The Twelve Tribes: A recap of who, what and where

The Book of Jubilees: Chapter 50 (Lesser Genesis) THE LAST CHAPTER

 Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! "The Book of the Jubilees" which is also known by some as "Lesser Genesis" is a very interesting book as it gives us more background and how the background was given. We learned in part one that Moses received this word on Mount Sinai from an Angel/Malek (Messenger) of the LORD, in the second chapter, we learn about what God created and on which days...and we also learn that God's Chosen People: ISRAEL are to keep the Shabbats. To not do so is to die. Yesterday, we learned that Adam and Eve were cursed for taking from the tree in the middle of the Garden, then we go down the lines until we hit Noah and his family and learn that there were a lot more people born of Adam and Eve then we have heard of in Genesis. After this, Noah gets into the Ark and the waters begin to rise; and the world completely changes and we are given our calendar. 13 weeks between each change of the season. 4 Divisions. Each start at the Observance of the New Moon. 364 Day calendar! As Noah commands his son about the observances and of what he sees of his own children and how they have been fighting and their children aren't doing what they are supposed to, Noah tells them that he worries that they will be taken care of by God...and not in a good way, which leads us to the sons of Noah dividing their inheritance (the earth) by using lots. We learn of the land which they decided upon, and Noah is overjoyed because of a prophecy that he had spoken about Shem and The Almighty God blessing him. Who are Shem's people -- eventually? The Sons of Jacob...The Twelve Tribes... ISRAEL. And in the 9th Chapter, Noah has his son's swear an oath that when they divide their land to their sons, that none of them will try to take any of their brothers' land. What happens if they do? Cursed... which brings us to Canaan and how he stole from Shem's lot... which makes a lot more sense as to why Canaan is The Land of Milk and Honey and how it is The Promised Land of God's Chosen People through Shem's line. Then we come to Babel, and the son's language have now been confounded...and the people who once spoke Hebrew are no longer. Things are far away from The Most High God now, and the land has now gone from being divided between Noah's son's sons to Ham's son Canaan, taking Shem's land. So...we now are seeing the line that leads us down into Abram (Abraham) who we learn loves God and has learned basically what not to do from his father's example. And the coolest part? God speaks to him and Abraham listens! God chooses him because Abraham chose God and God reveals to him the language of Hebrew, and now Abraham has been given his fathers' books... what books you say? Oh, just the ones that Noah scribed... And guess what? Nobody has been able to read the language for many years. So, this all fits with the other book that I have been reading "The Book of Formation" Serif Yetzirah... After favoring and blessing Abraham, God shows him everything that he can see and tells him that this land and all of it is his and his people's. He is the Father of All Nations! So, now we learn that Lot, his nephew, has been taken, and Abraham leaves to go get him. Which brings us to Abram having a vision and a promise that he will father a child, that he will have many. God shows him that his people will be strangers in a strange land for 400 years...which brings us to the circumcision and the importance of it and what it means to get it and not get it. This is the torah...We see in 16 that Abraham will not pass away until after he sees all of his children born (6 more sons) after Isaac. We also learn that all of those children of Abraham will be gentiles....all but Isaac. In Isaac is the Holy Kodesh...seed... At the end of 17, the demon prince wants Yahweh to ask Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to see if he will do it or not... This is a whole Job situation here...and now we have made it to the 18th and 19th chapter where Jacob and Esau are born and Isaac loves Esau the best and Rebecca loves Jacob the best, but Abraham's blessing is going to go to Jacob... He tells Rebecca to take care of Jacob because he is special. And now we come to 20 and 21 where Abraham is on his death bed and gives instructions on what to do and what not to do... One is no fornicating, and the other no marrying anyone from Canaan... The people from Canaan will be rooted out... In 22 and 23 we learn that Abraham has died with Jacob in his arms -- after blessing him greatly. We also learn why we die so early and the upcoming tribulation, and then there is Esau and Jacob...Esau gives his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup out of red pottery, he is then known as Edom... Esau also is with two women from Canaan! Remember what Abraham said about Canaan? DON'T GO THERE! Esau went...now his people will be rooted out in the end... Which leads us to Palestine...I mean Luz, I mean Bethel, the place where God has blessed and where Jacob had his vision of the "ladder from heaven to earth"...Surely this is GOD'S Land! And what about "The Heap of Witness" conforming from what it used to be called "The Land of The