Hebrew Word Study – Move Forward – Yatz – Yod Sade
Genesis 15:7 “And he said unto him, I [am] the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”
Acts 7:2-3 “And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.”
I have been studying the life of Abraham and I am convinced he was a brown pigeon. We are often told that God called Abraham to take his family out of the land of the Chaldees and move to the Land of Canaan. But according to Stephen in the Book of Acts Abraham apparently made a stopover in Charran which was not the land of Canaan. He lived for a while in Charran until his father, Terah died. It is a mystery to Jewish scholars as to why Terah took his family and left the land of the Chaldees as he was apparently a respected person, actually an idolatrous priest in the land of the Chaldees (Midrash Ha Gadol Bereishis 11:28). Jewish tradition also teaches he was a wicked man (Numbers Rabbah 19:1). He also earned his living manufacturing idols (Eliyahu Rabbah 6). Also in Jewish literature, Genesis Rabbah 38:13, Jewish tradition teaches that Abraham got himself into some hot water by destroying his father’s idols. His father took him before Nimrod who threw him into a fiery furnace, yet God caused Abraham to miraculously escape.
This is all tradition, of course, but we do get a picture that God brought Abraham and his immediate family which included his nephew Lot to the land of Canaan and the Promised land. Some Jewish scholars believe that Abraham did not leave until his father died so as to respect the tradition of honoring or caring for his parents in their old age. Some have made a point that there is a contradiction here because if you do the math Abraham’s father did not die until twenty years after Abraham left Charran. However, those who make such an argument do not consider that the Semitic culture is not hung up on exact dates like in the Western world. They go for time periods and epics. So I don’t come unglued when dates do not mesh.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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God did not call Abraham to leave his family in Charran he was brought out of the land. He was hotsa’thika. This comes from the root word yats’ which simply means to go or more forward. It is in a Hophal form so Abraham was actually caused or motivated to move forward. We are unsure as to why Terah left the land of Ur. We know there was a great extended famine during this time so that might have been the motivation to leave Ur and then after a while Abraham realized that the idolatrous influences still existed among his people and so he was motivated to take his immediate family and move on to the land Canaan which was the Promised Land.
I tend to believe that Abraham left the land of Ur because he and his family were hungry for food and he left Charran because he was hungry for a pure faith and life in God. He had a taste of God, God most likely revealed himself to Abraham in Ur and he began a journey or search for the true God. When they left the total environment of idolatry in Ur, there was still idolatrous influences among his people in Charran and there came a time when he had to leave even that and set out on his own.
Yesterday, I had a couple cancellations on my disability bus so I parked in the parking lot of Sam’s Club and began sharing my Egg McMuffin with, what must have been, at least 100 pigeons. I would throw just once piece of muffin on the ground all the pigeons would attack , except one. A brown pigeon a color different than all the others just walking around bobbing his head and occasionally pausing to look up at me.
I don’t know what happened but suddenly all the pigeons suddenly flew away. I looked up in the sky and I saw one pigeon leave the flock and circle around and land by my bus. It was that brown pigeon who now had my Egg McMuffin all to himself. With my heart I heard him say, “You get fed more when you leave the flock.”
Do you sometimes feel like that brown pigeon among the others within the Christian fellowship that you attend? Everybody speaks the party line, everyone follows whatever whim of doctrine the preacher comes up with even if it is not Biblical. Like my little odd colored pigeon friend, maybe you ought to open the Bible and read it yourself “You sometimes get fed more when you leave the flock and go back to that Egg McMuffin of God’s Word.”
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Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
So many contradictions in the Bible.
I have to believe that God just chooses to lead us all in His own unique way some as Lone Rangers others as a flock as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings. How else can you explain the thousands of congregations that will be changed in a twinkling of and eye when Jesus comes to gather His church and take them to where He is.
I am a brown pigeon! Sir, you hit the nail on the head with this. Thank you for your daily words. They are food for my spirit.
Absolutely!!
Amen and Amen.
Do your own mining of the treasures.
Beautifully explained. 😍
Yes, some of us are brown pigeons. Lovely picture 😊
Inspiring Analogy, Thank You !
Love that concept and how we can learn from the most simple moments, profound truths.
I tend to look for patterns in the Bible and right away when you said, “God did not call Abraham to leave his family in Charran he was brought out of the land.”It confirmed a study I’m doing on end times.
I’m not proficient with the alephbet but is it the yod (a hand) as in The Spirit of God lead him?
I’ve been studying end times and I related this to Lot “The men (angels) took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the Lord was merciful to him [for Abraham’s sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family].” Genesis 19:16
I also have the notion that Noah was brought into the Ark. “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1
And during end times “And then He will send out the angels, and will gather together His elect [those He has chosen for Himself] from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.” Mark 13:27
Most of the accounts mention the righteous (letter tsade) with the exception of the word ‘elect’ or chosen.
I love how you tied in the brown pigeon. He couldn’t be called away with the others as he was brought back to enjoy the Egg McMuffin (my favorite breakfast sandwich).
Your insight is invaluable!
Fantastic eye opener
Ever so true ! Sometimes it feels lonely but I know that the Lord is preparing His children . Once in a while I am blessed to see the light turn on in one’s life .
Nicely done, Guv’Na… Spot on :)
This one is good…I feel I the brown pigeon sometimes. Thank you for leading me into the deep…I love swimming down there❤️🙏🦋😊❤️
Thank you for share a golden nugget. I appreciate your insight.
Looking forward to sharing this with some friends !!
I feel exactly like that brown pigeon! Maybe that is why down thru the years I have never “fit” in any church. Not for longs period’s anyway. I never wanted it to be that way, but it has been. I do read and study alone. And I listen to various teachers but I have never totally “yoked” to any.
You bless me particularly with this message today – thank you Sir.
“You sometimes get fed more when you leave the flock and go back to that Egg McMuffin of God’s Word.” Now, that is a thesis! Love it! Amen.
So true.
Thank you for sharing this word.