Commentary - Genesis 36:9-14

Bird's-eye view

It is a common temptation for modern readers to treat biblical genealogies like the fine print in a contract. We assume the important stuff is elsewhere, and so we skim. But the Holy Spirit does not waste ink, and these lists of names are not spiritual grape nuts. They are the load bearing walls of redemptive history. This is especially true here in Genesis 36, where we are given the generations of Esau. This is not just a list of Esau's boys; it is the formal record of a great divergence. Two nations were in Rebecca's womb, and here we see one of them, the nation of Edom, establishing itself in its own land, under its own strength, and according to its own profane trajectory.

This passage is a record of the fruitfulness of the flesh. Esau, who despised his birthright, is nevertheless blessed with sons and grandsons. He is building a kingdom in the hill country of Seir. But tucked away in this list of dukes-to-be is a name that ought to set off alarm bells for any student of Scripture: Amalek. The appearance of this name is not an accident. It is a seed, a poisonous one, planted here by the sovereign hand of God, that will spring up later to become the first and most intractable enemy of Israel. This genealogy, then, is not just history; it is prophecy. It is the backstory to a blood feud that will run for centuries, a physical manifestation of the enmity God promised to put between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Chapter 36 is an interruption of the main narrative concerning Jacob and his sons. After the reunion of Jacob and Esau in chapter 33, and the subsequent events at Shechem and Bethel, the narrative pauses to detail the entire lineage of Esau. This serves a crucial theological purpose. It formally separates the two lines that came from Isaac. Before the story of Joseph and the descent into Egypt can proceed, the Bible gives us the complete history of the line that was rejected. Esau has received his worldly inheritance, his dukes and his kings, and has removed himself from the land of promise (Gen. 36:6-8). This chapter effectively walls off the line of Esau, showing that God's covenant purposes are not with him, but with his brother Jacob. It is the final answer to the prophecy given to Rebecca: "the older shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23).

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 These then are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

The formal heading here, "these are the generations," is the same formula used throughout Genesis to structure the book. This is the official record, the toledoth, of Esau. He is given two titles here. First, he is Esau, the individual. But second, he is "the father of the Edomites," the head of a nation. His identity is now corporate. And where does this nation put down its roots? "In the hill country of Seir." He has left Canaan, the land of promise, and has carved out a kingdom for himself elsewhere. This is a picture of every man who seeks his inheritance in this world. He finds a place, he builds, he multiplies. But it is all outside the covenant land.

10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

The accounting begins. God's providence is meticulous. He knows every name, every birth, whether inside the covenant line or outside of it. Nothing happens apart from His decree. The sons are listed according to their mothers, which is a standard feature of patriarchal records. The household of Esau is being built up, name by name.

11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho and Gatam and Kenaz.

The line continues to the second generation. These names will become the names of clans, or "dukes," as we see later in the chapter. The world is always fruitful. The city of man is always busy building and begetting. From a purely external point of view, Esau's family looks strong and stable, a growing force in the region.

12 Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah.

And here is the pivot point of the entire chapter, and one of the most ominous verses in Genesis. Notice the source of this particular grandson. He is not from a wife, but from a concubine, an irregular union. And from this union comes Amalek. This is not just another name in a list. This is the Amalek, the fountainhead of the Amalekites. This is the nation that will attack Israel's rear flank, preying on the weak and weary as they come out of Egypt (Deut. 25:17-18). This is the people against whom God will swear an oath of perpetual war (Ex. 17:16). This is the nation Saul will be commanded to utterly destroy, and his failure to do so will cost him his kingdom (1 Sam. 15). This is the nation that will produce Haman the Agagite, who will try to exterminate the Jews in the time of Esther. The seed of a multigenerational, satanic hatred for the people of God is born right here, to a concubine of the grandson of the man who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Sin has consequences, and they ripple down through the generations. The text then soberly returns to the main line: "These are the sons of Esau's wife Adah." The legitimate line is noted, but the illegitimate time bomb has been introduced.

13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

The record continues, listing the grandsons from Esau's second wife, Basemath. More names, more future clans. The strength of Edom is growing. While Jacob is wrestling with his dysfunctional family, Esau is building a straightforward worldly dynasty.

14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah.

The final sons from his third wife are listed. The genealogy of Oholibamah is given with some detail, grounding Esau's family firmly in the people of the land of Seir. He has intermarried and become one with them. He has cast his lot entirely with the world. The house of Esau is complete and established. It is strong, numerous, and settled in its own land. But it is the house of the profane, and its most notable offspring mentioned here is Amalek, the sworn enemy of God.

Application

First, we must learn to read the Bible as a whole, recognizing that even the driest lists are saturated with theological meaning. God is telling one story, and the genealogy of Esau is a crucial chapter in it. It reminds us that there are two lines in history, the line of the promise and the line of the flesh, and they are in perpetual conflict.

Second, we see that worldly success is no measure of divine favor. Esau's house is built quickly and appears strong. He has sons, land, and a legacy. But it is a legacy of rebellion. We must not be envious of the apparent prosperity of the wicked, for their roots are shallow and their end is destruction.

Finally, the mention of Amalek is a stark warning about the long consequences of sin. Esau's profanity did not end with him. It was passed down and it bore bitter fruit in the person of Amalek, and in the nation that came from him. We must take sin seriously, not just for our own sakes, but for the sake of our children and our children's children. We are either passing on a legacy of covenant faithfulness, like Jacob, or a legacy of profanity and enmity against God, like Esau.