Preface: This is the genealogy of Esau. Esau is Jacob’s twin brother, of whom God has said, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Genesis 36 is Esau’s line, including the many rulers who have come from his loins. The line of Esau seemed poised to become great in the land.

On the surface, Genesis 36 appears to be nothing more than a list of names, most of whom are lost to history and not found in the Bible again. However, there are a great many lessons that we can take from this chapter—contemporary and spiritual.

This should be the most extensive examination of Genesis 36 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 36:

Introduction

         vv.     1–5           Title of Chapter/Esau in Canaan

         vv.     6–14         Esau and His Descendants in Seir

         vv.    15–19         Esau’s Chieftain Sons

         vv.    20–30         The Descendants of Seir

         vv.    31–39         The Kings of Edom

         vv.    40–43         A Reprise of the Chieftains to Come from Esau

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Preface

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Why is there a chapter about Esau and his descendants?

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 36

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 36

         Introduction         The Places of Genesis 36

         Introduction         The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 36

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 36

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translations for Genesis 36 (from Dr. Bob Utley)

         Introduction         Chapter Updates

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v.       1              Ron Snider on, Why study the line of a man on negative volition?

         v.       1              Map of Edom

         v.       1              Torrey on the Edomites

         v.       2              Hittites, Hivites and Horites

         v. 

         v.       3              Comparing the Wives of Esau

         v. 

         v.       3              Various Commentators on the Wives of Esau

         v.       3              Esau’s Wives

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       8              Where exactly did Esau live?

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      12              Amalek, by Ron Snider

         v.      12              The Amalekites

         v. 

         v.      14              Genesis 36:1–14 Meanings of Names

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      18              The Descendants of Esau

         v.      18              David Guzak on the Edomites

         v. 

         v.      19              Genesis 36:15–19 Meanings of Names

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      30              The Descendants of Seir

         v.      30              Genesis 36:20–28 The Meanings of Names

         v. 

         v.      31              Opinions on Before a king reigned for the sons of Israel

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            An Abbreviated Exegesis of Genesis 36

         Summary            Subunits of Genesis 36

         Summary            Word Cloud of Genesis 36 (from the ESV)

         Summary            Lessons from Genesis 36

         Summary            Why we know that the true line of promise goes through Jacob

         Summary            B. H. Carroll Summarizes Genesis 36

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 36

         Summary 

         Addendum          Why Genesis 36 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 36

         Addendum          Doctrine of the Edomites—Part I

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 36

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 36

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Genesis 36

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Genesis 36

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Genesis 36

——————————

An Introduction to Genesis 36

I ntroduction: We have been studying Jacob, the son of Isaac. However, you may recall that Jacob has a twin brother, Esau, whom Jacob has attempted to swindle on several occasions. We do not know the relationship between Jacob and Esau upon Jacob’s return to the Land of Promise, but we may assume, based upon this chapter, that it was a friendly reunion. All of the bitterness had gone by the wayside. Both men would be about 60 at this point, and both men have matured a great deal since those ancient days. This chapter incidentally fills in some gaps. However, their father Isaac is not mentioned, even though he would still be alive at this time.

Esau, as a people, had a great head start on his twin brother Jacob and his nation, Edom, began before Israel. We would expect for his people to become a great people; but they did not. They were for a time, but they faded away into time.

Genesis 36 is all about the sons of Esau and the kingdom of Edom. This is an odd chapter because we primarily follow the Jews from Abraham forward. But here, we take a sudden detour and look at Esau. The line of promise and line of blessing is Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Jacob being Esau’s twin. However, God blessed Esau. God did not leave him out in the cold; and it appears that he placed his trust Abraham’s God Y^ehowah. Since his children and grandchildren are found here, this suggests to us that they were believers as well.

So we are looking at a people who should have, given all that they began with, become a successful people. But, they were not. Why? At some point, in some generation, they turned against the God of Abraham. How do we know this? 400 or so years from this point, God will help Moses take the Jews out of the slavery of Egypt. At some point, the Jews will ask the Edomites for safe passage, but they are denied. This is how we know they have turned against the God of their fathers, Abraham and Isaac.

