What’s In a Name and How It Points to Messiah

The Scriptures are full of wonderful details and puzzle pieces that when fit together form the glorious picture of YHVH’s gospel plan of salvation. The following story is yet another example of this.

Genesis 38:29, Pharez [Heb. Peretz]. This name means “breach” or breaking through by pressing forward.” It is from the root word meaning “breach, gap, bursting forth, outburst; broken wall.” Yeshua is from this branch of Judah. Peretz received his name because of the violent nature of his birth. He was born before his twin brother, Zerah. The Peretz family line was the more prominent of the Peretz-Zerah family lines.

Matthew Henry in his commentary notes that it’s a wonder that of all the tribes Yeshua should proceed from this one considering its incestuous origins and YHVH’s displeasure over such sin. Yet Henry goes on to say that YHVH chooses human instruments not because of their merits, but out of grace, and that Yeshua came into the world to save sinners, even the chief of sinners, including those of his own family. Moreover, the worthiness of the Messiah wasn’t to be found in any meritorious moral qualities of his ancestors, but in himself alone. It is a wonder that the Jews boast at all about their lineage in light of its incestuous origins. As Jeremiah warns, a man should not glory in anything they are or have done but only that “he understands and knows me, that I am YHVH which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth, for in these things I delight” (Jer 9:23–24).

The inclusion of the accounts of Judah, Tamar, Pharez and Zerah further confirm the divine origin of the Scriptures. It is the generally accepted tradition in both Jewish and Christian circles and the opinion of conservative biblical scholars that Moses wrote the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Genesis 38 gives important background information about the founding of the tribe of Judah and, more importantly, about the origins of the Messiah who was born out of this tribe. Other than a couple of oblique prophecies, there is no overt indication in the Torah that the Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel, would could come from the tribe of Judah, yet Moses included the inglorious details of the founding of this tribal family therein for no apparent reason. Those of us looking back in history at the Messiah’s birth can see how Genesis 38 fits perfectly into the overall biblical redemption story, but those in times past looking forward to the Messiah would have likely been hard pressed to see this. From our vantage point, this is yet another proof of the hand of the Divine Providence in the writing of the Scriptures.

 

2 thoughts on “What’s In a Name and How It Points to Messiah

  1. Hi Natan .In fact Mary Bint Eli’s mother was a Levite,one of the daughters of Aaron,& her father was of the Tribe of Judah.
    Many deceivers would have you believe that the term ” JEW” is referring to the Tribe of Judah.,but in fact the term applies to any member of the THREE Tribes of Israelites who formed “The KINGDOM of JUDAH”,which was first used in 2 Kings 16:6,to describe the fact that Rezin,King of Syria drove the Jews from Elath.
    To be pedantic,the son of Solomon,Rehoboam ,was only given one Tribe,BENJAMIN.,as the only landed Tribe. But,just how many of the LEVITE Priesthood Tribe were attached to Rehoboam’s Kingdom was not explained.
    The LEVITES had cities throughout ISRAEL ( The Nation) ,but as JEROBOAM concocted a Calf Worship ‘religion’& made the basest of the people the ‘priests’ of that Idolatrous fake religion.,most of the LEVITES may have joined Rehoboam’s Kingdom of Judah.??????…….Thus THREE TRIBES of ISRAELITES made up that Kingdom!.
    There were NO JEWS prior to SOLOMON’s death…..
    REZIN of Syria allied with PEKAH of GILEAD / ISRAEL/ EPHRAIM,to attack AHAZ of The Kingdom of Judah,at Jerusalem,in 732 /1 BC & it was about that time that REZIN drove The JEW from Elath.
    The TEN TRIBES of EPHRAIM..ISRAEL were ,REUBEN,SIMEON, ISSACHAR, ZEBULUN,GAD, ASHER, DAN ,NAPHTALI,EPHRAIM & MANASSEH…..& that Kingdom was defunct by 720BC. ( 3280AM).
    About 30,000 POWs were sent to Assyria & resettled as a buffer State between Assyria & Media….In 712 BC. (3288AM ) Sennacherib conquered Hezekiah’s kingdom of Judah & sent 200,150 Jewish men ,women & children as POWs to join the other Israelites in Assyrian Captivity….( See Sennacherib’s prisms…British Museum 1850….The Oriental Institute ,Chicago,1900…. The Israeli Museum ,2000?…..NONE RETURNED …As JEWS. !!!!.
    Joining them were Hezekiah’s Harem & his Musicians & several of HIS OWN DAUGHTERS ….As a part of the massive ransom required to spare Jerusalem & the Jews therein.
    It is only the descendants of the Remnant of Hezekiah’s Kingdom of Judah who are today’s JEWS.
    The descendants of the 200,150 POWs of the 712 BC ,chose to forget their origin & identity & became part of SCOTLAND…..NORWAY. &. DENMARK,& the DAVIDIC Bloodline carried through them to the Queen of England…

    • On my blog, please be careful who you call a deceiver. Calling the blog’s author and gatekeeper a deceive isn’t wise. You maybe did this unwittingly, but please be careful anyway if you want your comments to be published.

      I really don’t know what your point was in this comment and how it relates at all to my blog post. If you want me to post your comments, please make them relevant to my blog article. It you want merely to preach, then I invite you to start your own blog.

      I have referred to the Jews as being from the tribe of Judah many times. Does this make me a deceiver? Hardly, unless the Bible is authored by deceivers. The fact is that etymologically the Bible traces the word Jew back specifically to the tribe of Judah. Check out any Hebrew lexicon. We all know that not everyone living in Judah were Jews from the tribe of Judah although the vast majority were, just like not everyone living in America are Americans. We also know that the term Jew took on a more colloquial meaning as time went on. Paul called himself a Jew even though he admits he was from Benjamin. Today the term Jew not only has an ethnic, but also cultural and religious connotations. Languages and terms evolve over time.

      What’s more, the Bible tells us that the Israelites were scattered to the four corners of the earth from whence they will also be gathered in the last days — not just to NW Europe and North America.

      So what was the point you were trying to make and how did it relate to Pharez and Zerah being in Yeshua’s lineage?

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