Chapter Thirty-Six

Genealogy of Esau’s descendants and the Horites, the ancient inhabitants of Seir

Genesis 36:1. Here is the genealogy of Esau, who is also Edom. Just as after the completion of Abraham’s history, a genealogy of Ishmael is given in Gen 25:12-18, who is not mentioned afterward in the course of the sacred narrative, so now, before Esau is set apart from the history of salvation, his genealogy and that of his descendants is given. The Hebrew word toldoth has a broader meaning: history, narrative (Gen 2:4 and others), but here it has the narrower sense: genealogy, though naturally historical, geographical and other remarks are also included.

Genesis 36:2–3. Esau took wives for himself from the daughters of the Canaanites: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, son of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth. The wives of Esau are mentioned here for the third time (cf. Gen 26:34), but their names are given differently than in the previous two times. Acknowledging that these variations may have been due to ancient Eastern custom of renaming or even scribal error, we note points of similarity in all three versions: Esau had three wives; one of them was called Basemath; two were Canaanites; the third was the daughter of Ishmael.

Genesis 36:4–5. Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, and Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, born to him in the land of Canaan. Of Esau’s five sons, Adah and Basemath each bore one, while Oholibamah bore three; all were born before the migration from Canaan mentioned in verses 6–8.

Genesis 36:6–7. And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the people of his household and all his flocks and all his cattle and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went into another land away from his brother Jacob, because their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their sojournings could not support them because of the multitude of their cattle. If earlier (chapters 32–33) Esau only temporarily absented himself from Canaan, now he undertakes complete withdrawal from his father’s house and takes all that belongs to him with him, and is heading to another land, that is, doubtless to Seir (verse 9), Gen 33:14. The Midrash rightly says that this departure of Esau “from Jacob’s presence” meant that Esau would have no share in Abraham’s promises. The reason for his separation from his brother is the same as that indicated in the account of Abraham’s separation from Lot (Gen 13:5-12): insufficient pasture and possible disputes over it between the shepherds. One must remember that the pastoral patriarchs had only unoccupied, empty spaces at their disposal. The other lands, occupied by settled populations, were inaccessible to them, and they could only buy parcels for their needs with money (Gen 23:3-4). Under such circumstances, misunderstandings and disputes were always possible in the “land of their sojournings” (verse 7), for example, over wells (cf. chapters 21 and 26).

Genesis 36:8. And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; Esau, he is Edom. The land occupied by Esau and his tribe is called here (cf. Gen 14:6) Mount Seir. Before it was settled by Esau’s tribe — Edom — it was inhabited by cave dwellers (cavemen) — the Horites (Gen 14:6; Deut 2:12) — and received its name Seir either from one of the representatives of the Horite tribe, Seir (Gen 36:20), or from Esau himself, who was, according to Gen 25:25, sair, hairy. Mount Seir consists of a chain of mountain ranges, now called Djebal, Schera, and Hosma, which extend from the southern shore of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Eilat. The northern part of the country was called Gebalene in antiquity (Greek Γεβαληνή), from which probably comes the present Arabic name Djebel (hilly country). Parallel to the mountain chain runs the Valley of Hor, into which the mountains descend steeply. The eastern part of the country is almost barren and strewn with stones (the Stony Arabia). The mountainous part (the mountains consist of limestone with basalt), however, is quite fertile. Having occupied it, the descendants of Esau gained control of the cities of Bozrah (Bostra) (verse 33), Teman (verse 34), Masrekah (verse 36) and others.

Genesis 36:9. Now this is the genealogy of Esau, father of the Edomites, in Mount Seir. What was said in verse 1 is repeated here, but whereas what was said in verses 1–8 concerns properly the sons of Esau, what follows (verses 9–19) extends to the grandsons of Esau and his further descendants.

Genesis 36:11. The sons of Eliphaz were: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Teman, the first son of Eliphaz, gave his name to a city mentioned more than once among the prophets (Jer 49:7; Amos 1:12; Obad 1:9; Ezek 25:13); its inhabitants were apparently known for their wisdom (Jer 49:7); one of the descendants of Teman, son of Eliphaz, was the eldest of Job’s friends — the Temanite (Job 2:11). Omar may be the ancestor of the Arab tribe of the Amirs. Zepho (in 1 Chr 1:36 — Zephi) reminds us of a region south of the Dead Sea.

