These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitant of the land Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
The list here turns aside from Esau's family to the sons of Seir the Horite, who held this land first. Why name a people outside the line of promise, and what does their brief power teach?
The name points to how they lived, and the land still shows it.
Descendants of Seir, and the original inhabitants of Mount Seir. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of dwellings cut out of the rock. There are traces of the same throughout the region of Edom.
One writer links the switch to where Esau got his power, to the man who gave the mountain its name, and to what came of the two families blending.
Esau was a descendant of Abraham. God called Abraham out from his relatives and his country, to be separate from all peoples and to receive the promises. Esau returns to the people that Abraham left. Neither the call nor the promise was for him. In his sons he rises to supreme power. This may be the reason why the sons of Seir are so abruptly brought in. Seir was a Horite who lived in the land, and as a chief he may have given his name to Mount Seir. The children of Esau dispossessed the Horites. "By your sword you shall live," said Isaac to his firstborn, and Esau's line became the dominant race. Yet soon the two families were blended in Eliphaz, son of Esau, and Timna, daughter of Seir… What could come of such a connection but Amalek, the bitter and first enemy of Israel in the wilderness?
The chapter reads like a roll of titles; the quotes below use the older word "dukes" where newer translations say chiefs. One writer sees a principle in how fast it all grew.
But there is another genealogy (Genesis 36), and it is strikingly introduced in this place. The Edomite interrupts the course of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first what is natural, afterwards what is spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Even kings, we are told, reigned there before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt this is given to us as an important sign of how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
Set the chiefs of Seir and Edom beside Jacob's family, and the contrast is the point.
The world that has turned away from God sets itself up in power, while the heirs of promise are still poor pilgrims on the earth. This last point is something God distinctly reveals.
The pattern did not stop with Edom.
They not only became "dukes" but even "kings," and that before any king appeared in Israel's line. In earthly greatness and power the children of this world have always taken precedence over the children of God.
Seir's chiefs gave way to Esau's; Esau's kings gave way again to chiefs. That churn is itself the lesson.
Seir rose to power in the earth, and the Horites had their chiefs. Esau joined himself to them, and after a time his descendants rose to what looked like greater power, for kings are named among his descendants. Violence seems to have marked them, for not one king was followed by his son… This change in the form of authority is not unknown in our day. It shows a characteristic element — we might say flaw — in human power: its instability… God lets the world show itself, and its power, or rather lack of power, first. Then come His purpose and its firm foundation. The Edomite kings are gone, but God's King remains forever.
- First the land. Seir the Horite lived in that mountain region first. He was a cave-dweller, and his rock-cut homes can still be traced. The land carried his name.
- First the newcomer. Esau had no call and no promise. He joined himself to these people, and his descendants took their land. That is why their family list sits inside his.
- First the rise. What is not of God shoots up fast: chiefs, then kings, long before Israel had either. Growth according to God is slower, but it lasts.
- First the fall. Not one Edomite king was followed by his son. Power built on violence keeps changing hands. That instability is the flaw inside all human greatness.
- Then the promise. The chapter sets the world in full power beside heirs who are still pilgrims. They hold nothing but God's word. The Edomite kings are gone; God's King remains forever.
and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.
The chapter of Esau's family stops to name a different people: the chiefs who came from Seir the Horite. Why does a list of foreign chiefs stand inside Esau's record at all?
Their name points to how they lived:
Descendants of Seir, and original inhabitants of Mount Seir. They were destroyed by the children of Esau. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of dwellings cut into the rock, and there are traces of the same throughout the region of Edom.
One writer connects the sudden appearance of this family to Esau's own rise to power:
He was a descendant of the man who was called out from his family and country, to be separate from all peoples and to receive the promises. Esau returns to the people that Abraham left. Neither the call nor the promise was for him. In his sons he rises to supreme power. This may be the reason why the sons of Seir are brought in so suddenly (see Genesis 14:6; 36:6-20; Deuteronomy 2:12-22). Seir was a Horite who lived in the land, and as a chief may have given his name to Mount Seir. The children of Esau drove the Horites out.
