Beyond The Basics

Transcript:

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study Podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter at a time.

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Now, onto the show! In Genesis chapter 36, Esau seems to have everything. Definitely way sooner than his brother Jacob. Money, success, huge family, popularity. But the one thing he didn’t have was the covenant blessing from God. And this is important because we’re going to find in this chapter that worldly success is fleeting because Esau’s story ends in this chapter. And we don’t hear from him ever again.

So, let’s get into Genesis chapter 36. So, in verse 1, it says, These are the generations of Esau. So, remember, in past episodes, we’ve talked about how, when the author of Genesis writes his genealogies, and this goes for the entire Bible, they always put the non chosen bloodline first.

So, in the case of Ishmael and Isaac, Ishmael’s genealogy came before Isaac’s, for example. This chapter is going to give us the genealogy of Ishmael and Isaac. And then the next chapter, in Genesis chapter 37, the same phrase is going to be repeated, except for about Jacob. Again, the non chosen bloodline is always listed first.

So that’s why we have Esau’s genealogy here first, before Jacob’s in the next chapter. As I mentioned, this chapter is going to end Esau’s story, but the nation of Edom which comes from Esau, is going to remain a major player in Israel’s story throughout the centuries. And we’re reminded of that here in verse 1, where it says, that is, Edom. And that phrase is actually repeated three times in this chapter, in verses 1, 8, and 19. So that word Edom in Hebrew is similar to the Hebrew Adam, which means humanity or mankind.

So in verse 2, we’re told Esau took wives from the Canaanites. Now, as we’ve discussed many times, Abraham did not want this for his offspring. In Genesis 24, verse 37, it says, My master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife from my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell. Abraham gave the command. His offspring were not to marry the Canaanites, but he did. He married two Canaanite women, and these women made life difficult for Isaac and Rebekah.

I think this chapter is going to give us a little bit of an idea as we look a little bit deeper into their names. So if you notice that Esau’s wives in this chapter have different names than in Genesis chapter 26. So his first wife is called Adah, and she is the daughter of Elon, the Hittite, and that word Adah means ornament.

Now, if you look in Genesis chapter 26, we find that this woman is called Basemath. It says, when Esau was 40 years old, he took Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, to be his wife. And Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. So, in Genesis chapter 26 she was called Basemath, now she’s called Adah. The question is, is this the same woman, or did Esau actually have more wives and marry two sisters?

I’m going to get into that.

The next woman listed here is Oholibama. Which means the tent of the high place, as in, for idol worship In ancient Near Eastern cultures, they would worship their idols, they would sacrifice to their idols in high places. The idea being that it would get them closer to God, or closer to their god, whatever god that they were worshiping.

But this woman was called Judith in Genesis chapter 26:34. And Judith means praiseworthy. Here, in Genesis 36, she is called the daughter of Anah, and in Genesis 26, she is called the daughter of Beeri. Now, this woman, Anah, in verse 2 here, is different than the Anah that we’re going to find in verse 20. You keep on reading ahead, in verse 20 you’re going to come across a different Anah.

This woman is different, because in this verse, Anah is the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite, and later in verse 20, that Anah is the brother. So there’s two different Anahs, both related to Zibeon, but don’t get them confused. But what could be confusing is that in the Septuagint, which is the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the Samaritan and Syriac translations, Anah here is called the son of Zibeon.

And that difference is important. And again, we’re going to find out why. I’m teasing this out a little bit. It’s probably sounding very confusing now, but I’m going to wrap it all up here in just a minute. But it is important that Anah is the daughter and not the son, because if Anah is a son of Zibeon, then this is not going to make any sense.

None of these first few verses make sense. But, if she is the daughter, then it all makes sense. And you’ll find out why here in just a minute. So stay with me. Moving on. He also married Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. Now, Basemath means perfumed, and she was originally in Genesis chapter 28, verse 9, called Mahalath.

That verse says Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife. Remember, Rebekah and Isaac were very distressed and troubled by what Esau’s wives were doing, and so Esau wanted to appease them and take a daughter of Abraham as his wife, and so he went to Ishmael’s family and took a wife, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

So it’s the same woman in Genesis 28, she’s called Mahalath, and Genesis 36, she’s called Basemath. Why is this so different in this chapter from the previous chapters that list Esau’s wives? Because on its face, it presents a serious inconsistency.

