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Genesis 36

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Esau’s Family and Relocation 1–8

1
Now these are the generations of Esau (the same is Edom). ​
2
Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ​
3
and Basemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.
4
And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Basemath bare Reuel;
5
and Oholibamah bare Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, that were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
6
And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan; and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
7
For their substance was too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of their cattle. ​
8
And Esau dwelt in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

The Sons and Dukes of Edom 9–19

9
And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: ​
10
these are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.
11
And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
12
And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ​
13
And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
14
And these were the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah.
15
These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, ​
16
chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek: these are the chiefs that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.
17
And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
18
And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs that came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.
19
These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs: the same is Edom.

The Descendants of Seir the Horite 20–30

20
These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, ​
21
and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
22
And the children of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ​
23
And these are the children of Shobal: Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24
And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; this is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. ​
25
And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.
26
And these are the children of Dishon: Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran.
27
These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan.
28
These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29
These are the chiefs that came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,
30
chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

The Early Kings of Edom 31–39

31
And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. ​
32
And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33
And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
34
And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead.
35
And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. ​
36
And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
37
And Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the River reigned in his stead.
38
And Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.
39
And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. ​

The Dukes of Edom by Territory 40–43

40
And these are the names of the chiefs that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, ​
41
chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
42
chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,
43
chief Magdiel, chief Iram: these are the chiefs of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 36

Verse 1

Esau, who is Edom — 'Edom' means red, the name Esau took from the 'red pottage' (Gen 25:30). The heading is toledoth, 'generations', the word that opens each family record in Genesis. The chapter repeats the identity at v.8, 'Esau is Edom', and ends on it in v.43.

Verse 2

the daughters of Canaan — Esau's wives here are from Canaan's peoples, the kind of marriage Isaac forbade Jacob: 'Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan' (Gen 28:1). Earlier Esau's Hittite wives 'were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah' (Gen 26:34–35).

Verse 7

could not bear them — The same wording as the parting of Abraham and Lot: 'the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together' (Gen 13:6). Esau 'went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob' (v.6), taking his house and his cattle with him.

Verse 9

the father of the Edomites in mount Seir — Edom is Israel's kin. Moses sent to its king in these words: 'Thus saith thy brother Israel' (Num 20:14). Seir was already called 'the land of Seir, the country of Edom' when Jacob sent messengers to Esau there (Gen 32:3).

Verse 12

Timna… bare to Eliphaz Amalek — Amalek is Esau's grandson by a concubine. 'Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim' (Ex 17:8), and the LORD said he would 'utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven' (Ex 17:14). Balaam called Amalek 'the first of the nations' (Num 24:20).

Verse 15

dukes — Alluph, a chief of a clan; 'duke' is the KJV's word. Teman is the first of Eliphaz's sons named, and Job's friend is 'Eliphaz the Temanite' (Job 2:11), the same two names. The title is heard at the Red Sea: 'the dukes of Edom shall be amazed' (Ex 15:15).

Verse 20

Seir the Horite — The Horites held Seir before Esau's line: 'the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them' (Deut 2:12). Their sons and chiefs are listed in vv.20–30; Esau's wife Aholibamah belongs to the line of Zibeon, one of Seir's sons (vv.2, 25).

Verse 22

Hori and Hemam — They are sons of Lotan, in the Horite line. The list is repeated in 1 Chr 1:39, which gives 'Hori, and Homam: and Timna was Lotan's sister'. A Timna is also the concubine of Eliphaz (v.12), and 'duke Timnah' stands in the later list (v.40).

Verse 24

found the mules in the wilderness — Anah found them 'as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father'. The Hebrew word, yemim, occurs nowhere else in Scripture. Two men named Anah stand in this chapter, a son of Seir (v.20) and a son of Zibeon, and the verse marks the second as 'that Anah that found the mules'.

Verse 31

before there reigned any king over the children of Israel — Edom had kings first, as when Moses sent messengers 'unto the king of Edom' (Num 20:14). There are eight (vv.32–39), and none is the son of the one before: each 'reigned in his stead' from a different father or city.

Verse 35

Hadad… smote Midian in the field of Moab — Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:2). The victory is recorded again in 1 Chr 1:46 in the same words, 'which smote Midian in the field of Moab'. His city was Avith.

Verse 39

Baalhanan… Hadar — Baalhanan the son of Achbor is the seventh king, Hadar the eighth. Hadar is the only one whose wife is named, Mehetabel, 'the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab'. In 1 Chr 1:51 the line of kings ends: 'Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were'.

Verse 40

the dukes… after their places — This is a second list of chiefs, this time 'according to their families, after their places, by their names', so each is tied to a territory. The word is again alluph (v.15). The eleven names run to v.43; in 1 Chr 1:51 too the dukes follow the kings.

Verse 43

he is Esau the father of the Edomites — The record closes where it began. Two nations had been told to Rebekah: 'Two nations are in thy womb… and the elder shall serve the younger' (Gen 25:23). Israel was told to leave Edom's land alone: 'I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession' (Deut 2:5).