²⁶ Terach lived seventy years and fathered Avram, Nachor and Haran. ²⁷ Here is the genealogy of Terach. Terach fathered Avram, Nachor and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. ²⁸ Haran died before his father Terach in the land where he was born, in Ur of the Kasdim.

(Maftir) ²⁹ Then Avram and Nachor took wives for themselves. The name of Avram’s isha was Sarai, and the name of Nachor’s isha was Milkah the daughter of Haran. He was ha'ab of Milkah and of Yiskah. ³⁰ Sarai was barren — she had no child. ³¹ Terach took his son Avram, his son Haran’s son Lot, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, isha Avram his son; and they left Ur of the Kasdim to go to the land of Kena‘an. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. ³² Terach lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

Haftarah Noach: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 54:1–55:5 (A); 54:1–10 (S)

[Messianic adaptation: commence the reading at 52:13]

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Noach: Mattityahu (Matthew) 24:36–44; Luke 17:26–37; Acts 2:1–16; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 3:18–22; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:13

Parashah 3: Lekh L’kha (Get yourself out) 12:1–17:27

Genesis 12

Now יְהוַה H said to Avram, “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

⁴ So Avram went, as יְהוַה had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena‘an and entered the land of Kena‘an.

⁶ Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh’khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena‘ani were then in the land. ⁷ יְהוַה appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to יְהוַה, who had appeared to him.

⁸ He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-EL and pitched his tent. With Beit-EL to the west and ‘Ai to the east, he built an altar there and called on the name of יְהוַה. ⁹ Then Avram traveled on, continuing toward the Negev. ¹⁰ But there was a famine in the land, so Avram went down into Egypt to stay there, because the famine in the land was severe.

¹¹ When he came close to Egypt and was about to enter, he said to Sarai his wife, “Here now, I know that you are a good-looking woman; ¹² so that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and kill me but keep you alive. ¹³ Please say that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me for your sake, and so that I will stay alive because of you.”

(ii) ¹⁴ When Avram entered Egypt, the Egyptians did notice that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s princes saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ He treated Avram well for her sake, giving him sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷ But יְהוַה inflicted great plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai Avram’s wife. ¹⁸ Pharaoh called Avram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my own wife? Now therefore, here is your wife! Take her, and go away!” ²⁰ So Pharaoh gave orders concerning him to his men, and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had.

Genesis 13

Avram went up from Egypt — he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him — into the Negev. ² Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold. ³ As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and ‘Ai, ⁴ where he had first built the altar; and there Avram called on the name of יְהוַה.

(iii) ⁵ Lot, who was traveling with Avram, also had flocks, herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support their living together, because their possessions were too great for them to remain together. ⁷ Moreover, quarreling arose between Avram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. The Kena‘ani and the P’rizi were then living in the land. ⁸ Avram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours, since we’re kinsmen. ⁹ Isn’t the whole land there in front of you? Please separate yourself from me — if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Yarden was well watered everywhere, before יְהוַה destroyed S’dom and ‘Amora, like the garden of יְהוַה, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Tzo‘ar. ¹¹ So Lot chose all the plain of the Yarden for himself, and Lot traveled eastward; thus they separated themselves from each other. ¹² Avram lived in the land of Kena‘an; and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, setting up his tent near S’dom. ¹³ Now the men of S’dom were evil, committing great sins against יְהוַה.

¹⁴ יְהוַה said to Avram, after Lot had moved away from him, “Look all around you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west. ¹⁵ All the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever, ¹⁶ and I will make your descendants as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth — so that if a person can count the specks of dust on the earth, then your descendants can be counted. ¹⁷ Get up and walk through the length and breadth of the land, because I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Avram moved his tent and came to live by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hevron. There he built an altar to יְהוַה.

Genesis 14

¹ (iv) When Amrafel was king of Shin‘ar, Aryokh king of Elasar, K’dorla‘omer king of ‘Elam and Tid‘al king of Goyim; ² they made war together against Bera king of S’dom and against Birsha king of ‘Amora, Shin’av king of Admah, Shem’ever king of Tzvoyim, and the king of Bela (which is the same as Tzo‘ar). ³ All the latter kings joined forces in the Siddim Valley, where the Dead Sea is. ⁴ They had served K’dorla‘omer twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year K’dorla‘omer and the kings with him came and defeated the Refa’im in ‘Asht’rot-Karnayim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Eimim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim ⁶ and the Hori at Se‘ir, their mountain, all the way to Eil-Pa’ran by the desert. ⁷ Next they turned back, came to ‘Ein-Mishpat (which is the same as Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the ‘Amaleki, and also the Emori, who lived in Hatzatzon-Tamar. ⁸ Then the kings of S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah, Tzvoyim and Bela (that is, Tzo‘ar) came out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Siddim Valley ⁹ against K’dorla‘omer king of ‘Elam, Tid‘al king of Goyim, Amrafel king of Admah and Aryokh king of Elasar, four kings against the five.

¹⁰ Now the Siddim Valley was full of clay pits; and when the kings of S’dom and ‘Amora fled, some fell into them; while the rest fled to the hills. ¹¹ The victors took all the possessions of S’dom and ‘Amora and all their food supply; then they left. ¹² But as they left, they took Lot, Avram’s brother’s son, and his possessions; since he was living in S’dom. ¹³ Someone who had escaped came and told Avram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Emori, brother of Eshkol and brother of ‘Aner; all of them allies of Avram. ¹⁴ When Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, who had been born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night he and his servants divided his forces against them, then attacked and pursued them all the way to Hovah, north of Dammesek. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, together with the women and the other people. ¹⁷ After his return from slaughtering K’dorla‘omer and the kings with him, the king of S’dom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley, also known as the King’s Valley.

¹⁸ Malki-Tzedek king of Shalem brought out bread and wine. He was cohen of El ‘Elyon [Elohim Most High], ¹⁹ so he blessed him with these words:

“Blessed be Avram by El ‘Elyon,
maker of heaven of earth.
²⁰ and blessed be El ‘Elyon,
who handed your enemies over to you.”

Avram gave him a tenth of everything.

(v) ²¹ The king of S’dom said to Avram, “Give me the people, and keep the goods for yourself.” ²² But Avram answered the king of S’dom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to יְהוַה, El ‘Elyon, maker of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal thong of anything that is yours; so that you won’t be able to say, ‘I made Avram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take only what my troops have eaten and the share of the spoil belonging to the men who came with me — ‘Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; let them have their share.

 

 

Genesis 15

Sometime later the word of יְהוַה came to Avram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Avram. I am your protector; your reward will be very great.” ² Avram replied, “יְהוַה Elohim, what good will your gifts be to me if I continue childless; and Eli‘ezer from Dammesek inherits my possessions? ³ You haven’t given me a child,” Avram continued, “so someone born in my house will be my heir.” ⁴ But the word of יְהוַה came to him: “This man will not be your heir. No, your heir will be a child from your own body.” ⁵ Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!” ⁶ He believed in יְהוַה, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

(vi) ⁷ Then he said to him, “I am יְהוַה, who brought you out from Ur-Kasdim to give you this land as your possession.” ⁸ He replied, “יְהוַה, Elohim, how am I to know that I will possess it?” ⁹ He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn’t cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Avram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell on Avram; horror and great darkness came over him. ¹³ יְהוַה said to Avram, “Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment.”

¹⁷ After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts. ¹⁸ That day יְהוַה made a covenant with Avram: “I have given this land to your descendants — from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River — ¹⁹ the territory of the Keni, the K’nizi, the Kadmoni, ²⁰ the Hitti, the P’rizi, the Refa’im, ²¹ the Emori, the Kena‘ani, the Girgashi and the Y’vusi.”

Genesis 16

Now Sarai Avram’s wife had not borne him a child. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar; ² so Sarai said to Avram, “Here now, יְוַה has kept me from having children; so go in and sleep with my slave-girl. Maybe I’ll be able to have children through her.” Avram listened to what Sarai said.

³ It was after Avram had lived ten years in the land of Kena‘an that Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife. ⁴ Avram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she became aware that she was pregnant, she looked on her mistress with contempt. ⁵ Sarai said to Avram, “This outrage being done to me is your fault! True, I gave my slave-girl to you to sleep with; but when she saw that she was pregnant, she began holding me in contempt. May יְוַה decide who is right — I or you!” ⁶ However, Avram answered Sarai, “Look, she’s your slave-girl. Deal with her as you think fit.” Then Sarai treated her so harshly that she ran away from her.

⁷ The angel of יְהוַה found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, ⁸ and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s slave-girl! Where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ HaMalachei יְהוַה said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ The angel of יְהוַה said to her, “I will greatly increase your descendants; there will be so many that it will be impossible to count them.” ¹¹ The angel of יְהוַה said to her, “Look, you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You are to call him Yishma‘el [ELOHIM pays attention] because יְהוַה has paid attention to your misery. ¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, living his life at odds with all his kinsmen.”

¹³ So she named יְהוַה who had spoken with her El Ro’i [ELOHIM of seeing], because she said, “Have I really seen the One who sees me [and stayed alive]?” ¹⁴ This is why the well has been called Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i [well of the one who lives and sees]; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ Hagar bore Avram a son, and Avram called the son whom Hagar had borne Yishma‘el. ¹⁶ Avram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Yishma‘el to Avram.

Genesis 17

When Avram was 99 years old יְהוַה appeared to Avram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai [ELOHIM Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. ² I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers greatly.” ³ Avram fell on his face, and ELOHIM continued speaking with him: ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. ⁵ Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations. ⁶ I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you, kings will descend from you.

(vii) ⁷ “I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be ELOHIM for you and for your descendants after you. ⁸ I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Kena‘an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their ELOHIM.”

⁹ ELOHIM said to Avraham, “As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. ¹⁰ Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. ¹³ The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin — that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant.”

¹⁵ ELOHIM said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess]. ¹⁶ I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” ¹⁷ At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, “Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?” ¹⁸ Avraham said to ELOHIM, “If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!” ¹⁹ ELOHIM answered, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz’chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ But as for Yishma‘el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But I will establish my covenant with Yitz’chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” ²² With that, ELOHIM finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.

²³ Avraham took Yishma‘el his son, all the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every male among the people in Avraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, just as ELOHIM had said to him.

(Maftir) ²⁴ Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, ²⁵ and Yishma‘el his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ Avraham and Yishma‘el his son were circumcised on the same day; ²⁷ and all the men in his household, both slaves born in his house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Haftarah Lekh L’kha: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 40:27–41:16

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Lekh L’kha: Acts 7:1–8; Romans 3:19–5:6; Galatians 3:15–18; 5:1–6; Colossians 2:11–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 7:1–19; 11:8–12

Parashah 4: Vayera (He appeared) 18:1–22:24

Genesis 18

¹ יְהוַה appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. ² He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, ³ and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don’t leave your servant. ⁴ Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, ⁵ and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.” “Very well,” they replied, “do what you have said.”

⁶ Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes.” ⁷ Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. ⁹ They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰ He said, “I will certainly return to you around this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard him from the entrance of the tent, behind him. ¹¹ Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “I am old, and so is my lord; am I to have pleasure again?” ¹³ יְהוַה said to Avraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and ask, ‘Am I really going to bear a child when I am so old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for יְהוַה? At the time set for it, at this season next year, I will return to you; and Sarah will have a son.” (ii) ¹⁵ Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t either laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “Not so — you did laugh.”

¹⁶ The men set out from there and looked over toward S’dom, and Avraham went with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ יְהוַה said, “Should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him? ¹⁹ For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of יְהוַה and to do what is right and just, so that יְהוַה may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.”

²⁰ יְהוַה said, “The outcry against S’dom and ‘Amora is so great and their sin so serious ²¹ that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know.” ²² The men turned away from there and went toward S’dom, but Avraham remained standing before יְהוַה.
²³ Avraham approached and said, “Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶ יְהוַה said, “If I find in S’dom fifty who are righteous, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Avraham answered, “Here now, I, who am but dust and ashes, have taken it upon myself to speak to יְהוַה. ²⁸ What if there are five less than fifty righteous?” He said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

²⁹ He spoke to him yet again: “What if forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the forty I won’t do it.”

³⁰ He said, “I hope יְהוַה won’t be angry if I speak. What if thirty are found there?” He said, “I won’t do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ He said, “Here now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to יְהוַה. What if twenty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the twenty I won’t destroy it.”

³² He said, “I hope יְהוַה won’t be angry if I speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the ten I won’t destroy it.” ³³ YHWH went on his way as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.

Genesis 19

(iii) ¹The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. ² He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” ³ But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.

⁴ But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house — young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S’dom. ⁵ They called Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!” ⁶ Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. ⁸ Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don’t do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.” ⁹ “Stand back!” they replied. “This guy came to live here, and now he’s decided to play judge. For that we’ll deal worse with you than with them!” Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn’t find the doorway.

¹² The men said to Lot, “Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city — son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — bring them out of this place; ¹³ because we are going to destroy it. יְהוַה has become aware of the great outcry against them, and יְהוַה has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up and leave this place, because יְהוַה is going to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law didn’t take him seriously.

¹⁵ When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. “Get up,” they said, “and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters — יְהוַה was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city. ¹⁷ When they had brought them out, he said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.” ¹⁸ Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lord! ¹⁹ Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can’t escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. ²⁰ Look, there’s a town nearby to flee to, and it’s a small one. Please let me escape there — isn’t it just a small one? — and that way I will stay alive.”

(iv) ²¹ He replied, “All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won’t overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can’t do anything until you arrive there.” For this reason the city was named Tzo‘ar [small].

²³ By the time Lot had come to Tzo‘ar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then יְהוַה caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from יְהוַה out of the sky. ²⁵ He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. ²⁶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a column of salt.

²⁷ Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before יְהוַה, ²⁸ and looked out toward S’dom and ‘Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! ²⁹ But when ELOHIM destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

³⁰ Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ³¹ The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. ³² Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.”

³³ So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁴ The following day, the older said to the younger, “Here, I slept last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.” ³⁵ They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.

³⁷ The older one gave birth to a son and called him Mo’av; he is the ancestor of Mo’av to this day. ³⁸ The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-‘Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of ‘Amon to this day.

Genesis 20

¹ Avraham traveled from there toward the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. While living as an alien in G’rar, ² Avraham was saying of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister”; so Avimelekh king of G’rar sent and took Sarah. ³ But ELOHIM came to Avimelekh in a dream one night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, since she is someone’s wife.” ⁴ Now Avimelekh had not come near her; so he said, “יְהוַה, will you kill even an upright nation? ⁵ Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In doing this, my heart has been pure and my hands innocent.” ⁶ ELOHIM said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in doing this, your heart has been pure; and I too have kept you from sinning against me. This is why I didn’t let you touch her. ⁷ Therefore, return the man’s wife to him now. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will live. But if you don’t return her, know that you will certainly die — you and all who belong to you.”

