Reincarnation and the cycle of birth and death

What are your thoughts on Reincarnation? 

The Book of Yasher (Jasher) Parts 25 and 26

    Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! We are now on "The Book of Yasher" (Jasher). This is an apocryphal text, meaning it was taken out of the bible. This book is included in some versions still today. One of the biggest reasons for doing this: it is referenced in three sections in the bible. Why would they take a book out that has been referenced? Well, we know that they did this also to Enoch, and Enoch is a very important book. I tend to find when "official" people don't include something, it means they don't want us to know what's what. And...me, being me, doesn't like that. So, pull up a chair, and put your thinking cap on. Better yet, put your feeling cap on, and let me know what you feel about this! Any questions? Email me at theawakeningtalk@gmail.com. 

25 ABRAHAM TAKES KETURAH

Abraham takes Keturah for a Wife, by whom he has Six Sons. The Generations of the Sons of Keturah, and of Ishmael.

1 And it was at that time that Abraham again took a wife in his old age, and her name was Keturah, from the land of Canaan.

2 And she bare unto him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuach, being six sons. And the children of Zimran were Abihen, Molich and Narim.

3 And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Medan were Amida, Joab, Gochi, Elisha and Nothach; and the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.

4 And the sons of Ishbak were Makiro, Beyodua and Tator.

5 And the sons of Shuach were Bildad, Mamdad, Munan and Meban; all these are the families of the children of Keturah the Canaanitish woman which she bare unto Abraham the Hebrew.

6 And Abraham sent all these away, and he gave them gifts, and they went away from his son Isaac to dwell wherever they should find a place.

7 And all these went to the mountain at the east, and they built themselves six cities in which they dwelt unto this day.

8 But the children of Sheba and Dedan, children of Jokshan, with their children, did not dwell with their brethren in their cities, and they journeyed and encamped in the countries and wildernesses unto this day.

9 And the children of Midian, son of Abraham, went to the east of the land of Cush, and they there found a large valley in the eastern country, and they remained there and built a city, and they dwelt therein, that is the land of Midian unto this day.

10 And Midian dwelt in the city which he built, he and his five sons and all belonging to him.

11 And these are the names of the sons of Midian according to their names in their cities, Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.

12 And the sons of Ephah were Methach, Meshar, Avi and Tzanua, and the sons of Epher were Ephron, Zur, Alirun and Medin, and the sons of Chanoch were Reuel, Rekem, Azi, Alyoshub and Alad.

13 And the sons of Abida were Chur, Melud, Kerury, Molchi; and the sons of Eldaah were Miker, and Reba, and Malchiyah and Gabol; these are the names of the Midianites according to their families; and afterward the families of Midian spread throughout the land of Midian.

14 And these are the generations of Ishmael the son Abraham, whom Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham.

15 And Ishmael took a wife from the land of Egypt, and her name was Ribah, the same is Meribah.

16 And Ribah bare unto Ishmael Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam and their sister Bosmath.

17 And Ishmael cast away his wife Ribah, and she went from him and returned to Egypt to the house of her father, and she dwelt there, for she had been very bad in the sight of Ishmael, and in the sight of his father Abraham.

18 And Ishmael afterward took a wife from the land of Canaan, and her name was Malchuth, and she bare unto him Nishma, Dumah, Masa, Chadad, Tema, Yetur, Naphish and Kedma.

19 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, being twelve princes according to their nations; and the families of Ishmael afterward spread forth, and Ishmael took his children and all the property that he had gained, together with the souls of his household and all belonging to him, and they went to dwell where they should find a place.

20 And they went and dwelt near the wilderness of Paran, and their dwelling was from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt as you come toward Assyria.

21 And Ishmael and his sons dwelt in the land, and they had children born to them, and they were fruitful and increased abundantly.

22 And these are the names of the sons of Nebayoth the first born of Ishmael; Mend, Send, Mayon; and the sons of Kedar were Alyon, Kezem, Chamad and Eli.

23 And the sons of Adbeel were Chamad and Jabin; and the sons of Mibsam were Obadiah, Ebedmelech and Yeush; these are the families of the children of Ribah the wife of Ishmael.

24 And the sons of Mishma the son of Ishmael were Shamua, Zecaryon and Obed; and the sons of Dumah were Kezed, Eli, Machmad and Amed.

25 And the sons of Masa were Melon, Mula and Ebidadon; and the sons of Chadad were Azur, Minzar and Ebedmelech; and the sons of Tema were Seir, Sadon and Yakol.

26 And the sons of Yetur were Merith, Yaish, Alyo, and Pachoth; and the sons of Naphish were Ebed-Tamed, Abiyasaph and Mir; and the sons of Kedma were Calip, Tachti, and Omir; these were the children of Malchuth the wife of Ishmael according to their families.

27 All these are the families of Ishmael according to their generations, and they dwelt in those lands wherein they had built themselves cities unto this day.