The same writer shows Esau joining that power and then rising above it:
Seir rose to power in the earth, just as Nimrod did, and the Horites had their chiefs. Esau joined himself to them, and in time his descendants seem to have risen to greater power, for kings are named among them.
Read the chapter straight through and the impression is of title after title. William Kelly sets the Horite chiefs alongside Esau's as rival holders of rank in the same hills:
Others, too, posed as grandees — the sons of Seir the Horite, or cave-dweller, the inhabitant of the land, summarised in verses 29, 30.
That speed of advance is itself the lesson. While Esau's line and the Horite line were producing chiefs and then kings, the family that held God's promise was still living in tents:
The Edomite interrupts the course of the line of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first what is natural, afterwards what is spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau… even kings, we are told, reigned before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt this is given to us as an important point, to mark how quickly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
The Horite chiefs held the land, then lost it. One writer traces why their rule kept changing hands:
Violence seems to have marked them, for no king is followed on the throne by his son… And in this change in the form of authority, still seen in our own day, there is a characteristic element — we might say a flaw — in human power: its instability. Man cannot hold supreme and sole power in himself.
If these names lead nowhere, why does Scripture keep them? One writer sees the record itself as God's reckoning:
The long list of names is therefore meant to impress on us that God has taken full account of the flesh and all it does, finding it only vanity.
Another sets this rise to power against where God's own people stood at the time:
The world that has turned away from God sets itself up in power, while the heirs of promise are still poor pilgrims on the earth.
- Inhabitants. The sons of Seir held Edom first — cave-dwellers in the sandstone hills, named for the way they lived.
- Alliance. Esau went back to the people Abraham was called out from. He joined the Horites, and his sons later drove them out.
- Speed. What is natural rises first and rises fast; what is of God grows slowly, and lasts.
- Instability. Horite chiefs gave way to Edomite kings, and no king was followed by his son — human power cannot hold its shape.
- Account. God writes the whole list down and weighs it. His full account of the flesh reads: vanity — while His heirs were still poor pilgrims on the earth.
-- And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.
Genesis 36:22 sits in a list of the Horite chiefs who held Mount Seir before Esau's family took it. Why does Scripture pause on a family outside the line of promise, and who is the sister named here?
Lotan's father was Seir, and Seir's descendants were the first people to live in that land. Their name points to how they lived:
Descendants of Seir, and original inhabitants of Mount Seir. Esau's descendants destroyed them. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of dwellings cut out of the rock, and there are traces of the same throughout the region of Edom.
Lotan is more than a name in a list. A few verses later he stands first among the chiefs of Seir:
Others, too, posed as great men — the sons of Seir the Horite, or cave-dweller, who lived in the land. Verses 29 and 30 sum them up: the chiefs who came from the Horites were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan, chiefs of the Horites in the land of Seir.
Timna is the one person in this verse whose story reaches beyond the list. She appears earlier in the same chapter in a different role:
Concubine of Eliphaz, son of Esau, and mother of Amalek. Genesis 36:12.
That link between the Horite line and Esau's line left a long mark on Israel:
Edom became the treacherous enemy of the people of Israel. Read Obadiah, verses 8-16. Eliphaz's concubine was the mother of Amalek, one of the terrible enemies of Israel, and Israel was to be at war with him continually (Exodus 17:8-14).
1 Chronicles lists these two sons again, and spells one name differently:
Son of Lotan, a descendant of Seir. Genesis 36:22. Called HOMAM in 1 Chronicles 1:39.
These are names the world has lost. Writing about another list of forgotten peoples, one writer draws out what such a record means:
Here we have God's unfailing record. He alone saw the end from the beginning, and He has chosen to tell us truth that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Genesis pauses over Edom in the middle of God's dealings with Jacob's line. One writer reads that placement as deliberate:
But there is another genealogy (Genesis 36), and its place here is striking. The Edomite interrupts the line of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first the natural, afterwards the spiritual. Even then we find power developing fast in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — chief after chief, to the end of the chapter — and even kings reigned there before Israel had any. I have no doubt this is given to us to mark how fast what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but it lasts longer.
