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Study Guide
to
Toldot
By
Daniel Rendelman
- Genesis 25:19-28:9
- Malachi 1:1-2:7
- Romans 9:1-13
The Torah Portion at a
Glance
This portion is Toldot or "generations." Yitzchak marries
Rebekah. After twenty childless years their prayers are answered
and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy as the
"children struggle inside her"; YHWH tells her that "there are two
nations in your womb," and that the younger will prevail over the
elder.
Esav emerges first; Jacob or Ya'acov is born clutching Esau's heel.
Esau grows up to be "a cunning hunter, a man of the
field"; Jacob is "a wholesome man," a dweller in
tents. Isaac favors Esau; Rebecca loves Jacob. Returning exhausted
and hungry from the hunt one day, Esau sells his birthright (his
rights as the firstborn) to Jacob for a pot of lentil stew.
In Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, Isaac presents Rebecca as
his sister, out of fear that he will be killed by someone coveting
her beauty. He farms the land, reopens the wells dug by his
father Abraham, and bores a series of his own wells: over the first
two there is strife with the Philistines, but the waters of the
third well are enjoyed in tranquility.
Esau marries two Hittite women. Isaac grows old and blind, and
expresses his desire to bless Esau before he dies. While Esau goes
off to hunt for his father's favorite food, Rebecca dresses Jacob
in Esav's clothes, covers his arms and neck with goatskins to
simulate the feel of his hairier brother, prepares a similar dish,
and sends Jacob to his father. Jacob receives his fathers'
blessings for "the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land" and
mastery over his brother. When Esau returns and the deception is
revealed, all Isaac can do for his weeping son is to predict that
he will live by his sword, and that when Jacob falters, the younger
brother will forfeit his supremacy over the elder.
Jacob leaves home for Charan to flee Esau's wrath and to find a
wife in the family of his mother's brother, Laban. Esau marries a
third wife --Machlat, the daughter of Ishmael.
(adapted from chabad.org)
Applying the Portion to Life Today
In this week's reading, the
scriptures recount a story of Esav selling his blessing of
birthright and position as the first born for a simple bowl of
soup. "Once when Ya'acov was cooking some stew, Esav came in from
the open country, famished. He said to Ya'acov, "Quick, let me have
some of that red stew! I'm famished!" Ya'acov replied, "First sell
me your birthright." Esav said, "Look, I am about to die. What
good is the birthright to me?" But Ya'acov said, "Swear to me
first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to
Ya'acov. Then Ya'acov gave Esav some bread and some lentil stew.
He ate and drank, and then got up and left. Esav despised his
birthright," Beresheet/Genesis 25:29-34. Why did Esav do this?
Why was this exchange so important and tragic? Did Esav trade his
preeminence just because he was hungry or was there a deeper
issue? What is so bad about this event that because of this the
scriptures say that Esau was "godless" and not worthy of
following?
To answer these questions one must first understand the cultural
and Biblical significance of the birthright of the firstborn. The
birthright of the firstborn is a central theme and part of the
Israelite lifestyle and lifecycle.
The firstborn son of a Hebrew father is given special rights and is
highly valued. He is the heir to the family and head of the
household when the father is absent. The firstborn or "bikhor" in
Hebrew would receive double the inheritance of the other sons when
the father passed. "The father must acknowledge the firstborn by
giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign
of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to
him," Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:17.
The "mishpat bikhor" or "right of the firstborn" is to serve as a
priest for the entire family and act as the family ruler. This
first child is to be dedicated to YHWH as the firstborn of every
womb is YHWH's possession. "YHWH said to Moses, "Consecrate to me
every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the
Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal," Shemot (Exodus)
13:2. The bikhor is YHWH's special and unique treasure that is
destined to serve as priest and minister unto YHWH Adonai.
The bikhor is to be redeemed, or bought back, in a service called
the "pidyon ha'ben" meaning the "redemption of the firstborn."
This Biblical custom is found in Shemot (Exodus) 13:11-15. Just
after the last plague, which was the death of the firstborn of
Mitzrayim/Egypt, the Creator called the firstborn from each family
to serve as priests until YHWH's plan called for the Levites to
take up this position. The bikhor were still dedicated to YHWH
through a service of sacrifice and prayer, the pidyon ha'ben.