Genesis 36:12. Now Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. About Timna, Eliphaz’s concubine, it is mentioned, according to Hebrew commentators, to show the greatness and glory of Abraham’s descendants (even through Esau), so that even neighboring Horite princes (Timna was from the Horites, verse 20; cf. 29) sought kinship with him, in the opinion of some — to show the Hebrews the origin of Amalek and the Amalekites, who were in Moses’ time the strongest tribe of Arabia (Exod 17:8). In 1 Chr 1:36 Timna or Teman appears as the name of Eliphaz’s son (cf. Gen 36:40; 1 Chr 1:51).

Genesis 36:13–14. And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, wife of Esau. And these were the sons of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, son of Zibeon, wife of Esau: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. The immediate descendants of Esau from his other two wives are enumerated: four tribes from Basemath and three from Oholibamah. In all, from three wives (including Amalek from Timna), thirteen tribes descended from Esau.

Genesis 36:15–18. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: 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. These are the sons of Reuel, son of Esau: 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 Basemath, wife of Esau. These are the sons of Oholibamah, wife of Esau: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, wife of Esau. An enumeration is given of the chiefs alluphim (from Hebrew eleph — thousand, Judg 6:15; Mic 5:2), thousand-rulers (chiliarchs) or tribal leaders (phylarchs); the term alluphim in the Old Testament is applied to the princes of the tribe of Esau-Edom (Exod 15:15; 1 Chr 1:51) and only, as an exception, to the princes of Judah (Zech 12:5-6).

Genesis 36:20–24. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, sons of Seir, in the land of Edom. The sons of Lotan were: Hori and Heman; and Lotan’s sister: Timna. These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found hot springs in the wilderness while pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. The tribes of the Horites, the aborigines of Seir — the Edomites (Gen 14:6; Deut 2:12) — are enumerated: namely, seven sons and nineteen grandsons of their ancestor Seir. From the Horite tribe, conquered by the tribe of Esau (Deut 2:12), came, among others, Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, wife of Esau (verse 24), and Timna, concubine of Eliphaz (verse 22). About Oholibamah’s father it is reported (verse 24) that he, while pasturing his father’s donkeys, “found yemin (hajemim) in the wilderness.” As to what exactly these jemim were, commentators differ greatly. The Septuagint, for whom the sense of this passage was apparently unclear, leaves the word untranslated: “iamin” (Church Slavonic). Many rabbis and Hebrew commentators, connecting the word hajemim with Greek ἡμίονος, translated the Hebrew word as: mule, and claimed that Anah was the first to breed hybrids of donkeys and horses — mules. But despite the popularity of this interpretation (even Luther translated the disputed word: Malmferde), it must be rejected: neither in Hebrew (Hebrew for mule is pered) nor in related Semitic languages is there a root similar to jemim with the meaning mule. Besides, there were no horses in that distant time in Seir, and verse 24 speaks of pasturing only donkeys. Other commentators, following the Targum Onkelos (“gigantes”), identify the word jemim with emim (Deut 2:10) — emim, giants, whom Anah supposedly encountered in the wilderness and overcame. But philologically, and indeed by the sense, such an assumption does not seem suitable. It remains to accept the third opinion, held by Jerome, Theodoret, some Bible translations, and most modern commentators — that Anah found hot springs (aquas calidas — Vulgate; Russian Synodal: “hot springs,” according to Mandelstam’s translation: “wild pigeons”) in the wilderness. Theodoret writes: “The Syriac translator says that he found a spring; because a spring in the Syriac language is called: ayna” (answer to question 94). The same is confirmed by Jerome — on the basis of the Phoenician (Punic) language — and by Michaelis — on the basis of Arabic. In favor of this latter opinion speaks also the fact that in the Stony Arabia, Idumea, and in the region to the southeast of the Dead Sea there are many hot springs, of which the healing spring Callirrhoe was especially famous in antiquity.