Rephaim (Giants)"? And then we have Jacob, and his twelve sons...and one daughter. His daughter is defiled, and two of his sons execute judgment on the entire town that defiled her! So, Yahweh, blesses them and curses anyone who curses ISRAEL. And guess what? The Shechemites cursed Dinah, so Yahweh gave Levi Righteous Judgment... All in the house of Shechem that were males were executed. Then we see Jacob make it back to his mother and father, just as Yahweh has promised! So, Jacob set up a pillar in Bethel (the one that he set up before) and went with his two sons, Levi and Judah, to get his parents to bring them there and offer up the sacrifice to Yahweh as a blessing, but Isaac was too weak, so he took mother and her cousin Deborah, but not before Isaac blessed Levi and Judah! Then we learn something that shocked me to my core...the reason why Canaan was cursed! Ham slept with his own MOTHER... He uncovered his father's nakedness... we find this out by the wording of the same act with Reuben and Bilah... Reuben defiled her, and committed a sin against his father. And Rebecca is on her death bed, has Isaac promise to talk to Esau about not killing Jacob, and Isaac admits that even though Esau was his favorite son, he knows that is no longer the case because Esau is evil. Then we come to Esau and Jacob fighting... Jacob ends up killing him, and many of his people are taken down by Jacob's sons who end up getting Esau's children to bow to them. Finally we are back to Joseph. He is 17 now, and he is a prisoner in Pharaoh's prison because Pharoh's wife lied, but God's got Joseph. He is favoured, and ends up basically being in charge of the prison. He meets two of Pharoh's workers that Pharoh put there, and they both had a dream on the same night. Joseph interpreted the dreams as one died and the other would get out, and eventually...Joseph would too.  And now we head back to Jacob's sons' sons... First we find out that Judah married a Canaanite (What in the world are these men doing?) and she and Judah had three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. Judah didn't want his sons to marry a woman from Canaan (I'm guessing he finally listened) so he set Er up with Tamar. Well, Er didn't want her, he wanted a woman from his mother's lineage, so God killed him. Then Tamar, seeing as she was promised a husband, was then promised to Onan (per tradition), well, Onan didn't want his seed to be his brother's kid, (weird way of thinking of it,) so he spilled it on the ground, and...God killed him. So, now, Shelah was up next to get Tamar, but Judah's wife didn't want Shelah to have her, so Judah tarried on that, and after his wife died, he was out and about and Tamar tricked him into being with her, which wasn't a good thing. He ended up getting her pregnant, and she had twins. And since he repented of his sin of showing his son's nakedness (the whole thing with being with his son's wife) God allowed his seed to not be uprooted, and in that is the line that goes directly to Yeshua! After all this, we are back on Joseph... So, Joseph's family is basically starving, and Jacob (Israel) finds out that Egypt has some food stored up so he sends his kids out to get some. When they do, the pharaoh (Joseph) asks why there is someone missing from their group, and they tell them that one brother stayed at home in case they got in trouble, and he said that he doesn't believe them so he would keep one brother, until they bring the other one back as an insurance policy... (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing.) So, they go back to their father, they have their money, too, which doesn't look good, and they explain the situation, and Reuben offers to go and take Benjamin, and get Simeon back, but Jacob says no. Then Judah offers, and offers him up as a tribute basically to get Simeon and he said that he would take care of Benjamin. After a while of not having food, Jacob finally agrees. They go, and Joseph tricks them and puts a cup of his own in Benjamin's bag (So he can keep his brother as a slave) but Judah pleads with him and explains the situation. Joseph's heart opens and he said that it all worked out (the selling of him) because God used him in order to save everyone. All is well now, and they head back with all sorts of corn and asses to give to Jacob in order to bring him to Joseph to show him that he is indeed alive. After they bring him into Goshen, Egypt's best land, Jacob lives for another 17 years. He tells his sons of his vision, and gives Levi the books of his fathers, which leads us into Joseph's eventual death and the death of his brothers. The sons of Israel all being buried in Canaan--except for Joseph who was buried in Egypt. Then Israel (the people) being tricked into slavery by the Egyptians.... because they were getting way too big and the Pharaoh, whom didn't know Joseph, wouldn't be able to contain them. Which brings us to Moses and his birth and the time that surrounded him during the 49th jubilee and the people of Israel crying to God. We learn about how Moses got out of Egypt, received command from God, and went back in to get the people out. We learned that evil was indeed back in Egypt, and that Mastema was at his old tricks again. And we are finally at our last chapter!

