Discord
(1-minute read)
A clash of epic proportions erupts as Joseph and his brothers defend Egypt against a vast alliance led by the sons of Esau and the eastern tribes, leaving a trail of devastation and loss on both sides. Following a fierce battle where Joseph’s forces decimate their attackers, Esau’s defeated allies retreat, sparking a rift within the children of Seir and the children of Esau. What follows is a brutal struggle for survival and dominance, with Esau’s children ultimately turning on their own kin to secure control of Seir’s lands, seizing everything—including its people and possessions—as their prize. In a relentless cycle of bloodshed and betrayal, the children of Esau ultimately prevail, claiming Seir’s territory and inheritance as their own.
Major Characters
Minor Characters
Insignificant Characters
JASHER
100%
Exposition
J: 47 | Y: 2259 | The sons of Esau recruit many people to battle the sons of Jacob to free their brothers
Jasher 57:6-9a
Rising Action
Eliphaz and those remaining retreat and Joseph pursues them to Succoth
Jasher 57:9b-12
Climax
The sons of Seir tell the sons of Esau to return to the land of Canaan but they refuse
Jasher 57:13-16
Both the children of Esau and the children of Seir recruit warriors to fight
Jasher 57:17-22
They battle for 10 days in the wilderness of Paran
Jasher 57:23-32
The ones whom the children of Seir recruited retreated and the children of Esau defeated them
Jasher 57:33-34
Falling Action
The children of Esau defeated the children of Seir and took several captives
Jasher 57:35
Resolution
The children of Esau claim land and property from the children of Seir
Jasher 57:36-37
Jubilee: 47
Year: 2259
The sons of Esau recruit many people to battle the sons of Jacob to free their brothers
Jasher 57:6-9a
6 And it came to pass on the third day they assembled all the sons of Seir the Horite, and they assembled all the children of the east, a multitude of people like the sand of the sea, and they went and came down to Egypt to fight with Joseph and his brethren, in order to deliver their brethren.
7 And Joseph and all the sons of Jacob heard that the sons of Esau and the children of the east had come upon them to battle in order to deliver their brethren.
8 And Joseph and his brethren and the strong men of Egypt went forth and fought in the city of Rameses, and Joseph and his brethren dealt out a tremendous blow amongst the sons of Esau and the children of the east.
9a And they slew of them six hundred thousand men, and they slew amongst them all the mighty men of the children of Seir the Horite; there were only a few of them left, and they slew also a great many of the children of the east, and of the children of Esau;
Eliphaz and those remaining retreat and Joseph pursues them to Succoth
Jasher 57:9b-12
9b and Eliphaz the son of Esau, and the children of the east all fled before Joseph and his brethren.
10 And Joseph and his brethren pursued them until they came unto Succoth, and they yet slew of them in Succoth thirty men, and the rest escaped and they fled each to his city.
11 And Joseph and his brethren and the mighty men of Egypt turned back from them with joy and cheerfulness of heart, for they had smitten all their enemies.
12 And Zepho the son of Eliphaz and his men were still slaves in Egypt to the sons of Jacob, and their pains increased.
The sons of Seir tell the sons of Esau to return to the land of Canaan but they refuse
Jasher 57:13-16
13 And when the sons of Esau and the sons of Seir returned to their land, the sons of Seir saw that they had all fallen into the hands of the sons of Jacob, and the people of Egypt, on account of the battle of the sons of Esau.
14 And the sons of Seir said unto the sons of Esau, You have seen and therefore you know that this camp was on your account, and not one mighty man or an adept in war remaineth.
15 Now therefore go forth from our land, go from us to the land of Canaan to the land of the dwelling of your fathers; wherefore shall your children inherit the effects of our children in latter days?
16 And the children of Esau would not listen to the children of Seir, and the children of Seir considered to make war with them.
Both the children of Esau and the children of Seir recruit warriors to fight
Jasher 57:17-22
17 And the children of Esau sent secretly to Angeas king of Africa, the same is Dinhabah, saying,
18 Send unto us some of thy men and let them come unto us, and we will fight together with the children of Seir the Horite, for they have resolved to fight with us to drive us away from the land.
19 And Angeas king of Dinhabah did so, for he was in those days friendly to the children of Esau, and Angeas sent five hundred valiant infantry to the children of Esau, and eight hundred cavalry.
20 And the children of Seir sent unto the children of the east and unto the children of Midian, saying, You have seen what the children of Esau have done unto us, upon whose account we are almost all destroyed, in their battle with the sons of Jacob.
