"Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Vayisu": It is based on the verse "They journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob" (Genesis 35:5). It is also referred to as the "Book of the Wars of the Sons of Jacob" as it recounts the valor of Jacob's sons in their battle against the kings of the Amorites who gathered against them following the incident of Shechem, and Jacob and his sons' battle against Esau and his progeny. In these battles, Judah particularly stood out for his valor and courage. This story is a very ancient legend, also mentioned in the Book of Jubilees (chapter 37) which was composed by a Jew from Alexandria during the Second Temple period. There, as in Midrash Vayisu, it is said that Jacob himself killed Esau in his battle against him with the help of his sons. However, in the Book of Jasher, it is narrated that this battle took place after Jacob's death and then Esau was killed to fulfill Rebecca's prophecy "Why should I be bereft of both of you on one day?", and that Judah was his slayer. Similarly, this is described in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ketubot chapter 1 and Gittin chapter 5), with variations in the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 13), in the Sifrei Devarim chapter 33, in Targum Jonathan Genesis 3, in Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer (chapter 39), in Midrash Shocher Tov (Psalms 18), where it is said that Esau's death was at the hands of Hushim, the son of Dan. Nevertheless, even in the Vayisu narrative, it is not entirely clear, as it says that Jacob wounded him, and Esau died from his wounds in the town of Arudin, and some say he did not die there. The legend of this war is in external books like the "Wills of the Twelve Tribes", specifically in "Judah's Will" (see Kautzsch Apocrypha vol. 2 pages 97, 107, 471), which originate from the Essenian scholars of Alexandria, and are not considered credible, so they were not accepted by our sages. Regarding this, Ramban (Nachmanides) said: "If we believe in the Book of the Wars of the Sons of Jacob (Midrash Vayisu)...", indicating that he did not see it as authoritative and had doubts about its veracity. Midrash Vayisu can be found in a collection of 19 books in the British Museum in London, No. 27089. It was printed in Kushta in 1779 and was printed by Charles in his edition of the Book of Jubilees, Appendix B (Oxford 1895), and by Yellinek in Bet HaMidrash 8a at the beginning, which is a verbatim copy from Yalkut Shimoni 1a, code 133. Since this Yalkut is available to scholars of midrashic literature, there is no need to reproduce the Midrash Vayisu here.
Midrash Vayissu ('And They Journeyed')
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team
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