The Ancestry of Modern Arabs

The conflict between the Jews (and Christians) and the Arabs has ancient roots. In Genesis 32, Esau (the father of  many of the modern Palestinians) and his army stood in the way preventing Jacob (the father of Jews and Israelites) and his descendants from returning to their homeland—the land YHVH had promised to them. This historical event is prophetic of what will happen in the end times as the Jews and the rest of the Israelites endeavor to receive their promised inheritance and the kingdom of Elohim. 

Not only that, YHVH used Esau to test Jacob, who had grown overly self-confident due to his business acumen, wealth and his ability to produce a large family clan. In the ancient world and in a tribal sense, he had reached the pinnacle of wealth and power. However, what mattered to YHVH more than these things was the character of a man. Would Jacob have faith in his Creator, or would he trust in his own abilities to outwit his adversaries and come out on top as he had done twice previously with his brother Esau and Uncle Laban? Jacob’s confrontation with his brother at the threshold of the land of Israel and his wrestling with the Messenger from heaven were the two tests that he had to pass. The Bible calls this Jacob’s Trouble and prophesies that something similar will occur in the end times to Jacob’s descendants(Jer 30:7).

As we read in Genesis 32, Jacob divided his wives and children into two camps (Gen 32:1, 7). This was prophetic of what would eventually occur to the nation of Israel after the death of King Solomon. The one nation of Israel became two houses or kingdoms—the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and the Southern Kingdom of Israel (or the northern ten tribes). The descendants of these two kingdoms are presently—loosely speaking—the Jews and the Christians (we have discussed and proven this point biblically elsewhere). But who are the descendants of Esau historically and, more importantly, today, and why is it important to know?

Many, if not most of the modern Moslems (especially the Arabs) trace their lineage back if not biologically then spiritually to Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar. Islam in its religious book, the Koran, claims that it was Abraham and Ishmael who founded the religion of Islam and built the Kaaba, which is the small building containing a stone that supposedly fell from heaven. This shrine is located in the midst of the great mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Of Ishmael and his descendents, the Bible prophesies in Genesis 16:11–12, 

The Messenger of YHVH said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because YHVH has given heed to your affliction. And he will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.”

The Koran has further twisted the biblical account to declare that the biblical patriarchs were Muslims, and that Abraham gave the birthright blessing to Ishmael instead Isaac. Both Israelites and Arabs, therefore, believe that they have a right to the Promised Land of Canaan, which is the roots of the modern Arab-Israeli conflict.

We now need to add another player into this biblical drama. The Bible records that Esau (or Edom), the disinherited son of Isaac, also had ought against his brother Jacob, who, in a sense, stole the birthright promise from him. Furthermore, Esau married the daughter of Ishmael (Gen 28:9). Thus, some of Ishmael’s and Esau’s descendants intermarried becoming a people-group who had a jealous feud with the sons of Jacob or Israel. Again, this ancient family feud has continued in one form or another to the present day.

The Bible has more to say prophetically about the descendants of Esau, who scripturally are referred to as Edom (Esau’s alternative name, Gen 25:30; 36:1, 8) than about those of Ishmael. Edom is portrayed as an aggressive and bloodthirsty people who are opposed to Israel at every step. We will discover what the Scriptures have to say about this below.

In the mean time, let’s take a closer look at Edom.

• Esau and Edom (meaning “red”) are synonymous names biblically. In other words, Edom was Esau’s nickname (see Gen 25:25,  30; 36:1,  8–9,  19,  43). 
• Esau intermarried with the descendants of Ishmael (Gen 28:9). 
• Seir is another name for the land of Edom (Gen 32:3; 33:16; 36:8).
• Esau intermarried with the people of Canaan (Gen 36:2). He intermarried with the Hittites, the Hivites, as well as the Ishmaelites.
• His descendants included the Amalekites (Gen 36:12, 16) who fought against the children of Israel upon leaving Egypt and as soon as they had entered the wilderness en route to the Promised Land (Exod 17:1).
• Esau’s sons were dukes or chieftains (leaders of clans) and kings (Gen 36:15–16,  40–43).

• Although Esau’s direct lineage was confined to the area of the traditional land of Edom, it is clear from the biblical record that he and his descendants intermarried with many of the neighboring nations, so that his descendants were scattered far and wide over the region that later became known as the Holy Land and Palestine.