Human viewpoint, based upon the information in this chapter, tells us that this nation should have become a great nation; but they turned against the Lord. You cannot turn against God.

Most of those reading this live in the United States, and our country was built upon Biblical principles and founded by godly men. This does not mean that our history is perfect or that no one in our history has not made mistakes; but fundamentally, our country is ideal for the Church Age. And God has blessed us like no other country in world history. What is unfortunate, few people who live here appreciate just how great their lives are.

To read liberal icons, you would think this is the most evil nation in human history (they do not like Israel very much either). This is negative volition. People can live in the midst of great prosperity and blessing, and they make it their life’s work to bitch, moan, and complain (much like Gen X who were led by God out of Egypt—they spent much of their lives bitching, moaning and complaining).

This is how we learn how powerful negative volition is. All that is good and honorable, the American liberal rejects; and all that is demonstrably evil, they embrace, in hopes of establishing some kind of nirvana here on earth, pursuing systems which have failed throughout the past few hundred years.

Chapter 36 is a genealogical chapter, which can be a verse by verse, name by name slug-fest. Herein is Esau's line followed. When you decided the read through the Bible in a year, you read through this chapter in about 1 minute, noting where the genealogy began, skimming through to the end, and then picking up the narrative in Genesis 37. We will spend a little longer here and perhaps even derive a little spiritual benefit and a worthwhile historical background from Genesis 36.

This chapter is known as a parecbasis [pronounced par-EK-ba-sis]; that is, it is a digression, a temporary turning aside from one subject to another. We have been following the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and we will resume that line after this chapter. We will step aside to this chapter to examine Esau's line.

Some think that this chapter was arbitrarily inserted into Genesis sometime after the time of Saul, citing v. 31 as proof of that view. We will discuss this when we come to v. 31.

Esau and Jacob are the same age (being twins) and the generations named would have been those who would have been alive during the funeral of Isaac, their father. It is my opinion that Esau, in his old age, kept a genealogical chart which he shared with Joseph, or that Joseph pressed him for knowledge of his family. In the time that passed during the funeral of Isaac, which occurred when Joseph was young (his early teens) whom Joseph did not know at all, that Esau took a fondness for his youngest nephew whom he had never seen before and spent some time with this nephew. Joseph was somewhat of an outcast from his own family. However, any relationship between Esau and his nephew Joseph is purely speculative.

We do have an apparent contradiction which must be sorted out. When Esau and Jacob reunite in Ge. 32, they spend a short time together, but Esau returns that day to Seir (Genesis 32:16). In Genesis 36:6–8, Esau and Jacob separated because they had too much in the way of livestock. What apparently happened was, at the death of Isaac, when Isaac's wealth was to be divided up, Esau returned from the land of Seir with all of his family and possessions. Jacob also moved to that area. However, after living in that area for awhile together, Esau voluntarily moved back to where he had been living. Anytime we have the same city or area named in the Bible, we are not necessarily speaking of the exact same time-frame as all other references to that city or area. People are born in one state, move to another and reside there for a great many years, return to their home state, and then, after a short time, move back to where they came from. This is not unusual behavior, nor should it be misconstrued as some sort of contradiction. The time frame for Esau moving into the same area as Jacob is purely conjecture; but it does fit with the facts that we do know.

One of the things which caught my eye was, these men are not given names that relate to God in any way. Not every person in a family was named in some way as to be related to God; but many were. It is quite telling that, in this chapter, no one has a name which relates them to God (meaning the parents had no thought of God when naming their children).

Genesis 36 is a self-contained chapter, all about the line of Esau. Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. The line of promise would go through Jacob; and the other line is Esau’s.

Sometimes, I am quite surprised at all that can be found in a chapter filled with names of men, most of whom we will not hear of again.

