Genesis 36:31–33

But there is another genealogy (Gen. 36), and strikingly introduced in this place. 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 — chief after chief, right to the end of the chapter. Even kings, we are told, reigned there before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt that this is given to us as an important element to mark how quickly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.

Edom had kings before Israel had any; that is all that is said. The point to be recorded is that Edom had them at a time when Israel still had none. Edom was a settled nation with regular rule before God's people Israel were. In the chapter before, God had promised that kings would come from Jacob. Yet the natural went first in apparent strength: God's people must wait His time.

The passage in Genesis 36:31, which critics stress most, is surely from Moses… Israel had the promise of kings; Esau had not. Yet Esau had many kings, one after another, long before any sign of royalty appeared in the people who held that promise. If the passage had been written after Saul or David's line began to reign, the wording would have been different — not "any" or "a" king, but "the king" or "the kings."

The list of kings in Edom consists of eight. Now Phinehas was the seventh in descent from Jacob, and he was in full strength and activity in the time of Moses. So the kings of Edom named in Genesis very possibly did not extend beyond the time of Moses, though we are not given the data to fix when they began.

Since no son succeeded his father, some think the Edomite monarchy was elective. But this supposes the people had enough power to choose their own ruler — a democratic principle we have no ground to suppose existed in those early days. Violence and lust of power were there, and bore fruit. The ambitious, unscrupulous man will try to win over the crowds and ride them to power. That is a different thing from an elective monarchy. What we do see in Esau's descendants, and what has marked the world, is rival factions fighting for power, where of course the strongest arm wins. God lets the world show itself, and its power, or rather lack of power, first. Then come His purpose and its firm foundation. For there were kings in Edom before any were found in Israel. The Edomite kings are gone, but God's King remains for ever.

It was no small moral test for the sons of Israel. God had given them His promises, yet Esau's descendants were long settled in peace as lords of their own soil. Jacob and his family, meanwhile, lived as strangers who were only tolerated, and were soon to be slaves — slaves for a long while — in the land of Ham… And the Bible holds, in the same books, both the promise and the trial that early appearances made for faith. It sets it all down calmly, as the word of One who sees the end from the beginning.

This is the first positive mention of a king in Israel, for in Genesis 36:31 the word is mentioned in a purely negative way. David was raised up as a king, a picture of Christ; but only when Christ Himself returns in glory will "the shout of a king" really be heard among them.

This was not the height of their development. Scripture traces no fewer than eight kings in succession from Bela to Hadar, though it is careful to note that Esau's chiefs appear again (vv. 40-43).

In Genesis 36:31 it is said, before there was any king in Israel. Edom had kings before Israel had any; that is all that is said. Edom's having any when Israel had had none was the point to be recorded. It was a settled nation, ruled in an orderly way, before God's people Israel were. The natural went first in apparent strength: God's people must wait His time. Notice that it does not say, before kings, or the kings, reigned, as if it were a history. It says before a king, or any king, reigned. That seems to point to a time when there was no king at all that anyone knew of. Yet kings had been promised to Jacob, and the first place, and none to Esau; yet Esau had them when Jacob had none.

The list of kings in Edom consists of eight. Now Phinehas was the seventh from Jacob, and he was in full activity and strength in the time of Moses. So the kings of Edom named in Genesis very possibly did not extend beyond the time of Moses, though we are not given the data to fix when they began.

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. 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 children of Esau had chiefs in plenty. This is an early example of what we find so often in Scripture and in our own experience: the man who loves the world and ignores God goes ahead in the world beyond the man who fears God.

Violence seems to have characterised them, for not one king is succeeded by his son. As one faction won out over another, different cities produced different kings. In the end, it appears, their royal authority was cut back, and chiefs followed them. This change in the form of authority is not unknown in our own day. It shows a characteristic element — we might say flaw — in human power: its instability. Man is unable to keep supreme and sole power in himself.

The Holy Spirit does not occupy us with the grandeur and might of those who rose to power when Israel lost the inheritance… He passes on to the birth of the true King. 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 and their greatness faded, and Scripture dismisses them in a few words.

God lets the world show itself, and its power — or rather its lack of power — first. Then come His purpose and its firm foundation. For there were kings in Edom before any were found in Israel. The Edomite kings are gone, but God's King abides for ever. Edom is singled out like this because of their great hatred of Israel. They were among the most relentless of all the nations around them (Num. 20:14-21). It showed long years later, when the Edomite rejoiced at the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Psalm 137). For this very reason they are remembered for judgment (Obadiah 10).

The world that has turned away from God sets itself up in power, while the heirs of the promise are still poor pilgrims on the earth. This last point is a distinct part of what God has revealed.

The Edomite line interrupts the course of God's dealings. We see at once how fully developed it already was. It is always so — first the natural, then the spiritual. Even then we find power growing fast in the family of Esau… I have no doubt this is given to us for an important reason. It marks how quickly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but then it is more permanent.

Edom had kings before Israel had any; that is all that is said. The point worth recording was that Edom had kings while Israel still had none. Edom was a settled nation under steady rule before God's people Israel were. In the chapter before, God had promised that kings would come from Jacob. Yet the natural went first in apparent strength: God's people must wait His time.

Suppose this passage came from a time after Saul or David's line began to reign. The wording would then have been different — not "any" king or "a" king, but "the king" or "the kings."

The kings of Edom are listed next… Violence marks this whole race, because not a single one of these kings has his own son as his successor.

As one faction won out over another, different cities produced different kings. In the end, it seems, their royal authority was cut back, and dukes followed them. We still see this change in the form of authority in our own day. It shows a typical feature — we might say a flaw — of human power: its instability. Man is unable to retain supreme and sole power in himself.

Bozrah was the royal city of Edom, and the prophets pronounced judgments on it… Christ is pictured coming from there with garments stained red, after treading the winepress of His wrath on the nations (Gentiles). Isa. 63:1-4: compare Isa. 34.

God lets the world show itself first, and its power — or rather its lack of power. Then comes His purpose, with its firm foundation… The Edomite kings are gone, but God's King remains forever. Edom gets this special mention because of their great hatred of Israel. They were one of the most relentless of all the nations around them (Num. 20:14-21). It showed itself long years later, when the Edomites rejoiced at the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Psalm 137). For this very reason God remembers them for judgment (Obadiah 10).

Most place the land of Uz (chapter 1:1) east of the river Jordan, toward the border of Arabia, in the land of Edom (compare Lam. 4:21) or nearby. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) Job is even identified with Jobab, the second king of the Edomites (Gen. 36:33).