Rabbinic Jewish Question:

I have heard Rabbinic Jews ask the question, “If the death of Yeshua was about the forgiveness of sins, then why didn’t he die on Yom Kippur, which is about the forgiveness of sins.  But Passover is about freedom – not forgiveness of sins.”  Although I have heard more than one Rabbinic Jew ask this question, and I have heard what Christians think is a good answer, but all of their responses were partial answers and not actually complete.  Nor do they answers really satisy, but let me ask a question based on the following passage,

“As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that what God PROMISED TO THE FATHERS, he has fulfilled for us the children in raising up Yeshua,…” (Acts 13:32-33a, CJB; emphasis added)

“How was the raising up of Yeshua from the dead fulfilling God’s “promise to the fathers”?  This same phrase is also used by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) in his trial before King Agrippa in Acts 26,

So then! All Jews know how I lived my life from my youth on, both in my own country and in Yerushalayim [Jerusalem].  They have known me for a long time; and if they are willing, they can testify that I have followed the strictest party in our religion – that is, I have lived as a Parush [Pharisee].  How ironic it is that I stand on trial here because of MY HOPE IN THE PROMISE MADE TO OUR FATHERS!  It is THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS VERY PROMISE that our TWELVE TRIBES hope to attain, as they resolutely carry on their acts of worship night and day; yet it is in connection with THIS HOPE, your Majesty, that I am being accused by Jews [or Judeams]! (Acts 26: 4-8, CJB; emphasis added)

Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states that he is standing “on trial here because of MY HOPE IN THE PROMISE MADE TO OUR FATHERS!” (emphasis added)  Also that it is “THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS VERY PROMISE that our TWELVE TRIBES hope to attain, as they resolutely carry on their acts of worship night and day” (Acts 26:6, CJB; emphasis added).  These passages provoke the following questions:

  • What is “the promise” that God “made to the fathers”?
  • When and where did God make this “promise”?
  • What comprised this “promise”?
  • How did the death and resurrection fulfill this “promise”?

Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states he is standing trial because of his “hope in the promise made to our fathers,” but if it is a “hope,” then it cannot be something that has already happened, but something that has yet to happen, i.e., something yet future.  Thus, he could be speaking of the death and resurrection of the Anointed-Messiah Yeshua, because that was at this point a past event – not a future event.  So again, what was this “promise” that he hoped for and the twelve tribes hoped “to attain”?

Covenant – “A Fundamental Concept”?

To understand HASHEM, His Kingdom, and the Bible, we have to understand the Covenant.  There are covenants made between individuals, between nations, and even covenants made between HASHEM and individuals or the nation of Israel.  This is so important to HASHEM that He included it as one of the commandments that we are to know, understand, and experience.  In fact, in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 7, we read,

You must know that HASHEM, your God – He is the God, the faithful God, who safeguards the covenant and the kindness for those who love Him and for those who observe His commandments, for a thousand generations.  And He repays His enemies in his lifetime to make him perish; He shall not delay for His enemy – in his lifetime He shall repay him. [Devarim (Deuteronomy) 7:9-10, CHUMASH]

But what is “a covenant”?  It is defined as –

A covenant (Heb. b’rit; Gk. diatheke) is a life or death agreement in which two parties willfully and legally commit to bind themselves together in a special bond that’s stronger than a kinsman (or blood-related) relationship for life.

“A covenant” is not a concept, an idea, a belief, nor is it an ancient legal document, but it was an enacted reality that would affect every area of each participant’s life.  Also, there were three different reasons for entering into covenant with another:

  1.  To reaffirm, to strengthen, or to intensify an already existing relationship.  A marriage is one form of this type of covenant.
  2.  To resolve a relational conflict or difference.  The covenant between Ya’acov (Jacob) and Lavan (Laban) is an example of this.
  3.  To refresh, renew, or re-establish a relationship that had been broken.  The covenants between HASHEM and Noah, and the new covenant (Heb. b’rit chadashah) between HASHEM and Israel are examples of these type of covenants.

Consequently, the focus of “the covenant” is on maintaining, developing, improving, or re-establishing relationships.  However, it should be noted that all covenants were asexual, except for marriage. So when people say, “I’m glad we’re not in a covenant – but a relationship,” I know that they really do not understand the concept of covenants since covenants are all about relationships. 