⁸ Avimelekh got up early in the morning, called all his servants and told them these things; and the men became very afraid. ⁹ Then Avimelekh called Avraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you to cause you to bring on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that are just not done.” ¹⁰ Avimelekh went on, asking Avraham, “Whatever could have caused you to do such a thing?” ¹¹ Avraham replied, “It was because I thought, ‘There could not possibly be any fear of ELOHIM in this place, so they will kill me in order to get my wife.’ ¹² But she actually is also my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother, and so she became my wife. ¹³ When ELOHIM had me leave my father’s house, I told her, ‘Do me this favor: wherever we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴ Avimelekh took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Avraham; and he returned to him Sarah his wife. ¹⁵ Then Avimelekh said, “Look, my country lies before you; live where you like.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Here, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. That will allay the suspicions of everyone who is with you. Before everyone you are cleared.” ¹⁷ Avraham prayed to ELOHIM, and ELOHIM healed Avimelekh and his wife and slave-girls, so that they could have children. ¹⁸ For יְהוַה had made every woman in Avimelekh’s household infertile on account of Sarah Avraham’s wife.

Genesis 21

¹ יְהוַה remembered Sarah as he had said, and יְהוַה did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah conceived and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the very time ELOHIM had said to him. ³ Avraham called his son, born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitz’chak. ⁴ Avraham circumcised his son Yitz’chak when he was eight days old, as ELOHIM had ordered him to do.

(v) ⁵ Avraham was one hundred years old when his son Yitz’chak [laughter] was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said, “ELOHIM has given me good reason to laugh; now everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she said, “Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children? Nevertheless, I have borne him a son in his old age!”

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham gave a great banquet on the day that Yitz’chak was weaned. ⁹ But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom Hagar had borne to Avraham, making fun of Yitz’chak; ¹⁰ so Sarah said to Avraham, “Throw this slave-girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave-girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!”

¹¹ Avraham became very distressed over this matter of his son. ¹² But ELOHIM said to Avraham, “Don’t be distressed because of the boy and your slave-girl. Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz’chak who will be counted. ¹³ But I will also make a nation from the son of the slave-girl, since he is descended from you.”

¹⁴ Avraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child; then he sent her away. After leaving, she wandered in the desert around Be’er-Sheva. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she left the child under a bush, ¹⁶ and went and sat down, looking the other way, about a bow-shot’s distance from him; because she said, “I can’t bear to watch my child die.” So she sat there, looking the other way, crying out and weeping. ¹⁷ ELOHIM heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of ELOHIM called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because ELOHIM has heard the voice of the boy in his present situation. ¹⁸ Get up, lift the boy up, and hold him tightly in your hand, because I am going to make him a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then ELOHIM opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water and gave the boy water to drink.

²⁰ ELOHIM was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹ He lived in the Pa’ran Desert, and his mother chose a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

(vi) ²² At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, “ELOHIM is with you in everything you do. ²³ Therefore, swear to me here by ELOHIM that you will never deal falsely with me or with my son or grandson; but according to the kindness with which I have treated you, you will treat me and the land in which you have lived as a foreigner. ²⁴ Avraham said, “I swear it.”

²⁵ Now Avraham had complained to Avimelekh about a well which Avimelekh’s servants had seized. ²⁶ Avimelekh answered, “I don’t know who has done this. You didn’t tell me, and I heard about it only today.” ²⁷ Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelekh, and the two of them made a covenant. ²⁸ Avraham put seven female lambs from the flock by themselves. ²⁹ Avimelekh asked Avraham, “What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have put by themselves?” ³⁰ He answered, “You are to accept these seven female lambs from me as witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ This is why that place was called Be’er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] — because they both swore an oath there. ³² When they made the covenant at Be’er-Sheva, Avimelekh departed with Pikhol the commander of his army and returned to the land of the P’lishtim. ³³ Avraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be’er-Sheva, and there he called on the name of יְהוַה, the everlasting ELOHIM. ³⁴ Avraham lived for a long time as a foreigner in the land of the P’lishtim.

 

Genesis 22

¹ (vii) After these things, ELOHIM tested Avraham. He said to him, “Avraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz’chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.”

³ Avraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together with Yitz’chak his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, departed and went toward the place ELOHIM had told him about. ⁴ On the third day, Avraham raised his eyes and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Avraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go there, worship and return to you.” ⁶ Avraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Yitz’chak his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together.

⁷ Yitz’chak spoke to Avraham his father: “My father?” He answered, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “I see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Avraham replied, “ELOHIM will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son”; and they both went on together.

⁹ They came to the place ELOHIM had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz’chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. ¹⁰ Then Avraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹ But the angel of יְהוַה called to him out of heaven: “Avraham? Avraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy! Don’t do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears ELOHIM, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Avraham called the place יְהוַה Yir’eh [יְהוַה will see (to it), יְהוַה provides] — as it is said to this day, “On the mountain יְהוַה is seen.”

¹⁵ The angel of יְהוַה called to Avraham a second time out of heaven. ¹⁶ He said, “I have sworn by myself — says יְהוַה — that because you have done this, because you haven’t withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendants to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — because you obeyed my order.”

¹⁹ So Avraham returned to his young men. They got up and went together to Be’er-Sheva, and Avraham settled in Be’er-Sheva.

(Maftir) ²⁰ Afterwards, Avraham was told, “Milkah too has borne children, to your brother Nachor — ²¹ ‘Utz his firstborn, Buz his brother, K’mu’el the father of Aram, ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Yidlaf and B’tu’el. ²³ B’tu’el fathered Rivkah. These eight Milkah bore to Nachor Avraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Re’umah, bore children also: Tevach, Gacham, Tachash and Ma‘akhah.

Haftarah Vayera: M’lakhim Bet (2 Kings) 4:1–37 (A); 4:1–23 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayera: Luke 17:26 –37; Romans 9:6 – 9; Galatians 4:21–31; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 6:13–20; 11:13–19; Ya‘akov (James) 2:14–24; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:4–10

Parashah 5: Hayyei-Sarah (Sarah’s life) 23:1–25:18

Genesis 23

 ¹ Sarah lived to be 127 years old; these were the years of Sarah’s life. ² Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba, also known as Hevron, in the land of Kena‘an; and Avraham came to mourn Sarah and weep for her. ³ Then he got up from his dead one and said to the sons of Het, ⁴ “I am a foreigner living as an alien with you; let me have a burial site with you, so that I can bury my dead wife.” ⁵ The sons of Het answered Avraham, ⁶ “Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of ELOHIM among us, so choose any of our tombs to bury your dead — not one of us would refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷ Avraham got up, bowed before the people of the land, the sons of Het, ⁸ and spoke with them. “If it is your desire to help me bury my dead, then listen to me: ask ‘Efron the son of Tzochar  ⁹ to give me the cave of Makhpelah, which he owns, the one at the end of his field. He should sell it to me in your presence at its full value; then I will have a burial site of my own.”

¹⁰ ‘Efron the Hitti was sitting among the sons of Het, and he gave Avraham his answer in the presence of the sons of Het who belonged to the ruling council of the city: ¹¹ “No, my lord, listen to me: I’m giving you the field, with its cave — I’m giving it to you. In the presence of my people I give it to you.” ¹² Avraham bowed before the people of the land ¹³ and spoke to ‘Efron in their hearing: “Please be good enough to listen to me. I will pay the price of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.” ¹⁴ But ‘Efron answered Avraham, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me. A plot of land worth 400 silver shekels — what is that between me and you? Just bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Avraham got the point of what ‘Efron had said, so he weighed out for ‘Efron the amount of money he had specified in the presence of the sons of Het, 400 silver shekels of the weight accepted among merchants [ten pounds].

(ii) ¹⁷ Thus the field of ‘Efron in Makhpelah, which is by Mamre — the field, its cave and all the trees in and around it — were deeded ¹⁸ to Avraham as his possession in the presence of the sons of Het who belonged to the ruling council of the city.

¹⁹ Then Avraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Makhpelah, by Mamre, also known as Hevron, in the land of Kena‘an. ²⁰ The field and its cave had been purchased by Avraham from the sons of Het as a burial-site which would belong to him.

Genesis 24

¹ By now Avraham was old, advanced in years; and יְהוַה had blessed Avraham in everything. ² Avraham said to the servant who had served him the longest, who was in charge of all he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh; ³ because I want you to swear by יְהוַה, ELOHIM of heaven and ELOHIM of the earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena‘ani, among whom I am living; ⁴ but that you will go to my homeland, to my kinsmen, to choose a wife for my son Yitz’chak.” ⁵ The servant replied, “Suppose the woman isn’t willing to follow me to this land. Must I then bring your son back to the land from which you came?” ⁶ Avraham said to him, “See to it that you don’t bring my son back there. ⁷ יְהוַה, the ELOHIM of heaven — who took me away from my father’s house and away from the land I was born in, who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants’ — he will send his angel ahead of you; and you are to bring a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from your obligation under my oath. Just don’t bring my son back there.” ⁹ The servant put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master and swore to him concerning the matter.

(iii) ¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and all kinds of gifts from his master, got up and went to Aram-Naharayim, to Nachor’s city. ¹¹ Toward evening, when the women go out to draw water, he had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. ¹² He said, “יְהוַה, ELOHIM of my master Avraham, please let me succeed today; and show your grace to my master Avraham. ¹³ Here I am, standing by the spring, as the daughters of the townsfolk come out to draw water. ¹⁴ I will say to one of the girls, ‘Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.’ If she answers, ‘Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,’ then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz’chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, Rivkah the daughter of B’tu’el son of Milkah the wife of Nachor Avraham’s brother, came out with her jug on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, never having had sexual relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jug and came up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug to drink.” ¹⁸ “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and immediately lowered her jug onto her arm and let him drink. ¹⁹ When she was through letting him drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have drunk their fill.” ²⁰ She quickly emptied her jug into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and kept on drawing water for all his camels. ²¹ The man gazed at her in silence, waiting to find out whether יְהוַה had made his trip successful or not.

²² When the camels were done drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces ²³ and asked, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She answered, “I am the daughter of B’tu’el the son Milkah bore to Nachor,” ²⁵ adding, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room for staying overnight.” ²⁶ The man bowed his head and prostrated himself before יְהוַה. (iv) ²⁷ Then he said, “Blessed be יְהוַה, ELOHIM of my master Avraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master; because יְהוַה has guided me to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” ²⁸ The girl ran off and told her mother’s household what had happened.

^29-30 Rivkah had a brother named Lavan. When he saw the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists besides, and when he heard his sister Rivkah’s report of what the man had said to her, he ran out to the spring and found the man standing there by the camels. ³¹ “Come on in,” he said, “you whom יְהוַה has blessed! Why are you standing outside when I have made room in the house and prepared a place for the camels?” ³² So the man went inside, and while the camels were being unloaded and provided straw and fodder, water was brought for him to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.

³³ But when a meal was set before him, he said, “I won’t eat until I say what I have to say.” Lavan said, “Speak.” ³⁴ He said, “I am Avraham’s servant. ³⁵ יְוַה has greatly blessed my master, so that he has grown wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah my master’s wife bore my master a son when she was old, and he has given him everything he has. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, ‘You are not to choose a wife for my son from among the women of the Kena‘ani, among whom I am living; ³⁸ rather, you are to go to my father’s house, to my kinsmen, to choose a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman isn’t willing to follow me.’ ⁴⁰ Avraham answered me, ‘יְהוַה, in whose presence I live, will send his angel with you to make your trip successful; and you are to pick a wife for my son from my kinsmen in my father’s house; ⁴¹ this will release you from your obligation under my oath. But if, when you come to my kinsmen, they refuse to give her to you, this too will release you from my oath.’

⁴² “So today, I came to the spring and said, ‘יְהוַה, ELOHIM of my master Avraham, if you are causing my trip to succeed in its purpose, ⁴³ then, here I am, standing by the spring. I will say to one of the girls coming out to draw water, “Let me have a sip of water from your jug.” ⁴⁴ If she answers, “Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,” then let her be the woman you intend for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵ And even before I had finished speaking to my heart, there came Rivkah, going out with her jug on her shoulder; she went down to the spring and drew water. When I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink,’ ⁴⁶ she immediately lowered the jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well.’ So I drank, and she had the camels drink too.

⁴⁷ “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ and she answered, ‘The daughter of B’tu’el son of Nachor, whom Milkah bore to him.’ Then I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists, ⁴⁸ bowed my head, prostrated myself before יְוַה and blessed יְהוַה, ELOHIM of my master Avraham, for having led me in the right way to obtain my master’s brother’s [grand]daughter for his son.

⁴⁹ “So now if you people intend to show grace and truth to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I can turn elsewhere.”

⁵⁰ Lavan and B’tu’el replied, “Since this comes from יְהוַה, we can’t say anything to you either bad or good. ⁵¹ Rivkah is here in front of you; take her and go. Let her be your master’s son’s wife, as יְוַה has said.” ⁵² When Avraham’s servant heard what they said, he prostrated himself on the ground to יְוַה. (v) ⁵³ Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry, together with clothing, and gave them to Rivkah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ He and his men then ate and drank and stayed the night.

In the morning they got up; and he said, “Send me off to my master.” ⁵⁵ Her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she will go.” ⁵⁶ He answered them, “Don’t delay me, since יְוַה has made my trip successful, but let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the girl and see what she says.” ⁵⁸ They called Rivkah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” and she replied, “I will.”

⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rivkah away, with her nurse, Avraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rivkah with these words: “Our sister, may you be the mother of millions, and may your descendants possess the cities of those who hate them.” ⁶¹ Then Rivkah and her maids mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rivkah and went on his way.

⁶² Meanwhile, Yitz’chak, one evening after coming along the road from Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i — he was living in the Negev — ⁶³ went out walking in the field; and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rivkah too looked up; and when she saw Yitz’chak, she quickly dismounted the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” When the servant replied, “It’s my master,” she took her veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ The servant told Yitz’chak everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Yitz’chak brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent and took Rivkah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus was Yitz’chak comforted for the loss of his mother.

Genesis 25

(vi) ¹Avraham took another wife, whose name was K’turah. ² She bore him Zimran, Yokshan, Medan, Midyan, Yishbak; and Shuach. ³ Yokshan fathered Sh’va and D’dan. The sons of D’dan were Ashurim, L’tushim and L’umim. ⁴ The sons of Midyan were ‘Eifah, ‘Efer, Hanokh, Avida and Elda‘ah. All these were descendants of K’turah.

