Genesis 36.31-37.1-The Kings and Chiefs of Edom and Geographical Division of Esau and Jacob
Thursday October 19, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 36:31-37:1-The Kings and Chiefs of Edom and Geographical Division of Esau and Jacob
Lesson # 224
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 36:1.
This evening we will complete our study of Genesis 36.
Genesis 36:1-8 presented the title for the ninth major section in the book of Genesis as well as Esau’s genealogy or family history and the record of his exodus from Canaan and his move to Seir.
Genesis 36:9-30 concerned itself with the sons and chiefs of Esau to the third generation as well as the Horites of Seir.
This evening we will study Genesis 36:31-37:1, which presents to us the kings and chiefs of Edom as well as the geographical division of Esau and Jacob.
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.
(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).
(5) To insure that the Lord’s command that appears in Deuteronomy 2:4-5 to spare the descendants of Esau in the land of Seir would not be disobeyed.
(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).
(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.
Genesis 36:1, “Now these are the records of the generations of Esau (`esaw [wc*u@], “hairy”) (that is, Edom [`edhom] [sw)da$] [ed-ome], “red”).”
Genesis 36:2-3, “Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah (`adhah [hdu] [aw-daw], “ornament”) the daughter of Elon (`elon [w)lya@] [ay-lone], “terebinth”) the Hittite, and Oholibamah (`oh-livamah [hmbyl!h&a] [o-hol-ee-baw-maw], “tent of the high place”) the daughter of Anah (`anah [hdu*] [an-aw], “answer”) and the granddaughter of Zibeon (tsiv`on [w)ub+x!] [tsiv-one], “colored”) the Hivite, also Basemath (basemath [tm^c+B] [bos-math], “fragrance”), Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth (nevayoth [ty)bn+] [neb-aw-yoth], “heights”).”
Genesis 36:4-5, “Adah bore Eliphaz (`Eliphaz [zp^yl!a$] [el-ee-faz], “God is fine gold”) to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel (re`e’el [la@Wur+] [reh-oo-ale], “friend of God”), and Oholibamah bore Jeush (ye`ish [vyu!y+] [yeh-oosh], “helper”) and Jalam (ya`lam [<l*u+y^] [yaw-lawm], “concealed”) and Korah (qorach [jr^q)] [ko-rahk], “bald head”). These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.”
1 Chronicles 1:35-37 contains a genealogy of Esau’s sons that parallels the one contained in Genesis 36:1-5.
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.”
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.”
Genesis 36:8, “So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.”
Genesis 36:9, “These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.”
Genesis 36:10, “These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau's wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau's wife Basemath.”
Genesis 36:11, “The sons of Eliphaz were Teman (teman [/mT] [tay-mawn], “south country”), Omar (`omar [rmw)a] [o-mawr], “eloquent”), Zepho (tsepho [w)px+] [tsef-o], “watchtower”) and Gatam (ga`tam [<T*u+G^] [gah-tawm], “a burnt valley”) and Kenaz (qonaz [zn^q(] [ken-az], “hunter”).”
Genesis 36:12, “Timna (timna` [un^m+T!] [tim-naw], “restrained”) was a concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz and she bore Amalek (`amaleq [ql@m*u&] [am-aw-lake], “dweller in a valley”) to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau's wife Adah.”
Genesis 36:13, “These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath (nachath [tj^n^] [nakh-ath], “rest”) and Zerah (zerach [jr^z#] [zeh-rakh], “rising”), Shammah (shammah [hMv^] [sham-maw], “astonishment”) and Mizzah (mizzah [hZm!] [miz-zaw], “fear”). These were the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.”
Genesis 36:14, “These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush (ye`ish, [vyu!y+] [yeh-oosh], “helper”) and Jalam (ya`lam [<l*u+y^] [yaw-lawm], “concealed” and Korah (qorach [jr^q)] [ko-rahk], “bald head”).”
Genesis 36:15-16, “These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.”
Genesis 36:17, “These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.”
Genesis 36:18, “These are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.”
Genesis 36:19, “These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.”
