Chapter Thirty-Six
The Generations of Esau - Part One
If Esau was first married when he was 40 years old (see Genesis 26:34) and Jacob was approximately 84 years old when he first married (based on taking Jacob’s age when he died and using the dates in reverse order to calculate an approximate age), that would indicate that Esau would have had one full generation of descendants more than Jacob.
36:1 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.
There are two “generations of Esau” listed in this chapter, the first eight verses list his wives and their children born while living in the land of Canaan (see verse five). The second “generations of Esau,” found in verses nine through forty-three, lists the sons and grandsons born outside the land of Canaan, being the father of the Edomites (see commentary under Genesis 25:27-34) along with a breakdown of the early intermarriages between Esau and the Horites, the inhabitants of Seir.
If you have a good memory, you might be asking, “who are these women?” Esau first married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite (see Genesis 26:34) and then later he married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (see Genesis 28:9). So, who are these women? Some believe that the women listed here are not different people than those previously listed. It was common for people to have several names, including names from different languages as well as ones that changed based on social status. Even today most cultures provide multiple names, let alone to mention “nicknames” and titles. Some point out that there are some similarities in the names. For example, the name Adah means ‘ornament’ or ‘beauty’ in the Hebrew (even though the name was probably originally in one of the Hittite languages, we see these names recorded in the Hebrew language) compared to Basemath, which means ‘perfume’ or ‘fragrant’. The name Oholibamah is believed to mean “a tent on a high place,” which carries the connotation of idolatry, since many pagan gods were worshiped in high places in the Old Testament (Hebrew word ‘bāmāh’,[1] a word found over 100 times in Scripture, for example see Leviticus 26:30; Numbers 33:50-56; 1 Samuel 9:12; 1 Kings 12:28-33; 14:23; 22:43) compared to the name Judith, which in the Hebrew language, means “praiseworthy,” and from a pagan perspective, praising an idol would be done on a high place. Plus, the name Beeri could possibly be connected to Anah as a nickname for the one who found the hot spring (see verse 24, Beeri means “man of the fountain”). However, when comparing the names Mahalath to Basemath, finding any connection becomes more difficult and potentially unknown, however, again, there is no reason to believe that these names refer to different people. But, with that said, that doesn’t mean there are no complications or potential errors in this chapter. Besides the different names, the text in the second verse refers to “Anah the daughter of Zibeon.” Anah was actually a man (see verses 20-29), since there is no Hebrew word for granddaughter, many believe that it should be interpreted as a reference to Oholibamah being the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. It is also interesting to note that the Septuagint renders this verse with the word ‘son’ instead of daughter. But the conflict doesn’t stop here, since there are two Anahs listed in this chapter, there has been some confusion as to which one really is the father of Oholibamah.
36:4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)
Esau had five sons and an unknown number of daughters in the land of Canaan, as well as many servants and a lot of livestock. After realizing that Jacob was to be the heir of Isaac and to possess the land of Canaan, he concluded that there would not be enough space in the land for both of their families, so he moved southward into the mountainous regions southeast of the Dead Sea.
The region which Esau migrated into was previously settled by the descendants of Seir, and the central range of mountains was known as Mount Seir. The Bible states that the children of Esau displaced the Horites by force (see Deuteronomy 2:12, 22), however, many believe that Esau may have likely assimilated the people through intermarriage.
The text once again reminds its readers that Esau was also known as Edom (see verse one).
Considerations
The fathers of Esau’s first two wives were said to be both Hittites (Hebrew word ‘ḥit·tî’,[2] see Genesis 26:34), but one of them in this chapter is referred to be a Hivite (Hebrew word ‘ḥiw·wî’,[3] see verse two) and then later a reference of being a Horite (Hebrew word ‘ḥō·rî’,[4] see verse 20). All three of these people groups were distinctive and since they were scattered throughout Canaan, it is believed that these, and many other Canaanite tribes had a significant amount of intermarriage, making the family names and ancestry difficult to trace.
