Tag: Edom

Mountains of Seir

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו אֲדֹנִ֤י יֹדֵ֙עַ֙ כִּֽי־הַיְלָדִ֣ים רַכִּ֔ים וְהַצֹּ֥אן וְהַבָּקָ֖ר עָל֣וֹת עָלָ֑י וּדְפָקוּם֙ י֣וֹם אֶחָ֔ד וָמֵ֖תוּ כׇּל־הַצֹּֽאן׃
But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me; if they are driven hard a single day, all the flocks will die.

יַעֲבׇר־נָ֥א אֲדֹנִ֖י לִפְנֵ֣י עַבְדּ֑וֹ וַאֲנִ֞י אֶֽתְנָהֲלָ֣ה לְאִטִּ֗י לְרֶ֨גֶל הַמְּלָאכָ֤ה אֲשֶׁר־לְפָנַי֙ וּלְרֶ֣גֶל הַיְלָדִ֔ים עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־אָבֹ֥א אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֖י שֵׂעִֽירָה׃
Let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I travel slowly, at the pace of the cattle before me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
Genesis 33:13-14 (Revised JPS, 2023)

When the text repeats itself, the writers want you to stop and contemplate the meaning. There’s something here about the children and the flock being delicate and precious and at risk of death… and it feels theologically important.

Jacob tells Esau that he’ll meet him in Seir. He never does. In fact, there is no record in scripture of Jacob’s lineage ever returning to Seir.

The rabbis point to Obadiah 1:21, where Seir is referred to as Mount Esau, and Obadiah’s vision states that the Exiles of the army of the Sons of Israel will one day overtake it.

Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
Obadiah 1:21 (NKJV)

Again, this should be understood theologically, where the character of Esau (cravings of the flesh; tilting towards the perishing) is problematic.

Esau’s 400 Men

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיָּ֩שׇׁב֩ בַּיּ֨וֹם הַה֥וּא עֵשָׂ֛ו לְדַרְכּ֖וֹ שֵׂעִֽירָה׃
So Esau started back that day on his way to Seir.
Genesis 33:16 (Revised JPS, 2023)

When Jacob and Esau part ways, the text states that Esau heads to Seir. It doesn’t specifically state that he went alone, but the rabbis note that the previously mentioned “400 men” aren’t mentioned again.

Because Esau represents “a tilting towards the perishing,” it would be significant for the 400 men to part ways with him as well, and perhaps the text would say something about this.

The rabbis note that in 1 Samuel, there is an odd mention of David striking back against the Amalakites (descendents of Esau), and this strange inclusion of 400 men who escaped the slaughter.

Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.
1 Samuel 30:17-18 (NKJV)

Yes, the event in 1 Samuel and the event in Genesis 33 are far removed from one another in time. If you know that Torah was written/compiled/edited during the Babylonian Empire, it starts to make more sense. The text is there to teach us something, not to record history.

There is a lesson here.

The Fire of Jacob and Joseph

Posted on by jovial_cynic

וַיְהִ֕י כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יָלְדָ֥ה רָחֵ֖ל אֶת־יוֹסֵ֑ף וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ אֶל־לָבָ֔ן שַׁלְּחֵ֙נִי֙ וְאֵ֣לְכָ֔ה אֶל־מְקוֹמִ֖י וּלְאַרְצִֽי׃

After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Give me leave to go back to my own homeland.
Genesis 30:25 (The Contemporary Torah JPS 2006)

There’s a view in the Jewish writings that Esau/Edom (whom God rejected) is a symbol of wickedness, violence, and treachery.

Laben (Rachel’s father) is tied to that imagery, so when Joseph is born, it’s notable that Jacob decides that it’s time to leave.

The Jewish sage Rashi links Genesis 30:25 with Obediah 1:18.

Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire and destroy him.
There will be no survivors
from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.
Obadiah 1:18 (NIV)

If Joseph’s name in Gen 30:23-24 hints at a removal of shame and disagrace and a move towards a life of blessing, perhaps it comes with a promise: wickedness, violence, and treachery will have no part in it.

A Man of the Curse

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And Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a mouthful of that [a]red stuff there, for I am exhausted.” Therefore he was called [b]Edom by name.
Genesis 25:30 (NASB)

[a] Lit the red, this red
[b] I.e. red

The shared root is א-ד-מ (A-D-M), and it carries the meaning of earth, flesh, red, blood.

We’ve learned that the earth is cursed (Gen 3: the Fall), and that all flesh is doomed to die (Gen 7: the Flood)…

So when we encounter a man whose very name links back to earth and flesh and blood, we should know that a picture is being painted of what this man is like. This man represents the curse.

Jacob represents his opposite.