Esau

Esau sought to kill his brother Jacob (Genesis 27:21). Descendants of Esau became prominent among the Romans, Germans, and others. Esau gave rise to military elites such as the Spartans and to conquering warriors like Alexander the Great. Esau is Great! There is none like him, for good or bad. He creates civilizations and destroys them. He stalks through the pages of world history and leaves his imprint everywhere. Esau was blessed that he should benefit from the riches of this earth and be a warrior nation, "By Your Sword You Shall Live!" (Genesis 27:20). The Sages opined that in nearly every military exertion, every great battle, anywhere there is fighting to be done, descendants of Esau will somehow or other be involved, usually at the top, and often on both sides of the trench. Esau bursts into history as the Heroic Hunter, the Hero of the Hunt in the Bible (Genesis 25:27). At times he is not much different from the beasts he chases after. He astounds by the extremes and inconsistencies of his character. Esau (Edom) was the twin-brother of Jacob (Israel). His destiny was to be often interlocked with that of the Israelites. Descendants of Esau were to be found both as spread throughout other nations (sometimes as influential cliques), as well as becoming concrete national identities. In this sense Esau parallels the Israelites who became scattered like the Jews of Judah or concentrated in specific areas like the Lost Ten Tribes. A good portion of the Israelites are to be found in the Galut [Exile] of Edom, Judah was amongst Edomites in the physical sense, whereas Joseph (the Ten Tribes) is still a captive in the psychological, social, and spiritual spheres. Descendants of Edom include the historical founders of Russia, China, and Japan. Esau and his offshoots from the People of Seir was important in the genesis of ancient Sparta, of early Rome, of Venice, and of Germany, and of numerous other nations. Esau was also known as Edom. The Edomites are to be found amongst many other peoples including those of the west. Input from Edom may well be present in the genealogies of many of us today. The Edomites have their own national characteristics through which they may be recognized. Esau has an existence parallel to that of the Israelites from the Ten Tribes. He is similar to them and often neighbors them. Esau however bears an everlasting implacable instinctive grudge against Judah and Joseph (Amos 1:11).