In most cases, the line that goes nowhere is named first; and then the line of promise. However, all of Jacob’s children were named at the end of the previous chapter, along with Isaac’s death.

In this chapter, the leaders/chiefs of Esau’s line will be named.

The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 36

——————————

Title of Chapter/Esau in Canaan

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_genesis.html and first published in 1862.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        These [are] generations of Esau (he [is] Edom):

Esau took his women from daughters of a Canaanite: Adah a daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah a daughter of Anah a daughter of Zibeon the Hivite and Basemath a daughter of Ishmael a sister of Nebaioth.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (trans. Etheridge)      .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives from the daughters of Kenaan: Ada, daughter of Helon the Hittite, and Ahalivama, the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   These are the genealogies of Esau, who is called Edom. Esau took wives of the daughters of Kenaan, Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittah, and Ahalibama the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sibeon the Hiva, and Basemath the daughter of Ishmael whom Nebaioth her brother gave to him.

Jerusalem targum                  .

Revised Douay-Rheims         And these are the generations of Esau, the same is Edom.

Esau took wives of the daughters of Chanaan: Ada the daughter of Elon the Hethite, and Oolibama the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon the Hevite: And Basemath the daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabajoth.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).

Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    NOW these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. 2 Esau took his wives from among the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 And Bismath, Ishmaels daughter, sister of Nebioth.

Septuagint (Greek)                Generations - Esau. Gn.36.1-19 - 1Chr.1.34-37

And these are the generations of Esau; this is Edom. And Esau took to himself wives of the daughters of the Chananites; Ada, the daughter of Aelom the Chettite; and Olibema, daughter of Ana the son of Sebegon, the Evite; and Basemath, daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabaioth.

NETS (Greek)                        .

Brenton’s Septuagint             .

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Now these are the generations of Esau, that is to say, Edom. Esau's wives were women of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, And Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

Easy English                          This is a list of the descendants of Esau. (Esau is also called Edom.) 2 Esau took women from Canaan to be his wives. They were: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite 3 and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Easy-to-Read Version            Esau’s Family

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.

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         .

The Message                         This is the family tree of Esau, who is also called Edom.

Esau married women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite;

Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Names of God Bible               The Origin of Edom

This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom) and his descendants. Esau chose his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; also Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

NIRV                                      The Family Line of Esau

Here is the story of the family line of Esau. Esau was also called Edom.

Esau got his wives from among the women of Canaan. He married Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. He also married Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. And he married Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           .

Contemporary English V.       Esau, also known as Edom, had many descendants.

He married three Canaanite women: The first was Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; the second was Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; the third was Basemath, who was Ishmael's daughter and Nebaioth's sister.

The Living Bible                     Here is a list of the descendants of Esau (also called Edom): Esau married three local girls from Canaan: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hethite), Oholibamah (daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), Basemath (his cousin—she was a daughter of Ishmael—the sister of Nebaioth).

New Berkeley Version           .

New Century Version             Esau’s Family

This is the family history of Esau (also called Edom). Esau married women from the land of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite; and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

New Life Version                    These are the children of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Ishmael's daughter Basemath, the sister of Nebaioth.

New Living Translation           Descendants of Esau

This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And these are the generations of Esau (or Edom). Esau took these women from the daughters of the CanaAnites: There was Ada (the daughter of AiLom the Chettite), OliBema (the daughter of Ana [who was] the son of SebeGon the Hivite), and BaseMath (the daughter of IshMaEl and the sister of NabaiOth).

Beck’s American Translation .

International Standard V        Esau’s Genealogies

This is a record of Esau’s genealogy, that is, of Edom. Esau had married Canaanite women, including Elon the Hittite’s daughter Adah, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah (who was Zibeon the Hivite’s daughter), and Ishamael’s daughter Basemath (who was Nebaioth’s sister).

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Here is a list of the descendants of Esau (or Edom). Esau’s Chanaanite wives were Ada, daughter of Elon the Hethite, Oölibama, who was daughter of Ana and grand-daughter of Sebeon the Hevite, and Basemath, who was daughter of Ismael and sister of Nabaioth.

