Ben Ish Chai: The 176 Pesukim Annul the Klipah of "אלוף צפו"
We find an incredible insight apropos this subject in the sacred sefer Ben Yehoyada, authored by the brilliant author of the Ben Ish Chai. He focuses on the statement in the Gemara (Gittin 57b): "אין לך מלחמה שנוצחת שאין בה מזרע של עשו"—there is no victorious military campaign in which a descendant of Eisav is not a participant. He writes that this refers to wars involving the nations of the world. He cites the Gaon Chida’s assertion that the foremost klipah of the seventy nations is called צפ"ו. Therefore, David HaMelech, a”h, composed Mizmor 119 with 176 pesukim, the numerical equivalent of צפ"ו, in order to subdue this klipah. Then he writes that this is why the Torah is referred to as (Mishlei 16, 24): "צוף דבש"— honeycomb or a nectar made from honey—because it is a צו"ף possessing the power to subdue the klipah of צפ"ו. (Translator’s note: These two words are anagrams; therefore, they both have a gematria of 176.) Therefore, among the chieftains of Eliphaz the son of Eisav listed in parshas Vayishlach, there is one named (Bereishis 36, 15) צפ"ו. Thus, we find a descendant of Eisav named צפ"ו, which is the foremost klipah of the seventy nations. This is why the Gemara says that “there is no . . . military campaign in which a descendant of Eisav is not a participant. It is referring to the chieftain צפ"ו, the grandson of Eisav, and teaching us that to quash it, we need the Torah which is described as "צוף דבש".