21 Now therefore come unto us and assist us, and we will fight them together, and we will drive them from the land and be avenged of the cause of our brethren who died for their sakes in their battle with their brethren the sons of Jacob.
22 And all the children of the east listened to the children of Seir, and they came unto them about eight hundred men with drawn swords, and the children of Esau fought with the children of Seir at that time in the wilderness of Paran.
They battle for 10 days in the wilderness of Paran
Jasher 57:23-32
23 And the children of Seir prevailed then over the sons of Esau, and the children of Seir slew on that day of the children of Esau in that battle about two hundred men of the people of Angeas king of Dinhabah.
24 And on the second day the children of Esau came again to fight a second time with the children of Seir, and the battle was sore upon the children of Esau this second time, and it troubled them greatly on account of the children of Seir.
25 And when the children of Esau saw that the children of Seir were more powerful than they were, some men of the children of Esau turned and assisted the children of Seir their enemies.
26 And there fell yet of the people of the children of Esau in the second battle fifty-eight men of the people at Angeas king of Dinhabah.
27 And on the third day the children of Esau heard that some of their brethren had turned from them to fight against them in the second battle; and the children of Esau mourned when they heard this thing.
28 And they said, What shall we do unto our brethren who turned from us to assist the children of Seir our enemies? and the children of Esau again sent to Angeas king of Dinhabah, saying,
29 Send unto us again other men that with them we may fight with the children of Seir, for they have already twice been heavier than we were.
30 And Angeas again sent to the children of Esau about six hundred valiant men, and they came to assist the children of Esau.
31 And in ten days’ time the children of Esau again waged war with the children of Seir in the wilderness of Paran, and the battle was very severe upon the children of Seir, and the children of Esau prevailed at this time over the children of Seir, and the children of Seir were smitten before the children of Esau, and the children of Esau slew from them about two thousand men.
32 And all the mighty men of the children of Seir died in this battle, and there only remained their young children that were left in their cities.
The ones whom the children of Seir recruited retreated and the children of Esau defeated them
Jasher 57:33-34
33 And all Midian and the children of the east betook themselves to flight from the battle, and they left the children of Seir and fled when they saw that the battle was severe upon them, and the children of Esau pursued all the children of the east until they reached their land.
34 And the children of Esau slew yet of them about two hundred and fifty men and from the people of the children of Esau there fell in that battle about thirty men, but this evil came upon them through their brethren turning from them to assist the children of Seir the Horite, and the children of Esau again heard of the evil doings of their brethren, and they again mourned on account of this thing.
The children of Esau defeated the children of Seir and took several captives
Jasher 57:35
35 And it came to pass after the battle, the children of Esau turned back and came home unto Seir, and the children of Esau slew those who had remained in the land of the children of Seir; they slew also their wives and little ones, they left not a soul alive except fifty young lads and damsels whom they suffered to live, and the children of Esau did not put them to death, and the lads became their slaves, and the damsels they took for wives.
The children of Esau claim land and property from the children of Seir
Jasher 57:36-37
36 And the children of Esau dwelt in Seir in the place of the children of Seir, and they inherited their land and took possession of it.
37 And the children of Esau took all belonging in the land to the children of Seir, also their flocks, their bullocks and their goods, and all belonging to the children of Seir, did the children of Esau take, and the children of Esau dwelt in Seir in the place of the children of Seir unto this day, and the children of Esau divided the land into divisions to the five sons of Esau, according to their families.
No notes.
(11-minute read)
Exposition
J: 47 | Y: 2259 | The sons of Esau recruit many people to battle the sons of Jacob to free their brothers
Jasher 57:6-9a
On the 3rd day, all the sons of Seir the Horite and all the children of the east gathered together—a multitude as vast as the sand on the seashore—and they marched down to Egypt to fight against Joseph and his brothers in order to rescue their imprisoned brothers. When Joseph, his brothers, and the strong men of Egypt heard that the sons of Esau and the children of the east were approaching for battle, they went out to confront them in the city of Rameses. Joseph, his brothers, and the warriors of Egypt dealt a devastating blow to the sons of Esau and the children of the east. They killed 600,000 men, including nearly all the mighty warriors from the children of Seir the Horite—only a few survived. They also slaughtered a great number from both the children of the east and the children of Esau.
