Comentário sobre Números 24:18

והיה ירשה שעיר איביו SEIR ALSO SHALL BE A POSSESSION [FOR HIS ENEMIES] — for his enemy, Israel.

AND EDOM SHALL BE A POSSESSION, SEIR ALSO, EVEN HIS ENEMIES SHALL BE A POSSESSION. The downfall of Edom²⁵⁰See Vol. I, pp. 444-445, and 568-569, for an explanation why this term is used about Rome. will be by the hand of the Messiah, because our present exile under the hand of Rome is considered Edom’s [exile], just as it is said: The punishment of thine iniquity is absolved, O daughter of Zion, He will no more carry thee away into captivity; He will punish thine iniquity, O ‘daughter of Edom,’ He will uncover thy sins²⁵¹Lamentations 4:22. — for G-d will not punish Edom until the sins of Zion are absolved, at the time when He will no more keep them in captivity.²⁵¹Lamentations 4:22. Therefore Balaam mentioned Edom, for it is he who disputes our [right to] kingdom, and about him it has been said, and the one people shall be stronger than the other.²⁵²Genesis 25:23. “They will never be equally great at the same time; when one rises, the other will fall” (Rashi ibid.). Balaam was thus prophesying that Edom will not completely fall until the time of the end [of the exile] by the hand of ‘the star’ [i.e., the Messiah] who will step forth out of Jacob [as stated in the previous verse].
Seir also, even his enemies shall be a possession. This means that Seir will become a possession of his enemies [i.e., of Israel].²⁵³This is Rashi’s interpretation, according to which the phrase his enemies is to be interpreted as to his enemies. Or [the term] his enemies may refer to [Jacob’s enemies, i.e.,] Edom and Seir mentioned [previously in the verse], who are the enemies of Jacob, [and the meaning of the verse would thus be: “Edom, and Seir also, who are the enemies of Israel] will become a possession [of Israel].”²⁵⁴See my Hebrew commentary p. 301 for a quote from the Zohar, which interprets the verse in this way.

שעיר איביו, "even Se-ir his enemies." Bileam lumps Edom and Se-ir together as being one. The word ירשה implies that that which has been destroyed will not be rebuilt. Edom will not rise again from its ruins as will other nations. The reason is that these people were enemies of Israel, איביו. Compare Psalms 137,7 where the Jewish people are quoted as asking G'd to pay back the people of Edom for what they have done to them. The Psalmist pleads with G'd to destroy Edom to its very foundations. This is why Bileam predicts that Edom's defeat will be much more severe than that of the other descendants of Sheth.

ירשה, a construction similar to שמנה, shemeynah, or seveyah in Proverbs 27,7 נפש שבעה

והיה אדום ירשה, ”Edom will become a conquest;” Bileam prophesied concerning the defeat of Edom at the hands of the Messiah. Nowadays, (at the time of the author) our exile is that imposed upon us by Edom, seeing that the Romans are descendants of the original Edom. The reason Bileam singled out Edom from all the other nations is that Edom had been the first to contest Israel’s right to exist as a separate nation. That dichotomy had already started in the womb of Rivkah, as she had been told by G’d in Genesis

His enemies, the Bnei Yisroel. Meaning that “his enemies” that is written in the verse refers to Yisroel who are the enemies of the idolaters. Rashi adds a lamed to the word אויביו ["his enemies", thus reading "to his enemies"] because without this, the verse is not telling to which nation Se'ir would become a possession.

V. 18. יְרשה .והיה אדום ירשה: etwas was in den Besitz eines andern übergeht. Indem hier Edom neben שעיר genannt und von beiden dasselbe prädiziert wird, so ist wohl unter אדום die edomitische Macht und unter שעיר deren ursprüngliches Stammland Seir zu verstehen. Jene reicht weiter als dieses. Die edomitische Macht, bis dahin die höchste nationale Macht, die keinen Herrn über sich hatte, wird ירשה: erhält einen Herrn, wird herrneigen, und damit wechselt ihr Stammland Seir den Herrn, erhält einen andern, und beides, weil sie beide אויביו, die Urfeinde Jaakob-Israels sind. Und während so Seir-Edom die Selbständigkeit verliert, erstarkt Israel zur einflussreichsten Macht. עשה חיל heißt sowohl das Schaffen, das Ansammeln von Kräften, wie הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל. (Dewarim 8, 19), als auch das Ausüben solcher Kräfte, wie ימין ד׳ עשה חיל (Ps. 18, 15). חיל: siehe Schmot 18, 21.

והיה אדום ירשה, “and Edom shall become a possession;” the Edomites became servants to David, paying annual tributes to him.

וישראל עשה חיל, "and Israel will do valiantly." Bileam means that the destruction of Edom and the descendants of Sheth will enable the Israelites to perform deeds of valor. Destruction of the Gentile nations and Samael liberates the sparks of sanctity trapped inside many of them. This in turn enables Israel to perform deeds of valor in "repatriating" these sparks of sanctity who had been stained while inside the bodies of the Gentiles. The expression עשה חיל suggests that one repairs something, rehabilitates it.

והיה ירשה שעיר אויביו, “Seir, also Israel’s enemies, became a possession of those who had previously been its enemies.