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Torah readings

Torah reading Vayeshev (וישב): Genesis 37:1–40:23

The accounts of Yosef’s “coat of many colors” or “Technicolor Dreamcoat” and his standing strong amid adversity and oppression in Mitzraim are popular among children and adults. But a scandalous aside in this week’s Torah portion, וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Gen. 37:1–40:23), involving his brother Yehudah may not reach many children’s ears. Yet both Yosef and Yehudah provide important “calling cards” for Mashiakh Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

Studies in Torah

Readings

  • Genesis 37–40
  • 1Kings 3:15–4:1
  • Amos 2:6–3:8
  • Matthew 1:1–6, 16–25
  • Acts 7:9–16
  • Matthew 27:15–46

On years when the Shabbat for Vayeshev comes during the eight days of Chanukah, add these readings:

  • Numbers 7:18–29
  • Zechariah 2:10–4:7
  • John 10:22–42

Studies

The following are notes and recordings of studies by Hallel Fellowship teachers on passages in Vayeshev and its haftarah.

Lessons from Joseph and Judah: Great leaders must start as great servants (Genesis 37-40)

Joseph and Judah: Great leaders must start as great servants (Genesis 37–40)

A key point in the Torah reading וַיֵּשֶׁב Vayeshev (Genesis 37–40) is the betrayal of Yosef (Joseph) by his brothers, including their debate about what to do with him and their sale of him to traders bound for Mitzraim (Egypt). This seems to parallel what happened many centuries later, when Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) was rejected by His brothers (Israel, led by descendants of Judah) and went into exile in Mitzraim.
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Why some yearn for a close encounter with Heaven while others fear (Amos 2-3)

Why some yearn for a close encounter with Heaven, while others fear (Amos 2–3)

In the Torah reading וַיֵּשֶׁב Vayeshev (Genesis 37–40), the salacious downward spiral of Yehudah (Judah) is sharply contrasted with the upward rise of Yosef (Joseph). That’s despite Yosef’s brothers’ having betrayed him. The parallel passage to Vayeshev (Amos 2:6–3:8) reveals how morality can go down a slippery slope to depravity if nothing stops it. Yosef was a living prophecy of the ultimate Favored Son of Israel — Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) — Who would be rejected but effectively stop the moral slide of the nation and the world.
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Take a stand for what’s right in an evil age: Joseph and Messiah (Genesis 37)

Joseph’s brothers and many in the Sanhedrin during the first arrival of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) were incensed that God had chosen someone other than the first- or best-born to lead Israel. Yet, both Yosef and Yeshua did not fear betrayal, arrest, prison or even death. In this study of the Torah section וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Gen. 37:1–40:23), the “cancel culture” of their day did not deter them. Similar to the Maccabees at the time of the first Chanukah, no one could smooth-talk Yosef or Yeshua out of standing up for what is right as they refused to…
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Genesis 37–38: Am I my sister’s keeper? Why Tamar was ‘more righteous’

From the Torah reading  וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Genesis 37:1-40:23), we’ll be focusing this time on a comparison between Judah’s relationship with Tamar and Joseph’s relationship with Potiphar’s wife. As we look into this “intermission” in the story, we’ll take a detour into Hosea 3-4, which will give us insight into why the men in  those stories were guilty of a far greater evil than the sins of Tamar and Mrs. Potiphar.
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Genesis 37–40: Joseph and Judah’s school of hard knocks

God prepared two self-centered “brats” — Yosef (Joseph) and Yehudah (Judah) — and their descendants to become the saviors of their families. Yosef was a tattle-tale and a bit of a braggart, but Yehudah was willing to throw weaker, younger people to the wolves, either figuratively or literally to obtain a higher status in his society. God really cares about how you treat other people, especially those who are weaker and less fortunate. In the Torah reading וישב Vayeshev (Genesis 37–40), we learn from Yosef and Yehudah their life lessons the hard way.
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"Judah and Tamar" by School of Rembrandt, c. 1650-1660

Genesis 37–40: What’s your legacy in the Kingdom of God?

Are you living where God wants you to live? That’s the question the LORD explored with Yosef and Yehudah in the Torah section Vayeshev, which means “and he dwelled.” It introduces in earnest the two main characters ― biblically, called “houses” ― in the leadership of Israel’s legacy, the knowledge of and connection with the Creator.
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Genesis 37:1–40:23: All Yosef’s life’s indeed a stage for Mashiakh

The account of Yosef seems larger than life as it is: His coat of many colors. His dreams of greatness over his older brothers and even his parents. His being sold by those brothers into slavery in Mitsraim, then rising from prison to vice president of the mighty ancient empire that built the pyramids. But that’s for a later discussion. This time, Hallel Fellowship teacher Daniel explores a messianic play in the Torah reading Vayeshev, which means “he settled” and covers Genesis 37-40. Yosef was playing the role of Mashiakh consistently through his life. His father, Ya’akov, played God the…
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Genesis 37

Yosef dreams, his brothers boil then sell him to toil

The sibling rivalry between Yosef (Joseph) and Leah’s sons, fueled by his dreams that they and even their parents would bow to him, came to a tragic climax as they seized him then sold him to a caravan headed to Mitsraim (Egypt). Yet God remained on control.

Yosef gets two dreams, a royal coat, sold into slavery

This account of Yosef’s dreams and being sold by his brothers into slavery in Mitsraim (Egypt) is the foundation for the teaching through the rest of Genesis and even the Torah. The life of Yeshua the Messiah on Earth paralleled that of Yosef (Joseph).

Genesis 38

Yehudah, Tamar and the prophetic twins Perets and Zerah

This chapter about a scandalous encounter between Yehudah (Judah) and his daughter-in-law Tamar seems out of place in the account of Yosef’s slavery in Mitsraim (Egypt). Yet the twins in this chapter — Perets (Perez) and Zerah — share a link to Messiah with Yosef (Joseph).

Salacious story of Yehudah and Tamar points to coming glory of the Messiah

This isn’t a Bible passage one might want to read to young children, but it is recorded for a profound reason. It gives us another insight into the character of Yehudah (Judah), and the symbols point to King David and the Messiah.

Genesis 39-40

Dreams with a vision, a mission

What do the dreams by Pharaoh’s baker and wine taster on the coming famine and the interpretations delivered by Yosef (Joseph) that catapulted him to to authority in Mitsraim (Egypt) tell Yosef? What would they tell Messiah Yeshua, the antitype to Yosef’s type?

Yosef resists wife of Potiphar and interprets three-days-related dreams of cup-bearer and baker of Pharaoh

The Lord was clearly with Yosef (Joseph) in Potiphar’s house, yet Yosef was framed for jilting an adulterous wife. And the Lord was with Yosef in the prison he was thrown into, interpreting two dreams about the future of the pharaoh’s jailed wine server and baker. The symbols of wine and bread there point to the future life of Yeshua the Messiah.

Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8

Why some yearn for a close encounter with Heaven, while others fear (Amos 2–3)

Amos starts calling out Israel’s social injustice

In Amos 2, the prophet is warning the people of Israel that although the nations around them have committed heinous sins but Israel’s sins are even worse. Israel could easily see the failures of the nations but they could not see their own failures. Amos is trying to take the veil off their eyes. He wants Israel to look inward at themselves.

To whom much is given, much is required

The descendants of Israel, North and South, inherited the covenant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at Mt. Sinai hundreds of years before. Yet, instead of living in that covenant, the children of Israel preferred to imitate the practices of the nations around and actually surpassed the surrounding nations around in their iniquity. This is why God judges the entire family of Israel much more severely than He punishes the other nations. This is the prophet’s warning in Amos 3.