Once again, my commentary on this is in BOLD. :) Enjoy!  This is copied from online sources as it is FREE for all. This book was taken out by almost all mainstream bibles. I use the KJV and it was removed by the Nicean Council. More on that later.

The Book Of Jubilees Chapter 50

Remember the Shabbats (Day of prayers/sabbaths) of YAHWEH and keep it Kodesh (holy) and do not pollute it

1 And after this Torah I made known to you the days of the Shabbats in the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. (Doesn't mean morally(sin) just the name of the place. Here's what I found on Wikipedia: Wilderness of Sin - Wikipedia)

2 And I told you of the Shabbats of the land on Mount Sinai, and I told you of the jubilee years in the Shabbats of years: but the year thereof have I not told you till you enter the land which you are to possess.

3 And the land also shall keep its Shabbats while they dwell upon it, and they shall know the jubilee year. (Now we know the whole purpose for the tracking of this.)

4 Wherefore I have ordained for you the year-weeks and the years and the jubilees: there are forty-nine jubilees from the days of Adam until this day, [2410 A.M.] and one week and two years: and there are yet forty years to come (lit. 'distant') for learning the [2450 A.M.] commandments of YAHWEH, until they pass over into the land of Canaan, crossing the Jordan to the west.(Oh dang... so he totally knew how long they would be wandering in the desert... yeowza...)

5 And the jubilees shall pass by, until Yisrael is cleansed from all guilt of fornication, and uncleanness, and pollution, and sin, and error, and dwells with confidence in all the land, and there shall be no more a Satan or any evil one, and the land shall be clean from that time forevermore. (WOW! Nice! This is what I am going through now with my awakening. I find it interesting that most of my stuff started when I was 4 - memories that I can remember - and I just turned 45. I finally feel like I have gone through a major overhaul of sin and a personal transformation of getting out of mind slavery and am all for God The Most High. This was my personal exodus!)

6 And behold the commandment regarding the Shabbats -I have written them down for you- and all the judgments of its laws.

7 Six days shall you labor, but on the seventh day is the Shabbat of YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler. In it you shall do no manner of work, you and your sons, and your men- servants and your maid-servants, and all your cattle and the sojourner also who is with you.

8 And the man that does any work on it shall die: whoever desecrates that day, whoever lies with (his) wife, or whoever says he will do something on it, that he will set out on a journey thereon in regard to any buying or selling: and whoever draws water thereon which he had not prepared for himself on the sixth day, and whoever takes up any burden to carry it out of his tent or out of his house shall die.

9 You shall do no work whatever on the Shabbat day save what you have prepared for yourselves on the sixth day, so as to eat, and drink, and rest, and keep Shabbat from all work on that day, and to bless YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler, who has given you a day of festival and a kodesh day: and a day of the kodesh kingdom for all Yisrael is this day among their days forever.

10 For great is the honor which YAHWEH has given to Yisrael that they should eat and drink and be satisfied on this festival day, and rest thereon from all labor which belongs to the labor of the children of men save burning frankincense and bringing oblations and sacrifices before YAHWEH for days and for Shabbats.

11 This work alone shall be done on the Shabbat-days in the sanctuary of YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler; that they may atone for Yisrael with sacrifice continually from day to day for a memorial well-pleasing before YAHWEH, and that He may receive them always from day to day according as you have been commanded.

12 And every man who does any work thereon, or goes a journey, or tills (his) farm, whether in his house or any other place, and whoever lights a fire, or rides on any beast, or travels by ship on the sea, and whoever strikes or kills anything, or slaughters a beast or a bird, or whoever catches an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fasts or makes war on the Shabbats:

13 The man who does any of these things on the Shabbat shall die, so that the children of Yisrael shall observe the Shabbats according to the commandments regarding the Shabbats of the land, as it is written in the tablets, which He gave into my hands that I should write out for you the laws of the seasons, and the seasons according to the division of their days.

Herewith is completed the account of the division of the days.

