Genesis 36:7 Komentář

In this chapter we have an account of the posterity of Esau, who, from him, were called Edomites, that Esau who sold his birthright, and lost his blessing, and was not loved of God as Jacob was. Here is a brief register kept of his family for some generations. 1. Because he was the son of Isaac, for whose sake this honour is put upon him. 2. Because the Edomites were neighbours to Israel, and their genealogy would be of use to give light to the following stories of what passed between them. 3. It is to show the performance of the promise to Abraham, that he should be "the father of many nations," and of that answer which Rebekah had from the oracle she consulted, "Two nations are in thy womb," and of the blessing of Isaac, "Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth." We have here, I. Esau's wives (Gen 36:1-5). II. His remove to mount Seir (Gen 36:6-8). III. The names of his sons (Gen 36:9-14). IV. The dukes who descended of his sons (Gen 36:15-19). V. The dukes of the Horites (Gen 36:20-30). VI. The kings and dukes of Edom (Gen 36:31-43). Little more is recorded than their names, because the history of those that were out of the church (though perhaps it might have been serviceable in politics) would have been of little use in divinity. It is in the church that the memorable instances are found of special grace, and special providence; for that is the enclosure, the rest is common. This chapter is abridged, Ch1 1:35, etc.

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 36 This chapter gives us a genealogical account of Esau's family, of his wives and sons, with whom he removed from Seir, Gen 36:1; of his sons' sons, or grandsons, who were dukes in the land of Edom, Gen 36:11; after which is inserted a genealogy of Seir the Horite, into whose family Esau married, and of his children, and the dukes among them, Gen 36:20; then follows a list of the kings of Edom, before there were any in Israel, Gen 36:31; and the chapter is closed with a brief narration of the dukes of Esau, according to their families, Gen 36:40.

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. Now this or something like it being the case, and those the circumstances of fixings, thus, and by that means, so it came to pass, that Esau dwelt in Seir; and Jacob remained secure and quiet in the land of Canaan: Esau is Edom, so called from the red pottage he had of Jacob, which is repeated to fix the odium of that transaction upon him, as well as for the sake of what follows, showing the reason why his posterity were called Edomites. (r) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 3. (s) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 47. 1. (t) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 1. sect. 2. (u) Pirke Eliezer, c. 38. fol. 43. 1.

The genealogy of Esau, i.e., his sons, by his Canaanitish wives Adah, Aholibamah, and Bashemath, Gen 36:1-3. The children of Adah and Bashemath, Gen 36:4. Of Aholibamah, Gen 36:5. Esau departs from Canaan and goes to Mount Seir, Gen 36:6-8. The generations of Esau, i.e., his grandchildren, while in Seir, Gen 36:7-19. Anah finds mules (Yemim) in the wilderness, Gen 36:24. The generations of Seir, the Horite, Gen 36:29-30. The kings which reigned in Edom, Gen 36:31-39. The dukes that succeeded them, Gen 36:40-43.

POSTERITY OF ESAU. (Gen. 36:1-43) these are the generations--history of the leading men and events (compare Gen 2:4). Esau who is Edom--A name applied to him in reference to the peculiar color of his skin at birth [Gen 25:25], rendered more significant by his inordinate craving for the red pottage [Gen 25:30], and also by the fierce sanguinary character of his descendants (compare Eze 25:12; Oba 1:10).