Genesis 36.1-9-Esau's Genealogy in Canaan and Separation from Canaan
Tuesday October 17, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 36:1-8-Esau’s Genealogy in Canaan and Separation from Canaan
Lesson # 222
Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 3:16.
This evening we will begin a study of Genesis 36:1-37:1, which is one of the longest sections in the book of Genesis constituting the ninth major section in the book presenting the genealogy or family history of Esau and his descendants.
The family history of Esau, like that of Ishmael (See Genesis 25:12-18) immediately follows the obituaries of their fathers (See Genesis 25:7-10; 35:29).
Just as in the accounts of Abraham’s sons, the “rejected” line of Ishmael (See Genesis 25:12-18) is presented before the “elect” line of Isaac (See Genesis 25:19-35:29), so the accounts of Isaac’s sons, the “rejected” line of Esau (See Genesis 36:1-37:1) is presented before the “elect” line of Jacob (See Genesis 37:2-50:26).
The “rejected” descendants of the patriarchs are given because these sons are also under divine blessing according to the divine promises given to Abraham that are recorded in Genesis 17:20 and 27:38-40.
It is interesting that the twelve legitimate sons and grandsons of Esau listed in Genesis 36:9-14 match the twelve sons of Nahor (See Genesis 22:20-24), and of Ishmael (See Genesis 17:20; 25:13-16) and Israel (See Genesis 35:22b-26) indicating that these peoples existed as twelve tribe confederacies.
In Genesis 36, the superscription ‘elleh toledhoth `esaw (L#a@w+ tw)dl+T)), “these are the descendants of Esau” is repeated thus dividing the chapter into two unequal halves and two genealogies.
The first genealogy appears in Genesis 36:1-8 presenting a one-generation “segmented” genealogy of Esau’s sons born in the land of Canaan whereas the second genealogy that appears in Genesis 36:9-43 is framed by the statement “Esau the father of the Edomites.”
This genealogy consists of two three-generation “segmented” genealogies of those born in Seir, which appear in Genesis 36:9-19 and 20-30.
It also contains one “linear” genealogy containing the succession of kings for eight generations before an Israelite king reigns (See Genesis 36:31-43).
When I say “segmented” genealogy I mean that the genealogies, which appear in Genesis 36:9-19 and 20-30 display the existing relations between individuals, which trace their lineage back to Esau.
When I say “linear” genealogy I mean that the genealogy establishes continuity of the succession of kings descended from Esau over a stretch of time without narrative.
The following is an outline of the ninth major section in the book of Genesis, which appears in Genesis 36:1-37:1: (1) Title (36:1) (2) Esau’s marriages (36:2-5) (3) Esau’s move to Seir (36:6-8) (4) Esau’s sons and grandsons (36:9-14) (5) Chiefs (political or military leaders) descended from Esau (36:15-19) (6) Descendants of Seir the Horite (36:20-28) (7) Chiefs descended from Seir (36:29-30) (8) List of Edomite kings (36:31-39) (9) List of Chiefs (36:40-43) (10) Note about Jacob (37:1).
Now, although Genesis 36 may appear boring to read, to the serious student of the Word of God, it furnishes valuable information.
Remember what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”
2 Timothy 3:17, “so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
The purpose of the genealogies in Genesis 36 is seven-fold:
(1) To demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he would be “the father of a multitude of nations” (See Genesis 17:4).
(2) To demonstrate the partial fulfillment of God's promises to both Abraham and to Jacob that kings would come from them (Abraham-See Genesis 17:6 and 16; Jacob-See Genesis 35:11).
(3) To demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness in fulfilling His prophecies concerning Esau and his descendants, which are recorded in Genesis 25:23 and 27:39-40.
Genesis 25:23, “The LORD said to her (Rebekah), ‘Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.’”
Genesis 27:39-40, “Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, ‘Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, and away from the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, that you will break his yoke from your neck.’”
(4) To provide the nation of Israel the origins of her great enemies, namely, the Edomites (See Genesis 36:8) and the Amalekites (See Genesis 36:12).
The book of Genesis was originally written to the Israelites who were about to cross over the River Jordan to possess the land of Canaan and to annihilate the Canaanites (cf. Deuteronomy 1:8; 20:16 18).
There were, however, some people who were not to be attacked or annihilated, among whom were the Edomites, the descendants of Esau according to Deuteronomy 2:1-5.
(5) Therefore, in order to insure that this command would not be disobeyed, it was most essential for those Israelites of Moses’ day to know who the Edomites were and to have a carefully documented record of the generations of Esau and that record is the substance of Genesis 36.
