The Amazing Color of Israel
20thD, 4thM
Friday, July 8, 2016
By MBPSTB
I should have done this a long time ago, but didn’t. Now, in these recent days an uprising of arrogance from false teaching has reared its ugly head. What I’m about to say I hope will uplift many, but I also know it will inflame the hearts of those who are in error and those who have clung to the same.
Israel is not about the color of one’s skin, ethnicity or otherwise and I’m about to prove this out scripturally. Even Jacob’s 12 sons did not listen and heed and some of them married outside of their clans. Not all, but some and there are so many more examples in subsequent generations, the prime ones being David and even Solomon his son, and the kings of Judah marrying the daughters of Levites living in the land of Benjamin. There are a host of examples and I admonish anyone who objects, because to do so, is proof of not reading and studying these things out for themselves. Those in agreement most likely have done their homework too. So, let’s begin with Jacob.
He had four wives. Leah and Rachel, daughters of Laban. But he also had handmaidens given to both Leah (Zilpah) and Rachel (Bilhah)and Jacob took them as wives. We know little or nothing about their heritage. Perhaps there are rabbinic sources, but I have found nothing to date.
Jacob’s sons (in order of birth):
Leah:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (Gen 29:32-25)
Rachel (through Bilhah):
Dan, Naphtali (Gen 30:1-8)
Leah (thorugh Zilpah):
Gad, Asher (Gen 30:9-13)
Leah:
Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah (Gen 30:17-21)
Rachel:
Joseph (Gen 30:22-24)
Benjamin (Gen 35:18)
Gen 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
Gen 35:23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
Gen 35:24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
Gen 35:25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
Gen 35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
From that point on, with the exception of Judah, we really don’t know much about who the 12 sons married. We’ll cite what we can from scripture, but we have to go to other sources to find more details. We find these details in the Book of Jasher (Sepher ha Yasher), also known as the Book of the Upright.
Many scholars and their followers scoff at this book and yes, there are fraudulent or mistranslated and possibly fabricated copies out there, but there is one copy which has proved to be noteworthy as it aligns with the Scriptures and provides answers to many other confusing events in the Bible for which not much detail is given. Since YHWH declared that two witnesses are required to establish a truth, Jasher is mentioned TWICE in Scripture: Joshua and 2 Sam.These are for another study as they fall outside the pervue of this subject matter. It is from this edition we find some remarkable things:
From Jasher (given in order of how it is written):
REUBEN:
45:1 And it was at that time in that year, which is the year of Joseph's going down to Egypt after his brothers had sold him, that Reuben the son of Jacob went to Timnah and took unto him for a wife Eliuram, the daughter of Avi the Canaanite, and he came to her.
45:2 And Eliuram the wife of Reuben conceived and bare him Hanoch, Palu, Chetzron and Carmi, four sons…..
SIMEON:
45:2 And Eliuram the wife of Reuben conceived and bare him Hanoch, Palu, Chetzron and Carmi, four sons; and Simeon his brother took his sister Dinah for a wife, and she bare unto him Memuel, Yamin, Ohad, Jachin and Zochar, five sons.
45:3 And he afterward came to Bunah the Canaanitish woman, the same is Bunah whom Simeon took captive from the city of Shechem, and Bunah was before Dinah and attended upon her, and Simeon came to her, and she bare unto him Saul.
JUDAH:
45:4 And Judah went at that time to Adulam, and he came to a man of Adulam, and his name was Hirah, and Judah saw there the daughter of a man from Canaan, and her name was Aliyath, the daughter of Shua, and he took her, and came to her, and Aliyath bare unto Judah, Er, Onan and Shiloh; three sons.
45:23 And in those days Judah went to the house of Shem and took Tamar the daughter of Elam, the son of Shem, for a wife for his first born Er. **
** we all know what happened to the two sons Er and Onan.
45:29 And at the revolution of the year, Aliyath the wife of Judah died; and Judah was comforted for his wife, and after the death of Aliyath, Judah went up with his friend Hirah to Timnah to shear their sheep.
45:30 And Tamar heard that Judah had gone up to Timnah to shear the sheep, and that Shiloh was grown up, and Judah did not delight in her.
45:31 And Tamar rose up and put off the garments of her widowhood, and she put a vail upon her, and she entirely covered herself, and she went and sat in the public thoroughfare, which is upon the road to Timnah.
45:32 And Judah passed and saw her and took her and he came to her, and she conceived by him, and at the time of being delivered, behold, there were twins in her womb, and he called the name of the first Peretz, and the name of the second Zarah.
LEVI and ISSACHAR:
45:5 And Levi and Issachar went to the land of the east, and they took unto themselves for wives the daughters of Jobab the son of Yoktan, the son of Eber; and Jobab the son of Yoktan had two daughters; the name of the elder was Adinah, and the name of the younger was Aridah.
45:6 And Levi took Adinah, and Issachar took Aridah, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father's house, and Adinah bare unto Levi, Gershon, Kehath and Merari; three sons.
45:7 And Aridah bare unto Issachar Tola, Puvah, Job and Shomron, four sons; and Dan went to the land of Moab and took for a wife Aphlaleth, the daughter of Chamudan the Moabite, and he brought her to the land of Canaan.
DAN:
45:7 And Aridah bare unto Issachar Tola, Puvah, Job and Shomron, four sons; and Dan went to the land of Moab and took for a wife Aphlaleth, the daughter of Chamudan the Moabite, and he brought her to the land of Canaan.
GAD and NAPHTALI:
45:9 And Gad and Naphtali went toHaran and took from thence the daughters of Amuram the son of Uz, the son of Nahor, for wives.