Also, in a covenant, both sides are expected to contribute to the relationship.  For example, both parties are expected to maintain an attitude of chesed (covenantal love and faithfulness) to one another. In addition, they are supposed to do everything they can to help one another succeed.  For example, in the Divine covenants, HASHEM gives us His Dwelling Presence (Shekinah), His Power, His love, His grace, His forgiveness, and His guidance.  On our part of the covenant, we are to give HASHEM our trust, our faithfulness, our loving obedience to Him and His commandments, and our grace.  Let me ask you a few questions:

  • Do you see “keeping His commandments” as a way to show your love to HASHEM, or do you see them as legalistic bondage?
  • Are you as invested into keeping covenant with HASHEM as you expect Him to be with you?
  • Are you doing all you can to help HASHEM succeed, or are you only expecting HASHEM to help you succeed?
  • When something doesn’t go just the way you think it should or someone dies, do you get angry and bitter against HASHEM, or do you offer Him grace, just as you expect Him to offer you grace when something you are doing for Him doesn’t work out correctly?
  • What kind of covenant partner have you been to HASHEM?

Also, many people believe there are 7-9 different covenants in the Scriptures, but there is really only ONE Eternal Covenant that is comprised of five basic distinct parts and two, or three, renewals.  Each of these parts are also called a “covenant.”  For example, the five basic parts that re used to develop the national kingdom of God (i.e., Israel) are the following:

  • Noachide Covenant – Re-established the earth after the flood.  
  • Abrahamic Covenant – Established the relationship between HASHEM and His covenantal people Israel.
  • Mosaic Covenant – Established the people of Israel into a “Royal Nation and a Holy Priesthood.”
  • Levitic Covenant – Established the priesthood.
  • Davidic Covenant – Established the Davidic Monarchy.

This brief study of the covenant was because most people – Christian and Jews – believe that the main relationship covenant in the Hebrew Scriptures is the Mosaic Covenant, but it isn’t.  The Mosaic Covenant is a Suzerain/Vassal Covenant, i.e., a covenant between the King (HASHEM) and a vassal (or subordinate or lesser) nation that needed help and that the king aided and helped.  Whereas, the Abrahamic Covenant is a Parity Covenant, which is a covenant between two equals.  One form of parity covenant, for example, is a marriage between a man and a woman.

NOTE: I will be using in this article the Stone Edition’s Hebrew-English translation of the CHUMASH (Five Books) in the references to the Written Torah, and the Jewish Publication Society (JPS’s) translation of the Tanakh for passages outside of the Written Torah, which is used in Jewish synagogues across the United States.  In this Stone Edition’s translation of the CHUMASH, it uses the word HASHEM (in all caps) when referring to the sacred covenantal name of God.

The Covenant with Avraham – “The Relationship Covenant”?

Although most Rabbinic, Karaite, and even Messianic Jews believe that the great relationship covenant of the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) is the Torah, but this is not quite correct.  Although “the relationship covenant” is found in the first book of the Written Torah – Bereshith (Genesis) – it is not the Written Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  Before the Exodus and the giving of the Torah is ever given on Mt. Sinai, Israel was already in a relationship with HASHEM.  For example, in Shemot (Exodus) 4, HASHEM tells Mosheh (Moses),

When you go to return to Egypt, see all the wonders that I have put in your hand and perform them before Pharaoh; but I shall strengthen his heart and he will not send out the people.  You shall say to Pharaoh, ‘So said HASHEM, MY FIRSTBORN SON IS ISRAEL.  So I say to you, “SEND OUT MY SON THAT HE MAY SERVE ME – but you have refused to send him out; behold, I shall kill your firstborn son.” [Shemot (Exodus) 4: 21-23, CHUMASH; emphasis added]

So here in this passage, HASHEM Himself identifies Israel as His “firstborn son.”  So if Israel is HASHEM’s
“firstborn son,” then how is it that they are not already in a relationship?  This relationship is one by covenant, as I will show.  So how could Israel’s relationship with HASHEM begin at Mt. Sinai when it already exists here in Shemot [Exodus] 4?  So if it already exists here, then when did this relationship begin?  It began with Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father).

The Relationship Covenant – “The Covenant Between the Pieces”?