(6) To demonstrate that the Lord Jesus Christ controls history and is sovereign over the nations (See Deuteronomy 32:1-8; Psalm 66:7; Isaiah 40:15-17; Acts 17:26; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 6:15).
Deuteronomy 32:1, “Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.”
Deuteronomy 32:2, “Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.”
Deuteronomy 32:3, “For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God!”
Deuteronomy 32:4, “The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”
Deuteronomy 32:5, “They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.”
Deuteronomy 32:6, “Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you.”
Deuteronomy 32:7, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.”
Deuteronomy 32:8, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.”
Isaiah 40:15, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.”
Isaiah 40:17, “All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”
(7) To present the distinction between the covenant people of God, the nation of Israel that was established based upon faith in the promises of Yahweh, the Lord Jesus Christ and the nation of Edom, which was based upon unbelief.
This evening we will study Genesis 36:1-8, which presents the title for the ninth major section in the book of Genesis as well as Esau’s genealogy or family history and his exodus from Canaan and his move to Seir.
Genesis 36:1, “Now these are the records of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).”
“These are the records of the generations of Esau” refers to the record of the descendants of Esau, which follows in Genesis 36:2-43 as indicated by the noun toledhoth (toh-led-aw) (tw{dl@w{T), “the records of the generations” which is always used as an introduction to what follows.
“Esau” (wc*u@) was the older twin brother of Jacob whose father was Isaac and mother was Rebekah and was the father of Edomite nation and whose name means, “hairy,” implying an animalistic nature.
“Edom” is the proper noun `edhom (sw)da$) (ed-ome), which literally means, “red,” and was the name given to Esau to mark the occasion in which he exchanged his birthright to Jacob for some red lintel soup (See Genesis 25:29-34).
Esau’s personal name is transformed into the national name Edom just as Jacob’s personal name was transformed to the national name Israel.
Genesis 36:2-3, “Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, also Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.”
The statement “Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan” was against the will of God and demonstrates Esau’s contempt for the plan of God since the prophecy of Noah, which is recorded in Genesis 9:24-27 prohibited Isaac’s family from marrying Canaanites since they were under a curse.
The family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was prohibited by God from entering into marriage with the Canaanites and instead were to marry Shemites since Noah prophesied in Genesis 9:20-27 that Canaan was under a curse and that Shem was in the line of Christ.
Genesis 9:25, “So he (Noah) said, ‘Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.’”
Thus, in Genesis 24:2-4, Abraham prohibited his servant Eliezer from taking a wife for his son Isaac from among the Canaanites and commanded him to go to his relatives in Paddan Aram who were descendents of Shem.
Not only did Abraham seek a wife for Isaac among the Arameans rather than the Canaanites but also Isaac did as well for Jacob according to Genesis 28:6-7.
The reason for this is that Abraham and Isaac and the Arameans were descendants of Shem (i.e. Semitic) who according to the prophecy of Noah recorded in Genesis 9:24-27 were in the line of Christ.
As we noted in our study of Genesis 28:6-9 we studied that neither Jacob nor Esau had ever previously been taught by their parents, Isaac and Rebekah that marriage to Canaanite women was against the will of God and unsatisfactory to their parents.
This is confirmed by Esau’s shock upon learning that his Canaanite wives were displeasing to his father and so therefore, to make matters right, he went and married an Ishmaelite, which is recorded in Genesis 28:6-9.
Unlike the Canaanites, Aramean women embraced the faith of their husbands, unlike the Canaanite women who seduce their husbands to join their lifestyles (See Genesis 24:4; 26:34-35; 31:50).
The Canaanites were idolatrous (Deut. 29:17), involved in the occult (Deut. 18:9-10) and gross immorality (Lev. 18), which archaeology confirms.
The Lord used the nation of Israel under Joshua to pour out His judgment upon the Canaanites for their immoral degeneracy (Gen. 15:16; 19:5; Lev. 18; 20; Deut. 12:31).
They were defeated on the battlefield, destroyed, or integrated with other nations or enslaved to Israel (Gen. 14:1-16; 15:18-21; Ex. 3:7-10; Deut. 1-3; Josh. 10-19).
“Adah” (hdu) (`adhah: pronounced aw-daw) is the first wife of Esau mentioned and her name means, “ornament” and her father was “Elon” (/w)lya@) (`elon, which is pronounced ay-lone), whose name means, “terebinth.”
“Oholibamah” (hmbyl!h&a*) (`oh-livamah, which is pronounced o-hol-ee-baw-maw) is the second wife of Esau mentioned and her name means, “tent of the high place.”