WOW! That is a lot for the Sabbath day! Now that I officially know this, I need to know more information, as Jesus (Yeshua!) brought his covenant. I know that the Ten Commandments are still there. I understand that the Sabbath day is very important, but I am wondering if there is more to this. Thank you for reading this in-depth discussion on The Book of Jubilees! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did reading and discussing it with you! God bless all that are reading this discussion, and remember to use your own discernment with everything that is out there and available to you. I give all glory to The Most High God. 

Shalom, Danielle

Genesis 14: The SONS of ISRAEL: The Death of Jacob, the inheritances and the lineage

 Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! WE ARE FINALLY GOING TO DO IT! We are getting out of Genesis!  Phew... it was a long one, and I am glad we are finally getting ready for the Exodus. :) In the last blog, we learn of God's plan of deliverance for the 12 brothers through Joseph. Today, we are starting with Genesis 46, where Israel took his journey with all they he had into Beer-sheba, and offered a sacrifice unto God.

"And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." Genesis 46:2-4

And this next part talks about their trek into Egypt. It explains the lineage of all the children of Israel. It also adds a lot that were born that we hadn't known about until now. 

"All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six; And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. (70)" Genesis 46:26-27 

"And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan , are come unto me; And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

Now after this, Pharoah talked to his brothers and they did as Joseph said, and Joseph brought his father and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed him. 

"And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old are thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacobe blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh." Genesis 47:8-11

Now this next part is where Joseph is buying the animals and then the people as slaves in exchange for food and work to Pharaoh. And then it goes back to Israel, and we learn that they dwelled in the land of Goshen, and it grew and multiplied exceedingly. 

"And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, if now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head."  Genesis; 47:27-31  (Remember the whole oath thing by grabbing by the thigh?)

After all of this, Joseph is told that his father is sick, so he gathers his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim and goes to Jacob. "And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, which I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? And joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Isreal's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseeh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethern, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow." Genesis 48:2-22

So, this is super interesting... Joseph is given a double portion, his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim are given a blessing, and the youngest is more than the oldest. His youngest will be the head of a multitude of nations...

From Wikipedia: 

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel 1. The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas the other sons of Jacob were the founders of one tribe each 1. The Bible records that the Tribe of Ephraim entered the land of Canaan during its conquest by Joshua, a descendant of Ephraim himself 1. However, many archeologists have abandoned the idea that Joshua carried out a conquest of Canaan similar to that described in the Book of Joshua, seeing Jews instead as indigenous Canaanites who developed a monotheistic religion over time 1. From Joshua to the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel, the Tribe of Ephraim was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes 1. After the death of Saul, the Bible records all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul. After the death of Ishbosheth, Saul’s son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Ephraim joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David, who was then the king of Judah, the king of a reunited Kingdom of Israel 1.

As for modern-day nations, there is no definitive answer. However, some people believe that the United States of America is the modern-day descendant of Ephraim 2. According to this interpretation, Jacob’s prophecy to Ephraim and Manasseh was fulfilled by the United States of America 2. It is important to note that this is a matter of interpretation and not a universally accepted fact.

After all this, Jacob calls to his sons, and has them all gather together and tells them what is going to happen in the last days to them. "And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father." Genesis 49:1-2

So, now we find out what they are all going to be left...

Pictured above every tribe is the lineage and where the tribes scattered to after the Exodus. We all derive from these tribes. The only people that aren't, are the ones that are not written in the Lamb's book of life, and that eludes to Cain's line. And yes, we have a line coming down even after the flood that fits this description as Noah's wife was a descendent of Cain. 

To Reuben, (And this part is important) "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch." Genesis 49:3-4 (Yikes... so, if you remember, he slept with Leah's handmaid, which was one of Jacob's wives. So, he is telling him here that he has lost his birthright of being firstborn--his blessing as he wronged him.)

"Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." Genesis 49:5-7 (Remember what they did to all of those men when Dinah was raped. They killed a whole village of men because of the one.)

"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." Genesis 49:8-12 (And of course, Jesus is the Lion of Judah!)

"Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon." Genesis 49:13

"Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute." Genesis 49:14-15

(Dan is the only tribe from Israel that is not included in the 144,000 during the Great Tribulation. I am looking into this, but it is my hypothesis that the Tribe of Dan consists of the Kazarian Jews that are now living in Modern Day Israel. These are the Jews that left Germany and Poland, and some also scattered to the United States after the holocaust. I believe these are the Jews that are mentioned in Revelation 2:9, The Synagogue of Satan, those who say they are Jews but are not. More to come on this.)

"Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." Genesis 49:16-18

"Gad, a troop shall over come him: but he shall over-come at the last." Genesis 49:19

"Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties." Genesis 49:20

"Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words." Genesis 49:21

(included in the 144,000 - Manasseh)

(Assumed to be Joseph as Joseph got a double portion) However, I found this: 

According to the Verse by Verse Ministry International, the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are missing in the list of Revelation 7 because they are omitted to draw attention to the time of Judges, to illustrate that Israel is once again guilty of apostasy as it was in Judges under Dan and Ephraim. Another reason is that the tribe led the rebellion against the Davidic kingdom that resulted in the division into the northern and southern kingdoms. God eliminated the name “Ephraim” here since Ephraim was another idolatrous tribe1.

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, the blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." Genesis 49:22-26

"Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil." Genesis 49:27

"All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people." Genesis 49:28-33

After all of this, Joseph weeps and kisses his father, then has his father embalmed by the physicians in Egypt. And forty days were fulfilled for him, to be embalmed, and they mourned for him 70 days. (Here's that 70 again...)

After all of this, Joseph goes to Pharaoh and asks if he can go bury his father, and he agrees, and then they left and headed toward Goshen, and they mourned for another 7 days.

"And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan." Genesis 50:11-12

"And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. And when joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we id unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. And joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. (There is really no end to the trickery of this family.)

And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT HERE) And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence."  Genesis 50:14-25

So... Joseph dies... 110 years old and was embalmed and put into a coffin in Egypt... 

Genesis Part 13: The SONS of ISRAEL... JOSEPH IS ALIVE!

 Hi, and thank you for following my blog: 144 Judah! Today is a continuation of The Sons of Israel in Genesis. We should be on this particular subject for a least a few more blogs as there are 12 sons and loads yet to cover in Genesis. But, I promise you; we will be to the Exodus before you know it. :) 

As a refresher, here is the lineage of the Sons...

Okay, So... we just learned that Jesus is in the direct line of Judah from Pharez! (Remember the Red Ribbon that was tied onto Zerah, making him the son of Er)

And now we are moving on and back to Joseph. If you remember, the last we saw Joseph was when he was sold to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. (Judah's idea instead of killing him). We are now in Genesis 39, where we learn that Joseph is with the Egyptians, brought by the Ishmaelites. We also learn that "And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." Genesis 39:2

So, after all of this happens, his master's wife saw that he was favored, and then decided that she was going to sleep with him. In fact, she tells Joseph to go into her, but he doesn't want to. He couldn't do that to his master, and he couldn't do that to God. It was a wicked thing. So, he tells her this but she then tries to do it again, and grabs his clothes. He ends up leaving, and she tells his master that she cried and that he went into her. So... his master throws him into a prison.  But...

"But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  And the keeper of the prison committed to joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper." Genesis 39:21-23

Now, Joseph is already in prison, and in Genesis 40, a butler of the king and a baker of the king offended the king of Egypt, so they were put under Joseph's charge in the prison, and they both had a dream that same night. When they woke up, Joseph saw that they were troubled and he asked why. They told him that they had a dream but no interpreter. 

So, Joseph gives them the interpretation. The butler would be back to his old post in three days time, and the baker would be hanged in a tree. After the interpretation, he asked the butler to get him out of prison because he did nothing wrong, and to go to Pharoah about this. The butler knew the interpretation of the dream was good, but he totally forgot about his promise to Joseph. The baker died in a tree three days later. 

So, two more years go by, and Pharaoh has a dream. And he asked all of his magicians and wise men about the dream, but nobody knew what it meant. Then that was when the butler remembered Joseph. He told the Pharaoh about what happened with Joseph and the dreams that he and the baker both had. He told them the interpretation and how they came true. Then Pharoah sent for Joseph, and told him his dream. Joseph told him that God would give Pharoah his interpretation. He told him that God showed Pharoah what he was going to do. That he would have seven years of plenty. Seven good years, and then following he would have seven empty years--aka famine. He said that there would be seven great years in Egypt, followed by seven years of famine, and the famine shall consume the land. He said the reason that the dream  happened twice was because God was letting him  know that it was already established and would shortly come to pass. Then he says in Genesis 41:33-36 "Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the h and of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; and the land perish not through the famine."

