In Genesis 13 Abram leaves Egypt after Pharaoh gave him more silver, gold, sheep, goats, cattle, camels and male and female servants, including Hagar the daughter of one of his concubines. Abram had 300+ of Nimrod’s servants (men with their families) who came with him out of Babylon (including Eliezer, who Nimrod had given him after he was saved from the furnace), and 72 more men that came with him out of Haran and all the souls which were born to his household. Lot too has many servants, tents and livestock.
In a very real sense, the camp of Abram and the camp of Lot are like two traveling cities and require a large “footprint” in the land to sustain them; and because of this, Lot needs to leave. There is just not room enough for the two of them; and he chooses to go down to Sodom which by the sea, a land described in Yasher as “the garden of Yehovah.”
But not long after he is there Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, Nimrod (Amraphel) king of Shinar, and two other kings come raiding from the North with 8oo,000 men. And on their way back north they raid the city that Lot and all his people are in and take them as slaves.
When Abram receives the word about Lot being taken captive, he fields 318 trained servants who were born in his house. Think for a moment. How many families must Abram have in his camp to have 318 men who are trained and ready to fight?
This chapter of Yasher begins with a brief overview of Babylon; where they stand morally and politically.
Nimrod’s other name, Amraphel, is mentioned for the first time here.
Yasher 11:6 And Nimrod (the king of Shinar) dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes of Nimrod called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell through his means.
7 And notwithstanding this, Nimrod did not return to the Lord, and he continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men. …
The sons of Ham are at war with one another, and Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam is now ruling over Nimrod (a.k.a. Amraphel).
Yasher 11:9 At that time there was war between the families of the children of Ham, as they were dwelling in the cities which they had built.
10 And Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, went away from the families of the children of Ham, and he fought with them and he subdued them, and he went to the five cities of the plain and he fought against them and he subdued them, and they were under his control.
These two men will play a significant role later on in Genesis 14.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). (Gen 14:1-2)
Abram at Terah’s house
Abram is now 50 years old; he has lived with Noah and Shem for 39 years and a cave for 10. Because of the signs in the heavens that were associated with his birth Nimrod tried to kill him at that time. Now, believing it is safe, Abram leaves Noah’s home and returns to his father Terah. On his arrival Abram finds that his father’s house is also the dwelling place for a host of idols and swears in Yehovah’s name to destroy them before 3 days are up.
Yasher 11:16 And Abram came to his father’s house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his father’s house.
17 And Abram said, As Yehovah liveth these images shall not remain in my father’s house; so shall Yehovah who created me do unto me if in three days’ time I do not break them all.
This is the story of how Abram gets rid of the idols in his father’s house.
For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.
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At age 49 Abraham, believing he was safe, returned to Terah and his father’s house and found many idols in it. But sometimes, when you know the truth, it is hard to condone wickedness. So when Abram saw the idols, he made a vow before Yehovah that he would destroy them all before three days were up; which he did.
In his anger Terah told Nimrod what his son had done. And when Abram was brought before Nimrod, he rebuked even Nimrod saying,
Jasher 11:55 Dost thou imagine that they [the idols] can deliver thee or do anything small or great, that thou should serve them? And why wilt thou not sense the Elohim (the lawmaker and judge) of the whole universe, who created thee and in whose power it is to kill and keep alive?
56 0 foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever.
57 I thought thou wouldst teach thy servants the upright way, but thou hast not done this, but hast filled the whole earth with thy sins and the sins of thy people who have followed thy ways.
Nimrod was furious with Abram and when he realized that Terah had deceived him 49 years back by giving him another child to kill, his anger turned to Terah also. But Terah is terrified and lies to save his life; he blames his son Haran for giving him the idea to substitute another child in place of Abram. Abram and Haran are then thrown into a fiery furnace while all the people of the land looked on. Haran died immediately but Abram walked in the midst of the flames for all to see. After 3 days Abraham was taken out and extolled with great honor. This may be a shadow picture of the heirs of Abraham in the last days in reverse. The wicked who were watching to see Abram destroyed will be destroyed themselves by fire and the righteous heirs of Abraham and their families will again be saved from the fire. Continue reading Abram In Nimrod’s Furnace→
Oh – sometime I feel so cheated in the coverage, really lack of coverage, which Torah gives to some subjects. Today is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Torah does not introduce Abram until the end of Genesis chapter 11 when he (at 52 years of age) takes Sarai as his woman, and then again in Genesis 12 when he leaves his family in Haran and goes to Canaan (for the 2nd time) in his 75th year.
