Genesis 36:1-14

These are the generations of Esau (also known as Edom).

² Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,

³ and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth.

⁴ And Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau; Basemath gave birth to Reuel;

⁵ and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were given birth to for him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land some distance from his brother Jacob.

⁷ This was because their property was too much for them to live together. The land of their travelings could not support them because of their livestock.

⁸ So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. ( Esau is Edom.)

⁹ These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁰ These are the names of the sons of Esau: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹² (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Sham-mah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁴ These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

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true blessing

This chapter contains mostly genealogical information about Esau and his descendants. It explains how his family became prominent in the land of Seir, and eventually possessed all the land. The Israelites in Moses’ day would call them the Edomites. Esau’s descendants were chiefs and kings long before Jacob’s descendants were. They were blessed, but they were not the blessed. Likewise, you will probably meet many who are richer and more prominent than you may become in this life. Do not worry. The future will show who the truly blessed are.

The truly blessed are the eternally blessed. Our evaluation of our identity and status needs to take into account the forever promises of God. When that happens, we can look at all the wealth and happiness of the world around us, and thank the LORD that he has blessed others, while at the same time being uniquely grateful for the eternal blessings we will experience through Christ.

LORD, we trust you to keep all your promises to us. The prosperity and fame of those outside your covenant will not deter us from keeping it.