Genesis III – Notes XIII. Two Nations 29-Aug-04 Genesis 36:1-37:1 No Duguid Chapter Theme: Esau was materially blessed by God and grew into a great nation; however Esau turned his back on spiritual things and became the example of a profane or godless person who is rejected by God. Key Verses: Gen. 36:1, 31; 37:1 1 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom. … 31 Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel. … 1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Review Last week we covered Genesis 35. This is a chapter of correction and completion. Correction, because there is still abiding sin that must be dealt with. We see Jacob’s family put away their remaining idols, bury their spoils of war, and purify themselves. We also see that sin remains, as in the case of Reuben’s incest with Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine. There are three deaths in the chapter: the death of the Rebekah’s nurse Deborah; the death of Rachel in child birth; and the death of Isaac in his old age. These deaths are reminders that the curse of sin is still present. But the chapter is also one of completion. Jacob finally returns to Bethel and fulfills his vow he made many years before. Jacob demonstrates a growth in maturity by focusing on the God of Bethel rather than the place of Bethel. He names his altar El Bethel , which means “the God of the House of God.” God makes his final (personal) appearance in the book of Genesis to Jacob at Bethel. Once again, the covenant promises are repeated and strengthened. Israel is to become a great nation in the Promised Land. Jacob’s line will eventually produce kings and ultimately will produce the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We close the book on Rachel and Isaac. Although Jacob lives on, his twelfth and final son – Benjamin – is born and the torch is effectively passed on to the next generation. The first of many lists of Israel’s twelve sons is given to us here, a reminder that God’s promises are coming to fruition and that this family is finally on the way to becoming a great nation. As we leave Jacob behind, remember these last pictures of him. True, he was a supplanter and a deceiver; he was a man who struggled with his father, his brother, his uncle, his wives, and his sons. But he also struggled with God, and the Scriptures say “he prevailed.” He received the blessings and the promises of God through the goodness and grace of the Lord. As we watch him limping to Bethel, we see a man who has learned the hard way through many years that it is better to dwell in the “house of God” than it is to live elsewhere in the world. His worship at Bethel is in obedience to the word of God and in response to God’s goodness to him over the course of his life. God continually calls each generation of believers to rekindle their faith. Let us, like Jacob, put away the idols and pleasures of this world that still cling to us, purify ourselves, and worship God in obedience to His word and in response to His goodness to us. With Jacob’s return to Bethel and to full obedience, the spotlight naturally moves on to the next generation. Will they learn the same lessons their father learned? Israel’s obedience is never more secure than the obedience of the current generation. So it is also in the church. Genesis III – Notes. Doc p. 113 DSB 9-Sep-05 Genesis III – Notes Introduction So, today we come to the end of the road. This is our last study in the book of Genesis for this quarter. On the surface, the subject matter seems a bit dry. We have left the Jacob Cycle behind, and today we are looking at Genesis chapter 36, which is the genealogy of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Essentially, this chapter is a long list of hard-to-pronounce names from the distaff line. Not the most compelling of reading! But, if you read the list carefully, and compare it with the rest of Scripture, then some hidden lessons begin to emerge. Hopefully, today we will be able to get beyond the surface and dig some meet out of this genealogy. Before we read the list of names, I first want to make a few comments about the structure of the passage. Remember that Genesis is structured as a series of “Offspring” narratives. After the account of Creation, there are ten sections that are headed by the formula “This is the offspring of …” or “These are the descendants of …” What I’ve been calling the Jacob Cycle is one of these sections: it starts in Genesis 25:19 – “This is the genealogy of Isaac …” Thus, the entire Jacob Cycle is really the story of Isaac’s descendants – Jacob and Esau. Since Isaac dies at the end of the Jacob Cycle, we need to start a new section. Before we get to the section describing Jacob’s descendants – which is the Joseph story starting in 37:2 – we first have a shorter section telling us about Esau’s descendants. Again, this is the pattern that the book of Genesis follows. Before covering the chosen line – the Seed line – in detail, a shorter genealogy is given of the line that is not chosen. So, we have all of the offspring of Noah listed before focusing on the seed line of Terah and Abraham; we have the short genealogy of Ishmael before focusing on the seed line of his brother Isaac; and now we have the short genealogy of Esau before focusing on the seed line of his brother Jacob (the story of Joseph). Next, I want to point out to you that we actually have two sections in front of us, both covering “the genealogy of Esau.” The first section is Genesis 36:1-8, which covers Esau’s family in Canaan and their migration to Mount Seir. The second section is Genesis 36:9-43, which is a longer account of Esau’s family in Mount Seir. Many scholars believe that this second genealogy was inserted to the text somewhat later than the first genealogy. If you look at 37:1 about Jacob, it seems to echo and contrast with the end of the first section about Esau: 36:6-8 “Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.” 37:1 “Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.” Note that 37:2 starts the final section of Genesis: “This is the history of Jacob.” So, it seems likely that the second genealogy of Esau (36:9-43) was inserted between 36:8 and 37:1 at a later point. That doesn’t make it any less inspired or any less important; in fact, it raises our curiosity to understand why it is here and what it is trying to teach us. Genesis III – Notes. Doc p. 114 DSB 9-Sep-05 Genesis III – Notes A. The Sons of Esau (36:1-8) 1. Wives (36:1-5) The first problem we have to deal with in this genealogy is the names of Esau’s three wives. Earlier in the narrative we learned that Esau married two pagan women who “were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah” (26:34-35). Later, after Isaac and Rebekah send Jacob away to Haran to marry a proper wife, Esau tries to please his parents by marrying a granddaughter of Abraham – Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael (28:6-9). The problem we face here is that the names of the wives in Genesis 36 do not match the names given in Genesis 26:34-35 and 28:9. Genesis 26:34-35; 28:9 Genesis 36:2-3 Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite Aholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael. Basemath, daughter of Ishmael. James Boice provides an explanation: “ The easiest explanation of this difficulty is that each wife had more than one name, one perhaps for living in the culture of Canaan and the other for living in the Hittite culture. Adah is the same as the Basemath of Genesis 26:34, for both are identified as the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Similarly, the Basemath of Genesis 36:3 is the same as Mahalath, for both are said to be the daughter of Ishmael. This leaves Aholibamah (the cheer on game day in Tuscaloosa?) to be identified with Judith, though in this case the wives are said to be descended from different fathers. It is probably the case that the “two” fathers are actually one also, they too having been known by different names.” Remember, Esau becomes know as Edom, Jacob as Israel, Abram as Abraham, Sarai as Sarah, and so on.