Israelites, Edomites, and the World (23 July 2017, 29 Tammuz, 5777)
The first man and woman were Adam and Eve. They begat all of mankind. In the time of the Deluge all inhabitants of the earth were wiped out apart from Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and of course their wives and children. In Genesis 10 we find a list of 70 descendants of Noah.
Genesis 10:
10 Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.....
6 The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. ....
15 Canaan ]became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth 16 and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite 17 and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite 18 and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. ....
21 Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. 22 The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. 24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber......31 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.
32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.
Each and every nation on earth may trace themselves back to one of the original seventy. Due to forced deportations and deliberate intermixing of peoples in the past alongside demographic blocks and environmental influences, etc., separate peoples may now seem quite different from each other but they still could have the same forefather.
The Table of Nations (Genesis chapter 10) lists 70 different families.
From these families according to a literal simple understanding derive all peoples of the earth.
Every different nation and people is a sub-branch of one of the original 70.
In Ancient Times however there was a custom associated especially with the Assyrians to conquer other peoples, in some cases separate the men from the women, and then re-settle extracted groupings in other areas.
As a result we now in some cases have peoples who are admixtures. Theoretically we could have a people the males of whom derive from several different peoples and the females from various others.
This may sound far-fetched but it is what the Midrash tells us, Assyrian inscriptions confirm, and DNA results indicate.
As stated, the original 70 descend from Shem, Ham, and Japhet. Under Shem are listed 26 ancestral figures, under Japhet 14, and under Ham 40.
In general Shem became the ancestor of certain Middle Eastern and European peoples, Japhet of European and Asian nations, and Ham fathered the inhabitants of Africa, many of the Indians of India and others.
A descendant of Shem was Abram (Genesis 11:26) later known as Abraham (Genesis 17:5). From Abraham began the Hebrew nation but not all descendants of Abraham are termed Hebrews but rather only those through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The wife of Abraham was Sarah (Genesis 12:5). Hagar was the handmaiden of Sarah. Abraham through Hagar begat Ishmael (Genesis 15:16) from whom come many of the Arabs. From another concubine (or concubines) named Keturah, Abraham begat six nations who went to the East. These were the Children of Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6).
From his wife Sarah Abraham begat Isaac (Genesis 21:3).
Isaac begat twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was re-named Israel (Genesis 32:8, 35:10) and begat 12 sons. These became the 12 Tribes of Israel.
His other son, Esau, was also known as Edom (Genesis 25:25, 30).
Esau begat 5 sons of whom 11 grandsons are listed and 11 'alufim' which word is translated variously as dukes, chieftains, or generals. It means 'leaders' (Genesis chapter 28). Some of the alufim have the same names as the grandsons but if (following the Commentary of Yehudah Kiel2) we take them as different entities we get a number of 28 for Esau, his sons, grandsons, and generals.
For Esau (Edom) we therefore have 28.
For Israel and his sons we get 13.
[28 for Esau plus 13 for Israel we get 41.]
Ishmael and his sons also give us 13.
[13 for Ishmael plus 41 for Israel and Esau gives us 54.]
The sons of the concubines of Abraham (Keturah and company) number 16.
[16 for Keturah plus 54 for Ishmael, Esau, and Israel, gives us 70.]
Altogether this comes to a total of 70 descendants of Abraham parallel to the 70 sons of Noah.
The greatest scholar amongst Jewish Sages for the Present Era was known as the Vilna Gaon (1720 -1797), or the Genius from Vilna, in Lithuania. His full name was Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman Kremer; his Hebrew acronym was "HaGra" i.e. "HaGaon Rabbenu Eliyahu", i.e. 'The Genius Our Rabbi Eliyahu'. The Vilna Gaon said: Half of the 70 non-Israelite nations of the earth may be classifiable as Edomite and the other half as those of Ishmael. On the Feast of Succoth 70 bulls were sacrificed (Numbers 29:13-39), one for each nation.
