I had originally intended to finish our study of Chapter 36 today regarding Esau's family line and the people with whom his family intermarried. But this section is quite long so we will divide it in two and study the remainder tomorrow. After this chapter we will not see Esau mentioned alive again, but that doesn't mean he dies around this time. Jacob will live on for many more years and we can assume his twin Esau did as well. But the Bible is mainly concerned with following the family line that will produce the Messiah, so after we conclude Chapter 36 we will rejoin Jacob and his sons.
The author of Genesis now tells us who the rulers were in the land during the centuries before Israel became a nation in the region or had any kings of her own. These are the peoples who inhabited the hill country of Seir before Esau and his family became so powerful in the region that it came to be named Edom, which is a reference to Esau who was very red when he was born. Just as Jacob is sometimes called Jacob and at other times Israel, and just as the nation of Israel is sometimes called Jacob, Esau is sometimes called Edom---the name of the powerful clan he founded. Esau's family would have mixed with the inhabitants of Seir and, in the case of the Horite tribe, the descendants of Esau became so powerful that they drove them out and took over their territory.
"These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs." (Genesis 36:19-21) The Horites are mentioned later on in Deuteronomy when we are told, "Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession." (Deuteronomy 2:12) What did the Lord have against the Horites that He allowed the descendants of Esau to drive them out of Seir and that He allowed the descendants of Jacob to drive them out of the promised land? The Bible doesn't say, but since the tribes driven out of the promised land by the Israelites were wicked idolaters who rejected the living God, I think we can safely assume the Horites were equally offensive to the Lord.
"The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister." (Genesis 36:22) We were told in Genesis 36:12 that Timna was a concubine of Esau's oldest son. So we see that not only were Esau's sons chieftains in the land, but they married into families of chieftains. Timna was the mother of Amalek from whom will come the Amalekites, and they will be fiercely opposed to the descendants of Jacob. If only Esau had married a God-fearing woman as his parents wanted, and if only he'd made certain his sons only married believing women, he wouldn't have been the ancestor of one of the most warlike tribes in the Bible. The Amalekites are going to attack the children of Israel in the book of Exodus after the Lord brings them out of Egypt. They are going to continue to oppose Israel at every turn and will be so wicked that the Lord is going to instruct Israel to wipe them from the face of the earth.
"The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon." (Genesis 36:23-24) One of Esau's wives is the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. It appears Anah was quite famous for his discovery of the hot springs.
"The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah." (Genesis 36:25) Anah had one son and one daughter. Likely the only reason the daughter is named here is because she is married to Esau.
"The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir." (Genesis 36:26-30)
I know genealogies of ancient peoples can sometimes seem uninteresting, but the author of Genesis (believed to be Moses) is laying a foundation for us that will come in handy after the exodus of Israel from Egypt. When the time comes for Israel to begin taking possession of the promised land, they will meet with many of the descendants of the peoples mentioned here in Chapter 36. Reading Chapter 36 will give us a better understanding of who these tribes are when later the Lord tells the nation of Israel who they are to drive out of the land.
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