Rising Action
Eliphaz and those remaining retreat and Joseph pursues them to Succoth
Jasher 57:9b-12
Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and the children of the east fled from Joseph and his brothers. Joseph and his brothers chased them all the way to Succoth, where they killed another 30 men. The rest escaped and returned to their own cities. Joseph, his brothers, and the mighty men of Egypt returned joyfully, their hearts full of cheer, because they had thoroughly defeated their enemies. Meanwhile, Zepho, the son of Eliphaz, and his men remained slaves in Egypt under the sons of Jacob, and their suffering only increased.
Climax
The sons of Seir tell the sons of Esau to return to the land of Canaan but they refuse
Jasher 57:13-16
When the sons of Esau and the sons of Seir returned to their land, the sons of Seir realized that they had fallen into the hands of the sons of Jacob and the Egyptians because of the war with the sons of Esau. So the sons of Seir said to the sons of Esau, “You’ve seen for yourselves that this entire situation happened because of you, and now there isn’t a single mighty warrior or skilled fighter left among us. So go—leave our land and return to Canaan, the land where your fathers lived. Should your children one day inherit what belongs to our children?”
But the children of Esau refused to listen to the children of Seir, and the children of Seir began to consider going to war against them.
Both the children of Esau and the children of Seir recruit warriors to fight
Jasher 57:17-22
The children of Esau secretly sent word to Angeas, king of Africa—also known as Dinhabah—saying, “Send some of your men to join us so we can fight together against the children of Seir the Horite. They’re planning to attack us and force us out of the land.”
Angeas agreed, since he was friendly toward the children of Esau at that time. He sent them 500 brave infantrymen and 800 cavalrymen. Meanwhile, the children of Seir sent messages to the children of the east and the children of Midian, saying, “You saw what the children of Esau did to us—we were nearly wiped out because of their war with the sons of Jacob. Come help us fight them, and together we’ll drive them out of the land and avenge the deaths of our brothers who were killed because of their conflict with the sons of Jacob.”
The children of the east agreed and joined the children of Seir—about 800 men armed with drawn swords. Then the children of Esau and the children of Seir went to battle in the wilderness of Paran.
They battle for 10 days in the wilderness of Paran
Jasher 57:23-32
At first, the children of Seir gained the upper hand against the sons of Esau. That day, they killed around 200 men from the army of Angeas, king of Dinhabah. On the 2nd day, the children of Esau came back to fight again, but this time the battle was intense and went badly for them. The children of Seir were too strong, and it deeply troubled the sons of Esau. Some of Esau’s men even switched sides and helped the children of Seir, their enemies. In that 2nd battle, 58 more men from Angeas’s forces were killed.
On the 3rd day, the children of Esau found out that some of their own had turned against them during the 2nd battle. They were heartbroken when they heard this and said, “What should we do about our brothers who turned against us to help the children of Seir, our enemies?”
They sent another request to Angeas, king of Dinhabah: “Send us more men so we can fight the children of Seir again. They’ve already beaten us twice.”
Angeas sent about 600 more brave warriors, and after 10 days, the children of Esau launched another attack against the children of Seir in the wilderness of Paran. This time the battle was extremely fierce, but Esau’s forces finally prevailed. They struck down the children of Seir, killing around 2,000 of them. All the mighty men from Seir died in this battle. Only the young children left in their cities survived.
The ones whom the children of Seir recruited retreated and the children of Esau defeated them
Jasher 57:33-34
When the Midianites and the children of the east saw how badly the children of Seir were losing, they fled the battlefield and abandoned Seir. The children of Esau pursued the children of the east all the way back to their own land, killing about 250 of them along the way. Esau’s forces lost about 30 men in that battle. This trouble came upon them because some of their own brothers had turned against them to help Seir. When the children of Esau heard about this betrayal again, they mourned once more.
Falling Action
The children of Esau defeated the children of Seir and took several captives
Jasher 57:35
After the battle, the children of Esau returned to Seir. They killed everyone who was still left in the land of the children of Seir—including their wives and little ones—leaving no survivors except for 50 young boys and girls. They spared these, keeping the boys as slaves and taking the girls as wives.
Resolution
The children of Esau claim land and property from the children of Seir
Jasher 57:36-37
The children of Esau settled in Seir, taking the place of the children of Seir. They took possession of the land and everything in it—their flocks, cattle, possessions, and all that had belonged to the children of Seir. Esau’s descendants have lived there ever since. They divided the land among the 5 sons of Esau, each according to his family.
This chart shows who was alive in the years 2259-2261.