Torah 101-Chayei Sarah

I.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEKS STUDY QUESTIONS (from Vayera)

1) Question for Genesis 18-19:

Why does Abba YHWH seem to need to go down and look upon Sodom when He
already can perfectly see and understand what is going on there from His position in
heaven?
Because Abba YHWH ultimately will require two or more witnesses in the
Torah to condemn people to death (Deuteronomy 19:15), so the two angels
perform that function, but Abba YHWH initially goes down with them as the
third angel which counsels Abraham.
If the two angels disagreed with Him, they could have in theory prevented
Sodoms destruction. However, the other functionality of this process is to give
the Sodomites more time to repent.
2) Question for Genesis 20-21:
How is Abraham by our standards today still not being 100% accurate even when he
confesses his deception to Pharaoh?
VEGAM OMNAH ACHOTI VAT-AVI HI ACH LO VAT-IMI VATEHI-LI LEISHAH (20:12) = And yet she really is my sister, the daughter of my father but
not the daughter of my mother and then later she became my wife. Technically
Abraham means grand-daughter. Sarah is the granddaughter of Terach, and
the daughter of Abrahams brother Haran. In Genesis 11:29 Sarah is referred
to by her other name Yischa (Jessica).
3) Question for Genesis 22:
There is a man who is mentioned in this parsha who may have become more famous
under another name. Who is he?
UTZ (22:21) = Some rabbis think this another name for Job, probably because
the same word is used to name the place Job was from. This is Edomite territory
in Saudi Arabia, where the prophet Job was from. Another possibility is that
this is the person for whom Uz was named after, and Job then is born in this
same land some time later.
4) Haftorah Question of the Week: 2 Kings 4:1-37
How is a miracle that began here continued or completed in the NT?

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Here Elisha does a miracle multiplying oil, and the season of oil is in the summer
in Israel. Yshua will of course later turn water into wine, which is a sign of the
fall season in Israel.

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II.

QUESTIONS FOR THIS TORAH PORTION (Chayei Sarah)

Please NOTE:

For clarity and time constraints, if I elect to not read the whole parsha (which
is the case this week) I may still ask questions relating to the portions I did not
read!
5) Question for Genesis 23:
We know that initially Ephron the Hittite was willing to give Abraham land for free,
but when he was pressed to name a price, was that final price reasonable? How can
we know one way or the other?
6) Question for Genesis 24:
How does the information in Genesis 24:15-16 help prove the rabbis wrong and (to
some extent) the Christians right about Yeshayahu 7:14?
7) Question for Genesis 25:1-18:
Even before Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury their father Abraham there were
signs that some attempt at reconciliation was underway. What were those signs and
why did the attempt fail?
8) Haftorah Question of the Week: 1 Kings 1:1-31
What does this Haftorah portion teach us about David and Bathsheba in their twilight
years?
9) Renewed Covenant Commentary: Matthew 8:19-22; Luke 9:37-62
Matthew 8:22
100) George Lamsa suggested this could mean, "let the town bury their dead." In
Jewish culture immediate family members observe a seven day bereavement called
"shivah" (seven), right after the burial. This extends into a less intense duration
called shloshim (thirty) where the mourner begins to return back into society.
Additionally, there is a 12 month period (that includes shloshim) in which to return to
one's regular routine. The 12 month period comes from an ancient Jewish custom
where at the end of 12 months the bones are "gathered together" and placed into a
stone vault along with those of ancestors (1Ki_13:31). Y'shua says, "leave the dead
to bury their dead" because the importance of attendance is now diminished. This
does not refer to burial or sitting shivah. Mashiyach is not asking his disciple to
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dishonor his father or mother by not allowing him to attend the burial. "Honor your
father and mother..." (Exo_20:12).
Luke 9:41
63) Or, "O tribe/family of mine!"
64) The root of this word, sebar, also means Hope/Good News. Y'shua's point, using
this same word, is that until people know the Hope/Good News, he must "endure"
seeing them suffer needlessly and in ignorance.
Luke 9:49
65) Khabouris has shaida whereas 1905 and other Peshitta manuscripts have dewa.
This proves both words have interchangeable meanings in the same contextual place,
that of "demon" or "unclean spirit." This reading in the ancient record affirms the
literal rendering and denies the assertion by a few modern commentators like Lamsa
that one of these terms could refer to insane humans not under demonic influence.
Luke 9:54
66) Y'shua's talmidim take their lead from Eliyahu who defied the priests of Baal by
invoking and declaring the sovereign Name of YHWH; see 2Ki_1:9-16.
Luke 9:60
67) Some scholars postulate that "let the dead bury their dead" shouldn't be taken
literally but is better understood as, "let me take care of my father until he dies."
However, a key is in the next line where Y'shua responds: "but you go and proclaim
the Kingdom of Elohim." Therefore Y'shua's statement "let the dead bury their dead",
helps the man realize the supreme importance of the Kingdom. In the meantime the
man would be proclaiming the Kingdom, and perhaps like some other "Sent Out
ones" of Y'shua, even he may have been raising the dead! In the next chapter
(Luk_10:2) Y'shua appointed 70 and sent them out "to all regions and cities that he
was about to go." A second key is the urgency in which the man is making his
request, with a promise to return and follow at a later date. Y'shua's disciples had just
left a "village of the Samaritans" where they were getting ready to call down fire upon
it. They just came from a major trial and were on the road to their next destination
when they met the man and there was tension in the air. What might happen in the
next village? In Luk_9:61 another said, "let me go and reassure my household and I
will come." All these things happened in the context of returning "to Urishlim"
(Luk_9:51), perhaps some were even pondering about trouble ahead with the
religious establishment in Jerusalem? Perhaps some were simply thinking of creative
ways to bypass what they imagined to be a looming disaster? The reality was that
those who agreed and said "hineni" (here I am) and went out in Y'shua's name
returned to him with "great joy" (Luk_10:17). (See also Mat_8:22 footnote.)
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