28 And Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel, the wife of Abraham's son Isaac, was barren in those days, she had no offspring; and Isaac dwelt with his father in the land of Canaan; and YAHWEH was with Isaac; and Arpachshad the son of Shem the son of Noah died in those days, in the forty-eighth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days that Arpachshad lived were four hundred and thirty-eight years, and he died. (Now that I know that Rebecca was ten, it is no wonder why she was barren...geesh...)

26 ISAAC AND REBECCA

Isaac and Rebecca pray for children. Their Prayers answered, and Esau and Yacob are Born. Abraham, after recounting all the Wonderful Works of YAHWEH, enjoins his Son to Walk in His way and keep His Commandments. In the Fifteenth Year of Yacob and Esau's lives, Abraham Dies and is Buried by all the Kings of the land. All the People and even the children mourn for Abraham for a Full.

1 And in the fifty-ninth year of the life of Isaac the son of Abraham, Rebecca his wife was still barren in those days.

2 And Rebecca said unto Isaac, Truly I have heard, my adonai, that your mother Sarah was barren in her days until my adonai Abraham, your father, prayed for her and she conceived by him.

3 Now therefore stand up, pray you also to YAHWEH and he will hear your prayer and remember us through his mercies.

4 And Isaac answered his wife Rebecca, saying, Abraham has already prayed for me to YAHWEH to multiply his seed, now therefore this barrenness must proceed to us from you.

5 And Rebecca said unto him, But arise now you also and pray, that YAHWEH may hear your prayer and grant me children, and Isaac hearkened to the words of his wife, and Isaac and his wife rose up and went to the land of Moriah to pray there and to seek YAHWEH, and when they had reached that place Isaac stood up and prayed to YAHWEH on account of his wife because she was barren.

6 And Isaac said, O YAHWEH the Elohim of heaven and earth, whose goodness and mercies fill the earth, you who did take my father from his father's house and from his birthplace, and did bring him unto this land, and did say unto him, To your seed will I give the land, and you did promise him and did declare unto him, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea, now may your words be verified which you did speak unto my father.

7 For you are YAHWEH our Elohim, our eyes are toward you to give us seed of men, as you did promise us, for you are YAHWEH our Elohim and our eyes are directed toward you only.

8 And YAHWEH heard the prayer of Isaac the son of Abraham, and YAHWEH was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived.

9 And in about seven months after the children struggled together within her, and it pained her greatly that she was wearied on account of them, and she said to all the women who were then in the land, Did such a thing happen to you as it has to me? and they said unto her, No.

10 And she said unto them, Why am I alone in this among all the women that were upon earth? and she went to the land of Moriah to seek YAHWEH on account of this; and she went to Shem and Eber his son to make inquiries of them in this matter, and that they should seek YAHWEH in this thing respecting her.

11 And she also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of YAHWEH about all that had befallen her.

12 And they all inquired of YAHWEH concerning this matter, and they brought her word from YAHWEH and told her, Two children are in your womb, and two nations shall rise from them; and one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve the younger.

13 And when her days to be delivered were completed, she knelt down, and behold there were twins in her womb, as YAHWEH had spoken to her.

(This is super important! This is a prophecy on the information that Esau's family will serve Jacob's...)

14 And the first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and all the people of the land called his name Esau, saying, That this one was made complete from the womb.

15 And after that came his brother, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel, therefore they called his name Yacob.

16 And Isaac, the son of Abraham, was sixty years old when he begat them. (So that makes Rebecca 30.)

17 And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came among the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field, and Yacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of YAHWEH and the commands of his father and mother.

18 And Isaac and the children of his household dwelt with his father Abraham in the land of Canaan, as YAHWEH had commanded them.

19 And Ishmael the son of Abraham went with his children and all belonging to them, and they returned there to the land of Havilah, and they dwelt there.

20 And all the children of Abraham's concubines went to dwell in the land of the east, for Abraham had sent them away from his son, and had given them presents, and they went away.

21 And Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac, and he also gave him all his treasures.

22 And he commanded him saying, Did you not know and understand YAHWEH is Elohim in heaven and in earth, and there is no other beside him?

23 And it was he who took me from my father's house, and from my birth place, and gave me all the delights upon earth; who delivered me from the counsel of the wicked, for in him did I trust.

24 And he brought me to this place, and he delivered me from Ur Casdim; and he said unto me, To your seed will I give all these lands, and they shall inherit them when they keep my commandments, my statutes and my judgments that I have commanded you, and which I shall command them.

25 Now therefore my son, hearken to my voice, and keep the commandments of YAHWEH your Elohim, which I commanded you, do not turn from the right way either to the right or to the left, in order that it may be well with you and your children after you forever.

26 And remember the wonderful works of YAHWEH, and his kindness that he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of our enemies, and YAHWEH our Elohim caused them to fall into our hands; and now therefore keep all that I have commanded you, and turn not away from the commandments of YAHWEH your Elohim, and serve none beside him, in order that it may be well with you and your seed after you.

27 And teach you your children and your seed the instructions of YAHWEH and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.

28 And Isaac answered his father and said unto him, That which my adonai has commanded that will I do, and I will not depart from the commands of YAHWEH my Elohim, I will keep all that he commanded me; and Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children; and Abraham taught Yacob the instruction of YAHWEH and his ways.