So, Pharaoh believes all of this that Joseph said, and put the land and everything over to Joseph. 

"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoah called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneh; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt." Genesis 41: 39-45

After all of this, Joseph was thirty years old when he went throughout the land of Egypt. "And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended." Genesis 41:47-53

So now the famine came, but there was bread in Egypt. Everything that Joseph told Pharaoh came true. Pharaoh then ordered all the Egyptians to go to Joseph and do what he says to do. 

"And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands." Genesis 41:56-57

Now... we finally get back to Israel (Jacob) ... So Israel finds out that there is corn in Egypt and tells his sons to go to Egypt and buy them some corn so they don't starve. So, Joseph's ten brothers go into Egypt to buy corn, but Benjamin, was to stay home in case the others got into some mischief. So, they leave, and head to Egypt, and end up in front of their brother. They are bowing down to him, and Joseph "made himself strange to them"... (In the text it says that he spoke gruffly. I guess they didn't know it was him.) He asks where they come from and they answer Canaan. They had no idea who he was. And now we get back to Joseph and his dreams from earlier. "He said, "ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." Genesis 42:9

And they said they just want food, and they are true and that they are twelve brothers, and one is at home and the other is not, (meaning Joseph). 

So, he says they can't go any further only their youngest brother as proof that they aren't lying. So, he said to go and leave (only one, which they decide is Simeon) and fetch for the younger brother. They are given back their money, given food, and sent along their way. And Simeon would be in ward for 3 days. If they don't bring him (Benjamin) back, then Simeon will die. 

So, they go back to their father with the money and the food, and they tell him what happened with the guy that spoke rough to them. And Jacob tells them, "me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my land, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." Genesis 42:36-38

So now Israel tells Judah to go back into Egypt and to buy more food. (Their food apparently is gone already). So, Judah tells him that he can't go back to get food unless he has his brother with him. And he tells Israel that if he gives him his brother then he will go back and get food. So, Israel is mad because he told the man (Joseph) that he had a brother at home. And he replies that the man that they talked to asked him about their father and another brother. 

He then, once again, tells his father to give him his brother and he will go back to Israel, and that he will bring back his brother. And if not, he is to blame. Now Israel agrees, and also tells him to take the fruits that he has, and some honey and spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds as a gift to the man. And to take double the money also.

So, they go, and get to Egypt and stand before Joseph. (They were also afraid because of earlier. They had money in their sacks and the food as well. So, when they were brought directly to Joseph's house they had fear because they thought they would be accused of stealing.)

They end up explaining the situation to Joseph, and Joseph then explains to them that God gave them the treasure. So, he brings out Simeon to them. Now, after washing their feet and feeding their animals, the brothers were to present Joseph with the present of the foods and the double money from their father. And Joseph finally speaks. 
"And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of who ye spake? Is he yet alive?

And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeissance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there."

Now, after this, Joseph gets them back. They eat, and he fills up there things once more, then tells his people to put his goblet, the one that Joseph was drinking out of, into his younger brother's sack, along with the money, and wait until they leave and then confront them about the theft. Once this happens, bring them back, and then the youngest who had the goblet in his sack will now be his servant as payment. 

But, if you remember that promise that Judah made with his dad. He told him that he would bring him back. So, he talks to Joseph, (Judah does) and tells him what happened, and how he was the youngest of all the sons, and that his other son with the same woman was dead and he would basically be devastated if he didn't bring him back. Once Judah tells him this, Joseph begins to cry and now they know that this was their brother. (Joseph is kind of scary and amazing here.)

"And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his bretheren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his bretheren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his bretheren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saidth thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:" Genesis 45:1-9

Now, he is telling them where they are going to live from then on, into Goshen and to bring their children, and that they will be safe from the famine. And he tells this all to Benjamin, and instructs him to tell his father about all of his glory, and everything that he has done. And he hugs his brother, and weeps. Then, he kisses all of his brothers, and talks with them. Then everyone talks about it all through Egypt, and the Pharaoh is pleased. 

"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethern, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way."

Genesis 45:17-23

When they get back, they tell their father that Joseph is alive, and everything that happened, and Israel is happy and agrees to go see him before he dies. And this is where we end today's blog!