Everything that comes after Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father) can be traced back to one event: “the covenant between the pieces” in Bereshith (Genesis) 15: Israel’s time of slavery, the Ten Plagues, the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, the invasion into the land, the sending of Judges and the Prophets, the sending of Yochanan (John) the Immerser, the sending of the Rebbe Yeshua, his death and resurrection, the giving of the Spirit in Acts 2, the sending of his disciples out into the nations, etc.  All of it can be traced back to “the covenant between the pieces” in Bereshith (Genesis) 15.

The Good News – “Began with Avraham?”

The “Good News” [trans. “gospel” in older English translations] did not begin with Yochanan (John) the Immerser, nor did it begin with the Rebbe Yeshua, but it began with Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father).  In his letter to the congregation in Galatia, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), a second-generation Bet Hillel Pharisee, writes the following:

It was the same with Avraham: “He trusted in God and was faithful to him, and that was credited to his account as righteousness” [qtd. Genesis 15:6].  Be assured, then, that it is those who live by trusting and being faithful who are really children of Avraham.  Also the Tanakh, foreseeing that God would consider the Gentiles righteous when they live by trusting and being faithful, told THE GOOD NEWS TO AVRAHAM IN ADVANCE by saying, “In connection with you, all the Nations will be blessed.”  So then, those who rely on trusting and being faithful are blessed with Avraham, who trusted and was faithful.” (Galatians 3:6-9, CJB; emphasis added)

Notice that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) wrote explicitly that HASHEM told “the good news [trans. “gospel” in older Christian English translations] to Avraham in advance.”  And what was that “good news”?  “In connection with you, all the Nations will be blessed.”  Although this is how the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translates this verse, I personally do not like how it translates the first part of what Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) calls “the gospel”: “In connection with you,” because it doesn’t really accurately translate the original statement from the Written Torah.

What Passage Did Paul Call “the Gospel”?

What passage is Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) actually quoting here?  Most Christian English Bible translators will cite Bereshith (Genesis) 12:3 with the calling of Avram (Abram) out of Haran, and although the main concept is there, the wording is not quite correct since it uses the phrase “all families of the earth” rather than “all Nations.”  I used to think that it was Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) who exchanged the phrase “the Nations” for the phrase “the families of the earth” for many years, but I discovered a better passage.  It is in Bereshith (Genesis) 18.  The passage comes right after HASHEM gives Avraham and Sarah the promise of a son at that time the following year [18:10-13]. In the passage we find not only the statement that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) quotes and calls “the good news/gospel” but we also find the the expression, “the way of the LORD” (Heb. Derekh HASHEM) used for the very FIRST TIME, which is what the disciples called their movement, or “the Way” (Heb. HaDerekh) for short.

The men got up from there, and gazed down toward Sodom, while Abraham walked with them to escort them.  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 OF THE NATIONS SHALL BLESS THEMSELVES BY HIM?  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.” [Bereshith (Genesis) 18:16-19, CHUMASH; emphasis added]

I do not believe that these two things – what Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) calls “the gospel/good news” and the full phrase of what Yeshua’s disciples used for their movement, “the way of the Lord” (Heb. Derekh Adonai; Derekh Hashem) – coming from the same passage is just a coincidence. 

HaDerekh (“the Way”), the shortened form of the name Yeshua’s disciples called their movement, is used SIX TIMES in the book of Acts (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).  The full phrase – “the way of the Lord” (Heb. Derekh Adonai; Gk. ten hodon tou Kyriou) can be found at Acts 18:25; whereas, there is not one example of the Jewish disciples ever calling themselves “Christian.”  Instead, the word “Christian” was created by the ancient Syrian (modern-day Turks) unbelievers as a derogatory term that mocked, insulted, and humiliated the new Syrian (Turkish) believers.  The word “Christian” is only used THREE TIMES (Acts 11:26; 26:28; I Peter 4:16) in the Ketuvim HaDerekh (“Writings of the Way,” aka, “New Testament”). What makes the phrase “the way of the LORD” (Heb. Derekh Y-H-W-H) significant is that it is used throughout the Tanakh in a variety of different places, beginning in the book of Bereshith (Genesis) 18:19, as well as the next seven passages: Judges 2:22; 2 Samuel 22:22; 2 Kings 21:22; Proverbs 10:29; Isaiah 40:3; Jeremiah 5:4-5.  However, we see it change in the Scriptures during and after the Babylonian exile, where we see the Hebrew changed from Derekh Y-H-V-H to Derekh Adonai (“the way of the Lord”) primarily in the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20), as we see used in the JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (1999).  But what we should note is that the phrase “the way of the LORD” (Heb. Derekh HASHEM) is used as a synonym for the Torah (statutes, ordinances, commandments, and teachings).  

