Parshat Vayetzei5 min read

Jacob Saw Four Empires Rise and Fall on a Single Ladder

Each empire climbed the ladder and descended. The fourth climbed so high Jacob could no longer see the top and terror seized him until God spoke.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Terror at the Top
  2. What the Ladder Showed About Sinai and the Temple
  3. The Messianic Figure in the Dream
  4. The Prophecy That Named Judah

The Terror at the Top

Jacob was watching the ladder when the fourth empire began to climb. Babylon had ascended seventy rungs and descended. Persia had climbed fifty-two and descended. Greece had climbed one hundred rungs and descended. Each empire had its count, its appointed height, its moment of descent. Jacob watched them go up and come down and understood the pattern. Then the fourth empire began.

It climbed past one hundred. Past two hundred. It kept climbing. Jacob strained to see the top and could not find it. The angel of the fourth empire went higher and higher, and the ladder stretched further than Jacob's eyes could follow, and the terror seized him: this one would not come down. This one had no appointed limit. This one would climb forever.

Then God spoke from above the ladder: Do not fear, Jacob. Even if this empire climbs to sit beside me, I will bring it down from there. Jacob relaxed. But the rabbis who recorded this moment in Bereshit Rabbah, the great midrashic compilation of the fifth century, recorded the terror as well as the reassurance. The terror was their own. They were not describing the past. They were describing where their own communities were standing, at the base of the ladder, watching something monstrous climb without stopping.

What the Ladder Showed About Sinai and the Temple

The vision at Bethel did not end with the four empires. The tradition preserves a second layer: Jacob's dream also showed him Sinai, the moment Moses would receive the Torah, and the Temple, the house his descendants would build and lose. He saw the whole arc of sacred history compressed into a single night of sleep on a stone that turned out to be the Foundation Stone of the world.

This is the reading preserved in multiple midrashic traditions: the ladder at Bethel was not primarily about empires. It was about God's continuous engagement with Israel across all the upheavals that empires cause. The Torah was given at Sinai and the Temple was built in Jerusalem and both were preceded by this vision, this assurance given to a man sleeping on the ground with no army and no city and no prophecy yet delivered, just the word of a God who described himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac and promised to bring Jacob back to this ground.

The Messianic Figure in the Dream

The midrashic reading of Jacob's dream extends further, to the figure who will appear at the end of the fourth empire's descent. The text is careful here: Jacob asked God to show him the Messiah and God showed him the ladder. The ladder is not a detour from the messianic question. It is the answer to it. The Messiah will come after the fourth empire descends. The descent is not optional. It is part of the structure.

Jacob's blessing of Dan records a moment the tradition found significant: Jacob blessed Dan and suddenly interrupted himself with an anguished cry, For your salvation I wait, O God. The rabbis read this as Jacob mistaking Samson for the Messiah when he foresaw Dan's champion, then correcting himself when he understood that Samson would be a deliverer, not the deliverer. The messianic hope ran through every blessing Jacob gave. He was looking for the one who would stand at the top of the ladder where only God could sit.

The Prophecy That Named Judah

When Jacob came to Judah's blessing, something different happened. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of peoples. The rabbis spent centuries arguing about Shiloh. What the name meant. Who it referred to. Whether it was a place or a title or a description of the one who was coming. But the structure was clear: the royal line ran through Judah, and the royal line had a destination.

Jacob had stood at the base of that ladder. He had watched four empires climb and descend. He had heard the voice from above and been told not to fear. Now, blessing his sons on his deathbed, he placed the scepter in Judah's hands and pointed it toward a future he could not name. The ladder had shown him the shape of history. The blessing named the lineage that would carry it to its end.

JacobMessiahProphecyExileCreationAngelsDreams
← All myths

From the tradition

Sources

9 sources

The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Bereshit Rabbah 68:13Bereshit Rabbah

Take the story of Jacob's dream in Genesis 28, where he rests his head on a stone and sees a ladder stretching to heaven. On that ladder, angels ascend and descend. A seemingly simple scene. But Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, whose interpretation we find in Bereshit Rabbah, one of the earliest and most important collections of rabbinic interpretations of Genesis, saw something much deeper. He saw a prophecy of exile.

He reads Jacob’s journey, "Jacob departed [vayetze] from Beersheba". And connects it to Jeremiah’s prophecy of expulsion: "Send them from My presence, and let them go [veyetze’u]" (Jeremiah 15:1). See the echo? The shared word hinting at a shared fate.

