Starting after Sukkot 2024, Hallel Fellowship switched to a three-year cycle of Torah and parallel Bible readings (2024–2027), outlined by TorahResource. While there’s ancient evidence for a triennial cycle, a major benefit is to provide more time to mine more of Scripture for lessons.
Readings
- Genesis 37
- Jeremiah 38:1–13
- Matthew 3:13–17
Corresponding reading in the 1-year cycle
Insights from the readings
Genesis 37; Jeremiah 38:1–13; and Matthew 3:13–17 center on God’s pattern of preparing His chosen servants through suffering, obedience and public affirmation, which point to the ultimate servant, Messiah Yeshua.
Connections
Rejection by their own people
- Genesis 37: Joseph is betrayed by his brothers, symbolizing Israel’s rejection of a chosen redeemer.
- Jeremiah 38: Jeremiah is cast into a cistern by fellow Israelites for faithfully delivering God’s word.
- Matthew 3: Yeshua, though without sin, submits to baptism to identify with the people and begin His public ministry—knowing He, too, will face rejection.
Descent and deliverance
- Joseph is thrown into a pit, a symbolic “death,” yet is later exalted to save many.
- Jeremiah descends into a cistern, a literal pit, but is rescued to continue God’s mission.
- Yeshua’s baptism represents descent into water (symbolic death) and rising again—prefiguring His death and resurrection.
Messianic foreshadowing and fulfillment
- Joseph is a type of the Messiah: betrayed, humbled, and later exalted to save.
- Jeremiah’s suffering anticipates the prophet-like-Moses figure who endures for the truth.
- Yeshua’s baptism marks Him as the beloved Son—fulfilling the pattern and promise of previous servant figures and inaugurating His redemptive mission.
Together, these passages reveal a prophetic arc of servanthood, suffering, and divine vindication, ultimately fulfilled in Yeshua the Messiah.
There’s prophetic tapestry that points to Yeshua as the promised Messiah — a righteous sufferer, misunderstood by His own, yet chosen and affirmed by God. The Hebrew and Greek terms deepen this understanding by linking linguistic patterns of descent (pit/immersion) and divine approval. Each figure—Joseph, Jeremiah, and Yeshua—mirrors the redemptive journey from rejection to exaltation, a cornerstone of the Gospel in its Jewish context.
| Theme | Genesis 37 | Jeremiah 38 | Matthew 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rejected by own people | Joseph betrayed | Jeremiah persecuted | Yeshua opposed by leaders |
| Descent into suffering | Pit | Cistern | Immersion (symbolic death) |
| Vindication/Deliverance | Exalted in Egypt | Rescued by Ebed-Melech | Voice from Heaven |
| Messianic fulfillment | Type of Messiah | Foreshadow of Yeshua | Literal fulfillment in Yeshua |
Key Hebrew and Greek terms
שָׂנֵא saneh — to hate
(Gen. 37:4): “And they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”
God’s chosen servants may be misunderstood or rejected by their own people.
Joseph is a type of Messiah ben Yosef, the Suffering Servant. He is betrayed by his brothers but later saves them.
שְׁאֻל she’ol — pit, grave, underworld
(implied by “pit” in Gen 37:24): Joseph’s descent into the pit prefigures a descent into death.
Suffering and exile often precede exaltation and redemption.
Yosef’s descent into the pit parallels Yeshua’s death and resurrection, offering salvation even to those who wronged Him.
נָבִיא navi — prophet
Jer. 38:1: Title of Jeremiah, a faithful yet persecuted voice of God.
Speaking God’s truth can lead to personal suffering, but obedience remains paramount.
Jeremiah represents the suffering prophetic role of Messiah. His pit experience anticipates Yeshua’s descent.
בוֹר bor — cistern, pit
Jer 38:6: Used to describe Jeremiah’s confinement, echoing Joseph’s experience.
God often uses unlikely rescuers (e.g., Ebed-Melech) to protect His messengers.
The deliverance from the cistern foreshadows resurrection and vindication of the righteous.
βαπτίζω baptizō — to immerse, submerge
Mt 3:13: Symbolic of purification, death, and new life.
Yeshua identifies fully with humanity through immersion, though sinless.
Yeshua’s baptism fulfills prophecies about the Servant Messiah (Isa. 42:1).
The visible descent of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) connects to Jewish expectations of Messianic anointing.
ἀγαπητός agapētos — beloved
Mt 3:17: “This is my beloved Son…”
His baptism marks divine affirmation and the start of His redemptive mission.
εὐδόκησα eudokēsa — I am well pleased
Mt 3:17: Echoes Isaiah 42:1, affirming Yeshua as the Servant of the LORD.
Yeshua’s obedience contrasts with Israel’s failures, positioning Him as true Israel and the Righteous One.
Studies
Joseph and Judah: Great leaders must start as great servants (Genesis 37–40)
Why some yearn for a close encounter with Heaven, while others fear (Amos 2–3)
Take a stand for what’s right in an evil age: Joseph and Messiah (Genesis 37)
Genesis 37:1–40:23: How the first became lost and the lost became first
Genesis 37–38: Am I my sister’s keeper? Why Tamar was ‘more righteous’
Genesis 37–40: Joseph and Judah’s school of hard knocks
Genesis 37–40: What’s your legacy in the Kingdom of God?
Genesis 37:1–40:23: All Yosef’s life’s indeed a stage for Mashiakh
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