29 And it was at that time that Abraham died, in the fifteenth year of the life of Yacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac, and all the days of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years, and he died and was gathered to his people in good old age, old and satisfied with days, and Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.

30 And when the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead, they all came with their kings and princes and all their men to bury Abraham.

31 And all the inhabitants of the land of Haran, and all the families of the house of Abraham, and all the princes and grandees, and the sons of Abraham by the concubines, all came when they heard of Abraham's death, and they requited Abraham's kindness, and comforted Isaac his son, and they buried Abraham in the cave which he bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the possession of a burial place.

32 And all the inhabitants of Canaan, and all those who had known Abraham, wept for Abraham a whole year, and men and women mourned over him.

33 And all the little children, and all the inhabitants of the land wept on account of Abraham, for Abraham had been good to them all, and because he had been upright with YAHWEH and men.

34 And there arose not a man who feared YAHWEH like unto Abraham, for he had feared YAHWEH his Elohim from his youth, and had served YAHWEH, and had gone in all his ways during his life, from his childhood to the day of his death.

35 And YAHWEH was with him and delivered him from the counsel of Nimrod and his people, and when he made war with the four kings of Elam he conquered them.

36 And he brought all the children of the earth to the service of YAHWEH, and he taught them the ways of YAHWEH, and caused them to know YAHWEH.

37 And he formed a grove and he planted a vineyard therein, and he had always prepared in his tent meat and drink to those that passed through the land, that they might satisfy themselves in his house.

38 And YAHWEH the Elohim delivered the whole earth on account of Abraham.

39 And it was after the death of Abraham that YAHWEH blessed his son Isaac and his children, and YAHWEH was with Isaac as he had been with his father Abraham, for Isaac kept all the commandments of YAHWEH as Abraham his father had commanded him; he did not turn to the right or to the left from the right path which his father had commanded him.

   Well, that's the end of today's blog. The only really disturbing thing to me and big difference is knowing the age of Rebecca. Yeowza. I guess I need to get over that one. Other than that, the interesting part for me is the part about Rebecca and the children in her womb. I love the whole prophetic thing and since I already know the story of Jacob and Esau, I appreciate that there's more to the story. So, if you have anything to add or a question, please send me a message at: theawakeningtalk@gmail.com! 

If not, I'll see you tomorrow for Parts 27 and 28!

The Book of Yasher (Jasher) Parts 19 and 20

   Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! We are now on "The Book of Yasher" (Jasher). This is an apocryphal text, meaning it was taken out of the bible. This book is included in some versions still today. One of the biggest reasons for doing this: it is referenced in three sections in the bible. Why would they take a book out that has been referenced? Well, we know that they did this also to Enoch, and Enoch is a very important book. I tend to find when "official" people don't include something, it means they don't want us to know what's what. And...me, being me, doesn't like that. So, pull up a chair, and put your thinking cap on. Better yet, put your feeling cap on, and let me know what you feel about this! Any questions? Email me at theawakeningtalk@gmail.com. 

19 SODOM & GOMORRAH

The Abominations of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two Heavenly Messengers sent to Save Lot. The Cities of the Plain and all their Inhabitants Destroyed by Fire

1 And the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim. (I couldn't find any name meanings for any of these.)

2 And Eliezer Abraham's servant applied to them different names, and he converted Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin. (I am trying to find out why and what the importance of this is. I haven't been able to find anything thus far. When I do, I will come back and edit this response. :)

3 And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them. (This place is horrible.)

4 And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him.

5 And if he was longer than the bed they would draw together the two sides of the bed at each end, until the man had reached the gates of death.

6 And if he continued to cry out to them, they would answer him, saying, Thus shall it be done to a man that comes into our land.

7 And when men heard all these things that the people of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there. (Geesh... no kidding. These people are completely evil. No wonder it was destroyed.)

8 And when a poor man came to their land they would give him silver and gold, and cause a proclamation in the whole city not to give him a morsel of bread to eat, and if the stranger should remain there some days, and die from hunger, not having been able to obtain a morsel of bread, then at his death all the people of the city would come and take their silver and gold which they had given to him.

9 And those that could recognize the silver or gold which they had given him took it back, and at his death they also stripped him of his garments, and they would fight about them, and he that prevailed over his neighbor took them.

10 They would after that carry him and bury him under some of the shrubs in the deserts; so they did all the days to any one that came to them and died in their land.

11 And in the course of time Sarah sent Eliezer to Sodom, to see Lot and inquire after his welfare.

12 And Eliezer went to Sodom, and he met a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger, and the man of Sodom stripped the poor man of all his clothes and went away.

13 And this poor man cried to Eliezer (Name meaning: My God is help) and supplicated his favor on account of what the man of Sodom had done to him.

14 And he said to him, Why did you act thus to the poor man who came to your land?

15 And the man of Sodom answered Eliezer, saying, Is this man your brother, or have the people of Sodom made you a judge this day, that you speak about this man?

