Esau had moved away from his brother Jacob, but the sages in the Chronicles of Jerahmeel say it was not because his hatred had cooled. "His anger did he bear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever." He was simply biding his time.
The moment came when Leah died. Jacob and his sons sat in mourning, surrounded by family and servants who had gathered to comfort them—about two hundred people in all, sitting peacefully with no thought of attack. That is when Esau struck. He arrived with a host of four thousand men, all clad in iron and brass coats of mail, armed with shields, bows, and lances. They surrounded the fortress.
Jacob climbed the tower wall and called out to his brother with words of peace, friendship, and brotherhood. Esau ignored every word. Judah lost patience: "How long will you speak to him of love while he comes at us like an armed enemy?" Jacob bent his bow and killed Adoram the Edomite with his first shot. His second arrow struck Esau in the right shoulder.
Weakened by the wound, Esau was lifted onto a white mule by his sons and carried to Adoram, where—according to one tradition—he died. Other sources say he survived. But the battle was far from over. Judah leaped from the walls and fought with devastating force. The chronicle, a 12th-century Hebrew compilation translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, describes how Jacob's sons routed the Edomite army in detail, killing many of Esau's commanders and scattering the remainder. The sons of Esau eventually sued for peace, and a treaty was made dividing the land—Esau's descendants received Seir, while Jacob held Canaan.
XXXVII. (1) And Esau went into a land away from
his brother Jacob. He made a contract with him. Some
say he went out of shame. The sages say: Esau went
away because he had moved his property away, and not
because his hatred had subsided, for " his anger did he bear
perpetually and he kept his wrath for ever." Although he
went away at that time, he came again to fight Jacob after-
wards. Leah had just died, and Jacob and his sons were
sitting in mourning, and some of his children had come to
comfort him. At that time Esau came against him with a
mighty host, all clad in iron and brass coats of mail, all
armed with shields, and bows, and lances. They were alto-
gether four thousand men, and they surrounded the fortress.
Jacob, his sons, his servants, and his cattle, and all that
belonged to them, were gathered, for they had all con-
gregated to comfort Jacob during his mourning. (2) So
they were all sitting peacefully, and never thought of any
attack from any side whatsoever until that host approached
the place where Jacob and his sons were dwelling. There
were with them in all two hundred servants.
(3) When Jacob saw that Esau dared to war with him,
and that he had come to take the fortress and to slay them,
and that he shot arrows against them, Jacob stood upon
the wall of the tower and spoke to Esau words of peace,
friendship and brotherhood. But Esau did not heed
them.
(4) After that, Judah spoke to his father Jacob, and said
to him: " How long wilt thou speak unto him words of
friendship and love, whilst he comes against us like an
armed enemy, with coats of mail and with bows to slay us ?"
And immediately Jacob bent the bow, and killed Adoram
the Edomite. (5) And again he drew his bow, sent forth
his arrow, and hit Esau on the right shoulder. Esau
became weak from the wound, and so his sons took him up
and placed him upon a white mule, and they carried him
to Adoram, where he died. [Others say he did not die there.]
(6) And then came Judah, and Gad and Naphtali with
him, out of the south side of the fortress, and fifty young
men-servants of their father. And Levi, and Dan, and
Asher came out from the east side of the fortress, and fifty
servants with them. And Keuben, Issachar and Zebulun
came out from the north of the fortress, and with them
fifty servants. And Simeon, and Benjamin, and Enoch,
the son of Reuben, came out from the west side of the
fortress, and fifty servants with them. Joseph was not
with them at that time, for he had already been sold.
(7) Judah strengthened himself for the battle, and he,
Naphtali and Gad first rushed against the host. And they
captured the iron tower (?), and caught on their shields the
stones which were hurled at them. The sun was darkened
through the stones, and through the arrows which were shot
at them, and through the missiles which the catapults hurled
at them. And Judah rushed first against the enemy, and
killed sixty men. Naphtali and Gad went with him, one
kept watch over him to the right, and the other to the left,
guarding him lest he should be slain by the enemy. They
also slew two men each, and the fifty servants who were
with them helped them, and each of them slew his man, fifty
in all. (8) And yet Judah, Naphtali and Gad could not
drive away the host from the north side of the fortress,
nor even move them from their position. Again they
strengthened themselves for the battle, and each of them
slew two of his adversaries. (9) And when Judah saw
that they still kept their ground and that they could not
move them from their place, his wrath was kindled, and he
clothed himself with strength, and he slew twenty men, whilst
Naphtali and Gad slew ten men. And when the servants
saw that Judah, Naphtali and Gad were standing in the
midst of the battle, they came to their assistance, and
86 [XXXVII. 9
fought together with them. Judah was slaymg to the
right and left, and NaphtaH and Gad slew behind him.
(10) At that time they drove the army aw^ay from the north
side of the city, a distance of a furlong (Eis on). And
they wanted to bury (their dead), but could not do it.
When the enemy saw that those who had fought against
Judah had been dispersed by Judah and his brothers, they
gathered together and strengthened themselves to fight with
Judah and his brothers, and they arrayed their ranks to
fight with strength and might. In the same manner Levi
and those with him, and Simeon and those with him,
prepared themselves for battle with those arrayed against
them, and they were ready to fight for life or death.
(11) When Judah beheld that the whole army of the
enemy had gathered against him, and that all would fight
at one time, and that they stood in battle-array, he lifted
up his eyes to God (imploringly) that He might help them,
for they were very fatigued from the heavy fight, and they
could not by any means fight any longer.
(12) At that moment God accepted Judah's prayer. He
saw their trouble, and He helped them, for He sent forth a
storm from His treasuries, which blew in the faces of the
army and filled their eyes with darkness and obscurity, so
that they could not see how to fight, w^hilst the eyes of
Judah and his brothers were clear, as the wind came from
behind them. So Judah, Naphtali and Gad began to slay
them, and they felled them to the ground, like the harvest
cut by the reaper, who binds it into sheaves and heaps
them up into stacks. So did they do until they had
destroyed the whole army Avhich stood against them on the
north side of the fortress.
(13) Reuben, Simeon and Levi fought on their side
with another portion of the army. And after Judah,
Naphtali and Gad had slain those who fought with them,
they went to the assistance of their brothers. The storm
was still blowing, filling the eyes of the enemies with dark-
ness and obscurity. Thereupon Reuben, Simeon and Levi,
and those with them, fell upon the enemies, and felled them
xxxviii. 1] 87
to the ground in heaps, whilst Judah, Naphtali and Gad
were driving them before them, until all those were
destroyed who fought against Levi and Keuben; and out of
those who fought against Simeon four hundred were slain.
The remaining six hundred ran away; with them were the
four sons of Esau: Eeuel, Yeush, Ya'alam and Korah.
Eliphaz did not accompany them in the war, for Jacob had
been his teacher.
(14) The sons of Jacob pursued them up to the city
Merodio (Herodia). There in the citadel of Merodio they
left the body of Esau lying on the ground, and they ran
away to Mount Se'ir, to the place leading up to 'Aqrabim.
The sons of Jacob entered Merodio and encamped there
over night. Finding there the body of Esau, they buried
him out of respect for their father, Jacob. (Some say he
did not die there, but left Merodio, though ill, and went
with his children to Mount Se'ir.)
The sons of Jacob armed themselves and pursued them
the way leading to 'Aqrabim, where they found the children
of Esau, and all those that had fled with them. They all
came out, prostrated themselves before the sons of Jacob,
and sued for peace. The children of Jacob made peace
with them, and made them tributary for ever.
This is the Will (Testament) of Naphtali, Son of Jacob.