Rabbi Yehoshua doesn't stop there. "And went to Ḥaran," the text continues. Ḥaran, he links to the "ḥaron apo," the "enflamed wrath" in Lamentations (1:12). Each detail of Jacob's journey, from encountering "the place" to resting on stones, becomes a mirror reflecting the pain and displacement of exile. He finds verses in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations, each resonating with the original text. It's like a poetic chain of suffering, linking the personal to the national.

The most fascinating part? The ladder itself. "He dreamed, and behold, a ladder [sulam]" (Genesis 28:12). Rabbi Yehoshua identifies this ladder with Nebuchadnezzar's idol! Not just any idol, but a specific one. He points out that the Hebrew word for ladder, sulam (סֻּלָּם), and semel (סֶּמֶל), meaning idol or symbol, share the same letters, just rearranged. It's a clever play on words, but it's more than that. It suggests that the ladder, this symbol of connection to God, can be twisted, perverted into something idolatrous.

The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) continues, drawing parallels between the ladder's dimensions (as described in Daniel) and the idol's. It even interprets the angels ascending and descending as Hananya, Mishael, and Azarya (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), who, while outwardly honoring Nebuchadnezzar, secretly mocked his idolatry. They were "exalting his honor and denigrating his honor," the Midrash says, paying lip service while refusing to bow down to the golden image. They were "dancing and leaping before him and denigrating." What a powerful image of resistance!

Then comes another twist. The Midrash offers an alternate interpretation of the angels, identifying them as Daniel. It relates a story of Nebuchadnezzar's serpent-like idol that swallowed everything offered to it. Daniel, according to this reading, ascended the ladder, metaphorically or literally, and removed what the idol had swallowed. He tricked the serpent by feeding it straw filled with nails, thus exposing its emptiness and deceit. "I will remove what it swallowed from its mouth," the Midrash quotes from Jeremiah (51:44), connecting Daniel's act of defiance to the ultimate downfall of Babylonian idolatry.

What are we to make of all this? Rabbi Yehoshua's interpretation, as recorded in Bereshit Rabbah, is more than just a clever reading of scripture. It's a way of understanding exile, not as a random event, but as a recurring pattern, a consequence of straying from God's path. It's a reminder that even in the darkest of times, acts of resistance, both overt and subtle, can chip away at the idols that hold us captive. And perhaps most importantly, it suggests that the symbols of our faith, like Jacob's ladder, are always open to interpretation, capable of being both a source of connection and a tool of oppression, depending on how we choose to use them.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 6:102Legends of the Jews

Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob's Dream Showed Sinai the Temple and the Messiah.

Can you even fathom it? God, in His infinite wisdom, showed Jacob nothing less than the revelation at Mount Sinai, the very moment the Torah was given! Think about the sheer awe of that vision. But it didn't stop there. Jacob also witnessed the ascent of Elijah into heaven, a truly miraculous event.

The visions kept coming. Jacob saw the Beit HaMikdash – the Temple – in all its glory, a shining beacon of faith. But heartbreakingly, he also witnessed its destruction, its spoliation, a tragedy that still resonates with us today.

It’s like a whirlwind tour of Jewish history, all within a single dream. He wasn't spared the difficult parts, either. The dream included Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to burn Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (the "three holy children") in the fiery furnace, and even Daniel's encounter with Bel, the Babylonian idol. According to tradition, this was Jacob's first prophetic dream, a profound experience.

But what did it all mean? What was the message behind this extraordinary preview?

Well, God made a powerful promise to Jacob in that dream. He declared that the very land upon which Jacob was lying would be given to him and his descendants. But here's the really part: the land he was lying on wasn't just a small patch of ground. Instead, God had miraculously folded the entire land of Palestine together and placed it beneath him! Imagine the scope of that.

"And," God continued, "thy seed will be like unto the dust of the earth." This is a double-edged promise, as we find in Midrash Rabbah. On one hand, "As the earth survives all things, so thy children will survive all the nations of the earth." A beautiful evidence of the enduring strength of the Jewish people.

But there's a somber side to it as well. "But as the earth is trodden upon by all, so thy children, when they commit trespasses, will be trodden upon by the nations of the earth." A stark reminder of the consequences of our actions and the challenges we would face throughout history.

And finally, God promised that Jacob would spread out to the west and to the east, a promise even greater than those given to his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. They were allotted a limited land, but Jacob's possession would be unbounded. A vision of a future where Jacob's descendants would have influence far and wide.

