Discord
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
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
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.
Exposition
The sons of Esau recruit many people to battle the sons of Jacob to free their brothers
Jasher 57:6-9a
And it came to pass on the 3rd 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 brothers, in order to deliver their brothers. 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 brothers. And Joseph and his brothers and the strong men of Egypt went forth and fought in the city of Rameses, and Joseph and his brothers dealt out a tremendous blow among the sons of Esau and the children of the east. And they slew of them 600,000 men, and they slew among 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.
Rising Action
Eliphaz and those remaining retreat and Joseph pursues them to Succoth
Jasher 57:9b-12
And Eliphaz the son of Esau, and the children of the east all fled before Joseph and his brothers. And Joseph and his brothers pursued them until they came to Succoth, and they yet slew of them in Succoth 30 men, and the rest escaped and they fled each to his city. And Joseph and his brothers and the mighty men of Egypt turned back from them with joy and cheerfulness of heart, for they had smitten all their enemies. And Zepho the son of Eliphaz and his men were still slaves in Egypt to the sons of Jacob, and their pains 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
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. And the sons of Seir said to 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 remains. Now therefore go forth from our land, go from us to the land of Canaan to the land of the dwelling of your fathers. Therefore will your children inherit the effects of our children in latter days?”
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
And the children of Esau sent secretly to Angeas king of Africa, the same is Dinhabah, saying, “Send to us some of your men and let them come to 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.”
And Angeas king of Dinhabah did so, for he was in those days friendly to the children of Esau, and Angeas sent 500 valiant infantry to the children of Esau, and 800 cavalry. And the children of Seir sent to the children of the east and to the children of Midian, saying, “You have seen what the children of Esau have done to us, upon whose account we are almost all destroyed, in their battle with the sons of Jacob. Now therefore come to 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 brothers who died for their sakes in their battle with their brothers the sons of Jacob.”
And all the children of the east listened to the children of Seir, and they came to them about 800 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
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 200 men of the people of Angeas king of Dinhabah. And on the 2nd day the children of Esau came again to fight a 2nd time with the children of Seir, and the battle was sore upon the children of Esau this 2nd time, and it troubled them greatly on account of the children of Seir. 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. And there fell yet of the people of the children of Esau in the 2nd battle 58 men of the people at Angeas king of Dinhabah.
And on the 3rd day the children of Esau heard that some of their brothers had turned from them to fight against them in the 2nd battle; and the children of Esau mourned when they heard this thing. And they said, “What will we do to our brothers 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, “Send to 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.”
And Angeas again sent to the children of Esau about 600 valiant men, and they came to assist the children of Esau. And in 10 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 2,000 men. 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
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. And the children of Esau slew yet of them about 250 men and from the people of the children of Esau there fell in that battle about 30 men, but this evil came upon them through their brothers turning from them to assist the children of Seir the Horite, and the children of Esau again heard of the evil doings of their brothers, and they again mourned on account of this thing.
Falling Action
The children of Esau defeated the children of Seir and took several captives
Jasher 57:35
And it came to pass after the battle, the children of Esau turned back and came home to 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 50 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.
Resolution
The children of Esau claim land and property from the children of Seir
Jasher 57:36-37
And the children of Esau dwelled in Seir in the place of the children of Seir, and they inherited their land and took possession of it. 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 dwelled in Seir in the place of the children of Seir to this day, and the children of Esau divided the land into divisions to the 5 sons of Esau, according to their families.
This chart shows who was alive in years 2259-2261.
Years with question marks are estimates.