16 And Eliezer strove with the man of Sodom on account of the poor man, and when Eliezer approached to recover the poor man's clothes from the man of Sodom, he hastened and with a stone smote Eliezer in the forehead.

17 And the blood flowed copiously from Eliezer's forehead, and when the man saw the blood he caught hold of Eliezer, saying, Give me my hire for having rid you of this bad blood that was in your forehead, for such is the custom and the law in our land.

18 And Eliezer said to him, You have wounded me and require me to pay you your hire; and Eliezer would not hearken to the words of the man of Sodom.

19 And the man laid hold of Eliezer and brought him to Shakra the judge of Sodom for judgment.

20 And the man spoke to the judge, saying, I beseech you my lord, thus has this man done, for I smote him with a stone that the blood flowed from his forehead, and he is unwilling to give me my hire.

21 And the judge said to Eliezer, This man speaks truth to you, give him his hire, for this is the custom in our land; and Eliezer heard the words of the judge, and he lifted up a stone and smote the judge, and the stone struck on his forehead, and the blood flowed copiously from the forehead of the judge, and Eliezer said, If this then is the custom in your land give you unto this man what I should have given him, for this has been your decision, you did decree it. (HA!)

22 And Eliezer left the man of Sodom with the judge, and he went away.

23 And when the kings of Elam had made war with the kings of Sodom, the kings of Elam captured all the property of Sodom, and they took Lot captive, with his property, and when it was told to Abraham he went and made war with the kings of Elam, and he recovered from their hands all the property of Lot as well as the property of Sodom.

24 At that time the wife of Lot bare him a daughter, and he called her name Paltith, saying, Because YAHWEH had delivered him and his whole household from the kings of Elam; and Paltith daughter of Lot grew up, and one of the men of Sodom took her for a wife.

25 And a poor man came into the city to seek a maintenance, and he remained in the city some days, and all the people of Sodom caused a proclamation of their custom not to give this man a morsel of bread to eat, until he dropped dead upon the earth, and they did so.

26 And Paltith the daughter of Lot saw this man lying in the streets starved with hunger, and no one would give him any thing to keep him alive, and he was just upon the point of death.

27 And her soul was filled with pity on account of the man, and she fed him secretly with bread for many days, and the soul of this man was revived.

28 For when she went forth to fetch water she would put the bread in the water pitcher, and when she came to the place where the poor man was, she took the bread from the pitcher and gave it him to eat; so she did many days.

29 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah wondered how this man could bear starvation for so many days.

30 And they said to each other, This can only be that he eats and drinks, for no man can bear starvation for so many days or live as this man has, without even his countenance changing; and three men concealed themselves in a place where the poor man was stationed, to know who it was that brought him bread to eat.

31 And Paltith daughter of Lot went forth that day to fetch water, and she put bread into her pitcher of water, and she went to draw water by the poor man's place, and she took out the bread from the pitcher and gave it to the poor man and he ate it.

32 And the three men saw what Paltith did to the poor man, and they said to her, It is you then who have supported him, and therefore has he not starved, nor changed in appearance nor died like the rest.

33 And the three men went out of the place in which they were concealed, and they seized Paltith and the bread which was in the poor man's hand.

34 And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law.

35 And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes. (I don't remember this in the bible either.)  Just checked again in case I missed something...  Remember that Lot had two daughters in Genesis, two of which raped him and ended up pregnant. They named their children Moab and Ben-Ammi (Ammonites). 

Once again, Wikipedia: The daughters of the biblical patriarch Lot appear in chapter 19 of the Book of Genesis, in two connected stories. In the first, Lot offers his daughters to a Sodomite mob; in the second, his daughters have sex with Lot without his knowledge to bear him children.

Only two daughters are explicitly mentioned in Genesis, both unnamed. However, the Hebrew midrash (interpretation) The Book of Jasher describes another daughter by the name of Paltith, who is burned to death by the Sodomites for breaking their law against giving charity to foreigners.^[1]

The story of Lot offering his daughters to the Sodomites is also found in surahs 11 and 15 of the Quran, although there is no mention of the rape of Lot.

36 And in the city of Admah there was a woman to whom they did the like.

37 For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman's father, to remain there, as the sun had set when he had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house.

38 And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who are you? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey.

39 And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink.

40 And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.

41 And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her.

42 And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled. (Holy cow...)

43 And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven.

44 And YAHWEH was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility among them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before YAHWEH. (Thank God!)

45 And YAHWEH sent for two of the heavenly messengers that had come to Abraham's house, to destroy Sodom and its cities.

46 And the heavenly messengers rose up from the door of Abraham's tent, after they had eaten and drunk, and they reached Sodom in the evening, and Lot was then sitting in the gate of Sodom, and when he saw them he rose to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground.

47 And he pressed them greatly and brought them into his house, and he gave them victuals which they ate, and they abode all night in his house. (So now this makes a lot more sense. The story of Lot and the two angels/messengers, was sort of copy and pasted in. You can tell that someone tampered (once again) with the text. Why leave this part out? 

48 And the heavenly messengers said to Lot, Arise, go forth from this place, you and all belonging to you, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of this city, for YAHWEH will destroy this place.