Yasher 8:1 And it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the servants of Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with him on that night. 2 And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from the four sides of the heavens. 3 And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this matter, and they knew its import. 4 And they said to each other, “This only betokens the child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands.”
Here is the chart in a 10mb PDF format. Click the following link to view it or right-click
and “Save file as†to down-load it to your system. Age Chart
The light of Elohim begins to shine in the midst of a very dark world. The 70 nations are now gathered with Nimrod (and his princes) at the helm. They are leading all of ha-a-dam’s seed into ways they should not go. It is in this context that the light of Yehovah is raised for all to see in the life of Abram who, we will see in future lessons, warns Nimrod to turn from his wicked ways.
And they [Nimrod and his princes] said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11:4)
Yasher 8:21 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars.
These wicked men, Ham’s seed, are rebelling against every thing that Yehovah has commanded them.
So Elohim blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. (Gen 9:1)
We are still building Nimrodian kingdoms for ourselves, and establishing our own statutes, and ordinances and judgments; nothing has changed! Yehovah saw what was happening in Babylon and divided the people, the men (with their families), all over the face of the earth. We can read this story in the first part of Genesis 11.
The remainder of this chapter is all about the genealogy of Shem through Abram. It is in this context, of the rebellion of ha-a-dam’s seed, in which Yehovah brings great light in into our very dark world through his current Melchizedek, Shem.
The Melchizedek, the highest ranking member in Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth, who came from the line of Seth, and then the line of Shem after the flood. Each Melchizedek had the rod of Elohim passed down to him by the previous Melchizedek. It went from Adam, to Enoch, to Methuselah, to Noah, to Shem, to Abraham, to Jacob, to Joseph, and finally it came to Moses just before he brought Yehovah’s people out of the land of Egypt. Continue reading Genealogy of Shem – Abram→
Sometimes the details in Torah are easily overlooked; but many of them are most revealing for the man who searches the scriptures as he searches for silver and fine gold. The story of Noah’s ark is one of them. Here is a pop quiz.
The movie “Noah’s Ark” is just like the story! (Ha – I make me laugh!)
True
False
Noah’s woman (Naamah) was the daughter of Lemech, a descendent of Cain, the son of Adam; and the man who killed Cain and his own son, Tubal-Cain.
True
False
Yasher says that Naamah was 82 years older than Noah.
True
False
How many years did it take to build the ark?
12
120
60
How many animals went with Noah?
One male and one female (one pair)
Two males and two females (two pairs)
Two pairs of the unclean birds and animals (behemah)
and five pairs of the clean birds and animals
How did Noah find all the animals?
The women found them while the guys built the ark
Noah and his sons searched high and low
They all came to Noah and bowed down to him
Noah and his household were allowed into the ark because:
Noah walked with God (Yehovah was his only Elohim (lawmaker and judge).
They were all righteous in the sight of Yehovah.
Noah’s woman was righteous in the sight of Yehovah.
For more teachings like this one (beginning at Genesis 1), visit our Join Us for Sabbath page.
Please Contact Michael to help support his work in building Yehovah’s kingdom on the earth.
Providence Ministries is NOT incorporated with any kingdom of this world. Providence Ministries is an affiliate of the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises, a Washington State acknowledged corporation sole of the ecclesia on file with the Secretary of the State. This charitable ministry is not for profit and maintains its nontaxable status consistent with 26 USC 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to 501 (c)(3) organizations special rules as a “mandatory exception.â€
These two men will play a significant role later on in Genesis 14.