Genesis 36:20-21, “These are the sons of Seir (se`ir [ryu!C@] [say-eer], “hairy”) the Horite (chori [yr!j)] [kho-ree], “cave dweller”), the inhabitants of the land: Lotan (lotan [f*w)l] [lo-tawn], “covering”) and Shobal (shoval [lB^w)v] [show-vawl], “flowing”) and Zibeon (tsiv`on [w)ub+x!] [tsiv-one], “colored”) and Anah (`adhah [hdu] [aw-daw], “ornament”), and Dishon (dishon [v*yD!] [dee-shown], “thresher”) and Ezer (`etser [rx#a@] [ay-tser], “treasure”) and Dishan (dishan [cy)D!] [dee-shawn]. “thresher”). These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.”
Genesis 36:22, “The sons of Lotan were Hori (chori [yr!j)] [kho-ree], “cave dweller”) and Hemam (hemam [<m*yh@] [ho-mawm], “confusion”); and Lotan's sister was Timna (Eliphaz’ concubine-See Genesis 36:12).”
Genesis 36:23, “These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan (`alwan [/wl+u^] [al-vawn], “tall”) and Manahath (manachath [tj^n^m] [maw-nakh-ath], “tall”) and Ebal (`eval [lbyu@] [ay-vawl], “stone”), Shepho (shepho [w)pv+] [shef-o], “bold”) and Onam (`onam [<nw)a] [o-nawm], “vigorous”).”
Genesis 36:24, “These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah (`ayah [hYa^] [ah-yaw], “falcon”) and Anah (`adhah [hdu*] [aw-daw], “ornament”) -- he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.”
Genesis 36:25, “These are the children of Anah: Dishon (dishon [/vyD!] [dee-shown], “thresher”), and Oholibamah (`oh-livamah [hmbyl!h&a] [o-hol-ee-baw-maw], “tent of the high place”), the daughter of Anah.”
Genesis 36:26, “These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan (chemdan [tw)dm%j&] [khem-dawn], “desire”) and Eshban (`Eshban [P*v+a#] [esh-bawn], “fire of discernment, intelligent, thoughtful”) and Ithran (yithran [rt+y!] [yith-rawn], “advantage”) and Cheran (keran [/rK+] [ker-awn], “lyre”).”
Genesis 36:27, “These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan (bilhan [h*l+B!] [bil-hawn], “their decrepitude”) and Zaavan (za`awan [wu&z^] [zah-av-awn], “troubled”) and Akan (`aqan [/qu&] [aw-kawn], “sharp-sighted”).”
Genesis 36:28, “These are the sons of Dishan: Uz (`uts [JWu] [oots], “wooded”) and Aran (`aran [/r*a&] [aw-rawn], “joyous”).”
Genesis 36:29-30, “These are the chiefs descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, according to their various chiefs in the land of Seir.”
1 Chronicles 1:38-42 contains a list of names that parallels this list of sons and chiefs of Esau to the third generation as well as the Horites of Seir, which appears in Genesis 36:9-30.
Genesis 36:31-43a presents a “linear” list of eight kings meaning that this list establishes continuity of the succession of eight kings who reigned in Edom over a stretch of time without narrative.
Genesis 36:31, “Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel.”
The line of succession of these kings of Edom is related to their different capitals as indicated by the phrase “his city,” which appears in Genesis 36:32, 35, and 39 and is used of three of the eight kings.
The reason why three of the kings are said to have a city and the other five are not said to have a city does not indicate that the five did not have a city but that the five used the city of their predecessor until his successor shifted to another city.
The fact that the line of succession of these eight kings of Edom is related to their different capitals suggests an elective kingship and not a dynastic one
Further substantiating this is that the line of succession of the kings of Edom was “not” hereditary since none of these eight kings succeeded his father.
The Scripture does not tell us if they were elected based upon their charisma or intelligence or based upon their military prowess.
The statement “Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel” indicates quite clearly that kings reigned in Edom before Israel had her first king, which was Saul.
Now, the critics of the Bible contend that Moses did not write this statement but rather either David or Saul since there were no kings in Israel during the time of Moses.
However, they fail to take into consideration that Moses knew prophetically that Israel would eventually have kings (See Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Genesis 36:32, “Bela (bela` [ul^B#] [beh-lah], “destruction” [first king of Edom]) the son of Beor (be`or [rw{uB+] [beh-ore], “burning”) reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah (dinhavah [hbhn+D!] [din-haw-vaw], “give you judgment” [site has not been located by archaeologists]).”