So, what do we take away from this incredible story? It’s a reminder of the profound connection between the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and our destiny. It’s a story filled with both immense promise and solemn warning. And it all began with a dream.

Full source
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35:1Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer

Jacob saw a ladder at Bethel, but Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer hears the end of history hidden in that night vision.

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof," Ecclesiastes tells us (7:8). This idea perfectly encapsulates Jacob's journey. Initially, Isaac's blessings to Jacob focused on earthly abundance: "And God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth" (Genesis 27:28). These are good things, no doubt! But the final blessings? Those were on a whole different level.

The later blessings, the ones bestowed upon Jacob at Bethel, were about something much more profound: the very foundation of the world. The text emphasizes that these blessings are uninterrupted, applying to both this world and the world to come. As it says, "And God Almighty bless thee" (Genesis 28:3). And it gets even better! Jacob also receives Abraham’s blessing: "And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee" (Genesis 28:4). Now

This is why, as Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer points out, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof." The initial blessings were good, sure. But the ultimate blessings, the ones connecting Jacob to the very fabric of existence and the legacy of Abraham? Those were truly transformative.

The text goes on to say: "Better is the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit." This is where the contrast between Jacob and his brother, Esau, really shines. Jacob, we're told, was patient and spoke words of entreaty – a man of humility. Esau, on the other hand, is described as proud and self-centered.

Every day Esau would eat the flesh of what he hunted, indulging in his own prowess. But because of his pride, he didn’t share any of his food with Jacob. Then one day, Esau returns from a hunt empty-handed. Famished, he sees Jacob eating lentil stew. Driven by his immediate hunger, he pleads, "Let me gulp down, I pray thee, some of that red pottage" (Genesis 25:30).

Jacob then makes a connection between Esau’s nature and this "red pottage". Jacob says to him: Thou camest forth red at thy birth from thy mother; (now) thou dost desire to eat (this) red food; therefore he called his name "Edom" (red), as it is said, "And Esau said to Jacob" (ibid.).

This moment, though seemingly small, reveals a crucial difference between the brothers. Esau's pride and impulsiveness lead him to prioritize immediate gratification, while Jacob's patience and humility ultimately lead to blessings of eternal significance.

So, what can we learn from this? Perhaps it's a reminder to persevere, even when things seem difficult at the start. Maybe it's a call to cultivate patience and humility, recognizing that true blessings often come later in life. Or perhaps, it's simply a comforting thought: that even if our beginnings are humble, our endings can be extraordinary. After all, sometimes the greatest rewards are reserved for those who are patient enough to see things through.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 1:397Legends of the Jews

It’s a powerful theme that echoes through the Torah and the later rabbinic traditions. Take Jacob, for example, on his deathbed, surrounded by his sons. His words, according to Legends of the Jews, weren't always what you’d call sunshine and rainbows.

Readers often remember Jacob’s harsh words for Simon and Levi, particularly after their violent actions. "I will divide them in Jacob," he said. And, the prophecy was fulfilled. The tribe of Simon dwindled after the incident at Shittim, where twenty-four thousand men perished. The surviving women ended up marrying into other tribes, effectively scattering Simon's descendants.

Here's the twist, the part that often gets overlooked. Even in rebuke, there's a blessing. Jacob didn’t just dismiss them! He foresaw that the tribe of Simon would produce the teachers and beadles – the caretakers and administrators – needed by all of Israel. And Levi? They would become the scholars, the ones who would examine the Torah’s wisdom and guide the people with their rulings.

The other sons, understandably, were a bit nervous. Imagine sitting there, waiting for your turn, wondering if your own past misdeeds would be dragged into the light. Judah, especially, was anxious, fearing Jacob would bring up the sticky situation with Tamar.

But instead, Jacob turned to Judah with…praise? "Judah, thou dost deserve thy name," he declared. His mother Leah named him Yehudah (Judah) because she gave praise to God at his birth, and Jacob said, "So shall thy brethren praise thee, and they all will call themselves by thy name.": The very name "Jew" is derived from Judah!

And the blessings kept coming. Jacob acknowledged Judah’s confession of his sin, comparing him to future descendants like Achan, David, and Manasseh, who would also publicly confess their sins and find forgiveness. He lauded Judah's bravery, comparing him to a dog and a lion (a rather interesting combination!). And remember how Judah saved Joseph from death, and Tamar and her sons from being burned? Those acts of courage were not forgotten.