The chiefs in this verse held Seir first, and then lost it. One writer traces how Esau's line took the land and married into it, then asks where the same choice shows up today:
Esau rose to supreme power in his sons. This may be the reason why the sons of Seir are brought in so suddenly (see Genesis 14:6; 36:6-20; Deuteronomy 2:12-22). Seir was a Horite who inhabited the land, and as a chief may have given his name to Mount Seir. Esau's children drove out the Horim. Isaac said to his firstborn, "By your sword you shall live," and Esau's race became the ruling one. Yet soon the two races were blended in Eliphaz, son of Esau, and Timna, daughter of Seir — one who could claim descent from Abraham joined to one of the race of Ham. What could come of such a connection but Amalek, the bitter and first enemy of Israel in the wilderness?
And where now do we see the greatest hostility to those who would be faithful to the heavenly call? Among those who despise their birthright — a life set apart, and its privileges — and have allied themselves with the world.
- First in the land. Lotan's people lived in Seir before Edom did, in homes cut into the sandstone rock.
- First to mix. Timna, the sister named in this verse, became the concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz.
- First enemy. Her son was Amalek, the first enemy Israel met in the wilderness, and that war never let up.
- First to rise. Edom had chiefs and kings before Israel had any. What is not of God shoots up fast; growth according to God is slower and lasts.
- First to lose it. Esau's sons took Seir from the Horites, and only God's record keeps their names. The warning stands for anyone who trades a birthright for a place in the world.
-- And these are the sons of Shobal Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
This verse sits inside a family list that is not Israel's. It names the sons of Seir the Horite, the people who held the land before Esau's descendants took it. So why does God pause the story of the chosen family to record five names like these?
These men belong to the people who held Mount Seir first. Their name points to how they lived.
Descendants of Seir, and the original inhabitants of Mount Seir. They were destroyed by the children of Esau. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of hollowed-out dwellings, and there are traces of the same throughout the region of Edom.
The men listed in this verse are placed precisely in that family tree.
Son of Shobal, a son of Seir the Horite. Genesis 36:23; 1 Chronicles 1:40.
Esau's line rose to power among people who had no part in the promise. One writer finds there the reason these Horite names break in so suddenly.
He was a descendant of the man who was called out from his relatives and his country, to be separate from all peoples and to receive the promises. Esau returns to the people that Abraham left. Neither the call nor the promise was for him. In his sons he rises to supreme power. This may be the reason why the sons of Seir are so abruptly brought in (see Genesis 14:6; 36:6-20; Deuteronomy 2:12-22). Seir was a Horite who lived in the land, and as a chief he may have given his name to Mount Seir. The Horim were dispossessed by the children of Esau.
Edom's rise is fast, and one writer treats that speed as the point.
The Edomite interrupts the course of the line of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first that which is natural, afterwards that which is spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Kings too, we are told, reigned there before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt that this is given to us as an important sign of how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
The very order of the two family records carries the same lesson.
It happened with Ishmael and Isaac, and it happens again here. Scripture mentions the rejected line first, but briefly, and does not trace its chronology. The chosen line comes second, and then Scripture gives enough dates to let us follow the passing of the years. This foreshadows a fact that Scripture states clearly as a principle of God's ways: "He does away with the first in order to establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9).
Set this chapter beside the life of Jacob, and the contrast is hard to miss.
Thoughtful readers will see why my subject here leaves no room to dwell on Genesis 36. Jacob has nothing to do with the chapter. It has its own important place of sketching the earthly lot of Esau. Still, it teaches us something indirectly. It shows what is natural coming into power first, and what is spiritual afterwards. The family of promise remain shepherds and herdsmen. They wander here and there, outside the land and within it, and are even badly oppressed. Meanwhile the generations of Edom rise fast into importance, away from Canaan, in Mount Seir.
Another writer puts the same contrast in a single line.
The world that has turned away from God sets itself up in power. Meanwhile the heirs of promise are still poor pilgrims on the earth. This last is a distinct point of revelation.
The list still does one clear piece of work. It ties three names together for the rest of the Bible.
The chapter also shows clearly that Esau, Edom and Mount Seir mean the same thing. That helps us when we meet these names later in Scripture. Otherwise the many names mentioned may convey little to us.
Yet God kept every name on record, and one writer finds a purpose in that.
