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Discussions Prophets and Writings

Parallel of Solomon and Yeshua entries to Yerushalayim (1st Kings 1)

Solomon’s assent to kingship mimics the triumphant entry of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).

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Appointments With God Chanukah Discussions

Chanukah celebrates 6 dedicated women

What do the following six important women in the Bible have in common? How did their experiences shape the future of the people of God?

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Discussions Torah

Lying for lentils and how to inherit the blessings of God (Genesis 25–26)

After Sarah’s death Abraham had other children as well and we learn how his estate was divided up between his heirs. We also learn how Yiskhak (Isaac) deals with his status as a wealthy patriarch in a hostile land and how his two sons start fighting over Yiskhak’s estate before they are born and continue fighting over it when they are adults. The fight appears to end with Esau “despising” his birthright. But does this really end the dispute?

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Discussions Torah

Yitskhak meets his wife (Genesis 24)

We learn about the Near Eastern customs of how to find a wife for a prominent family. From Abraham’s request to Rivka’s acceptance, Isaac is not a part of this story until the very end when Isaac greets Rivka as acknowledges her as the wife God has chosen for him.

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Discussions Torah

Negotiations for Sarah’s burial and the deed to Hebron (Genesis 23)

The events around Sarah’s death are not mentioned simply as a marker of time. She was a prominent person in her own right. Her Biblical biography is the only one of a woman that mentions her age at the time of her death as well as the elaborate negotiations surrounding the location of her final repose. The negotiations for her burial place have implications into the present day.

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Discussions Torah

Who is Malakh YHWH (the Angel of the LORD)?

A common perception of an “angel” is a cute winged chubby baby, something as innocuous as a fairy, or a passive messenger. “The angel of the LORD” — Malakh YHWH in Hebrew — is a quite different figure that shows up throughout the Bible with massive power and authority. Who is he?