griffin comments gen 36

GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 36

(Gen 36:1) Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

The name Esau was given to him because he had a lot of hair on his body when he was born. The word Esau means hairy [rough, felt-like in handling] Gen_25:25, and then he was called Edom or “Red,” after he ate the red pottage made by Jacob (Gen_25:30). His descendents would be known by the name Edomites.

Chapter 36 is devoted to the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in the land of Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea. The genealogy represents the fulfillment of the promise that Esau would be the head of a nation (Gen_25:23). (Believers Bible Commentary)

(Gen 36:2) Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

[Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan] There were three, mentioned under different names; for it is evident that Bashemath is the same as Mahalath (Gen_28:9), since they both stand in the relation of daughter to Ishmael and sister to Nebajoth; and hence it may be inferred that Adah is the same as Judith, Aholibamah as Bathsemath (Gen_26:34). It was not unusual for women, in that early age, to have two names, as Sarai was also Iscah [Gen_11:29]; and this is the more probable in the case of Esau's wives, who of course would have to take new names when they went from Canaan to settle in mount Seir. (Jamison, Fausett & Brown)

[Esau took his wives] (the expression refers in this place not to the marriage, but to the removal, of his wives) of the daughters of Canaan; - i.e. who were of the daughters of Canaan (vide Gen_26:34) - Adah - "Ornament," "Beauty" (Gesenius); the name also of one of Lamech's wives (cf.

GRIFFIN COMMENTS GEN 36—PAGE 1

Gen_4:19) - the daughter of Elon - "Oak" (Gesenius) - the Hittite, and Aholibamah - "Tent of the High Place" (Gesenius) - the daughter of Anah - "Answering" (Gesenius) - the daughter - i.e. the grand-daughter, though, after the LXX. and the Samaritan, some read the son, as in Gen_36:24 (Gesenius, Kalisch, Furst, et alii) - of Zibeon - "Colored" (Gesenius); "Wild," "Robber" (Furst) - the Hivite; and Bashemath - "Sweet-smelling" (Gesenius) - Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth - "High Place" (Gesenius). The difference between this account and that previously given (Gen_26:34; Gen_28:9) will appear at a glance by setting the two lists of wives in parallel columns:1. Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite.1. Aholibamah, daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite.2. Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.2. Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite.3. Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebajoth.3. Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.The two lists agree in saying (1) that Esau had three wives,(2) that one of them was the daughter of Elon the Hittite,(3) that another of them was Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebajoth, and (4) that the name of one of them was Bashemath.The discrepancy between the two is greatest in respect of the first wife, who appears with a different name and a different parentage in the two lists; while with reference to the second and the third wives, it is only the difference of name that requires to be accounted for. Now since the two lists belong to the so-called Elohistic document (Tuch, Bleak, Stahelin, Davidson, et alii), the hypothesis must be discarded "that the Hebrew text, though containing several important coincidences, evidently embodies two accounts irreconcilably different" (Kalisch) - a conclusion which can only be maintained by ascribing to the author the most absolute literary incompetence. Equally the conjecture must be set aside that the two lists refer to different persons, the second three being names of wives which Esau took on the decease of the first. The solutions that appear most entitled


to acceptance, though all are more or less conjectural, proceed upon the supposition that Esau had only three wives, or at most four.(Pulpit Commentary)

(Gen 36:3) And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

This is the woman Esau married after he found that his Canaanite wives were not pleasing to his parents, they had sent Jacob to get a wife from family, so he married into the family hoping that would appease them, but he married into the wrong family. She was from Ishmael, the unacceptable part of the family.