Today’s NIV                          .

Translation for Translators                                 The descendants of Esau

◂This is/I will now give you► a list of the descendants of Esau, whose other name was Edom. Esau married three women from Canaan land: Adah, the daughter of Elon from the Heth people-group; Oholibamah, who was the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon from the Hiv people-group; and Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Awful Scroll Bible                   The descendants of Esau; that is Edom.

Esau is to have received out his wives, from the daughters of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; and Basemath, Ishma-el's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

Conservapedia                       Here is the Testimony of Esau, also known as Edom:

Jacob took down these details from Esau and included them in his own Testimony (Hebrew תולדות (toledoth), family history, origins history, or as used here, a written testimony.)

Esau selected his wives from among the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Bashemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebajoth.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                History of Esau continued

Now these are the descendants of Esau, who is Edom : —

Esau took wives from the women of Canan ; Ada the daughter of Ailon the Hitite ; and Ahlibamah, the daughter of Zibaon the Hivite ; and Bashmath the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Benaioth.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           These are the generations of Esau which is called Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Ada the daughter of Elon an Hethite, and Ahalibama the daughter of Ana, which Ana was the son of Zibeon an Hevite, And Basmath Ismaels daughter and sister of Nebaioth.

HCSB                                     Esau’s Family

These are the family records of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  .

Lexham English Bible            .

H. C. Leupold                         9. The History of Esau (Chapter 36)

(1) Esau’s Wives and Children and their Settlement in Seir (v. 1-8)

And this is the history of Esau—that is Edom. Esau married women who were Canaanites: Adah, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; and besides, Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

NIV, ©2011                             Esau’s Descendants

This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).

Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite— also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Tree of Live Version               Esau Fathers the Edomites

Now these are the genealogies of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah, daughter of Tzivion the Hivite, and Basemath daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Esau the father of the Edomites

These are the descendants of Esau that is, Edom. Esau married women of Canaan:

Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Horite, Base math, the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

The Heritage Bible                 .

New American Bible (2002)   .

New American Bible (2011)   Edomite Lists.*

These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom).

Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah the son of Zibeon the Hivite [Gn 26:34]; and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

[36:2–14] The names of Esau’s wives and of their fathers given here differ considerably from their names cited from other old sources in 26:34 and 28:9. Zibeon the Hivite: in v. 20 he is called a “Horite”; see note on 34:2.

New Jerusalem Bible             These are the descendants of Esau, that is, Edom.

Esau chose his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah, son of Zibeon the Horites, Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible            THIS is an account of the descendants of Esau, that is Edom.

Esau took Canaanite women in marriage: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah daughter of Anah son of Zibeon the Horites, and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           This is the genealogy of ‘Esav (that is, Edom). ‘Esav chose Kena‘ani women as his wives: ‘Adah the daughter of Eilon the Hitti; Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah the daughter of Tziv‘on the Hivi; and Basmat Yishma‘el’s daughter, sister of N’vayot.

exeGeses companion Bible   THE GENEALOGY OF ESAV

And these are the generations of Esav - Edom.

Esav takes his women of the daughters of Kenaan:

Adah the daughter of Elon the Hethiy;

and Oholi Bamah the daughter of Anah

the daughter of Sibon the Hivviy;

and Bosmath the daughter of Yishma El

the sister of Nebayoth.

Hebraic Transliteration           .

Hebrew Names Version         .

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               This is the line of Esau—that is, Edom.

Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women—Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite— and also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

Judaica Press Complete T.    .

Kaplan Translation                 Esau's Line

These are the chronicles of Esau, also known as Edom.