Y'shua the Messiah went through this pidyon ha'ben in Luke 2:22-40
and was set apart as the bikhor of his family. After this service
the bikhor were free to serve YHWH through their family rather than
be raised by the priesthood and work as a priest for life. To put
it plainly, the firstborn is YHWH's and is to be dedicated to
service to YHWH. This is either full time service as a Cohen or
priest or full time service as the leader of a family that serves
YHWH.
According to the Torah, Esav "despised his birthright." He
evidently did not want the inheritance and the power and
responsibility that comes with being the son of Yitzchak and the
grandson of the patriarch Avraham. Hebrews 12:25-17 tells
believers that Esav was "godless" and therefore would not be the
rightful heir to the promise of the faith. Clearly Avraham's
blessing of dominion, multiplication, and place in YHWH's plan was
to be passed on to this son.
One might casually look at the story of Ya'acov and Esav trading
the birthright and think that Ya'acov was being overly deceptive
and took advantage of a famished man. But this is simply not the
case. Esav did not sell his birthright simply because he was
hungry. "Esav sold his birthright, his mishpat bikhor, because he
had not concept of its meaning," said one Rabbi. Again, Esav
despised his position and inheritance. This word for "despised" is
"bazah" and from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Dictionary
this word literally means, " a primitive root;
to disesteem:-despise, disdain, contemn (-ptible), + think to
scorn, vile person."
Believers are to not be like Esav. The temptation is present and
the trade looks pleasing but we must be careful not to follow
Esav's example. We must not despise our birthright, our destiny
and inheritance as Isra'el. Consider these verses...
"YHWH says, 'Isra'el is my firstborn,'" Shemot (Exodus)
4:22.
"If you
belong to Messiah you are a seed of Avraham and heirs according to
the promise," Galatians 3:29.
"I am Israel's father, and
Ephraim is my firstborn son," Yermi'yahu (Jeremiah) 31:9
As a physical descendant of Avinu Avraham you are Isra'el. As a
believer in Messiah you are Isra'el. Don't be mistaken and don't
be talked out of it, you are Isra'el. You are YHWH's firstborn
bikhor and you are YHWH's special possession destined to inherit
family leadership, serve as ruler, and minister as a priest. "For
you are a people set apart for YHWH as kadosh (holy) for YHWH your
Elohim. YHWH your Elohim has chosen you from out of all the
peoples on the face of the earth to be His Own unique possession,"
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 7:6.
We must not loose interest in the privilege of being YHWH's bikhor
and we must not fall into the sin of Esav who despised his
birthright. Esav did not esteem the honor of being the son of
Elohim. What about you? The sin of despising the birthright can
manifest in many ways. Just think about these few areas...Do you
ever think that YHWH's Torah is too hard to follow or too big of a
burden? Do you have any ant-Semitism hidden inside of you? Have
you accepted Israel as your identity? Have you dealt with the
false teaching that says the church has replaced Israel? Do you
live out your heritage and culture of Israel or are you scared of
what others may think or say about you? Do you ever feel that
something the Bible commands you to do is simply "too Jewish?" Is
your lifestyle more like the world around you are is your life
patterned after the Bible and it's holy days and way of life?
As Isra'el you have been called to be in the family of faith. The
name Isra'el itself simply means, "one who reigns and rules with
El." You have been given a special double portion inheritance from
the Father through Messiah Y'shua. What is the double portion? "I
have come that you might have life, and life more abundantly,"
Y'shua said in Yochannan 10:10. The Father's legacy of life today
is a way of living that has significance and meaning. His legacy
is also life in the hereafter - with Him in the realm of the
Spirit. This is possible through the Messiah, the firstborn of the
dead and the firstborn resurrection. "Y'shua HaMoshiach, is the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth," Revelation 1:5. The firstborn blessings were
to follow YHWH in abundance and then multiply and fill the
earth.
When Isaac blesses Ya'acov he tells him to "be fruitful and
multiply." This is a direct repetition of words spoken to Adam,
Noah, and Abraham. When YHWH instructed Adam and Eve to be
fruitful, He used the word "parah." This Hebrew term means to
"grow, increase, bear fruit like a vine, and bring forth, to open."