(Gen 36:4) And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz,.... This son of Esau, according to Jerom (n), is the same with him mentioned in the book of Job, as one of his friends that came to visit him, Job_2:11; and so says the Targum of Jonathan on Gen_36:10; but he rather was the grandson of this man, since he is called the Temanite: (Gill)

(Gen 36:5) And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah,.... In this genealogy mention is made of another Korah among the sons of Eliphaz, Gen_36:16; which Jarchi thinks is the same with this, and takes him to be a bastard, and begotten in incest by Eliphaz, on his father's wife Aholibamah; but Aben Ezra observes, that some are of opinion that there were two Korahs, one the son of Aholibamah, and the other the son of Adah; but he thinks there were but one, which was the son of Aholibamah, and is reckoned among the sons of Eliphaz, because he dwelt among them; or perhaps his mother died when he was little, and Adah brought him up with her sons, and so was reckoned her son; such were the children of Michal, Saul's daughter. (Gill)


(Gen 36:6) And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

That his leaving Canaan was to go “from the face of his brother Jacob,” appears to show that the animosity was not alleviated between these two as long as they both were in Canaan. The reception by Jacob of Esau when the former came into Canaan was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back and Esau turned away from Jacob forever.

(Gen 36:7) For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.

This adds a good side to the reason for going “from his brother.” Usually when there is a separation among people they can find a legitimate reason.

I cannot call riches by a better name than the "baggage" of virtue; the Roman word is better, "impediment." For as the baggage is to an army, so are the riches to virtue. It cannot be spared or left behind, and yet it hinders the march. The care of it sometimes loses or disturbs the victory. Of great riches there is no real use, except in the distribution; the rest is but conceit. (Bacon)

(Gen 36:8) Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir,.... Before he is said to be in the land of Seir, Gen_32:3; now to dwell in a mount of that name; from which driving the Horites, he seized upon and dwelt in it; it had not its name from his own rough, shaggy hair, as Josephus says (r), much less from the satyrs, and hairy demons that frequented it, as R. Abraham Seba (s), but rather from Seir the Horite who inhabited the land, Gen_36:20; unless he had his name from the mountain


which might be so called, from its being rough and rugged like shaggy hair, and being covered with bushes and brambles which carried such a resemblance; and so it stands opposed to Mount Halak near it, Jos_11:17, which signifies the bald or smooth mountain, being destitute of shrubs, &c. The Targum of Jonathan calls this mountain Mount Gabla, and one part of the land of Edom, or Idumea, was called Gobolites, as Josephus (t) relates, perhaps the same with Gebal, Psa_83:7; hither Esau went and took up his residence, after things were amicably adjusted between him and his brother Jacob; the Jews say (u), that Isaac left, all he had to his two sons, and that after they had buried him, Esau said to Jacob, let us divide what our father has left us into two parts, and I will choose because I am the firstborn; so Jacob divided it into two parts; all that his father had left he made one part, and the land of Israel the other part, and Esau took what his father left, see Gen_36:6; and the land of Israel and the cave of Machpelah he delivered to Jacob, and they drew up everlasting writings between them. (Gill)

(Gen 36:9) And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:

He is called the father of the Edomites: that is, he was the one who founded the Edomite nation.

(Gen 36:10) These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.

These are the names - Observe here, That only the names of Esau's sons and grand - sons are recorded: not their history, for it is the church that Moses preserves the records of, not of those that were without. The elders only that lived by faith obtained a good report. Nor doth the genealogy go any farther than the third and fourth generation, the very names of all after are buried in oblivion; it is only the pedigree of the Israelites who were to be the heirs of Canaan, and of whom were to come the promised seed, and the holy seed,


that is drawn out to any length, as far as there was occasion for it, even of all the tribes till Canaan was divided among them, and of the royal line 'till Christ came. That the sons and grand - sons of Esau are called dukes. Probably they were military commanders, dukes or captains that had soldiers under them; for Esau and his family lived by the sword, Gen_27:40. We may suppose those dukes had numerous families of children and servants. God promised to multiply Jacob and to enrich him, yet Esau increases and is enriched first. God's promise to Jacob began to work late, but the effect of it remained longer, and it had its complete accomplishment in the spiritual Israel. (Wesley)

(Gen 36:11) And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.

