Chazal derive from this pasuk that Hashem offered every nation on earth the opportunity to receive the Torah, only to receive a rejection from all of them. Why, then, does the Torah mention only two nations, Se’ir and Paran, the descendants of Eisav and Yishmael, respectively?
Horav Z. Sorotzkin, z.l., suggests the following explanation. Yishmael and Eisav had the opportunity to learn Torah and mitzvos from their parents. Yishmael spent his youth in Avraham’s home, while Eisav was able to study from both his father, Yitzchak, and his grandfather, Avraham. Because the background of Eisav’s children was more firmly infused in Torah, Hashem originally approached them. Even though they had a secure foundation for receiving the Torah, they nevertheless spurned it. The other gentile nations did not demonstrate such blatant impudence in their rejection of the Torah. People who have never been initiated into the profundity of Torah and the majestic beauty of a Torah lifestyle are not considered to be equally contemptuous in their rejection as those who have had that privilege.