This word parah is used many times throughout the Scriptures in
reference to the fruit of a vine. "Remain in me, and I will remain
in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he
will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,"
John/Yochannan 15:4-5.
Fruit is nothing more than the life giving seed source of a plant.
The primary point of the family is to bear the fruit, or life, of
the Almighty Vine. You are to produce the same life as the Savior.
Remember that the book of John calls Y'shua the 'word made flesh,'
so the Savior is the Living Word or Living Torah. Therefore to bear
the fruit of the Vine Y'shua is to bear the fruit of Torah. To
resemble Y'shua is to live His life and resemble the Torah. To put
it plainly, the family is to live out the Divine Will as revealed
in the first five books of the Bible.
So, when YHWH told Adam and Abraham to 'be fruitful' He was telling
them to connect to the Vine and establish their lives as a place
where the Almighty would be honored and therefore bring forth life.
This wasn't all though. They were also to 'multiply.'
The word for multiply in the Hebrew is "rabah." This Hebrew term
means to 'increase, excel, enlarge, continue, nourish, store, to
shoot out like an arrow, to cast together, to multiply, ten
thousands." First you are to bear the fruit of Torah and then you
should pass on the Biblical heritage to others. We are to multiply
the fruit of Torah and others will follow.
YHWH is the Elohim of the family of Avraham, his children, and his
grandchildren. Avraham was indeed fruitful when it came to
imparting belief to his children! "For now YHWH hath made room for
us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from
thence to Beersheba. And YHWH appeared unto him the same night, and
said, I am the Elohim of Avraham thy father: fear not, for I am
with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my
servant Avraham's sake," Genesis/Beresheet 26:22-25. And to
Ya'acov, "Elohim said unto him, I am Elohim Almighty: be fruitful
and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee,
and kings shall come out of thy loins," Genesis/Beresheet 35:11.
The same family mission given to Adam is passed to Noach and to
Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'acov. YHWH is calling out is bikhor -
His first born son Israel to understand his identity and walk in
the fullness of Torah. As we understand the birthright of faith
then we can be fruitful and multiply in the world. Pray today for
workers for the harvest, for the fields are plentiful but the
workers - those who know they are bachor - are few.
The Messiah in the Torah Portion
Y'shua is
the firstborn of the firstborn - the head of the family. Because
of His love and life we have been made into the "ekklesia of the
firstborn" or "family/congregation of the firstborn." It is
Y'shua's family, His congregation, "For those Elohim foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he
predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified;
those he justified, he also glorified," Romans 8:29-30.
YHWH sees Israel as His bikhor, and all firstborn are in need of
redemption. Israel is in need of someone to pay the price, to buy
Israel back, and to make a sacrifice. To meet this need the Father
sent forth His bikhor Y'shua. Y'shua is the redeemer and the
sacrifice. The Encyclopedia Judaica says, "Owing to his favored
status, the firstborn was considered was considered the most
desirable sacrifice to a deity where human sacrifice was
practiced." Y'shua was the sacrifice that the Father used to
redeem the firstborn Israel. This sacrifice of death brought life
and established Y'shua as the firstborn of the resurrection, "He is
the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn over all
creation," Colossians 1:15. Even the Psalmist refers to the
Messiah as the firstborn in Psalm 89:27.
Study and consider this verse in light of your new understanding of
Y'shua being the firstborn. "See that no one is godless like Esav,
who in exchange for a single meal gave up his rights as the first
born," Hebrews 12:15-17. How can you praise YHWH today for His
firstborn son Y'shua?
"For YHWH so loved the world that He sent His firstborn and only
son. That whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have
everlasting life," Yochannan 3:16.
Portion Points to Ponder
- The Hebrew name
for this portion is "toldot." What does this
mean?
- Read Malachi
1:1-2:7. How does this relate to the story of Genesis this
week?
- Consider the words
found in Romans 9:1-13. What did you learn from studying this
passage?
- When Rivkah /
Rebekah was barren and could not conceive, what did she
do?
- What does it mean
that the children struggled within Rivkah? How does this show that
life begins at conception? How does this parallel the movement of
John in the womb of his mother Elizabeth in the Newer
Testament?
- Rivkah prayed to
YHWH and asked why the children fought so terribly within her.