I can't imagine how I would feel after so many years of believing that my son was dead and then finding out that he was alive, and that his brothers sold him... And now he is basically the leader of Egypt. Well, we will find out what happens in the next blog, and hopefully I will finally get to the END of Genesis. :) 

Genesis Part 12: The SONS of ISRAEL Joseph, Reuben and Judah

 Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! I am so excited to bring to you this next part of Genesis. I feel like this has taken forever because I really like this part of the story. lol So, I have been patiently waiting to get here but it is so important to give you all of the info that I can on what I have read or know about this particular part of the story--especially since it is ISRAEL... or should I say, IS REAL... because people do not understand the connection about what Israel really is. I hope to convey to all of you what and who it is and why that is important! ESPECIALLY NOW! So, buckle in and get ready to learn all about the SONS of ISRAEL... 

If you remember our last blog, we ended with Rachel's passing as she just had Ben-oni which was renamed Benjamin by Israel. Well, after this, things go from being about Israel (Jacob) to being about his children. 

"And when they came to live in this land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. now the sons of Jacob were twelve." Genesis 35:22

So, when I first read this I wasn't sure what the point was, other than maybe mentioning who Reuben was with because she would probably be pregnant with his child, but I figured I better see what other people were thinking as it was clearly over my head. God doesn't put anything in the bible without it having a significance.  (so this means that he wasn't to be listed as firstborn anymore.)

And then I found this: 

Genesis 49:3-4

"Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed: then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch"

1 Chronicles 5:1

"Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright."

But then in the next paragraph starts the lineage again: 

Genesis 35:23-26 "23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: 

24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin:

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram."

And we are now in Genesis 35 with our studies. In this part, we learn that Joseph, Rachel and Israel's son, was Israel's favorite. In the bible it states because of how old Israel was when Joseph was born. At seventeen, Joseph is given a handmade coat "of many colors" as a gift from his doting father and that pretty much angers his brethren. 

Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3, King James Bible).

And around that same time, Joseph starts getting these dreams, which don't help either as he tells his brothers them. 

After he tells them this dream that he has about how the sun (his father) and moon (his mother) and eleven stars (his brothers) gave obeisance (bow) to him, they get upset. Israel tells him to go check on his brothers and he leaves to do just that when this whole sinister plan begins. 

They plan to kill him, but Reuben says, let's not kill him but just put him in this hole in the ground and leave him there. His plan was to go back and rescue him later and bring him to his father. Of course, he doesn't tell his brothers that. 

Anyway, they throw him in a hole, eventually take his coat of many colors, rip it in half, kill a kid (baby) goat and dip the coat in its blood. 

Reuben goes back to check on his brother when he sees that he is gone!  When he had been away his brothers had sold him to some Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. Reuben doesn't know this. (It was all Judah's idea because he didn't want to kill his brother either). *Ishmaelites-- ah... we see now that Abraham's first son with Hagar has his own people. We know that Ishmael was the father of many Arab nations.*

So, then they go back with the coat dipped in blood, and give it to Israel to witness, he confirms that it is his coat and that a wild animal must have ripped him apart. He tells his children that he will go to his grave mourning him. 

Meanwhile,"...the Midianites sold him (Joseph) into Egypt, unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard." Genesis 37:36

So now, Reuben sinned and defiled his father's bed by sleeping with his handmaid, and then he sinned again by putting his brother in the hole. 

And Judah had two big sins against his father: 1, he convinced his brothers to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of Silver, and 2, he let his father believe that Joseph was dead with the coat of many colors being brought back in the kid's blood.

And then of course, all of his sons to his handmaids sinned against Israel by letting him believe that his favorite son, Joseph, was dead, and by selling him to the Ishmaelites. 

(These kids pretty much suck at this point)

Then the bible does a skip to Judah and his sons.

We learn in Genesis 38:2 that Judah met a Canaanite named Shuah. It says that he took her, and went in unto her. 

"And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.

And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 

And she yet again conceived and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him." Genesis 38:3-5

We find out that God kills his first son, but it doesn't say why, other than he was wicked. His first son's name was Er. We read that Er was found a wife by Judah named Tamar, and since Er was now dead and there was no offspring produced, as Jewish custom, the wife now goes to the next brother (that is unmarried). So, Judah tells his son, Onan, to take Tamar and go into her so that her children may be his brother's. (So, the family line continues) Well... Onan doesn't like that, so he goes into her, but then spills his seed on the ground. He doesn't want his children to be his brother's. 

