Moses Continues His Historical Review

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 2:1) “Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me, and we circled Mount Seir for many days."

In the last chapter and post, Moses addressed the children of Israel in their fortieth year after their exodus from Egypt.  He spoke to a new generation of Israelites about to enter their promised land.  It was a historical review of the events that led to their having to wander in the wilderness for so many years.  The end of chapter 1 left them in Kadesh after the Lord had told them they would not be able to enter their promised land because of their unbelief.  Deuteronomy 1:40 related the words of the Lord telling the people to turn back toward the Red Sea and journey into the wilderness.

Here in the second chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses continued his historical account.  The people indeed turned back toward the Red Sea as the Lord had told them to do, and they went around Mount Seir for many days.  Most of the commentaries I study interpreted this to mean they wandered around the entire mountainous country of Edom for many, many days, as in thirty-eight years.  The original word "rab" translated as "many" means "abundant" and is a shortened form of the word "rabab" which means "increase", even "multiply by the myriad" and "ten thousands".  The word that was translated as "days", that is "yom", Strong's defines as "literally (days), or figuratively (a space of time defined by an associated term)", which in this case is a myriad or thousands of days.

(2) “And the LORD spoke to me, saying, (3) ‘You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward.'"

Moses told the people it was at that point that the Lord spoke to him saying they had been around that mountain long enough and that it was time to turn northward.  The following map shared by www.gantshillurc.co.uk, specifically in this blog post, shows Mount Seir's proximity to the Red Sea.  It was time to move northward toward Canaan.

(4) "‘And command the people, saying, “You will pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you; therefore take good heed to yourselves."'"

Moses related to the people that the Lord then told him to charge the people to be very careful as they were to be passing through the border of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir.  The Edomites would be afraid of the Israelites and might feel threatened.  Numbers 20:21 said that Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border.  Some of the commentaries I study believe that although they could not cross into Edom, they went along the border.  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes referred to this as the second time they were to cross the border of Edom.

(5) "'“Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession."'"

Moses continued telling the people of the Lord's command to them regarding Edom.  They were not to meddle with the Edomites.  The Lord had given Mount Seir to Esau to possess; "Thus Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; Esau is Edom" (Genesis 36:8).  He would not allow Israel to possess so much as a footstep of the Edomites' land.

(6) "'"You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink."'"

The Lord allowed the Israelites to trade fairly with the Edomites.  Although the people had daily manna, it appears the Lord did not forbid them to trade with their neighbors when they had the opportunity.  I do believe the sense of this verse is that they must trade fairly.  They were not to take advantage of the Edomites in any way.

(7) "'"For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows your walking through this great wilderness; these forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing."'"

Because the Lord had so blessed the children of Israel in all they did so that they had lacked nothing in their forty years of wandering, they had no reason to take anything from the Edomites without fair payment.

(8) “And when we passed beyond our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath and from Ezion Geber, we turned and passed by way of the wilderness of Moab."

Moses continued to relate to the Israelites about when they had passed beyond the border of the Edomites in Seir by way of the plain from Elath and Ezion Geber, and turned and passed by way of the wilderness of Moab.  This map from Free Bible Images offers a good idea of what was meant.  In Numbers the Israelites had requested passage through Edom along the King's Highway, but were refused.  If they instead traveled along the border of Edom from Elath and Ezion Geber on the Red Sea, they would have been in the plain west of Edom until they turned back eastward to the wilderness which was "before Moab" (as described in Numbers 21:11).
 

(9) "And the LORD said to me, 'Do not distress the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.'"

Like with the Edomites, the Lord had told Moses not to harass the Moabites, at least not at this time, because He had given Ar, the metropolis of Moab, to the descendants of Lot.  Genesis 19:37 told about Lot's firstborn daughter bearing a son named Moab, and he was the father of the Moabites.

(10) The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. (11) Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

These two verses, as well as the next verse, were sort of parenthetical statements.  Most translations even put them in parentheses.  They don't appear to be part of Moses's statements, but were either placed by him as a parenthetical, or perhaps by a later scribe.  The land of the Moabites that at that time had been given to descendants of Lot, had once belonged to the Emim, a people great and many and as tall as the Anakim, who were considered giants.  In Genesis 14, we were told about the Emim, who were destroyed by King Chedorlaomer.  Then Lot possessed their country after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

(12) The Horims also dwelt in Seir formerly, but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave them.

