Category: Torah readings

Genesis 12–13 is the start of Abram’s journey of faith, initiated by God’s command to leave his homeland for an unspecified land, promising to make him a great nation and a blessing to all families on Earth — ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah. Abram’s obedience leads him to Canaan, where he builds altars to God. A famine drives him to Egypt, where he deceives Pharaoh by claiming Sarai is his sister, resulting in plagues upon Pharaoh’s house. After returning to Canaan, Abram and his nephew Lot separate to accommodate their growing herds, with Lot choosing the fertile Jordan Valley, while Abram remains in Canaan, reaffirming his covenant with God.

Genesis 11 focuses on humanity’s united rebellion through the Tower of Babel, prompting God to scatter nations by confounding their language. This act shifted the focus from human plans to God’s sovereignty in guiding history. The chapter is a transition to Abraham’s lineage, highlighting God’s choice of Terah’s family to fulfill His covenantal plan, ultimately leading to the Messiah. It emphasizes how God’s interventions direct history toward His redemptive purposes, despite human pride and ambition.

Genesis 9:18–10:32 explores the consequences of Noah’s curse on Canaan, prophetic significance of Noach’s descendants and the rise of Nimrod’s kingdom as a challenge to God’s authority. These passages highlight God’s plan for nations and His eventual restoration of order through the Messiah. Nimrod’s kingdom, characterized by chaos and rebellion, serves as a precursor to the opposition to God’s Kingdom on the Day of the LORD and the ultimate unification of humanity in the Messianic age.

Genesis 8:15–9:17 recounts God’s covenant with Noah, marked by the rainbow, symbolizing His promise never to flood the earth again. This covenant is linked to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus): just as Noah’s ark was a refuge from judgment, Yeshua offers salvation from eternal destruction. The passage highlights themes of new beginnings, stewardship and the sanctity of life, paralleling the restoration and hope found in Yeshua’s ministry and the ultimate renewal of creation in the Messianic age.

Genesis 8:1-14 highlights God’s remembrance, renewal and provision during and after the Flood. These are expanded elsewhere in the Bible to underscore Heaven’s salvation, renewal and redemption — all foreshadowing their ultimate reality in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

Genesis 6–7 focuses on the moral decay of humanity from “very good” creation, God’s judgment on the “violence” and salvation through Noah’s ark. The ark and Flood narrative not only recounts historical events but also carries deeper spiritual lessons that point towards redemption and the coming of the Messiah.

This week’s reading from the three-year Torah cycle is Genesis 5:1–6:8. It features the genealogy from Adam to Noah, showing the decline in humanity’s morality leading up to the Flood. Contrasted are the godly line of Seth and the increasing corruption in humanity.

Genesis 6:1–8 discusses the “sons of God” and their interactions with human women, which many interpret as leading to widespread evil, prompting God’s judgment. The account stresses God’s grief over human wickedness but also introduces Noah as a righteous figure chosen to preserve humanity through the coming deluge.