49 And the heavenly messengers laid hold upon the hand of Lot and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hands of his children, and all belonging to him, and they brought him forth and set him without the cities.

50 And they said to Lot, Escape for your life, and he fled and all belonging to him.

51 Then YAHWEH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah and upon all these cities brimstone and fire from YAHWEH out of heaven.

52 And he overthrew these cities, all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground; and Ado the wife of Lot looked back to see the destruction of the cities, for her compassion was moved on account of her daughters who remained in Sodom, for they did not go with her. (This wasn't mentioned in this way either. It was just said that she shouldn't look back and she did.)

53 And when she looked back she became a pillar of salt, and it is yet in that place unto this day. 

SODOM AND GEMORRAH FOUND!

Sulfur Balls of Sodom and Gomorrah (youtube.com)

Check out the link above! You can actually see the Sulfur balls light right up!

54 And the oxen which stood in that place daily licked up the salt to the extremities of their feet, and in the morning it would spring forth afresh, and they again licked it up unto this day.

55 And Lot and two of his daughters that remained with him fled and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and they remained there for some time.

56 And Abraham rose up early in the morning to see what had been done to the cities of Sodom; and he looked and beheld the smoke of the cities going up like the smoke of a furnace.

57 And Lot and his two daughters remained in the cave, and they made their father drink wine, and they lay with him, for they said there was no man upon earth that could raise up seed from them, for they thought that the whole earth was destroyed.

58 And they both lay with their father, and they conceived and bare sons, and the first born called the name of her son Moab, saying, From my father did I conceive him; he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

59 And the younger also called her son Benami; he is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

60 And after this Lot and his two daughters went away from there, and he dwelt on the other side of the Jordan with his two daughters and their sons, and the sons of Lot grew up, and they went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they begat children and they were fruitful and multiplied.

20 ABRAHAM GOES TO PHILISTINES

Abraham goes to the land of the Philistines, and again tells the People that Sarah is his Sister. Abimelech (Name means the king is my father) the King desires her for a Wife. An Heavenly Messenger warns him, and commands him to return her to her Husband. The whole land afflicted on account of the matter. Sarah Restored to Abraham, who entreats YAHWEH to heal the People of Abimelech.

1 And at that time Abraham journeyed from the plain of Mamre, and he went to the land of the Philistines, and he dwelt in Gerar; it was in the twenty-fifth year of Abraham's being in the land of Canaan, and the hundredth year of the life of Abraham, that he came to Gerar in the land of the Philistines.

2 And when they entered the land he said to Sarah his wife, Say you are my sister, to any one that shall ask you, in order that we may escape the evil of the inhabitants of the land. (Once again, I don't get how this is a good thing. I get that she is beautiful and everyone is sexing everyone up, but... nevermind. I just answered my own question.)

3 And as Abraham was dwelling in the land of the Philistines, the servants of Abimelech, king of the Philistines, saw that Sarah was exceedingly beautiful, and they asked Abraham concerning her, and he said, She is my sister.

4 And the servants of Abimelech went to Abimelech, saying, A man from the land of Canaan is come to dwell in the land, and he has a sister that is exceeding fair.

5 And Abimelech heard the words of his servants who praised Sarah to him, and Abimelech sent his officers, and they brought Sarah to the king.

6 And Sarah came to the house of Abimelech, and the king saw that Sarah was beautiful, and she pleased him exceedingly.

7 And he approached her and said to her, What is that man to you with whom you did come to our land? and Sarah answered and said He is my brother, and we came from the land of Canaan to dwell wherever we could find a place.

8 And Abimelech said to Sarah, Behold my land is before you, place your brother in any part of this land that pleases you, and it will be our duty to exalt and elevate him above all the people of the land since he is your brother.

9 And Abimelech sent for Abraham, and Abraham came to Abimelech.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, Behold I have given orders that you shalt be honored as you desire on account of your sister Sarah.

11 And Abraham went forth from the king, and the king's present followed him.

12 As at evening time, before men lie down to rest, the king was sitting upon his throne, and a deep sleep fell upon him, and he lay upon the throne and slept till morning.

13 And he dreamed that an heavenly messenger of YAHWEH came to him with a drawn sword in his hand, and the heavenly messenger stood over Abimelech, and wished to slay him with the sword, and the king was terrified in his dream, and said to the heavenly messenger, In what have I sinned against you that you come to slay me with your sword?

14 And the heavenly messenger answered and said to Abimelech, Behold you diest on account of the woman which you did yesternight bring to your house, for she is a married woman, the wife of Abraham who came to your house; now therefore return that man his wife, for she is his wife; and should you not return her, know that you wilt surely die, you and all belonging to you.

15 And on that night there was a great outcry in the land of the Philistines, and the inhabitants of the land saw the figure of a man standing with a drawn sword in his hand, and he smote the inhabitants of the land with the sword, yea he continued to smite them.

16 And the heavenly messenger of YAHWEH smote the whole land of the Philistines on that night, and there was a great confusion on that night and on the following morning.

