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Genesis 36 English Standard Version (ESV)

Esau’s Descendants

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. 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.)

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 boreAmalek 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.

REFLECTION

Genealogies were especially important to God’s Old Testament people.  They provided a sense of continuity, enabling each generation to understand its identity by tracing its roots.  For the Hebrew people, genealogies allowed them to trace back to Abraham, thus validate their claim to be God’s chosen people, inheritors of His promise to Abraham.

But why trace the line of Esau?  Esau isn’t in the promised line.  Perhaps, the genealogy of Esau serves as an important reminder that those outside the household of God must not be ignored or written off as unimportant.  While God chose Jacob to be one of the ancestors of his chosen people, He also chooses that Esau receive some of the blessings offered to Abraham.  God is not simply the God of Israel, but He is God of the whole world.  Every individual has worth and value in God’s sight, and is to be valued by us.  The names in this genealogy may be meaningless to us, but no person is unimportant to God.

Thank God that you are special in God’s sight.