⁵ Avraham gave everything he owned to Yitz’chak. ⁶ But to the sons of the concubines he made grants while he was still living and sent them off to the east, to the land of Kedem, away from Yitz’chak his son.

⁷ This is how long Avraham lived: 175 years. ⁸ Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ Yitz’chak and Yishma‘el his sons buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of ‘Efron the son of Tzochar the Hitti, by Mamre, ¹⁰ the field which Avraham purchased from the sons of Het. Avraham was buried there with Sarah his wife.

¹¹ After Avraham died, ELOHIM blessed Yitz’chak his son, and Yitz’chak lived near Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i.

(vii) ¹² Here is the genealogy of Yishma‘el, Avraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian woman bore to Avraham. ¹³ These are the names of the sons of Yishma‘el, listed in the order of their birth. The firstborn of Yishma‘el was N’vayot; followed by Kedar, Adbe’el, Mivsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Teima, Y’tur, Nafish and Kedmah. (Maftir) ¹⁶ These are the sons of Yishma‘el, and these are their names, according to their settlements and camps, twelve tribal rulers.

¹⁷ This is how long Yishma‘el lived: 137 years. Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people.

¹⁸ Yishma‘el’s sons lived between Havilah and Shur, near Egypt as you go toward Ashur; he settled near all his kinsmen.

Haftarah Hayyei-Sarah: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 1:1–31

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hayyei-Sarah: Mattityahu (Matthew) 8:19–22; 27:3–10; Luke 9:57–62

Parashah 6: Tol’dot (History) 25:19–28:9

¹⁹ Here is the history of Yitz’chak, Avraham’s son. Avraham fathered Yitz’chak. ²⁰ Yitz’chak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of B’tu’el the Arami from Paddan-Aram and sister of Lavan the Arami, to be his wife. ²¹ Yitz’chak prayed to יְהוַה on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. יְהוַה heeded his prayer, and Rivkah became pregnant. ²² The children fought with each other inside her so much that she said, “If it’s going to be like this, why go on living?” So she went to inquire of יְהוַה, ²³ who answered her, “There are two nations in your womb. From birth they will be two rival peoples. One of these peoples will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴ When the time for her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first to come out was reddish and covered all over with hair, like a coat; so they named him ‘Esav [completely formed, that is, having hair already]. ²⁶ Then his brother emerged, with his hand holding ‘Esav’s heel, so he was called Ya‘akov [he catches by the heel, he supplants]. Yitz’chak was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ The boys grew; and ‘Esav became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman; while Ya‘akov was a quiet man who stayed in the tents. ²⁸ Yitz’chak favored ‘Esav, because he had a taste for game; Rivkah favored Ya‘akov.

²⁹ One day when Ya‘akov had cooked some stew, ‘Esav came in from the open country, exhausted, ³⁰ and said to Ya‘akov, “Please! Let me gulp down some of that red stuff — that red stuff! I’m exhausted!” (This is why he was called Edom [red].) ³¹ Ya‘akov answered, “First sell me your rights as the firstborn.” ³² “Look, I’m about to die!” said ‘Esav. “What use to me are my rights as the firstborn?” ³³ Ya‘akov said, “First, swear to me!” So he swore to him, thus selling his birthright to Ya‘akov. ³⁴ Then Ya‘akov gave him bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, got up and went on his way. Thus ‘Esav showed how little he valued his birthright.

Genesis 26

¹ A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz’chak went to G’rar, to Avimelekh king of the P’lishtim. ² יְהוַה appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt, but live where I tell you. ³ Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, because I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants. I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Avraham your father — ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless themselves. ⁵ All this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do — he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings.”

(ii) ⁶ So Yitz’chak settled in G’rar. ⁷ The men of the place asked him about his wife, and out of fear he said, “She is my sister.” He thought, “If I tell them she’s my wife, they might kill me in order to take Rivkah. After all, she is a beautiful woman.” ⁸ But one day, after he had lived there a long time, Avimelekh king of the P’lishtim happened to be looking out of a window when he spotted Yitz’chak caressing Rivkah his wife. ⁹ Avimelekh summoned Yitz’chak and said, “So she is your wife, after all! How come you said, ‘She is my sister’?” Yitz’chak responded, “Because I thought, ‘I could get killed because of her.’” ¹⁰ Avimelekh said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” ¹¹ Then Avimelekh warned all the people: “Whoever touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

¹² Yitz’chak planted crops in that land and reaped that year a hundred times as much as he had sowed. יְהוַה had blessed him.

(iii) ¹³ The man became rich and prospered more and more, until he had become very wealthy indeed. ¹⁴ He had flocks, cattle and a large household; and the P’lishtim envied him. ¹⁵ Now the P’lishtim had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells his father’s servants had dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father. ¹⁶ Avimelekh said to Yitz’chak, “You must go away from us, because you have become much more powerful than we are.” ¹⁷ So Yitz’chak left, set up camp in Vadi G’rar and lived there. ¹⁸ Yitz’chak reopened the wells which had been dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father, the ones the P’lishtim had stopped up after Avraham died, and called them by the names his father had used for them. ¹⁹ Yitz’chak’s servants dug in the vadi and uncovered a spring of running water. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of G’rar quarreled with Yitz’chak’s herdsmen, claiming, “That water is ours!” So he called the well ‘Esek [quarrel], because they quarreled with him. ²¹ They dug another well and quarreled over that one too. So he called it Sitnah [enmity]. ²² He went away from there and dug another well, and over that one they didn’t quarrel. So he called it Rechovot [wide open spaces] and said, “Because now Adonai has made room for us, and we will be productive in the land.”

(iv) ²³ From there Yitz’chak went up to Be’er-Sheva. ²⁴ יְהוַה appeared to him that same night and said, “I am the ELOHIM of Avraham your father. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you; I will bless you and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Avraham.” ²⁵ There he built an altar and called on the name of יְהוַה He pitched his tent there, and there Yitz’chak’s servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Avimelekh went to him from G’rar with his friend Achuzat and Pikhol the commander of his army. ²⁷ Yitz’chak said to them, “Why have you come to me, even though you were unfriendly to me and sent me away?” ²⁸ They answered, “We saw very clearly that יְהוַה has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there be an oath between us: let’s make a pact between ourselves and you ²⁹ that you will not harm us, just as we have not caused you offense but have done you nothing but good and sent you on your way in peace. Now you are blessed by יְהוַה.’”

(v) ³⁰ Yitz’chak prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ The next morning, they got up early and swore to each other. Then Yitz’chak sent them on their way, and they left him peacefully. ³² That very day Yitz’chak’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, “We have found water.” ³³ So he called it Shiv‘ah [oath, seven], and for this reason the name of the city is Be’er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] to this day.

³⁴ When ‘Esav was forty years old, he took as wives Y’hudit the daughter of Be’eri the Hitti and Basmat the daughter of Elon the Hitti. ³⁵ But they became a cause for embitterment of spirit to Yitz’chak and Rivkah.

Genesis 27

¹ In the course of time, after Yitz’chak had grown old and his eyes dim, so that he couldn’t see, he called ‘Esav his older son and said to him, “My son?” and he answered, “Here I am.” ² “Look, I’m old now, I don’t know when I will die. ³ Therefore, please take your hunting gear — your quiver of arrows and your bow; go out in the country, and get me some game. ⁴ Make it tasty, the way I like it; and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you [as firstborn], before I die.”

⁵ Rivkah was listening when Yitz’chak spoke to his son ‘Esav. So when ‘Esav went out to the country to hunt for game and bring it back, ⁶ she said to her son Ya‘akov, “Listen! I heard your father telling ‘Esav your brother, ⁷ ‘Bring me game, and make it tasty, so I can eat it. Then I will give you my blessing in the presence of יְהוַה, before my death.’ ⁸ Now pay attention to me, my son; and do what I tell you. ⁹ Go to the flock, and bring me back two choice kids. I will make it tasty for your father, the way he likes it; ¹⁰ and you will bring it to your father to eat; so that he will give his blessing to you before his death.” ¹¹ Ya‘akov answered Rivkah his mother, “Look, ‘Esav is hairy, but I have smooth skin. ¹² Suppose my father touches me — he’ll know I’m trying to trick him, and I’ll bring a curse on myself, not a blessing!” ¹³ But his mother said, “Let your curse be on me. Just listen to me, and go get me the kids!” ¹⁴ So he went, got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared them in the tasty way his father loved. ¹⁵ Next, Rivkah took ‘Esav her older son’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on Ya‘akov her younger son; ¹⁶ and she put the skins of the goats on his hands and on the smooth parts of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the tasty food and the bread she had prepared to her son Ya‘akov.

¹⁸ He went to his father and said, “My father?” He replied, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Ya‘akov said to his father, “I am ‘Esav your firstborn. I’ve done what you asked me to do. Get up now, sit down, eat the game, and then give me your blessing.” ²⁰ Yitz’chak said to his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “יְהוַה your God made it happen that way.” ²¹ Yitz’chak said to Ya‘akov, “Come here, close to me, so I can touch you, my son, and know whether you are in fact my son ‘Esav or not.” ²² Ya‘akov approached Yitz’chak his father, who touched him and said, “The voice is Ya‘akov’s voice, but the hands are ‘Esav’s hands.” ²³ However, he didn’t detect him; because his hands were hairy like his brother ‘Esav’s hands; so he gave him his blessing. ²⁴ He asked, “Are you really my son ‘Esav?” And he replied, “I am.” ²⁵ He said, “Bring it here to me, and I will eat my son’s game, so that I can give you my blessing.” So he brought it up to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Yitz’chak said to him, “Come close now, and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ He approached and kissed him. Yitz’chak smelled his clothes and blessed Ya‘akov with these words: “See, my son smells like a field which יְהוַה has blessed. (vi) ²⁸ So may ELOHIM give you dew from heaven, the richness of the earth, and grain and wine in abundance. ²⁹ May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be lord over your kinsmen, let your mother’s descendants bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

³⁰ But as soon as Yitz’chak had finished giving his blessing to Ya‘akov, when Ya‘akov had barely left his father’s presence, ‘Esav his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He too had prepared a tasty meal and brought it to his father, and now he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat from his son’s game, so that you may give me your blessing.” ³² Yitz’chak his father said to him, “Who are you?” and he answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, ‘Esav.” ³³ Yitz’chak began trembling uncontrollably and said, “Then who was it that took game and brought it to me? I ate it all just before you came, and I gave my blessing to him. That’s the truth, and the blessing must stand.” ³⁴ When ‘Esav heard his father’s words he burst into loud, bitter sobbing. “Father, bless me too,” he begged. ³⁵ He replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took away your blessing.” ³⁶ ‘Esav said, “His name, Ya‘akov [he supplants], really suits him — because he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and here, now he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Yitz’chak answered ‘Esav, “Look, I have made him your lord, I have given him all his kinsmen as servants, and I have given him grain and wine to sustain him. What else is there that I can do for you, my son?” ³⁸ ‘Esav said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Father, bless me too!” ‘Esav wept aloud, ³⁹ and Yitz’chak his father answered him: “Here! Your home will be of the richness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above. ⁴⁰ You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will shake his yoke off your neck.”

⁴¹ ‘Esav hated his brother because of the blessing his father had given him. ‘Esav said to himself, “The time for mourning my father will soon come, and then I will kill my brother Ya‘akov.” ⁴² But the words of ‘Esav her older son were told to Rivkah. She sent for Ya‘akov her younger son and said to him, “Here, your brother ‘Esav is comforting himself over you by planning to kill you. ⁴³ Therefore, my son, listen to me: get up and escape to Lavan my brother in Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him a little while, until your brother’s anger subsides. ⁴⁵ Your brother’s anger will turn away from you, and he will forget what you did to him. Then I’ll send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you on the same day?”

⁴⁶ Rivkah said to Yitz’chak, “I’m sick to death of Hitti women! If Ya‘akov marries one of the Hitti women, like those who live here, my life won’t be worth living.”

Genesis 28

¹ So Yitz’chak called Ya‘akov, and, after blessing him, charged him: “You are not to choose a wife from the Hitti women. ² Go now to the home of B’tu’el your mother’s father, and choose a wife there from the daughters of Lavan your mother’s brother. ³ May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful and increase your descendants, until they become a whole assembly of peoples. ⁴ And may he give you the blessing which he gave Avraham, you and your descendants with you, so that you will possess the land you will travel through, the land ELOHIM gave to Avraham.”

(vii) ⁵ So Yitz’chak sent Ya‘akov away; and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Lavan, son of B’tu’el the Arami, the brother of Rivkah Ya‘akov’s and ‘Esav’s mother. ⁶ Now ‘Esav saw that Yitz’chak had blessed Ya‘akov and sent him away to Paddan-Aram to choose a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You are not to choose a Kena‘ani woman as your wife,” (Maftir) ⁷ and that Ya‘akov had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-Aram. ⁸ ‘Esav also saw that the Kena‘ani women did not please Yitz’chak his father. ⁹ So ‘Esav went to Yishma‘el and took, in addition to the wives he already had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma‘el Avraham’s son, the sister of N’vayot, to be his wife.

Haftarah Tol’dot: Mal’akhi (Malachi) 1:1–2:7

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Tol’dot: Romans 9:6–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:20; 12:14–17

Parashah 7: Vayetze (He went out) 28:10 –32:3(2)

¹⁰ Ya‘akov went out from Be’er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep. ¹² He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of יְהוַה were going up and down on it. ¹³ Then suddenly יְהוַה was standing there next to him; and he said, “I am יְהוַה, the ELOHEI Avraham your [grand]father and the ELOHEI Yitz’chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁵ Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I won’t leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ Ya‘akov awoke from his sleep and said, “Truly, יְהוַה is in this place — and I didn’t know it!” ¹⁷ Then he became afraid and said, “This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of ELOHIM! This is the gate of heaven!” ¹⁸ Ya‘akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top ¹⁹ and named the place Beit-El [house of ELOHIM]; but the town had originally been called Luz.

²⁰ Ya‘akov took this vow: “If ELOHIM will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then יְהוַה will be my ELOHIM; ²² and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be ELOHIM’s house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you.”

Genesis 29

¹ (ii) Continuing his journey, Ya‘akov came to the land of the people of the east. ² As he looked, he saw a well in a field; and there were three flocks of sheep lying there next to it; because they watered the sheep from that well. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, ³ and only when all the flocks had gathered there would they roll the stone away from the opening of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the well’s opening.