Esau took wives from the daughters of Canaan. These were Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite [Some say that she was Basemath daughter of Elon; see note on Genesis 26:34. Others say that she may have been her sister (Ramban).], and Oholibamah [Or Aholibamah. Some say that she is Judith daughter of Beeri (Rashi; see note on Genesis 26:34). Many, however, dispute this (Rashbam; Ramban; see Sefer HaYashar). See Genesis 36:41.], daughter of Anah, daughter of Tziv'on [Most probably, 'daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Tziv'on' (Ibn Ezra; Ramban on Genesis 36:25). We thus see that Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah, who was the son of Tziv'on (Genesis 36:24,25). According to the Midrash, however, Oholibamah was the daughter of both Anah and Tziv'on, since Anah committed incest with his mother (Bereshith Rabbah 82; Rashi). According to others, Anah was a woman, the daughter of Tziv'on (Tosafoth, Bava Bathra 115b, s.v. Melamed; cf. Rashba ibid.; Ritva on Eyn Yaakov). According to this, her father could indeed have been Beeri the Hittite.] the Hivite [See note on Genesis 10:17. This is somewhat difficult, since Tziv'on and Anah are later described as Horites (Genesis 36:20,24). Some say that Hivite here does not denote a nationality, but rather, an agricultural talent (Tosafoth, Shabbath 85a s.v. Chivi). Hence, the verse here should be translated, 'Tziv'on the agriculturist.' Others say that the Horites are descended from the Hivites (Sefer HaYashar p.27), and hence the two tribes are essentially identical (Ramban on Deuteronomy 2:10).]. [He also married] Basemath [Some say that she is identical with Machlath; see note on Genesis 28:9. She may have taken the name of Esau's original wife, Basemath (Genesis 26:34).], daughter of Ishmael [and] sister of Nebayoth [See Genesis 38:9.]. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Natural Israelite Bible             .

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Now these are the toldot Esav, who is Edom.

Esav took his nashim of the Banot Kena’an: Adah Bat Elon the Chitti, and Oholivamah Bat Anah Bat Tziveon the Chivvy;

And Basemat Bat Yishma’el, achot Nevayot.

Restored Names Version       .

The Scriptures 1998              And this is the genealogy of Ěsaw, who is Eom.

Ěsaw took his wives from the daughters of Kenaʽan: Aah the daughter of Ělon the Ḥittite, and Oholiamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Tsiʽon the Ḥiwwite; and Basemath, Yishmaʽĕl’s daughter, sister of Neayoth.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                Esau Moves

Now these are the records of the descendants of Esau, (that is, Edom).

Esau took his [three] wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

The Expanded Bible              Esau’s Family

·This is the family history [^LThese are the generations; 2:4] of Esau (also called Edom [25:30]). Esau ·married [^Ltook] women from the ·land [^Ldaughters] of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite; and Basemath [26:34], Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-8

Esau Settles in Seir

Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite, Genesis 26:34; and Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth, Genesis 28:9. It was just as common for a woman to have several names as for a man, it being customary to change the names at some important event in life. Although there are apparent discrepancies in the entire Chapter, they involve no contradiction.

NET Bible®                             The Descendants of Esau

What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom).

Esau took his wives from the Canaanites [Heb “from the daughters of Canaan.”]: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter [Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.] of Zibeon the Hivite, in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Some of their notes will be reproduced in the exegesis of the chapter.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               Here is an account of Esau’s descendants (his nation is known as Edom).

Esau had taken his wives from the Canaanites: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hittite), Oholibamah (daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), and Basemath (Ishmael’s daughter and Nebaioth’s sister).

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Benner’s Mechanical Trans.  ...and these are the birthings of Esav ^[Doing], he is Edom ^[Red], Esav had taken his women from the daughters of Kena'an ^[Lowered], Adah ^[Ornament], the daughter of Eylon ^[Strength] the one of Hhet ^[Shattered] and Ahalivamah ^{[Tent of the high place]}, the daughter of Anah ^[Answer], the daughter of Tsiv'ghon ^[Colored] the one of Hhiw ^[Village], and Basmat ^[Spice] the daughter of Yishma'el ^{[El will listen]}, the sister of Nevayot ^{[Flourishings]},...