Then she listened and waited for a response. What did YHWH say?
What did it mean then? How is this message playing out in today's
world?
- Who were the
twins? What do their names mean?
- Esav was a mighty
hunter. Who else is described as such in Genesis 10:9? Does this
simply mean that these two were good at hunting down
animals?
- Ya'acov was a
"plain man who dwelt in tents." This description of Jacob is a
Hebrew idiom with a specific meaning. Do you understand this
phrase?
- If Isaac loved
Esav, could he have been all that bad?
- Esav is called
"Edom" in Genesis 25. What is the significance of this
term?
- Who were/are the
Edomites?
- Why was the
blessing of the firstborn so important? How is this concept spoken
of in the Bible?
- In Genesis 26
there is a famine in the land. YHWH appears to Isaac and tells him
not to go to Egypt. Why? When would Isaac's descendants go to
Egypt during a famine?
- When Isaac moved
around during the famine he told his wife Rivkah to tell others
that she was his sister and not his spouse. How is this similar to
what Abraham did with Sarah?
- Did Abraham pass
down a "lying spirit" to his son?
- What happened
after Isaac spent too much time in the land of
Avimelech?
- In Genesis 26,
Yitzchak sowed in the land and was blessed with 100 fold return.
What is this number symbolic of? Is a 100 fold return guaranteed
for Bible believers?
- Envy caused the Philistines to
plug up the many wells of Isaac. How does James 3:16 show how envy
stops the flow of blessing?
- Isaac left the
land of the Philistines and settled in the land of Gerrar. What
had previously occurred in this land?
- YHWH appeared to
Yitzchak at Ber Sheva. What was the Almighty's message to
Isaac?
In Genesis 26 the enemies of Isaac come to him to make peace. They
recognized the presence of YHWH upon Isaac. How does the presence
of YHWH cause your enemies to live at peace with you? How does
this compare to Proverbs 16:7?
- When Esav took to
himself two wives it caused grief to Rivkah and Isaac.
Why?
- From what land and
nationality were Esav's wives from?
- Again a meal
involves a trading of blessing in Genesis 27. Explain what
occurred in this chapter and if Rebekah and Jacob were wrong for
deceiving Isaac?
- Did Rivkah ever
tell Isaac of YHWH prophecy that her older son would serve the
younger? Could this knowledge have made a
difference?
- Jacob was
concerned that his actions would make him to be perceived as a
"deceiver" to his father. Does the Torah teach that Jacob was full
of deception?
- How are Rivkah's
actions to ensure the blessing was give to Jacob by Isaac similar
to those of Tamar with Judah in Genesis
49?
- Describe the
blessing that Isaac spoke to Jacob. How are such words
important?
How did Isaac respond when he realized he blessed the "wrong"
son?
- Why is the custom
of speaking a blessing so special?
- Isaac does speak
prophetically to both Jacob and Esav. The blessing to Jacob is an
almost exact repetition of what was spoken to Isaac. What does
Isaac say of Esav?
- Explain the
meaning of Isaac's blessing to Esav when he says "you shall live by
the sword."
- Who are the
descendants of Jacob today? Describe some of their character
traits.
- Who are the
descendants of Esav today? Describe some of their character
traits.
- Rivkah sends Jacob
to her brother Laban to hide from the angry Esav. What comes of
such a visit to Jacob's relatives?
- In Genesis 28
Ya'acov is told to not take a foreigner as a wife. Whom should he
marry?
- Isaac blesses Ya'acov and tells
him to be "fruitful and multiply." To who were these words were
spoken before in the scriptures?
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The Torah portion ends with Esav
adding another wife. This was just no ordinary woman. Esav marries
a daughter of Ishmael. This dangerous mixing of Ishmael and Esav
results in future trouble for Jacob and his descendants. What
people originate from the seed of Ishmael and Esav? How do these
people play a role in prophetic end time events?
The Open Bible is a teaching series written by Daniel Rendelman of
Emet Ministries. Daniel Rendelman is the found and leader of Emet
Ministries and the author of the book "Finding the Truth." He, his
wife, and five children live in Newberry, South Carolina. He can
be reached at emetministries@gmail.com. Find more teachings, audio
messages, videos, and music at www.emetministries.com.
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