⁴ Ya‘akov said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They answered, “We’re from Haran.” ⁵ He asked them, “Do you know Lavan the [grand]son of Nachor?” They said, “We do.” ⁶ He asked them, “Are things going well with him?” “Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” ⁷ He said, “Look, there’s still plenty of daylight left; and it isn’t time to bring the animals home; so water the sheep; then go, and put them out to pasture.” ⁸ They answered, “We can’t, not until all the flocks have been gathered together, and they roll the stone away from the opening of the well. That’s when we water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because she took care of them. ¹⁰ When Ya‘akov saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother’s brother, Ya‘akov went up and rolled the stone away from the opening of the well and watered the flock of Lavan his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Ya‘akov kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² Ya‘akov told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, and that he was Rivkah’s son; and she ran and told her father. ¹³ When Lavan heard the news of Ya‘akov his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Ya‘akov told Lavan all that had happened. ¹⁴ Lavan said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.”

After Ya‘akov had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Lavan said to him, “Why should you work for me for nothing, just because you are my relative? Tell me how much I should pay you.” ¹⁶ Now Lavan had two daughters; the name of the older was Le’ah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Le’ah’s eyes were weak; but Rachel was good-looking, with beautiful features.

(iii) ¹⁸ Ya‘akov had fallen in love with Rachel and said, “I will work for you seven years in exchange for Rachel your younger daughter.” ¹⁹ Lavan answered, “Better that I give her to you than to someone else; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Ya‘akov worked seven years for Rachel, and it seemed only a few days to him, because he was so much in love with her.

²¹ Ya‘akov said to Lavan, “Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her.” ²² Lavan gathered all the men of the place and gave a banquet. ²³ In the evening he took Le’ah his daughter and brought her to Ya‘akov, and he went in and slept with her. ²⁴ Lavan also gave his slave-girl Zilpah to his daughter Le’ah as her slave-girl.

²⁵ In the morning Ya‘akov saw that he was with Le’ah, and he said to Lavan, “What kind of thing is this that you’ve done to me? Didn’t I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?” ²⁶ Lavan answered, “In our place that isn’t how it’s done, to give the younger daughter before the firstborn. ²⁷ Finish the marriage week of this one, and we’ll give you the other one also in exchange for the work you will do for me during yet another seven years.” ²⁸ Ya‘akov agreed to this, so he finished her week, and Lavan gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ Lavan also gave to his daughter Rachel his slave-girl Bilhah as her slave-girl. ³⁰ So not only did Ya‘akov go in and sleep with Rachel, but he also loved Rachel more than Le’ah. Then he served Lavan another seven years.

³¹ יְהוַה saw that Le’ah was unloved, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. ³² Le’ah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she named Re’uven [see, a son!], for she said, “It is because יְהוַה has seen how humiliated I have been, but now my husband will love me.” ³³ She conceived again, gave birth to a son and said, “It is because יְהוַה has heard that I am unloved; therefore he has given me this son also.” So she named him Shim‘on [hearing]. ³⁴ Once more she conceived and had a son; and she said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore she named him Levi [joining]. ³⁵ She conceived yet again, had a son and said, “This time I will praise יְהוַה”; therefore she named him Y’hudah [praise]. Then she stopped having children.

 

Genesis 30

¹ When Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Ya‘akov, she envied her sister and said to Ya‘akov, “Give me children, or I will die!” ² This made Ya‘akov angry at Rachel; he answered, “Am I in ELOHIM’s place? He’s the one who is denying you children.” ³ She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go, sleep with her, and let her give birth to a child that will be laid on my knees, so that through her I too can build a family.” ⁴ So she gave him Bilhah her slave-girl as his wife, and Ya‘akov went in and slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Ya‘akov a son. ⁶ Rachel said, “ELOHIM has judged in my favor; indeed he has heard me and given me a son.” Therefore she called him Dan [he judged].

⁷ Bilhah Rachel’s slave-girl conceived again and bore Ya‘akov a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “I have wrestled mightily with my sister and won,” and called him Naftali [my wrestling].

⁹ When Le’ah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her slave-girl and gave her to Ya‘akov as his wife. ¹⁰ Zilpah Le’ah’s slave-girl bore Ya‘akov a son; ¹¹ and Le’ah said, “Good fortune has come,” calling him Gad [good fortune].

¹² Zilpah Le’ah’s slave-girl bore Ya‘akov a second son; ¹³ and Le’ah said, “How happy I am! Women will say I am happy!” and called him Asher [happy].

(iv) ¹⁴ During the wheat harvest season Re’uven went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Le’ah. Rachel said to Le’ah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes [so that I can be fertile].” ¹⁵ She answered, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you have to take my son’s mandrakes too?” Rachel said, “Very well; in exchange for your son’s mandrakes, sleep with him tonight.” ¹⁶ When Ya‘akov came in from the field in the evening, Le’ah went out to meet him and said, “You have to come and sleep with me, because I’ve hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Ya‘akov slept with her that night. ¹⁷ ELOHIM listened to Le’ah, and she conceived and bore Ya‘akov a fifth son. ¹⁸ Le’ah said, “ELOHIM has given me my hire, because I gave my slave-girl to my husband.” So she called him Yissakhar [hire, reward].

¹⁹ Le’ah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Ya‘akov. ²⁰ Le’ah said, “ELOHIM has given me a wonderful gift. Now at last my husband will live with me, since I have borne him six sons.” And she called him Z’vulun [living together].

²¹ After this, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah [controversy over rights].

²² Then ELOHIM took note of Rachel, heeded her prayer and made her fertile. ²³ She conceived, had a son and said, “ELOHIM has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She called him Yosef [may he add], saying, “May יְהוַה add to me another son.”

²⁵ After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya‘akov said to Lavan, “Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country. ²⁶ Let me take my wives, for whom I have served you, and my children; and let me go. You know very well how faithfully I have served you.” ²⁷ Lavan answered him, “If you regard me favorably, then please listen: I have observed the signs that יְהוַה has blessed me on account of you. (v) ²⁸ Name your wages,” he said; “I will pay them.” ²⁹ Ya‘akov replied, “You know how faithfully I have served you and how your livestock have prospered under my care. ³⁰ The few you had before I came have increased substantially; יְהוַה has blessed you wherever I went. But now, when will I provide for my own household?” ³¹ Lavan said, “What should I give you?” “Nothing,” answered Ya‘akov, “just do this one thing for me: once more I will pasture your flock and take care of it. ³² I will also go through the flock and pick out every speckled, spotted or brown sheep, and every speckled or spotted goat; these and their offspring will be my wages. ³³ And I will let my integrity stand as witness against me in the future: when you come to look over the animals constituting my wages, every goat that isn’t speckled or spotted and every sheep that isn’t brown will count as stolen by me.” ³⁴ Lavan replied, “As you have said, so be it.”

³⁵ That day Lavan removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, everyone with white on it, and all the brown sheep; turned them over to his sons; ³⁶ and put three days’ distance between himself and Ya‘akov. Ya‘akov fed the rest of Lavan’s flocks.

³⁷ Ya‘akov took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white streaks on them by peeling off the bark. ³⁸ Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, ³⁹ the animals mated in sight of the rods and gave birth to streaked, speckled and spotted young. ⁴⁰ Ya‘akov divided the lambs and had the animals mate with the streaked and the brown in the flock of Lavan. He also kept his own livestock separate and did not have them mix with Lavan’s flock. ⁴¹ Whenever the hardier animals came into heat, Ya‘akov would set up the rods in the watering troughs; so that the animals would see them and conceive in front of them; ⁴² but he didn’t set up the rods in front of the weaker animals. Thus the more feeble were Lavan’s and the stronger Ya‘akov’s. ⁴³ In this way the man became very rich and had large flocks, along with male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.

 

 

Genesis 31

¹ But then he heard what Lavan’s sons were saying: “Ya‘akov has taken away everything that our father once had. It’s from what used to belong to our father that he has gotten so rich.” ² He also saw that Lavan regarded him differently than before. ³ יְהוַה said to Ya‘akov, “Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you.” ⁴ So Ya‘akov sent for Rachel and Le’ah and had them come to the field where his flock was. ⁵ He said to them, “I see by the way your father looks that he feels differently toward me than before; but the ELOHIM of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I have served your father with all my strength, ⁷ and that your father has belittled me and has changed my wages ten times; but ELOHIM did not allow him to do me any damage. ⁸ If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to streaked young. ⁹ This is how ELOHIM has taken away your father’s animals and given them to me. ¹⁰ Once, when the animals were mating, I had a dream: I looked up and there in front of me the male goats which mated with the females were streaked, speckled and mottled. ¹¹ Then, in the dream, the angel of ELOHIM said to me, ‘Ya‘akov!’ and I replied, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² He continued, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look: all the male goats mating with the females are streaked, speckled and mottled; for I have seen everything Lavan has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the ELOHIM of Beit-El, where you anointed a standing-stone with oil, where you vowed your vow to me. Now get up, get out of this land, and return to the land where you were born.’” ¹⁴ Rachel and Le’ah answered him, “We no longer have any inheritance from our father’s possessions; ¹⁵ and he considers us foreigners, since he has sold us; moreover, he has consumed everything he received in exchange for us. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, the wealth which ELOHIM has taken away from our father has become ours and our children’s anyway; so whatever ELOHIM has told you to do, do.”

(vi) ¹⁷ Then Ya‘akov got up, put his sons and wives on the camels, ¹⁸ and carried off all his livestock, along with all the riches he had accumulated, the livestock in his possession which he had acquired in Paddan-Aram, to go to Yitz’chak his father in the land of Kena‘an.

¹⁹ Now Lavan had gone to shear his sheep, so Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father, ²⁰ and Ya‘akov outwitted Lavan the Arami by not telling him of his intended flight. ²¹ So he fled with everything he had: he departed, crossed the [Euphrates] River and set out for the hill-country of Gil‘ad. ²² Not until the third day was Lavan told that Ya‘akov had fled.

²³ Lavan took his kinsmen with him and spent the next seven days pursuing Ya‘akov, overtaking him in the hill-country of Gil‘ad. ²⁴ But ELOHIM came to Lavan the Arami in a dream that night and said to him, “Be careful that you don’t say anything to Ya‘akov, either good or bad.”

²⁵ When Lavan caught up with Ya‘akov, Ya‘akov had set up camp in the hill-country; so Lavan and his kinsmen set up camp in the hill-country of Gil‘ad. ²⁶ Lavan said to Ya‘akov, “What do you mean by deceiving me and carrying off my daughters as if they were captives taken in war? ²⁷ Why did you flee in secret and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you off with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and lyres. ²⁸ You didn’t even let me kiss my sons and daughters good-bye! What a stupid thing to do! ²⁹ I have it in my power to do you harm; but the ELOHIM of your father spoke to me last night and said, ‘Be careful that you don’t say anything to Ya‘akov, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Granted that you had to leave, because you longed so deeply for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” ³¹ Ya‘akov answered Lavan, “Because I was afraid. I said, ‘Suppose you take your daughters away from me by force?’ ³² But if you find your gods with someone, that person will not remain alive. So with our kinsmen to witness, if you spot anything that I have which belongs to you, take it back.” Ya‘akov did not know that Rachel had stolen them. ³³ Lavan went into Ya‘akov’s tent, then into Le’ah’s tent and into the tent of the two slave-girls; but he did not find them. He left Le’ah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in the saddle of the camel and was sitting on them. Lavan felt all around the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ She said to her father, “Please don’t be angry that I’m not getting up in your presence, but it’s the time of my period.” So he searched, but he didn’t find the household gods.

³⁶ Then Ya‘akov became angry and started arguing with Lavan. “What have I done wrong?” he demanded. “What is my offense, that you have come after me in hot pursuit? ³⁷ You have felt around in all my stuff, but what have you found of all your household goods? Put it here, in front of my kinsmen and yours, so that they can render judgment between the two of us! ³⁸ I have been with you for these twenty years! Your female sheep and goats haven’t aborted their young, and I haven’t eaten the male animals in your flocks. ³⁹ If one of your flock was destroyed by a wild animal, I didn’t bring the carcass to you but bore the loss myself. You demanded that I compensate you for any animal stolen, whether by day or by night. ⁴⁰ Here’s how it was for me: during the day thirst consumed me, and at night the cold — my sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ These twenty years I’ve been in your house — I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock; and you changed my wages ten times! ⁴² If ELOHEI my father, the ELOHEI Avraham, the one whom Yitz’chak fears, had not been on my side, by now you would certainly have already sent me away with nothing! ELOHIM has seen how distressed I’ve been and how hard I’ve worked, and last night he passed judgment in my favor.”

(vii) ⁴³ Lavan answered Ya‘akov, “The daughters are mine, the children are mine, the flocks are mine, and everything you see is mine! But what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ So now, come, let’s make a covenant, I and you; and let it stand as a testimony between me and you.” ⁴⁵ Ya‘akov took a stone and set it upright as a standing-stone. ⁴⁶ Then Ya‘akov said to his kinsmen, “Gather some stones”; and they took stones, made a pile of them and ate there by the pile of stones. ⁴⁷ Lavan called it Y’gar-Sahaduta [“pile of witness” in Aramaic], while Ya‘akov called it Gal-‘Ed [“pile of witness” in Hebrew].

⁴⁸ Lavan said, “This pile witnesses between me and you today.” This is why it is called Gal-‘Ed ⁴⁹ and also HaMitzpah [the watchtower], because he said, “May יְהוַה watch between me and you when we are apart from each other. ⁵⁰ If you cause pain to my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, then, even if no one is there with us, still ELOHIM is witness between me and you.” ⁵¹ Lavan also said to Ya‘akov, “Here is this pile, and here is this standing-stone, which I have set up between me and you. ⁵² May this pile be a witness, and may the standing-stone be a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and you will not pass beyond this pile and this standing-stone to me, to cause harm. ⁵³ May the ELOHEI Avraham and also the god of Nachor, the god of their father, judge between us.” But Ya‘akov swore by the One his father Yitz’chak feared. ⁵⁴ Ya‘akov offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his kinsmen to the meal. They ate the food and spent the whole night on the mountain.

Genesis 32

(Maftir) ^(31:55) Early in the morning Lavan got up, kissed his sons and daughters, and blessed them. Then Lavan left and returned to his own place. ^{2 (1)} Ya‘akov went on his way, and ha'mal'kah Elohei met him. ^{3 (2)} When Ya‘akov saw them, he said, “This is ELOHIM’s camp,” and called that place Machanayim [two camps].