“The New Testament” – “Second-Temple Jewish Writings”?

If we are going to properly interpret the collection of writings, commonly called the “New Testament” by Christians, we need to view and interpret them – NOT as “Christian writings” – but what they historically were: a collection of writings by Second-Temple Jews, and I believe based on the evidence, HASHEM actually intended that it be a continuation of the third part of the Tanakh, called the Ketuvim (“Writings”).  The three parts of the Tanakh are –

T = Torah (Instructions, Teachings, Guidance, and Directives; often trans. “law”);
N = Nevi’im (Prophets); and
K =  Ketuvim (“Writings”)

Therefore, a better name to call these writings would be the Continued Ketuvim or the Ketuvim HaDerekh (“Writings of the Way”), but I am convinced that these writings were never intended to be separated from the rest of the Tanakh.  Thus, there is ONLY Tanakh – no other Scriptures!

Avraham – His Significance?

In the Bible, Avraham is presented as the pattern for people who are faithful followers of HASHEM.  This is why Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) calls him, “the father of the faithful” (Romans 4:16). Most people do not even realize what a prominent role Avram, later renamed Avraham, plays both within the HASHEM’s overall plan and in the Scriptures?  For example, did you know that the he is mentioned in 27 books of the Bible, 16 books within the Tanakh, or what Christians have been taught to call the “Old Testament,” and 11 books in the Ketuvim HaDerekh (aka, “New Testament”).  In counting the amount of times his name is mentioned, I discovered the following:

 

Tanakh

Ketuvim HaDerekh
(aka, “New Testament”)

Avram

 61 0

Avraham

 175 74

Totals

 236 74

So if we add the two totals together, we see that the name Avraham – in both forms (Avram, Avraham) appear a total of 309 TIMES in the whole Bible.  But this provoked my curiosity to see what were the top 5 books where his name is mentioned.  I have recorded my results in the following chart:

The Top 5 Books where the Name Avraham is mentioned Tanakh “New Testament”
Genesis – 192 times Luke – 15 times
Exodus – 9 times John – 11 times
Deuteronomy/I Chronicles – 7 times Hebrews – 10 times
Psalms/Isaiah – 4 times Romans/Galatians – 9 times
Joshua/2 Chronicles – 2 times Acts – 8 times

After doing this break down, the fact that most occurrences – 192 times of his name – happens in the first book of the Bible – the book of Bereshith (Genesis) – was not a surprise; however, the fact that his name is mentioned more often in the book of Luke than in any other book of the Tanakh was a surprise.  After all, the book of Luke was written by a Greek physician, who was probably a convert to Second-Temple Judaism, and he was writing to another Gentile, so why is the name “Avraham” mentioned so often?  Now it does make sense that Avraham would be mentioned 10 times in Hebrews since it was written for Jewish believers, but I was surprised to see the name “Avraham” mentioned as often in the book of Romans and Galatians as it is in the book of Shemot (Exodus).   But what surprised me even more was that the name “Avraham” was mentioned more often in these “top 5” “New Testament” books than in any book in the Tanakh, except the book of Bereshith (Genesis). Why would the person of “Avraham” play such a prominent part in this collection of writings, called the “New Testament” writings, if these were, in fact, “Christian writings”?

But what surprised me the most of all is that the book of Mattityahu (Matthew) did not even make the “top 5” at all, particularly since his book is specifically written to the Jewish people. Some may see this as just a coincidence, but this indicates that Avraham does, in fact, play a major significant role within the Scriptures.  However, little would prepare me for the level of that significance that he plays within the Bible, and that I would eventually discover that role in my research.

Avraham’s Unique Role:

In addition to the numbers, I also discovered the following out about “Avraham”:

  • Avraham was the first man in the Bible to be called “Hebrew.”
  • Avraham was the first man to have his name changed by HASHEM.
  • Avraham was the first patriarch of Israel.
  • Avraham was the only man in the Tanakh who is called “the friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23); and
  • It is also said of Avraham: “to those who are of the faith of Avraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).

For example, I also did know that Avraham and Sarah are the only couple in the Hebrew Scriptures that we are commanded to go back and study their lives?