17 And every womb was closed, and all their issues, and the hand of YAHWEH was upon them on account of Sarah, wife of Abraham, whom Abimelech had taken.

18 And in the morning Abimelech rose with terror and confusion and with a great dread, and he sent and had his servants called in, and he related his dream to them, and the people were greatly afraid.

19 And one man standing among the servants of the king answered the king, saying, O sovereign king, restore this woman to her husband, for he is her husband, for the like happened to the king of Egypt when this man came to Egypt.

20 And he said concerning his wife, She is my sister, for such is his manner of doing when he comes to dwell in the land in which he is a stranger.

21 And Pharaoh sent and took this woman for a wife and YAHWEH brought upon him grievous plagues until he returned the woman to her husband.

22 Now therefore, O sovereign king, know what happened yesternight to the whole land, for there was a very great consternation and great pain and lamentation, and we know that it was on account of the woman which you did take.

23 Now, therefore, restore this woman to her husband, lest it should befall us as it did to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his subjects, and that we may not die; and Abimelech hastened and called and had Sarah called for, and she came before him, and he had Abraham called for, and he came before him.

24 And Abimelech said to them, What is this work you have been doing in saying you are brother and sister, and I took this woman for a wife?

25 And Abraham said, Because I thought I should suffer death on account of my wife; and Abimelech took flocks and herds, and men servants and maid servants, and a thousand pieces of silver, and he gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah to him.

26 And Abimelech said to Abraham, Behold the whole land is before you, dwell in it wherever you shalt choose.

27 And Abraham and Sarah, his wife, went forth from the king's presence with honor and respect, and they dwelt in the land, even in Gerar. (I still don't get the fact that he is basically prostituting his wife out. The angels killed people because of her. Why not just guard her... I don't get it.)

28 And all the inhabitants of the land of the Philistines and the king's servants were still in pain, through the plague which the heavenly messenger had inflicted upon them the whole night on account of Sarah.

29 And Abimelech sent for Abraham, saying, Pray now for your servants to YAHWEH your Elohim, that he may put away this mortality from among us.

30 And Abraham prayed on account of Abimelech and his subjects, and YAHWEH heard the prayer of Abraham, and he healed Abimelech and all his subjects. (And I forgot about this part...So, I guess I get it again.)

This is one of those moments on how can we possibly understand what was going on if we don't have all the information in front of us. Alas... I will keep reading, and I hope you do, too! Tomorrow we will talk about parts 21 and 22~ If you'd like to learn more, email me at: theawakeningtalk@gmail.com

The Book of Yasher (Jasher) Parts 17 and 18

  Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! We are now on "The Book of Yasher" (Jasher). This is an apocryphal text, meaning it was taken out of the bible. This book is included in some versions still today. One of the biggest reasons for doing this: it is referenced in three sections in the bible. Why would they take a book out that has been referenced? Well, we know that they did this also to Enoch, and Enoch is a very important book. I tend to find when "official" people don't include something, it means they don't want us to know what's what. And...me, being me, doesn't like that. So, pull up a chair, and put your thinking cap on. Better yet, put your feeling cap on, and let me know what you feel about this! Any questions? Email me at theawakeningtalk@gmail.com. 

17 COVENANT WITH ABRAM

YAHWEH Appears to Abram and Establishes the Covenant of Circumcision, and calls his name Abraham, and Sarai, He calls Sarah

1 And in those days, in the ninety-first year of the life of Abram, the children of Chittim made war with the children of Tubal, for when YAHWEH had scattered the sons of men upon the face of the earth, the children of Chittim went and embodied themselves in the plain of Canopia, and they built themselves cities there and dwelt by the river Tibreu.

2 And the children of Tubal dwelt in Tuscanah, and their boundaries reached the river Tibreu, and the children of Tubal built a city in Tuscanan, and they called the name Sabinah, after the name of Sabinah son of Tubal their father, and they dwelt there unto this day.

3 And it was at that time the children of Chittim made war with the children of Tubal, and the children of Tubal were smitten before the children of Chittim, and the children of Chittim caused three hundred and seventy men to fall from the children of Tubal.

4 And at that time the children of Tubal (In the ancient texts, Tubal is mentioned as the son of Japheth, who was one of Noah’s sons.) swore to the children of Chittim, saying, You shall not intermarry among us, and no man shall give his daughter to any of the sons of Chittim.

5 For all the daughters of Tubal were in those days fair, for no women were then found in the whole earth so fair as the daughters of Tubal.  (This reminds me of the other times that this happened... um, hello...Nephilim...)

6 And all who delighted in the beauty of women went to the daughters of Tubal and took wives from them, and the sons of men, kings and princes, who greatly delighted in the beauty of women, took wives in those days from the daughters of Tubal.

7 And at the end of three years after the children of Tubal had sworn to the children of Chittim not to give them their daughters for wives, about twenty men of the children of Chittim went to take some of the daughters of Tubal, but they found none.

