The Son of Elohim - part 7 - As Prophesied in the Torah Moshe

The Son of Elohim – part 7
As Prophesied in the Torah Moshe – B’reshit

Scripture is filled with many types, foreshadowings, and prophesies concerning the coming of Mashiach. There are many of these contained in the Torah Moshe. We are going to select seven of these from each book of Moshe and examine them more closely, starting with this study and continuing with a series of studies following this one. Not only are we going to examine specific types, foreshadowings, and prophecies, but we are also going to see how Yeshua fulfilled them.

A type is usually a person, or sometimes a thing, which in some way reveals to us one or more things true about the coming Mashiach. A foreshadowing prefigures in some way that which is to come after it. There are many of these in Scripture, some of which deal specifically with the coming Mashiach. A foreshadowing shows us something concerning the work of Mashiach or reveals something about Him. A prophecy concerning Mashiach is a word given through one of YHWH’s prophets. Those with which we are concerned in this series of studies are those specifically concerning Mashiach Yeshua.

It may be helpful if we have an illustration to help us see the full impact of this passage. The following chart is laid out starting from the bottom row up. The bottom row (foundation) gives us the first seven words of Scripture in their respective order from right to left. These seven words are lined up with the seven branches of the menorah. The row above that is a transliteration of those Hebrew words to help you in your pronunciation of the Hebrew text. The next row up, then, is a translation of the Hebrew to the English equivalent of the Hebrew word. Then finally, the top row is the order and number of the respective words.

7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
the earth	and	the heavens	(no English =)	Elohim	created	in beginning
ha’aretz	v’et	hashamayim	et	Elohim	bara	b’reshit
הָאָרֶץ	וְאֵת	הַשָּׁמַיִם	אֵת	אֱלֹהִים	בָּרָא	בְּרֵאשִׁית

There literally have been volumes written on these seven words, and there is certainly much to say concerning these seven words as they contain much wisdom. However, in this present study we are concerned primarily with the fourth word: את , the aleph and the tau.

These two characters are a combination of the first and last letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet. Thus, we have in the first four words of Scripture: “In beginning Elohim created את .” This means several things. One of the things it means is that YHWH created the aleph-bet. Any aleph-bet developed by man does not truly reflect the aleph-bet created by YHWH. There is a created aleph-bet in which the shape of the characters was determined by YHWH, not man. There are also several aleph-bets which were developed and changed over time by man. This developed aleph-bet is not inspired. What YHWH wrote with His finger and gave to Moshe was the aleph-bet that He created, not one of those which man developed.

Furthermore, these words also indicate to us the self-existence of the Creator. He is the “first,” meaning that He was before everything else. He is also the “last,” meaning that when all is said and done, He is the only One who truly exists in and of Himself. There are six other places in which the aleph and the tau are spoken of which are a reference to the aleph and the tau of B’reshit 1:1.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 44:6
Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, YHWH Tzava’ot; “I am the first, and I am the last; and apart from Me there is no Elohim.”

The Hebrew word for “first” in this passage is ראשון – “rishon” which comes from the root ראש – “rosh” meaning “head.” “Rishon” means “chief” or “head”; thus, what we see is that YHWH stands as the head of all creation for He is the Creator.

The Hebrew word for “last” in this passage is אחרון – “acharon” (ah-khah-rone) which means “to come after.” The root word אחר means “to tarry.” Thus, we find that in both cases the addition of the two letters ון mean “something which is acquired.” In this case both the first and the last are acquired. How? Before Elohim created anything He existed. But He was the only One. There was nothing else. He simply existed. The very act of creation placed upon Him the acquired position of being first. Likewise, when He wraps up creation He will be the One who comes behind or the last.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 41:4
“Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, YHWH, the first, and with the last, I am He.”

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 48:12
“Hearken to Me, Ya’aqov, and Israel My called; I am He; I am the first, I also am the last.”

Here YHWH is speaking to both houses of Israel. He is affirming to both houses that He is the first and the last. The aleph and the tau represent this truth. He is the Aleph and the Tau.

Gilyana (Revelation) 1:17
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as one dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, “Fear not; I am the first and the last,”

Mashiach Yeshua in speaking to Yochanan, declares to him that He is the first and the last and that he has no need to fear. This reference to the “first” and the “last” is a reference to the aleph and the tau.