Listen to Me, you who pursue justice,
You who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock you were hewn [cut] from,
To the quarry you were dug from.
Look back to Abraham your father
And to Sarah who brought you forth.
For he was only one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many. (Isaiah 51:1-2, JPS)

This commandment is given to every believer, whether they are a Jew or a Gentile (non-Jew).  But have you ever wondered, “Why Avraham and Sarah?”  Avraham and Sarah are the beginning of what becomes Israel – Israel’s first patriarch and matriarch – thereby, they become our pattern as someone who “walks with God.”

Avraham in the Ketuvim HaDerekh (aka, “New Testament”)

Miryam (Mary), Yeshua’s Mother

And we can see this in a number of passages within the Scriptures.  For example, in the praise that Miryam (Mary), Yeshua’s mother, said to Elisheva (Elizabeth) when she went to visit her:

He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, AS HE SPOKE TO OUR FATHERS, TO AVRAHAM and his descendants forever.  (Luke 1:54-55)

This provokes a number of different questions:

  1.  How has Yeshua, who is at that time, in the womb of Miryam, giving “help to Israel”?
  2.  How is Yeshua’s conception and birth a “remembrance of His mercy”?
  3. What and when was this “mercy” spoken “to our fathers, to Avraham and his descendants forever”?

I have never heard any Christian or Messianic Jew respond to any of these questions.

Z’kharyah (Zacharias), Yochanan’s Father

Nor have I ever heard one respond to the questions provoked by the prophecy uttered by the priest Z’kharyah (Zechariah; trans. Zacharias), Yochanan’s (John’s) father, during Yochanan’s brit milah (circumcision) after Z’kharyah (Zachariah) said the baby’s name would be “Yochanan” (John):

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant – As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old – Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; TO SHOW MERCY TOWARD OUR FATHERS, AND TO REMEMBER HIS HOLY COVENANT, THE OATH WHICH HE SWORE TO AVRAHAM OUR FATHER,… (Luke 1:68-73)

Again, this provokes some rather interesting questions:

  1. How has Israel been “saved” from its “enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us”?
  2. Again, how is Yeshua’s conception and birth showing “mercy toward our fathers”?  Also, how is it “remembering His holy covenant”?
  3. What “oath,” when and where did God swear “to Avraham our father,” and how is Yeshua a fulfillment of that “oath”?

Again, I have not heard any Christian or Messianic Jew address these particular questions.  Finally, how about what Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) said during his first missionary journey outside the land of Israel.  He and his comrades were sitting in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia to observe the weekly Sabbath, when halfway through the service – “after the reading of the law (Heb. Torah) and the prophets” – the leaders sent word to Rav Sha’ul Paulus’s (Paul’s) company a message that said, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on,” and it was at this point that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) stood up to speak (Acts 13: 14-16a).  And it was during his presentation, he said,

And we declare unto you glad tidings [good news], how that THE PROMISE WHICH WAS MADE UNTO THE FATHERS, GOD HAS FULFILLED THE SAME UNTO US THEIR CHILDREN, IN THAT HE HAS RAISED UP [YESHUA] AGAIN;… (Acts 13:32-33a)

  1. Again, what is this “promise” that God “made to the fathers”?
  2. What “fathers”?
  3. When and were was this “promise” made?
  4. What was in this “promise”?

Now I have heard “the gospel” preached thousands of times in sermons, skits, plays, movies, chic booklets, radio programs, but not once have I EVER heard anything ever discussed about “a promise” that God made with Avraham and the rest of “the fathers.”  I have NEVER heard any one present them as an intricate part of “the gospel” message.  At no point at no time!  Yet it seems rather obvious that according to the Scriptures, Avraham does play a part in the salvation story of humanity.  So why is it that Christians and many Messianic Jews do not see Avraham as playing a critical role in our salvation, except to be the physical ancestor of the Rebbe Yeshua?

Avrahamic Covenant – “The Foundation of the Relationship Covenant”?