And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman,.... This was his firstborn, and from him the city of Teman in Edom or Idumea had its name, see Jer_49:7; and Eliphaz is called the Temanite from hence, Job_2:11; four more sons are mentioned:

Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz; but I do not find that any towns or cities, or any part of the land of Edom, were denominated from any of them; only it may be observed that Zepho is called Zephi in 1Ch_1:36; the account seems fabulous and not to be depended on, which Josephus Ben Gorion (w) gives of him, of opposing the burial of Jacob, being taken by Joseph and carried into Egypt, and at his death fleeing to Carthage, and from thence to the Romans, and was king of them (x).

(w) Hist. Heb. l. 1. c. 2. vid. Chizzuk Emunab, par. l. c. 6. p. 66. & Nachman apud Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. col. 31, 32. (x) Vid. Huls. Theolog. Jud. par. 1. p. 132, &c. (Gill)

(Gen 36:12) And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.


Since the nation of Amalekites were earlier than Esau it appears that this son was named after them, possibly because his spirit was similar. They were a warlike people and the first nation to fight Israel. God eventually had them totally exterminated.

(Gen 36:13) And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.

Reuel is “friend of God.” Nahath is “rest.” Zerah is “sprout.” Shammah is “fame.” Mizzah is “strong.” Bashemath “fragrance” was from Ishmael, and the understanding of the God of Abraham may have influenced the names of her children to be similar to the Israelites.

(Gen 36:14) And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.

We have here the record of Aholibahah’s children, but not her grandchildren as we find with the other daughters. The Septuagint has "the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon"

(Gen 36:15) These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,The Edomites, like the Israelites, were divided into tribes, which took their names from his sons. The head of each tribe was called by a term which in our version is rendered "duke"--not of the high rank and wealth of a British peer, but like the sheiks or emirs of the modern East, or the chieftains of highland clans. Fourteen are mentioned who flourished contemporaneously. (Jamison, Faussett and Brown)

(Gen 36:16) Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.


Only among the sons of Eliphaz is reckoned Duke Korah, not before mentioned among his sons, and is left out in the Samaritan version; See Gill on Gen_36:7; to which it may be added, that according to Gerundinsis (a), this is the same with Timna, related among the sons of Eliphaz, 1Ch_1:36; who was called by his father Korah: or this might be a grandson of Eliphaz.

(a) Apud Menaasseh ut supra. (conciliator in Gen. Quaest. 57. p. 81.) (Gill)

(Gen 36:17) And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.

Bashemath: A daughter of Ishmael, the last married ( B.C. 1926) of the three wives of Esau (Gen_36:3-4, Gen_36:13), from whose son, Reuel, four tribes of the Edomites were descended. When first mentioned she is called Mahalath (Gen_28:9); while, on the other hand, the name Bashemath is in the narrative (Gen_26:34) given to another of Esau's wives, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. It is remarkable that all Esau's wives receive different names in the genealogical table of the Edomites (Gen 36) from those by which they have been previously mentioned in the history. Thus:

GENEALOGY. NARRATIVE.

(Gen_36:2-3) (Gen_26:34; Gen_28:9)

1. Adah, daughter of Elon. 2. Bashemath, d. of Elon.

2. Aholibamah, d. of Anah. 1. Judith, d. of Beeri.

3. Bashemath, d. of Ishmael. 3. Mahalath, d. of Ishmael.(McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia)


(Gen 36:18) And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.