Then comes the big one, the messianic prophecy. "Rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor teachers of the law from his posterity, until his descendant Messiah come, and the obedience of all peoples be unto him." The Midrash Rabbah and the Zohar are filled with similar imagery and predictions about this future ruler.

And what a picture Jacob paints! The Messiah of the House of Judah, girded for battle, invincible against his enemies. Mountains dyed red with the blood of the wicked. Even the Messiah’s garments are described with vivid detail: "The garments of Messiah will be like the garments of him that presseth wine." His eyes pure, never beholding anything unchaste or violent; his teeth whiter than milk, never biting anything obtained unjustly.

So, what can we take away from this deathbed scene? It’s a reminder that even in moments of rebuke, blessings can be found. That past mistakes don't define us, and that even in the face of our shortcomings, there's the potential for greatness, for redemption, and for a future filled with hope. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us of the enduring power of confession, of taking responsibility for our actions, and of the promise of a better world to come.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 1:400Legends of the Jews

Take Jacob, for example, blessing his sons on his deathbed. We read in Legends of the Jews, a treasure trove of rabbinic lore compiled by Louis Ginzberg, that when Jacob blessed Dan, his mind was fixed on one of Dan’s most famous descendants: Samson. Samson, the strongman, the hero who single-handedly brought victory to the Israelites. Ginzberg tells us that Jacob saw in Samson a reflection of God's own power, a man who, "like unto God, without any manner of assistance, conferred victory upon his people." In fact, Jacob even dared to hope that Samson might be the Messiah!

Can you imagine? The sheer strength, the miraculous feats..A reader can see why Jacob might have jumped to that conclusion.

Then, a shadow fell. The knowledge of Samson’s tragic death came to Jacob, and his hopes were dashed. It’s a poignant moment. Instead of despair, though, Jacob turned to faith. He cried out, "I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord, for Thy help is unto all eternity, while Samson's help is only for a time."

In that moment, Jacob understood something profound about the nature of true redemption. Samson's strength was finite, his help temporary. True salvation, the kind that lasts forever, could only come from God.

And it gets even more interesting. Jacob continued, "The redemption will not be accomplished by Samson the Danite, but by Elijah the Gadite, who will appear at the end of time.” This is a fascinating glimpse into messianic expectations. Instead of a warrior, Jacob envisions a prophet, Elijah, heralding the end of days. It speaks to a shift in focus, from physical strength to spiritual guidance.

So, what does this all mean? It tells us that the idea of the Messiah, the Mashiach, wasn't always a fixed concept. It was something our ancestors wrestled with, debated, and re-imagined. Jacob's story reminds us that even in moments of disappointment, hope can endure. And that sometimes, the greatest strength lies not in physical power, but in unwavering faith and expectation for a future, truly everlasting redemption.

Full source
Midrash Tehillim 78:3Midrash Tehillim

Midrash Tehillim turns to Edom Among the Heavenly Host.

"Nevertheless, they sinned and did not believe in His wonders." That's how the Midrash starts. It's a bit of a downer. But it sets the stage.

Then, Rabbi Berachiah and Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei, citing Rabbi Meir, share this amazing vision: God showed Jacob a ladder with seventy rungs. Seventy! And According to this interpretation, the ladder represents history, specifically the rise and fall of empires. It goes up and down every fifty-two years. Greece falls after 180 years. And then Edom, a name often used to represent Rome and later oppressive empires, rises higher than it should.

Jacob seeing this in a dream! A cosmic forecast of power, empires, and, let's be honest, suffering. It must have been terrifying. So, God reassures him: "Do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant. Just as these fell, so will those fall." A promise of eventual justice, of the cyclical nature of power.

But Jacob, understandably, is still scared. He says, "Master of the Universe, I am afraid I may fall." Can you blame him? He's seeing the sweep of history, the potential for his own descendants to stumble. God answers with those powerful words: "God forbid, do not be afraid." A divine reassurance.

The Midrash doesn't stop there. It goes on to say that God showed Jacob the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, built and then destroyed. He saw the sword, the offerings being brought, the priests serving, and even the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, departing. All in that single dream!