In addition, there is a question as to who Oholibama’s father was, as this chapter appears to state that there were two Anahs. One being the son of Seir (see verse 20) and the other being the son of Zibeon (see verses 2, 24), which would be Seir’s grandson. The potential controversy begins with verse 25, where it presents the sons of Anah. Even though this verse follows the description of Anah, son of Zibeon, in verse 24, many believe that the text is continuing the list of Seir’s sons and their offspring, noting that if it was a reference to the son of Zibeon, then there is no listing of Anah, the son of Seir’s family. Even though this should not be considered a major issue as it could be a simple transpositional error, many commentators are split as to how to interpret. Here is one explanation for both the Hittite, Hivite, and Horite issue as well as the two Anahs:
It would thus appear that Anah, from whom Esau’s wife sprang, was the head of a tribe independent of his father, and ranking on an equality with that tribe. Several difficulties occur in regard to the race and name of Anah. By his descent from Seir he is a Horite (Gen. 36:20), while in v. 2 he is called a Hivite, and again in the narrative (Gen. 26:34) he is called Beeri the Hittite. Hengstenberg’s explanation of the first of these difficulties, by supposing that one of the descendants of Seir received the specific epithet Hori (i. e. Troglodyte, or dweller in a cave) as a definite proper name (Pent. ii, 228), is hardly adequate, for others of the same family are similarly named; it is more probable that the word Hivite (הַחִוִּי) is a mistake of transcribers for Horite (הַחֹרִי), or rather that all the branches of the Hivites were, in course of time, more particularly called Horites, from their style of habitation in the caves of Mt. Seir. As the name Beeri signifies fontanus, i. e. “man of the fountain” (בְּאַר), this has been thought to be his designation with reference to the above noticed “warm springs” of Callirrhoë discovered by him; whereas in the genealogy proper he is fitly called by his original name Anah.—Smith.[5]
The Generations of Esau - Part Two
36:9 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 Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
This listing of the generations of Esau includes the same wives and sons listed in the first group, with the addition of their sons (Esau’s grandsons). The text identifies the sons of Esau and Oholibamah and each of Esau’s grandsons as ‘chiefs’ (KJV uses the title of “Duke”). This Hebrew word (‘ǎl·lû·pê’),[6] first appears in verse 15 and is used exclusively throughout the Bible to refer to leaders in Edom, with the exception of the three times the word appears in the book of Zechariah (translated there as ‘clans’ of Judah). The name Korah is listed twice, once being the son of Oholibamah and once as being the son of Eliphaz (see verse 16). These are not two individuals, note that Korath is not listed as a son of Eliphaz in verse 11, nor is he listed later in a parallel passage (see 1 Chronicles 1:36 below). One explanation offered is that he was listed as Eliphaz’s son-in-law, others suggest that it should have been a reference to Timna (Eliphaz’s concubine) as depicted in 1 Chronicles 1:36, “The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, and of Timna, Amalek.” Speaking of Timna, it is also interesting to note that Eliphaz’s wife’s name is not mentioned but his concubine is, this may be due to her son being the most notorious of all the sons. The Amalekites became major enemies of Israel for a period of time.
36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.
The Horites were the original inhabitants of this region named after Seir, one of the more prominent men, who may have even been one of the first to dwell in this region. It appears that this genealogy of Seir was not intended to give an exhaustive listing of his descendants than it was to provide a contextual connection with Esau. Essentially, the list presents the lineage leading up to Esau’s wife Oholibamah. Through intermarriage these two people groups became one nation known as the Edomites.
36:31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.
The remainder of this chapter was apparently added by Moses since the people listed here existed many years later after Esau. It is interesting to note that Moses tells his readers that these kings reigned long before there was any king in Israel. How would Moses know? The nation of Israel had not existed yet and it would be several more years before the first king. However, Moses did know that in the future Israel would have a king, as indicated in what he later wrote in the book of Deuteronomy (see Deuteronomy 17:14-20; 28:46). He is simply informing us that the nation of Edom was around long before God established the nation of Israel.
The eight names listed here cannot be connected or identified with any confidence to any similar names in history or be found in any other location in the Bible. There are some rabbinical writings that attempt to connect “Bela the son of Beor,” with the unusual Biblical character named later in the book of Numbers as “Balaam” (see Numbers chapters 22-24), who is also identified as a son of Beor.
Apparently, the Edomite kings did not have family dynasties, when each king died another unrelated individual would rise in power, perhaps by force. Some scholars suggest that they may have had an elected monarchy. The text reveals that they each either reigned “in his place” or had a city of their own, apparently there was no designated “capital city.”
Of the eight kings, King Hadad was given prominence among the others with the notation that he had victory over the Midianites in the country of Moab, which is interesting since the Midianites lived south of Edom and the Moabites north of Edom. No further details are given or known.
36:40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.
The names listed here appear to be the chiefs that descended from Esau in geographical (regional) order, according to family or clan name. The chief named ‘Alvah’ is only mentioned once here in the Bible. Each of the others appear here and at least one more time in a similar recording of genealogical records found in 1 Chronicles (see 1 Chronicles 1:35-54).
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 1116.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 2850.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 2340.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 2752.
[5] M’Clintock, J., & Strong, J. (1880). A′nah. In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 1, p. 212). New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 441.