It is remarkable that each of his three sons by Aholibamah is himself the head of a tribe, while all the tribes of the Edomites sprung from his other two wives are founded by his grandsons (Gen_36:15-19).(McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia)

(Gen 36:19) These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

From the special attention drawn to Esau’s hairy appearance, one would suppose that the name Esau, was intended to give expression to that quality. So have many learned men in recent as well as former times held, though they are obliged to resort to the Arabic for the etymological explanation; a word very similar in Arabic, signifying hairy. The older Hebrew commentators, however, derived it from the verb, asuh', to make, and explained the word as signifying "made," "complete," "full-grown" — viewing the hair as an indication of premature manly vigor. But the Jews of the present day seem more disposed to fall in with the other derivation (for example, Raphall in loco). The unusual covering of hair, which not only distinguished Esau as a child, but kept pace with his growth, and in mature life gave his skin a kind of goat-like appearance (Gen_27:16), was undoubtedly meant to be indicative of the man; it was a natural sign, coeval with his very birth, by which his parents might descry the future man-as one in whom the animal should greatly preponderate over the moral and spiritual qualities of nature-a character of rough, self-willed, and untamed energy. From the word designating his hairy aspect, sear, it is not improbable that the mountain-range which became the possession of his descendants was called Mount Seir.(McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia)


(Gen 36:20) These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land,.... "Before", as the Targum of Jonathan adds, that is, before it was inhabited by Esau and his posterity, and called Edom, and had from him the name of Seir; but the Horites dwelt here before him, even in Abraham's time, Gen_14:6; and who were so called from their dwelling under ground in holes and caves, with which the further part of the land of Edom abounded, and are the same the Greeks call Trogloditae: Jarchi says, from their Rabbins, these were very expert in the nature of the land, and knew what was fit for olives and what for vines. Now the genealogy of this man is here given, partly to show who were the ancient inhabitants of this land before they were drove out, and succeeded by Esau and his sons, Deu_1:12; and partly because of the intermarriages of Esau and his posterity with them, whereby they more easily came into the possession of the country; for Esau married the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon, a son of Seir, Gen_36:11; and Eliphaz took Timna, a sister of Lotan the son of Seir, to be his concubine, Gen_36:12; the names of the sons of Seir follow: (Gill)

(Gen 36:21) And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.

Archaeological evidence has shed light on the Horites and their kingdom Mitanni. They lived in the Armenian and Kurdish mountains, infiltrating into the region along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia before 2000 BC From 2100 to 1550 B.C., waves of Horites swept across a large part of the ancient world, including Canaan. Their kingdom reached its peak in the middle of the 15th century B.C., extending from Nuzi in upper Mesopotamia in the east to Ras Shamra in the west.


Study of Horite tablets from Nuzu shows a close parallel between many of their customs and the accounts of Abraham and the other patriarchs in the Book of Genesis.(Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

(Gen 36:22) And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.

Timna was unique enough to be mentioned, and always as Lotan’s sister. She was concubine to Eliphaz and then listed as a duke, usually a man’s place.

(Gen 36:23) And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

The names of two of Shobal’s sons can be translated “bald,” Ebal and Shepho. Baldness must have run in the family.

(Gen 36:24) And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.

this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father; who observed, while he was feeding his father's asses in the wilderness, that the he asses coupled with mares, or horses with the she asses, and produced another sort of creatures called mules; and by this means found out the way how such creatures might be produced, and practised it: so Aelianus says (d), that mules are not the produce of nature, but you may call it an adulterous invention of human contrivance and boldness, and a theft: this is the common interpretation, and to which our version leads: but against it it may be observed, that the word for "mules" is different from this here used, nor is this word ever used of mules, nor does it appear that there were any creatures of this sort before the days of David; nor is the word translated "found" ever used of that which before was not in being, but of what already existed; nor is there any mention of horses or mares in this


account also; had it referred to a mixture of these creatures with asses, it would not have been omitted. Some think therefore the words are to be rendered, "he found waters in the wilderness"; sources and collections of waters which were not usual in a wilderness, and of great worth and use in desert lands, as Edom was, and in those hot countries, and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "hot waters"; but then to the fixing of either of these versions, the word must be altered either in its points or letters, for which there is no authority. The Targum of Onkelos renders it mighty ones orgiants, and may signify the "Emim", the "aleph" being changed for "yod", as Aben Ezra observes; and then the sense is, that these gigantic people, who were so called from the terror they taught upon their neighbours, and, who dwelt near the Horim in Seir, Deu_2:10, as they used to steal from their flocks, Anah lighted on them in the wilderness, and fell upon them, and took them; and with this agrees the Samaritan version, "he found giants, in the wilderness"; and so Abendana interprets the words: Aben Ezra observes that many interpret the word of plants or herbs; and a very learned (e) man is of opinion that the word used is the name of an useful herb or plant, first discovered by Anah. This Anah, though a keeper of his father's asses, is afterwards called Duke Anah; it being the custom of the sons of great personages to be the keepers of flocks and herds (Gill).