On its face, it looks like they’re just simply two different authors that didn’t talk to each other before they wrote this down, and one of them clearly got it wrong, but there are three views here. The first view is that they’re the same wives as in Genesis 26 and 28 and their names are changed. The second view is that there are three different wives meaning Esau has a total of six wives. And then the third view is that some of them women are the same and some are different and typically in this view Judith and Oholibama may have been different women and Adah daughter of Elon and Basemath daughter of Elon may have been sisters, as I mentioned earlier.

But I believe that the first view is the correct view that these three women are the same women as he saw his wives from Genesis 26 and 28. And this is why I went into all the meanings of the names. I believe that the names are there for a purpose. And the name changes are there for a purpose. So let’s start with Adah.

Adah was originally called Basemath, meaning perfume. Now she’s called Ada, meaning ornament, or jewelry. So, Adah, the name change for Adah is there to highlight what is important to her and what she does, what she adorns herself with. She adorns herself with ornaments or jewelry and perfume or incense. And these two items would be for the purpose of prostitution and idolatry. Jewelry for prostitution or ornaments and incense for idolatry, possibly even As a cult prostitute.

Okay, now the second wife, Oholibama. Originally, she was called Judith. Now, remember, Judith means praiseworthy. But now, in Genesis chapter 36, she’s called Oholibama because, remember, Oholibama means tent of the high place, as in, idol worship. So now, she is known for her idol worship. And she has a history of adultery, prostitution, idolatry, and this is from the Jewish Women’s Archive, and you can get the full citation on the study guide if you download it from the website. And you can go there and read more about this. But even her name highlighting the tent would imply that she is leaving her house, leaving her house with Esau and bringing her idolatry and harlotry to other men’s tents.

You can clearly see why these women, Adah and Oholibama, would be bringing so much grief. Not only to Esau, but to Isaac and Rebekah. What does Esau do? He says, I’m going to go marry a woman from the family of Abraham. And so he goes and marries Mahalath from Ishmael’s family. Now, Mahalath refers to forgiveness.

So Esau married her to obtain forgiveness from his parents. But ultimately, she became just as idolatrous as the other two wives. Because again, her name is changed in this chapter to Basemath. Which means perfumed. Now she is perfuming herself again for idol worship and potentially prostitution as well.

I mentioned Esau has everything and we’re going to see that as we go through, continue to go through the chapter. But already we’re seeing that Esau’s life was an absolute disaster. A cesspool of immoral and idolatrous behavior.

So let’s move on, and as we go through, I’m gonna highlight the meanings of some of these names that we see. Not all of them, certainly not, but a few of them. And again, as we get towards the end, I’m gonna tie it all together. So in verse four, Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz which means pure gold. Note the meaning of that name and keep it in mind for later. So, Adah bore Eliphaz, Basemath bore a son, and then Oholibama bore three sons.

And in verse 5, these are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. So, all of Esau’s sons were born in the land of Canaan. This is contrasted with Jacob’s sons, who were all born outside the land of Canaan. With the exception of Benjamin, of course. It would be Jacob’s sons that would actually be the ones who would end up inheriting the land of Canaan instead of Esau’s sons.

So in verse 6, then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. This list of all these things that Esau had, he had so much. He had family, he had wives, he had a huge household. Animals, property, everything he had acquired. This reveals God’s generosity. This shows that even the sons of Abraham that were not included in the Covenant were still blessed. So he went into a land away from his brother Jacob.

So in verse 9, it says, These are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. So Esau had a total of 13 grandsons, or tribes, which is similar to Israel after Joseph’s sons were included. In verse 11, the sons of Eliphaz, the first son of Eliphaz was Teman, who was the father of the Temanites.

Verse 12, we find out that Eliphaz has a concubine named Timnah, and she bore Amalek. to Eliphaz. Amalek would have been the father of the Amalekites, and they were the first ones to attack Israel from the south when they entered the land of Canaan. They were a major enemy of Israel, and they would eventually be completely destroyed during King Hezekiah’s reign.

Verse 13, Reuel has a son named Zerah, which means rising or east, giving the picture of the sun rising in the morning. So keep that in mind. And then in verse 15, It says, these are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. And that word chief refers to a military or political leader. And it’s only used here in this verse and in Zechariah referring to the leaders of Jerusalem in Zechariah chapter 12 verses 5 through 6. In those verses in Zechariah, it’s translated to clans, but it’s the same word and it’s referring to military leaders in that context as well.

