The mourning period ended, but the story certainly didn't. In fact, it was then that the simmering conflict between the descendants of Jacob and Esau erupted again with full force.
Remember that initial clash at the Cave of Machpelah, when Esau tried to muscle his way into a burial plot while Jacob’s body was still unburied? It was a messy affair. According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Ginzberg, Esau lost forty of his men then. But that was just the beginning.
The sons of Esau didn't fare much better afterward. They lost eighty more men in subsequent skirmishes, while Jacob’s sons didn't lose a single one. Joseph even managed to capture Zepho, the son of Eliphaz, along with fifty of his men, and hauled them off to Egypt in chains. Can you imagine the humiliation?
The remaining forces of Esau, led by Eliphaz, beat a hasty retreat to Mount Seir, dragging Esau's headless corpse with them for burial. The sons of Jacob pursued, but, showing respect for the dead, they didn’t kill anyone. A brief respite, perhaps? Not quite.
On the third day, a massive army of the inhabitants of Seir and the "children of the East" marched on Egypt, aiming to crush Joseph and his brothers. But in the ensuing battle, Joseph and his warriors decimated them, mowing down a staggering six hundred thousand men. The survivors fled in terror.
Back in their own lands, the sons of Esau and the sons of Seir started pointing fingers. The sons of Seir blamed the sons of Esau for their misfortune and demanded they leave. In desperation, the sons of Esau secretly appealed to Agnias, the king of Africa, for help. He sent them troops.
The sons of Seir, not to be outdone, secured the support of the "children of the East" and the Midianites. Battles raged, with the sons of Esau suffering repeated defeats, partly due to treachery within their own ranks. But finally, in the desert of Paran, the sons of Esau achieved a decisive victory, massacring the sons of Seir and scattering their allies.
Victorious but brutal, they returned to Seir and slaughtered nearly everyone – men, women, and children – sparing only fifty lads and maidens. These survivors were enslaved or taken as wives. The sons of Esau seized all the possessions of the sons of Seir, dividing the land amongst themselves. A grim consolidation of power indeed.
Now needing a leader, but too full of hatred to pick one of their own, the descendants of Esau chose Bela, the son of Beor, a warrior sent by King Agnias. He was crowned king, given a palace, and showered with wealth. For thirty years, he reigned until he met his end in a war against – you guessed it – Joseph and his brethren.
Why this new war? The sons of Esau couldn’t let go of the humiliation Joseph had inflicted upon them. So, with the help of Agnias, the Ishmaelites, and other eastern nations, they launched a second campaign against Egypt, hoping to free Zepho and his followers. Despite their enormous army of eight hundred thousand men, they were crushed at Raamses by Joseph and his tiny band of six hundred. King Bela fell, a quarter of their army lay dead, and the rest fled.
Joseph, returning victorious, tightened the chains on Zepho and his men. The sons of Esau appointed Jobab of Bozrah as their new king. He reigned for ten years, but they didn’t dare to wage war against the sons of Jacob again. Their hatred, however, burned hotter than ever.
Their third king, Husham, ruled for twenty years. During his reign, Zepho finally escaped from Egypt. He found refuge with King Agnias, who made him commander-in-chief of his troops. Zepho relentlessly tried to persuade Agnias to attack Egypt, but Agnias, well aware of the strength of Jacob’s descendants, refused.
Instead, Agnias had other battles to fight. A man from the land of Kittim, named Uzi, who was revered as a god, died, leaving behind a beautiful and clever daughter, Yaniah. Agnias sought her hand in marriage, and the people of Kittim agreed. But as Agnias's messengers were returning with the promise, Turnus, the king of Benevento, arrived with the same request. Rejected, Turnus attacked Lucus, Agnias's brother, in Sardinia.
Agnias rushed to his brother's aid, and a battle ensued in the Valley of Campania. Initially, Turnus was victorious, and the Sardinians lost their general Niblos. But in the second engagement, Turnus's army was routed, and he was killed. Agnias pursued the fleeing army to the crossroads between Rome and Albano.
Niblos's body was placed in a golden statue, and his father erected a high tower over his grave, mirrored by another tower over Turnus's grave, both connected by a marble pavement. Agnias then went to Benevento, but spared the city because it belonged to the land of Kittim. However, under Zepho's command, African soldiers occasionally raided Kittim. Finally, Agnias went to Pozimana, married Yaniah, and returned with her to his capital in Africa.
What does this all mean? It's a cycle of conflict, revenge, and shifting alliances, playing out against a backdrop of ancient kingdoms and simmering resentment. While the sons of Jacob are not directly involved in every one of these conflicts, their initial victory and the subsequent captivity of Zepho set in motion a series of events that reverberate through generations. It serves as a potent reminder that the consequences of our actions, both good and bad, can extend far beyond our own lifetimes. And perhaps, a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked hatred and the futility of endless cycles of violence.
