Genesis 36: “These Are the Generations of Esau (That Is, Edom)”
1. The Purpose of the Genealogy
“These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).” (Gen 36:1)
At first glance, a genealogy may seem a pause in revelation. Yet the Holy Spirit wastes no words.
Every list marks divine order: God remembers all, even those outside the covenant.
St Bede the Venerable writes:
“The genealogy of Esau is written that none may think the rejected are forgotten. Providence numbers even those who depart, though their glory passes.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 36)
The enumeration of Esau’s house forms a contrast: human success without divine promise.
2. Esau’s Wives and Separation
“Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan… and Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.” (vv. 2, 6)
Marriage into Canaanite families fulfils what his parents feared (Gen 26:35).
Esau’s worldly alliances mirror his appetite; yet even here God’s providence orders events.
The land cannot contain both brothers — wealth divides where grace would unite.
St Augustine notes:
“Earthly abundance compels separation; for the children of promise must dwell apart from the children of desire.”
(City of God XVI.45)
This separation symbolises the two cities of Augustine’s great theme: the City of Man and the City of God.
3. The Land of Seir
“Esau dwelt in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.” (v. 8)
The name Edom (“red”) recalls the stew for which he sold his birth-right.
His dwelling in Seir marks the fulfilment of his father’s secondary blessing:
“By your sword you shall live.” (Gen 27:40)
St Bede observes:
“He who once thirsted for red pottage dwells among red rocks. His inheritance is of earth, not heaven.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 36)
Esau’s nation is strong, but purely temporal; its redness is the colour of clay and blood.
4. The Descendants Listed
Verses 9–19 trace Esau’s sons through his three wives — Eliphaz, Reuel, and Oholibamah.
Their names, preserved with care, affirm that history belongs to God even when it strays from holiness.
St Ambrose remarks:
“Even those outside the covenant are known by name to God. He numbers the stars, but He also numbers the sinners.”
(On Jacob and the Happy Life 19)
The Church therefore prays for all, knowing none are beyond remembrance.
5. The Chiefs of Edom
“These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau… chiefs of tribes according to their dwelling-places.” (vv. 15–19)
Political order arises swiftly in Esau’s line. The word chief (Heb. ’alluph) can mean duke or leader.
While Israel remains a family of shepherds, Edom already boasts a federation of rulers.
St Augustine comments:
“The earthly city is quick to organise power, for its glory is in dominion; but the heavenly city waits, for its glory is in obedience.”
(City of God XV.5)
The patience of faith often appears weakness beside the vigour of worldly ambition.
6. The Kings before Israel Had a King
“These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.” (v. 31)
This verse is the theological heart of the chapter.
Edom receives kings long before Israel; worldly success comes sooner, spiritual fulfilment later.
St Bede explains:
“God permits the reprobate to flourish first, that the faithful may learn hope; for the bloom of sin withers, but grace ripens slowly.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 36)
The apparent advantage of the ungodly is temporary. Esau’s kings rise and fall; none of them is named twice.
St Ambrose adds:
“Their crowns are without anointing; for kingship without God is but gilded dust.”
(On Isaac 15)
7. The Pattern of Change
The genealogy of Edom is full of transitions: one king dies, another succeeds (vv. 33–39).
Unlike Israel’s later dynasty, no covenant secures their line. History here is motion without meaning.
St Augustine observes:
“See how swiftly kings are born and buried. God writes their names that we may see how time devours them.”
(City of God XVIII.21)
The contrast with Israel’s slow, covenantal story is deliberate: faith endures; power passes.
8. The Descendants of Seir
Verses 20–30 insert the genealogy of the Horites — the original inhabitants of Seir.
Their absorption into Edom shows the pattern of earthly kingdoms: conquest, assimilation, disappearance.
St Bede:
“Earthly dominion devours itself; each generation supplants another, while the covenant people grow by grace, not by conquest.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 36)
The Church later reads Edom as a symbol of worldly empire opposed to Zion (cf. Obadiah 1–4).
9. Esau’s Chiefs Repeated
“These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling-places… the father of the Edomites.” (vv. 40–43)
The repetition closes the genealogy like a tolling bell.
Edom’s history begins and ends with itself; it has no forward-looking promise.
St Ambrose comments:
“They are numbered but not remembered. For the book of life records not the mighty, but the meek.”
(On Jacob and the Happy Life 19)
So Scripture draws the line under Esau: a completed story, lacking eternity.
10. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Esau’s marriages | Alliance with the world over obedience to faith |
| Separation from Jacob | The two cities: worldly power and spiritual promise |
| Edom’s kings | Earthly greatness preceding but perishing |
| Israel’s waiting | The slow ripening of grace |
| Genealogy’s end | God’s memory includes all, but salvation is covenantal |
St Bede summarises:
“Edom’s strength is the strength of flesh; Israel’s weakness is the power of grace. The former rules before men, the latter endures before God.”
(Commentary on Genesis, 36)
11. Moral and Spiritual Application
Do not envy the prosperity of the world. Esau’s kings come before David’s, yet pass away without promise.
Live as a pilgrim. Separation from worldly ease preserves spiritual inheritance.
Honour providence in all history. Even those outside the covenant serve God’s design.
Measure success by eternity. Better to be a shepherd in Bethel than a king in Seir.
Hold fast to faith’s delay. Grace matures slowly, but its fruit endures for ever.
12. Christ and the Two Kingdoms
The Fathers saw in Jacob and Esau the two humanities:
| Esau (Edom) | Christ and the Church |
| Builds cities and kings early | Waits for the Kingdom not of this world |
| Lives by the sword | Conquers by the Cross |
| Dwells in red hills | Sheds redemptive blood for sinners |
| Forgotten lineage | Eternal remembrance in the Book of Life |
| Earthly inheritance | Heavenly inheritance |
St Augustine writes:
“Edom and Israel prefigure the two cities: the proud who seek glory here, and the humble who seek it above. The first may reign sooner, but the second reigns for ever.”
(City of God XV.1)
13. Closing Prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You remember every name and guide every nation,
yet You build Your kingdom not by might but by mercy.
Keep us from envy of worldly splendour;
make us patient for the crown that does not fade.
May the red hills of Edom remind us
that power without grace turns to dust,
and may the promise given to Israel
be fulfilled in us through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who reigns for ever in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 