Context No. 651 of 4322 · Genesis
Context · Reflection
Genesis 36:15-19: in context
15These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs who came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah. 17These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs who came of Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. 19These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
Genesis has followed Jacob through the whole cycle of the birthright, the blessing taken, the years with Laban, and the return. Now, before it moves on to Joseph, it stops and writes out the family of the other brother. Chapter 36 is the line of Esau, who is Edom. These verses list his chiefs, the heads of the clans descended from his sons Eliphaz and Reuel and from his wife Oholibamah.
Esau is the brother who was passed over. He sold the birthright, and the blessing went to Jacob. Yet Genesis gives his line a full and formal record, chiefs by name and, a few verses on, kings who reigned in Edom before any king reigned in Israel (36:31). The passed-over brother becomes a nation, and the text grants it every title. One name in the list is Amalek (36:16), whose people would later fight Israel in the desert. The chosen line and the rejected one are both written down with the same care.
Scripture keeps a careful record of the brother who did not receive the blessing. Whose standing am I quick to erase because they were not the one chosen?
Sources
- Genesis 25:23-34: the two nations in the womb, and Esau selling his birthright to Jacob
- Genesis 36:31: Edom's kings, reigning before any king reigned over Israel
- Exodus 17:8-16 with Genesis 36:16: Amalek, listed here among Esau's descendants, later Israel's enemy in the wilderness