8 For the children of Tubal kept their oaths not to intermarry with them, and they would not break their oaths.

9 And in the days of harvest the children of Tubal went into their fields to get in their harvest, when the young men of Chittim assembled and went to the city of Sabinah, and each man took a young woman from the daughters of Tubal, and they came to their cities.

10 And the children of Tubal heard of it and they went to make war with them, and they could not prevail over them, for the mountain was exceedingly high from them, and when they saw they could not prevail over them they returned to their land.

11 And at the revolution of the year the children of Tubal went and hired about ten thousand men from those cities that were near them, and they went to war with the children of Chittim.

12 And the children of Tubal went to war with the children of Chittim, to destroy their land and to distress them, and in this engagement the children of Tubal prevailed over the children of Chittim, and the children of Chittim, seeing that they were greatly distressed, lifted up the children which they had had by the daughters of Tubal, upon the wall which had been built, to be before the eyes of the children of Tubal. (Just horrible and super evil. Just a repeat of the last cycle before the flood.)

13 And the children of Chittim said to them, Have you come to make war with your own sons and daughters, and have we not been considered your flesh and bones from that time till now?

14 And when the children of Tubal heard this they ceased to make war with the children of Chittim, and they went away.

15 And they returned to their cities, and the children of Chittim at that time assembled and built two cities by the sea, and they called one Purtu and the other Ariza. (This isn't in the bible at all... no explanation of it anyway.)

16 And Abram the son of Terah was then ninety-nine years old.

17 At that time YAHWEH appeared to him and he said to him, I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will greatly multiply your seed, and this is the covenant which I make between me and you, that every male child be circumcised, you and your seed after you.

18 At eight days old shall it be circumcised, and this covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

19 And now therefore your name shall no more be called Abram but Abraham, and your wife shall no more be called Sarai but Sarah.

20 For I will bless you both, and I will multiply your seed after you that you shall become a great nation, and kings shall come forth from you. 

This last part is all the same as the bible. 

18 ABRAHAM & SARAH

Abraham Entertains Three Heavenly Messengers, who eat with him. Sarah is promised a Son. The People of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of all the Cities of the Plain become very Wicked

1 And Abraham rose and did all that YAHWEH had ordered him, and he took the men of his household and those bought with his money, and he circumcised them as YAHWEH had commanded him.

2 And there was not one left whom he did not circumcise, and Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin; thirteen years old was Ishmael when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 

(This part is curious. Why circumcision? Why mutilate? Is it because we aren't from here and this is something that didn't evolve? Like a cleanliness thing? or something else?) 

Check out this information that I found on Circumcision and the Medical reasons.. Why Would God Command Circumcision? - Reasons to Believe

3 And in the third day Abraham went out of his tent and sat at the door to enjoy the heat of the sun, during the pain of his flesh.

4 And YAHWEH appeared to him in the plain of Mamre, and sent three of his ministering heavenly messengers to visit him, and he was sitting at the door of the tent, and he lifted his eyes and saw, and lo three men were coming from a distance, and he rose up and ran to meet them, and he bowed down to them and brought them into his house.

5 And he said to them, If now I have found favor in your sight, turn in and eat a morsel of bread; and he pressed them, and they turned in and he gave them water and they washed their feet, and he placed them under a tree at the door of the tent.

6 And Abraham ran and took a calf, tender and good, and he hastened to kill it, and gave it to his servant Eliezer to dress.

7 And Abraham came to Sarah into the tent, and he said to her, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes to cover the pot containing the meat, and she did so.

8 And Abraham hastened and brought before them butter and milk, beef and mutton, and gave it before them to eat before the flesh of the calf was sufficiently done, and they did eat.

9 And when they had done eating one of them said to him, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.

10 And the men afterward departed and went their ways, to the places to which they were sent.

11 In those days all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the whole five cities, were exceedingly wicked and sinful against YAHWEH and they provoked YAHWEH with their abominations, and they strengthened in aging abominably and scornfully before YAHWEH, and their wickedness and crimes were in those days great before YAHWEH.

12 And they had in their land a very extensive valley, about half a day's walk, and in it there were fountains of water and a great deal of herbage surrounding the water.

13 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went there four times in the year, with their wives and children and all belonging to them, and they rejoiced there with timbrels (tambourines) and dances.

14 And in the time of rejoicing they would all rise and lay hold of their neighbor's wives, and some, the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they enjoyed them, and each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of his neighbor and did not say a word. (Dear Lord... What the heck... This wasn't talked about in the Bible. We just know that they were evil people.)

15 And they did so from morning to night, and they afterward returned home each man to his house and each woman to her tent; so they always did four times in the year.

16 Also when a stranger came into their cities and brought goods which he had purchased with a view to dispose of there, the people of these cities would assemble, men, women and children, young and old, and go to the man and take his goods by force, giving a little to each man until there was an end to all the goods of the owner which he had brought into the land.

17 And if the owner of the goods quarreled with them, saying, What is this work which you have done to me, then they would approach to him one by one, and each would show him the little which he took and taunt him, saying, I only took that little which you did give me; and when he heard this from them all, he would arise and go from them in sorrow and bitterness of soul, when they would all arise and go after him, and drive him out of the city with great noise and tumult.

