Bible Studies

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Parshat Vayeira

“HASHEM appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat day.” Genesis 18:1 (Stone)
“He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. He perceived, so he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent and bowed toward the ground.” Genesis 18:2 (Stone)
Abraham must have known that these men were angels, or else he would not have bowed himself to the ground before them. The question is, how did he know? The word translated “standing” is nitzavim. Nitzavim comes from natzav, which does mean, “to stand,” but it also means, “to be appointed.” Taking that into account, it could read, “Three men were appointed over him.”
Many translations have it, “stood by him,” but this is a mistranslation of the Hebrew ’aliyu, which means “on,” “on top,” or “over.”
Whether Abraham actually saw these men being appointed, or if he saw that they were appointed is not clear, but he knew who they were. They were angels appointed over Abraham specifically.
“And he said, ‘My Lord, if I find favor in your eyes, please pass not away from Your servant.’” Genesis 18:3 (Stone)
Abraham calls one of these appointed ones “My Lord” or Adonayi. Apparently Abraham knew that one of them was more important than the others, because he addresses this one specifically. Also, Abraham knew that this one was God Himself, because he calls this one Adonayi, a term reserved for Father. Had he merely been speaking to him as his ruler in any other sense, Abraham would have used Adoni, or “my lord.”
The question, then, is, why is Father called an appointed man? Ruth 2:5, “Then said Bo‘az to his servant who was set over the reapers, ‘Whose young lady is this?’” (HNV)
The servant was appointed over the reapers. This is the same word. Who is appointed over the reapers? Y’shua Himself! “After these things, Yeshua appointed Seventy from his other disciples and sent them two by two before his face to all regions and cities that he was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is great and the workers are few, beseech therefore from the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’” Luke 10:1-2 (Younan)
This cannot be anyone but Adonai, and it cannot be anyone but Y’shua.
“‘Let some water be brought and wash your feet, and recline beneath the tree. I will fetch a morsel of bread that you may sustain yourselves, then go on—inasmuch as you have passed your servant’s way.’ They said, “Do so, just as you have said.’” Genesis 18:4-5 (Stone)
If Abraham knew these “men” were appointed over him, why did he assume they were going on? Abraham must have seen more than is told in this passage.
“He took cream and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed these before them; he stood over them beneath the tree and they ate.” Genesis 18:8 (Stone)
While this does say Abraham stood over them, this is different from what it says in verse 2. In verse 2 the men were still a distance off, while Abraham was literally standing over them, while they reclined. This actually says the opposite of what verse 2 did. It indicates that Abraham is standing so that he is ready to serve them. If he had reclined, it would have shown that he thought they were equals, but since he stands, in a posture to serve, it shows that they are superior to him.
Genesis 18:9, “They said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ And he said, ‘Behold!—in the tent!’” (Stone)
There are two other places in Scripture that a question is phrased like this. Genesis 4:9 “HASHEM said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’” (Stone)
And Micah 7:10, “Then my enemy will see and shame will cover her, she who said to me, ‘Where is HASHEM your God?’ My eyes will behold her: now she will be for trampling, like mud in the streets.” (Stone)
Neither of these is really a question. Father already knew what had happened to Abel. Israel’s enemy thought she already knew where Father was. These men already knew where Sarah was. Of course they did. It was obvious enough. The promise of descendants was to Abraham and Sarah. But they decided to use Hagar instead. What Father is probably asking is “What about Sarah? You decided to do this deal with Hagar, but what about Sarah?”
“And Sarah laughed at herself, saying, ‘After I have withered shall I again have delicate skin? And my husband is old!’” Genesis 18:12 (Stone)
This is the exact objection that Zecheriah when Father told him about John’s birth. “And Zakharyah said to the angel, ‘How should I understand this, for I am an elderly man and my wife is many in her days?’” Luke 1:18 (Younan)
As Father rebuked Sarah, He also rebuked Zecheriah. Both doubted, as it says in verse 20 of Luke 1, and in verse 14 of Genesis 18, Father asks a wonderful question, “Is anything beyond HASHEM?! At the appointed time I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Stone)
And in Luke 1:20, “From henceforth you will be dumb, and not able to speak till the day these things happen, because you did not believe my words which are to be fulfilled in their time.” (Lamsa)
“And HASHEM said, ‘Shall I conceal from Abraham what I do, now that Abraham is surely to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him?’” Genesis 18:17-18 (Stone)
Why does it say, “now that Abraham is surely to become a great…nation”? Up until this point was it not certain?