All of this research leads us back to the relationship covenant in Bereshith (Genesis) 15.  To answer many of our questions, we need to analyze this chapter.  I am going to use the Stone Edition’s translation of the CHUMASH (“five books”) that many mainstream Rabbinic Jews use in their synagogues across the United States, so they know that I am quoting things accurately.  The word “HASHEM” is used for the sacred covenantal name of God.  In this chapter, it begins by saying,

After these events, the word of HASHEM came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you: your reward is very great.”  And Abram said, “My Lord, HASHEM/ELOHIM: What can You give me seeing that I go childless, and the steward of my house is the Damascene Eliezer?” Then Abram said, “See, to me You have given no offspring’ and see, my steward inherits me…”  [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:1-3]

Elohim is the Hebrew word for “God,” “gods,” “Judge,” or “judges.”  This is a roundabout way of Abram reminding HASHEM that the seed that HASHEM promised him back when he and Sarai was called to leave Haran he still has not received, and who it is who stands to inherit all that he has.  HASHEM then responds to him,

Suddenly, the word of HASHEM came to him, saying: “That one will not inherit you.  Only him that shall come forth from within you shall inherit you.”  And He took him outside, and said, “Gaze, now, toward the Heavens, and count the stars if you are able to count them!”  And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be!”  And he trusted in HASHEM, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:4-6, CHUMASH]

This last line, verse 6, is quoted in several places in the “New Testament”: It is quoted by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) in two of his letters – Romans 4:3, 18, 22; Galatians 3:6 – and once by Ya’acov (Jacob; trans. “James”) in his letter, James 2:23.  By quoting it, they are rabbinically referencing readers back to this particular chapter.  Have you ever wondered why?

He said to him, “I am HASHEM Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim [trans. “of the Chaldees”] to give you this land to inherit it.” He said, “My Lord, HASHEM/ELOHIM” Whereby shall I know that I am to inherit it?” [Bereshith (Genesis) 7-8, CHUMASH]

So when it comes to offspring, Avram could trust HASHEM for that, but when it comes to the land, He want to know “Whereby shall I know that I am to inherit it?”  Apparently, when it came to the land, he needed something more.  So his question is then answered by HASHEM entering into covenant with him.

And He said to him, “Take to Me three heifers, three goats, three rams, a turtledove, and a young dove.”  He took all these to Him; He cut them in the center, and placed each piece opposite its counterpart.  The birds, however, he did not cut up.”  [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:9-10, CHUMASH]

Avram is not being told how to prepare them for this covenant, nor is there any explanation of what this covenant is all about.  From this we can infer that Avram is very familiar with this covenant and how to set things up for it.  By cutting the animals up – except for the birds – and placing them opposite one another, he is actually creating a pathway of blood, called “the walk of death,” between these animals. In this ceremony, each party would take their turn in walking between the pieces of cut-up animals, and then they meet in the middle.  Then in the middle, the two parties would exchange possessions, liabilities, and strengths, as well as vows on what they would do for each other, and curses on what would happen if one of them were to violate or break the covenant.  This was considered an UNBREAKABLE covenant, and if one of the parties did violate the covenant, then that person was to die a physically painful and violent death, symbolized by the cut-up animals that each of them had just walked through.  Secondly, once the two parties had completed the ceremony, and if one of the two parties who made the covenant had died, the covenant would become null and void. 

This same covenant ceremony is referenced in Jeremiah 34:18-20, 

I will make the men who violated My covenant, who did not fulfill the terms of the covenant which they made before Me, [like] the calf which they cut in two so as to pass between the halves: The officers of Judah and Jerusalem, the officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the halves of the calf shall be handed over to their enemies, to those who seek to kill them.  Their carcasses shall become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 34:18-20, JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh)

Neither side kept the covenant, so since HASHEM was made a part of the covenant, then He was going to punish everyone who took part in this covenant ceremony and kill them in a physically painful and violent way in keeping the covenant.

The Verbal Covenant Portion

Now let us continue,

Birds of prey descended upon the carcasses, and Avram drove them away. And it happened, as the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a dread! great darkness fell upon him.  And He said to Abram, “Know for certainty that your offspring shall be aliens in a land not their own, they will serve them, and they will oppress them four hundred years.  But also the nation that they will serve, I shall judge, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth.  As for you: you shall come to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.  And the fourth generation shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite shall not be full until then.” [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:11-16, CHUMASH]

There are a number of things to point out about this scene.  According to the footnotes in the CHUMASH for this passage:

  1. “Birds of prey descended.  The symbolism is described in different ways.  King David would seek to destroy the enemy nations, but God would ‘drive him away,’ pending the coming of the Messiah (Rashi).  Or, the birds represent the nations, which would try to abrogate the covenant by exterminating Israel (Radak), or preventing it from serving God (Ramban), but God or the descendants of Abraham would drive them away (ibid.).”  (69)

    I personally like the explanation from Radak in this footnote.

