Thursday, February 11, 2021

Seder 44: When and How Did Esau Die?

 The book of Genesis records that the patriarch Jacob died at age 147 (Gen 47:28).  However, nothing is said in Genesis about how long Jacob's twin brother Esau lived.  

I know of two legends about the time and circumstances surrounding the death of Esau.  Both are fanciful and reflect a tendency to read later hostility between the nations of Israel and Edom back into the lives of Jacob and Esau.  Still, they are entertaining and worth knowing about.  

One of the legends appears in Chapters 37 and 38 of the book of Jubilees.  After Isaac's death, Esau's sons insist that they attack Jacob.  (They resent the fact that they have no inheritance in Canaan.) With a large army of mercenaries, they attack Jacob at Hebron, where Jacob kills Esau with a well-placed arrow from the bow spoken of in Gen 48:22.  

Another legend (b Sotah 13a) says that when Jacob's funeral procession (Gen 50) arrived at Machpelah, they were confronted by Esau, who tried to stop the burial but was killed by Dan's son Chushim.  

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