“And he dreamed, and behold a ladder…” the Midrash quotes. There's no dream without interpretation. So, what does this ladder mean? According to this, the ladder is the Temple. "Its top reached the heavens" – that's the offerings, the korbanot (a sacrificial offering), ascending to God. "And behold, angels of God are going up and down it" – those are the priests, ascending and descending the ramp, and they're called angels, as it says, "For the angel of the Lord of Hosts is he." "And behold, the Lord stood upon it" – like it says, "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar." Layers upon layers of meaning, all packed into that one iconic image.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei offers another compelling interpretation. He says that Rabbi Meir taught that the verse, “Nevertheless, they sinned and did not believe,” means that if the Israelites had ascended spiritually and not fallen back down, they wouldn't be in exile. The servitude and suffering that we’ve undergone could have been avoided. The ladder isn't just about empires or the Temple. It's about our own spiritual ascent and descent. It's about our choices, our belief, and the consequences that follow.

So, what does Jacob's ladder mean to us today? Perhaps it's a reminder that history is not linear, that empires rise and fall, and that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, hope remains. Perhaps it's a call to strive for spiritual ascent, to hold fast to our beliefs, and to build a world where we don't have to fear falling. Perhaps, like Jacob, we can find reassurance in the face of our own fears, knowing that even in the darkest of times, the Divine is with us.

Full source
Vayikra Rabbah 29:2Vayikra Rabbah

The ancient rabbis pondered such a moment, centered on our patriarch, Jacob, and a vision of a ladder reaching to the heavens.

The scene is set in Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. But Vayikra Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Leviticus, sees something more profound in this dream. Rabbi Naḥman begins by quoting Jeremiah: "You, have no fear, My servant Jacob" (Jeremiah 30:10), connecting it directly to Jacob's ladder. According to Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, these weren't just any angels; they were the guardian angels of different nations.

Jacob watching these angels. The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the guardian angel of Babylon ascending seventy rungs, Media ascending fifty-two, Greece ascending one hundred and eighty. But then he saw the guardian angel of Edom, traditionally understood as the forebear of Rome, ascending… and ascending… seemingly without end.

This terrified Jacob. "Is it possible that this one has no descent?" he wondered. The Holy One reassured him: "You, have no fear, My servant Jacob, even if it ascends and sits near Me, I will bring it down from there." This echoes the verse in Obadiah: "If you raise yourself like the eagle, or place your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, the utterance of the Lord" (Obadiah 1:4). No matter how high Edom might rise, God would ultimately bring it low.

Now, here's where it gets really interesting. Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, in the name of Rabbi Meir, offer a different, even more poignant interpretation. They say that God showed Jacob the angels of Babylon, Media, Greece, and Edom both ascending and descending. Then, God said to Jacob, "You, too, will ascend."

But Jacob hesitated. He feared that just as those angels had a descent after their ascent, so too would he. The Holy One reassured him: “You, have no fear, if you ascend, there will be no descent for you forever.” But Jacob, tragically, didn't believe it.

Rabbi Meir expounds on this, linking it to (Psalms 78:32): "Nonetheless, they continued to sin and did not believe in His wonders." This, he says, is Jacob our patriarch, who did not believe and did not ascend. Because of this lack of faith, God declared that Jacob's descendants would be subjugated by the four kingdoms, burdened with taxes of all kinds.

Jacob, understandably distraught, asked if this subjugation would be forever. God reassured him with the words of Jeremiah: "Do not be afraid, Israel, as, behold, I will save you from afar" (Jeremiah 30:10). This salvation would come from distant lands like Babylon, Gaul (France), and Spain. Jacob would return, finding calm, tranquility, and freedom from trembling. God would bring annihilation upon the nations who oppressed them, but not upon Israel.

The midrash (rabbinic interpretation) concludes with a fascinating connection to the laws of the harvest. God says, "I will chastise you with justice" (Jeremiah 30:11), afflicting them with suffering to cleanse them of iniquities. But, the text implies, this suffering can be lessened during the time of justice, namely on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), in the seventh month. How? By supporting the poor, echoing the law of leaving a corner of one's field unharvested for the needy (Leviticus 23:22).

So, what are we to make of this? It seems to be a story about missed opportunities, about the consequences of fear and doubt, and about the enduring promise of redemption. But it's also about something more personal. What ladders are we being offered? What ascents are we shying away from because we fear the inevitable descent? And perhaps most importantly, how can we cultivate the faith to believe that, with God's help, our ascent might be without descent?

