April 1998
Genesis Chapter 36
We had learned at the end of Chapter 36 of Genesis, that Jacob had returned to his homeland with his family and remained reconciled with Jacob. Then the two twin sons’ father Isaac died at about age 180. After Jacob and Esau burry their father, Isaac, they apparently separated for the remainder of their lives.
We learn that included in Esau’s wives were daughters of Canaan, including the daughter of Ishmael, who was Isaac’s son through the hand-maiden Hagar. Esau’s marriages had greatly displeased and troubled his parents (Gen. 26:34-35).
Through Esau and his direct descendants, there was apparently a lot of intermarriage as Esau’s heritage grew in number and wealth.
Esau had taken his entire family and settled in the land of Edom. Edom was, and remains, the rugged desert land generally south of the Dead Sea. It extends to the Gulf of Aqaba closer to the Sinai and the Red Sea. Today it would generally be near the country of Jordan extending into Saudi Arabia.
The 36th Chapter is devoted almost entirely to Esau’s heritage and the listing of Esau’s son’s and descendancy. There are many kings and dukes of Edom.
King David generally is considered to have conquered these people, but they gained some independence during the divided monarchy. Edom was always generally hostile to Israel.
The story of Esau and Jacob remains one of the Bible’s great stories of conflict and turmoil. They were always so different to have been twins, and the story is highlighted by Esau selling his birthright (as the firstborn son) to his younger (by minutes) brother Jacob. While Jacob initially threatened to kill Esau when Isaac was tricked into giving the first-born son’s blessing to Jacob, they did reconcile, but later separated their lives into different regions. Both amassed considerable extended families and wealth.
While the historic tale of the twin brothers ended in their reconciliation, their descendants generally remained hostile.