Genesis 36:33, “Then Bela died, and Jobab (yovav [bb*w)y] [yo-vawv], “a desert”) [second king of Edom] the son of Zerah (zerach [jr^z#] [zeh-rahk], “rising”) of Bozrah became king in his place.”
“Bozrah” is the proper noun botsrah (hrx+B) (bots-raw), which means, “fortress” and has been identified with the modern village Buseira, which is located 25 miles southwest of the southern end of the Dead Sea.
Archaeological excavations reveal that the town was heavily fortified covering twenty acres serving as a crossing point for several principle highways and was a major center for shepherding, weaving and the manufacture of dyed garments.
Genesis 36:34, “Then Jobab died, and Husham (chusham [<v*j%] [khoo-shawm], “haste” [third king of Edom]) of the land of the Temanites became king in his place.”
The “land of the Temanites” appears to have been located at the southern end of Edom with Bozrah, its capital in the north since the meaning of “Teman,” is “south country.”
Genesis 36:35, “Then Husham died, and Hadad (hadhadh [dd^h&] [had-ad], “mighty” [fourth king of Edom]) the son of Bedad (bedhadh [dd^B+] [bed-ad], “solitary”), who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith (`awith [tyw!u&] [av-veeth], “ruins” [site has not been located by archaeologists]).”
“Midian” (midhyan [/y*d+m!] [mid-yawn], “strife”) was the fourth son of Abraham through his concubine Keturah according to Genesis 25:2.
Midian’s descendants were a well-known Arabian tribe east of the Gulf of Aqabah and the Red Sea who traded in gold and incense according to Isaiah 60:6, Genesis 37:25, 28, and did this from Moab to Sinai and Ephah according to Numbers 22:4, 7, Judges 6-8.
The first wife of Moses, Zipporah was a Midianite and her brother Hobab guided Israel through the steppe of Sinai (Num. 10:29-32) and later, Midianites in association with the Moabites fought Israel (Num. 25; 31:1-12) and Gideon drove them out of Israel (Judges 7-8).
“The field of Moab” ( mo’av [ba*w)m] [mo-awv], “of his father”) was located along the eastern border of the Dead Sea, on the plateau between the Dead Sea and the Arabian desert and was about 35 miles long and 25 miles wide.
Although it was primarily a high plateau, Moab also had mountainous areas and deep gorges and it was a fertile area for crops and herds and to the south and west of Moab was the nation of Edom and to the north was Ammon.
The phrase “the plains of Moab” found in Numbers 22:1 is distinguished from the phrase “the field of Moab.”
The “field of Moab” was a narrow strip of arable land east of the Dead Sea, whose boundaries were the Dead Sea on the west, the Arnon Gorge on the north, the Arabian Desert on the east and the Zered River canyon on the south.
The “plains of Moab” are referred to throughout the Balaam story in the book of Numbers since this was where the Israelites camped as they made their way to the land of Canaan (See Numbers 22:1).
Genesis 19:30-38 records that “Moab” was the product of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his oldest daughter after their flight from Sodom according to Genesis 19:30-37.
The Moabites and the Ammonites were the bitter enemies of Israel (see Num. 23-25; 2 Kings 3) and as a result were rejected by God but not because of their questionable lineage (see Deut. 23:3-6) and yet from this lineage will come Ruth, and so Jesus Christ (see Ruth 4:18-22; Matt. 1:5).
Genesis 36:36, “Then Hadad died, and Samlah (samlah [hlm+c^] [sam-law], “garment” [fifth king of Edom]) of Masrekah (masreqah [hqr@c+m&] [mas-ray-kaw], “vineyard of noble vines”) became king in his place.”
The name “Masrekah” indicates a grape growing region and has been identified with Jebel el-Mushrak, located approximately 22 miles south-southwest of Maan.
Genesis 36:37, “Then Samlah died, and Shaul (sha’ul [lWav*] [shaw-ool], “desired” [sixth king of Edom]) of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place.”
“Rehoboth” is the proper noun rechovoth (tw)bj)r+) (rekh-o-both), which means, “space” and was located on the Euphrates River according to Genesis 36:37.