The Horim, or Horites, were also mentioned in Genesis 14 as dwelling in Seir, till Esau and his sons drove them out, as explained in a later verse here in Deuteronomy.  "Just as Israel did..." could have been added by a later hand after Israel had indeed driven out the inhabitants to take possession of the land promised them by their Lord, or it could have been a prophetic statement by Moses.  Either way, I believe an underlying theme is that the Lord determined who would possess what, driving out the inhabitants for their sins, and giving the land to whomever He pleased.  It should have been an encouragement to the Israelites that they would surely succeed in dispossessing the Canaanites and settling in their land, just as dispossessions of this kind had already been made, even the removing of giants!

(13) "'Now rise up', said I, 'and cross over the brook Zered.' And we went over the brook Zered."

After the parenthetical verses, we return to the words of Moses.  The children of Israel had passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab (v. 8) and at this time Moses instructed them to cross the valley of Zered, as it was more commonly known, the original word "nachlah" meaning either a brook or a valley.  They indeed crossed the valley of Zered.

(14) “And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them. (15) For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed."

The space of time from the time that the spies were sent from Kadesh Barnea, until the passage of the Israelites over Zered, was thirty eight years, until the entire generation of men who had believed the bad report of God's good promised land, were dead and gone from the camp.  The Lord had indeed told them at the time of the bad report that none of them would enter the promised land, except for Caleb and Joshua who had trusted God's report over that of the spies.

(16) "So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, (17) That the LORD spoke to me, saying, (18) 'You are to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day.'"

After 38 years when all the former generation were dead and gone, the Lord told Moses it was time for the people to cross over the river Arnon, by the city Ar of Moab, which was situated by it; and they were to pass along by the border only of Moab, because they had been told by the Lord not to distress the Moabites (v. 9).

(19) "'And when you come near the children of Ammon, do not distress them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.'"

As with the Moabites who descended from Lot's firstborn daughter's son, the children of Ammon were also Lot's descendants through his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38).  The Lord had told the children of Israel not to harass the children of Ammon, either, because He had also given them their land, and would not allow it to be given to Israel.

(20) (That also was counted a land of giants; giants dwelt there in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; (21) A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead.

Again we have a parenthetical statement; even the KJV put these verses within parentheses.  Just like the Emim who had dwelt in Moab, so the people who had formerly dwelt in the land of Ammon, were considered giants.  The Ammonites called them Zamzummims, which is thought to be the same as the Zuzims mentioned in Genesis 14:5, who were also destroyed by Chedorlaomer at the same time as the Emim.  It is said that it was the Lord who destroyed them, and the Ammonites, descendants of Lot, then dwelt in their place.

(22) As He did for the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Horims from before them; they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even to this day. (23) And the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

Continuing parenthetical statements in explanation of the history of the Ammonites as to why the children of Israel were not to harass them, it is said the Lord did the same for the Ammonites as He had done for the children of Esau when He destroyed the Horites and the children of Esau dwelt in their place (v. 12).  So was the case of the Avim or Avites, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza; they were destroyed by the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, and they dwelt in their place.

(24) “‘Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon; behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.'"

After the parenthetical statements, Moses continued speaking the words of the Lord he had begun in verse 17 and 18.  The Lord had told the children of Israel to rise up from where they were, take their journey over the river Arnon, and seize the country of Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon.  The Lord said He had already given it to them; they just had to go in and possess it, by battling Sihon.

(25) "‘This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’"

Moses continued with the words of the Lord saying that as the children of Israel went in to possess the land of Sihon, when they fought, He would be there putting dread and fear of them upon all nations.  Those nations would hear about the children of Israel, all the things they, or more properly, what the Lord had done before them--in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, miracles in the wilderness, and now what would be done to Sihon and Og.  The world would know Israel's reputation and would tremble in fear at the thought of them.

(26) “And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, (27) ‘Let me pass through your land; I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right nor to the left.'"

After reminding the people of the words of the Lord, Moses continued talking to them, telling them of his actions at that time.  He sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, asking that the Israelites be able to pass through their land, promising to stay on the king's highway, not veering off it.

(28) "‘You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot, (29) as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God gives us.'"