Haftarah Vayetze: Hoshea (Hosea) 12:13(12)–14:10(9) (A); 11:7–12:12(11) (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayetze: Yochanan (John) 1:43–51

Parashah 8: Vayishlach (He sent) 32:4(3) –36:43

^{4 (3)} Ya‘akov sent messengers ahead of him to ‘Esav his brother toward the land of Se‘ir, the country of Edom, ^{5 (4)} with these instructions: “Here is what you are to say to my lord ‘Esav: ‘Your servant Ya‘akov says, “I have been living with Lavan and have stayed until now. ^{6 (5)} I have cattle, donkeys and flocks, and male and female servants. I am sending to tell this news to my lord, in order to win your favor.” ’” ^{7 (6)} The messengers returned to Ya‘akov saying, “We went to your brother ‘Esav, and he is coming to meet you; with him are four hundred men.”

^{8 (7)} Ya‘akov became greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people, flocks, cattle and camels with him into two camps, ^{9 (8)} saying, “If ‘Esav comes to the one camp and attacks it, at least the camp that is left will escape.” ^{10 (9)} Then Ya‘akov said, “ELOHEI my father Avraham and ELOHEI my ab (father) Yitz’chak, יְהוַה, who told me, ‘Return to your country and your kinsmen, and I will do you good’: ^{11 (10)} I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown your servant, since I crossed the Yarden with only my staff. But now I have become two camps. ^{12 (11)} Please! Rescue me from my brother ‘Esav! I’m afraid of him, afraid he’ll come and attack me, without regard for mothers or children. ^{13 (12)} You said, ‘I will certainly do you good and make your descendants as numerous as the grains of sand by the sea, which are so many they can’t be counted.’”

(ii) ^{14 (13)} He stayed there that night; then he chose from among his possessions the following as a present for ‘Esav his brother: ^{15 (14)} two hundred female goats and twenty males, two hundred female sheep and twenty males, ^{16 (15)} thirty milk-camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten colts. ^{17 (16)} He turned them over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Cross over in front of me, and keep a space between each drove and the next one.” ^{18 (17)} He instructed the servant in front, “When ‘Esav my brother meets you and asks you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? And whose animals are these?’ ^{19 (18)} then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Ya‘akov, and they are a present he has sent to my lord ‘Esav; and Ya‘akov himself is just behind us.’” ^{20 (19)} He also instructed the second servant, and the third, and all that followed the droves, “When you encounter ‘Esav, you are to speak to him in the same way, ^{21 (20)} and you are to add, ‘And there, just behind us, is your servant Ya‘akov.’” For he said, “I will appease him first with the present that goes ahead of me; then, after that, I will see him myself — and maybe he will be friendly toward me.” ^{22 (21)} So the present crossed over ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

^{23 (22)} He got up that night, took his two wives, his two slave-girls, and his eleven children, and forded the Yabok. ^{24 (23)} He took them and sent them across the stream, then sent his possessions across; ^{25 (24)} and Ya‘akov was left alone. Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak. ^{26 (25)} When he saw that he did not defeat Ya‘akov, he struck Ya‘akov’s hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him. ^{27 (26)} The man said, “Let me go, because it’s daybreak.” But Ya‘akov replied, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” ^{28 (27)} The man asked, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Ya‘akov.” ^{29 (28)} Then the man said, “From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el; because you have shown your strength to both ELOHIM and men and have prevailed.” ^{30 (29)} Ya‘akov asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why are you asking about my name?” and blessed him there.

(iii) ^{31 (30)} Ya‘akov called the place P’ni-El [face of ELOHIM], “Because I have seen ELOHIM face to face, yet my life is spared.” ^{32 (31)} As the sun rose upon him he went on past P’ni-El, limping at the hip. ^{33 (32)} This is why, to this day, the people of Isra’el do not eat the thigh muscle that passes along the hip socket — because the man struck Ya‘akov’s hip at its socket.

Genesis 33

Ya‘akov raised his eyes and looked out; and there was ‘Esav coming, and four hundred men with him. So Ya‘akov divided the children between Le’ah, Rachel and the two slave-girls, ² putting the slave-girls and their children first, Le’ah and her children second, and Rachel and Yosef last. ³ Then he himself passed on ahead of them and prostrated himself on the ground seven times before approaching his brother. ⁴ ‘Esav ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him; and they wept. ⁵ Esav looked up; on seeing the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Ya‘akov answered, “The children ELOHIM has graciously given to your servant.”

(iv) ⁶ Then the slave-girls approached with their children, and they prostrated themselves; ⁷ Le’ah too and her children approached and prostrated themselves; and last came Yosef and Rachel; and they prostrated themselves. ⁸ ‘Esav asked, “What was the meaning of this procession of droves I encountered?” and he answered, “It was to win my lord’s favor.” ⁹ ‘Esav replied, “I have plenty already; my brother, keep your possessions for yourself.” ¹⁰ Ya‘akov said, “No, please! If now I have won your favor, then accept my gift. Just seeing your face has been like seeing the face of ELOHIM, now that you have received me. ¹¹ So please accept the gift I have brought you, for ELOHIM has dealt kindly with me and I have enough.” Thus he urged him, until he accepted it.

¹² ‘Esav said, “Let’s break camp and get going. I’ll go first.” ¹³ Ya‘akov said to him, “My lord knows that the children are small, and the sheep and cattle suckling their young concern me, because if they overdrive them even one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Instead, please, let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the cattle ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Se‘ir.” ¹⁵ ‘Esav replied, “Then let me leave with you some of the people I have with me.” But Ya‘akov said, “There’s no need for my lord to be so kind to me.” ¹⁶ So ‘Esav left that day to return to Se‘ir. ¹⁷ Ya‘akov went on to Sukkot, where he built himself a house and put up shelters for his cattle. This is why the place is called Sukkot [shelters].

¹⁸ Having traveled from Paddan-Aram, Ya‘akov arrived safely at the city of Sh’khem, in Kena‘an, and set up camp near the city. ¹⁹ From the sons of Hamor Sh’khem’s father he bought for one hundred pieces of silver the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent. ²⁰ There he put up an altar, which he called El-Elohei-Yisra’el.

Genesis 34

(v) ¹ One time Dinah the daughter of Le’ah, whom she had borne to Ya‘akov, went out to visit the local girls; ² and Sh’khem the son of Hamor the Hivi, the local ruler, saw her, grabbed her, raped her and humiliated her. ³ But actually he was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Ya‘akov; he fell in love with the girl and tried to win her affection. ⁴ Sh’khem spoke with his father Hamor and said, “Get this girl for me; I want her to be my wife.”

⁵ When Ya‘akov heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter, his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Ya‘akov restrained himself until they came. ⁶ Hamor the father of Sh’khem went out to Ya‘akov to speak with him ⁷ just as Ya‘akov’s sons were coming in from the field. When they heard what had happened, the men were saddened and were very angry at the outrage this man had committed against Isra’el by raping Ya‘akov’s daughter, something that is simply not done. ⁸ But Hamor said to them, “My son Sh’khem’s heart is set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife; ⁹ and intermarry with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You will live with us, and the land will be available to you — you’ll live, do business and acquire possessions here.”

¹¹ Then Sh’khem said to her father and brothers, “Only accept me, and I will give whatever you tell me. ¹² Ask as large a bride-price as you like, I’ll pay whatever you tell me. Just let me marry the girl.” ¹³ The sons of Ya‘akov answered Sh’khem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We can’t do it, because it would be a disgrace to give our sister to someone who hasn’t been circumcised. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we consent to what you are asking: that you become like us by having every male among you get circumcised. ¹⁶ Then we’ll give our daughters to you, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you won’t do as we say and get circumcised, then we’ll take our daughter and go away.” ¹⁸ What they said seemed fair to Hamor and Sh’khem the son of Hamor, ¹⁹ and the young man did not put off doing what was asked of him, even though he was the most respected member of his father’s family, because he so much wanted Ya‘akov’ s daughter.

²⁰ Hamor and Sh’khem his son came to the entrance of their city and spoke with its leading men: ²¹ “These people are peaceful toward us; therefore let them live in the land and do business in it; for, as you can see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives for ourselves, and we’ll give them our daughters. ²² But the people will consent to live with us and become one people only on this condition: that every male among us gets circumcised, as they themselves are circumcised. ²³ Won’t their cattle, their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s consent to do what they ask, and then they will live with us.” ²⁴ Everyone going out the city’s gate listened to Hamor and Sh’khem his son; so every male was circumcised, every one that went out the gate of the city.

²⁵ On the third day after the circumcision, when they were in pain, two of Ya‘akov’s sons, Shim‘on and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords, boldly descended on the city and slaughtered all the males. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and Sh’khem his son with their swords, took Dinah out of Sh’khem’s house, and left. ²⁷ Then the sons of Ya‘akov entered over the dead bodies of those who had been slaughtered and plundered the city in reprisal for defiling their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks, cattle and donkeys, and everything else, whether in the city or in the field, ²⁹ everything they owned. Their children and wives they took captive, and they looted whatever was in the houses.

³⁰ But Ya‘akov said to Shim‘on and Levi, “You have caused me trouble by making me stink in the opinion of the local inhabitants, the Kena‘ani and the P’rizi. Since I don’t have many people, they’ll align themselves together against me and attack me; and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹ They replied, “Should we let our sister be treated like a whore?”

Genesis 35

¹ God said to Ya‘akov, “Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to ELOHIM, who appeared to you when you fled ‘Esav your brother.” ² Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes. ³ We’re going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to ELOHIM, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.” ⁴ They gave Ya‘akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya‘akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh’khem. ⁵ While they were traveling, a terror from ELOHIM fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya‘akov.

⁶ Ya‘akov and all the people with him arrived at Luz (that is, Beit-El) in the land of Kena‘an. ⁷ He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [ELOHEI Beit-El], because it was there that ELOHIM was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.

⁸ Then D’vorah, Rivkah’s nurse, died. She was buried below Beit-El under the oak, which was given the name Alon-Bakhut [oak of weeping].

⁹ After Ya‘akov arrived from Paddan-Aram, ELOHIM appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ ELOHIM said to him, “Your name is Ya‘akov, but you will be called Ya‘akov no longer; your name will be Isra’el.” Thus he named him Isra’el. ¹¹ ELOHIM further said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations, will come from you; kings will be descended from you. (A: vi) ¹² Moreover, the land which I gave to Avraham and Yitz’chak I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then ELOHIM went up from him there where he had spoken with him. (S: vi) ¹⁴ Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a stone pillar. Then he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. ¹⁵ Ya‘akov called the place where God spoke with him Beit-El.

¹⁶ Then they traveled on from Beit-El, and while there was still some distance to go before arriving in Efrat, Rachel went into labor, and she had great difficulty with it. ¹⁷ While she was undergoing this hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t worry, this is also a son for you.” ¹⁸ But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south]. ¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Efrat (that is, Beit-Lechem). ²⁰ Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone on her grave; it is the standing-stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹ Isra’el continued his travels and pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal-‘Eder. ²² It was while Isra’el was living in that land that Re’uven went and slept with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Isra’el heard about it.

Ya‘akov had twelve sons. ²³ The sons of Le’ah were Re’uven Ya‘akov’s firstborn, Shim‘on, Levi, Y’hudah, Yissakhar and Z’vulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel were Yosef and Binyamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah Rachel’s slave-girl were Dan and Naftali. ²⁶ And the sons of Zilpah Le’ah’s slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya‘akov’s sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.

²⁷ Ya‘akov came home to his father Yitz’chak at Mamre, near Kiryat-Arba (also known as Hevron), where Avraham and Yitz’chak had lived as foreigners. ²⁸ Yitz’chak lived to be 180 years old. ²⁹ Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people, an old man full of years; and his sons ‘Esav and Ya‘akov buried him.

Genesis 36

¹ This is the genealogy of ‘Esav (that is, Edom). ² ‘Esav chose Kena‘ani women as his wives: ‘Adah the daughter of Eilon the Hitti; Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah the daughter of Tziv‘on the Hivi; ³ and Basmat Yishma‘el’s daughter, sister of N’vayot. ⁴ ‘Adah bore to ‘Esav Elifaz, Basmat bore Re‘u’el, ⁵ and Oholivamah bore Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach. These were the sons of ‘Esav born to him in the land of Kena‘an.

⁶ ‘Esav took his wives, his sons and daughters, the others in his household, his cattle and other animals and everything else he owned, which he had acquired in the land of Kena‘an, and went off to a country distant from his brother Ya‘akov. ⁷ For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the countryside through which they were traveling couldn’t support so much livestock. ⁸ So ‘Esav lived in the hill-country of Se‘ir. (‘Esav is Edom.)

⁹ This is the genealogy of ‘Esav the father of Edom in the hill-country of Se‘ir. ¹⁰ The names of ‘Esav’s sons were Elifaz, son of ‘Adah the wife of ‘Esav, and Re‘u’el the son of Basmat the wife of ‘Esav.

¹¹ The sons of Elifaz were Teman, Omar, Tzefo, Ga‘tam and K’naz. ¹² Timnah was the concubine of Elifaz ‘Esav’s son, and she bore to Elifaz ‘Amalek. These were the descendants of ‘Adah ‘Esav’s wife.

¹³ The sons of Re‘u’el were Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the sons of Basmat ‘Esav’s wife.

¹⁴ These were the sons of Oholivamah, the daughter of ‘Anah the daughter of Tziv‘on, ‘Esav’s wife: she bore to ‘Esav Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach.

¹⁵ The chieftains of the sons of ‘Esav were the sons of Elifaz the firstborn of ‘Esav and the chieftains of Teman, Omar, Tzefo, K’naz, ¹⁶ Korach, Ga‘tam and ‘Amalek. These were the chieftains descended from Elifaz in Edom and from ‘Adah.

¹⁷ The sons of Re‘u’el ‘Esav’s son were the chieftains of Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the chieftains descended from Re‘u’el in the land of Edom and from Basmat ‘Esav’s wife.

¹⁸ The sons of Oholivamah ‘Esav’s wife were the chieftains of Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach. These were the chieftains descended from Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah, ‘Esav’s wife.

¹⁹ These were the descendants of ‘Esav (that is, Edom), and these were their chieftains.