“Euphrates River” is the noun nahar (rhn) (naw-hawr), which is usually used in Scripture with reference to the Euphrates River, however, the river in question is very far from Edom and actually refers to the Wadi el-Hesa, which is the natural border between Edom and Moab.
Genesis 36:38, “Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan (ba`al [lu^B^] [bah-al khaw-nawn], “Baal is gracious” [seventh king of Edom]) the son of Achbor (`akhbor [rw)Bk+u^] [ak-bore], “mouse”) became king in his place.”
Genesis 36:39, “Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar (hadhar [rd^h&] [had-ar], “adornment” [eighth king of Edom]) became king in his place; and the name of his city was Pau (pa`u [WuP] [paw-oo], “bleating” [site has not been located by archaeologists]); and his wife's name was Mehetabel (mehetav’el [la@b+f^yh@m+] [meh-hay-tav-ale], “favored of God”), the daughter of Matred (matredh [dr@f+m^] [mat-rade], “drive away”), daughter of Mezahab (me zahav [bhz* ym@] [may-zaw-hawv], “waters of gold”).”
Hadar’s father is not named but rather his mother and grandmother indicating that his mother possessed a very distinguished ancestry.
Genesis 36:40-43, “Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their families and their localities, by their names: chief Timna (timna` [un^m+T!] [tim-naw], “restrained”), chief Alvah (`alwah [hwl+u^] [al-vaw], “evil”), chief Jetheth (yetheth [tt@y+] [yeh-thayth], “nail”), chief Oholibamah (`oh-livamah [hmbyl!h&a] [o-hol-ee-baw-maw], “tent of the high place”), chief Elah (`elah [hla@] [ay-law], “an oak”), chief Pinon (pinon [n)yP!] [pee-none], “darkness”), chief Kenaz (qonaz [zn^q(] [ken-az], “hunter”), chief Teman (teman [mT] [tay-mawn], “south country”), chief Mibzar (mivtsar [rxb+m!] [miv-tsawr], “fortress”), chief Magdiel (maghdi’el [la@yD!l+m^] [mag-dee-ale], “gift of God”), chief Iram (`iram [<ryu!] [ee-rawm], “belonging to a city”). These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their habitations in the land of their possession.”
1 Chronicles 1:43-54 contains a parallel list of these Edomite Kings that appear in Genesis 36:31-43.
The list of Edomite chiefs that appears in Genesis 36:15-19 is different than the list of Edomite kings that appears in Genesis 36:40-43 since the former contains fourteen names whereas the latter contains eleven names and the names “Oholibamah, Kenaz, Teman” appear in both lists.
The list of Edomite chiefs that appears in Genesis 36:15-19 is “historical” and “genealogical” whereas the list that appears in Genesis 36:40-43 is “geographical” and “statistical.”
The fact that the list of Genesis 36:40-43 is “geographical” is indicated by the phrases “according to…their localities” and “according to their habitations in the land of their possession” and it is “statistical” as indicated by the phrase “according to their families…by their names.”
Therefore, the list of Genesis 36:40-43 is apparently arranged by localities that are identical with the clan names, which may reflect Edomite administrative districts within the kingdom.
In the original Hebrew text, Genesis 37:1 is grammatically connected to Genesis 36 and completes the ninth major section of Genesis, which began in Genesis 36:1.
We must also remember that the original Hebrew and Greek texts did not have chapter divisions and were not inspired by God.
Genesis 37:1 is called a “colophon” meaning it is a note that comes at the end of a book, thus the statement regarding Jacob in Genesis 37:1 is simply a note that comes at the end of the ninth section in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 37:1, “Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.”
The statement “Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan” is an unusual addition to the account of Esau’s descendants and is used in direct contrast with the statement contained in Genesis 36:8, “So Esau…settled in the hill country of Seir.”
Therefore, the statement “Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan” is employed to demonstrate the geographical and spiritual division between Jacob and Esau and their descendants.
Genesis 37:1 is called a “Janus” section book, which is a term named after the Roman god of doorways with one head and two faces looking in opposite directions and is a term applied to a literary unit that looks back and forth to unite the units before and after.
Therefore, Genesis 37:1 looks back at Genesis 36 and the account of Esau’s descendants settling in Seir and looks forward to Jacob and his sons in the land of Canaan, thus this passage serves to contrast Jacob’s commitment to the land of Canaan with Esau’s migration to Mount Seir.