(Gen 36:25) And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

Dishon is an antilope: dishon, from dush, to tread, or perhaps duts, to leap; Sept. puhgargo, Vulg. pygargus) occurs only (Deu_14:5) in the list of clean animals, being the name apparently of some species of antelope, though it is by no means easy to identify it. The Greek denotes an animal with a "white rump," and is used by Herodotus (iv. 192) as the name of some Libyan deer or antelope. Ælian (vii, 19) also mentions the puhgargo, but gives no more than the name; comp. also Juvenal (Sct. 11:138). It is usual to


identify the pygarg of the Greek and Latin writers with the addax of North Africa, Nubia, etc. (Addax nasomaculatus), known to the ancient Greeks under the same title (Oryx addax, Lieht.), which has been recognised as a beast of chase in the old Egyptian sculptures. It is widely spread over Central Africa, extending to the borders of the Nile in Nubia, and is well known to the Arabs, who still distinguish it by its ancient name, with the familiar prefix of Abu, or father — Father Addas. The addax is a coarse and heavy antelope, three feet high at the withers, with a large clumsy head and stout legs. The horns exist in both sexes, are long, twisted outwards, covered with rings nearly to the points, which are sharp; the tail is long and tufted. The head and neck are of a deep reddish brown color, with a band of white across the face; the forehead and throat are clothed with coarse black hair, and all the rest of the body and limbs is of a whitish gray hue. It is one of that group of antelopes in which we may clearly discern an approach to the bovine race.

Against this identification of the dishon with the addax, however, there are some considerable objections. In the first place, this antelope does not present at all the required characteristic implied by its name; and, in the second, there is much reason for believing, with Ruppell (Atlas zu der Reise im no'rd. Afrika, p. 21) and Hamilton Smith (Griffith's Cuvier's Anim. Kingdom, 4:193), that the addax is identical with the strepsiceros of Pliny (N. It. 11:37), which animal, it must be observed, the Roman naturalist distinguishes from the Pygargus (viii, 53). Indeed, we may regard the identity of the addax and Pliny's strepsiceros as established; for when this species was, after mamny years, at length rediscovered by Hemprich and Ruppell, it was found to be called by the Arabic name of akas or adas, the very name which Pliny gives as the local one of his strepsiceros. The pyqsargus, therefore, must be sought for in some animal different from the addax. The required characters seem to be found in a group of antelopes described by Mr. Bennett (Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. i). They have many peculiarities in


common with the group which includes the spring-bok (Antidorcas euchore) and the houte-bok (Damalis pygarga), those fine white-rumped species of South Africa, but are distinguished by the characters of the horns, which are larger, thicker, more bovine, and of bolder curvature, turning first almost horizontally backwards, and then hooked abruptly forwards. The legs are long, the neck long and slender, and there is a white patch on the throat in all the species. The group is confined to the northern half of the African continent. The best-known species is the mhorr (Antilope mhorr, Bennett), which stands two feet eight inches high at the croup. The horns are ringed from the base about half-wayr up, whence to the tip they are round, smooth, and obtusely pointed. The expression of the face is gentle; the eye large, dark, and liquid. The tail is long, close-haired at the base, but tipped with a tuft of long black hair — a very ox-like character. The general hue of the coat, which is short and sleek, is a deep brownish red; the line of the belly and the inner surface of the limbs are white. But the whole region around the base of the tail is pure white, abruptly separated from the dark red of the flanks; the patch running forwards in a point on each hip, and downwards on the posterior surface of the thighs. The strong contrast of the two colors has a very singular effect, and would probably be seized on to form a descriptive appellation. Two males of this beautiful species were sent to the Zoological Society from Morocco; they were not, however, indigenous to that country, but had been brought from the eastern side of the desert. The species is hunted by the Arabs for the sake of the stomach concretion called bezoar, to which it is peculiarly subject, and which is so highly valued in Oriental pharmacy. These stones are called in Morocco baid el-mhorr, or mhorr's eggs. There is, however, another species, considerably larger than the mhorr, but lhaving the same general form and the same distributions of the colors. It is the addra (A. ruficolis), a fine beast found in the wastes of Nubia by Ruppell, and by Hemprich and Ehrenberg in Dongola. This animal stands about three feet three inches high at the croup and is five