45:10 And these are the names of the daughters of Amuram; the name of the elder was Merimah, and the name of the younger Uzith; and Naphtali took Merimah, and Gad took Uzith; and brought them to the land of Canaan, to their father's house.
ASHER:
45:12 And Asher went forth and took Adon the daughter of Aphlal, the son of Hadad, the son of Ishmael, for a wife, and he brought her to the land of Canaan.
45:13 And Adon the wife of Asher died in those days: she had no offspring; and it was after the death of Adon that Asher went to the other side of the river and took for a wife Hadurah the daughter of Abimael, the son of Eber, the son of Shem.
45:14 And the young woman was of a comely appearance, and a woman of sense, and she had been the wife of Malkiel the son of Elam, the son of Shem.
ZEBULUN:
45:19 And Zebulun went to Midian, and took for a wife Merishah the
daughter of Molad, the son of Abida, the son of Midian, and brought her
to the land of Canaan.
BENJAMIN:
45:21 And Jacob sent to Aram, the son of Zoba, the son of Terah, and he took for his son Benjamin Mechalia the daughter of Aram, and she came to the land of Canaan to the house of Jacob; and Benjamin was ten years old when he took Mechalia the daughter of Aram for a wife.
45:22 And Mechalia conceived and bare unto Benjamin Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, five sons; and Benjamin went afterward and took for a wife Aribath, the daughter of Shomron, the son of Abraham, in addition to his first wife, and he was eighteen years old; and Aribath bare unto Benjamin Achi, Vosh, Mupim, Chupim, and Ord; five sons.
So, reiterating:
REUBEN HAD ONE WIFE:
(of CANAAN) ELIURAM
SIMEON HAD TWO WIVES:
(of ISRAEL) DINAH
(of CANAAN) BUNAH
JUDAH HAD TWO WIVES:**
(of CANAAN)ALIYATH
(of SHEM) TAMAR**
** Technically we know Tamar was not Judah’s wife but fulfilling the duty to provide sons, we all know this story)
LEVI HAD ONE WIFE :
(of YOKTAN/EBER/SHEM) ADINAH
ISSACHAR HAD ONE WIFE:
(of YOKTAN/EBER/SHEM) ARIDAH
DAN HAD ONE WIFE:
(of MOAB) APHLALETH
GAD HAD ONE WIFE:
(of NAHOR/of SHEM)UZITH
NAPHTALI HAD ONE WIFE:
(of NAHOR/SHEM)MERIMAH
ASHER HAD TWO WIVES:
(of ISHMAEL) ADON (no children)
(of SHEM) HADURAH**
**45:14 And the young woman was of a comely appearance, and a woman of sense, and she had been the wife of Malkiel the son of Elam, the son of Shem.
45:15 And Hadurah bare a daughter unto Malkiel, and he called her name Serach, and Malkiel died after this, and Hadurah went and remained in her father's house.
45:16 And after the death of the wife at Asher he went and took Hadurah for a wife, and brought her to the land of Canaan, and Serach her daughter he also brought with them, and she was three years old, and the damsel was brought up in Jacob's house.
45:17 And the damsel was of a comely appearance, and she went in the sanctified ways of the children of Jacob; she lacked nothing, and the Lord gave her wisdom and understanding.
ZEBULUN HAD ONE WIFE:
(of MIDIAN) MERISHAH
BENJAMIN HAD TWO WIVES:
(of ARAM/SHEM) MECHALIAH
(of MIDIAN) ARIBATH**
** Shomron has to be a son of Abraham through either Midian or Ishmael but neither Scripture or Jasher has much more to reveal:
Gen_25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
JOSEPH HAD ONE WIFE:
(of EGYPT??)ASINATH/OSNATH (as is spelled in Jasher)
As anyone can see, evidence points to the mingling of the seed of Israel even in the first generations. I have shown the lineage of Shem in the copperplate gothic script to show not only certain tribes which remained within the prophetic bloodlines, but also as we know, the Messianic heritage too.
Without offering up anymore verses from even the Bible as it would make this work even longer, we already know that David had several wives of different nations and Solomon even moreso than David. See 2Sam 5:13; 1Ki 11:3; 1Chr 3:9; 2Chr 11:21 are just a few.
Then add to that Joseph’s amazing coat of colors which is symbolic and prophetic of who Israel would be made up of. In Exodus we find:
Exo_12:38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
In Egyptian hieroglyphics there are depictions of many colored people: red, black and white. Actual physical proof to add to what the Scriptures say. So, it is beyond me that there is so much division among people as to who Israel is. Even Jacob himself prophesied over the sons of Joseph (who were of mixed blood):
Gen 48:2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
Gen 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
Gen 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
Gen 48:6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren (Israel) in their inheritance.
Gen 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
Gen 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Now, in these last days, a remnant is being raised up, that will hear the voice of the Great LORD Almighty. They will turn their hearts to Him and obey His commandments and many will come out of diverse backgrounds in faith and ethnicity and their hearts will be as one with YHWH, ECHAD.
These will know their Messiah Jesus, and they will have a burning desire to keep His Sabbath, to keep his feast days and to keep His Torah. They will walk in obedience to Him growing in spirit and all of what is in the world will drop off from their shoulders and become diminished.
Now these same will go through much testing and trial and they will err along the way, but correction will come to those whose hearts truly seek his Truth.
They will attempt to sway their former brethren, but in growth of spirit and truth they will discover that it is the Will of YHWH that must approach and turn the hearts of those who remain in darkness of this truth.
Take all things to our Father, take all things in the precious name of Jesus Christ, EHYEHshua ha Meshiach, the Great I AM. Do not heed the words of men, but test their words against the True Word and test it in prayer to the only One who can provide the Truth.
Blessing to all who read and receive this.
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