When Joseph's brethren recognized him, and were about to kill him, an angel came down and dispersed them to the four corners of the house. Then Judah screamed with such a loud voice that all the walls of Egypt were leveled with the dust, all the beasts were smitten to the ground, and Joseph and Pharaoh, their teeth having fallen out, were cast down from their thrones; while all the men that stood before Joseph had their heads twisted round with their faces toward their backs, and so they remained till the day of their death; as it is said (Job iv. 10), "The roaring of the lion (Judah), and the voice of the fierce lion," etc. _Vayegash_, chap. 5. The tradition of a legend in our possession says that Judah killed Esau. When? When Isaac died, Jacob and (the chiefs of) the twelve clans went to bury him; as it is written (Gen. xxxv. 29), "And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." In the Midrash it is, "And Esau and Jacob and his sons buried him," which fits the legend better. Arrived at the cave, they entered it, and they stood and wept. The (heads of the) tribes, out of respect to Jacob, left the cave, that Jacob might not be put to shame in their presence. Judah re-entered it, and finding Esau risen up as if about to murder Jacob, he instantly went behind him and killed him. But why did he not kill him from the front? Because the physiognomy of Esau was exactly like that of Jacob, and it was out of respect to the latter that he slew Esau from behind. _Midrash Shochar Tov_, chap. 18. Tradition varies respecting the tragic end of Esau. The Book of Jasher (chap. 56, v. 64) and the Targum of Jonathan (in Vayechi) both say that Cushim the son of Dan slew Esau at the burial, not of Isaac, but of Jacob, because he sought to hinder the funeral obsequies, disputing the title to the sepulchre. "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at rest" (Ps. lv. 6). This is spoken of Abraham. But why like a dove? Rabbi Azariah, in the name of Rabbi Yudan, says, "Because all birds when tired rest on a rock or on a tree, but a dove, when tired of flying, draws in one wing to rest it, and continues her flight with the other." _Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 39. The Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto Abraham, "What should I tell thee? and with what shall I bless thee? Shall I tell thee to be perfectly righteous, or that thy wife Sarah be righteous before me? That ye both are already. Or shall I say that thy children shall be righteous? They are so already. But I will bless thee so that all thy children which shall in future ages come forth from thee shall be just like thee." Whence do we learn this? From Gen xv. 5: "And he said unto him, So (like thee) shall thy seed be." _Bamidbar Rabbah_, chap. 2.