Gilyana (Revelation) 2:8
“And to the messenger of the assembly in Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who was dead, and lived again”

Mashiach Yeshua commands Yochanan to write to the head of the assembly in Smyrna. In this letter Yochanan is to write that He, Yeshua, is the first and the last. Again, this is a direct reference to the aleph and the tau. Part of the testimony which declares to us this truth, is that Yeshua died upon the cross, but came back to life again. He has the power of life, because He is the Creator of life.

Gilyana (Revelation) 22:13
“I am the aleph and the tau, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

We see in this passage a direct correlation between the words “aleph” and “first” and “beginning,” as well as the words “tau” and “last” and “end.” Mashiach Yeshua does not want us to miss this important truth. Mashiach Yeshua is the aleph and the tau. He is the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:15-20
15 who is the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn of all creation;
16 for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and to Him;
17 and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the assembly; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.
19 For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell;
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the Blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

It was the understanding among the early followers of Mashiach Yeshua that He was and is the Creator incarnate in human flesh. The Creator is the first and the last, the aleph and the tau, and Shaul gives us a detailed description of what this means in these verses speaking of Mashiach Yeshua.

Let us return to our illustration of the menorah for just a moment. Those seven words line up with the seven branches of the menorah. We know that the middle branch or staff is also known in Hebrew as the “sh’mash” or “servant” in English. As Mashiach was also known as the “Suffering Servant,” it becomes even more apparent when we look and see how the staff of the menorah lines up with the fourth word of B’reshit 1:1. The fourth word is את “et,” which is not translated into English as it has no English equivalent. This word carries the name of “the sign of the direct object.” (The direct object of a sentence is what receives the action of the verb. In Hebrew this sign את often precedes the object receiving the action. In the case of B’reshit 1:1 there are dual direct objects.) Of course Mashiach is the א (aleph) and the ת (tau), the first and the last, the aleph (א ) being the first letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet and the tau (ת ) being the last letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet.

As we know from Scripture, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day (2nd Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4). Each of these seven words lines up with one of the one thousand year periods (prophetic days). And since we know that Mashiach came at the end of the fourth day (four thousand years from creation) all of this lines up very nicely with the fourth word את (et) as shown above.

This shows to us that the Creator was telling us in advance when we should expect Him to come; i.e., four thousand years after creation. He does not tell us in this context exactly how He will come. However, the fact that these seven words line up with the branches of a menorah gives us a hint that He was not coming as a king, but as a servant, since the fourth word lines up with the shamesh.

Matithyah (Matthew) 20:28
“even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

All these things show to us that Mashiach Yeshua is the aleph and the tau. There is more that we could say, but we will leave those things for you to discover in your own studies.

B’reshit (Genesis) 1:1-2
1 In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2 And the earth became waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters.

Verse one above tells us that Elohim created the heavens and the earth. But then something tragic happened, and the creation which Elohim had made to be inhabited (see Yeshayah 45:18) was no longer inhabited, but all life was destroyed. We know from verse two that it was destroyed by a flood. If we read verse two carefully, we see a description of a flood. Notice that the Spirit of Elohim was upon the face of the deep waters, a flood which covered the whole earth. The flood of Noach was the second such flood recorded in our Scriptures.

We have no idea how much time these first two verses represent for we are not told in Scripture. But we know from other passages of Scripture that these two verses stand alone as an introduction to what is about to be described in the following verses. We needed to examine briefly the meaning of these first two verses so that we could rightly establish the verses of the first day, which begins with verse three. Let us prayerfully examine the first day now.

B’reshit (Genesis) 1:3-4
3 And Elohim said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 And Elohim saw the light, that it was good; and Elohim was the division between the light from the darkness.
5 And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

From B’reshit 1:1 through B’reshit 2:4, these verses consist of an account of the seven days of creation; and there are two words which are of interest to us presently. These two words are “create” (ברא – bara) and “made” (עשה – asah). The word “bara” occurs four times in B’reshit 1:1 through 2:4; in verses 1:1, 1:21, 1:27, and 2:3. The word “asah” occurs ten times with the first occurrence in 1:7.

What is important for us to understand as it concerns these two words is that neither word occurs in relation to the first day of creation. In B’reshit 1:3-5 neither the word “bara” nor the word “asah” occurs. This is extremely important for us to know as this tells us that nothing was created upon this day, the first day of creation.

B’reshit [Genesis] 1:3
And Elohim said, “Let there be light”: and there was light.

