Genesis 36
36:1 Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). i 36:2 Esau took
his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and
Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; 36:3 and
Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. 36:4 Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz.
Basemath bore Reuel. 36:5 Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons
of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons,
his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals,
and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land
away from his brother Jacob. 36:7 For their substance was too great for them to dwell
together, and the land of their travels couldn’t bear them because of their livestock. 36:8
Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.
36:9 This is the history of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill
country of Seir:ii 36:10 these are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the
wife of Esau; and Reuel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau. 36:11 The sons of
Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.iii 36:12 Timna was
concubine to Eliphaz, Esau’s son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek.iv These are the sons
of Adah, Esau’s wife. 36:13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and
Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.v 36:14 These were the sons of
Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau
Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
36:15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, chief Gatam,
chief Amalek: these are the chiefs who came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are
the sons of Adah. 36:17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief
Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs who came of Reuel in the land
of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 36:18 These are the sons of
Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs who
came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.vi 36:19 These are the sons of
Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.vii
36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal,
Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the
Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. 36:22 The children of Lotan were Hori
and Heman. Lotan’s sister was Timna. 36:23 These are the children of Shobal: Alvan,
Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 36:24 These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and
Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of
Zibeon his father. 36:25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the
daughter of Anah. 36:26 These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and
Cheran. 36:27 These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 36:28 These are
the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 36:29 These are the chiefs who came of the Horites:
chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and
chief Dishan: these are the chiefs who came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in
the land of Seir.
36:31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over
the children of Israel. 36:32 Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom. The name of his city
was Dinhabah. 36:33 Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his
place. 36:34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
36:35 Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of
Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith. 36:36 Hadad died, and
Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 36:37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by
the river, reigned in his place. 36:38 Shaul died, and Baal Hanan, the son of Achbor
reigned in his place. 36:39 Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his
place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of
Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.viii
36:40 These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families,
after their places, and by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief
Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,
36:43 chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their
habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites.ix
i
A typical Priestly introduction to genealogical lists, found for example, in Genesis 2:4,
5:1, 25:19, 37:1, etc. Following the narrative conclusion of the Jacob cycle P appends
information regarding Esau, and compare the addendum to the Abraham cycle in Genesis
25:12, which lists Ishmael’s sons.
ii
Note the resumptive repetition in 36:9 (“This is the History of Generations of Esau”),
which echoes 36:1, this indicates the insertion of later material. The question here, is
since the lists are essentially the same why would a later source just add a doublet? The
answer is elaboration. The first and later list elaborates the second list.
B, the supplementer here, arbitrates between two traditions: On the one hand there are
the H additions to Chapters 26-28, which indicate that Esau took two Canaanite wives,
Judith the Daughter of Beeri, Basemat the Daughter of Elon – both of whom are Hittite,
and that following his parents displeasure he took a third wife, Yishmael’s daughter,
Machalat, thereby echoing his brother, who also marries his first cousins. On the other
hand there is P’s tradition which also speaks of Basemat, but has Esau marrying the
hitherto unknown Adah (their nationality is not recorded in P). B enters into the fray,
accepting H’s essential contention that Esau married women of the Land (Hittite and
Hivvite), and that Esau married his cousin, but relying upon the Priestly names – Adah
and Basemat (Perhaps he dismisses Judith as too Judean of a name). In B, Basemat, and
not Machalat is Ishmael’s daughter.
B, however, adds his own international flavor to this genealogy, adding Oholibama the
daughter of Anna the Daughter of Tzivon the Horrite (the Hebrew text and its English
translation are in error here and should be emended to Horrite rather than Hivvite). B,
tells us of Esau’s intermarriage with the Horrites who lived in Seir, and adds a short
historical excerpt about them in vss. 20-30. B also mention the Horrites in Genesis 14:6
and in Deut 2:12, as part of his internationalization of the biblical text. Two further
concretize the connection between Esau and the Horrites. Esau’s eldest son Elifaz,
marries Timna, the daughter of Lotan the Horrite (vs. 22) according to B (and see vs.
12.).
Note also the use of the Qal Passive Yuldu in vs. 5, which often marks B’s genealogies.
This short list includes Esau’s two wives, who each had one child, and then who in turn
iii
had children of their own.
See comment ii, Elifaz’s marriage to Timna concretizes Esau’s connection to the
iv
Horrites of Seir. Moreover, B, neatly connects Amalek and Esau, (Elifaz father’s Amalek
through Timna), thus genetically tying between two of Israel’s ancient enemies.
v
See comment 3.
vi
The list of chiefs who are all sons of Esau is meant to displace P’s list of chiefs which
includes only two of Esau’s children, and thus is a little disjointed. B has two distinct
lists of chiefs one of Horrites in vss 20-30 and another of Esau-ites in vss. 15-18.
vii
The conclusion to P’s list was separated from the body, by B’s lengthy insertion.
viii
Note the two lists one of Horrite chieftans and the other of Edomite Kings, both have a
distinct international flavor. B is the only narrative source in the Pentateuch which makes
a point of adding stories of Israel’s neighbors. Note the snippets of narrative weaved into
the lists, typical to B. We find out that Ana found water in the desert while he was
shepherding for his father (vs. 24), and we find out the exotic name of the final Edomite
king, Mehetabel, Daughter of Matred, Daughter of Mei-Zahab (vs. 39).
ix
This is a very interesting list, only two names therein are of Esau’s children (Kenaz and
Teman), some of the list was used by B as a basis for his Horrite genealogy (Timna,
Oholibama, Alva). The last three names (Mibzar, Magdiel, Iram) seem to be completely
fabricated, since they translate as Fortification, Tower, and City respectively. Note that
Esau has eleven chiefs, this is not accidental – Jacob his younger brother has twelve
children.