“Genesis 36:9-19”

Monday, March 09, 2020

“These then are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho and Gatam and Kenaz. Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah.These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Verses 9-14 – “This second genealogy of Esau repeats the data of the preceding one but continues the line to the third generation for Adah and Basemath... As for Oholibamah, only her sons are listed, and they are placed on a par with the grandsons of the other wives. This suggests that her group endured a lower social status than the others. Further, only in this list is Amalek noted to be the son of a concubine and, as such, of inferior station. These facts raise the possibility that this genealogy functions to express status relationships. The sequence of wives is given according to the number of their respective offspring in descending order of magnitude—five, four, and three. Excluding the inferior Amalek, there are twelve legitimate descendants in all, intimating the existence of a twelve-tribe confederation, just like that of the Nahorites (22:20-24), and Ishmaelites (17:20; 25:13-16), and, of course, the Israelites, as recounted in 35:22-26.” (Nahum Sarna)

“Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz...” (verse 12) “Eliphaz has five sons by his wife, and by a concubine a sixth, named Amalek, most probably the father of the Amalekites, Genesis 14:7. 'Timna' was probably a very young sister of Lotan Genesis 36:22, perhaps not older than her niece Oholibamah, Genesis 36:25.” (Barnes' Notes on the Bible) “She bare to Eliphaz Amalek; from whence the Amalekites sprung, often mentioned in Scripture, whom the Israelites were commanded utterly to destroy, 1 Samuel 15:18...” (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)

Verses 15-19 – “This is the third genealogy... This time each name is designated an 'alluf. The word recurs in Exodus 15:15, also in association with Edom. It is undoubtedly connected with Hebrew 'elef, which signifies a social unit, a subdivision of a tribe, most likely a clan. The term was very meaningful in the premonarchic period before the breakdown of the tribal organization. It is not certain whether 'alluf is a variant of 'elef or means the 'chief'' of a clan. In verses 19, 40 and 43, 'clan' seems to fit the context better. The names of the 'allufim are identical with those of the previous list except that there are now two Korahs, one a grandson who appears as part of the lineage of Eliphaz, and the other a son as before. Also, Amalek is no longer in limbo but is on a par with the other sons of Eliphaz, albeit in last place. The most likely explanation for the differences is that the present list reflects a political development in Edomite tribal history, deriving from a time when a section of the korahites split off from the Oholibamah group and attached itself to the Eliphaz confederation, into which Amalek too was incorporated.” (Nahum Sarna)

Please read Genesis 36:20-30 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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