Yet God takes pleasure in recording their names, both early and late in the Old Testament. He records them finally in the last book of the New Testament too, but with variations that teach us something. For the Bible is not only God's word. It is a deeply moral book, and those who make the mind everything hardly see that.
- First there. Shobal's sons belong to Seir the Horite's family, the first people in Mount Seir. Esau's children later destroyed and drove them out.
- First in. Their list breaks into the story for a reason. Esau went back to the peoples Abraham was called out from, and rose to power among them.
- First up. What is not of God shoots up fast — chiefs and kings in Edom while Israel had none. Growth according to God is slower, but it lasts.
- First out. Scripture writes the rejected line first and briefly. The chosen line follows, with its dates traced — the first taken away so the second may stand.
- Still kept. The names may tell us little, yet God took pleasure in preserving them. Nothing in this book is filler.
-- And these are the sons of Zibeon both Ajah and Anah. This is the Anah that found the warm springs in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
Genesis 36 is a register of Esau's family, and this line stops to record one small find in the desert. Two questions follow: what did Anah find, and why does a chapter of names from the rejected branch of Isaac's family belong in Scripture?
Older English Bibles said Anah found "mules." That was a mistake, and translators have long disagreed about the Hebrew word behind it:
In Genesis 36:24, "mules" should read "hot springs," as the Latin Vulgate has it. See Fuerst's Lexicon. The Greek Septuagint leaves the word untranslated. It occurs nowhere else.
Another note traces how the mistake spread:
Anah found "hot springs" in the wilderness, not "mules." The Vulgate translated the word correctly from early days. Wycliffe's English Bible and the Wycliffite version followed it, and so did the Douay Bible. The Septuagint lost the sense and turned the word into a proper name that means nothing. Later, the Talmud misled Jews with the fables it loved to tell about "mules," some of them filthy, as in this case.
Anah is not one of Esau's sons. He comes from the older people of the region, the Horites, listed a few verses earlier:
They descended from Seir and were the first people of Mount Seir. The children of Esau destroyed them. People think they lived in caves, as their name suggests. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of homes cut into the rock, and traces of the same appear all through the region of Edom.
Anah appears in the list of their leaders:
The sons of Seir the Horite, the cave-dweller who lived in the land, also set themselves up as great men. Verses 29 and 30 sum them up: "These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan."
Esau's section of Genesis comes just before Jacob's. That order carries a lesson:
The section called "The generations of Esau" begins at the first verse of Genesis 36 and runs to the first verse of Genesis 37. It was so with Ishmael and Isaac, and so again here. The rejected line comes first and gets only a few words, with no timeline to follow. The chosen line comes second… This pictures in advance a principle of God's ways, stated so clearly in the words: "He does away with the first in order to establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9).
Esau's family rose to power early. Commentators read that as a lesson about pace:
It is always so — first comes what is natural, and afterwards what is spiritual. Even then we find power growing fast in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — chief this and chief that, to the end of the chapter. Kings even reigned there, we are told, before Israel had any. I have no doubt this is given us to mark how fast what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but it is more lasting.
There is a reason God preserved so long a list:
The long list of names is there to impress on us that God has taken full account of the flesh and all it does, and finds it only vanity.
One writer draws from Anah's hot springs a lesson about how we serve others:
The Shepherd of Psalm 23 leads His sheep beside still waters and into green pastures. Yet we see the sheep of His pasture treated at times like donkeys and brought to hot springs. Hot, bubbling presentations do not suit Christians… Let us learn to impart refreshment to those for whom Christ died — wherever they may be found.
- Found — Anah found hot springs, not mules. The word occurs only here, and the Latin Vulgate got it right while others guessed.
- Family — he was a Horite, a cave-dweller of Mount Seir, from the people whose land Esau's sons took over.
- First — Scripture records the rejected line first and briefly, then sets it aside to establish the chosen line.
- Fast — Esau's house had chiefs and kings before Israel had any. What is not of God shoots up fast; God's growth is slower and lasts.
- Filed — God keeps the whole record of the flesh, down to one man's find in the desert, and His verdict on it is vanity.
-- And these are the sons of Anah Dishon, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.
