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.