The Close of Esau's Chapter - For The Most Part

Good afternoon from the Panhandle. Well it's flu season here and we have had a lot of folks sick with it or strep. They even closed the school for a couple of days last week. We haven't escaped it. My son has been sick since Friday and now my wife is getting it.  I think I will be taking them to the doctor tomorrow.

We are moving into a retelling of family history here in Chapter 36. We see the family history of Esau. Remember that God has chosen Esau's brother Jacob to carry on the covenant that He made with Abraham. Also we have just seen in my last post that Jacob had a name change to Israel so from his family come the nation of Israel.

The family of Esau becomes the nation Edam. In Chapter 36 we see the pattern of the rejected line given first and then dropped from the Scriptures. Then the chosen line (Chapter 37), which leads to Christ Jesus, is given and followed until another split occurs. The nation which comes from Esau is only heard from again when it crosses the path of Israel. If you remember the same thing happened to Jacob and Esau's dad Isaac and their Uncle Ishmael. Isaac was in the covenant line and Ishmael was not. So after a brief history of Ishmael and his line – he is rarely mentioned again.

CHAPTER 36 AT A GLANCE:

The genealogy of Esau (i. e. his sons) by his Canaanite wives Adah, Aholibamah, and Bashemath, v. 1-3.

The children of Adah and Bashemath, v. 4.

Of Aholibamah, v. 5.

Esau departs from Canaan and goes to Mount Seir, v. 6-8.

The generations of Esau (i. e. his grandchildren) while in Seir, v. 9-19.

The generations of Seir, the Horite, v. 20-30.

Anah finds mules in the wilderness, v. 24.

The kings which reigned in Edom, v. 31-39.

The dukes that succeeded them, v. 40-43

(From Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)

Genesis 36

36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).

2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite-- 3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.

6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

9 This is the account 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:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.

12 Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. 13 The sons of Reuel:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 14 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon,whom she bore to Esau:

Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

15 These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants:

The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:

Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah. 17 The sons of Esau's son Reuel:

Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 18 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah:

Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended 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 were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs. 22 The sons of Lotan:

Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister. 23 The sons of Shobal:

Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon:

Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25 The children of Anah:

Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26 The sons of Dishon:

Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. 27 The sons of Ezer:

Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan:

Uz and Aran. 29 These were the Horite chiefs:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.

31 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:

32 Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king. 39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

40 These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.

This was Esau the father of the Edomites.

ESAU AND JACOB PART COMPANY AGAIN

“Esau and Jacob shook hands once more over the corpse of their father. Henceforth their paths diverged, to meet no more.” - (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Esau had also received a divine promise: The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 25:23). The history of his tribe was already interwoven in the with that of Israel (Jacob), an account is given now of Esau's growth into a nation.

The original inhabitants of Mount Seir were called Horites or Hurrians. In the course of time, Esau and his descendants took over the territory. Esau became wealthy and possessed great herds cattle and sheep. The principal cities of the area were Sela, Bozrah, Petra, Teman, and Ezion-geber. The Edomites continued to be hostile to the Israelites throughout OT times (cf. Obadiah, especially vv. 10-15). - (From The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

We have here the genealogy of Esau in his sons and grandsons, and also the genealogy of Seir the Horite. The genealogy of the sons of Esau, born in Canaan, is related Gen 36:1-3; those of his grandchildren born in Seir, Gen 36:9-19; those of Seir the Horite, Gen 36:20-30. The generations of Esau are particularly marked, to show how exactly God fulfilled the promises he made to him, Gen 25 and Gen 27; and those of Seir the Horite are added, because his family became in some measure blended with that of Esau.

The word "duke" comes from the Latin dux, "a captain or leader." The Hebrew 'alluwph (OT:441) has the same signification, and since it is also the term for "a thousand," which is a grand capital or leading number, probably the 'aluwpeey (OT:441) or "dukes" had this name from being leaders of or captains over a company of one thousand men; just as those among the Greeks called "chiliarchs," which signifies the same; and as the Romans called those centurions who were captains over one hundred men, from the Latin word centum, which signifies "a hundred." The ducal government was that which prevailed first among the Idumeans, or descendants of Esau. Here fourteen dukes are reckoned to Esau, seven that came of his wife, Adah, Jour of Bashemath, and three of Aholibamah.

That is, the preceding list contains an account of the posterity of Esau, who was the father of Edom. Thus ends Esau's history; for after this there is no further account of his life, actions, or death, in the Pentateuch. - (From Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft).

The next time we see Esau in Scripture will be in Deuteronomy where we are told about the lands that he and his family settled. While we don't read much about Esau after Deuteronomy he is referenced occasionally in both the Old Testament and New Testament.