Jacob saw the leaders of Esau listed in the Torah — king after king after king (Genesis 36:31-43) — and was afraid. "How can I stand against all of them? I am one man." The Holy One said: "Look what is behind you." And when Jacob looked, he saw the generations of Isaac, the generations of Abraham, the covenant stretching back and forward through time. He was not one man. He was the culmination of everything that had come before him (Genesis 25:19).
Obadiah's vision of Edom's judgment enters here because the rabbis connected Esau's fourteen kings to Edom's eventual fall. Edom had kings while Israel had none — and the rabbis noted the irony: Edom's royal succession proved its instability, not its strength. A nation that cycles through kings is a nation that cannot agree on who it is. Israel, by contrast, had no kings yet — it had a covenant. The covenant was worth more than any throne.
"These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph" (Genesis 37:2) — the verse that follows the list of Edom's kings. The rabbis read the juxtaposition as deliberate. Edom has fourteen kings; Jacob has Joseph. But Joseph will become the viceroy of Egypt. Joseph's children, Ephraim and Manasseh, will become tribes. The seed of one faithful man outweighs the record of fourteen kings whose names are already forgotten by the nations who succeeded them.
Chapter (57) 58: Torah [1] And Jacob dwelt in the land (Genesis 37:1). This is what the scripture says: "The eternal God is thy dwelling-place, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). At that time, when Israel dwelt securely, he relied upon the Lord alone (Deuteronomy 33:28). You do not know who preceded, whether it was the dwelling place or the God who preceded, but then David came and explained through Moses, "A prayer of Moses, the man of God. 'O Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation.'" (Psalm 90:1), meaning that God never preceded His creatures, as it says, "Who hath first given to Me, that I should repay him?" (Job 41:3). "And underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). R. Berechiah said that the Holy One, blessed be He, said: "Although I have created the world and maintain it, when there are righteous men below, it is as if they were maintaining the world," hence "underneath are the everlasting arms." "And He will thrust out the enemy from before thee, and say: Destroy" (Deuteronomy 33:27), this refers to Esau (and his chiefs), for it is written, "And Esau took his wives" (Genesis 36:6). "And He will thrust out" and rely upon the Lord alone, "and Israel dwelt securely" (Deuteronomy 33:28). [2] Another explanation: "My God, His dwelling place of old." Rabbi Aha said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not create a dwelling place for Himself, but rather so that you may do My will and be in awe of Me in these conditions. As it is written: "Only acknowledge Me in all your ways, and I will make your paths smooth" (Proverbs 3:6). And it also says: "He drove out the enemy from before you and said: 'Destroy!'" (Deuteronomy 33:27). "So Israel dwells securely alone" (Deuteronomy 33:28). As long as the Holy One, blessed be He, is at peace, Israel is at peace. This can be compared to a hired singer - [edit. dagar-to gather together as a brood] - who used to sing in his master's house. He would sit and dine and sing, but after a while, his master brought in the son of the prince - [edit. "Ben haNatz" = refer to to sparkle. literally means "son of a bud." In this context, it refers to a person who is considered a rising star or a person who has the potential to become great in the future, here it means Shekina and prob. also Messiah] -. When the singer saw him, he ran under the table and hid himself and did not open his mouth anymore. The king entered to dine and said to the son of the prince, "Why isn't the singer singing?" He replied, "Because you brought in the son of the prince and he saw him and was afraid, and he is not singing anymore." The king then took out the son of the prince and the singer sang again. So too, Israel is in the Diaspora, while the Shechinah dwells in its own land, as it is written: "Those who dwell in Jerusalem say: 'Far from us be the Lord's land; it was given to us as our inheritance'" (Ezekiel 11:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: "Why do you not praise Me?" As it is written: "My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the steep place, let Me see your countenance, let Me hear your voice" (Song of Songs 2:14). Moses said to Him: "Master of the Universe, as long as You are in Your land, Israel is not seen in the world, but when You remove them, they are seen, as it is written: 'He drove out and said: "Destroy!"' and afterwards: 'So Israel dwells securely alone.'" Even the Holy One, blessed be He, is not seen in the world, as it were, until the time when the kingdom of Edom is uprooted, as it is written: "God is King over the nations" (Psalms 47:9). At that time, God will sit on His holy throne. (Psalms 47:9). [3] Another interpretation: "And Jacob dwelled." What is written above, "And Esau took" (Genesis 36:6). This corresponds to "In your distress, when all these things have befallen you in the end of days, you will return to the Lord, your God, and hearken to His voice" (Deuteronomy 4:30), which refers to the angels, as it says, "And Jacob said when he saw them" (Genesis 32:3). All of them will be uplifted, as it says, "And they shall lift up their wings" (Isaiah 40:31). This refers to Esau (and his chieftains) who went to a land because of his brother Jacob (Genesis 36:6), "The one who trusts in Me shall inherit the land" (Isaiah 57:13). This refers to Jacob and his sons, and Jacob dwelled. - [edit. also refers Legends of Jews 1:3 and Psalm 90:3 'Return, ye children of men.'] [4] Another interpretation: "And Jacob dwelled." In scriptures it is said: "For we are strangers before You, and sojourners, as were all our fathers" (1 Chronicles 29:15). This is the way of the righteous, who are the essence of the world and make themselves secondary. This is how Avraham was, who made himself secondary, as it says "I am a stranger and a sojourner among you" (Genesis 23:4). This is how Yaakov spoke to Esau, "I have sojourned with Laban" (Genesis 32:5). Similarly, Israel is written "strangers and sojourners" (Leviticus 25:23), therefore David says "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry" (Psalm 39:13), why? Because I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as were all my fathers. - [edit. this refers to world-to-come "as we are strangers in this world" (Leviticus 25:23)(Duties of the Heart, Fourth Treatise on Trust 4:61)]