“For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of HASHEM, doing charity and justice, in order that HASHEM might then bring upon Abraham that which He had spoken of him.” Genesis 18:19 (Stone)
This comes just after the command to circumcise his household, when he also circumcised Ishmael. While Father had sworn to make Abraham a great nation, Abraham’s obedience in circumcision was like a seal set on the covenant, reconfirming it. This is why Father loved Abraham, because he commanded his household to keep the way of Father. What is the way of Father unless it is the Torah? Abraham taught them to do charity and justice. These are not easy things to do. They are hard to learn, but they are what inspired Father to love Abraham the way He did, and still does.
“What if there should be fifty righteous people in the midst of the city? Would You still stamp it out rather than spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people within it?” Genesis 18:24 (Stone)
Why did Abraham start with the number fifty? Leviticus 25:10 “You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee Year for you, you shall return each man to his ancestral heritage and you shall return each man to his family.” (Stone)
Fifty is the number of liberation. If there were fifty righteous, it seems that Abraham reasoned, the city would be liberated from its guilt. These fifty would have literally freed the city from the wrath of Father.
“…Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom…” Genesis 19:1 (Stone)
The elders and leaders would have sat in the gate of the city. This implies that Lot was a leader in Sodom, a judge of the people. Father blesses the righteous.
The first verses of Genesis 19 beg the question, ‘why did Lot invite them to his house?’ Certainly he knew that the city was dangerous. Certainly he knew that Sodom could be dangerous for strangers, but why did he choose these two? He could not have possibly taken every stranger that went through the gates into his house. What did Lot know that is not revealed in this passage?
“The had not yet lain down when the townspeople, Sodomites, converged upon the house, from young to old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them.’” Genesis 19:4-5 (Stone)
All the people from every quarter wanted to sodomize them. Though Lot may not have been a picture of righteousness, he proves himself more righteous than anyone else in the city.
“‘See, now, I have two daughters who have never known a man. I shall bring them out to you and do to them as you please; but to these men do nothing inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.’” Genesis 19:8 (Stone)
Lot shows his righteousness, offering his daughters in order to protect his guests. Though Lot may not be a wonderful example of righteousness, he shows that he is willing to do what he believes is right, even if it means sacrificing what is nearest to him.
“And they said, ‘Stand back!’ Then they said, ‘This fellow came to sojourn and would act as a judge? Now we will treat you worse than them!’ They pressed exceedingly upon the man, upon Lot, and they approached to break the door.” Genesis 19:9 (Stone)
The crowd shows its total depravity by actually refusing Lot’s virgin daughters, in their perverted lust. They also accuse a man who is respected as a judge in the city of judging them, something he certainly did. He told them what they were doing was “wicked” but wasn’t he a judge who sat in the gates of the city?
Even though he has acted righteously, Lot does not want to leave the city. Why? Perhaps he didn’t want to leave his daughters and sons-in-law behind. And yet, he was willing to sacrifice his virgin daughters to protect his guests.
“See, now, Your servant has found grace in Your eyes and Your kindness was great which You did with me to save my life; but I cannot escape to the mountain lest the evil attach itself to me and I die.” Genesis 19:19 (Stone)
The word translated “life” is actually nephesh, or “soul.” Father did not merely save Lot’s earthly life, but his soul, rescuing him from the evil of his surroundings, which he had given way to.
But what is “the evil”? Not “an evil” but a specific evil. It could not be the evil of the destruction, because Lot asked to be allowed to stay closer to the destruction. What evil was in the mountain that Lot was afraid of? In Deuteronomy 13:5 “the evil” is false prophecy. In Deuteronomy 17:7 “the evil” is the worship of gods besides the Father. In Deuteronomy 17:12 “the evil” is disobeying the priests and judges. In Deuteronomy 19:19 “the evil” is false witness. All of these have to do with false witness and blasphemy of one kind or another. Was Lot afraid of becoming a false witness and a blasphemer?
Further down in the portion, in Genesis 19:30, “Now Lot went up from Zoar and settled on the mountain, his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to remain in Zoar; he dwelt in a cave, he with his two daughters.” (Stone)
Lot was afraid to go to the mountain, and now he is afraid to stay in Zoar. It seems that Lot is always filled with fear or worry.
Verses 31 and 32, “The older one said to the younger, ‘Our father is old and there is no man in the land to marry us in the usual manner. Come, let us ply our father with wine and lay with him that we may give life to offspring through our father.’” (Stone)
As soon as Lot went into the mountain, his fears were fulfilled. Evil did attach itself to him. Is this what he was afraid of? There was no man to marry his daughters to in the mountains. Was Lot afraid that his family would end, and that he would blaspheme Father? Or perhaps he was afraid that he would have to deny Father in order to convince someone to marry his daughters.
