Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.
Genesis 36:37 sits inside a short royal list. Eight men ruled Edom one after another, long before Israel had a king. One king dies and another takes his place, and the new man comes from a city far away by a river. Why does Scripture record the kings of a rejected line at all?
Shaul of Rehoboth
The verse names a king and his home town, not his father. Older translations read only "by the river"; the ESV names the river as the Euphrates. Reference works on Bible places put that town far to the north-east:
Morrish Bible DictionaryA city in the East, "by the river," from which a man named Saul, or Shaul, became an early king of Edom (Genesis 36:37; 1 Chronicles 1:48). There are two places named Rahabeh near the Euphrates which may be these cities. One of them is called Rahabeh Melek, that is, "royal."
A crown that never passes to a son
Run down the list and one thing is missing everywhere: an heir. Samlah dies and a man from another place takes over, exactly as happened at each earlier step.
H. L. RossierThe kings of Edom are listed next (verses 43-54; compare Genesis 36:31-42). Violence marks this whole race, for not one of these kings has his son as his successor.
Commentators differ on what produced that pattern. Some have suggested the Edomites chose their kings by vote; others read the broken succession as the mark of rival groups fighting for the top place:
The Bible TreasuryViolence seems to have marked them, for not one king is succeeded by his son. As one faction won out over another, so kings arose from different cities... This change in the form of authority is not unknown in our own day. It shows a characteristic element — we might call it a flaw — in human power: it is unstable.
Kings in Edom before a king in Israel
The list itself notes that these men ruled before Israel had any king. That note points back to a promise God made to the other brother:
William KellyIsrael had the promise of kings, and Esau had no such promise. Yet Esau had one king after another long before any sign of royalty appeared in the one who held that promise. A writer living after the line of Saul or David began to reign would have put it differently — not "any" or "a" king, but "the king" or "the kings."
The flesh ripens quickly
Esau's family climbs from chiefs to crowned heads within a few generations, while the chosen family is still wandering with its flocks. Writers see a settled principle in the contrast:
William KellyEven 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 among them 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 lasting.
None of this fell outside God's word. Isaac's blessing on Esau came true:
F. B. HoleThe chapter shows us that Esau prospered in earthly things, so his father's blessing came true for him (27:39-40). He held his own territory and became quite independent of Jacob. His descendants multiplied and became chiefs and men of note. They became not only "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 gone ahead of the children of God.
Why the names are written down
What is a list of forgotten Edomite rulers doing in the Bible? One answer: God keeps a full record of what human strength achieves on its own:
L. M. GrantThe 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.
This one nation gets a special notice, and the record has an ending its kings never saw:
The Bible TreasuryGod lets the world display 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 remains for ever. Edom gets this special mention because of their great hatred of Israel. They were as unyielding as any of the nations around them (Numbers 20:14-21). It showed long years later, when the Edomite rejoiced at the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Psalm 137). For that very reason they are remembered for judgment (Obadiah 10).
Summary
- First, not lasting. Edom had crowns while Israel had none. What is not of God shoots up fast; growth according to God is slower and lasts.
- No heir. Shaul follows Samlah the way every Edomite king follows the last. No son inherits. Violence and rival factions put each man on the throne, not a settled house.
- From elsewhere. The new king comes from Rehoboth on the river, a place linked with sites near the Euphrates.
- Promise outwaited. Israel held the promise of kings and had none yet. Esau held no such promise and had eight. God's purpose comes second and stands.
- Counted and closed. The list is God's full account of the flesh, and He finds it only vanity. Edom's kings are gone and remembered for judgment; God's King remains for ever.