Eliphaz Rebukes Job and the Doom of Edom in Tanchuma Vayishlach

Woe to the kingdom of Esau when the Holy One, blessed be He, sees its deeds and rises up to exact punishment from it. We find that with Egypt, when the Holy One, blessed be He, punished them, He punished them at the time of waking, as it is said, "And it came to pass in the morning watch" (Exodus 14:24). And concerning Assyria, what is written? "And the angel of the Lord went out and smote the camp of Assyria" (II Kings 19:35). With Media, it was through Mordecai and Esther. With Greece, it was through Mattathias and his sons. But concerning Edom, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: there is no creature that will exact punishment from it; I Myself will exact punishment from it. From where? As it is said, "The vision of Obadiah. Thus said the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard tidings from the Lord" (Obadiah 1:1). Said Rabbi Berechiah: What did Obadiah see that he should exact punishment from Edom? He saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, repays reward to those who love Him; to those who hate Him, how much more so. And the Holy Spirit speaks through Eliphaz the Temanite: "Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied?" (Job 4:1-2). Eliphaz said to Job: Behold, you say, "Why am I not like Abraham?" Thus you said, "He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes" (Job 30:19). You suppose that He equates you with him. Said Rabbi Berechiah: Invert the verse and expound it: "And I have become like dust and ashes" — and He judges you like the generation of the dispersion, of whom it is written, "And the brick served them as stone" (Genesis 11:3). "He has cast me into the mire" — Eliphaz said to him: Are your deeds like Abraham's? Abraham was tested with ten trials and stood firm in all of them, and you in one trial! "If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Behold, you have instructed many" (Job 4:2-3). You used to comfort all who suffered afflictions. When a blind man came to you, you would say to him: the Holy One, blessed be He, already knew what He was destined to do when He blinded that man; and you would comfort him and say to him: if you were building a house and did not wish to open windows, who could protest against you? So the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to be glorified through you, as it is said, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened" (Isaiah 35:5). When a deaf man came to you, you would comfort him and say to him: if you wished to make a jug and did not wish to make ears for it, who could protest against you? So the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to be glorified through you, as it is said, "And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5). To the lame you would say, "Then shall the lame man leap as a hart" (Isaiah 35:6), and you would comfort him. "Your words have upheld him that was falling" (Job 4:4). But now that it has touched you, you are dismayed: "But now it is come unto you, and you are wearied" (Job 4:5). "Is not your fear of God your confidence?" (Job 4:6) — because you said: I am a righteous man, so why does He afflict me? And have you ever in your days seen a righteous man perish? "Remember, I pray you, who that was innocent ever perished?" (Job 4:7). Noah, who was righteous, escaped from his generation; Abraham escaped from the furnace; Isaac escaped from the slaughtering knife; Jacob escaped from the angel; Moses escaped from Pharaoh's sword. "Remember, I pray you, who that was innocent ever perished?" — Israel He delivered from Egypt and destroyed the Egyptians. "According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity and sow trouble reap it" (Job 4:8). And what became of them? "By the breath of God they perish" (Job 4:9), as it is said, "You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them" (Exodus 15:10). So too all the wicked who are destined to arise: "The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion" (Job 4:10). Job said to him: Look now at your father Esau! He said to him: I have no business with him — "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father" (Ezekiel 18:20). "The old lion perishes for lack of prey" (Job 4:11) — this is Esau, who perishes for lack of deeds. "And the whelps of the lioness are scattered" (Job 4:11) — these are his chieftains. Job said to him: And you, what is it for you? "Now a word was secretly brought to me" (Job 4:12) — I am a prophet; I have no business with him, only to reprove you. "In thoughts from the visions of the night" (Job 4:13). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Job: My servant, in a vision you were reproved; I will raise up from you a prophet who will exact punishment from your father's house in a vision, as it is said, "The vision of Obadiah." For Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: What did Obadiah see that he prophesied only against Edom? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Esau grew up between two righteous ones and did not learn from their deeds, while Obadiah dwelt between two wicked ones and did not learn from their deeds; let Obadiah come and exact punishment from Esau. Therefore, "The vision of Obadiah." And what is written in his prophecy? "And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken" (Obadiah 1:18).