feet four inches in length. It is seen in considerable flocks on the eastern borders of the Great Desert, and may well have been the pygarg of the ancients. (McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia)

(Gen 36:26) And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.

[And these are the sons of Dishon] Not of Dishon the son of Anah, but of Dishon the son of Seir, Gen_36:21.(Gill)

(Gen 36:27) The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.

Bilhan has been variously translated. Strong says it is “timid.” Nelson says it is “foolish.” McClintock & Strong render it “fail.” Whichever one it may be, that would not be a very pleasant name to carry around.

(Gen 36:28) The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.

The children of Dishon are these,.... The last of the seven sons of Seir, and who had two sons:

Uz and Aran; from the former of these the land of Uz, inhabited by the Edomites, had its name, Lam_4:21; some have taken this to be the country of Job, Job_1:1. (Gill)

(Gen 36:29) These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,

Not that succeeded one after another, as the kings next mentioned did, but were together, at the same time, heads of respective families, and governors of them; and then the seven sons of Seir are rehearsed in this verse and Gen_36:30 in their order, with the title of "duke" annexed to each of them, "Duke Lotan", &c. (Gill)


(Gen 36:30) Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

These are the dukes that came of Hori,.... The ancestor of Seir, whence he is called the Horite, unless the singular is put for the plural, used in Gen_36:29,

among their dukes in the land of Seir; not that there were other dukes besides them in the land of Seir until Esau got among them, but these were they whose habitations were before in the land of Gabla (or Seir); as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it; or "in", or "according to their dukedoms", as the Septuagint version; in their respective families where they had the government, and which became very numerous. (Gill)

(Gen 36:31) And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom,.... In the land that was afterwards called the land of Edom; for this laud was not so called when these kings began to reign: for, according to Bishop Cumberland (f), and those that follow him (g), these were Horite kings, who, after their defeat by Chedorlaomer, Gen_14:5; in order to secure themselves the better from such a calamity for the future, set up a kingdom, and which appears, by the following account, to be elective; and so Maimonides (h) observes, that not one of these kings were of Edom: and these were:

before there reigned any king over the children of Israel; and there being no kings over Israel until many years after the times of Moses, hence some have thought these words are inserted by some other writer after him; but there is no need to suppose that; for Moses knew, from foregoing prophecies and promises, that kings would arise out of them and reign over them, Gen_17:6; and this he was so certain of, that he himself, by divine direction, gave laws


and rules to the children of Israel respecting their future kings, Deu_17:14; besides Moses himself was king in Jeshurun or Israel, Deu_33:5, so that it is the same as if he had said, these are the kings that reigned in Edom, before this time. (Gill)

(Gen 36:32) And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom,.... His name was not Balac, as the Septuagint version, which may lead to think of Balak king of Moab; nor is this the same with Balaam, the son of Beor, who lived ages after, as some in Aben Ezra: who he was we know no more of than what is here said; he was the first Horite king, and is placed by Mr. Bedford (i) in A. M. 2002:

and the name of his city was Dinhabah, the place either where he was born, or where he had been governor before, but of it we read nowhere else.

