Shemot: Messiah in the Death of Yosef

The Torah portion of Shemot has multiple connections to the Messiah. The redemption of the people of Israel from Egypt points towards the final redemption. The repetition of the names of the tribes in the end of Genesis and in the beginning of Exodus point towards the first redemption from Egypt, and the second and final redemption. Even Yosef’s death points towards the Messiah.

The rabbis teach that the redemption from Egypt alludes to the final redemption. Jeremiah 23:5-8 talks about this exact concept:

This prophecy and others like it predict that the end times and the coming of Messiah will mirror the events of the redemption from Egypt. In this prophecy God will raise up a “righteous shoot” from David, and he will be King Messiah. This messiah will bring forth the children of Israel out from all the countries, just as Moshe brought the children of israel out from Egypt.

The book of Exodus begins with a list of Ya’akov’s sons who came down with him to Egypt. The list is a repeat from the end of Genesis. What’s the reason for this repeat? To point towards two different redemptions, the first from the exile in Egypt, which caused the creation of the nation of Israel, and the second from the exile throughout the nations, which will cause the creation of the everlasting kingdom of David.

The Midrash relates that the Torah lists each name because each one points towards the redemption. The Hebrew spelling of Reuben contains the Hebrew word for “saw”, which relates to Exodus 3:7, “And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their pains;”

The Hebrew spelling of Simeon contains the word “heard” as it says in Exodus 2:24, “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Ya'akov.”

The name Levi, which means “joined”, points towards God joining himself with Israel’s suffering, as it says in a section of Psalms 91:15, “I will be with him in trouble;”

The name Yehudah, which means “praise”, corresponds to Israel praising God at the other end of the Red Sea, for delivering them from Egypt.

The name Issachar, which means “reward”, alludes to the gold and other goods the people of Israel took from the Egyptians in their departure. As it says in Genesis 15:14, “Afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

The name Zebulun, which means “dwelling place”, alludes to the Shechina in the midst of the people, as it says in Exodus 25:8, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”

The name Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand”, points towards the deliverance at the Red Sea. As the people of Israel said right after being delivered in Exodus 15:6, “Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, dasheth in pieces the enemy.”

The name Dan, which means “judgement”, refers to God’s judgement of Egypt, as it says in a section of Genesis 15:14, “That nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge.”

The name Naphtali, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “honeycomb”, points towards the giving of the Torah and the commandments, as it says in Psalms 19:11, “Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

The name Gad, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “coriander”, points towards the mana, as it says in Exodus 16:31, “It was like coriander seed.”

The name Asher, which means “blessed”, points towards the congratulations the peoples gave when they heard the story of the exodus, as it says in Malachi 3:12, “And all nations shall call you blessed;”

The Hebrew spelling of the name Yosef has the same root of the word “again”. It points towards the second redemption, where God will again save his people from their oppressors, as it says in Isaiah 11:11, “And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Lord will set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people...”

Before Yosef died, he gathered his brothers around him, and he gave them a prophecy, as it says in Genesis 50:24-25, “And Yosef said unto his brethren: ‘I die; but God will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land unto the land which He swore to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Ya'akov.’ And Yosef took an oath of the children of Israel, saying: ‘God will surely remember you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.’”

This prophecy came with a request: That his bones not be left in Egypt.

Just as the life of Yosef points towards the life of Messiah, the death of Yosef points towards the death of Messiah. Even though Yeshua was willing to lay down his life for his people, he was not willing to stay in his tomb. Instead he did what it says in Hebrews 5:7, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.” He was willing to die, but he was unwilling to stay dead, just as Yosef pointed towards his eventual resurrection by saying, “Carry my bones from here.”

Yosef spoke to his brothers about Israel’s eventual redemption from Egypt, but because the redemption of Egypt is a blueprint for the final redemption, we can read Yosef’s prophecy as a promise of the final redemption. God will take care of Israel. He will bring us back to our land. He will do it with the hands of his chosen Messiah.

The entire book of Shemot (Exodus) has connections to the Messiah. These first connections, with the repetition of the names of the tribes, and the death of Yosef, are just a small taste of what’s to come.