The two children named here, Dishon and Oholibamah, are not Esau's own descendants. They belong to the family of Seir the Horite, the people already living in the hill country Esau moved into — and Oholibamah ties the two houses together.
One reference work sums up who these people were:
Descendants of Seir, and original inhabitants of Mount Seir. The children of Esau destroyed them. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of carved-out dwellings. Traces of the same appear throughout the region of Edom.
The chapter does not leave them in the background:
Others, too, posed as great men — the sons of Seir the Horite, the cave-dweller, who lived in the land.
This verse names Oholibamah as Anah's child. Earlier in the chapter she appears as one of Esau's wives. One writer notes where Esau took his wives from, and where he chose to live:
After the record of Esau's generations, we notice that he married wives who were Canaanites, Hittites and Hivites — unyielding enemies of God's people. We see, too, that he lived in Mount Seir, a land later cursed… It is an illustration of the flesh, which cannot be improved, even under the very best influence.
Compare this chapter with the earlier account of Esau's marriages, and the wives' names do not match. One reference work offers an explanation:
In the earlier account — Genesis 26:34 and Genesis 28:9 — the names of Esau's wives differ from those in Genesis 36:2-3. The women may have had two names, or they may have received another name at their marriage… Judith, daughter of Beeri, may be the same as Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, if Beeri is her father's name and Anah her mother's.
One writer finds the point in the sheer length of the list:
Yet Esau (Edom) prospers and grows great in material things. His sons become "dukes" before Jacob's family reach such honour… Esau's family illustrates the common history of the flesh always exalting itself. The long list of names is therefore meant to impress on us that God has taken full account of the flesh and all it does, and finds it only vanity.
Others are content to admit that much of the detail stays dark. Commenting on the neighbouring verse about Anah's discovery, one writer both corrects the older rendering and stops there:
The New Translation prefers in verse 24 the reading "found the warm springs in the wilderness," rather than "the mules." This was doubtless at that time a memorable discovery, but what spiritual significance this may have for us we do not know.
Edom rises fast, and one writer draws a rule from it:
It is always so — first the natural, then the spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Kings even reigned there before Israel had any. I have no doubt this stands here as an important mark of how fast what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
Another writer puts the same contrast in one line:
The apostate world establishes itself in power, while the heirs of promise are still poor pilgrims upon the earth.
Where this list sits in Genesis, between Jacob and Joseph, carries a meaning of its own:
Just as the kings and dukes of Edom appear between Jacob and the coming of Joseph, so the Gentile appears in rule and power before the Lord Jesus is presented to the Jew. Here, in Genesis, we have only a list of names to tell us that this duke and that king once lived. Their power was short-lived, their greatness soon gone, and they are dismissed in a few words. "These are the generations of Esau."
- Record. God takes full account of the flesh and all it does — and finds it only vanity.
- Roots. Anah's family were Horites, the cave-dwellers of Mount Seir. Esau's children destroyed them.
- Relations. Anah's daughter Oholibamah married Esau. His wives came from peoples who were enemies of God's people.
- Rate. What is not of God shoots up fast; growth according to God is slower, but it lasts.
- Result. Their power was short-lived and their greatness soon gone. A list of names is all these dukes and kings receive.
-- And these are the sons of Dishon Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
This verse sits deep inside a list of names. These men are not Esau's family. They are the people who lived in Mount Seir before him. Four sons of Dishon get one line each, and then the record moves on. Why does Scripture keep such a careful account of a family that left no mark on its story?
Dishon was one of the sons of Seir. His people were the Horites, and their name points to how they lived:
Descendants of Seir, and the original inhabitants of Mount Seir. They were destroyed by the children of Esau. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of hollowed-out dwellings, and there are traces of the same throughout the region of Edom.
Esau's sons did not settle beside them. They took the land, and one writer explains what made it worth taking:
They coveted the possessions of the Horites at Mount Seir in early days (Deuteronomy 2:22), a distinct people who lived in caves and holes in the ground. But the sons of Edom destroyed them and took their place... The Edomites coveted such a natural fortress because it suited their destiny well. They were a remarkably warlike people. At the edge of the desert they were open to raids from robbers. They saw with clear instinct that the rocky homes of Mount Seir would be an excellent means of easy defence against surprise attack.