The Hebrew word אור – “’or” means “light.” יהי אור is a command from Elohim. He is commanding His light to penetrate the darkness. This command is followed with the statement that His light did in fact penetrate the darkness.

When we go back and carefully reexamine the verses which pertain to the first day, what we find is not a creation of light, but rather a revelation of light; in particular, the light of Elohim. He revealed His light into the darkness that had covered and destroyed His created world in verse two.

Yochanan (John) 1:4-5
4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Mashiach Yeshua is the light of men sent into this world to give it light and to reveal the deeds of darkness. The first revelation of this light was on the first day of creation. Please note in B’reshit 1:4 that this verse teaches us that Elohim was the partition between the light and the darkness. This is literally what the Hebrew says.

B’reshit (Genesis) 1:4-5
4 And Elohim saw the light, that it was good: and Elohim divided the light from the darkness.
5 And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

After Elohim spoke His revelation of Himself into His creation, He then became the separating barrier between the light and the darkness.

All of us, even those who are born to Hebrew parents, are born into the darkness; i.e., we are all born sinners. As such, to cross over from the darkness into His glorious light, we need to go through Him; i.e., through Mashiach. Basically, no one can come into His light without passing through Him (Mashiach) to get into His light.

What this should teach us, is that in order for one to go from the darkness into the light one must pass through Elohim. Is there any particular part of Elohim that one must pass through to go from the dark into the light? Yes!

Yochanan (John) 12:46
“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on Me may not abide in the darkness.”

First, we must understand that passing out of the darkness into His light involves Mashiach.

Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Yeshua His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Please note that in order to enter into His light we have to come into that light through Mashiach Yeshua. In particular, we must come through His Blood; but as we have already noted above, this separation between the light and the darkness occurred on the first day of creation at the first revelation of the light into the darkness. The barrier between the light and the darkness is Elohim; specifically, the Blood of Mashiach. In order for one to pass out of the darkness into which he was born, one must pass through the Blood of Mashiach Yeshua.

It is instructive to note that YHWH placed two witnesses in this realm to the Blood being the separation between the light and the darkness. Both when the sun sets, and again when the sun rises, one will see the sky turn red for just a few moments. If we are seeing with spiritual eyes we will hear His Spirit whisper to us the significance of this: that He is the barrier between the light and the darkness; specifically, His being manifest in the Blood of Mashiach. For further information on the Blood of Mashiach see the article entitled “Blood of Mashiach.”

Now let us move on to the Seed of the woman as spoken of in the following passage.

B’reshit (Genesis) 3:15
“and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

We have shown in detail from Scripture that “the woman” spoken of in this passage and many others is prophetically speaking of the nation of Israel. For further details of this see the study “The Identity of the Woman”. What this prophecy teaches us is that Mashiach would come to the world through the nation of Israel. As we follow this Seed as prophesied through Scripture we find that the “how,” “where,” and “Who” is continually narrowed down by YHWH. First, we see that Mashiach will come through the woman Israel. This is further confirmed by the prophecy given to Avraham which we will examine more below. Then it is narrowed down to the tribe of Yehudah. Then it is narrowed even further down to the house of David.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 7:14
“Therefore YHWH Himself will give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

And finally, YHWH narrows it down to a single virgin woman named Miriam. This brings us back to the beginning of the cycle which was alluded to, but not specified in, the phrase “Seed of the woman.”

Yirmeyah (Jeremiah) 31:22
“How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter? For YHWH has created a new thing in the earth; a woman shall encompass a man.”

This passage is little understood. That in which we are interested in particular is the last phrase, “a woman shall encompass a man.” Here it is in Hebrew.

The first word of this phrase נְקֵבָה – “n’qevah” means “female” and is here translated in many translations as “woman.” A female is of any age; whereas, a woman would be one who is an adult. What seems to be implied here is a female who is not yet a woman. The root word is קבה – “qavah” which means “to hollow out,” thus by extension, this word is a reference to the woman’s womb. With the addition of the נ (nun) which signifies the niphal stem of a word, the root becomes passive in nature. This seems to be a reference to the woman’s passive role in what is being described in this passage. Please consider the following passage.

Luqa (Luke) 1:38
And Miriam said, “Behold, the handmaid of YHWH; be it unto me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Miriam’s role in bringing forth the Mashiach was totally passive in nature. She did not play an active role, but rather a passive one. It was her womb that was used to surround and bring forth the Mashiach. This is the next word תְּסוֹבֵב – “t’sovev” which means “to surround” and is here translated as “encompass.” This word is in the imperfect imperative pual stem, meaning that this would come about sometime in the future. The woman would surround the man for a season while he was in her womb.

