These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, 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?
Who the Horites Were
Ezer belongs to the people who lived in Mount Seir first. One dictionary sums up who they were and what became of them:
Morrish Bible DictionaryDescendants 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:
Morrish Bible DictionarySon of Ezer, a son of Seir. Deuteronomy 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:42. Same as AKAN in Genesis 36:27.
Why Seir's Family Interrupts Esau's Record
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:
The Bible TreasuryWe 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.
Land Handed Over by God's Purpose
Ezer's sons lost their land. One writer says who stood behind such a handover:
C. H. MackintoshLong 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?
Edom's Chiefs and the Family of Promise
The same chapter that lists Seir's grandsons goes on to list rulers. Set that beside the family that carried the promise:
William KellyThe 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.
A Full Account of the Flesh
Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan teach nothing on their own. The length of the list is the lesson:
L. M. GrantThe 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.
Names That Pass, A Purpose That Stands
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:
The Bible TreasuryJust 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.
Summary
- 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.