Genesis 36
Esau’s Descendants
1 This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).
2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite— 3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
9 This is the account of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10 These are the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
11 The sons of Eliphaz:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
12 Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
13 The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau:
Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
15 These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants:
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah.
17 The sons of Esau’s son Reuel:
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
19 These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22 The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.
23 The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24 The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25 The children of Anah:
Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27 The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28 The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
29 These were the Horite chiefs:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.
The Rulers of Edom
31 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:
32 Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.
39 When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40 These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.
This is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Genesis 36 (NIV)
Genesis 36 provides an account of the descendants of Esau (Edom). He had many children borne to him by his wives: Adah, Oholibamah and Besemath. God blessed Esau and made him into a nation, the Edomites.
Lessons from Genesis 36
- There is room for everyone to be blessed: In Genesis 27, Israel (previously known as Jacob) tricked his father Isaac and took the blessing that his father intended for Esau. With this blessing upon his life, Jacob was empowered to prosper and expand.
Now, God did not forget Esau, He blessed him too. One brother’s prosperity did not block the other’s. There is room for everyone. This post by Pastor Karim goes deeper into the subject.
- Success comes from recognizing your potential and making good use of what you have to produce good results: Avoid comparing yourself to others, learn to recognize your own potential. Set goals for yourself and walk diligently towards the attainment of said goals. Comparing yourself to others only leads to negative feelings (jealousy, depression, resentment, etc.).
- Walking in God’s perfect will: Esau married two Hittite women, that was not God’s perfect will for the descendants of Abraham. Even though Esau did not walk in God’s perfect will, God did not discard him and the children he had with the Hittite women. God blessed Esau.
Walking outside of God’s perfect will often brings feelings of guilt as well as the feeling that God is so upset that He doesn’t want anything to do with you but this is not true. God does hate sin but He loves us even when we sin. So, when you err, don’t run away from God, run toward Him.
Does this mean you can go about enjoying living a life of sin? No. When you live in sin, you grieve the Holy Spirit within you and open doors for the devil in your life. God and Satan cannot co-exist in one heart and you should not even try to make that happen.
Walking in God’s perfect will spares you from so much trouble and brings life and unspeakable joy to you.
Reflection
- Are you envious of other people’s success?
- Do you walk in God’s perfect will?
Further reading
- Romans 12:2 [Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.]
- Romans 6:1-2 [What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?]
Prayer
Father, teach me your perfect will that I may walk in perfect step with you doing what you want me to do, going where you want me to go, when you want me to and exactly how you want me to. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Community
Leave a comment to let us know what lessons you learned and revelations you got from this passage of scripture.
Share the message with others that they too may be blessed and edified.
God bless you!