  2.  Notice it says that Abram fell into a “deep sleep.”  This is the same expression that was used when HASHEM put Adam into a “deep sleep” before He created Chavah (trans. “Eve”) by removing the “feminine side” (trans. “rib”) from him.  Therefore, I believe HASHEM is doing something creative here in this scene as well.
  3. Also notice we have the prophecy of the stories of Joseph and the Exodus before they ever happened.
  4. Also notice, HASHEM is keeping his descendants down in this other land (Egypt) for “four hundred years” because He is going to use them to bring judgment against “the Amorites.”  It will take that long before their “cup of sin will get full.”

This completes the first part of the “Verbal Part of the Covenant,” but in addition to this part of the “Verbal Portion,” there is also a “Nonverbal Portion” as well.  

The Non-Verbal Covenant Portion

So it happened: the sun set, and it was very dark.  Behold – there was a smoky furnace and a torch of fire which passed between the pieces.  [Bereshith (Genesis) 15:17, CHUMASH]

Both Christian and Jewish scholars agree that these two items that Avram saw in his vision represent HASHEM, and that it was He who walked “between the pieces.”  In this ceremony, all that belonged to Avram [himself, his wife and family, his possessions, his liabilities, and his enemies] now belonged to HASHEM, and all that belonged to HASHEM [Himself, His Spirit, His characteristics, His possessions, and His enemies – HASHEM has no liabilities] now belonged to Avram.  This was symbolically portrayed by HASHEM giving the “H” in His name to Avram and Sarai, making their names “Avraham” and “Sarah.”  Also HASHEM became known as “the God of Avraham.”  

But what was the significance of this action?  Every Christian text that I have seen written about this portion of Scripture claims that by HASHEM walking the pieces alone that He made this conditional covenant unconditional since Avram did not take part in the ceremony.  Also Christian scholars claim that this was just a “fancy way” for HASHEM to basically say “I promise.” They do not see anymore than this.  The CHUMASH makes this rabbinical note about verse 17 here.

17.  The ratification of the Covenant.  The furnace and fire symbolized the Divine Presence was there to seal the covenant, and the smoking furnace also symbolized Gehinnom, into which Four Monarchies would descend (Rashi).  Alternatively, they symbolized the intense darkness and the fire that would be present at the Revelation of Sinai [Exodus 19:18] (Moreh Neuchim). (69, 71)

Also once Avraham and Sarah died, HASHEM became the covenantal Father to Avraham’s descendants.  This is why HASHEM is only Father to the seed of Avraham, for there is no other people that HASHEM has entered into blood covenant with in the world.  This is the reason why Israel is able to refer to HASHEM as Aveinu (“Our Father”]. 

Legal Ramifications for HASHEM

If HASHEM walked though those pieces Himself – which is what most commentators state – then the covenant would not have been valid.  In order for it to be valid, BOTH parties had to walk between the pieces.  Am I saying that the covenant that HASHEM made here with Avraham is not valid?  Not at all!  Rather that HASHEM not only walked those pieces for Himself, but He also walked them in legal proxy for Avram.  Therefore, by doing that, HASHEM took upon Himself, not only His own obligation to satify the requirements of the covenant – but Avram’s as well.

So I am fully aware now that I am about to present an interpretation that neither side has made, and it is the following:  When HASHEM “walked between the pieces,” He did so not only for Himself, but He also did so as the “legal proxy” for Avram and his descendants.

What did this mean for HASHEM?

Now what did this mean?  For HASHEM, it meant,

  1. He was promising to do everything possible to keep His covenant with Avram and his discendants;
  2. He was also promising that if Avram or any of his descendants ever broke this covenant (i.e., sinned), then He was promising to kill that person in a physically painful and violent way, represented by the pieces of animals that He had just walked through.

If HASHEM did not destroy the other person in a physically painful and violent way, then HASHEM would be guilty of violating this covenant He just made with Avram.

What did this mean for HASHEM as Avram’s “Legal Proxy”?

So what did this mean for HASHEM as “Avram’s legal proxy”?

  1.  It meant that He became legally responsible to provide whatever Avram and his descendants needed to help them to keep and maintain the requirements of the covenant – thus explaining the giving of the Torah, the constant plea of the prophets for the people to return to the Torah, the need for the b’rit chadashah (new covenant), the sending of Yochanan the Immerser, the sending of the Rebbe Yeshua, his death and resurrection, the sending of the Ruach HaKodesh, so that Israel could be empowered to walk in obedience to the covenant and fulfill their calling to be the light to the nations;
  2. He was also promising that if Avram and/or his descendants sinned (broke the covenant) that HASHEM was promising to die a physically painful and violent death, represented by the pieces of animals that He had just walked through.

