Go to Related Reading
About this book

Genesis

About this book

Esau's Family in Edom

Chapter 36

1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 in addition to Basemath the 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 the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and he went to a land some distance away from Jacob his brother 7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together, and the land where they had settled was not able to support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 9 This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir. 10 These were the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 These were the sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau. 15 These were the chiefs among the descendants of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. 17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

Seir's Descendants

20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,⁠ 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon). 25 These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 26 These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites:⁠ 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the River reigned in his place. 38 When Shaul died, Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 When Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,⁠ 43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 36:31 and Jubilees 38:15

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

Share:

Summary

Genesis 36 lists eight kings who ruled in Edom before Israel had a king. Jubilees repeats the list almost identically but places it right after Jacob kills Esau and conquers Edom, highlighting that no son of Esau ever became king.

Passages

Genesis 36:31

Hebrew Bible
31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the River reigned in his place. 38 When Shaul died, Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 When Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Jubilees 38:15

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
15 And these are the kings that reigned in Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel [until this day] in the land of Edom. 16 And Balaq, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Danaba. 17 And Balaq died, and Jobab, the son of Zara of Boser, reigned in his place. 18 And Jobab died, and 'Asam, of the land of Teman, reigned in his place. 19 And 'Asam died, and 'Adath, the son of Barad, who struck down Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Avith. 20 And 'Adath died, and Salman, from 'Amaseqa, reigned in his place. 21 And Salman died, and Saul of Ra'aboth (by the) river, reigned in his place. 22 And Saul died, and Ba'elunan, the son of Achbor, reigned in his place. 23 And Ba'elunan, the son of Achbor died, and 'Adath reigned in his place, and the name of his wife was Maitabith, the daughter of Matarat, the daughter of Metabedza'ab. 24 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

... Jubilees reproduces Genesis 36:31-39 word for word, apart from three differences. First, in Jubilees 38:15 the writer gives the text of Genesis 36:31 (and 1 Chronicles 1:43), but at the end he adds: ‘until today in the land of Edom’ (the extra phrase is supported by both the Ethiopic and the Latin versions of Jubilees). Second, in 38:23 (Genesis 36:39 // 1 Chronicles 1:50) Jubilees lacks ‘the name of his city being Pau.’ And third, Jubilees, unlike Genesis, adds to the end of the section (verse 24) a summary statement ‘These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom’—a line repeated from the beginning of the list (Jubilees 38:15 // Genesis 36:31a). ...
James C. VanderKam, Jubilees 2: A Commentary on the Book of Jubilees Chapters 22-50 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018), 1001–1002.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Genesis 36:31 and Jubilees 38:15

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library