(i) Scripture Chronology, p. 316. (Gill)

(Gen 36:33) And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.

Men who reign often dream of long lasting dynasties, but most are like this one and die out soon. Jobab was such a man and probably expected a long posterity, but when he died he left no son and the dominion went to another family, from another land.

(Gen 36:34) And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.

Temani is associated with Teman, a word which came to refer to wisdom since the place became known for its wise men. Thus it is interesting how words take on a certain connotation due to circumstances surrounding them.


(Gen 36:35) And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.

Smote Midian in the field of Moab - Bishop Cumberland supposes that this was Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah, and that he was killed by Hadad some time before he was one hundred and nine years of age; and that Moses recorded this, probably, because it was a calamity to the ancestor of Jethro, his father-in-law - Orig. of Nat., p. 14. (Adam Clarke)

(Gen 36:36) And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.

Hadad was not only the name of this king and several Edomite kings, but it was the name of and idol, which leads to the possibility that these kings became deified.

(Gen 36:37) And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

To distinguish this Rehoboth as being “by the river,” says there was another one in another place and we do not know what distinguishing marks it may have had. By the river would tell you it had the needed water for crops, it would supply the nourishment of the people, and would be a means of transportation.

(Gen 36:38) And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.

Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead: whose name, inverted, is observed by Grotius to be the same with Hannibal; it signifies a gracious lord or king. (Gill)


(Gen 36:39) And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

Here was a man who built a city of Pau. Now it is unknown. Men leave behind them the ghost towns of their dreams, and generations that follow do the same. Other than trying to build some lasting memorial of a city and having a wife of note, we know nothing of this chief of Edom. So many are like him, men who come upon the scene of life with great ambitions, and they succeed for awhile, but the end is always the same, “and he died, and another reigned in his stead.”

(Gen 36:40) And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,

And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau,.... After the regal monarchy ceased, the government in Edom was by dukes, and of these there were two sons, one of which an account has been given of already, who were partly of the race of Seir, and partly of the race of Esau; and who were dukes not by succession, but together, in and over their respective families: and it may be observed, that neither Esau, nor his sons by his two first wives, Eliphaz and Reuel, are called dukes, only his three sons by his last wife; all the rest are his grandsons and sons of the two former, which seems to give some light as to the time when those dukedoms took place; and very probably it was by the joint influence of Seir and Esau, whose families had intermarried, that an end was put to the regal power, and who, for a course of years, governed in the above manner: and they of Esau's race in those times are said to be "dukes in the land of Edom", as a learned man (o) has observed; whereas those that follow, which are a second race of them, are called "dukes of Edom", Gen_36:43; who took possession of the country and ruled in it, driving out the Horites and succeeding in their stead. (Gill)


(Gen 36:41) Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,

Duke Aholibamah, Duke Elah, Duke Pinon. The former is the name of a woman, Gen_36:2; here the name of a man, and also of the place of which he was duke; for Jerom observes (q), that Oolibama is a city of the princes of Edom, and who also makes mention of Elath, a country of the princes of Edom, and a city of Esau, ten miles from Petra to the east (r), and the seat of Duke Pinon was very probably Phinon, which lay between Petra and Zoar (s). (Gill)

(Gen 36:42) Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,

Duke Kenaz, Duke Teman, Duke Mibzar. There was a Kenaz the son of Eliphaz, and so a Teman a son of his, who were both dukes; but these seem to be different from them, though the latter might be duke of the place called Teman from him: which, in Jerom's time (t), was a village five miles distant from Petra, and where was a Roman garrison, and so Mabsar in his times (u), was a large village in the country of Gabalena (a part of Idumea), and called Mabsara, and belonged to the city Petra. (Gill)

(Gen 36:43) Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

Thus the glory of Esau ends. He never excelled and eventually his descendents were completely annihilated from the earth; for God loved Jacob and hated Esau.


griffin comments gen 36

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