Concordant Literal Version    .

A Conservative Version         .

Context Group Version          Now these are the generations of Esau (the same is Edom). Esau took his women of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

Darby Translation                  .

Emphasized Bible                  .

English Standard Version      .

English Standard V. – UK       .

Evidence Bible                       .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

King James 2000 Version      .

21^st Century KJV                   .

Modern English Version         Esau’s Descendants

Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

NASB                                     Esau Moves

Now these are the records of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).

Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

New European Version          The Family of Esau

Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

New King James Version       The Family of Esau

Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. 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; and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

Owen's Translation                .

Third Millennium Bible            .

Updated Bible Version 2.11   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              And these are births of Esau, who is Edom. Esau hath taken his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Bashemath daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebajoth.

The gist of this verse:          We begin the line of Esau and the list of his wives.

The first verse is the title for this chapter.

Translation: These [are] the generations of Esau...

This is the famous word toladoth, which demarcates various divisions in the book of Genesis. Many times, this indicates that we are dealing with a new section. The new writer is picking up where the previous writer left off, and he begins talking about a new group of people; or a new overall topic.

We do not find this with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Even though each man is a new generation; they represent the same family. It is generally clear when we have moved from Abraham to Isaac and then from Isaac to Jacob, so the toladoth word is not used (it will be used when Joseph picks up the pen, however).

As we have studied before, this is the tôwl^edôth (תּוֹלְדֹת) [pronounced tohl^e-DOTH], the plural construct which means generations, results, proceedings, genealogies, history, course of history; origin; families; races. Although many times, this introduces a genealogy, that is not always the case. Strong’s #8435 BDB #410.

We have studied cluster and linear genealogies. A cluster genealogy is one which looks at 2 or 3 or 4 generations, where several sons in each line are named. A cluster genealogy is rarely followed out in Scripture. What we find most often is, the cluster genealogy is never picked up and continued somewhere else. However, the people from this genealogy might be mentioned elsewhere.

A linear genealogy is the genealogy of the line of the Messiah, and every generation from Adam to Mary is carefully preserved, over centuries of recorded history. A linear genealogy is always picked up somewhere and always leads to the humanity of Jesus Christ (or to His legal father, Joseph). Many different authors in the Old Testament were inspired to record portions of the genealogy of our Lord, while not necessarily realizing where this genealogy would lead.

Occasionally, a cluster genealogy fits quite nicely between two linear genealogies. This is true of the genealogy at the end of Genesis 35.

The only exception to this classification of linear and cluster genealogies, is found in the first 9 or 10 chapters of 1Chronicles, where several lines are followed out, including the line of the Messiah. Most of these lines are the sons of Jacob.

There has been loose talk in theology over the lost ten tribes of Israel (those tribes from the northern kingdom who were dispersed in the 5^th stage of national discipline). Those early chapters of 1Chronicles are God saying, “I know where everyone is.”

There is some limited overlap in these two types of genealogies. In the previous chapter, we had, more or less a cluster genealogy (Jacob and his sons); and one of those lines (Judah’s) will lead to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this chapter, we will study the line of Esau, the other son of Isaac. The sons of Esau are known as the Edomites and they lived south of the Dead Sea. Even though there might be descendants of Esau even today, they do not carry with them the same identity as the Jewish people do. Unless a person is a Jew as the result of a conversion, every Jew that you meet has the genes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in them (and his descendants therefore carry the genes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Many times, marriages remain within the Jewish community. Because of this, many non-racial converts have children who are racially Jewish (because they marry someone who is racially Jewish).

As an aside, before we delve into Esau’s line, know that there are genetic (racial) Jews and there are religious Jews. Almost all religious Jews are racial Jews (recent converts excepted), but many modern Jews are not tied to their heritage by religion—only by genes. Most have some knowledge of their spiritual heritage, but not with any sort of full understanding of what that means. Interestingly enough, this suggests that many non-religious Modern Jews have more in common with Esau than with Abraham.