(vii) ²⁰ These were the descendants of Se‘ir the Hori, the local inhabitants: Lotan, Shoval, Tziv‘on, ‘Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Etzer and Dishan. They were the chieftains descended from the Hori, the people of Se‘ir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; Lotan’s sister was Timnah. ²³ The sons of Shoval were ‘Alvan, Manachat, ‘Eival, Sh’fo and Onam. ²⁴ The sons of Tziv‘on were Ayah and ‘Anah. This is the ‘Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while pasturing his father Tziv‘on’s donkeys. ²⁵ The children of ‘Anah were Dishon and Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah. ²⁶ The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Yitran and K’ran. ²⁷ The sons of Etzer were Bilhan, Za‘avan and ‘Akan. ²⁸ The sons of Dishan were ‘Utz and Aran. ²⁹ These were the chieftains descended from the Hori: the chieftains of Lotan, Shoval, Tziv‘on, ‘Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Etzer and Dishan. They were the chieftains descended from the Hori by their clans in Se‘ir.

³¹ Following are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king had reigned over the people of Isra’el. ³² Bela the son of B‘or reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhavah. ³³ When Bela died, Yovav the son of Zerach from Botzrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ When Yovav died, Husham from the land of the Temani reigned in his place. ³⁵ When Husham died, Hadad the son of B’dad, who killed Midyan in the field of Mo’av, reigned in his place; the name of his city was ‘Avit. ³⁶ When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ When Samlah died, Sha’ul of Rechovot-by-the-River reigned in his place. ³⁸ When Sha’ul died, Ba‘al-Chanan the son of ‘Akhbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ When Ba‘al-Chanan died, Hadar reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pa’u; and his wife’s name was M’heitav’el the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mei-Zahav.

(Maftir) ⁴⁰ These are the names of the chieftains descended from ‘Esav, according to their clans, places and names: the chieftains of Timna, ‘Alvah, Y’tet, ⁴¹ Oholivamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mivtzar, ⁴³ Magdi’el and ‘Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom according to their settlements in the land they owned. This is ‘Esav the father of Edom.

Haftarah Vayishlach: Hoshea (Hosea) 11:7–12:12(11) (A); ‘Ovadyah (Obadiah) 1–21 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayishlach: 1 Corinthians 5:1–13; Revelation 7:1–12

Parashah 9: Vayeshev (He continued living) 37:1–40:23

Genesis 37

¹ Ya‘akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena‘an.

² Here is the history of Ya‘akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father. ³ Now Isra’el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn’t even talk with him in a civil manner.

⁵ Yosef had a dream which he told his brothers, and that made them hate him all the more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen while I tell you about this dream of mine. ⁷ We were tying up bundles of wheat in the field when suddenly my bundle got up by itself and stood upright; then your bundles came, gathered around mine and prostrated themselves before it.” ⁸ His brothers retorted, “Yes, you will certainly be our king. You’ll do a great job of bossing us around!” And they hated him still more for his dreams and for what he said.

⁹ He had another dream which he told his brothers: “Here, I had another dream, and there were the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before me.” ¹⁰ He told his father too, as well as his brothers, but his father rebuked him: “What is this dream you have had? Do you really expect me, your mother and your brothers to come and prostrate ourselves before you on the ground?” ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

(ii) ¹² After this, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s sheep in Sh’khem, ¹³ Isra’el asked Yosef, “Aren’t your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh’khem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ He said to him, “Go now, see whether things are going well with your brothers and with the sheep, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him away from the Hevron Valley, and he went to Sh’khem, ¹⁵ where a man found him wandering around in the countryside. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ “I’m looking for my brothers,” he answered. “Tell me, please, where are they pasturing the sheep?” ¹⁷ The man said, “They’ve left here; because I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dotan.’” Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan.

¹⁸ They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to each other, “Look, this dreamer is coming! ²⁰ So come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these water cisterns here. Then we’ll say some wild animal devoured him. We’ll see then what becomes of his dreams!” ²¹ But when Re’uven heard this, he saved him from being destroyed by them. He said, “We shouldn’t take his life. ²² Don’t shed blood,” Re’uven added. “Throw him into this cistern here in the wilds, but don’t lay hands on him yourselves.” He intended to rescue him from them later and restore him to his father.

(iii) ²³ So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing, ²⁴ and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it). ²⁵ Then they sat down to eat their meal; but as they looked up, they saw in front of them a caravan of Yishma‘elim coming from Gil‘ad, their camels loaded with aromatic gum, healing resin and opium, on their way down to Egypt. ²⁶ Y’hudah said to his brothers, “What advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Yishma‘elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers paid attention to him. ²⁸ So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silver shekels to the Yishma‘elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt.

²⁹ Re’uven returned to the cistern, and, upon seeing that Yosef wasn’t in it, tore his clothes in mourning. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I go now?”

³¹ They took Yosef’s robe, killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² Then they sent the long-sleeved robe and brought it to their father, saying, “We found this. Do you know if it’s your son’s robe or not?” ³³ He recognized it and cried, “It’s my son’s robe! Some wild animal has torn Yosef in pieces and eaten him!” ³⁴ Ya‘akov tore his clothes and, putting sackcloth around his waist, mourned his son for many days. ³⁵ Though all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused all consolation, saying, “No, I will go down to the grave, to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.

³⁶ In Egypt the Midyanim sold Yosef to Potifar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, a captain of the guard.

38 (iv) It was at this time that Y’hudah went off from his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah who was an ‘Adulami. ² There Y’hudah saw one of the daughters of a certain Kena‘ani whose name was Shua, and he took her and slept with her. ³ She conceived and had a son, whom he named ‘Er. ⁴ She conceived again and had a son, and she called him Onan. ⁵ Then she conceived yet again and had a son whom she called Shelah; he was in K’ziv when she gave birth to him.

⁶ Y’hudah took a wife for ‘Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But ‘Er, Y’hudah’s firstborn, was evil from the perspective of  יְהוַה, so יְהוַה killed him. ⁸ Y’hudah said to Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother’s wife — perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and preserve your brother’s line of descent.” ⁹ However, Onan knew that the child would not count as his; so whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground, so as not to give his brother offspring. ¹⁰ What he did was evil from the perspective of יְהוַה, so he killed him too.

¹¹ Then Y’hudah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Stay a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, “I don’t want him to die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived at home with her father. ¹² In due time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Y’hudah, died. After Y’hudah had been comforted, he went up to be with his sheep-shearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the ‘Adulami. ¹³ Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law has gone up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she took off her widow’s clothes, completely covered her face with her veil, and sat at the entrance to ‘Einayim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she still was not being given to him as his wife. ¹⁵ When Y’hudah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ So he went over to her where she was sitting and said, not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, “Come, let me sleep with you.” She answered, “What will you pay to sleep with me?” ¹⁷ He said, “I will send you a kid from the flock of goats.” She said, “Will you also give me something as a guarantee until you send it” ¹⁸ He answered, “What should I give you as a guarantee?” She said, “Your seal, with its cord, and the staff you’re carrying in your hand.” So he gave them to her, then went and slept with her; and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ She got up and went away, took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes.

²⁰ Y’hudah sent the kid with his friend the ‘Adulami to receive the guarantee items back from the woman, but he couldn’t find her. ²¹ He asked the people near where she had been, “Where is the prostitute who was on the road at ‘Einayim?” But they answered, “There hasn’t been any prostitute here.” ²² So he returned to Y’hudah and said, “I couldn’t find her; also the people there said, ‘There hasn’t been any prostitute here.’” ²³ Y’hudah said, “All right, let her keep the things, so that we won’t be publicly shamed. I sent the kid, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Y’hudah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been acting like a whore; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of her prostitution.” Y’hudah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned alive!” ²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Determine, I beg you, whose these are — the signet, the cords and the staff.” ²⁶ Then Y’hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, “She is more righteous than I, because I didn’t let her become the wife of my son Shelah.” And he never slept with her again.

²⁷ When she went into labor, it became evident that she was going to have twins. ²⁸ As she was in labor, one of them put out his hand; and the midwife took his hand and tied a scarlet thread on it, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But then he withdrew his hand, and his brother came out; so she said, “How did you manage to break out first?” Therefore he was named Peretz [breaking out]. ³⁰ Then out came his brother, with the scarlet thread on his hand, and he was given the name Zerach [scarlet].

Genesis 39

¹ (v) Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potifar, an officer of Pharaoh’s and captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Yishma‘elim who had brought him there. ² was with Yosef, and he became wealthy while he was in the household of his master the Egyptian. ³ His master saw how יְהוַה was with him, that יְהוַה prospered everything he did. ⁴ Yosef pleased him as he served him, and his master appointed him manager of his household; he entrusted all his possessions to Yosef. ⁵ From the time he appointed him manager of his household and all his possessions, יְהוַה blessed the Egyptian’s household for Yosef’s sake; the blessing of יְהוַה was on all he owned, whether in the house or in the field.

⁶ So he left all his possessions in Yosef’s care; and because he had him, he paid no attention to his affairs, except for the food he ate.

Now Yosef was well-built and handsome as well. (vi) ⁷ In time, the day came when his master’s wife took a look at Yosef and said, “Sleep with me!” ⁸ But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, because my master has me, he doesn’t know what’s going on in this house. He has put all his possessions in my charge. ⁹ In this house I am his equal; he hasn’t withheld anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against Elohim?” ¹⁰ But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn’t listen to her; he refused to sleep with her or even be with her.

¹¹ However, one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men living in the house was there indoors, ¹² she grabbed him by his robe and said, “Sleep with me!” But he fled, leaving his robe in her hand, and got himself outside. ¹³ When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had escaped, ¹⁴ she called the men of her house and said to them, “Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make fools of us. He came in and wanted to sleep with me, but I yelled out loudly. ¹⁵ When he heard me yelling like that, he left his robe with me and ran out.” ¹⁶ She put the robe aside until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she said to him, “This Hebrew slave you brought us came in to make a fool of me. ¹⁸ But when I yelled out, he left his robe with me and fled outside.” ¹⁹ When his master heard what his wife said as she showed him, “Here’s what your slave did to me,” he became furious. ²⁰ Yosef’s master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king’s prisoners were kept; and there he was in the prison.

²¹ But יְהוַה was with Yosef, showing him grace and giving him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ²² The prison warden made Yosef supervisor of all the prisoners in the prison; so that whatever they did there, he was in charge of it. ²³ The prison warden paid no attention to anything Yosef did, because יְהוַה was with him; and whatever he did, יְהוַה prospered.

Genesis 40

(vii) ¹ Sometime later it came about that the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh became angry with his two officers the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ³ So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, in the same place where Yosef was kept. ⁴ The captain of the guard charged Yosef to be with them, and he became their attendant while they remained in prison.

⁵ One night the two of them, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer and his baker, there in prison, both had dreams, each dream with its own meaning. ⁶ Yosef came in to them in the morning and saw that they looked sad. ⁷ He asked Pharaoh’s officers there with him in the prison of his master’s house, “Why are you looking so sad today?” ⁸ They said to him, “We each had a dream, and there’s no one around who can interpret it.” Yosef said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to ELOHIM? Tell it to me, please.”

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer told Yosef his dream: “In my dream, there in front of me was a vine, ¹⁰ and the vine had three branches. The branches budded, then it suddenly began to blossom, and finally clusters of ripe grapes appeared. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.” ¹² Yosef said to him, “Here is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office: you will be giving Pharaoh his cup as you used to when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But remember me when it goes well with you; and show me kindness, please; and mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will release me from this prison. ¹⁵ For the truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing wrong that would justify putting me in this dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Yosef, “I too saw in my dream: there were three baskets of white bread on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ Yosef answered, “Here is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you — he will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

(Maftir) ²⁰ On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a party for all his officials, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his officials. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer back to his position, so that he again gave Pharaoh his cup. ²² But he hanged the chief baker, as Yosef had interpreted to them. ²³ Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Yosef, but forgot him.

Haftarah Vayeshev: ‘Amos (Amos) 2:6–3:8

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayeshev: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 9–10

Parashah 10: Mikketz (At the end) 41:1–44:17

Genesis 41

¹ At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing beside the Nile River; ² and there came up out of the river seven cows, sleek and fat; and they began feeding in swamp grass. ³ After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, miserable-looking and lean; and they stood by the other cows at the edge of the river. ⁴ Then the miserable-looking and lean cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up. ⁵ But he went to sleep again and dreamt a second time: seven full, ripe ears of grain grew out of a single stalk. ⁶ After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up. ⁷ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven full, ripe ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning he found himself so upset that he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one there could interpret them for him. ⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today reminds me of something wherein I am at fault: ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his officials and put me in the prison of the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker. ¹¹ One night both I and he had dreams, and each man’s dream had its own meaning. ¹² There was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us — he interpreted each man’s dream individually. ¹³ And it came about as he interpreted to us — I was restored to my office, and he was hanged.”

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Yosef, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.

(A: ii) ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I’ve heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Yosef answered Pharaoh, “It isn’t in me. ELOHIM will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace.” (S: ii) ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “In my dream, I stood at the edge of the river; ¹⁸ and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass. ¹⁹ After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean — I’ve never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt! ²⁰ Then the lean and miserable-looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows. ²¹ But after they had eaten them up, one couldn’t tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up. ²² But I dreamed again and saw seven full, ripe ears of grain growing out of a single stalk. ²³ After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up. ²⁴ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Yosef said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: ELOHIM has told Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years — the dreams are the same. ²⁷ Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind — there will be seven years of famine. ²⁸ This is what I told Pharaoh: ELOHIM has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Here it is: there will be seven years of abundance throughout the whole land of Egypt; ³⁰ but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land, ³¹ and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible. ³² Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by ELOHIM, and ELOHIM will shortly cause it to happen.

³³ “Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it. ³⁶ This will be the land’s food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.”

³⁷ The proposal seemed good both to Pharaoh and to all his officials. ³⁸ Pharaoh said to his officials, “Can we find anyone else like him? HaRuach ELOHEI lives in him!”

(iii) ³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since ELOHIM has shown you all this — there is no one as discerning and wise as you — ⁴⁰ you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Here, I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Yosef’s hand, had him clothed in fine linen with a gold chain around his neck ⁴³ and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, “Bow down!” Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I, Pharaoh, decree that without your approval no one is to raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh called Yosef by the name Tzafnat-Pa‘neach and gave him as his wife Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. Then Yosef went out through all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt; then he left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance, the earth brought forth heaps of produce. ⁴⁸ He collected all the food of these seven years in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities — the food grown in the fields outside each city he stored in that city. ⁴⁹ Yosef stored grain in quantities like the sand on the seashore, so much that they stopped counting, because it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰ Two sons were born to Yosef before the year of famine came; Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore them to him. ⁵¹ Yosef called the firstborn M’nasheh [causing to forget], “Because ELOHIM has caused me to forget all the troubles I suffered at the hands of my family.” ⁵² The second he called Efrayim [fruit], “For ELOHIM has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.”

