Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.
This verse closes the roll of Edom's kings. Hadar is the eighth and last of them. The record names his city and his wife's family, then turns back to chiefs.
The eighth and last name in the list
Edom's rise did not stop at chiefs.
William KellyThis was not the height of their development. "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites." No fewer than eight kings are traced one after another, from Bela to Hadar. Yet the record carefully states that we have Esau's chiefs again (verses 40-43).
The names in the verse
Hadar's own name appears in another form elsewhere in Scripture, and his wife is traced through two generations of her family — a detail given for no other king in the chapter.
Morrish Bible DictionaryMother of Mehetabel the wife of Hadad, or Hadar, king of Edom. Genesis 36:39; 1 Chronicles 1:50.
The two spellings are not a contradiction, and the reason lies in how such rulers were addressed.
Morrish Bible DictionaryApparently "Hadad" was a title of the kings of Edom rather than a name.
His city, Pau, is named here as well.
Morrish Bible DictionaryCity in Edom in which Hadad or Hadar reigned. 1 Chronicles 1:50. Called PAU in Genesis 36:39. Not identified.
A crown that never passed to a son
Read the whole list and one thing stands out: each king comes from a different family and a different city. Nobody inherits.
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.
The pattern also explains why kings give way to chiefs again straight after this verse.
The Bible TreasuryViolence seems to have marked them, for no king was followed by his son. As one faction won out over another, different kings arose from different cities. In the end, it seems, kingly power was cut back, and chiefs took the place of kings. We still see that kind of change in the form of authority today. It points to a mark — we might call it a flaw — in human power: it never holds steady. Man is unable to keep supreme and sole power in himself.
Kings in Edom while Israel had none
Verse 31 opened this list by comparing Edom with Israel.
J. N. DarbyEdom had kings before Israel had any; that is all that is said. That Edom had them when Israel had had none is the point meant to be recorded. It was a settled nation, regularly ruled, before God's people Israel were. In the chapter before, kings had been promised to come from the loins of Jacob. Yet the natural went first in apparent strength: God's people must wait His time.
Why the list is in the Bible at all
Why does a page of foreign royal names sit in the middle of Jacob's story?
William KellyWe 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 Esau's family. They were all great people, to be sure — this chief and that chief, right to the end of the chapter — even kings, we are told, reigned before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt this is given to us as an important mark of how rapidly what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but it is more lasting.
What does God make of all this activity?
L. M. GrantThe long list of names is therefore meant to impress on us that God has taken full account of the flesh and all its activities, and finds it to be only vanity.
Where the line ends
Hadar is the last king named here, and after him the record of Edom's monarchy simply stops.
The Bible TreasuryWhat we do see in Esau's descendants, and what has marked the world, is rival factions contending for power, where of course the strongest arm wins. 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 remains forever.
Summary
- Named. Verse 39 names Hadar, the eighth and last of Edom's kings, with his city Pau and his wife Mehetabel. After him the chapter returns to chiefs.
- Titled. "Hadad" seems to be a title of Edom's kings, not a personal name. That is why 1 Chronicles 1:50 spells it differently.
- Seized. No king was followed by his son. Rival cities and families took the crown by force, one from the other.
- Shrank. Edom's kings gave way to chiefs again. That is the flaw in all human authority: man cannot keep supreme power in his own hands.
- Remains. What is natural goes first in apparent strength, and God's people wait His time. Edom's kings are gone; God's King remains forever.