The Verbal Covenant Portion Continues

ON THAT DAY HASHEM made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River: the Kennite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite; the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Rephaim; the Emorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.  [Bereshith (Genesis) 15: 18-21, CHUMASH; emphasis added]

Notice that the Scriptures say that “ON THAT DAY HASHEM made a covenant with Abram.” The other covenant person that HASHEM represented was Avram (later renamed Avraham) and his descendants.  Do we have any evidence that Avram (Avraham) or any of his descendants did violate their “relationship covenant” with HASHEM?  The Bible is full of examples where the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak (Isaac), and Ya’acov (Jacob) have violated this covenant.  Before discussing the Divine Dilemma that HASHEM has placed Himself into by participating in this covenant, I have another question to explaore.

On what day did HASHEM make this Covenant with Avram?

In Exodus 12 of the CHUMASH, we read,

The habitation of the Children of Israel during which they dwelled in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  It was at the end of four hundred and thirty years, and it was ON THAT VERY DAY that all the legions of HASHEM left the land of Egypt. [Shemot (Exodus) 12:40-41, CHUMASH; emphasis added]

Now in the footnotes for this passage, the following rabbinical note is given:

40.  The duration of the Egyptian Exile.   Although the verse gives the duration of Israel’s stay in Egypt as 430 years, it is clear that the nation could not have been in Egypt that long, for the lifetimes of Keboth, who came with Jacob, and his son Amram total only 270 years, and Amran’s son Moses was eighty at the time of the Exodus.  Rather, the Rabbinic tradition, as cited by Rashi, is as follows: The Covenant between the parts (Genesis 15:7-21) took place 430 years before the Exodus, and that is the period referred to in this verse.  At that time, God foretold to Abraham that his offspring would endure 400 years, during which there would be exile, persecution, and servitude – but not necessarily all of them at the same time.  Those 400 years began with the birth of Isaac, since the prophecy referred to Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 15:13).  Thus, the Exodus was perfectly calibrated to conform to the prophecy to Abraham, for Isaac was born on the fifteenth of Nisan, and exactly four hundred years later, PRECISELY AT THE DEADLINE – “at the end” – of the prescribed time (v. 41), the Jews were liberated.  The actual sojourn in Egypt lasted 210 years (Rashi).  Accordingly, the verse’s reference to 430 years as the time they dwelled in Egypt means that the Egyptian exile had been decreed 430 years before the Exodus. (359; emphasis added)

Thus, Genesis 15 happened on Passover 430 years BEFORE it was ever called “Passover.”  Now just in case you think this rabbinical note in the CHUMASH is wrong, let’s read what Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) has to say in his letter to the congregation in Galatia,

Brothers, let me make an analogy from everyday life: when someone swears an oath, no one else can set it aside or add to it.  Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed.  It doesn’t say “and to seeds,” as if to many; on the contrary, it speaks of one – “and to your seed” – and this one is the Messiah.  Here is what I am saying: the legal part of the Torah, which came into being 430 years later, does not nullify an oath sworn by God, so as to abolish the promise.  For if the inheritance comes from the legal part of the Torah, it no longer comes from a promise.  But God gave it to Abraham through a promise. (Galatians 3:15-18, CJB)

So Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is in complete agreement with the footnote given within the CHUMASH as far as the time between Abraham’s “covenant between the parts” in Bereshith (Genesis 15) and the Exodus, 430 years.

So if Avram and/or any of his descendants shall break covenant with HASHEM, HASHEM has become Avram and Israel’s legal proxy (or substitute) by dying a physically painful and violent death on Passover.  However, we know from the Scriptures that Israel did repeatedly break covenant with HASHEM.  

In the Next Part – 

I want to examine the two of the many times that National Israel broke covenant with HASHEM, and then in the 3rd part, I want to examine HASHEM‘s Divine Dilemma and what was HASHEM’s answer to it in the Ketuvim HaDerekh (“The Writings of the Way,” aka, “New Testament”), and then part 4, answer the question, “Why didn’t Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) mention this in I Corinthians 15?”.

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