1 Now these are the generations of Esau, that is to say, Edom.
2 Esau's wives were women 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, the sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah had a son Eliphaz; and Basemath was the mother of Reuel;
5 Oholibamah was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the sons of Esau, whose birth took place in the land of Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters, and all the people of his house, and his beasts and his cattle and all his goods which he had got together in the land of Canaan, and went into the land of Seir, away from his brother Jacob.
7 For their wealth was so great that the land was not wide enough for the two of them and all their cattle.
8 So Esau made his living-place in the hill-country of Seir (Esau is Edom).
9 And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill-country of Seir:
10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
12 And Eliphaz, the son of Esau, had connection with a woman named Timna, who gave birth to Amalek: all these were the children of Esau's wife Adah.
13 And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: they were the children of Esau's wife Basemath.
14 And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon: she was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
15 These were the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's first son: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
16 Korah, Gatam, Amalek: all these were chiefs in the land of Edom, the offspring of Eliphaz, the seed of Adah.
17 And these are the sons of Esau's son Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah: these were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom, the children of Esau's wife Basemath.
18 And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah: these were the chiefs who came from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.
19 These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite who were living in that country; Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan: these are the chiefs of the Horites, offspring of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; Lotan's sister was Timna.
23 And these are the children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; that same Anah who made the discovery of the water-springs in the waste land, when he was looking after the asses of his father Zibeon.
25 And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah his daughter.
26 These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
27 These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Such were the Horite chiefs in their order in the land of Seir.
31 And these are the kings who were ruling in the land of Edom before there was any king over the children of Israel.
32 Bela, son of Beor, was king in Edom, and the name of his chief town was Dinhabah.
33 At his death, Jobab, son of Zerah of Bozrah, became king in his place.
34 And at the death of Jobab, Husham, from the country of the Temanites, became king in his place.
35 And at the death of Husham, Hadad, son of Bedad, who overcame the Midianites in the field of Moab, became king; his chief town was named Avith.
36 And at the death of Hadad, Samlah of Masrekah became king.
37 And at the death of Samlah, Shaul of Rehoboth by the River became king in his place.
38 And at the death of Shaul, Baal-hanan, son of Achbor, became king.
39 And at the death of Baal-hanan, Hadar became king in his place; his chief town was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel; she was the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau in the order of their families and their places: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
43 Magdiel, Iram; these are the Edomite chiefs, in their places in their heritage; this is Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 36
Commentary on Genesis 36 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 36
Ge 36:1-43. Posterity of Esau.
1. these are the generations—history of the leading men and events (compare Ge 2:4).
Esau who is Edom—A name applied to him in reference to the peculiar color of his skin at birth [Ge 25:25], rendered more significant by his inordinate craving for the red pottage [Ge 25:30], and also by the fierce sanguinary character of his descendants (compare Eze 25:12; Ob 10).
2, 3. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan—There were three, mentioned under different names; for it is evident that Bashemath is the same as Mahalath (Ge 28:9), since they both stand in the relation of daughter to Ishmael and sister to Nebajoth; and hence it may be inferred that Adah is the same as Judith, Aholibamah as Bathsemath (Ge 26:34). It was not unusual for women, in that early age, to have two names, as Sarai was also Iscah [Ge 11:29]; and this is the more probable in the case of Esau's wives, who of course would have to take new names when they went from Canaan to settle in mount Seir.
6, 7. Esau … went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob—literally, "a country," without any certain prospect of a settlement. The design of this historical sketch of Esau and his family is to show how the promise (Ge 27:39, 40) was fulfilled. In temporal prosperity he far exceeds his brother; and it is remarkable that, in the overruling providence of God, the vast increase of his worldly substance was the occasion of his leaving Canaan and thus making way for the return of Jacob.
8. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir—This was divinely assigned as his possession (Jos 24:4; De 2:5).
15-19. dukes—The Edomites, like the Israelites, were divided into tribes, which took their names from his sons. The head of each tribe was called by a term which in our version is rendered "duke"—not of the high rank and wealth of a British peer, but like the sheiks or emirs of the modern East, or the chieftains of highland clans. Fourteen are mentioned who flourished contemporaneously.
20-30. Sons of Seir, the Horite—native dukes, who were incorporated with those of the Edomite race.
24. This was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness—The word "mules" is, in several ancient versions, rendered "water springs"; and this discovery of some remarkable fountain was sufficient, among a wandering or pastoral people, to entitle him to such a distinguishing notice.
31-39. kings of Edom—The royal power was not built on the ruins of the dukedoms, but existed at the same time.
40-43. Recapitulation of the dukes according to their residences.