“Nevuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled” (Daniel 2:1). The great Babylonian king was chosen by G-d as the conduit for a critical prophecy of exile and redemption. “You, o king, saw… a mighty image… The head… was of fine gold, its front and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay…” (Daniel 2:31–33). Daniel explained that the statue’s materials represent a succession of empires – four great kingdoms that will oppress Israel but eventually fall. Ultimately, Hashem’s eternal kingdom will triumph over these human oppressors.
The head of gold symbolizes Babylonia, and the Sages agree that the second kingdom corresponds to Persia and Media, while the third symbolizes Alexander the Great and the Greek empire that followed his reign. The great question, debated for millennia, is the identity of the fourth kingdom, more powerful than all the others, but also “a divided kingdom” of “iron mixed with clay.”
Chazal identified the fourth kingdom as Edom, the descendants of Eisav (Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 7). Ibn Ezra, however, argued that Edom is included in the third kingdom with Greece, and that the fourth kingdom is Yishmael (see Sefer HaGeulah, 3:238). Rav Sa’adia Gaon, however, believes the key to identifying the fourth kingdom is understanding the parable of iron and clay: “You saw the feet and the toes, part potter’s clay and part iron; that means it will be a divided kingdom… they shall intermingle… but shall not hold together” (Daniel 2:41,43). The fourth kingdom will be divided in two, between Edom, the nation of “iron” and Yishmael, the nation of “clay.” The implication is that Edom will be militarily powerful like iron, while Yishmael will be ever-present like clay, capable of overwhelming his enemies through sheer force of numbers.
I believe the events of our time have proven Sa’adia’s view correct. Working in tandem, Edom and Yishmael are the fourth and final kingdom to persecute Israel before redemption. But who are the modern nations of Yishmael and Edom? Josephus, the Roman-era Jewish historian, referred to Yishmael as the “founder of the Arabs.” Later on, after the establishment of Islam, Rashi and others frequently equate Yishmael with “Arabs” and “Islam.” Muslims themselves believe Yishmael to be the forefather of Mohammed.
The identity of Edom, however, is more complex. Many prophecies describe the fate of Edom; the problem, however, is that the original nation of Edom no longer exists. By the time the Romans destroyed the second Beit HaMikdash, the Idumeans, the descendants of Edom, had disappeared from history. What, then, are we to make of the many prophecies concerning the future of Edom? Are they still relevant today?
After the Romans conquered Israel, Chazal began using the term “Edom” to describe the Roman Empire, which adopted much of the Edomite belief system (Malbim, Ovadiah 1:1). At the center of this connection was the reviled Herod, appointed by Rome as king of Judea and a descendant of an Idumean family that converted to Judaism. It was only natural for Chazal to draw parallels between the biblical conflict of Eisav and Ya’akov and the contemporary struggle between Rome and the Jews.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the question of Edom’s identity arose once again. As the Roman Catholic Church came to dominate Europe, Jews suffering from Christian antisemitism naturally began to conflate the Church with Edom. But while many commentators associated Christianity with Edom, I believe this view does not align with Chazal’s original understanding of the spiritual qualities of Edom and Rome. The Romans arrogantly rejected the G-d of Israel: “After Hadrian, king of Edom… returned to Rome, he said to his officers: ‘I want you to make me a god, since I have conquered the world.’ They said: ‘But you have not yet established your rule over G-d’s city and His house.’ He went, destroyed the Temple, exiled Israel, and returned to Rome. He said: ‘I have now destroyed His house and burned His Temple and exiled His people. Make me a god’” (Midrash Tanchuma, Bereishit 7). Though the Roman Catholic Church committed great evils against the Jewish people, it does not fit this description of Edom as a G-d-hating, pagan empire.
Who, then, is Edom in our time? I believe that the modern Edomites are the cultural heirs of the pagan Roman Empire – namely, the antisemitic secularists of the West who have declared war on G-d, Torah, and the Jewish people. “For they have taken counsel with one accord; against You they form a pact. The tents of Edom and Yishmael” (Tehillim 83:7). Yishmael and Edom, radical jihadists and antisemitic secularists – these are the enemies of Israel that together make up the fourth kingdom in our time. Ultimately, the iron will not hold together with the clay, and their alliance will collapse – and “on that day Hashem will be one, and His name one.”
Rabbi Elie Mischel is the Editor of HaMizrachi and the author of The War Against the Bible: Ishmael, Esau and Israel at the End Times (2024), available at waragainstthebible.com.