It was not just any man, but a valiant warrior who was to be encompassed. The word in our phrase above is גָּבֶר – “gaver” which means “valiant”; in this case “The Valiant One” אל גבור – El Gibbor.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 9:6
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, El Gibbor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The woman is of the lineage of David as promised, and Mashiach came through this lineage being encompassed by a woman who is of the seed of David.

Mikah (Micah) 5:2-3
2 “But you, Beit-lechem Ephratah, which are little to be among the thousands of Yehudah, out of you shall one come forth unto Me, He that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
3 Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she who travails has brought forth; then the residue of His brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.”

There are several pertinent things in this passage to our discussion concerning the Seed of the woman. Here we learn that YHWH tells us that this One who shall come forth from the woman who shall be in travail is known to Him from everlasting; showing to us that this is not an ordinary man.

Furthermore, this coming Ruler whose existence is from eternity will restore all the tribes back to Israel. This teaches us that all the tribes of Israel could not have been present when Mashiach came the first time.

Matithyah (Matthew) 1:22-25
22 Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by YHWH through the prophet, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
And they shall call His name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, El with us.”
24 And Yoseph arose from his sleep, and did as the messenger of YHWH commanded him, and took unto him his wife;
25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a son; and he called His name YESHUA.

This passage specifically states that Yeshua is the fulfillment of several passages in Scripture and that He was born through this woman who was of the lineage of David. He was the promised Seed.

Galatians 4:4
but when the fullness of the time came, Elohim sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Torah,

Mashiach came at exactly the right moment in history. He came through the womb of a woman. He came to put us back on track of what it means to hear and obey the Voice of YHWH our Elohim. Such is the Seed of the woman.

Let us now examine the names of the antediluvian patriarchs from Adam to Noach to see what these names reveal to us prophetically about Mashiach.

Adam – אדם – man
Shet - שת – substituted
Enosh – אנוש – man weak
Qeynan – קינן – fixed (dwell)
Mahalalel – מהללאל – praise El
Yared – ירד – descend
Chanok – חנוך – initiate
M’tushalah – מתושלה – man pierced (dart)
Lamek – למך – lead
Noach – נח – rest

The message of these names points directly to Mashiach. The message in sentence form would be something like this:

One man (who is strong) will be substituted for mankind who is weak. This will be accomplished by Elohim dwelling with man. Praise Elohim, He will descend to the realm of man to begin the process of restoring what man lost through sin, by being pierced. This will lead weak man to rest, if he will follow this path.

B’reshit [Genesis] 15:5
And He took him outside, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if you be able to enumerate them.” And He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”

Here we come to a difficult passage to truly understand. YHWH takes Avram outside and tells him to count the stars. Now wait just a minute! How is that possible? How is it possible for a human to count the stars? Well, it is not possible!

Before we get into actually understanding this passage in the nuts and bolts, let us consider one aspect that will help us in determining what it was that YHWH told Avram to do. At the end of verse five YHWH tells Avram that if he is able to do as He requested him to do, then his Seed would be as he (Avram) had done.

Shaul tells us that this promise was granted (see Galatians 3:16). So, since this promise was granted that means that Avram not only was able to do what YHWH asked him to do, but that he, in fact, did do it. So with this information, let us see if we can determine exactly what it was that YHWH asked Avram to do. Conversely, if Avram would not do as YHWH had requested of him, then he should not expect the promise to be fulfilled. But since it was fulfilled, then the only logical conclusion is that Avram did as requested, whatever that request was. Let us see if we can increase our understanding of this passage to see what the actual request was.

First, let us put the Hebrew text of this passage, “Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if you be able to number them” before us.

Literally it reads, “Look now to the heavens and enumerate them if you are able to enumerate them.”

Basically, what YHWH is asking Avram to do, is not to count the stars, per se; but rather, He is asking Him to tell Him the story of the stars in their proper order. Tehillim 147:4 tells us YHWH placed each and every star in its exact proper location and then gave each and every star a name.

From our perspective, often when we look up into the night sky we do not see order. Rather what we see is complete randomness (chaos). But when we contemplate this in its full implications we can see that this simply cannot be so, for the Elohim of Creation is an Elohim of order and not of chaos.

