seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 36:9 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,[a] 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.(b) 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[c] 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[d]:
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.
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,[a] 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.(b) 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[c] 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[d]:
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.
a. Genesis 36:16 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (also verse 11 and 1 Chron. 1:36) does not have Korah.
b. Genesis 36:22 Hebrew Hemam, a variant of Homam (see 1 Chron. 1:39)
c. Genesis 36:24 Vulgate; Syriac discovered water; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
d. Genesis 36:26 Hebrew Dishan, a variant of Disho
My mother use to have a bookshelf in the living room. On the bottom shelf were the photo albums. They were always in chronological order. Every now and then, when I wanted to make my mom feel happy, I would pull out that first one and ask my mom to remind me who was who. Every now and then, my mom would tell me a story that she remembered about one of my ancestors. My mother's photo albums were not complete. I had lots of cousins who never made it into the photo album. My dad was in the Navy, you see, and there were plenty of times when we saw our cousins but there was no camera available to capture the moment. Likewise, there weren't many cameras available when my mom was growing up. Some of my aunts and uncles don't appear in the photo album until they are in their 30's. That's what these verses remind me of.
So, there must be a reason these people made it into the Bible. People make the lists in the Bible because of their accomplishments or lack of accomplishment, it seems.
It's notable that there were so many "chief"s in the family. A chief [or duke] was a man who commanded 1000 troops.
It's also notable that in verse 12 we see the Amalekites come along. Amalek was born to a concubine.
According to the commentary at studylight.org, the amalgamation of Esau's [Edom's] family with the families of his wives is important.
This list of the pre-Edomite inhabitants of Seir is of the greatest significance, for it reveals the manner of Edom's eventual amalgamation with the people through intermarriages with them, and finally coming to dominate the whole area. Esau's wives included Anah a daughter of Zibeon, and Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah, another of the Horite, or Hivite chiefs. Also, Timna, the concubine of Esau's first-born son Eliphaz, who was the mother of chief Amalek, was a sister of Lotan, one of the chiefs of Seir. What Esau did here through intermarriage with the pagans of Seir, Jacob likewise could have done at Shechem; but the result would have been just as disastrous as it was for the posterity of Esau. Sure, Esau took over the country, but the pagan culture of Seir took over the Edomites. Thus, the wisdom of God's providential interference with Jacob's continued residence in Shechem is demonstrated in this chapter.
Now this is where things get foggy. Among the stories that my mother would tell me, there were stories that were handed down over the years. Sometimes, as in the game of telephone we played as children, the words get skewed and the story changes. Here's the discussion from the same commentary on verse 24.
"Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness ..." The words here given as "hot springs" are rendered "the mules" in the KJV. There has been much dispute about this expression. "There is no warrant for the traditional `hot springs',"which began with Jerome. The word is "hymn" and is used only here in the whole Bible. Jewish scholars generally favor the KJV rendition of "mules," which we also favor. A feeding lot for asses is a far more likely place to find a mule than a hot spring. The Tarrgum of Jonathan paraphrases this place as follows:
"This is the Anah who united the `onager' with the tame ass; and in the process of time, he found mules produced by them." (Onager here should be understood as a wild horse.)
So it's left up to us to decide.... was it a mule she found or hot springs? Me, I choose the mule.... because as the story goes, Jesus rode an ass into the city... not a mule. The mules were ridden by Esau's family, so to speak.
I know it's long and boring but it's important.... for later.... I'm hanging in there for just a few more verses....
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