Vayeshev “and he dwelt”
Descargar Vayeshev porción de la torá
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Name and Readings-
Vayeshev is the Hebrew word for “and he dwelt”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Genesis starting in chapter 37 verse 1 and going through chapter 40 and verse 23.
Prophets and New Testament-
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Zechariah in chapter 2 verse 10 through chapter 4 verse 7.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 10 with verses 22 through 28.
Torah Portion Overview-
In this Torah portion we get part of the story of Joseph. The story starts with Joseph having two dreams that he’ll rule over his family. The Lexham Research Commentaries article for Genesis 12-50 explains that to the Ancient Near Eastern person dreams often told the future. This sets off jealousy with his brothers. Joseph is prideful and boasts to his family. To further agitate the problem, Joseph is given a special coat, possibly indicating that Joseph has been chosen as the “replacement firstborn”. His brothers seek to get rid of him. They consider murder but Reuben saves him for the sake of his father and convinces them to throw him into a pit. He was planning to rescue Joseph but while he is gone the other brothers sell Joseph to slave traders. Meanwhile Judah withholds his youngest son from Tamar and she pretends to be a sacred prostitute to seduce him, in order to obtain a child. When she is going to be put to death for sacred prostitution she shows that Judah is the source of the pregnancy and her life is spared. Tamar gives birth to Perez and Zerah. Meanwhile in Egypt Joseph is sold to Potifer and is blessed. He finds success in everything he does. Potifer’s wife tries to seduce him and finally falsely accuses him of trying to rape her. Because of the false accusation Joseph is thrown into prison. While in prison Joseph is once again in favor and is put over the care of the other prisoners. He meets the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and chief baker. They each have a dream that he interprets and it happens just as he said.
I want to focus on Joseph and his dreams and interpretation of dreams. While working in the prison favor was granted him and he was put over the other prisoners. In this service he was assigned to serve Pharaoh’s cupbearer and chief baker who had been thrown into prison by their king. While in prison they had a dream. The Lexham Research Commentaries article for Genesis 12-50 explains,
“Dreams were viewed as divine revelations, and their interpretation was seen as a form of divination (see “Divination”). The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians referenced “dream books” that explained some standard interpretations. These writings contained lists of possible events that one might see in a dream and what they might mean...
In Egypt and Babylon, there were professional magicians who studied these methods of dream interpretation (Gen 41:8; Dan 2:2). The chief cupbearer and baker were upset that their imprisonment prevented them from accessing any interpreters.“
They had no one, as they saw it, no professional magicians to interpret their dreams. Joseph convinced the chief cupbearer to tell him his dream.
Genesis 40:8-11 (ESV)
“They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
Joseph, having no training in magic or dream interpretation gave glory to God as the true source of wisdom. He looked to God as his source, not trusting in his own skill. And so the Lord gave him the interpretation!
Genesis 40:12-15 (NKJV)
“And Joseph said to him, “This [is] the interpretation of it: The three branches [are] three days. “Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. “For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
Then the chief baker, seeing the good news and that an interpretation had been given also trusted Joseph with his dream and its interpretation.
Genesis 40:16-19 (NASB20)
“When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and in the top basket there were some of all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
And it happened, exactly as Joseph had said; the chief cup bearer was restored to his service and the chief baker was put to death. But they forgot about Joseph.
Remember that to them dreams were an indication of what was to come. The point I want to make here is that this happened to Joseph while he was in prison. Think about it! He had been given a dream that he would rule over his family, and yet here he is, in prison. But instead of losing faith and giving up, he believed in The Most High and looked to Him as the source for truth. He did not trust his circumstances, he trusted God!
We too, as we go through life, may come to times when we feel like we are “in prison”, where everything is gloomy and we are tempted to despair! But it is at this time that we must look to Him, trusting Him, as the source. He is the source of our health, our success, and our wealth. He is the source of every good thing!
James 1:17 (CSB)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Remember that we are to live by faith.
Romans 1:17 (ESV)
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The Greek word for “by” in “The righteous shall live by faith” is the Greek word “ek” which means “from” or “out of”. This means that our source is in faith. However, that is not where it stops, for we are to live our daily lives in faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
“for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
And so we must live our lives trusting in Him, walking in faith as we love and obey Him! Don’t give up, trust in Him!
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Genesis 37:1 Joseph dreams that he will rule over his family
Genesis 37:12 Joseph’s brothers conspire against him and sell him into slavery
Genesis 38:1 Judah is wicked towards Tamar
Genesis 38:24 Tamar gives birth to Perez and Zerah
Genesis 39:1 Potifar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph and he is thrown into prison
Genesis 40:1 Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and chief baker and it comes to pass
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Zechariah 2:10 Yahweh will dwell among the daughter of Zion and many Gentiles will join to Yahweh and the Jews will be His portion
Zechariah 3:1 A High Priest Joshua is chosen by Yahweh and cleanses him
Zechariah 3:7 A sign of the servant Branch given to Joshua
Zechariah 4:1 Zechariah sees the lamp stand and two olive trees
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 10:22 Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of dedication (Hanukkah)
John 10:24 “The Jews” (a term most likely referring to the Jewish Leadership) are not His sheep but His sheep will hear His voice
Bibliography
Douglas Mangum, Miles Custis, and Wendy Widder, Genesis 12–50, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013), Ge 40:1–23.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE