Devotional
Short Note to Genesis 36 Lists of
generations and relations are sometimes boring for those who are not part of
it. But for Moses, who was residing in the land of Midian adjacent to Edom, it
was very important to know who was who in previous generations. He included
this list of relatives of Esau in detail for firstly, he had to come to grips
with meeting some of their descendants in that region between 1490-1451 BCE.
This informative knowhow made him an interesting speaker at socials for he knew
their forefathers in detail and I can imagine they came to listen to his
recounting of the ancestors to see where they themselves fit in. It was common
for my dad who had an excellent memory of past events in their family to lay
out the family tree for my cousins and nephews and nieces in detail with dates
and anecdotes [little notes like Moses did in this chapter] in order for them
to feel a strong sense of belonging and psychological “rest”. My father was one
of twelve and I have 61 cousins. Very biblical isn’t it? Then there is
evidence in this chapter that the copyist of the Book of Genesis by Moses in
later times, included a little footnote or marginal note in his manuscript that
was taken up subsequently in the text: Genesis 36:30 “before there reigned any
king over the children of Israel” = לִפְנֵי מְלָךְ-מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. It is a
footnote by a later copyist. Is it an error? No. It is just someone, maybe the
historian Isaiah as professor of history before he became a prophet in the
palace court mentioning regularly these footnotes as he was reading the text to
the students. The Holy Spirit still edited Genesis and decided that the
footnote should not be dropped from it. It is His text, we are reminded and we
accepted it so. Moses painted
Esau with broad and mixed colors in Genesis 36:2 and 3: he married Canaanites,
a Hittite, a Hivite and a daughter of Ishmael before he left Canaan. The
children were “born unto him in the land of Canaan” = אֲשֶׁר יֻלְּדוּ-לוֹ בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן (Genesis
36:5). In the land and out of the land of Canaan is important. He left Canaan to
go to Seir and Moses supplied the reason: space. Jacob and Esau were too
blessed by God so that there was not space for both in that area. Esau moved
south (Genesis 36:6) “went into a land away from his brother Jacob” = וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל-אֶרֶץ
מִפְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב אָחִיו. Space as
Genesis 36:7 repeats: “For their substance was too great for them to dwell
together; and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of
their cattle” = כִּי-הָיָה רְכוּשָׁם רָב, מִשֶּׁבֶת יַחְדָּו; וְלֹא יָכְלָה
אֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵיהֶם, לָשֵׂאת אֹתָם--מִפְּנֵי, מִקְנֵיהֶם. Moses allocated
Seir to Esau and then said: Esau is Edom (Genesis 36:8). It is at the end of a
citation for he summarized the header of a new section with his intention to
list: “And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the
mountain-land of Seir” = וְאֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת עֵשָׂו, אֲבִי אֱדוֹם, בְּהַר, שֵׂעִיר (Genesis
36:9). He mentions two sons of Esau: Eliphaz and Reuel and then proceed to list
Eliphazes’ children (verse 11) followed by a listing of Reuel’s children (verse
13). Between the two
sandwiches of Esau’s son is a scandalous note or footnote by Moses, it is
presumed, that Eliphazes’ son married a concubine: “And Timna was concubine to
Eliphaz Esau's son” = וְתִמְנַע הָיְתָה פִילֶגֶשׁ, לֶאֱלִיפַז בֶּן-עֵשָׂ (Genesis
36:12). What’s the big deal? Many post-modernists will ask but their children,
the digimodernists are more serious about this: it is moral issue that does
matter for them, since they were part of the pains of a high divorce rate among
the libertarian minded parents that they have. They do not want to repeat the
error of their parents. Concubine. Then we have to remind ourselves that
Charles Brooks in his excerpt about “Little Willy” in Youtube recount that in
the genealogy of Jesus is listed concubines as well. History is written with
blood. We live in a sinful world not heaven. Heaven is up yonder and our
citizenship is there not Africa, USA, South America, China, Japan, South Korea
or any country around us. These are just “halfway stations”. They are “bus-stops”
and “taxi-stands”. Then Moses used
the grandson is also a son principle: “These were the sons of Basemath Esau's
wife” but listed are the sons of Reuel, Basemath’s son (Genesis 36:13). It is
an Ancient Near Eastern principle that is important when we deal with
Nebuchadnezzar and his sons in Daniel. In the light of
the grandson is also a son principle what should one do with the next verse?
Genesis 36:14 brings in the name of Anah the son of Zibeon: “And these were the
sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife;
and she bore to Esau Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah” = וְאֵלֶּה הָיוּ בְּנֵי אָהֳלִיבָמָה בַת-עֲנָה בַּת-צִבְעוֹן--אֵשֶׁת
עֵשָׂו וַתֵּלֶד לְעֵשָׂו אֶת-יעיש (יְעוּשׁ) וְאֶת-יַעְלָם וְאֶת-קֹרַח. Then Moses mentioned that this Anah was a famous person because he
discovered some hotsprings in the desert in the past: “this is Anah who found
the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father” = הוּא עֲנָה אֲשֶׁר
מָצָא אֶת-הַיֵּמִם בַּמִּדְבָּר בִּרְעֹתוֹ אֶת-הַחֲמֹרִים לְצִבְעוֹן אָבִיו (Genesis 36:23).
The learned Moses also enjoyed the hotsprings in the desert while hiding from
Thutmosis III the Napoleon of Egypt of those days who made 16 campaigns into
Palestine [to look for Moses the throne favorite of Hatshepsut?]. By the way,
the Thutmosis III mummy in the Chicago Oriental Institute, and I saw it, with
Michael Odusssji in 1989, is not Thut III of fame. He is only 36 years old. He should
be only 36 years old because he died a few hours before his father at midnight
and his father in his seventies was washed away in the Dead Sea on that Exodus
morning in 1450 BCE. Wente et al in their X-Ray account of the mummies confirmed
that. Hotsprings and Moses and Anah the father of Esau’s wife. Moses must have
received VIP treatment for his historical information at the hotspring in the desert
in those days after 1490 BCE. Keil (1878: 325) commented accepting Jerome’s translation against that of
Luther and the Talmud: “he discovered aquae calidae [Vulg.] either the hot
sulphur springs of Calirrhoe in the Wady Zerka Maein . . .or those in the Wady
el Ahsa to the S.E. of the Dead Sea or those in the Wady Hamad between Kerek
and the Dead Sea”. Japan has hotsprings almost in every town. Moses then listed the chiefs of Seir in Genesis 36:29. In Genesis 36:31 Moses changed gears and from chiefs he wanted to discuss
the kings. Genesis 36:32-39 goes on with a list of kings in succession, not like the
chiefs all at the same time. From a horizontal perspective of names, Moses goes
into a vertical list of person – died – next one format. Start at 1987or 1986 when the separation of Esau and Jacob happened and
give everyone in this kinglist a hypothetical 20 years of reign with some
slightly shorter and others slightly longer option and go through the list and
one ends with the last on in circa 1850 BCE, which is the start of the 400
years of oppression mentioned in the Bible until the Exodus in 1450 BCE. Dear Lord
Thanks for Your Word that gives us a light on our paths and helps us to get
confidence in Your promises and expectations for us in our lives. In Jesus
Name. Amen.