The 10th Sub-book of Genesis contains only one chapter. Genesis 36 is entirely dedicated to the genealogy of Esau and in my opinion is quite dry. There are a couple interesting items I want to point out however.

The first item to note is that Esau and Jacob were certainly blessed by God. They were blessed so much that they too had to part ways as Abraham and Lot did back in Genesis 13. This is a simple reminder of how God has continued to keep His promises to the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob.

The second item of note is that Esau was “… the father of the Edomites …” and appears to have been a significant ruler in the land of Seir. What is not explicitly spelled out at this point is that the Edomites will be a major force against the new nation that God will establish. Halley’s Bible Handbook indicates that the Edomites were a vicious people who engaged in significant raids on surrounding communities and aided many attacking armies. We see later in the Bible that the Edomites continue to oppose God’s nation from refusing passage by Moses to several destructive attacks on Jerusalem itself. One item to keep in mind as we get further along in our daily reading plan is that the Herods were an Edomite family and it wasn’t until approximately 70 A.D. that the Edomites were completely removed from existence.

In addition to the Edomites, Esau was the father of the Amalekites who were the first to attack Israel showing a common thread throughout the descendants of Esau. It is obvious that Esau and especially his descendants resented Jacob (Israel) and were constantly overcome by the fury that welled up within them.

In counting the many names within this chapter, we find that Esau was the father of 14 chiefs which are typically referred to as tribal leaders. As many tribes come together in one common existence, kings eventually emerge as the ruler of the unified tribes. It’s important to note that Esau fathered 14 chiefs while the original inhabitants of Seir only had 5 chiefs. It is no wonder that the kings of this region would come from the lineage of Esau.

In an apparent foreshadowing, verse 31 declares that there will be a nation of Israel and there will be a ruler over the Israelites. This particular verse indicates and could very well be the grounds over which the Edomites continued to attack Israel. In all cases, we see that God continued to watch over the Israelites and protected them, guided them, and loved them.

ESV Daily Reading Bible Halley’s Bible Handbook
ESV Study Bible