The Kindred of Esau                                                          October 18^th 2003

(Pastor H. Schönhaar, Toronto Baptist Church, www.torontobaptist.org)

 

These verses give the descendants of Esau who all rose to positions of prominence in the land of Edom.

 

The Kin:

[9] And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: [10] These are the names of Esau's sons;

 

What comes next is a whole list of Esau’s descendants…

 

 

Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. [11] And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. [12] And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. [13] And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.

    [14] And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.

    [15] These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, [16] Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.

    [17] And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.

    [18] And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. [19] These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

[20] These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, [21] And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. [22] And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. [23] And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. [24] And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.

 

It should be noted that the only significant accomplishment the Holy Spirit chooses to comment upon, among the dukes of Esau, is the discovery of mules!

 

[25] And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. [26] And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. [27] The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. [28] The children of Dishan are these: Uz, and Aran. [29] These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, [30] Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

 

The Ken: Moses knew the danger of having kings set up over the nation.

Deut. 17:14-20,

    When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; [15] Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. [16] But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. [17] Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. [18] And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: [19] And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: [20] That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

 

   

The King:

 

[31] And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. [32] And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. [33] And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. [34] And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. [35] And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. [36] And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. [37] And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. [38] And Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. [39] And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

 

God knew all these men. He is the King of Kings. God is not impressed with human aristocracy. These men are listed for two reasons

a) to give a distinction between the sons of Jacob and the sons of Esau. (Today we have the Arabs claiming they are the true chosen people)

b) to prove the love and care of God for all men. God is concerned for every individual.

Deut. 23:7-8,

⁷  Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.  ⁸  The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.  ^[1]

cf.

³  An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:  ⁴  Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.  ⁵  Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. ^[2]

 

[40] And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, [41] Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, [42] Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, [43] Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession:

 

  The Key: 

he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

The Edomites were a wicked bunch who were not above human sacrifice.

History. —Esau’s bitter hatred to his brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining his blessing appears to have been inherited by his latest posterity. The Edomites peremptorily refused to permit the Israelites to pass through their land. Num. 20:18-21 .

 

Numbers 20:18-21,

    And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. [19] And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. [20] And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. [21] Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

 

For a period of 400 years we hear no more of the Edomites. They were then attacked and defeated by Saul, 1 Sam. 14:47 ,

 

1 Samuel 14:47,

    So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.

 

and some forty years later by David. 2 Sam. 8:13-14.

 

2 Samuel 8:13-14,

    And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

    [14] And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

 

   

 

In the reign of Jehoshaphat ( b.c. 914) the Edomites attempted to invade Israel, but failed.

 

2 Chron. 20:22,

    And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

 

They joined Nebuchadnezzar when that king besieged Jerusalem. For their cruelty at this time they were fearfully denounced by the later prophets:

 

Isaiah 34:5-8,

    For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. [6] The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. [7] And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. [8] For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Isaiah 63:1-4,

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. [2] Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? [3] I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. [4] For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

Jeremiah 49:17,

    Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

After this they settled in southern Palestine, and for more than four centuries continued to prosper. But during the warlike rule of the Maccabees they were again completely subdued, and even forced to conform to Jewish laws and rites, and submit to the government of Jewish prefects. (The Edomites were now incorporated with the Jewish nation.?) They were idolaters.

 

2 Chron. 25:14-15,

    Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. [15] Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

 

2 Chron. 25:20,

    But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.

 

   

 Their habits were singular. The Horites, their predecessors in Mount Seir, were, as their name implies, troglodytes, or dwellers in caves; and the Edomites seem to have adopted their dwellings as well as their country. Everywhere we meet with caves and grottos hewn in the soft sandstone strata.^[3]

 Edomites — descendants of Esau

A.      Character of:

Warlike      Gen. 27:40

Idolatrous      2 Chr. 25:14 , 20

Superstitious      Jer. 27:3 , 9

Proud      Jer. 49:16

Strong      Jer. 49:19

Vindictive      Ezek. 25:12

B.      Relations with Israel:

Descendants of Esau      Gen. 36:9

Refused passage to      Num. 20:18–20

Enemies of      Ezek. 35:5–7

Wars against      1 Sam. 14:47

Joined enemies of      2 Chr. 20:10

Aided Babylon against      Ps. 137:7

C.      Prophecies concerning:

Subjection to Israel      Gen. 27:37

Punishment for persecuting Israel      Is. 34:5–8

Utter desolation of      Is. 34:9–17

Figurative of Gentiles      Amos 9:11 , 12^[4]