Qorintyah Aleph [1st Corinthians] 14:33
for Elohim is not an Elohim of confusion, but of peace. As in all the assemblies of the set apart ones,

So when we look into the night sky what we should see is order. However, because His ways have been twisted and given other meanings, it is difficult for us to do this in our day and in our time. Let us consider this matter further to see if we can come to a deeper understanding of His ways and His truth concerning the stars that He created and placed precisely where He wanted them to be.

“Look now at the heavens and the story of the stars if you are able to tell the story of them.”

In other words: the story that is contained in the stars was going to be the Seed that came forth from Avram, if and only if he could tell the proper story. This story had become perverted from the days of the tower of Babel. So, it seems that YHWH was testing Avram to see if he had received the proper story, to see if he knew the true story as He had placed it there at creation. This is one of the things that trips many people up in our day: They wrongly conclude that the first story written down has to be the oldest, right, and true story. But such is not the case. YHWH allowed the false, twisted perversion of the truth to be written down first as a test to see who would actually seek Him and listen for the sound of His Voice in this matter. That is the only way to truly discern His ways: by the sound of His Voice!

One word in particular will help us to understand this passage. It appears twice in the verse above. It is the word ספר “sefer” which means: “book, story; and by extension, scribe.”

So what was it that YHWH asked Avram to do and what is it that Avram successfully did? Avram told YHWH the proper story of the stars. For more information on the story of the stars see the study “The Mazzarot.” Thus, YHWH granted to Avram that the promised Seed would come through him.

B’reshit (Genesis) 22:1
And it came to pass after these things, that Elohim tested Avraham, and said to him, “Avraham.” And he said, “Here am I.”

Of all the types and foreshadowings found in Scripture one of the most unique is Avraham and Yitzchaq, for these two typify both the Father and Son, respectively. This is a rare occurrence in Scripture. One of the ways in which these two men of Elohim foreshadow the coming Mashiach is found in this chapter in which the father (Avraham) offers up his son (Yitzchaq) as an offering. This foreshadows what would happen millennia later when Mashiach came and the Son of Elohim was offered.

It is often put forth that Yitzchaq was a young boy. However, when we examine Scripture a little more closely, we see that this is actually rather unlikely, but that Yitzchaq was a man in the prime of his life, in much the same way that Yeshua was in the prime of His life when He died on the cross. Please notice this passage at the end of the previous chapter.

B’reshit (Genesis) 21:34
And Avraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

Yitzchaq was born at the beginning of chapter 21. Then we see several incidents in that chapter followed by the following statement, that Avraham lived in the land of the Philistines for many days. This indicates to us that Yitzchaq grew up before the incidents of chapter 22 in which his father bound him on the altar.

But this is not our only evidence to support the idea that Yitzchaq was grown and in the prime of his life. Please notice this next passage at the beginning of the following chapter.

B’reshit (Genesis) 23:1-2
1 And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years. These were the years of the life of Sarah.
2 And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Kana’an. And Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

We know that Sarah was ninety-one years old when she gave birth to her son Yitzchaq. We see here in this passage that would have made Yitzchaq 36 years old when his mother died. Please note that Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, where she lived. However, her husband did not live with her at this time. Please notice in verse two that Avraham had to journey to the place where Sarah lived and died. “He came to mourn for Sarah.”

We see in the previous chapter that after offering up Yitzchaq Avraham journeyed to B’er Sheva to live there.

B’reshit (Genesis) 22:19
So Avraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to B’er Sheba. And Avraham dwelt at B’er Sheva.

Please note that after Avraham offered up Yitzchaq, Avraham and his young men left Mount Moryah, but Yitzchaq did not go with them. He stayed behind. As a result there were no witnesses to verify that Yitzchaq was alive, not even the young men with Avraham. When Avraham got back home Sarah did not welcome him and apparently told him to keep going. As far as Sarah knew, Avraham had killed her only son. B’er Sheva is south of Kiryat Arba, which is south of Mount Moryah.

It seems that the death of Sarah is closely tied to the offering of her son Yitzchaq. We do not know how long she lived after this incident, but most likely it was not very long. Apparently, she died of grief and separation from her beloved husband. To her, she lost both her son and her husband in the same incident.

