Commentary - Genesis 36:15-19

Bird's-eye view

In Genesis 36, we are given the generations of Esau, who is Edom. This chapter is a stark and necessary contrast to the story of Jacob. While Jacob is wrestling with God to receive a blessing, Esau is out in the world building a kingdom. This list of chiefs and kings is not just ancient census data; it is a theological statement. It shows us the fruit of the man of the flesh. Esau despised his birthright for a bowl of soup, and his descendants go on to establish a powerful, worldly kingdom, complete with all the political structures you would expect. They have their chiefs, their territories, their might. This is the city of man in its early formation.

But this entire chapter is an obituary. It is a detailed account of a dead end. While the Edomites are busy making a name for themselves, the promise of God is quietly moving forward through the line of Jacob, who would become Israel. God is building His kingdom not through the strength of worldly chiefs, but through the weakness of a wandering patriarch. This genealogy serves to highlight the great biblical antithesis between two seeds, two cities, and two destinies. The way of Esau seems prosperous and established, but it is the way of Cain, leading to the dust. The way of Jacob is fraught with trouble and conflict, but it is the way of Abel, leading to the Messiah.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 36 is strategically placed. It comes right after Jacob returns to the land of promise and buries his father Isaac, and right before the story of Joseph begins. This placement is deliberate. The narrative of redemption is about to focus intensely on the line of Jacob through the trials and triumphs of Joseph. But before we dive into that, the Holy Spirit pauses to show us what became of the other line. It is a final accounting of the man who chose the world over the promise.

This chapter serves as a foil to the entire story of Jacob. Jacob's family is a mess, full of strife and sin, yet they are the carriers of the covenant. Esau's family, by contrast, appears organized, powerful, and successful by every worldly metric. They are establishing dukedoms while Jacob is dealing with family dysfunction. But God's economy is not man's economy. The long list of Edomite chiefs is meant to impress us with its worldliness, and then to show us how utterly irrelevant all of that is to God's ultimate purpose. The future does not belong to the chiefs of Edom, but to the twelve sons of Israel.

Verse by Verse Commentary

15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,

The text immediately introduces us to the structure of Esau's kingdom. It is a kingdom of "chiefs." The world organizes itself through hierarchies of power, and Esau's descendants are no exception. They are proficient in the ways of the world. Notice the contrast with Jacob's line. We don't read of "chief Reuben" or "chief Judah." We read of patriarchs, heads of a family, a covenant people. Edom organizes like a nation-state; Israel organizes like a family, a church. Eliphaz is the firstborn, and from him come a host of chiefs. Teman would become a significant name, associated with a region in Edom known for its wisdom (Jer. 49:7), but it is a worldly wisdom, not the wisdom that comes from above.

16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.

Here we find two names that should ring alarm bells for any student of Scripture: Korah and Amalek. A Korah will later lead a rebellion against Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 16), a quintessential act of rejecting God's chosen authority. And Amalek, of course, becomes the Amalekites, the perpetual, bitter enemies of Israel. It was Amalek who attacked the weak and weary Israelites coming out of Egypt (Ex. 17:8), and for this God swore He would be at war with Amalek from generation to generation. Here, in the genealogy of Esau, we see the very fountainhead of that enmity. This is not just a list of names; it is a roster of future enemies of the cross. The seed of the serpent is multiplying. The mention of Adah reminds us of the source: Esau's ungodly marriage to a Canaanite woman, a direct defiance of the patriarchal faith.

17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: 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 Esau’s wife Basemath.

The list continues, piling up the evidence. More sons, more chiefs. The kingdom of Edom is growing, spreading, and consolidating its power in the land. Reuel was the son of Esau through Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael. So here you have the joining of two lines rejected from the covenant promise: the line of Esau and the line of Ishmael. When those outside the covenant band together, they do not create a holy alliance. They create a more potent worldly power, a confederacy of the resentful. Their strength is in their numbers and their political organization, but it is a strength arrayed against the purposes of God. Each name, Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah, represents another branch of this flourishing worldly tree that will, in time, stand in opposition to the vine God is cultivating in Israel.

18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

A third wife, Oholibamah, a Canaanite, produces another set of chiefs. The pattern is relentless. Esau builds his house through worldly alliances, and the fruit is a worldly kingdom. We see the name Korah appear again, which may indicate a different individual or a clan name, but the echo is significant. The spirit of rebellion is woven into the fabric of this people. This is what it looks like to build a legacy apart from the blessing of God. You can have your chiefs, your land, your power. You can make a name for yourself. But it is all taking place on the wrong side of the covenant line drawn by God Himself.

19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

The summary statement is blunt and final. "These are the sons of Esau... and these are their chiefs." This is the sum total of his legacy. He got what he wanted. He got a kingdom of this world. He is identified again as Edom, "red," reminding us of the pottage for which he sold his eternal inheritance. His name becomes the name of a nation defined by that profane transaction. And the defining feature of that nation? "Their chiefs." Their worldly rulers. That is the climax of Esau's story. For Jacob, the story will climax with his name being changed to Israel, "he who strives with God," and his legacy will be twelve tribes who inherit the promise of a heavenly city. Esau's legacy is a list of earthly chiefs. One sought a city whose builder and maker is God; the other built his own city in the land of Seir. This chapter is the record of that second city, the city of man, and it serves as a solemn warning.

Application

The world is full of the sons of Esau. They are competent, they are successful, they build impressive things. They establish corporations, political dynasties, and cultural movements. They have their "chiefs," their CEOs, their presidents, their influencers. And from a worldly perspective, their success is undeniable. The temptation for the believer is to look at the impressive list of Edom's chiefs and feel a sense of envy or inadequacy. Our own lives, our families, our churches can seem so small and messy in comparison, just like Jacob's family.

But this chapter teaches us to see with spiritual eyes. God is not impressed by the chiefs of Edom. He includes this list in His holy Word to show us the ultimate futility of all human endeavor that is not rooted in His covenant promise. The kingdom of Esau is now dust. The names of these chiefs are forgotten by all but the most diligent Bible students. But the name of Jacob, Israel, endures forever, because his hope was not in a chiefdom, but in the God of Abraham and Isaac.

We are called to be sons of Jacob, not sons of Esau. This means we must learn to despise the red pottage of this world, whether it is wealth, power, or worldly recognition, and to treasure our birthright in Christ. We must not be dismayed by the apparent success of the ungodly. Their house is built on sand. We must invest our lives in the unseen kingdom, the family of God, which often looks weak and foolish to the world, but which will inherit the earth. The story of Esau is the story of a man who gained the world and lost his soul. Let us not follow in his train.