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1 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. 2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 4 Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 5 And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom. ~ Genesis 36:1-8
Today, we transition into Genesis 36 where we are given the genealogy of Esau which is the ninth genealogy listed in the Bible. Esau’s genealogy is a branch off the Messianic line which leads to the Lord Jesus Christ. God gave us Esau's genealogy immediately after the recording of Isaac’s death. This genealogy was given to us in order to provide for us a contrast between those who believe in and are defined by the God of the Bible and those who are not.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom."
Through the word "genealogy" God gave us a hint of the plan of our salvation. In this Hebrew word, there can be one or two letters called a "vav," which is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Six is the number of man in the Bible, it is the number for incompleteness. Before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, this word was spelled with 2 vavs while after the fall it is never spelled with two vavs, highlighting our incompleteness without a personal relationship with God. The missing vav serves as a reminder of the fallen state of man and our desperate need for a Savior.
So, before Moses moved on to pen the story of Jacob's son Joseph who would carry the line to the birth of the Messiah, he paused to recount the family of Esau. God included Esau's genealogy here to show us the utter failure of anyone who is trying to make it in this life apart from Him.
In v.2-5 of today's passage we read, "2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 4 Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 5 And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan."
Esau's first wife was named "Adah," the same name as one of Lamech's wives, a descendant of Cain. Esau's second wife was named "Aholibamah." Both Adah and Aholibamah were descendants of Canaan, the cursed grandson of Noah. Adah was a Hittite and Aholibamah was a Hivite. The next wife of Esau listed here was "Basemath." Esau married her because she was a daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael. His parents didn’t like his first two wives, so he was hoping that by marrying her, they would be happy with him. It didn't work.
So, we are told that Esau had three wives and the firstborn child to Esau's first wife, Adah, bore Eliphaz to Esau. "Eliphaz" means "God of strength." Esau's third wife, Basemath, bore to him, Reuel which means "Friend of God." In Exodus 2, Moses’ father in law had the same name, he was a Midianite. In every family, no matter how far we have drifted away from God, God can be discovered in our midst calling us back to Him. This can be seen in the names of Esau's children born to Adah and Basemath. Sadly, the more we reject the overtures of God, the harder our hearts become to Him and to the truth.
To Aholibamah were born three sons. The first son was named "Jeush," the second was "Jaalam" and, the third to Aholibamah was "Korah." All together five sons were born to Esau while he lived in Canaan. In the listing of these names, we are given the distinction between Esau and Jacob, the unbeliever and the believer. This chapter is a reminder of what it looks like to choose to not walk with the Lord. Esau's line eventually takes us to the Herods of the New Testament days. All of the Herods were descended from Esau and although they were religious, they all were not believers in the God of the Bible. Choosing to not walk with God and thus be defined by Him results in being in opposition to God.
In v.6-8 of today's passage we read, "6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom."
The name Esau is mentioned 25 times in this chapter while the name Edom is mentioned 11 times. In 5 of those times, we are explicitly told Esau is Edom or that Esau is the father of the Edomites. Once we understand that Esau and the Edomites are picturing Adam and his fallen children, and that they have moved out of Canaan, then we can more clearly see what is going on here. Esau who is Edom was in Canaan just as Adam was in Eden. Adam, the first fallen man, disobeyed God and was cast out of Eden. Esau, in essence, pictured Adam when he traded his birthright to Jacob for his soup. In his disobedience to God, like Adam, Esau gained the awareness of knowing good from evil. The words "Esau dwelt in Seir" are reminiscent of Adam going out into the world of awareness of sin and he went into the land of Seir which means "hairy." The names Esau and Seir are descriptive of our awareness of sin or of God. The one that we are aware of the most defines us the most. Esau loved his sin more than he did God.
Nothing in this chapter is arbitrary. The struggle which will continue between the people of Israel and the people of Edom is reflective of the spiritual struggle noted throughout the Bible. Either we are in Adam or our sin, or we are in the Lord Jesus forgiven of our sin. By leaving Canaan, Esau cut himself off from any portion of blessing from God he might have otherwise received. His departure made it quite clear that he wasn’t a part of God’s chosen people. Esau left Canaan and went to Seir because, at the end of the day, Esau wanted to live his life apart from God. And, although Jacob or any believer in God never prove to be perfect in our walk with God, we nonetheless are learning to be defined by God.