Moses continued with his message to Sihon.  He proposed that his people also be allowed to buy food and water, paying fair money for the use, just as they had done with the Edomites in Seir and the Moabites in Ar, until they all passed by on foot across the Jordan into the land their Lord had given them.

(30) “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day."

However, Sihon king of Heshbon refused the Israelites passage through his land, because the Lord had hardened Sihon's heart against them.  Just as the Lord had hardened Pharaoh's heart in Egypt for His purposes at that time, so He at this time hardened Sihon's heart for the purpose of having him destroyed at this time.  Just as with Pharaoh, the Lord did not force a good person to turn bad just so He could punish him for no reason.  Both of these were wicked leaders that were allowed to go on with their wicked ways until such time the Lord sought to deal with them.  When that time came, he hardened the heart of the enemy so that he would not listen to the words of Moses, but act with the same pride and haughtiness of spirit that he had always had that made him despise Israel.  It was not out of character for Sihon at this time, just as it wasn't out of Pharaoh's character.  I think the sense could be that the Lord didn't allow their hearts to be softened at the gentle reasonable requests of Moses, but made them stay as hard as they ever were.  At any rate, Sihon did refuse to let the Israelites pass, and the Lord made sure of that so that He might deliver Sihon into the Israelites' hands.

(31) “And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before you; begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’"

When Sihon refused to let the Israelites pass, the Lord said to Moses that this was part of His plan to begin to give Sihon and his land over to Israel to possess it.  Therefore, had said the Lord, they were to go forth and take possession of Sihon's land as part of their promised inheritance.

(32) "Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz."

Indeed Sihon came out against the children of Israel to fight them at a place called Jahaz.

(33) “And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people."

Moses reflected that the Lord had indeed delivered Sihon into their hands.  They were able to defeat him, his sons, and all his people.

(34) "And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain."

The Israelites took all of the cities of Sihon and utterly destroyed them and killed all the people so that none remained.  It was the time that the Amorites' iniquity was full, as was prophesied in Genesis 15:16 to Abraham, that after four generations his descendants would return to the land of the Amorites, but at that time of Abraham, "the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full."

(35) "Only the cattle we took for a prey to ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took."

The Israelites had destroyed all the cities and all the people, but did not kill the cattle.  They kept them for their own use, as well as plunder of anything of value or usefulness that was left in the cities after the destruction of all the people.

(36) "From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even to Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; the LORD our God delivered all to us."

It appears that the two phrases "which is on the bank of the River Arnon" and "the city that is by the river" both refer to Aroer.  Aroer stood on the north bank of the river, but also extended through the midst of the river via a viaduct.  From Aroer to Gilead, there wasn't a city they couldn't overtake because the Lord delivered the cities to them.

(37) "Only to the land of the children of Ammon you did not come, nor to any place of the river Jabbok, nor to the cities in the mountains, nor to wherever the LORD our God forbade us."

However, Moses reminded them, the children of Israel had not gone near the land of the children of Ammon, nor any town or city situated on the Jabbok River which was the border of the children of Ammon, certainly not into their cities in the mountains, nor any place the Lord had forbidden them to go.

The earth is the Lord's and He gives it to whom He pleases.  God had told His people which lands were to be overtaken, and only those were to be destroyed and plundered.  The Moabites and Ammonites were spared at this time, but later fought against the Israelites and committed the most shocking cruelties; the Lord would deal with them later.

The Posterity of Esau

As I am following a chronological reading schedule of the Bible by Skip Andrews, I am skipping ahead a few chapters to begin this study in Genesis chapter 36.  Since Jacob and Esau were twins, their lives were parallel, so it's time to see what Esau has been up to:

(Genesis 36:1) Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

We were told in Genesis 25:30 that Esau was called Edom, which means "red", because of the red stew for which he traded his birthright.  However, if we back up to verse 25 in that same chapter, we were told that Esau was born red and hairy.  He was named Esau, which Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions tells us means "hairy"; he is also called Edom, for the red part.

(2) Esau took 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;

We were previously told that Esau had taken Canaanite wives which greatly grieved his parents (Gen. 26:34-35).  It is unclear if these wives are the same as the ones mentioned in that passage, or these are in addition to those wives.  It is very possible that Adah and Bashemath (from Gen. 26:34) are names for the same person as each is called the daughter of Elon the Hittite.  As for Aholibamah, she is said here to be the daughter of Anah and also the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; that is the way that should read, I believe.  Later in verse 24, we are told that Anah is the son of Zibeon, and we know "the child of" often means "descendant of" in the Bible, so Aholibamah is a descendant of both Anah and Zibeon.  I see no way of connecting Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite (from Gen. 26:34) to Aholibamah here, so they must be different wives.  