This means that every nation to some degree or other in the cultural and sociological sense tends to one or other of the attitudes represented by Edom or by Ishmael and also may have physical input from either one of them. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pomerantz explains that nations of the earth belong to either of the two types. This division existed even before the birth of Esau and Ishmael.
They however came to epitomize and vitalize the types that they each belonged to.
In a spiritual sense Esau and Ishmael became the life force of their own groupings.
They may also have contributed elite physical elements of their own.
Edom was traditionally associated with Rome. Concerning the European Christian Nations who once pertained to Rome and Christendom it is quite obvious why the conceptual connection to Edom was made.
So too, Islam is the religion of Arabs and of peoples who think like them. This is Ishmael the forefather of leading Arab and other groups.
The peoples of Asia are also divided between Esau and Ishmael. Exactly how this division may be applied is another story.
We, in another study, have found an element of Edom among the Japanese and also possibly among the Chinese and Koreans..
From Abraham there were 70 registered descendants divided amongst Ishmael, Edom and Keturah. These parallel the nations of the world descended from Noah who also number 70. This number is obtained when we include the Tribes of Israel and count them as 12. We thus have a parallelism of 70 nations derived from Shem, Ham, and Japhet; and 70 listed descendants of Abraham;
We also have 70 Israelite groups.
The Tribal Clans of Israel number 70 (Genesis ch.46, Numbers ch.26). Each clan is parallel to a specific non-Israelite nation (Deuteronomy 32:8).
The Bible tells us that Israelites are destined to rule the earth (Genesis 27: 29, 48:19, Numbers 24:8, Jeremiah 51:20, Micah 6 5:8, Psalms 47:1-4).
This is confirmed by Rabbinical Commentary.
Midrash Rabah (Toldoth 66:4) 6
#Genesis 27: 29 'Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one that curses you, And blessed be every one that blesses you. Let peoples serve you:'
These are the seventy nations [of mankind].
'And nations bow down to you': These are the descendants of Ishmael and Keturah. Be lord over your brethren: These are Esau and his Dukes. #
We find 70 sons of Abraham (including Jacob and Esau and their offspring) parallel to the 70 nations of Noah. They are in an intermediate position. In other words they too have a role to play in ruling over and influencing other peoples. This is prior to the Messianic Era. At present all nations of the earth may be divided into three sections: Ishmael, Edom, Keturah. Ishmael is epitomized by Islam, Edom by Christianity, and Keturah by Asian Culture. The descendants of keturah are in turn subservient to either Ishmael or Edom.
The Tribal Clans of Israel therefore number 70 (Genesis ch.46, Numbers ch.26). These Israelite clans are parallel to the Nations (Midrash Bamidbar Rabah 9:14),
cf.
Deuteronomy 32:
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.
At present the Israelite Nations are physically independent but culturally and religiously spiritually subservient to Edom.
In the Messianic Era the Israelites will defeat and rule over Edom (Obadiah 1:8-9, 18, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Amos 9:12).Â
Obadiah 1:
8 Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, Destroy wise men from Edom And understanding from the mountain of Esau? 9 Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a fire And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau, For the LORD has spoken.
NAMSV
Ezekiel 25:
12 Thus says the Lord GOD, Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14 I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.
NAMSV
Amos 9:
11 In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name, Declares the LORD who does this.
Israelites to Rule the World, Some Verses
Genesis 27: 29 May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mothers sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you. Genesis 48: 19 But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations. [Hebrew "Malo ha-HoGoyim" i.e. "Rule the Nations" (Onkelos)].
Numbers 24:8 God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows.
Psalms 47: 1 O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. 2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth. 3 He subdues peoples under us And nations under our feet. 4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves.
Jeremiah 51:20 He says, You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, And with you I destroy kingdoms.
Micah 5:8 The remnant of Jacob Will be among the nations, Among many peoples Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Which, if he passes through, Tramples down and tears, And there is none to rescue.