Full source
Pesikta DeRav Kahana 23:2Pesikta de-Rav Kahana

Rabbi Nahman opened: "And you, fear not, My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed" (Jeremiah 30:10). This speaks of Jacob, of whom it is written, "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder" (Genesis 28:12). Rabbi Samuel son of Rabbi Nahman said: these are the princes of the nations of the world. For Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman said, this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed our father Jacob the prince of Babylon ascending seventy rungs and descending, and the prince of Media fifty-two and descending, and the prince of Greece one hundred and eighty and descending, and the prince of Edom went up and up, and Jacob did not know how high. In that hour our father Jacob was afraid and said, "Can it be that this one has no descent?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Be not dismayed, Israel" (Jeremiah, ibid.). As it were, even if you see him seated beside Me, from there I will bring him down, as it is written, "Though you soar like the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the LORD" (Obadiah 1:4).

Rabbi Berekhiah, Rabbi Helbo, and Rabbi Simeon son of Rabbi Yose in the name of Rabbi Meir: this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed our father Jacob the prince of Babylon going up and coming down, and of Media going up and coming down, and of Greece going up and coming down, and of Edom going up and coming down. The Holy One said to him, "Jacob, you too go up." In that hour our father Jacob was afraid and said, "Just as these have a descent, perhaps I too have a descent." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Be not dismayed, Israel" (Jeremiah, ibid.). If you go up, you will never have a descent forever. But he did not believe, and he did not go up.

Rabbi Berekhiah and Rabbi Helbo in the name of Rabbi Simeon son of Rabbi Yosina: Rabbi Meir would expound, "For all this they sinned still, and believed not in His wonders" (Psalms 78:32), this is Jacob our father, who did not believe and did not go up. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Had you believed and gone up, you would never have come down. Now that you did not believe and did not go up, behold, your children will be enslaved by four kingdoms in this world, by taxes, by levies, by fines, and by poll-taxes." One might think this is forever; therefore it says, "Be not dismayed, Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar" (Jeremiah 30:10), from Babylon. "And your offspring from the land of their captivity" (ibid.), from Gaul, from Spain, and from their neighbors. "And Jacob shall return" (ibid.), from Babylon. "And be quiet" (ibid.), from Media. "And at ease" (ibid.), from Greece. "And none shall make him afraid" (ibid.), from Edom. "For I will make a full end of all the nations among which I have scattered you" (ibid. 30:11), of the nations of the world, who consume their fields entirely, He says, "I will make a full end." But Israel, who do not consume their fields entirely, "yet of you I will not make a full end; but I will chastise you in measure, and will not leave you wholly unpunished" (ibid.), I will discipline you with sufferings in this world in order to cleanse you of your sins in this world. When? "In the seventh month" (Leviticus 23:24).

Full source
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 121:1Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

It is written, "And you, do not fear, My servant Jacob... and do not be dismayed, O Israel" (Jeremiah 30:10). This speaks of Jacob, as it is written, "And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder." These [rungs] are the guardian-princes of the nations of the world. This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob our father the prince of Babylon ascending seventy rungs and descending, and that of Media ascending fifty-two, that of Greece one hundred and eighty, and that of Edom ascending without his knowing how many. At that moment Jacob our father was seized with fear. He said, "Do you mean to say that this one has no descent?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Do not be dismayed, O Israel" (Jeremiah 30:10) [meaning: even if you see him seated beside Me, from there I will bring him down], as it is written, "Though you soar like the eagle and set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the LORD" (Obadiah 1:4).

Rabbi Berekhiah said in the name of Rabbi Meir: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob our father the prince of Babylon ascending and descending, and that of Greece ascending and descending, and that of Edom ascending and descending. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Jacob, you too, ascend!" At that moment our father Jacob was seized with fear and said, "Do you mean that, just as these have a descent, so I too will have a descent?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Do not fear, O Israel" (Jeremiah 30:10) [meaning: if you ascend you will have no descent]. But he did not believe, and he did not ascend. "For all this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wonders" (Psalms 78:32) [refers to] Jacob our father, who did not believe and did not ascend.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Had you believed and ascended, you would never have descended. Now that you did not believe and did not ascend, your children will be subjugated to four kingdoms in this world by taxes, levies, and head-tax." Could this be forever? Scripture teaches, "Do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I save you from afar" (Jeremiah 30:10) from Babylon, "and your offspring from the land of their captivity" from Gaul and from Spain and their neighbors. "And Jacob shall return" from Babylon, "and be quiet" from Media, "and at ease" from Greece, "and none shall make him afraid" from Edom.

Full source