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Study Guide
to
Vayishlach
By
Daniel Rendelman
Weekly
Reading
- Genesis 32:3-36:43
- Obadiah 1:-21
- Hebrews 11:11-20
The Torah Portion at a
Glance
Jacob returns
to the Holy Land after a 20-year stay in Charan, and sends
angel-emissaries to Esau in hope of reconciliation, but his
messengers report that his brother is on the warpath with 400 armed
men. Jacob prepares for war, prays, and sends Esau a large
gift (consisting of hundreds of heads of sheep and cattle) to
appease him.
That night, Jacob ferries his
family and possessions across the Yabbok River; he, however,
remains behind and encounters the angel of YHWH, with whom he
wrestles until daybreak. Jacob suffers a dislocated hip but
vanquishes the supernal creature, who bestows on him the name
Yisra'el, which means "He who prevails over the
Divine."
Jacob and Esau meet, embrace and
kiss, but part ways. Jacob purchases a plot of land near Shechem,
whose crown prince -- also called Shechem-- abducts and rapes
Jacob's daughter Dinah. Dinah's brothers Simeon and Lewi avenge the
deed by killing all male inhabitants of the city after rendering
them vulnerable by convincing them to circumcise
themselves.
Jacob journeys on. Rachel dies while giving birth
to her second son, Benjamin, and is buried in a roadside grave near
Bethlehem. Reubenloses the birthright because he interferes with
his father's marital life. Jacob arrives in Hebron, to his
father Isaac, who later dies at age 180 (Rebecca has passed away
before Jacob's arrival).
Our parshah concludes with a
detailed account of Esau's wives, children and grandchildren, and
the family histories of the people of Se'ir among whom Esau
settled.
(adapted from chabad.org)
The Messiah in the
Torah Portion
The identity of Jacob's wrestler
has perplexed Bible students for millennia. Judaism traditionally explains
the wrestler was the guardian angel of Esav. Genesis 32:24,
"And
Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the
breaking of the day." The word in this verse for "man"
is the Hebrew word "ish" and is translated properly. The text makes no mention that
he wrestled with an "angel" or "mal'ak." Ya'acov wrestles for a blessing
and doesn't give up until his name is changed to "Yisra'el." This new name literally means
"one who wrestles with El."
At the end of the wrestling match
the man says "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for
you have striven with Elohim and men and have prevailed," Genesis
32:28.
Later, Jacob
names the place of such strife "Peniel, meaning, 'I have seen
Elohim face-to-face, and yet my life has been spared,'" Genesis
32:40. This word "elohim"
is used throughout the Hebrew texts and literally means "mighty one
or ruler." Usually elohim
is translated as "god."
Sometimes it is translated as "angel" and even once, in Psalm 82:6,
mankind is called "elohim."
The
book of Hosea adds to the confusion. Jacob "took
his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had
power with Elohim: Yea, he had power over the angel, and
prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in
Bethel, and there he spake with us," 12:3-4. In this passage from the
Prophet, the word "mal'ak" is used for
"angel."
So, taken
together, Jacob wrestled with an ish-elohim-mal'ak! The wrestler is a
man-god-angel. Who could
this be?
Consider these
verses:
�
John
1:1, 14
�
Hebrew
1:7
�
Psalm
8:5
�
John
1:18
�
Exodus
33:20-23
Applying the Portion to Life
Today
One of the
wonderful things about the Torah is that it does not portray Bible
characters as perfect saints who always do perfect things. The Torah openly and honestly
displays the humanity of the humans involved in the divine
struggle. Thank goodness
that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were real people with real
problems!
Our Torah
portion is named "vayishlach" which means "he sent out." The reading begins with Jacob
preparing to meet with his estranged brother Esau. He sends out his family into two
camps. His fear and his
favoritism are shown clearly by his actions. His wife of choice and his
youngest son are separated from the others in an effort to spare
their lives should the family reunion turn sour. The mere fact that the family
quibble between the two brothers is mentioned in Torah again
reminds us that the Torah gives directions for every day life. We can learn much from how
Jacob, Esau, Isaac, and others treated their families.
Jacob
later has a wrestling match and fights for a blessing. Even though Jacob was a man of
faith, his blessings didn't always just drop from the sky. He had to fight and travail for
his wife, possessions, and even his life at times. Don't be fooled - the life of
faith is not easy. The
patriarchs showed us this.
There are times when we seem to be wrestling with the Creator
Himself. Then there are
times when we must be as cunning and wise as a serpent and as meek
as a dove.
This Torah
parasha also teaches us to be careful to guard against
vengeance. We must not take
revenge into our own hands like Simeon and Lewi did. Their sister Dinah was taken
advantage of by a man and this band of brothers allowed their
tempers to get the best of them. They deceived the relatives of
Shechem into thinking they could be part of the covenant
people. Well, instead of
showing them favor and mercy, Simeon and Lewi murdered many and
plundered the people. They
were eventually punished for such vengeance.