In the end, Lot’s chief shortcoming was his lack of trust in Father. Lot chose his land based on what was the best, and where the river was, not relying on Father to give him good land and to give him rain. Lot chose to offer the Sodomites his daughters, rather than relying on Father’s protection. Lot chose to go to Zoar rather than the mountain, because he was afraid, and not relying on the protection of Father. And in the end, his daughters deceived him, and he bred two of the most evil nations in history; Moab and Ammon. Why recount their sins? From the cursing of Israel, to making war in the time of Jephtha, they plagued the people of God. This is what a lack of trust in Father produces.
“Sarah conceived and bore a son unto Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time which God had spoken. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah had borne him—Isaac.” Genesis 21:2-3 (Stone)
Isaac was born “at the appointed time.” Does this mean that he was born at one of the Feasts? Isaac is derived from the word tsachak, which means “laughter.”
Leviticus 23:40 “You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a citron tree, the branches of date palms, twigs of a plaited tree, and brook willows; and you shall rejoice before HASHEM, your God, for a seven-day period.” (Stone)
This is the only feast when it is commanded to rejoice. Doesn’t laughter go hand-in-hand with rejoicing? Also, we find that the Messiah was born at Sukkot.
“And the: Word became flesh, and tabernacled with us: and we saw his glory, a glory as of the only begotten from the Father, that he was full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (Murdock)
Isaac, the miraculous birth, is a picture of Messiah, even being born at the same time as the Messiah.
“Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.” Genesis 21:9 (Stone)
Sarah gets a bad rap for demanding that Hagar and Ishmael leave the camp. But perhaps Sarah was justified? During the rebellion of the golden calf, it says, “They arose early the next day and offered up burnt-offerings and brought peace-offerings. The people sat to eat and drink and they got up to revel.” Exodus 32:6 (Stone)
The word “revel” is the same word translated “mocking.” It refers to their idol-worship. In Genesis 39:17 this word is used again, to refer to rape. Perhaps Ishmael was guilty of these? Whether or not Ishmael in particular was guilty of these sins, the use of this word reveals that sin itself is the same as mocking the Torah, and the person that the sin is committed against.
“And he replied, ‘Because you are to take these seven ewes from me, that it may serve me as testimony that I dug this well.’ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba because there the two of them took an oath.” Genesis 21:30-31 (Stone)
Chapter 21 of Genesis has two water covenants. The first is Father’s covenant with Hagar that He would make Ishmael a great nation, and the second Abraham’s covenant with Abimelech. Both of these happened near Beer-sheba, which is “Well of seven.” But Abraham does something interesting in verse 33, “He planted an ‘eshel’ in Beer-sheba, and there he proclaimed the Name of HASHEM, God of the Universe.” (Stone)
The word eshel only appears three times in Scripture. In I Samuel 22:6 Saul is sitting under an eshel at Gibeah, and in I Samuel 31:13 Saul and his sons were buried under the esjel at Jabesh.
Often it is assumed that an l$) is a plant because it says they were “planted.” The Hebrew word nata‘ can also mean “fix” or “establish.” All three times it appears, eshel seems to be related to judgment or a judgment. Is it possible that this is not a tree, but a symbol of covenant? Or is it possible that an eshel is a covenant? If that is so, the verse would read, “He established a covenant in Be’er Sh’va‘, and there he proclaimed the Name of the LORD, Judge of the universe.”
Genesis 22:4, “On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes and perceived the place from afar.” (Stone)
“And from that time onwards, Yeshua began to make known to his disciples that he must go to Urislim and suffer much from the elders and from the chief priests, and scribes. And he would be killed, and on the third day would rise up.” Matt. 16:21 (Younan)
From the day that they left home, Isaac was as good as dead and buried. On the third day, Abraham sees the mountain, and they go up to it.
And Abraham said unto his young men: ‘Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come back to you.’ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said: ‘My father.’ And he said: ‘Here am I, my son.’ And he said: ‘Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ And Abraham said: ‘God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said: ‘Abraham, Abraham.’ And he said: ‘Here am I.’ And he said: ‘Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.’ And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. Genesis 22:5-13 (JPS)
And Isaac is delivered from his grave.
Father never actually told Abraham to slaughter Isaac. He said to bring Isaac as an offering. Abraham did exactly what he was supposed to, but when Father told him not to actually slaughter him, He never went against His own command.
The Readings: Parshat Vayeira, Genesis 18:1-22:24. Haftarat Vayeira II Kings 4:1-23 (Hosea 6). Tehillim Vayeira, Psalm 11. B’rit Chadesha Vayeira, Luke 1.

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