Yitzchaq on the other hand stayed behind to commune with YHWH on Mount Moryah. His age, while not identical to Yeshua’s at His death, seems to have been quite similar, within just a few years of being the same age. This is one of the ways in which Yitzchaq foreshadows the coming Mashiach. Yitzchaq, who carried the wood for his own offering, did so in a manner which foreshadows how Mashiach would bear his own wooden cross.

Likewise, Yitzchaq being in the prime of his life could have easily overcome his aged father. But, like Mashiach whom he foreshadowed, Yitzchaq voluntarily laid his life down and allowed his father to bind him. He completely trusted in his father and was willing to die at his own father’s hand without question. This teaches us how Mashiach would come and lay down His life voluntarily and not under compulsion.

Yochanan (John) 10:17
“Therefore the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it up again.”

And he who was as good as dead was restored to his father; i.e., given life; so too did Mashiach return to the land of the living after having been dead. Even in this foreshadowing portrayed in Yitzchaq, we see another foreshadowing in the substitutionary offering of the ram. In this substitution, YHWH stopped Avraham from offering up his son and YHWH provided a ram instead. Let us briefly examine that passage for it contains an important bit of information concerning the coming Mashiach.

B’reshit (Genesis) 22:8
And Avraham said, “Elohim will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

Quite literally, what Avraham tells his son Yitzchaq, is that Elohim would provide the lamb and He would be that lamb. In this foreshadowing we actually have two different types being shown to us, both giving us important truths about the coming Mashiach. The life of Yitzchaq teaches us about the voluntary nature in which Mashiach would lay down His life. And the substitutionary ram teaches us about the nature of the offering of Mashiach being in our place so that we would not have to die. Also, this foreshadowing teaches us that the coming Mashiach would be Elohim.

There are several men like Moshe and David in Scripture about whom we are told quite a bit of information, concerning them and the lives they lived, that are prophetically significant concerning the coming Mashiach. Yoseph is one of those men. Scripture follows the life of Yoseph from birth to death. He was the savior of his family in every sense of the word. In order to accomplish this he went from a very low status, a prisoner and servant, to being king and ruler. This teaches us about the two comings of Mashiach: the first one in which He would come as a servant, and the second coming in which He will come as a King.

Let us briefly examine several incidents in the life of Yoseph which foreshadow the coming Mashiach. First, Yoseph’s father Ya’aqov gives him a very special coat.

B’reshit (Genesis) 37:3
Now Israel loved Yoseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved tunic.

This verse is typically mistranslated with the idea of a multi-colored garment. Please see 2nd Sh’muel 13:19 to see that this Hebrew word פסים – “passim” actually means “long-sleeved” rather than multi-colored. The root word is פסס – “pasas,” which means the “palm of the hand.” This indicates to us that this tunic reached to the palms; thus, a long-sleeved garment.

In the Hebrew culture of that time the right to rule was signified by that person wearing a tunic with very long sleeves that were pointed. This is what Ya’aqov gave to Yoseph. He passed over ten of his sons and gave his favorite son the right to rule over his older brothers. This is the true reason why they were upset and jealous of their younger brother. They did not feel that it was justified for their younger brother to rule over them.

YHWH gave Mashiach the right to rule having been made in the likeness of man. However, Mashiach Yeshua had an older brother, Adam. Yeshua was the last Adam. In this way the incident with the long-sleeved tunic of Yoseph foreshadows the coming Mashiach.

Yoseph also had two dreams. We are particularly interested in the second one. In order to understand the second one properly, we must first briefly examine the first dream.

B'reshit [Genesis] 37:5-8
5 And Yoseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers: and they hated him all the more.
6 And he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed.
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, see my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves gathered around, and made obeisance to my sheaf.”
8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

Please note that in verse five, it states that Yoseph’s brothers hated him even more than before because of this dream that he had, and then told to them. However, Scripture does not just record this hatred once, but twice. We see it also recorded in verse eight. Why record this increase in hatred twice?

Perhaps the hatred of Yoseph’s brothers was not just an ordinary hatred; it was not the ordinary sibling rivalry that one finds between brothers. Perhaps this very deep seated hatred of this young man was because they knew that one day he would rule over them and they despised him for it. But how could they know this?

If we take note of the long-sleeved tunic that Ya'aqov gave to Yoseph, which signified his right to rule the clan, and that Yoseph then began wearing that garment, they could not help but know it. Therefore, because the dream confirmed the giving of the long-sleeved tunic, they hated him all the more!

B'reshit [Genesis] 37:9-11
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?”
11 And his brothers envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind.