Genesis 36:30–31. Chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel: An enumeration is given of the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, “before the kingship of kings among the children of Israel” (from Hebrew “before the reign of a king...”). From the initially dual composition of Seir’s population — Edomites and Horites — in a more or less short period, the king-list gives the impression of great antiquity: a kingdom was formed in the land of Edom, whose eight kings are enumerated. The Midrash (Beresch. r. Par. 83, s. 406) compares these Edomite kings to the judges of Israel. Indeed, royal power in Edom in that distant time apparently was not hereditary (as it later became among the Idumaeans in the times of David and Solomon, 1 Sam 11:14): not one of the eight kings inherited the throne from his father — popular election or even usurpation determined the succession of one after another, and some were foreign kings, such as Saul from the city of Rehoboth on the Euphrates (verse 37). From this one can already conclude about the brevity of their reigns and suppose that all of them reigned with the chiefs (verses 15–19) in that 200-year period which Moses sets from the death of Esau. It is probable, in particular, the supposition of some commentators (among them, Metropolitan Philaret), that the last Edomite king of those mentioned here — Hadar (verse 39), about whose death there is no special mention, was alive in the time of Moses, and to him Moses sends messengers from Kadesh (Num 20:14-17) with a request to allow passage through his lands. The chiefs of Edom, mentioned in verses 15–19 and then in verses 40–43, could doubtless govern individual cities or communities and jointly with the kings, not forming a separate epoch in the history of Edom. By these considerations, the difficulty is weakened, if not entirely resolved, which prompted some Hebrew and Christian commentators to date the composition of the section, verses 31–39, to the time of Jehoshaphat — namely, that in the indicated, comparatively brief, period the land of Edom was governed by both chiefs (verses 15–19), and kings (31–39), and again chiefs (verses 40–43). Another difficulty is presented by the remark of verse 31, that the enumerated Edomite kings reigned before the appearance of a king in Israel: from this remark it was concluded that the Book of Genesis (and together with it the entire Pentateuch) in its present form came into being only in the times of the kings of Israel, about whom Moses could not have spoken. But it is possible that Moses was speaking here of the appearance of kingly power in the future, and that the idea of kingly power in the chosen people was close to the consciousness of Moses and even to every believing member of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is evident from the fact that each of these patriarchs was promised the descent of nations and kings (Gen 17:6); under the influence of this idea the lawgiver Moses in Deut 17:14-20 gives an extensive statute about kingly power, and likewise foresees the future existence of kingly power and in the prophecy about the captivity of people and king (Deut 28:36). It is possible, however, that the entire section Gen 36:31-39 was inserted into the text of the chapter later by a later hand from 1 Chr 1:43-53, a place completely identical with the first; but the antiquity and significance of this genealogy is not diminished thereby, since the genealogies of the Book of Chronicles, in their origin, go back to the most ancient times.

Genesis 36:32. Bela, son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. The name Bela (Church Slavonic “Valak”) in Hebrew is related to the name Balaam, and as the first Edomite king, so also the famous seer Balaam (Num 22:5) had father Beor: on this basis some Hebrew commentators identified the former with the latter. But this similarity is doubtless accidental.

Genesis 36:33–34. And Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. Jobab died, and Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. An opinion due to a similar association of likeness is that the second Edomite king Jobab was none other than the long-suffering Job. This opinion was inserted into the Greek (and Church Slavonic) translation of the Book of Job as a note (Job 42:17), and the name of the city from which Jobab came — Bozrah (or Bostra) — is presented as Job’s mother’s name (Bozrah-Bostra — a well-known Edomite city, Isa 34:6; Amos 1:12). This opinion was shared with other Church teachers by Theodoret (answer to question 95), finding in Gen 36:33 similarity with the story of Job. Some probability to this supposition is given by the fact that the successor of King Jobab (verse 34) was a Temanite, and from Teman came Eliphaz, Job’s friend. But neither historically nor grammatically can the identity of both persons be established.

Genesis 36:40–43. These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names, [according to their peoples]: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, by their settlements, in the land of their possession. Now Esau is the father of the Edomites. An enumeration is given not so much of individuals, members of Edom’s descendants — “chiefs” — as of territories occupied by the Edomites and governed by their chiefs. Interestingly, in the name of the chief Magdiel (verse 43), Jewish tradition saw a designation of Rome (Beresch r. Par. 88, s. 405), in which they thus saw a kind of Edomite colony. The name Edom in Rabbinic and Talmudic literature in general became a synonym, an allegorical name of Rome. * * * In (Deut 2:4-5) it says that the Almighty Himself gave Seir to Esau for possession and that the Israelites should not have any claims on this country.