“Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, mother and children alike” (Genesis 32:12). “Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau” – deliver my future descendants from the hand of his descendants, who come with the power of Esau.16The power of Esau is the sword – “by your sword you shall live” (Genesis 27:40).
That is what is written: “I was looking at the horns, and behold, another, small horn arose among them” (Daniel 7:8) – that is the son of Netzer.17A robber who conquered provinces on the Roman–Persian border and ruled there under the auspices of Rome. “And three of the original horns were uprooted from before it” (Daniel 7:8) – this is that they gave them their kingdom; Macrinus, Carinus, and Kyriades.18These were the provinces.
“Behold, there were eyes like the eyes of a man in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly” (Daniel 7:8) – this is the evil empire that imposes levies upon all the nations of the world. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is written: “And the ten horns: From this kingdom, ten kings will arise” (Daniel 7:24), all of those referred to in the verse are descendants of Esau.19All ten horns represent ten kingdoms descended from Esau, not from the son of Netzer.
Rather, “I was looking at the horns, and behold, another, small horn arose among them” – this is the evil empire. “And three of the original horns were uprooted from before it” – these are the three previous kingdoms.20Babylon, Persia–Media, and Greece. “Behold, there were eyes like the eyes of a man in this horn” – this is the evil empire, that casts an envious eye on the possessions of others. This wealthy one, we will make him governor of his province; this wealthy one, we will make him an economic adviser.
“Lest he come and smite me, mother and children alike” – and you said: “You shall not take the mother with the offspring” (Deuteronomy 22:6). Another matter, “Lest he come and smite me, mother and children alike” – and you said: “A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (Leviticus 22:28).