The same four brothers appear again in 1 Chronicles 1:41, where the first name is different:
Hemdan. Eldest son of Dishon the Horite. Genesis 36:26. Called AMRAM in 1 Chronicles 1:41.
These differences are not accidental. One writer says of the genealogies:
They contain deliberate omissions and changes in the order of names, meant to bring out the purpose of the Spirit of God.
Esau's line produced chiefs and kings before Israel had any. One writer takes that as a pattern:
But there is another genealogy (Genesis 36), and it is strikingly introduced at this place. The Edomite interrupts the course of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first that which is natural, afterwards that which is spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Even kings, we are told, reigned there before Israel had any. I have no doubt this is given to us as an important sign of how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
Scripture does not linger over any of these men. Their names stand just before the story of Joseph, and that same order returns later in the Bible:
Just as the kings and dukes of Edom appear between Jacob and the appearance of Joseph, so the Gentile appears in rule and power before the Lord Jesus is presented to the Jew. The history books of the Old Testament close with the captivity in Babylon, and the New Testament opens with Jesus, born King of the Jews. The Holy Spirit does not occupy us with describing the grandeur and might of those who rose to prominence when Israel lost the inheritance. He mentions them only where they touch the condition of Israel, as Ahasuerus and Nebuchadnezzar did. He passes on instead to the birth of the true King. Here, in Genesis, we have only a list of names to tell us that this duke and that king once lived. Their power was short-lived, their greatness soon gone, and Scripture dismisses them in a few words. "These are the generations of Esau."
If these names carry no story, why record them at all? One writer finds God's verdict on human nature in the length of the list itself:
Yet Esau (Edom) prospers and grows great in material things. His sons become "chiefs" (verses 15-43) before Jacob's family reach such honour — except for Joseph in Egypt. We must remember that Joseph did not exalt himself. Pharaoh exalted him. Esau's family, however, shows the common history of the flesh always exalting itself. So the long list of names is meant to impress one fact on us. God has taken full account of the flesh and all its activities, and finds it only vanity.
- Cave — Dishon belonged to the Horites, the first people of Mount Seir. Their name marks them as cave-dwellers in the sandstone cliffs.
- Conquest — Esau's sons coveted that natural fortress. They destroyed the Horites and took their place, so the record of this family ends here.
- Speed — The natural comes first and shoots up fast; growth according to God is slower, but it lasts.
- Silence — Scripture gives these men names and nothing more. Their power was short-lived, and the record passes on to the true King.
- Vanity — The long list is God's full account of the flesh and all it achieved. The verdict is vanity.
-- These are the sons of Ezer Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
Genesis 36:27 lists three sons of Ezer — Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan — from a family line that is not Esau's own, but that of Seir the Horite. Scripture names them and drops them, so why keep a list like this at all?
Ezer belongs to the people who lived in Mount Seir first. One dictionary sums up who they were and what became of them:
Descendants of Seir, and original inhabitants of Mount Seir. The children of Esau destroyed them. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of carved-out dwellings. Traces of the same appear throughout the region of Edom.
One of the three names in this verse resurfaces far from Edom. Akan appears later under a slightly different spelling, attached to a place Israel camped at on the way through the wilderness:
Son of Ezer, a son of Seir. Deuteronomy 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:42. Same as AKAN in Genesis 36:27.
The Horite line breaks into a chapter that is otherwise about Esau. One writer ties that insertion to Esau's rise to power, and to a pattern in God's ways:
We see here a clear and settled principle in God's ways with man: first the natural, afterwards the spiritual... In his sons he rises to supreme power. This may be the reason why the sons of Seir are so abruptly brought in (see Genesis 14:6; 36:6-20; Deuteronomy 2:12-22). Seir was a Horite who lived in the land, and as a chief he may have given his name to Mount Seir. The children of Esau drove out the Horim.
Ezer's sons lost their land. One writer says who stood behind such a handover:
Long ago these possessions were in the hands of giants. But it was God's purpose to hand over their territories to the children of Esau and Lot, so He destroyed these giants. For who or what can stand in the way of the divine counsels?