(3) And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

This is a continuation of verse 2, naming another of Esau's wives.  This definitely appears to be the same woman as Mahalath from Genesis 28:9 as both are called daughters of Ishmael and sisters of Nebajoth.

(4) And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Bashemath 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.

Now Esau's children are mentioned.  Perhaps the wives listed above are the ones mentioned because they are the ones who gave Esau children, perhaps explaining why Judith from Genesis 26:34 is not mentioned.  Although I didn't personally read the ancient writings myself, Dr. John Gill wrote that Jerome and Jonathan in the early centuries after Christ (A.D. 200-400) said that this Eliphaz is the same friend of Job that came to visit him.  That Eliphaz was called a Temanite, and Tema was a son of Ishmael.  I suppose it could be true, but what stands out to me in my personal study is that I am supposed to be studying a chronological reading of the Bible and I was instructed to read Job before Abraham, and this is the second time Temanites have been mentioned, meaning at least the life of Abraham and perhaps those of his children, should have been read chronologically before Job, but it's too late for that now.  I certainly digress. The sons of Esau born to him in the land of Canaan were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

(6) And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle and all his animals, and all his substance which he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the face of his brother Jacob.

Esau apparently had daughters, too, although those were not named.  He took his entire family and household and left the land of Canaan away from his brother Jacob.

(7) For their riches were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their cattle.  (8) So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; Esau is Edom.

They were still sojourners and not possessors in the land of Canaan, so they still had the land's inhabitants to dwell among, and there was not room for both Jacob and Esau there, so Esau moved to Mt. Seir.  Again we are reminded that Esau is also called Edom, probably to explain why his descendants are called Edomites in the next verse.

(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: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.

Here begins a genealogy of Esau.  His sons are listed again, one might assume in a chronological order, with Eliphaz being his oldest son by his wife Adah, and Reuel his second son by his wife Bashemath. 

(11) And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

The firstborn son of Eliphaz was Teman, which may be more likely the namesake of the Temanites, which identifies the Eliphaz in Job.  It seems there is discrepancy among scholars as to whether the city of Teman was named for Tema, the son of Ishmael, or more likely for Teman, the grandson of Esau.

(12) And Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz; these were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.

Amalek was the father of the Amalekites who were bitter enemies of the Jews.  As a son of Eliphaz's concubine, he is added to the list of "sons", or actually grandsons that were borne by Adah.

(13) And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these were the sons of Bashemath, Esau's wife.

The "sons", or more precisely grandsons that came from Esau's wife Bashemath, were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah, none of whom are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, other than perhaps if they occur in a genealogy.

(14) And these were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon; and she bore to Esau Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

Esau's sons by Aholibamah are listed again with no sons of theirs mentioned.

(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,

A duke was a captain or a governor, but could also be a head of family.  Sons and grandsons of Esau are listed as dukes or leaders of some sort.

(16) Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek; these were the dukes of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.

Korah is inserted here as a son of Adah.  There is a Korah who is a son of Aholibamah, but as he is mentioned later among her sons, I don't believe this is the same Korah, unless he was mistakenly mentioned twice.  1 Chronicles 1:36 lists these sons of Eliphaz and adds Timna.  Timna was also the name of Eliphaz's concubine, so perhaps Korah is another son of Timna who was also identified by his mother's name.   

(17) And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah; these are the dukes 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 of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. (19) These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

The list of dukes from Esau's sons and grandsons continues.

(20) These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, 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.

Now we have a description of the original inhabitants of the land, the sons of Seir the Horite, first mentioned in Genesis 14:6.  Anah is listed as a son, but I believe he is the son of Zibeon as discovered above, but just as grandsons of Esau were called sons, all these are descendant sons of Seir, and also called dukes. 

(22) And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.

Seir's son Lotan's children are mentioned, probably to show the relationship of Timna, who became Eliphaz's concubine, and mother of his son Amalek, and possibly another son known by Timna or Korah.

(23) And the children of Shobal were these: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

The sons of Shobal, the second son of Seir, are listed.

