Genesis 36:9

A name given to Esau because he craved Jacob's red stew, since Edom means red (Genesis 25:30; 36:1, 8, 19). But the name is more often given to his tribe and the land they held. This stretched from the land of Moab southward to the Gulf of Akaba, about 100 miles in length. The region is very mountainous, with high peaks and deep valleys, but it also has rich plains. It had been called Mount Seir (Genesis 36:8). Bozrah and Sela were its chief cities.

The section titled "The generations of Esau" runs from the first verse of Genesis 36 to the first verse of Genesis 37. As with Ishmael and Isaac, the rejected line comes first here, and only briefly, and its record does not follow the order of time. The chosen line comes second, and with it enough dates to let us follow the passing of the years. This points forward to a clear principle of God's ways: "He does away with the first in order to establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9).

But there is another genealogy (Genesis 36), and its place here is striking. The Edomite interrupts the course of God's dealings. We see at once how mature things already were here. It is always so — first the natural, afterwards the spiritual. Even then we find a rapid development of power in Esau's family. They were all great people, to be sure — duke this and duke that, to the end of the chapter. Kings, we are told, even reigned there before there were any in Israel. I have no doubt this stands as an important mark of how fast what is not of God shoots up. Growth according to God is slower, but it is more lasting.

Esau now leaves the promise to Jacob, and goes to the place God hates — to his own portion.

The 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 fully independent of Jacob. His descendants multiplied and became chiefs, and they were well known. 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 come out ahead of the children of God.

The man "after the flesh" cannot live alongside the one God has chosen... Esau's family shows the usual history of the flesh, always exalting itself. The long list of names is therefore meant to impress one fact on us. God has taken full account of the flesh and all its activities, and finds it only vanity.

The chapter also shows plainly that Esau, Edom and Mount Seir stand for the same line and the same land. That helps us when we meet these names later in Scripture. Otherwise the many names here may mean little to us.