The same chapter that lists Seir's grandsons goes on to list rulers. Set that beside the family that carried the promise:
The family of promise remain shepherds and herdsmen. They wander here and there, outside the land and inside it, and are even harshly oppressed. Meanwhile the generations of Edom rise quickly into importance, away from Canaan, in Mount Seir. The descendants of Edom soon claim the rank of chiefs.
Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan teach nothing on their own. The length of the list is the lesson:
The man "after the flesh" cannot live together with the one whom God chooses. Yet Esau (Edom) prospers and develops greatly in a material way, his sons becoming "dukes" before Jacob's family attain such honour... Esau's family illustrates the common history of the flesh always exalting itself. So the long list of names is meant to press one fact on us. God has taken full account of the flesh and all it does, and finds it only vanity.
A few verses dispose of the power that once filled the land. One writer sees a pattern in where these names sit, and in how little room they get:
Just as the kings and chiefs of Edom appear between Jacob and the appearance of Joseph, so the Gentile appears in dominion and power before the Lord Jesus is presented to the Jews. Here, in Genesis, we have only a list of names to tell us that this chief and that king once lived. Their power was short-lived, their greatness soon gone, and they are dismissed without ceremony. "These are the generations of Esau." But when the Holy Spirit speaks of the "generations of Jacob," there is but one Man before His mind, and ten chapters follow, giving His typical history.
- Names. Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan are grandsons of Seir the Horite, one of the cave-dwelling people who lived in Mount Seir first.
- Land. The land did not stay theirs. Esau's children drove them out, and God's purpose stood behind the handover. Nothing can block it.
- Power. Edom gains chiefs and kings while the chosen family are still wandering shepherds. The natural comes first, the spiritual afterwards.
- Account. God keeps a full account of the flesh and all it achieves. The long roll of forgotten names is that account, and the verdict is vanity.
- Purpose. One chapter disposes of Esau's line. The generations of Jacob get ten chapters, because one Man is in view.
-- These are the sons of Dishan Uz and Aran.
Genesis 36:28 names the two sons of Dishan, a chief of the Horites — the people who held Mount Seir before Esau. Who were these men, and why does God record a family outside the chosen line?
This verse sits inside a second family list. After Esau's own sons and chiefs, the record turns to the people who held Seir before him.
Others, too, set themselves up as great men: the sons of Seir the Horite, or cave-dweller, who lived in the land. Verses 29 and 30 sum them up: "These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan."
The second name in the verse has a meaning of its own.
Aran — A wild goat; I shall shout for joy
The Horites lived in Seir before Esau. Their name matches their homes, and the family that took the land also wiped them out.
Descendants of Seir, and the original inhabitants of Mount Seir. The children of Esau destroyed them. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave-dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of dwellings cut into them. Traces of the same appear right through the region of Edom.
The first name in the verse turns up far outside Genesis, as a place. Commentators differ on where it lay.
The native land of Job, perhaps the district settled by the descendants of one of the above, or of Huz the son of Nahor. Job 1:1; Jeremiah 25:20; Lamentations 4:21. People suppose it lay in the south-east of Palestine, towards the Arabian desert. Such a land would lie open to attacks from the Sabeans and the Chaldeans.
One ancient translation took the link even further, tying Job to a name in this very chapter.
The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) even identifies Job with Jobab, the second king of the Edomites (Genesis 36:33).
Another family tree cuts into the story at this point, and its timing is the lesson.
But there is another genealogy (Genesis 36), and its place here is striking. The Edomite interrupts the course of the line of God's dealings. We see at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first what is natural, afterwards what is spiritual... I have no doubt that this is given to us as an important sign of how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
The sheer length of this list is itself the point.
So the long list of names is meant to impress one thing on us. God has taken full account of the flesh and all its activities, and finds it only vanity.
And the names are all we get. No deeds, no dates, no story.
Here, in Genesis, we have only a list of names to tell us that this chief and that king once lived. Their power was short-lived, their greatness faded, and they are quickly dismissed. "These are the generations of Esau."
The pattern of the chapter matches a pattern running right through Scripture.
As with Ishmael and Isaac, so again here the rejected line comes first, but briefly, and without its dates. The chosen line comes second, and then we get enough dates to follow the passing of the years. So the chapter pictures what Scripture states so clearly as a principle of God's ways: "He does away with the first in order to establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9).