So...God kills him. (He dishonored his family.)

From Genesis 38:7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death. (biblehub.com)

Genesis 38:6
Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

Genesis 46:12
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

Numbers 26:19
The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan.

1 Chronicles 2:3
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanite. Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, who put him to death.

Click here for an excellent article on firstborns! 

Just as we thought Judah's sons' stories couldn't get any worse, Tamar, the widow of now two of his son's, tricked him.

Now... God killed Er, and then Onan, and now Tamar still remained childless and a widow. So, as the custom goes she still is passed down...but Shelah, his youngest and only son at this point still wasn't old enough for that yet, so Judah tells her once he is, he is her's basically. So, she is to remain a widow until then. 

"And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 

When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not." Genesis 38:12-20

I tell ya, these people are all about the tricks. So, Tamar tricked Judah by sleeping with him after his wife died, which is sick... and not only that, but she was his daughter n law, so wouldn't the baby that is made by him be technically his son's? 

 "And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from h er, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous that I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more." Genesis 38:19-26

So, now Judah sees why Tamar did what she did, but will no longer be with her. And in the next section we learn that she was pregnant with twins, and when the first baby was coming out, his hand was sticking out and she put a red ribbon around his wrist to show that he was the first born. And then, as he drew back his hand, his brother came out instead...

"And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah." Genesis 38:29-30

Which brings us to why... (Bible Search for Er's Firstborn Zerah/Twin of Pharez.) Remember there is power in a name... 

According to the Hebrew Bible, Zerah is a name that means “dawning, shining, brilliance, or glowing” 1. It is a gender-neutral name, but it is primarily used for males 1. Zerah is also the name of a son of Judah and the twin of Perez in the Old Testament 1.

And then we have Pharez, who is the direct line to Jesus. "How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez".

The biblical meaning of Pharez is division, rupture. 

Which... I also find interesting:

Jesus came for several reasons, according to the Bible12. Here are some of them:

• To fulfill the law1
• To divide1
• To call sinners1
• To serve and give his life1
• To proclaim good news1
• To seek and save the lost1
• That the world might be saved1
• To do the Father's will2

I also find it interesting that the spelling of Zerah and Pharez is constantly changing within the biblical text. I have had to go through many of the sections, making sure that I was looking at the right people. It is pretty confusing. 

In the book of Genesis, Zerah is mentioned as the twin brother of Perez, both born to Tamar and Judah 1. The birth of the twins is significant because it was through them that families of considerable note in the most illustrious tribe of Judah arose 1.

The whole sequence of events surrounding the birth of the twins is strange and symbolic. Hands don’t normally come out first in childbirth, and then pulling it back in is curious. Why would a midwife be so anxious to label the first twin as to tie a thread around a child’s hand even before it’s fully delivered? Seeing anything other than a head should be cause for alarm. The scarlet color of the thread is also viewed by some as significant (often denoting royalty) 1.

One thing we can conclude is that the midwife must have seen this firstborn as the household heir (i.e. Er’s firstborn). If merely a child of Judah, it would be “behind” Shelah, and 1 Chronicles 4:21 notes many descendants of Shelah. If illegitimate, it wouldn’t be anything. This genealogy matters later. This means Judah confessed his sin fully to his household and also concluded that the firstborn counts as Er’s as per Deuteronomy 25:5-6. Also, the midwife’s curiously excessive attention to who is born first hints that she was under orders to track it 1.

It is interesting to note that Zerah is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:3 2.

REMEMBER, JESUS is the LION of the TRIBE OF JUDAH.... 

And now, we wait... I am working on the next part of Joseph's story now! I hope you have enjoyed this blog thus far! I am so glad that we got to see something cool happen in the line of Judah. The birth of the twins is super significant because the one that was marked as the first born was to be Er's child which would receive the birthright but he wasn't born first. Instead, he was marked with a red ribbon! By being marked with the Red Ribbon, set him apart to be Er's child. Which leaves the one that was actually born first, whose name means division, rupture! I am very excited to write more about Judah and his line as it goes down to our Lord and Savior YESHUA! (JESUS CHRIST)