The entire one-chapter Book of Obadiahis a prophecy against Edom. Let’s note several key points in this prophecy that might help us to understand who Edom is in the end-times. This will in turn help us to understand end-time world politics as prophesied in the Bible some 2500 years ago! Let’s now analyze some key verses in Obadiah to discover who the modern players are in this drama.

Verse 2, The descendants of Edom are greatly despised (scorned, held in contempt, disdained).

Verse 3, They dwell in the clefts (places of concealment, retreats) of the rocks (tunnels or caves in the rocks), and they are proud and view themselves as invincible.

Verse 4, YHVH promises to bring Edom down.

Verse 7, Edom has a confederacy (league, alliance) of nations, which include many of the modern Moslem nations.

 Verse 10, Regarding Edom, this verse speaks of his violence against his brother Jacob. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for violence is khawmawce or hamas, which ironically is the names of the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip and is an archenemy of the nation of Israel. The word khawmawce can also mean “wrong, cruelty, injustice, false, injustice, oppressor or unrighteous.”

Verse 11, Edom’s eyes are on Jerusalem. Edom along with his foreign allies will cast lots for  possession or control of Jerusalem.

Verse 13, Edom has entered into the gates of the land of Israel in the day of her calamity or disaster.

Verse 14, Edom will kill Jewish refugees trying to escape the land of Israel in her time of distress.

Verse 15, The time-frame of the fulfillment of these prophecies is “near” the day of YHVH, when he will judge Edom and the other heathen nations. 

Verse 16, Edom will be drinking (celebrating?) on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem or YHVH’s “holy mountain,” and as a result, they shall drink the cup of YHVH’s wrath. When this prophecy was written, the Jews controlled the Temple Mount. Now the Muslims control it.

Verse 17, The house of Jacob will get the Temple Mount back.

Obadiah’s description of Edom contains many striking descriptions of the modern Palestinian and other Islamic terrorists who hate the Jews and want the land of Israel for themselves. What other people-group could possibly fit this description than the Moslems? Not only do the Moslems want the land of the Jews, they want the land of the Christians as well, and they’ve made public their intent on conquering these nations. 

In end-times Bible prophecy, Jacob is a prophetic archetype or picture of those who physically and spiritually descended from him, namely, the Jews and the Christians, or as the Koran puts it, “the people of the book”—a reference to the Bible. Edom or the modern-day Moslems are the arch-enemy of Jacob’s descendants, who YHVH will use to test and discipline the Jews and the Christians because they have turned away from him and put their trust in themselves. Until they pass this test, repent of their backsliding ways and put their faith in YHVH Elohim, they, like Jacob of old, will not be able to enter into their promised spiritual inheritance—the kingdom of Elohim. This test will be happening in the end times before the coming of the Messiah.

Edom Has a Perpetual Hatred for Jacob (Judah and Ephraim)

As we have noted, Edom’s hatred for Israel has its roots in the antagonism between Ishmael and Isaac, and then afterwards between Esau and Jacob. The murderous hatred that Esau had for Israel has been passed on down to successive generations of Edomites to the very end times. Let’s review some other biblical prophecies that speak of this.

Ezekiel chapters 35 and 36 also speak about the conflict between end-times Edom and end-times Israel. In verse two of chapter 36, we see that the enemies of Israel have regarded the “ancient high [or declared, promised] places” of Israel as “ours in possession.” This is a clear reference to the holy places in Israel (e.g., the Temple Mount for the Jews and Bethlehem for the Christians both of which the Muslims control).

Furthermore, Ezekiel not only identifies Edom as Israel’s main antagonist, but he prophesies against Edom. In verses four through five of chapter 35, we see that end-time Edom will be devastated because of its perpetual hatred for the children of Israel. They have killed their enemies by the power of the sword. This is a main way that Islam has traditionally spread, that is, by the curved scimitar sword. History is full of examples of advancing Moslem armies forcing its captives to leave, covert or die. According to verse five, this is to be occurring at the time of the punishment (of the children of Israel?) at the time of the end (NAS) or during the end of times (lit. Hebrew). This is another example of YHVH’s using Edom (Esau) to bring the two kingdoms of Jacob’s descendants (the Jews and the Christians) to their knees and back to him in the time of the end.