(24) And these are the children of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah; this was the Anah who found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

The third son of Seir is Zibeon and his sons are listed, including Anah, who was listed as the fourth "son" of Seir.  Anah is described to the reader who would know the story, although we have not been privy to it.  There is no consensus among historians as to what this story might be.  Some believe that Anah may have discovered breeding horses with donkeys produced mules, but I tend to believe the second story.  The word translated as "mules" is "yem" and also thought to mean "warm or hot springs", so he probably discovered hot springs.  In fact, the meaning is uncertain, as it is used only one time in all of scripture.  Readers of the day may have known what this Anah was famous for, but we just have to take their word for it.  It could be this Anah was being described to distinguish him from another Anah, and therein lies the problem of trying to decipher who all these people are who are only mentioned once or twice.   

(25) And the children of Anah were these: Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

It appears this Dishon was named after his uncle who was mentioned in verse 21 as a son of Seir.  I suppose it's possible we also have an Anah named after his uncle Anah, and maybe Zibeon is a brother to one and a father to another.  Whew!  It's easy to get bogged down in the "weeds".  I believe the true intent of mentioning this genealogy of Seir and the original inhabitants of the land is to show how the Edomites married into this group of people.  Timna, Esau's son Eliphaz's concubine and the mother of Eliphaz's son Amalek, was a descendant of Seir, as was Aholibamah, who became Esau's wife.

(26) And these are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

This appears to go back to the uncle Dishon, the son of Seir, and names his children.

(27) The children of Ezer are these: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. (28) The children of Dishan are these: Uz and Aran.

The children of the last two sons of Seir are listed, none particularly noteworthy except perhaps Uz, for whom the land of Uz may have been named.

(29) These are the dukes of the Horites: duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, (30) Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, and duke Dishan; these are the dukes of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

All the sons of Seir are listed as dukes.  Hori was Lotan's son and Seir's grandson.  It would seem the Horites were called so after him, in the land of Seir, the original inhabitant of the land.

(31) And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

Next we begin a list of kings who reigned in the land that would become known as the land of Edom, called so after Esau.  It is unclear whether these are kings who reigned before, during, or after the time it became known as Edom.  There are scholars who believe the dukes of Esau rose up to take over from the kings.  There are others, as I found when I read these accounts in 1 Chronicles 1 below, who believe these kings came from Esau.  I honestly do not know, nor can I tell from scripture, but obviously the Edomites came to power and had some dominion, as was prophesied by Isaac to his Esau in Genesis 27.  There has been much discussion among Biblical scholars as to how Moses, who supposedly wrote the first five books of the Bible, could have mentioned any possibility that there would ever be a king over Israel when they had no king in his lifetime.  I see no problem with this as Moses evidently wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  There are many prophetic pictures of the coming Christ found in these books written by him.

(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 place. (34) And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his place.

A succession of kings is begun, but I don't see any noteworthy names, except perhaps that the land of Temani may be so-called after Teman, the son of Eliphaz (Esau's son) above.  If that is so, then it does seem there is an influence of the family of Esau during the reign of kings in the land.

(35) And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Avith.

Again we have an aside, a description of this Bedad that the original reader would have known, but one of someone of whom we have not been made aware.  It is possible that the Midian he attacked was Abraham's son by Keturah, and that would have been noteworthy to the early reader.

(36) And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. (37) And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place. (38) And Saul died, and Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

The succession of kings who reigned in the land of Edom continues with no especially noteworthy names.

(39) And Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

Hadar appears to be the last of the kings in this land.  His wife seems to be a person of note because of the particular mention of her and her ancestors, but once again, we present-day readers don't really know who she is.  Dr. John Gill supposes that this monarchy was put to an end "by the united familes of Seir and Esau, and changed into dukedoms; of which there were seven of the race of Seir, and fourteen of the race of Esau, of whom an account is given in the preceding part of this chapter..."  I say "supposes" because I haven't found any other historical evidence for his assertion.  The other early commentaries I study are silent on this.

(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,

Dr. Gill continues his thought that after the monarchy ceased, the government in Edom was by dukes partly by the race of Seir and partly by the race of Esau.  He points out that neither Esau nor the sons of his first two wives are called dukes, only his sons by his last wife and his grandsons, which seems to show that the dukedoms were not immediate in the land, but may have occurred later when an end was put to the monarchy by "the joint influence of Seir and Esau".

