Read Genesis 36
Esau’s Descendants
1 This is the account of the family line 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 the family line 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.
The Rulers of Edom
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 Akbor succeeded him as king.
39 When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor 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 is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Go Deeper
Whenever there’s a genealogy in scripture, it’s easy to feel the temptation to skip it, thinking there isn’t much there for us to learn other than a historical account of real people who lived a few thousand years years ago. Today, let’s fight that temptation to run past it and sit with these 43 verses for just a moment.
Genesis 36 is a lot like walking through a cemetery. Unfamiliar names on gravestones, memorials to people with whom we have little or no connection. Yet, we all wonder as we walk by, “What was their story?” We stroll through cemeteries, trying to piece together the stories of people we don’t know. Inevitably, we pass a gravestone that causes us to stop—the gravestone that has dates of birth and death too close together for our comfort. The memorial of a life cut short. We don’t like that one. It reminds us too much that we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
We’d be wise to read Genesis 36 and come face to face with two realities: Death is coming for us all, and God is faithful to keep His word. We don’t like thinking about our mortality. James 4 tells us that our lives are a mist, a vapor. Matthew 6 reminds us that what we do with our lives here matters for all eternity. Our work in the temporal can store up treasures in the eternal. Matthew 16 warns us that we can gain the whole world and lose our soul. This was Esau’s story. He had wives, money, possessions. He had everything he wanted except the one thing he needed. He had it all, but none of it saved him.
But, don’t miss God’s faithfulness in the story of Esau. Remember in Genesis 25:23, the Lord said Esau would be a great nation. We read today about Esau being a great nation! It came to pass. God keeps His word. His promises never fail. If God kept His promise to a faithless, godless man, we can be sure He will keep all His promises to His people. Let’s preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten. Let’s leverage it all for Jesus. He’ll be faithful to you.
Questions
What do you learn about God and about man in Genesis 36?
What’s the story people will tell of your life?
How has God been faithful to you?
A Quote
“Let us live as we shall wish we had lived when life is over.” – Charles Spurgeon
6 thoughts on “Genesis 36”
As I was reading of Esau’s wives, I recalled a piece of information from Genesis 26:34-35. “When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite . They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebecca.” Most likely these were pagan women who would continue to corrupt the family line, and the parents were opposed to them. It’s interesting to note that Edom (descendants of Esau) and Israel (descendants of Jacob) shared the same ancestry of Isaac & Abraham but with such different outcomes. The daily decisions made are becoming our story that will determine our legacy.
Just a side note, in verse 4 of 35 instead of burying the idols why did he not destroy them? Just a hum?
“If God blesses so abundantly those who are not chosen, what is the magnitude of His blessings for those who are chosen? If nonspiritual people experience such outpourings of merely common grace, how great must the special grace of the regenerate be!” (Boice) What a profound statement we can glean from. This chapter with the begats but they are important or God would not have mentioned them. So blessings for those not chosen verses the chosen is a big wow in my mind.
When we see the kings and chiefs among the descendants of Esau, we see more clearly what God meant when He said, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Malachi 1:2-3 and Romans 9:13). Esau was obviously a blessed man, but he was hated and rejected in regard to being chosen to inherit the covenant God made to Abraham. (Gusik)
God thank You for the concern of burying my idols or destroying them. I thank You that You have provided the grace through Jesus Christ for me to destroy them. I am so thankful for the blessings You give me today in these minutes of this day for a time such as this. God continue to help me to be the encourager, the person who wants so desperatly to show people Your HESED love. Let me be bold to speak, to act, and to hear from You. God thank You for those whom I encounter to know what words to speak, Holy Spirit, here am I. God thank You for at the end of the day I can look back and see the encounters, the oppurtunities that have been a glory to You, God. God thank You for all Your blessing in these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
1 “This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).“
There seems to be a lot of name-changing in the Bible! Usually when there’s an encounter with God. So, when was Esau’s name changed to Edom? Was there an event that precipitated that?
I need to live as if my name has been changed!
Ditto!
Name- changing, incest, family dysfunction. Not too different from our day and age. BUT God! I don’t comprehend it all and at times it sends my head spinning with all the begats. Let not our choices in our lives compromise God’s standards for temporal worldly pleasures. I pray my actions always lead my family to Christ, Jesus.
Man. So true. I don’t know anyone from 1920’s and backwards in this country. They all just died as fellow Americans and I don’t care to know them. The same will happen with me. No one will most likely know me from 20 years after my death.
God is my only hope.