Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 36

List of the Clans Established in Edom.[a] These are the descendants of Esau, that is, of Edom.

Esau married women from the daughters of the Canaanites: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, who was the son of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.

Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born in the land of Canaan.

Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people who were in his household, his flocks and all his animals and all his possessions that he acquired in the land of Canaan, and he went into the land of Seir, far from his brother Jacob. Their possessions, in fact, were too extensive for them to live together, and the land in which they were living could not sustain the grazing of all their animals. Esau thus dwelt in the mountains of Seir. Now Esau is Edom.

These are the descendants of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the mountains of Seir.

10 These are the names of the sons of Esau:

Eliphaz, the son of Adah who was the wife of Esau, and Reuel, the son of Basemath who was the wife of Esau.

11 The sons of Eliphaz:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 Eliphaz, the son of Esau, had a concubine named Timna, who bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Ada, the wife of Esau.

13 These are the sons of Reuel:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

14 These are the sons of Oholibamah, the wife of Esau, the daughter of Anah, who was the son of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau:

Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15 These are the leaders of the clans of Esau’s descendants:

The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek, all of them leaders of their clans. These were the leaders of the clans of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they were the sons of Adah.

17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah, all of them leaders of their clans. These were the leaders of the clans of Reuel in the land of Edom; they were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife:

Jeush, Jalam, and Korah, all of them leaders of their clans. These were the leaders of the clans borne to Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and Esau’s wife.

19 Such are the sons of Esau, that is Edom, and such are the leaders of the clans.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Hittite who were living in the land:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the leaders of the clans of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan:

Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23 The sons of Shobal:

Alvan, Mahanath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 The sons of Zibeon:

Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the desert when he was tending the donkeys of his father Zibeon.

25 The children of Anah:

Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

26 The sons of Dishon:

Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27 The sons of Ezer:

Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 The sons of Dishan:

Uz and Aran.

29 These are the leaders of the clans of the Horites:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were all chiefs of the clans of the Horites, each according to their clans in the land of Seir.

31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before the kings of Israel ruled over them:

32 Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and his city was called Dinhabah.

33 Bela died and his son Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.

34 Jobab died and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

35 Husham died and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the steppe of Moab, reigned in his place. His city was called Avith.

36 Hadad died and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

37 Samlah died and Shaul of Rehoboth by the River ruled in his place.

38 Shaul died and Baal-hanan, the son of Achbor, reigned in his place.

39 Baal-hanan, son of Achbor, died and Hadar reigned in his place. His city was called Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel. She was the daughter of Matred from Mezahab.

40 These are the names of the leaders of Esau according to their clans, their lands, and their names:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholiba-mah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the leaders of Edom according to their dwelling places in the lands that they occupied.

This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 36:1 The author has grouped together—without attempting to harmonize them in any way—teachings of diverse origins concerning the Edomites, that is, the line of Esau (v. 9ff) and the clans of the region of Seir that it occupied (v. 20ff). Deuteronomy affirms that the descendants of Esau replaced the indigenous peoples (Deut 2:12); rather both peoples seem to have been joined together: Esau marries a Horite (36:20) and one of his sons takes a concubine (vv. 12, 22). The Priestly tradition gave other names to the women of Esau (Gen 26:34; 28:9; see 36:1-5); it does this to explain in a different way the separation of Jacob and his brother (36:7; see Gen 33:12-17). But all these divergences are of little importance: it is solely a question of situating a fraternal people with respect to the people of Israel whom God has set apart for the salvation of humankind.

Esau’s Family

36 This is the history of the family of Esau (Edom). Esau married women from the land of Canaan. His wives were Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. Esau and Adah had a son named Eliphaz. Basemath had a son named Reuel. Oholibamah had three sons: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons who were born in the land of Canaan.

6-8 Jacob and Esau’s families became too big for the land in Canaan to support them all, so Esau moved away from his brother Jacob. He took his wives, sons, daughters, all his slaves, cattle and other animals, and everything else that he had gotten in Canaan and moved to the hill country of Seir.[a] (Esau is also named Edom.)

Esau is the father of the people of Edom. These are the names of Esau’s family living in the hill country of Seir:

10 Esau and Adah’s son was Eliphaz. Esau and Basemath’s son was Reuel.

11 Eliphaz had five sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 Eliphaz also had a slave woman named Timna. Timna and Eliphaz had a son named Amalek.

13 Reuel had four sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

These were Esau’s grandsons from his wife Basemath.

14 Esau’s third wife was Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. (Anah was the son of Zibeon.) Esau and Oholibamah’s children were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15 These are the family groups that came from Esau:

Esau’s first son was Eliphaz. From Eliphaz came Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek.

All these family groups came from Esau’s wife Adah.

17 Esau’s son Reuel was the father of these families: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

All these families came from Esau’s wife Basemath.

18 Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These three men were the leaders of their families.

19 They were all sons of Esau and leaders of the family groups of Edom.[b]

20 Seir, a Horite man, lived in Edom before Esau. These are the sons of Seir:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These sons were all Horite family leaders from Seir in Edom.

22 Lotan was the father of Hori and Heman.[c] (Timna was Lotan’s sister.)

23 Shobal was the father of Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 Zibeon had two sons, Aiah and Anah. Anah is the man who found the springs in the desert while he was caring for his father’s donkeys.

25 Anah was the father of Dishon and Oholibamah.

26 Dishon had four sons. They were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

27 Ezer had three sons. They were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 Dishan had two sons. They were Uz and Aran.

29 These are the names of the leaders of the Horite families: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These men were the leaders of the families that lived in the country of Seir.

31 At that time there were kings in Edom. Edom had kings a long time before Israel did.

32 Bela son of Beor was a king who ruled in Edom. He ruled over the city of Dinhabah.

33 When Bela died, Jobab became king. Jobab was the son of Zerah from Bozrah.

34 When Jobab died, Husham ruled. Husham was from the land of the Temanites.

35 When Husham died, Hadad ruled that area. Hadad was the son of Bedad. (He was the man who defeated Midian in the country of Moab.) Hadad was from the city of Avith.

36 When Hadad died, Samlah ruled that country. Samlah was from Masrekah.

37 When Samlah died, Shaul ruled that area. Shaul was from Rehoboth by the River.

38 When Shaul died, Baal Hanan ruled that country. Baal Hanan was the son of Acbor.

39 When Baal Hanan died, Hadad[d] ruled that country. Hadad was from the city of Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred. (Mezahab was Matred’s father.)

40-43 Esau was the father of these Edomite families:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. Each of these families lived in an area that was called by the same name as their family.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 36:6 Seir A mountain range in Edom.
  2. Genesis 36:19 Esau … Edom Two names for the man Esau and the country Edom.
  3. Genesis 36:22 Heman Or “Homam.”
  4. Genesis 36:39 Hadad Or “Hadar.”