18 And there was a man from the country of Elam (

1. Hebrew Origin:

   • In Hebrew, Elam possibly means either “hidden” or “eternity” 12.
   • It appears in the Old Testament as the name of several characters, including a son of Shem who was the ancestor of the Elamite peoples 1.
   • The concept of hiddenness or eternity adds depth to this name.)

who was leisurely going on the road, seated upon his ass, which carried a fine mantle of divers colors, and the mantle was bound with a cord upon the ass.

19 And the man was on his journey passing through the street of Sodom when the sun set in the evening, and he remained there in order to abide during the night, but no one would let him into his house; and at that time there was in Sodom a wicked and mischievous man, one skillful to do evil, and his name was Hedad.

20 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the street of the city, and he came to him and said, Whence come you and whither did you go?

21 And the man said to him, I am traveling from Hebron to Elam where I belong, and as I passed the sun set and no one would suffer me to enter his house, though I had bread and water and also straw and provender for my ass, and am short of nothing.

22 And Hedad answered and said to him, All that you shalt want shall be supplied by me, but in the street you shalt not abide all night.

23 And Hedad brought him to his house, and he took off the mantle from the ass with the cord, and brought them to his house, and he gave the ass straw and provender while the traveler ate and drank in Hedad's house, and he abode there that night.

24 And in the morning the traveler rose up early to continue his journey, when Hedad said to him, Wait, comfort your heart with a morsel of bread and then go, and the man did so; and he remained with him, and they both ate and drank together during the day, when the man rose up to go.

25 And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, you hadst better remain all night that your heart may be comforted; and he pressed him so that he tarried there all night, and on the second day he rose up early to go away, when Hedad pressed him, saying, Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread and then go, and he remained and ate with him also the second day, and then the man rose up to continue his journey.

26 And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, remain with me to comfort your heart and in the morning rise up early and go your way.

27 And the man would not remain, but rose and saddled his ass, and while he was saddling his ass the wife of Hedad said to her husband, Behold this man has remained with us for two days eating and drinking and he has given us nothing, and now shall he go away from us without giving anything? and Hedad said to her, Be silent.

28 And the man saddled his ass to go, and he asked Hedad to give him the cord and mantle to tie it upon the ass.

29 And Hedad said to him, What say you? And he said to him, That you my lord shalt give me the cord and the mantle made with divers colors which you did conceal with you in your house to take care of it.

30 And Hedad answered the man, saying, This is the interpretation of your dream, the cord which you did see, means that your life will be lengthened out like a cord, and having seen the mantle colored with all sorts of colors, means that you shalt have a vineyard in which you wilt plant trees of all fruits.

31 And the traveler answered, saying, Not so my lord, for I was awake when I gave you the cord and also a mantle woven with different colors, which you did take off the ass to put them by for me; and Hedad answered and said, Surely I have told you the interpretation of your dream and it is a good dream, and this is the interpretation thereof.

32 Now the sons of men give me four pieces of silver, which is my charge for interpreting dreams, and of you only I require three pieces of silver.

33 And the man was provoked at the words of Hedad, and he cried bitterly, and he brought Hedad to Serak judge of Sodom. (What a sneaky sneak.)

34 And the man laid his cause before Serak the judge, when Hedad replied, saying, It is not so, but thus the matter stands; and the judge said to the traveler, This man Hedad tells you truth, for he is famed in the cities for the accurate interpretation of dreams.

35 And the man cried at the word of the judge, and he said, Not so my lord, for it was in the day that I gave him the cord and mantle which was upon the ass, in order to put them by in his house; and they both disputed before the judge, the one saying, Thus the matter was, and the other declaring otherwise.

36 And Hedad said to the man, Give me four pieces of silver that I charge for my interpretations of dreams; I will not make any allowance; and give me the expense of the four meals that you did eat in my house.

37 And the man said to Hedad, Truly I will pay you for what I ate in your house, only give me the cord and mantle which you did conceal in your house.

38 And Hedad replied before the judge and said to the man, Did I not tell you the interpretation of your dream? the cord means that your days shall be prolonged like a cord, and the mantle, that you wilt have a vineyard in which you wilt plant all kinds of fruit trees.

39 This is the proper interpretation of your dream, now give me the four pieces of silver that I require as a compensation, for I will make you no allowance.

40 And the man cried at the words of Hedad and they both quarreled before the judge, and the judge gave orders to his servants, who drove them rashly from the house.

41 And they went away quarreling from the judge, when the people of Sodom heard them, and they gathered about them and they exclaimed against the stranger, and they drove him rashly from the city.

42 And the man continued his journey upon his ass with bitterness of soul, lamenting and weeping.

43 And while he was going along he wept at what had happened to him in the corrupt city of Sodom. (This wasn't mentioned at all in the bible.)   

Thanks again for studying with me! This Book is super interesting and definitely adds to the story. Join me tomorrow for parts 19 and 20! If you have any questions, or if you'd like to discuss anything about this or my blog, you can reach me at: theawakeningtalk@gmail.com :)