Her father was “Anah” (hdu) (`anah, which is pronounced an-aw) whose name means, “answer,” whose grandfather was “Zibeon” (/w)ub+x!) (tsiv`on, which is pronounced tsiv-one) whose name means, “colored” and who was a Hivite.
“Basemath” (tm^c+B*) (bos-math) is the third wife of Esau that is mentioned and her name means, “fragrance” and she was “Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth” and she is not to be confused with the “Basemath” mentioned in Genesis 26:34 whose father was Elon, the Hittite.
Her brother was “Nebaioth” (ty)b*n+) (nevayoth, which is pronounced neb-aw-yoth) whose name means, “heights” and who was the firstborn son of Ishmael according to Genesis 25:13 and 28:9.
The fact that “Adah” was a “Hittite” and “Oholibamah” was a “Hivite” meant that Esau’s marriages to these women were totally out of the will of God since both the Hittites and the Hivites were descendants of Canaan.
Even though Basemath was an Ishmaelite and therefore a descendant of Shem, Esau’s marriage to her was also out of the will of God since Isaac and not Ishmael was in the line of Christ.
Now, a problem arises when we compare the list of Esau’s wives recorded in Genesis 36:2-3 with the lists recorded in Genesis 26:34 and 28:9.
Genesis 36:2-3 records that Esau married “Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, also Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.”
Genesis 26:34 records that Esau married “Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite” whereas Genesis 28:9 records that Esau married “Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.”
The solution to this apparent contradiction is found when we understand that the purpose of Genesis 36 is to present the family history of Esau and so the women in Genesis 36:2-3 that bore Esau children would serve this purpose whereas the women in Genesis 26:34 and 28:9 died childless and would not.
Genesis 36:4-5, “Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.”
Genesis 36:4-5 reveals that Esau’s wives, Adah, Basemath and Oholibamah bore to Jacob five sons while he lived in the land of Canaan.
Adah bore to Esau “Eliphaz” (zp^yl!a$) (`Eliphaz, which is pronounced el-ee-faz), whose name means, “God is fine gold.”
Basemath bore to Esau “Reuel” (la@Wur+) (re`e’el, which is pronounced reh-oo-ale), whose name means, “friend of God.”
Oholibamah bore to Jacob three sons: (1) “Jeush” (vyu!y+) (ye`ish, which is pronounced yeh-oosh), whose name means, “helper.” (2) “Jalam” (<l*u+y^) (ya`lam, which is pronounced yaw-lawm), whose name means, “concealed.” (3) “Korah” (jr^q)) (qorach, which is pronounced ko-rahk), whose name means, “bald head.”
Genesis 36:6, “Then Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob.”
Esau has already “temporarily” occupied Seir prior to Jacob’s return to Canaan according to Genesis 32:3, 33:14, 16, however, he does not “permanently” remove his family from the land of his forefathers until Jacob’s return (See Genesis 35:29).
Genesis 36:7, “For their property had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock.”
The statement “for their property had become too great for them to live together” indicates that Esau and his family left the land of Canaan for “economic” reasons in that there was an insufficiency of natural resources to support both Esau and Jacob’s flocks and herds.
The statement “the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock” indicates that Esau also left Canaan for “social” reasons in that the land was overcrowded since not only were the Canaanites inhabiting the land but also Jacob and Esau’s family.
These social and economic reasons for Esau leaving Canaan were the direct result of God blessing both men abundantly.
Esau left the land of Canaan instead of Jacob for two reasons: (1) Jacob had just returned to Canaan. (2) Jacob was promised the land by God.
During the twenty years apart from each other, Esau realized that Jacob was properly entitled to the birthright and the blessing and that God had chosen Jacob to be in the line of Christ and inherit the blessings, promises, privileges and responsibilities of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Esau was able to accept that Jacob was entitled to the birthright, the blessing and the land of Canaan because God had prospered Esau with possessions and posterity.
This is indicated by his statement to Jacob in Genesis 33:19 when Jacob urged him to accept his gifts as restitution, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.”
Furthermore, Esau was able to accept that Jacob was entitled to the land of Canaan since God had made him a great nation, the nation of Edom, which would have given him fulfillment and prevented him from becoming jealous of Jacob’s great prosperity.
Genesis 36:8, “So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.”
“Seir” (ryu!C@) (se`ir, which is pronounced say-eer) demarcates the Edomite territory, which was situated at the southeast border of Palestine (Judges 11:17; Numbers 34:3) and was properly called “the land of Seir” (Genesis 36:8; Gen 32:3; Joshua 24:4; Ezekiel 35:3, 7, 15) and “the country of Edom.”