Going now to verse 20. It says, These are the sons of Seir the Horite. So the Horites in those days lived in caves. That’s actually what the word Horite means. It means cave dweller. So it was probably actually very easy for Esau to drive them out of the land since they didn’t live in walled cities. They just lived in caves hanging out. They wouldn’t have had the protection of a wall around them.

Verse 21, one of his sons is named Dishon, meaning gazelle. Keep that in mind. And then in verse 24, it says, These are the sons of Zibeon, Aiah and Anah. He is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastored the donkeys of Zibeon, his father. Why is this story here? Seems so random, right? But it actually could provide important commentary.

This word for hot springs in Hebrew is yamim. It’s the only time it’s used in the Bible, which means it’s a very difficult word to translate. There’s four possible translations according to Rabbi Shmuel Klitzner.

The first is what you see in the ESV and similar translations, which is springs or hot springs. The reason it’s translated this way is because it’s going to be consistent with the motif of finding water in the wilderness. That’s the first possibility.

The second possibility is it could be translated as mules, some would suggest that Anah was the first to breed horses with donkeys to create mules, and that’s what he found in the wilderness.

The third possibility is that it’s referring to the Eimim people. And the reason we have this possibility is because the Septuagint, again, the translation of the Hebrew Bible, uses the proper noun here, Iamin. The Samaritan Targum, which is the Samaritan translation, translates that word to Deuteronomy chapter 2, verses 10 through 11, we actually have a people that are named that are called this. It says the Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and as tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim, they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.

The fourth possibility is that it is a corruption of the word Heimim. Or a different spelling of the word Heimim, which could refer to Heimim the son of Lotan in verse 22. Depending on your translation, it’s going to be spelled a little bit differently. In the ESV, it’s spelled Hemam, but that’s the same word, potentially. This would have been Anah’s cousin. Heimim would have been Anah’s cousin. Now, this changes the story. If we use Heimim That means that Heimim was lost in the wilderness and Anah found him while pasturing his father’s donkeys.

Now that’s actually similar to three other stories in the Bible, at least. I believe that this interpretation is very convincing because of the fact that it provides commentary on several other points in the Hebrew Bible. It provides commentary on King Saul later on in 1 Samuel. It also provides commentary Jacob’s family in the next chapter that we have Edom, who is a nation of materialistic and militaristic tribes that still could take the time to look out and care for their brothers and the sons of Israel, the sons of Jacob could not even do that.

So in verse 31, it says these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. Moving on to verse 32, we’re told, Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. Now, there’s there are several different kings that are listed in this paragraph, and they all have a different city. Each king is from a different city, which indicates that there’s a lack of inherited succession to the throne. What it looks like is that power more likely moved from tribe to tribe. They shared power in this way, by moving the throne from tribe to tribe and city to city.

In verse 39, we’re told of a king named Baal-hanan. It means Baal is gracious, so that’s evidence that Baal worship has now begun in Edom by this time.

So, what’s the purpose of this chapter? Talked about it a little bit, but there’s two purposes. First purpose is, it was written before Israel entered the Promised Land. It was before they entered the land of Canaan, after they had left Egypt, and Edom had refused them entry into their country.

In Numbers chapter 20, verses 14 through 21, to paraphrase the story here, they had left Egypt and approached the land of Edom, and now they were on the edge of the territory of the land of Edom. And they sent messengers to the king and said, Let us pass through your land. We’re not going to take any of your crops. We’re not going to drink any of your water. We’re not going to do anything. We’re just going to stay on the King’s highway. We’re going to stay there. We’re not going to go right or left. We’re just going to go straight through your territory and not bother anybody. And the King of Edom said, no, you come through, I’m going to kill you.

And Israel said, trust me, we’re not going to do anything. If we take anything, we’ll pay for it. Just let us go through. And the king of Edom said, no, you’re not going to come through our land. And he sent out an army to scare them away. And so Israel turned away. So this chapter is written as a reminder for Israel of who Edom is so that they wouldn’t attack them because the temptation would be to retaliate for that incident and go and attack Edom and take over their land.

And in Deuteronomy 2, verses 2 through 5, it says, Then the Lord said to me, You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people. You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

So, God here is saying, Israel, don’t you dare take the land of Edom. Don’t you dare try and take their land. This is what I’ve given to Esau. This is his land. This is not for you to take. You are not to go to war with them. You are not to retaliate for what they did to you. So, this chapter was written as a reminder. This is your brother. This is your relative. Leave them alone. Honor them. But do not attack them.

