Edom



Genesis 36:1-43


If you’re going to just read the Bible, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, eventually you’re going to have to face the dreaded “list of names” chapters. There’s no way around it. That is what we have here in Genesis 36. Listed in full detail are the names of Esau’s wives, children, grandchildren . . . you get the picture. In the face of this overload of information we learn two things: Esau becomes a mighty nation and his refusal to bend the knee to God continued throughout his life.

Our biggest clue comes in the fact that Esau marries the daughters of the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Hittites, and the Ishmaelites. Not one of these people groups follows the living God; the God of his father Isaac. In his quest for many wives, Esau also invites the gods of all these pagan women into his home and his life. At various times throughout Old Testament history, the Edomites (that’s what Esau’s descendants are called) are both friend and enemy to the Children of Israel due in large part to their idolatry.

Why does God include all of these details in Esau’s story? I think that we get all this information because these are real stories about real people! They had real names (albeit difficult for us to pronounce) and real identities. They are historical figures. God’s story is real, intense, and deals with the lives of imperfect humans. These long lists just bring light to the truth that resides on every page of the Bible.

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