The first dream was about his brothers bowing down to him after he was to become the ruler (of Egypt). This second dream is not in this same context even though many see it as such. We will demonstrate this truth shortly.

Please note in the verses above the symbols of the dream, which his father understood and interpreted as follows:

B'reshit [Genesis] 35:19
19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lechem).

This passage is two chapters before Yoseph had this dream. Yoseph's mother Rachel died before he had this dream. How would it be possible for Rachel to come down to Egypt and bow down before Yoseph since she was already dead? This seems to be what upset Ya’aqov about the dream: not particularly the meaning of the dream, but rather that his beloved wife was already dead.

This second dream of Yoseph's is a dream concerning Mashiach bringing about the resurrection of Ephrayim in these latter days!

Yoseph received the blessing of the firstborn when Ya'aqov gave to each of Yoseph's two sons a full portion of inheritance, thereby giving Yoseph the double portion reserved for the firstborn. Furthermore, Ya'aqov prophesied the younger becoming greater and the blessing passing on to him. Thus we see that Ephrayim became synonymous with the ten tribes of the north.

Ephrayim (the northern Kingdom of Yisrael) was cut off from the head after Solomon died and then went into captivity. It is now three thousand years (three days) later and it is the time of Ephrayim's regathering or resurrection. This is what Mashiach came to do: to restore that which had been lost and to bring those tribes separated by divorce back into the fold of the family of Elohim.

Trying to understand this passage only in the context of Yoseph, with his father Ya'aqov, his mother Rachel, and his brothers, coming and bowing before him when his mother was already dead, really does not fulfill the dream. However, when we understand the second dream of Yoseph’s as being prophetically significant concerning the work of Mashiach, then all the pieces fall into their proper places.

Now let us consider what the anger of his brothers led to as a result of being given the right to rule over them.

B'reshit [Genesis] 37:18
And they saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him.

These ten brothers must have been more than just a little angry to conspire together to kill their younger brother. But this is more than just significant in the life of Yoseph, it is also prophetically telling of what was to happen in the life of Mashiach.

Matithyah (Matthew) 27:1
Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Yeshua to put Him to death.

There are several such passages in the life and accounts of Mashiach Yeshua of His own brethren counseling and conspiring together to put Him to death.

The brothers of Yoseph did not want to have his blood on their hands, so they sold him into bondage.

B'reshit [Genesis] 37:28
And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Yoseph out of the pit, and sold Yoseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Yoseph into Egypt.

Matithyah (Matthew) 26:14-15
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 and said, “What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?” And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver.

We see that Yoseph foreshadows Mashiach being sold by His brethren for a handful of silver coins.

B'reshit [Genesis] 39:12-18
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and he went outside.
13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled,
14 that she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice.
15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled, and he went outside.”
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his master came home.
17 And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me.
18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled out.”

Matithyah (Matthew) 26:59-60
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Yeshua, that they might put Him to death;
60 and they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,

In Yeshua’s case there was not just one false witness as in Yoseph’s case, but the chief priests and the leaders hired many false witnesses to falsely accuse Yeshua so that they would have an excuse to kill Him.

There is one last thing that we would like to point out concerning the life of Yoseph and how it portrays the coming life of Mashiach.

B’reshit (Genesis) 42:7
And Yoseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange to them, and spoke harshly to them; and he said to them. “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Kana’an to buy food.”

Yoseph not only treated his brothers harshly on this occasion, but also on the second occasion until he revealed himself to them. This was not in the spirit of vindictiveness for the way that his brothers had treated him, but rather to test them to see if they had repented of the evil that they had done to him in the past.

Gilyana (Revelation) 19:15
And out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of El Elyon.

Likewise, when Mashiach returns He also shall rule with a harshness that is little understood at present. It will not be a harshness born of vindictiveness, but rather a harshness to bring to repentance those who have not yet repented of their sins.

We have already written about Mashiach ben Yoseph in the study “Which Mashiach are You?” For more information, see that study in which we deal with the Stone of Israel and the Shepherd of Israel and how these are foreshadowed in the life of Yoseph.

There are of course many more types, foreshadowings, and prophecies in the book of B’reshit. But we have selected these seven to help the student of Scripture get started in his own discovery of being able to see these in Scripture.

ABBA YHWH, reveal Yourself to us that we may see; in the name of Mashiach Yeshua. Amein.

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