The other purpose of this chapter is that it contrasts Esau’s life with Jacob’s life. Esau sought material wealth. And success and found it. You see that all through this chapter. We’re shown that by the meaning of the names. As I’ve gone through, I’ve mentioned some of the meanings of the names, and I told you to keep those in mind. Names like Baal is gracious names like Rising or East names like pure gold. They’re names that are looking for success, the success of the God’s material wealth, and that’s what Esau received. He found it. He got what he wanted. Jacob sought God’s blessing and found it. That’s what Jacob was seeking his entire life for, was God’s blessing, and he found it. So both men got what they had wanted. This chapter shows us what Esau wanted and received.

So how does it point to Jesus, is the question.

Well, the land of Canaan is a picture of Eden, the Garden of Eden, which foreshadows the New Jerusalem. In Revelation, chapter 22, verses 14 through 15, we’re told, Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates.

It’s talking about the city of the New Jerusalem. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and murderers and idolaters. And everyone who loves and practices falsehood. So in Revelation 22, we have the city of the New Jerusalem. And those who are cleansed, those who are righteous, are able to enter the city. And outside the city are sorcerers, sexually immoral, the murderers. The idolaters, etc. So, that’s what this is providing a picture of. The land of Canaan, in general, is like the New Jerusalem. It’s providing a picture of the New Jerusalem. And Edom here is outside the land of Canaan just like the sexually immoral and the idolaters are outside the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22. That’s what this is providing a picture of. So do we want to be like the Israelites in the land of Canaan? Or do we want to be like the Edomites? Seeking after material wealth, seeking after false gods, seeking after sexual pleasure, and find ourselves outside the New Jerusalem.

It’s also pointing towards the work of grace in our lives. See, Esau was a pretty gracious, likable guy. His family took care of each other. In fact, if you were to meet Edom, he even forgave Jacob for what he did to him, for the deception that he pulled against him. He forgave Jacob. He was a likable guy. He was a popular guy, but the goodness of his actions and the actions of his family was not enough to secure him a place in Canaan.

We don’t know why God chose Jacob over Esau. The Bible doesn’t tell us. Jacob was a scoundrel. He was not a good person. Esau actually was a pretty nice guy, but Jacob grew in faith in God. Whereas Esau may have grown in graciousness, we see the growth of Esau throughout these chapters in Genesis, but he never actually showed any faith in God.

See, it’s never our works that secure our inheritance in the age to come. It’s our faith. In God’s work of grace alone. Ephesians 2, verses 8-9 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. It doesn’t matter if we become a better person as our life goes on. That’s not what’s important. What matters, are we growing in faith? Are we growing in faith in God’s work?

And the last way that this points to Jesus is that there is going to be a day when each one of us is going to be judged individually for what we do. It’s going to come after the thousand year reign of Christ. In Revelation 20 verses 11 through 13 it says, and I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it from his presence, earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life and the Dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the Sea gave up the dead who were in it, death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

So, we’re told that each person in Revelation 20, each individual is judged according to what they had done. This chapter and Genesis 36 is a reminder that God sees and knows each one of us. And we’re going to stand before Jesus one day. We’re going to be judged. He knows each one of us. He knows who we are. He knows our name. He knows each person in Edom’s family. He knows your name. He knows my name. He knows what we do. We are going to answer to him one day. But when we answer to him, do we answer on the basis of what we did, or do we answer on the basis of what Jesus did?

That’s the question. So the question that I have for you for this week to meditate on is this. We’ve talked about this several times throughout the chapter. Meditate on what this means. What this implies for your own personal life. The question is this, how does God define success? Do you think Esau was successful by God’s standards or by human standards? Was Jacob successful by God’s standards or by human standards? What are those standards? How does God define success? Meditate on that. Pray about it. Is your life successful by God’s standard or by human standards? That’s where that question should point you to.

So let’s pray. Lord, thank you once again for your word. Thank you for everything that you speak to us, even in a long list of names that are filled with dead people that we will never know. Those of us in The 21st century, it seems so hard to even pronounce these names, much less comprehend what you’re trying to say to us through them. Thank you that you speak through chapters like this, even today. I pray that you would reveal to us what your standards of success are. Thank you that you provide a picture of, of those who live by worldly success so we can see what not to do. So we can see what not to strive for. God, I pray that Each one of us would strive to be successful in your eyes. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.

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