Torah reading Vayigash (ויגש): Genesis 44:18–47:27

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
John 1:11 NASB

“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”
Mark 6:4 NASB

Readings

Genesis 44:18–47:27
Ezekiel 37:15–28
Luke 24:13–48
John 20:19–31; 21:1–23
Romans 9–11
Acts 7:9–16

Vayigash discussions

The following are notes and recordings of studies by Hallel Fellowship teachers on passages in this week’s Torah portion.

Dynamics of respect and trust in leadership: Lessons from Jacob, Joseph and good pharaoh (Genesis 46-47). A smiling bearded father puts his right hand on his bearded son's right shoulder.

Jacob, Joseph and good pharaoh: Dynamics of respect and trust in leadership (Genesis 46–47)

Jeff December 23, 2023

The Torah reading וַיִּגַּשׁ Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27) explores respect, family responsibility and trust in God. There’s an emphasis on respecting parental authority as a reflection of honoring God and prioritizing obedience to God over obeying human authorities. The narrative of Yosef (Joseph) in Egypt highlights trust in God amid adversity and concludes with a call to acknowledge and preserve family legacies, discarding traditions violating God’s standards. In this study, we will see that the accounts of Yosef and his older brother Yehudah (Judah) exemplify the importance of learning from one’s mistakes and the importance of standing up against…

Like Joseph, like Jesus: How the savior of ancient Egypt reveals the Savior of the world (Genesis 44–47)

Jeff December 31, 2022

The account of Yosef (Joseph) in Genesis 37–50 is key to unlocking the role of Israel and Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) in the world and throughout the Bible. And the Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Gen. 44:18–47:27) is pivotal point in his story.

How we can join in on Heaven's blessing for the world (Joshua 14:5-16; Matthew 10)

How we can join in on Heaven’s blessings for the world (Joshua 14:6–15; Matthew 10)

Jeff December 11, 2021

The account in the Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27) of Yosef’s (Joseph) accusing his brothers of being “spies” on Mitzraim (Egypt) can seem like ancient geopolitical intrigue or toxic sibling rivalry. But when compared with parallel passages in Ezekiel 37, Joshua 14 and Matthew 10, we may start to see a pattern: Israel’s role on Earth is as Heaven’s delegate-spy-ambassador to bless and restore humankind. And Yeshua (Jesus) is the quintessential Son of God and Son of David is the ultimate Anointed One sent from Heaven in that role.

Joseph and Jesus teach how to heal relationships for a better family and planet (Genesis 45; Luke 24)

Jeff December 26, 2020

We may be jealous of a favored family member or co-worker and carry that bitterness into how we act around that person. We may regret what those feelings drove us to and the damage caused in the relationship. In this Bible study, we explore the dramatic reconciliation of the biblical leader Joseph with his brothers, recorded in the Torah passage Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27), is an emotional journey from jealousy and abandonment to repentance and reconciliation. Another rejected, favored son of Israel, Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), also reunited with those close to Him after His resurrection, and in the case of…

Will we recognize our Jewish Messiah when He returns? (Genesis 44:18–47:27)

Daniel January 4, 2020

Just as Judah and his brothers did not recognize the gentile Egyptian governor as their flesh and blood Hebrew brother Joseph, many Christians may not recognize their Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, when He returns to Earth for His bride. In Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27), Joseph disguised himself as a gentile to save Egypt and the entire world from famine. Yeshua’s apostle Paul tells us that the Messiah disguised Himself from His Jewish kin for a time for the sake of the Gentiles, but He will reveal Himself as our Jewish Messiah at His second…

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Want God’s mercy and love? Have mercy and love for others

Daniel December 15, 2018

The Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27) covers the response of Yehudah (Judah) and the brothers to the accusation by Yosef (Joseph). It’s important to understand why Yosef is doing this, because it helps us understand God and ourselves in a different light. This passage gives us a shadow of the great interceding mercy and sacrifice of Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

"Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)" by Gustave Doré, 1866

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Yosef foreshadows Yeshua’s grace

Jeff January 7, 2017

Aesop’s ancient saying “familiarity breeds contempt” could easily sum up how Yosef’s brothers treated him in his early years and how many leaders of Yisra’el treated Yeshua. The prophetic parallels between Yosef and Yeshua the Mashiakh sharpen further in the Torah section Vayigash (“he approached”). In it, the brothers’ contempt turns to fear when they realize their plots against Yosef have put them at his mercy. It’s also a picture of the Day of the LORD, when Yisra’el then the world must confess, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD.”

Yosef slips his silver cup to Ben Yamin

In parashat Miketz, Yosef hosted a large banquet for his brothers and household staff. At the time of the account in Genesis 44, Yosef was still hidden from his brothers. He is the second in command of Mitzraim, one of the world’s most powerful nations of the period. This account of the actions of Pharaoh and Yosef is a parable of what the Father and the Son planned to do to and through a group of believers in God, a group called Israel.

Yosef reveals the true selves of the brothers

Yosef‘s scheme to discover how his brothers really felt about Ben Yamin (and by extension, himself) came to a head. The “revealer of what is concealed” forced his brothers to reveal their own secrets, not only to him but to their father.

Yosef reveals his secret to his brothers

We see here that God caused and allowed many bad things to Yosef for the salvation of Yosef‘s family, but He caused and allowed even worse things to happen to the Messiah Yeshua for our salvation.

Genesis 46

Ya’akov goes to Mitzraim and finally sees his son Yosef again

Ya’akov asks God’s permission to go to the Land of Mitzraim to meet his son Yosef again. When God gives him the green light, he leaves the land of Canaan and travels to Mitzraim in the entourage Pharaoh provides him and his family. Ya’akov‘s and Yosef‘s joy are complete.

Message about Messiah in the names of Israel’s descendants

The list of the names of the offspring of Yisrael, f.k.a. Ya’akov , can be read as a message about the work of the Messiah if the meanings of the names are strung together.

Genesis 47:1–27

Yosef presents his family to Pharaoh, receives double blessing via Ephraim and Manasseh

We read more about how the land of Egypt survived the seven-year famine thanks to God’s revelation to Yosef and his stewardship of pharaoh’s land. Later, Ya’akov gives Yosef his double portion of the blessing vicariously through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Ya’akov moves to Goshen; Yosef takes control via the famine; Yisra’el blesses Ephraim & Manasseh

Ya’akov blessed pharaoh of Mitzraim upon arrival there. Ya’akov blessed the sons of Yosef , Ephraim and Manasseh, as if they were his own elder sons. As we have noticed in past studies of the account of Yosef in Genesis, there are parallels between the roles of pharaoh, Yosef and Yisra’el, f.k.a. Ya’akov, and those of the Father, the Son and a people called Yisra’el.