I now turn to Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament which points out that "the names which follow are not a second list of Edomitish tribe-princes (viz., of those who continued the ancient constitution, with its hereditary aristocracy, after Hadar's death), but merely relate to the capital cities of the old phylarchs, is evident from the expression in the heading, 'After their places, by their names,' as compared with Gen 36:43, 'According to their habitations in the land of their possession.'"  In this statement, I don't know if this commentary is refuting the idea set forth by Dr. Gill or not.  K & D continues that since that is the intention of the list, it should come to no surprise that only two names in this list correspond to those given in Genesis 36:15-19.  "This proves nothing more than that only two of the capitals received their names from the princes who captured or founded them, viz., Timnah and Kenaz."  (Actually, I personally thought Teman was one, too, mentioned in verse 42 with Kenaz.)  I am relieved to know I don't have to research where all the these new dukes came from!  If I am interpreting this correctly, we formerly already read a list of some of the dukes that came initially from Esau's sons and grandsons, and now we have more who have names of cities corresponding to their names that have perhaps sprung up since the beginning of the dukedoms of Esau.  Perhaps we are being shown how the Edomites grew in the region.  I have to say I feel like I have spent a long time trapped in the weeds in this study by names that really don't have any more significance in the Bible.  It was important to the early reader and it is significant in that out of Esau grew a mighty people.  The lists of dukes from Esau continues:

(41) Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,

As there appeared to be a son of Eliphaz, Esau's son, known by his mother's name, Timna, there appears to be a son known as Aholibamah, and evidently a place also known by that name.

(42) Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, (43) Duke Magdiel, duke Iram; these are the dukes of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession; Esau is the father of the Edomites.

It is important to note that as the posterity of Esau grew, his descendants came to take possession of the land of Seir.  In verses 6-8 above, Esau first went to Mount Seir, and by the time this chapter ended, many dukes have come from the line of Esau and they possess the land formerly held by Seir and a line of kings.

As this is a chronological Bible study, my reading now turns to 1 Chronicles 1:35 where the genealogy of Esau is recapped:

(1 Chronicles 1:35) The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. (36) The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, and Kenaz; and Timna and Amalek. (37) The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. (38) And the sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

I find it interesting that in this genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1, which is a genealogy starting with Adam, that Seir is introduced in it along with Esau.  Seir was not of the race of Esau, but as Esau's family married into his, and Esau's descendants eventually overtook his land, I suppose he has an important role in the line of Esau.

(39) And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; and Timna was Lotan's sister. (40) The sons of Shobal were Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Ajah and Anah.

Alian was written as Alvan before.  The original name appears to be the same:  Alvan or Alyan, originally meaning "tall".

(41) The son of Anah was Dishon. And the sons of Dishon were Amram, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

Amram appears to be the same as Hemdan in Genesis 36:26.  The original name was either "Chemdan" or "Chamran", probably depending on the handwriting on the particular early manuscript first read.

(42) The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. (43) Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah;

Again I find it peculiar that a list of kings who reigned before and/or during the time the Edomites were growing and taking possession of the land, would be included in a genealogy that started with Adam and concluded with the families of the sons of Isaac.  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes supposes that these are kings who came from Esau, and although I was not sure about that when I was studying Esau's descendants in Genesis 36, it certainly does seem to fit now that they are included in a genealogy along with a description of Esau's descendants.  As I have supposed all along, at the very least, these genealogies of Esau show how his power and dominion grew, and show how he intermarried with the original inhabitants of the land.

(44) And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place; (45) And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place; (46) And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Avith. (47) And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. (48) And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place. (49) And when Shaul was dead, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. (50) And when Baal-Hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

The list of kings continues pretty much as it did in Genesis 36, with a few variations in spellings.

(51) Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were duke Timnah, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth,

"Hadad died also."  Then begins a list of the dukes of Edom.  This makes it sound as if the monarchy ended and then the dukedoms of Edom began.  As I've said before, whether they are part of Esau's descendants or not, they played a part in making Edom what it was, and that is about as much as I am going to get out of this study! 

(52) Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, (53) Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, (54) Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.

As I am happy to be finished with this cumbersome genealogy, I will reflect on the fact that genealogies were important in Biblical times.  All these descendants of Esau could trace their lineage back to Abraham, and that was of utmost importance to the people back then, as that made them a part of the blessings and promises that God made to Abraham and his descendants.