We should also
learn from Rachel who died while giving birth to Benjamin on her
way into Bethlehem. She was
buried in a roadside tomb. Sometimes for new life to come there
must be death. Y'shua said
in Luke 9:23, that while we are on our own unique journey that we
too are to "die daily." It
is only as we choose to offer our lives fully to YHWH that He can
fully use us. Torah is
accurate in its portrayal of mankind. We are imperfect people in an
imperfect world, trying to serve a perfect elohim. Families fight. Struggles occur. Loved ones pass away. Life is hard sometimes. Through it all, YHWH will use
what occurs for his plan and his glory.
Portion Points to
Ponder
-
The Hebrew
name for this portion is "Vayishlach." What does this
mean?
-
Read
Obadiah 1:1-21. How does
this relate to the story of Genesis this week?
-
Consider
the words found in Hebrews 11:11-20. What did you learn from studying
this passage?
-
How is
Messiah Y'shua pictured in this Torah portion?
-
Jacob met
a group of angels at a place called "mahanayim." What does this term
mean?
-
Ya'acov
was distressed about meeting up with Esau. Why?
-
How was
the division of Jacob's camp similar to the division of the 12
tribes of Israel into the Northern and Southern tribes later in the
Bible?
-
Ya'acov
took numerous gifts to Esau. Is it a good thing to show
kindness to your enemy?
-
Ya'acov
heaped "burning coals" on Esav by showing kindness. How did Jacob accomplish the
commands of Y'shua to "pray for those who despitefully use you" and
"bless those that curse you." Who do you need to bless and
show kindness to today?
-
Before
Esau and Jacob meet, the Torah states that Jacob wrestled with "a
man" until the breaking of the day. Who did Jacob
wrestle?
-
Ya'cov
would not let go of the wrestler until he received a blessing. What blessing did he
accept?
-
What was
Jacob's name changed to?
Describe the meaning of this name.
-
Ya'acov
asked for the name of the "man" that he wrestled. Do you think the man revealed
his name to Jacob?
-
Ya'acov
named the place where he wrestled "Peni'el." Why?
-
Where is
the phrase "face to face" spoken of again in the Bible? Explain how the name "Peni'el"
relates to Yom Kippur.
-
Genesis
32:33 states that since the time of Jacob's wrestling match that
the "people of Israel do not eat the meat of the hip area of
animals. Is this verse
suggesting that believers are not to eat sirloin meat, which is
normally found at this location of an animal?
-
Explain
the actions that Ya'acov takes as he prepares to meet Esau. How does Esau eventually
respond?
-
Genesis
33:4 says, "and Esau ran toward him and embraced him, and he fell
on his neck and kissed him, and they wept." What type of kiss was
this?
-
Why did Esau have a change of
heart?
-
Jacob settled and names a place
called "Sukkot." Do the
children of Israel return her on their journey out of
Egypt?
-
How did Shechem defile
Dinah? He loved her, wasn't
love enough?
-
When Ya'acov first heard that
Dinah had been defiled before marriage what did he
do?
-
The father of Shechem wanted
Jacob's sons and his daughters to intermarry. Was this a good idea? Why or why
not?
-
The sons of Jacob answered the
father of Shechem deceitfully. Where did they learn to
deceive?
-
On the third day after the
circumcision Simeon and Lewi enacted revenge upon the people of
Shechem. Was this of
YHWH?
-
What did Ya'acov say to Simeon
and Lewi about their actions?
-
Where did the sons of Jacob get
the idols mentioned in Genesis 35:2?
-
Up until Genesis 35 Jacob still
uses the name Jacob. After
this point the Torah uses the name "Isra'el" more. Why?
-
YHWH speaks the same blessing to
Jacob that was given to others. He was told to "be fruitful and
multiply." Who had YHWH
spoken this to before?
-
Genesis
35:11 is a highly prophetic verse. Here YHWH says,
"be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a multitude
of nations shall come into existence from you, and kings shall come
forth from your loins." Who is the singular nation that
comes from Jacob/Israel?
Who is the "multitude of nations" that would come from
Jacob/Israel? Explain how
this prophecy relates to 1 Kings 15.
-
What happened to
Rachel when she gave birth to Benjamin? Was this death
prophetic?
-
Where was Rachel
buried? Where is this place
today?
-
Read and discuss
Matthew 2:17-18 and Jeremiah 31:15 and how these verses relate to
Rachel's death.
-
Reuven lay with
Jacob's concubine. What was
the result of this sexual relationship?
-
The descendants
of Esav became known as the Edomites. Who are / were these
people?
-
How many
children did Ya'acov have?
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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