(iv) ⁵³ The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended; ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Yosef had said. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ When the whole land of Egypt started feeling the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Yosef, and do what he tells you to do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the earth, but then Yosef opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians, since the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Moreover all countries came to Egypt to Yosef to buy grain, because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Genesis 42

¹ Now Ya‘akov saw that there was grain in Egypt; so Ya‘akov said to his sons, “Why are you staring at each other? ² Look,” he said, “I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we can stay alive and not die!” ³ Thus Yosef’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt, ⁴ except for Binyamin, Yosef’s brother. Ya‘akov did not send him with his brothers, because he was afraid something might happen to him.

⁵ The sons of Isra’el came to buy along with the others that came, since the famine extended to the land of Kena‘an. ⁶ Yosef was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Now when Yosef’s brothers came and prostrated themselves before him on the ground, ⁷ Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them; but he acted toward them as if he were a stranger and spoke harshly with them. He asked them, “Where are you from?” They answered, “From the land of Kena‘an to buy food.” ⁸ So Yosef recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.

⁹ Remembering the dreams he had had about them, Yosef said to them, “You are spies! You’ve come to spot our country’s weaknesses!” ¹⁰ “No, my lord,” they replied, “your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We’re all the sons of one man, we’re upright men; your servants aren’t spies.” ¹² “No,” he said to them, “you’ve come to spy out our country’s weaknesses.” ¹³ They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena‘an; the youngest stayed with our father, and another one is gone.” ¹⁴ “Just as I said,” replied Yosef, “you’re spies! ¹⁵ Here’s how you can prove you’re not lying: as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother. Meanwhile, you will be kept in custody. This will prove whether there is any truth in what you say. Otherwise, as Pharaoh lives, you are certainly spies.” ¹⁷ Then he put all of them together in prison for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day, Yosef said to them, “Do what I say, and stay alive, for I fear ELOHIM. (v) ¹⁹ If you are upright men, let one of your brothers remain incarcerated in the prison you’re being kept in, while you go and carry grain back to relieve the famine in your homes. ²⁰ But bring your youngest brother to me. In this way your statements will be verified, and you won’t die.”

So they did it. ²¹ They said to each other, “We are in fact guilty concerning our brother. He was in distress and pleaded with us; we saw it and wouldn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come upon us now.” ²² Re’uven answered them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t wrong the boy’? But you wouldn’t hear of it. Now comes the reckoning for his blood!” ²³ They had no idea that Yosef understood them, since an interpreter was translating for them. ²⁴ Yosef turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. He took Shim‘on from among them and put him in prison before their eyes. ²⁵ Next he ordered that their containers be filled with grain, that every man’s money be put back in his pack and that they be given provisions for the journey. When these things had been done for them, ²⁶ they loaded their grain on their donkeys and departed.

²⁷ But at camp that night, as one of them opened his pack to give fodder to his donkey, he noticed his money — there it was, just inside his pack. ²⁸ He said to his brothers, “My money has been restored — there it is, right in my pack!” At that, their hearts sank; they turned, trembling, to one another and said, “What is this that ELOHIM has done to us?”

²⁹ They returned to Ya‘akov their father in the land of Kena‘an and told him all that had happened to them. ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us. He took us for spies in his country. ³¹ We said to him, ‘We are upright men, we’re not spies; ³² we are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is gone, and the youngest stayed with our father in the land of Kena‘an.’ ³³ But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘Here is how I will know that you are upright men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain to relieve the famine in your homes, and go on your way; ³⁴ but bring your youngest brother to me. By this I will know that you aren’t spies, but are upright men; then I will return your brother to you; and you will do business in the land.’”

³⁵ Next, as they emptied their packs, there was each man’s bag of money in his pack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they became afraid. ³⁶ Ya‘akov their father said to them, “You have robbed me of my children! Yosef is gone, Shim‘on is gone, now you’re taking Binyamin away — it all falls on me!” ³⁷ Re’uven said to his father, “If I don’t bring him back to you, you can kill my own two sons! Put him in my care; I will return him to you.” ³⁸ But he replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If anything were to happen to him while traveling with you, you would bring my gray hair down to Sh’ol with grief.”

Genesis 43

¹  But the famine was severe in the land; ² so when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” ³ Y’hudah said to him, “The man expressly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food; ⁵ but if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” ⁶ Isra’el said, “Why did you bring such trouble my way by telling the man you had another brother?” ⁷ They answered, “The man kept questioning us about ourselves and about our kinsmen. He asked, ‘Is your father still alive?’ ‘Do you have another brother?’ and we answered according to the literal meaning of his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸ Y’hudah said to Isra’el his father, “Send the boy with me; and we will make preparations and leave; so that we may stay alive and not die, both we and you, and also our little ones. ⁹ I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me responsible. If I fail to bring him to you and present him to your face, let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ Except for our lengthy delay, we would have been there again by now.”

¹¹ Their father Isra’el answered them, “If that’s how it is, do this: take in your containers some of the land’s best products, and bring the man a gift — some healing resin, a little honey, aromatic gum, opium, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take twice the amount of money with you; and return the money that came back with you in your packs — it could have been an oversight. ¹³ Yes, and take your brother too; and get ready; and go again to the man. ¹⁴ May EL SHADDAI give you favor in the man’s sight, so that he will release to you your other brother as well as Binyamin. As for me, if I must lose my children, lose them I will.” ¹⁵ The men took that gift, and they took twice the money with them, and Binyamin; then they prepared, went down to Egypt and stood before Yosef.

(vi) ¹⁶ When Yosef saw Binyamin with them, he said to his household manager, “Take the men inside the house, kill the animals and prepare the meat. These men will dine with me at noon.” ¹⁷ The man did as Yosef ordered and brought the men into Yosef’s house.

¹⁸ Upon being ushered inside Yosef’s house, the men became fearful. They said, “It’s because of the money that was returned in our packs the first time that we have been brought inside — so that he can use it as an excuse to attack us, take us as slaves and seize our donkeys too.” ¹⁹ So they approached the manager of Yosef’s household and spoke to him at the entrance of the house: ²⁰ “Please, my lord, the first time we indeed came down to buy food; ²¹ but when we got to camp, we opened our packs, and there inside our packs was each man’s money, the full amount. We have brought it back with us; ²² moreover, we have brought down other money to buy food. We have no idea who put our money in our packs.” ²³ “Stop worrying,” he replied, “don’t be afraid. Your ELOHIM and the ELOHEI your father put treasure in your packs. As for your money — I was the one who received it.” Then he brought Shim‘on out to them.

²⁴ The man brought the men into Yosef’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he provided fodder for their donkeys. ²⁵ Then they got their gift ready for Yosef’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were going to eat a meal there. ²⁶ When Yosef arrived home, they went in the house and presented him with the gift they had brought with them, then prostrated themselves before him on the ground. ²⁷ He asked them how they were and inquired, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ They answered, “Your servant our father is well; yes, he is still alive,” as they bowed in respect. ²⁹ He looked up and saw Binyamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” and added, “May ELOHIM be good to you, my son.”

(vii) ³⁰ Then Yosef hurried out, because his feelings toward his brother were so strong that he wanted to cry; he went into his bedroom and there he wept. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out, but he controlled himself as he gave the order to serve the meal. ³² They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians included at the meal by themselves — Egyptians don’t eat with Hebrews, because that is abhorrent to them. ³³ So they sat there facing him, the firstborn in the place of honor, the youngest in last place; and the men expressed their amazement to each other. ³⁴ Each was given his serving there in front of him, but Binyamin’s portion was five times as large as any of theirs. So they drank and enjoyed themselves with him.

Genesis 44

¹ Then he ordered the manager of his household, “Fill the men’s packs with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money just inside his pack. ² And put my goblet, the silver one, just inside the pack of the youngest, along with his grain money.” He did what Yosef told him to do.

³ At daybreak the men were sent off with their donkeys; ⁴ but before they were far from the city Yosef said to his manager, “Up, go after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? ⁵ Isn’t this the goblet my lord drinks from, indeed the one he uses for divination? What you have done is evil!’” ⁶ So he caught up with them and said these words to them. ⁷ They replied, “Why does my lord speak this way? Heaven forbid that we should do such a thing! ⁸ Why, the money we found inside our packs we brought back to you from the land of Kena‘an! So how would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? ⁹ Whichever one of us the goblet is found with, let him be put to death — and the rest of us will be my lord’s slaves!” ¹⁰ He replied, “Fine; let it be as you have said: whichever one it is found with will be my slave. But the rest of you will be blameless.” ¹¹ Then each hurried to put his pack down on the ground, and each one opened his pack. ¹² He searched, starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the goblet was found in the pack belonging to Binyamin. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothes from grief. Then each man loaded up his donkey and returned to the city.

(A: Maftir) ¹⁴ Y’hudah and his brothers arrived at Yosef’s house. He was still there, and they fell down before him on the ground. (S: Maftir) ¹⁵ Yosef said to them, “How could you do such a thing? Don’t you know that a man such as myself can learn the truth by divination?” ¹⁶ Y’hudah said, “There’s nothing we can say to my lord! How can we speak? There’s no way we can clear ourselves! ELOHIM has revealed your servants’ guilt; so here we are, my lord’s slaves — both we and also the one in whose possession the cup was found.” ¹⁷ But he replied, “Heaven forbid that I should act in such a way. The man in whose possession the goblet was found will be my slave; but as for you, go in peace to your father.”

Haftarah Mikketz: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 3:15–4:1

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mikketz: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 11–12)

Parashah 11: Vayigash (He approached) 44:18–47:27

¹⁸ Then Y’hudah approached Yosef and said, “Please, my lord! Let your servant say something to you privately; and don’t be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father? or a brother?’ ²⁰ We answered my lord, ‘We have a father who is an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one whose brother is dead; so that of his mother’s children he alone is left; and his father loves him.’ ²¹ But you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I can see him.’ ²² We answered my lord, ‘The boy can’t leave his father; if he were to leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ²⁴ We went up to your servant my father and told him what my lord had said; ²⁵ but when our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us some food,’ ²⁶ we answered, ‘We can’t go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go down, because we can’t see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons: ²⁸ the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I haven’t seen him since. ²⁹ Now if you take this one away from me too, and something happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sh’ol with grief.’ ³⁰ So now if I go to your servant my father, and the boy isn’t with us — seeing how his heart is bound up with the boy’s heart — (ii) ³¹ when he sees that the boy isn’t with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh’ol with grief. ³² For your servant himself guaranteed his safety; I said, ‘If I fail to bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.’ ³³ Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish.”

Genesis 45

¹ At last Yosef could no longer control his feelings in front of his attendants and cried, “Get everybody away from me!” So no one else was with him when Yosef revealed to his brothers who he was. ² He wept aloud, and the Egyptians heard, and Pharaoh’s household heard. ³ Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef! Is it true that my father is still alive?” His brothers couldn’t answer him, they were so dumbfounded at seeing him. ⁴ Yosef said to his brothers, “Please! Come closer.” And they came closer. He said, “I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But don’t be sad that you sold me into slavery here or angry at yourselves, because it was ELOHIM who sent me ahead of you to preserve life. ⁶ The famine has been over the land for the last two years, and for yet another five years there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ ELOHIM sent me ahead of you to ensure that you will have descendants on earth and to save your lives in a great deliverance. (iii) ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but ELOHIM; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry, go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Here is what your son Yosef says: “ELOHIM has made me lord of all Egypt! Come down to me, don’t delay! ¹⁰ You will live in the land of Goshen and be near me — you, your children, your grandchildren, flocks, herds, everything you own. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, so that you won’t become poverty-stricken, you, your household and all that you have; because five years of famine are yet to come.”’ ¹² Here! Your own eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin, that it is my own mouth speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father how honored I am in Egypt and everything you have seen, and quickly bring my father down here!” ¹⁴ Then he embraced his brother Binyamin and wept, and Binyamin wept on his neck, ¹⁵ and he kissed all his brothers and wept on them. After that, his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ The report of this reached Pharaoh’s house: “Yosef’s brothers have come”; and Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Tell your brothers, ‘Here is what you are to do. Load up your animals, go to the land of Kena‘an, ¹⁸ take your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you good property in Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.

(iv) ¹⁹ “‘Moreover — and this is an order — do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little ones and your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰ Don’t worry about your stuff, because everything good in the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ The sons of Isra’el acted accordingly; and Yosef gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had ordered, and gave them provisions for their journey. ²² To each of them he gave a set of new clothes; but to Binyamin he gave seven-and-a-half pounds of silver and five sets of new clothes. ²³ Likewise, to his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the finest goods Egypt produced, as well as ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread and food for his father to eat on the return journey. ²⁴ Thus he sent his brothers on their way, and they left; he said to them, “Don’t quarrel among yourselves while you’re traveling!”

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt, entered the land of Kena‘an and came to Ya‘akov their father. ²⁶ They told him, “Yosef is still alive! He is ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” He was stunned at the news; he couldn’t believe them. ²⁷ So they reported to him everything Yosef had said to them; but it was only when he saw the wagons which Yosef had sent to carry him that the spirit of Ya‘akov their father began to revive. (v) ²⁸ Isra’el said, “Enough! My son Yosef is still alive! I must go and see him before I die.”

Genesis 46

¹ Isra’el took everything he owned with him on his journey. He arrived at Be’er-Sheva and offered sacrifices to the ELOHIM of his father Yitz’chak. ² In a vision at night ELOHIM called to Isra’el, “Ya‘akov! Ya‘akov!” He answered, “Here I am.” ³ He said, “I am ELOHIM, the ELOHIM of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt. It is there that I will make you into a great nation. ⁴ Not only will I go down with you to Egypt; but I will also bring you back here again, after Yosef has closed your eyes.”

⁵ So Ya‘akov left Be’er-Sheva; the sons of Isra’el brought Ya‘akov their father, their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry them. ⁶ They took their cattle and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Kena‘an and arrived in Egypt, Ya‘akov and all his descendants with him — ⁷ his sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him into Egypt.

⁸ These are the names of Isra’el’s children who came into Egypt, Ya‘akov and his sons: Re’uven Ya‘akov’s firstborn; ⁹ and the sons of Re’uven — Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi.

¹⁰ The sons of Shim‘on: Y’mu’el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha’ul the son of a Kena‘ani woman.

¹¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, K’hat and M’rari.