Jacob having been interred with royal pomp, and the seven days' period of mourning over, the conflict between the sons of Jacob and the sons of Esau broke out anew. In the skirmish that had ensued when Esau advanced a claim upon a place in the Cave of Machpelah, while his brother's remains still lay unburied, he lost forty of his men, and after his death fortune favored his sons as little. Eighty of their followers were slain, while of the sons of Jacob not one was lost. Joseph succeeded in capturing Zepho the son of Eliphaz and fifty of his men, and he clapped them in chains and carried them off to Egypt. Thereupon the rest of the attacking army led by Eliphaz fled to Mount Seir, taking with them the headless corpse of Esau, to bury it in his own territory. The sons of Jacob pursued after them, but they slew none, out of respect for the remains of Esau. On the third day a great army gathered together, consisting of the inhabitants of Seir and the children of the East, and they marched down into Egypt with the purpose of making war upon Joseph and his brethren. In the battle that came off, this army was almost totally destroyed, not less than six hundred thousand men were mowed down by Joseph and his warriors, and the small remnant fled precipitately. Returned to their own country after this fatal campaign, the sons of Esau and the sons of Seir fell to quarrelling among themselves, and the sons of Seir demanded that their former allies leave the place, because it was they that had brought misfortune upon the country. The sons of Esau thereupon dispatched a messenger in secret to their friend Agnias, king of Africa, begging his aid against the sons of Seir. He granted their request, and sent them troops consisting of foot-soldiers and mounted men. The sons of Seir, on their part, also sought allies, and they secured the help of the children of the East, and of the Midianites, who put warriors at their disposal. In the encounters that ensued between the hostile forces, the sons of Esau were defeated again and again, partly on account of treachery in their own ranks, for their men sometimes deserted to the enemy while the combat was on. At last, however, in the battle that took place in the desert of Paran, the sons of Esau gained a decisive victory. They massacred all the warriors of the sons of Seir, and the Midianites and the children of the East were put to flight. Thereafter the sons of Esau returned to Seir, and they slew all the inhabitants of the place, men, women, and children, sparing only fifty lads and maidens. The former they used as slaves, and the latter they took to wife. They also enriched themselves with the spoils, seizing all the possessions of the sons of Seir, and the whole land was divided among the five sons of Esau. Now these descendants of Esau determined to put a king over themselves, but in consequence of the treachery committed during the war there prevailed such hatred and bitterness among them that they decided never to appoint a ruler from their own people. Their choice fell upon Bela, the son of Beor, one of the warriors sent to them by King Agnias. His peer could not be found among the allied troops for bravery, wisdom, and handsome appearance. They set the royal crown upon his head, built a palace for him, and gave him gifts of silver, gold, and gems, until he lived in great opulence. He reigned happily for thirty years, and met his death then in a war against Joseph and his brethren. This war came about because the sons of Esau could not banish from their memory the disgrace of the defeat inflicted upon them by Joseph and his people. Having enlisted the aid of Agnias, and of the Ishmaelites and other nations of the East, they set forth on a second campaign against Egypt, in the hope of delivering Zepho and his followers from the hands of Joseph. In spite of their enormous host—they had no less than eight hundred thousand men of infantry and cavalry—they were defeated at Raamses by Joseph and his brethren and their little company of six hundred men. Beside their king Bela, they left one-fourth of their army upon the field. The loss of their king discouraged them grievously, and they took to flight, hard pressed by Joseph, who cut down many of the fugitives. When he returned from the battle, Joseph ordered manacles and fetters to be put upon Zepho and his followers, and their captivity was made more bitter unto them than it had been before. The sons of Esau appointed Jobab of Bozrah to succeed their dead king Bela. His reign lasted ten years, but they desisted from all further attempts at waging war with the sons of Jacob. Their last experience with them had been too painful, but the enmity they cherished against them was all the fiercer, and their hatred never abated. Their third king was Husham, and he ruled over them for twenty years. During his reign Zepho succeeded in making good his escape from Egypt. He was received kindly by Agnias, king of Africa, and appointed commander-in-chief of his troops. He used every means of persuasion to induce his sovereign lord to enter into a war with Egypt, but in vain, for Agnias was only too well acquainted with the strength and heroism of the sons of Jacob. For many years he resisted Zepho's arguments and blandishments. Indeed, as it was, Agnias had his hands full with other warlike enterprises. It had happened about this time that a man of the land of Kittim, 'Uzi by name, whom his countrymen venerated as a god, died in the city of Pozimana, and he left behind a fair and clever daughter. Agnias heard of Yaniah's beauty and wisdom, and he sued for her hand, and his request was granted him by the people of Kittim. The messengers of Agnias were hastening away from Kittim, bearing to their master the promise of the inhabitants that Yaniah should become his wife, when Turnus, king of Benevento, arrived on the same errand. His suit was rejected, for the people of Kittim were afraid-to break the promise given to Agnias. In his anger, Turnus went to Sardinia to make war upon King Lucus, a brother of Agnias, intending to deal with the latter as soon as the other was rendered harmless. Hearing of the design hatched by Turnus, Agnias hastened to Sardinia to the assistance of his brother, and a battle took place in the Valley of Campania. Against Turnus were arrayed Agnias, his brother Lucus, and the son of the latter, Niblos, whom his father had appointed commander-in-chief of the Sardinian troops. In the first encounter, Turnus was the victor, and the Sardinians lost their general Niblos. But in the second engagement the army of Turnus was routed completely, and he himself was left dead on the field. His army fled, pursued closely by Agnias as far as the cross-road between Rome and Albano. Niblos' body was put inside of a golden statue, and his father erected a high tower over his grave, and another over the grave of Turnus, and these two buildings, connected by a marble pavement, stand opposite to each other, on the cross-road at which Agnias left off from following after the fugitive army. The king of Africa went on to the city of Benevento, but he took no harsh measures against it and its inhabitants, because it belonged to the land of Kittim at that time. Thenceforth, however, bands of soldiers from Africa made incursions, now and again, into the land of Kittim, under the lead of Zepho, the captain of the African army. Agnias meantime went to Pozimana, to solemnize his marriage with Yaniah, and he returned with her to his capital in Africa.
