This Week Torah Portion - Shemot - “Names”
Torah - Exodus 1:1 - 6:1
Prophets - Isaiah 27:6 - 28:13, 29:22-23
Gospel - Matthew 2:1-12

Torah Summary…

Shemot is both the title for the second book from the scroll of the Torah and the title of the first Torah portion therein. Shemot means "names." The English-speaking world calls this book Exodus. The Hebrew title for the book comes from the opening phrase of the book: "Now these are the names (shemot) of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob" (Exodus 1:1).


The English name Exodus comes from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The Greek title for the book is Exodus Aigyptou, which translates as "Departure from Egypt." It is the Greek translation of the Rabbinical name of the Book, “Sefer Yetziat Mitzrayim”.


The name Exodus is an abbreviated form of that title. Exodus means "departure." The book of Exodus tells the story of the children of Israel enslaved in Egypt and their miraculous redemption through the hand of Moses, the story of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the construction of the golden calf, and the construction of the Tabernacle.


As we study the first week's reading from the book of Exodus, we find the children of Israel in slavery. It seems at first that the God of their forefathers has forgotten them. But Yehovah has not forgotten His promises. He remembers His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and brings a Redeemer to their children's children, for the sake of His name, with love.


Torah Treasures …


In the Portion Shemot, Yehovah sends Moses to redeem the Children of Israel from the exile of Egypt. Similarly, the Haftorah contains Yehovah’s promise that the exiles of Israel will be redeemed at the end of days from their exile and brought to the Land of Israel.


Yehovah planned this first exodus yet some believe the primary purpose was to save Israel from slavery and a story of freedom. If that were so he could have just blinded the Egyptians while they escaped or just wiped out the Egyptians the way he did at Jericho but Yehovah had a very specific purpose in bringing Israel out of Egypt in the way that he did.


He wanted the Egyptians, the Children of Israel, and all people of the world to know that He was, is, and always will be the only Elohim. He was fulfilling promises made to our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by laying the foundation for the future redemption by the Messiah and setting the stage for the end of the age.



Yehovah set up the Egyptian exodus and its resulting judgments to teach everyone who He is and to demonstrate the process of redemption by knowing Him. Yet, this was only part of the redemption plan.
Yehovah’s plan of redemption extends throughout ALL generations. The real punchline to Yehovah’s plan is manifest in the greater exodus. When Yehovah Fulfills the Greater Exodus the whole world will know who Yehovah is.
There is a future Passover and a future exodus for us at the end of the age.


Shabbat Shalom…