Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson
DISCOVER GENESIS
An exploratory Bible course for disciples of Christ
PART 5 -- The Torah of JACOB (Genesis 25:19 to 36:43)
GENESIS 36
The decedents of Esau, the seed of Edom -- (DATE: Up till 1671 before Christ)
OUTLINE of Genesis 36:
64. The three wives of Esau were: Adah with 1 son, Oholibamah with 3 sons, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, with 1 son. (36:1-5)
65. Together with his wives, sons and daughters, Esau moved away from Isaac and lived further east in Seir, which is Edom. (36:6-8)
66. The sons and grandsons of Esau, who became chiefs: from his son Eliphaz 7 grandsons as chiefs, from his son Reuel 4 grandsons as chiefs, and finally 3 sons from Oholibama as chiefs. (36:9-19)
67. Seir, the Horite, to whom Esau moved, had seven sons (called the chiefs of the Horites) with these grandchildren: from Lotan 2, from Shobal 5, from Zibeon 2, from Anah 2, from Dishon 4, from Ezer 3, and from Dishan 2. (36:20-30)
68. A list of eight kings of Edom, who successively ruled over the land that Esau moved to. (36:31-39)
69. A concluding list of eleven chiefs of Edom. (36:40-43)
DISCOVER Genesis 36: From the Canaanites Esau had taken as wives Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite. To these he added Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael (his half-uncle), sister of Nebaioth. From these three Esau had five sons. Adah bore him Eliphaz, Oholibamah bore him Jeush, Jalam and Korah, and Basemath bore him Reuel. -- When his belongings had became so great that the region, where Isaac his father lived, could no longer support multiple clans, Esau took his family and all he had and moved to the hilly country of Seir (to the south east of Canaan, beyond the Dead Sea). -- There Esau’s five sons founded their own families. Eliphaz had six sons and Reuel had four sons, who became the roots of the Edomites. The sons of Oholibamah are not mentioned as having had male offspring of their own. So Esau had five sons and ten grandsons. From his offspring, Esau called 14 chiefs, to rule over their own part of the land. -- After this account Genesis 36 tells us about the descendants of Seir, the Horite, into whose land Esau moved with his extended family. Seir had seven sons and a total of 20 grandchildren (mainly grandsons). Oholibamah, one of the wives of Esau, was the daughter of Seir’s fourth son Anah. The sons of Seir were called the chiefs of the Horites. -- This chapter concludes with a short chronicle of eight kings that successively ruled over the land of Edom, before the Israelites demanded to have kings of their own (later, at the time of the judge Samuel). Their names were: Bela, Jobab, Husham, Hadad, Smalah, Shaul, Baal-hanan, and Hadar.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you despised Esau but loved Jacob. However, for the sake of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac you nevertheless blessed Esau abundantly by giving him numerous offspring, who became chiefs in the land Esau moved to. Thank you that, even if we sin against you, you do not stop covering us with your blessings out of mercy and love. Thank you that through your son Jesus Christ, whom you sent to die for the sins of all mankind, the descendants of Esau and of Seir can also become your spiritual children by faith in the Gospel. Help us to pass on this wonderful News about salvation in Christ to people near and far. Amen.
QUESTION 36: How do the descendants of Esau differ from the descendants of his twin brother Jacob?
QUOTES: There are no quotations from Genesis 36 in the New Testament. However, we find this one tiny allusion there:
Genesis 36:6 is ALLUDED to in
Revelation 18:13 (just like Esau moved with all the members of his household -- literally, in Hebrew, all the souls of his house, including his slaves -- to a foreign land, later, in the book of Revelation, the mighty city of Babylon included souls that were sold as slaves to foreign lands).
We conclude by highlighting an important teaching of the book of Genesis: Not Ishmael was chosen by God, but Isaac, Abraham’s son from his true wife Sarah. And not Esau was chosen by God, but Jacob, the favorite of Isaac’s wife Rebekah. Now by Esau marrying a daughter of Ishmael, these two family lines rooted in Abraham were joined together: the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, carried both the genes of Ishmael and of Esau. Many Arabs regard themselves as descendant of Abraham. Some of them see their forefathers in this intertwined offspring from Ishmael and Esau. Both the Ishmaelites and the Edomites were at times fierce enemies of Israel in Old Testament times. In like manner some Arabs have become fierce enemies of the descendants of the Sons of Jacob today. Only Christ, the Prince of Peace, can bring peace to such devastating enmity. His titles are: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace“ (Isaiah 9:6) The secret of Christ’s power to bring peace is his commandment: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) If you learn gentleness and humilty from Christ you too will bring peace instead of strife and then you will have rest for your soul. Follow Jesus and learn from him so that this Prince of Peace can bring not only peace to you, but to all those who deal with you.
QUIZ - 3
Dear reader, send us correct answers to 10 of these 12 questions. We shall then send you the sequel of this series of studies.
25. How were Esau and Jacob different from the time of their birth and childhood?
26. Why did Isaac not continue his journey, to move away from the people, who worshipped other gods?
27. How did Jacob sin against his father Jacob and his brother Esau? Why did the LORD allow this to happen?
28. What did the LORD God promise Jacob and what did Jacob promise the LORD?
29. How did Leah and Rachel differ from each other?
30. How did God help Jacob become very wealthy?
31. Why did Laban not punish Jacob for secretly escaping with much of the wealth he owed his uncle and father-in-law?
32. What did Jacob do to appease his brother Esau, from whom he had stolen the blessing of the firstborn?
33. How did Jacob succeed in submitting to his brother Esau, but at the same time manage to remain independent of him?
34. How did Hamor try to cover up the despicable sin of his son Shechem against Dinah, the daughter of Jacob?
35. Which places did Jacob stay at on his way from Shechem to Hebron, and how did he experience his God on the way?
36. How do the descendants of Esau differ from the descendants of his twin brother Jacob?
Send us your name and address clearly written along with your reply and write to the following address:
Waters of Life, P.O.Box 600 513
70305 Stuttgart, Germany
Chronology of Genesis 25 to 36
(in Years BC = Years Before Christ’s Birth)
1900
1787 .... Genesis 25 ....... 1791 Esau and JACOB born as twins
1784
1781
1778
1775 ................................ 1776 Abraham died (aged 175 years)
1772
1769
1766
1763 .... Genesis 26 ....... 1765 Esau sold his right of being firstborn
1760
1757
1754
1751 ................................ 1751 Esau married Hittite women
1748
1745
1742
1739
1736
1733
1730
1727 .... (Genesis 25) ..... 1727 Ishmael, Isaacs half-brother, died
1724
1721
1718
1715
1712 .... Genesis 27-29 .. 1714 Jacob blessed + fled to Haran
1709
1706 .... Genesis 29 ....... 1707 Jacob married Leah and Rachel
1703 ............................... Ten sons are born to Joseph in 7 years
1700 .... Genesis 30 ....... 1700 Rachel finally has a son: Joseph
1697
1694 .... Genesis 31-33 .. 1694 Jacob fled Mesopotamia with his family
1691
1688
1685 .... Genesis 34 ....... 1685 Dina is raped and avenged
1682 .... Genesis 38 ....... 1683 Judah’s sons from a Canaanite wife
1679
1676
1673
1670 .... Genesis 36 ....... 1671 Isaac died (aged 180 years)