¹² The sons of Y’hudah: ‘Er, Onan, Shelah, Peretz and Zerach; but ‘Er and Onan died in the land of Kena‘an. The sons of Peretz were Hetzron and Hamul.

¹³ The sons of Yissakhar: Tola, Puvah, Yov and Shimron.

¹⁴ The sons of Z’vulun: Sered, Elon and Yachle’el.

¹⁵ These were the children of Le’ah whom she bore to Ya‘akov in Paddan-Aram, with his daughter Dinah. In sum, his sons and daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad: Tzifyon, Haggi, Shuni, Etzbon, ‘Eri, Arodi and Ar’eli.

¹⁷ The children of Asher: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, B’ri‘ah, and their sister Serach. The sons of B’ri‘ah were Hever and Malki’el.

¹⁸ These were the children of Zilpah, whom Lavan gave to Le’ah his daughter; she bore them to Ya‘akov — sixteen people.

¹⁹ The sons of Rachel Ya‘akov’s wife: Yosef and Binyamin.

²⁰ To Yosef in the land of Egypt were born M’nasheh and Efrayim, whom Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore to him.

²¹ The sons of Binyamin: Bela, Bekher, Ashbel, Gera, Na‘aman, Echi, Rosh, Mupim, Hupim and Ard.

²² These were the children of Rachel who were born to Ya‘akov — in sum, fourteen people.

²³ The sons of Dan: Hushim.

²⁴ The sons of Naftali: Yachtze’el, Guni, Yetzer and Shillem.

²⁵ These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter; she bore them to Ya‘akov — in sum, seven people.

²⁶ All the people belonging to Ya‘akov coming into Egypt, his direct descendants (not counting Ya‘akov’s sons’ wives), totaled sixty-six. ²⁷ The sons of Yosef, born to him in Egypt, were two in number. Thus all the people in Ya‘akov’s family who entered Egypt numbered seventy.

(vi) ²⁸ Ya‘akov sent Y’hudah ahead of him to Yosef, so that the latter might guide him on the road to Goshen; thus they arrived in the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Yosef prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet Isra’el his father. He presented himself to him, embraced him and wept on his neck for a long time. ³⁰ Then Isra’el said to Yosef, “Now I can die, because I have seen your face and seen that you are still alive.”

³¹ Yosef said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I’m going up to tell Pharaoh. I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Kena‘an, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds and keepers of livestock; they have brought their flocks, their herds and all their possessions.’ ³³ Now when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ tell him, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors.’ This will ensure that you will live in the land of Goshen — for any shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 47

¹ Then Yosef went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers have come from the land of Kena‘an with their flocks, livestock and all their possessions; right now they are in the land of Goshen.” ² He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³ Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They answered Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors,” ⁴ and added, “We have come to live in the land, because in the land of Kena‘an there is no place to pasture your servant’s flocks, the famine is so severe there. Therefore, please, let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” ⁵ Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Your father and brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country — let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷ Yosef then brought in Ya‘akov his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Ya‘akov blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh asked Ya‘akov, “How old are you?” ⁹ and Ya‘akov replied, “The time of my stay on earth has been 130 years; they have been few and difficult, fewer than the years my ancestors lived.” ¹⁰ Then Ya‘akov blessed Pharaoh and left his presence.

(vii) ¹¹ Yosef found a place for his father and brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the country, in the land of Ra‘amses, as Pharaoh had ordered. ¹² Yosef provided food for his father, his brothers and all his father’s household, taking full care of even the youngest.

¹³ There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so that both Egypt and Kena‘an grew weak from hunger. ¹⁴ Yosef collected all the money there was in Egypt and Kena‘an in exchange for the grain they bought, and put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. ¹⁵ When all the money in Egypt had been spent, and likewise in Kena‘an, all the Egyptians approached Yosef and said, “Give us something to eat, even though we have no money; why should we die before your eyes?” ¹⁶ Yosef replied, “Give me your livestock. If you don’t have money, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” ¹⁷ So they brought Yosef their livestock; and Yosef gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle and donkeys — all that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they approached Yosef again and said to him, “We won’t hide from my lord that all our money is spent, and the herds of livestock belong to my lord. We have nothing left, as my lord can see, but our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be enslaved to Pharaoh. But also give us seed to plant, so that we can stay alive and not die, and so that the land won’t become barren.” ²⁰ So Yosef acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, as one by one the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine weighed on them so severely. Thus the land became the property of Pharaoh. ²¹ As for the people, he reduced them to serfdom city by city, from one end of Egypt’s territory to the other. ²² Only the priests’ land did he not acquire, because the priests were entitled to provisions from Pharaoh, and they ate from what Pharaoh provided them; therefore they did not sell their land.

²³ Then Yosef said to the people, “As of today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you to sow the land. ²⁴ When harvest time comes, you are to give twenty percent to Pharaoh; eighty percent will be yours to keep for seed to plant in the fields, as well as for your food and for that of your households and your little ones.”

(Maftir) ²⁵ They replied, “You have saved our lives! So if it pleases my lord, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” ²⁶ Yosef made it a law for the country of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have twenty percent. Only the property belonging to the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷ Isra’el lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. They acquired possessions in it and were productive, and their numbers multiplied greatly.

Haftarah Vayigash: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 37:15–28

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayigash: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 13–15)

Parashah 12: Vayechi (He lived) 47:28–50:26

²⁸ Ya‘akov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; thus Ya‘akov lived to be 147 years old. ²⁹ The time came when Isra’el was approaching death; so he called for his son Yosef and said to him, “If you truly love me, please put your hand under my thigh and pledge that, out of consideration for me, you will not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ Rather, when I sleep with my fathers, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” He replied, “I will do as you have said.” ³¹ He said, “Swear it to me,” and he swore to him. Then Isra’el bowed down at the head of his bed.

Genesis 48

¹ Awhile later someone told Yosef that his father was ill. He took with him his two sons, M’nasheh and Efrayim. ² Ya‘akov was told, “Here comes your son Yosef.” Isra’el gathered his strength and sat up in bed. ³ Ya‘akov said to Yosef, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena‘an and blessed me, ⁴ saying to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous. I will make of you a group of peoples; and I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.’ ⁵ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and M’nasheh will be as much mine as Re’uven and Shim‘on are. ⁶ The children born to you after them will be yours, but for purposes of inheritance they are to be counted with their older brothers.

⁷ “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died suddenly, as we were traveling through the land of Kena‘an, while we were still some distance from Efrat; so I buried her there on the way to Efrat (also known as Beit-Lechem).”

⁸ Then Isra’el noticed Yosef’s sons and asked, “Whose are these?” ⁹ Yosef answered his father, “They are my sons, whom ELOHIM has given me here.” Ya‘akov replied, “I want you to bring them here to me, so that I can bless them.” (ii) ¹⁰ Now Isra’el’s eyes were dim with age, so that he could not see. Yosef brought his sons near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ Isra’el said to Yosef, “I never expected to see even you again, but ELOHIM has allowed me to see your children too!” ¹² Yosef brought them out from between his legs and prostrated himself on the ground. ¹³ Then Yosef took them both, Efrayim in his right hand toward Isra’el’s left hand and M’nasheh in his left hand toward Isra’el’s right hand, and brought them near to him. ¹⁴ But Isra’el put out his right hand and laid it on the head of the younger one, Efrayim, and put his left hand on the head of M’nasheh — he intentionally crossed his hands, even though M’nasheh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ Then he blessed Yosef: “ELOHIM, in whose presence my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak lived, ELOHIM, who has been my own shepherd all my life long to this day, ¹⁶ HaMal'ak who has rescued me from all harm, bless these boys. May they remember who I am and what I stand for, and likewise my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak, who they were and what they stood for. And may they grow into teeming multitudes on the earth.”

(iii) ¹⁷ When Yosef saw that his father was laying his right hand on Efrayim’s head, it displeased him, and he lifted up his father’s hand to remove it from Efrayim’s head and place it instead on M’nasheh’s head. ¹⁸ Yosef said to his father, “Don’t do it that way, my father; for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know that, my son, I know it. He too will become a people, and he too will be great; nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will grow into many nations.” ²⁰ Then he added this blessing on them that day: “Isra’el will speak of you in their own blessings by saying, ‘May ELOHIM make you like Efrayim and M’nasheh.’” Thus he put Efrayim ahead of M’nasheh.

²¹ Isra’el then said to Yosef, “You see that I am dying, but ELOHIM will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors. ²² Moreover, I am giving to you a sh’khem [shoulder, ridge, share, city of Sh’khem] more than to your brothers; I captured it from the Emori with my sword and bow.”

Genesis 49

(iv) ¹ Then Ya‘akov called for his sons and said,

“Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you
what will happen to you in the acharit-hayamim.
² Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Ya‘akov;
pay attention to Isra’el your father.

³ “Re’uven, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the firstfruits of my manhood.
⁴ Though superior in vigor and power
you are unstable as water, so your superiority will end,
because you climbed into your father’s bed
and defiled it — he climbed onto my concubine’s couch!

⁵ “Shim‘on and Levi are brothers,
related by weapons of violence.
⁶ Let me not enter their council,
let my honor not be connected with their people;
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they maimed cattle.
⁷ Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce;
their fury, for it has been cruel.
I will divide them in Ya‘akov
and scatter them in Isra’el.

⁸ “Y’hudah, your brothers will acknowledge you,
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
⁹ Y’hudah is a lion’s cub;
my son, you stand over the prey.
He crouches down and stretches like a lion;
like a lioness, who dares to provoke him?
¹⁰ The scepter will not pass from Y’hudah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his legs,
until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs;
and it is he whom the peoples will obey.
¹¹ Tying his donkey to the vine,
his donkey’s colt to the choice grapevine,
he washes his clothes in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
¹² His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³ “Z’vulun will live at the seashore,
with ships anchoring along his coast
and his border at Tzidon.

¹⁴ “Yissakhar is a strong donkey
lying down in the sheep sheds.
¹⁵ On seeing how good is settled life
and how pleasant the country,
he will bend his back to the burden,
and submit to forced labor.

¹⁶ “Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Isra’el.
¹⁷ Dan will be a viper on the road,
a horned snake in the path
that bites the horse’s heels
so its rider falls off backward.
¹⁸ I wait for your deliverance, יְהוַה.

(v) ¹⁹ “Gad [troop]— a troop will troop on him,
but he will troop on their heel.

²⁰ “Asher’s food is rich —
he will provide food fit for a king.
²¹ “Naftali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.

²² “Yosef is a fruitful plant,
a fruitful plant by a spring,
with branches climbing over the wall.
²³ The archers attacked him fiercely,
shooting at him and pressing him hard;
²⁴ but his bow remained taut;
and his arms were made nimble
by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya‘akov,
from there, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Isra’el,
²⁵ by the ELOHEI your father, who will help you,
by El Shaddai, who will bless you
with blessings from heaven above,
blessings from the deep, lying below,
blessings from the breasts and the womb.
²⁶ The blessings of your father are more powerful
than the blessings of my parents,
extending to the farthest of the everlasting hills;
they will be on the head of Yosef,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

(vi) ²⁷ “Binyamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
in the evening still dividing the spoil.”

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Isra’el, and this is how their father spoke to them and blessed them, giving each his own individual blessing.

²⁹ Then he charged them as follows: “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of ‘Efron the Hitti, ³⁰ the cave in the field of Makhpelah, by Mamre, in the land of Kena‘an, which Avraham bought together with the field from ‘Efron the Hitti as a burial-place belonging to him — ³¹ there they buried Avraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Yitz’chak and his wife Rivkah, and there I buried Le’ah — ³² the field and the cave in it, which was purchased from the sons of Het.”

³³ When Ya‘akov had finished charging his sons, he drew his legs up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 50

¹ Yosef fell on his father’s face, wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Yosef ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Isra’el. ³ Forty days were spent at this, the normal amount of time for embalming. Then the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴ When the period of mourning was over, Yosef addressed to the household of Pharaoh: “I would like to ask a favor. Tell Pharaoh, ⁵ ‘My father had me swear an oath. He said, “I am going to die. You are to bury me in my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Kena‘an.” Therefore, I beg you, let me go up and bury my father; I will return.’” ⁶ Pharaoh responded, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Yosef went up to bury his father. With him went all Pharaoh’s servants, the leaders of his household and the leaders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ along with the entire household of Yosef, his brothers and his father’s household; only their little ones, their flocks and their cattle did they leave in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Moreover, there went up with him both chariots and horsemen — it was a very large caravan.

¹⁰ When they arrived at the threshing-floor in Atad, beyond the Yarden, they raised a loud and bitter lamentation, mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the local inhabitants, the Kena‘ani, saw the mourning on the floor of Atad they said, “How bitterly the Egyptians are mourning!” This is why the place was given the name Avel-Mitzrayim [mourning of Egypt], there beyond the Yarden.

¹² His sons did to him as he had ordered them to do — ¹³ they carried him into the land of Kena‘an and buried him in the cave in the field of Makhpelah, which Avraham had bought, along with the field, as a burial-place belonging to him, from ‘Efron the Hitti, by Mamre.

¹⁴ Then, after burying his father, Yosef returned to Egypt, he, his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

¹⁵ Realizing that their father was dead, Yosef’s brothers said, “Yosef may hate us now and pay us back in full for all the suffering we caused him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Yosef which said, “Your father gave this order before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Yosef, “I beg you now, please forgive your brothers’ crime and wickedness in doing you harm.”’ So now, we beg of you, forgive the crime of the servants of Ha'ELOHEI (the God of) your father.” Yosef wept when they spoke to him; ¹⁸ and his brothers too came, prostrated themselves before him and said, “Here, we are your slaves.” ¹⁹ But Yosef said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Am I in the place of ELOHIM? ²⁰ You meant to do me harm, but ELOHIM meant it for good — so that it would come about as it is today, with many people’s lives being saved. (vii) ²¹ So don’t be afraid — I will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he comforted them, speaking kindly to them.

²² Yosef continued living in Egypt, he and his father’s household. Yosef lived 110 years. (Maftir) ²³ Yosef lived to see Efrayim’s great-grandchildren, and the children of M’nasheh’s son Makhir were born on Yosef’s knees.

²⁴ Yosef said to his brothers, “I am dying. But ELOHIM will surely remember you and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.” ²⁵ Then Yosef took an oath from the sons of Isra’el: “ELOHIM will surely remember you, and you are to carry my bones up from here.” ²⁶ So Yosef died at the age of 110, and they embalmed him and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

Haftarah Vayechi: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 2:1–12

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayechi: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 15–16); Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:21–22; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:3–9; 2:11–17

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!