- Named. Uz and Aran are sons of Dishan, one of the Horite chiefs — the cave-dwelling people who held Mount Seir before Esau.
- Displaced. The children of Esau destroyed those same Horites, so this family tree lists a people who no longer exist.
- Located. Uz appears again as Job's homeland. Commentators differ on where it lay, and one ancient translation even identifies Job with Jobab, an early king of Edom.
- Fast. What is not of God shoots up fast. Growth according to God is slower, but it lasts.
- Dismissed. God takes full account of the flesh and finds it only vanity. A bare list, no story — God does away with the first to establish the second.
These are the chiefs of the Horites chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,
Genesis 36 pauses the story of Jacob to set out Esau's family tree. In the middle of it comes a short roll-call of another people: the chiefs of the Horites, who lived in the region first. Why does Scripture list their leaders at all, and what has this list to do with God's own line?
The name itself tells you how these people lived, and what became of them.
Descendants of Seir, and the original inhabitants of Mount Seir. They were destroyed by the children of Esau. Genesis 14:6; Genesis 36:20-21, 29; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22. It is thought that they were cave dwellers, as the name implies. The sandstone rocks of Mount Seir are full of hollowed-out dwellings. Traces of the same appear throughout the region of Edom.
The range they held did not keep their name.
This was the early name of the long range of mountains that runs from about eight miles south of the Salt Sea to near the Gulf of Akaba. It is also called "the land of Seir." The Horites occupied it at first, and afterwards the descendants of Esau, and it acquired the name of EDOM. The word of Jehovah announced to the prophet the unending desolation of Mount Seir. Ezekiel 35:2-15.
The chapter has already listed Esau's own chiefs. This verse adds a second set of dignitaries, drawn from the people who were there first. (Older translations read "dukes" where the ESV has "chiefs.")
Others, too, posed as great men: the sons of Seir the Horite, or cave dweller, who lived in the land. Verses 29 and 30 sum them up.
Two of the four names here appear earlier in the chapter: Zibeon and Anah. Esau had taken a wife from this family.
One of the wives of Esau: she was the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite. She bore to Esau "the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah." Genesis 36:2-25.
Commentators read Esau's marriages as a picture of human nature itself.
After the account of Esau's generations, we notice that he married wives who were Canaanites, Hittites and Hivites — bitter enemies of God's people. We see, too, that he lived in Mount Seir. That land was cursed later, and the curse will remain on it even in the days of the millennium, when the wilderness will blossom like a rose. It is an illustration of the flesh, which cannot be improved even under the very best influence.
Edom rose fast, while God's own line grew slowly. Commentators treat that order as deliberate.
The Edomite interrupts the course of the line of God's dealings. We discern at once what remarkable maturity there was here. It is always so — first the natural, then the spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in the family of Esau. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Kings too, we are told, reigned there before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt that this is given us as an important element to mark how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.
There is a reason the whole catalogue is bare names and nothing more.
When Israel lost the inheritance, others rose to greatness. The Holy Spirit does not occupy us with describing their grandeur and might. He takes them up only where they touch the condition of Israel, as with Ahasuerus and Nebuchadnezzar. He passes on instead to the birth of the true King. Here, in Genesis, we have only a list of names to tell us that this duke and that king once lived. Their power was short-lived. Their greatness soon faded. A few words dismiss them.
What God does with such a record is not to admire it, but to weigh it.
Esau's family illustrates the common history of the flesh always exalting itself. So the long list of names is meant to press one truth on us. God has taken full account of the flesh and all its activities, and He finds it only vanity.
- Cave dwellers. The Horites lived in Mount Seir first. Their name, it is thought, points to the rock homes still seen across Edom.
- Chiefs. They had their own chiefs, listed here beside Esau's. Soon the land would carry another name.
- Allied. Esau's wife came from this very family, from Anah and Zibeon, named in this verse. He married into the people of the land.
- Displaced. The children of Esau took their land, and Mount Seir became Edom. Such power rose fast and did not last.
- Weighed. God writes the names down and moves on. Growth from Him is slower but it lasts. He counts the rest and finds it vanity.