Genesis Part 2 - Week 14

Day 1 

READ 

Genesis 36:1-5 

¹ This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). ² Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. ³ He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. ⁵ Oholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. 

This chapter has many names that may be strange to you and difficult to pronounce. Try to find some names you recognize from your previous Bible study. In this passage, you may find names such as Esau, Ishmael, and Korah that you have seen elsewhere in the biblical record.  

REFLECT 

Consider that although God planned to work through the descendants of Jacob, He gave attention to his twin brother Esau and his descendants. 

RESPOND 

With your friend see the larger passage of Genesis 36:1-9. Talk about what to do about passages with difficult names. Some translations provide audio so you can hear the names properly pronounced. Find one of those helps and listen to this and the following verses. 

Day 2 

READ 

Genesis 36:10-12 

¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 

Notice the mention of Amalek in this passage. His descendants, known as the Amalekites, will figure prominently in biblical history. You may read Exodus 17:8-16 to see one account of Israel’s victory over them.  

REFLECT 

Sometimes Israel suffered defeat. At other times God gave them victory when they depended on Him. 

RESPOND 

With your friend read Genesis 36:10-14. Seek to use Bible study aids to help you. 

Day 3 

READ 

Genesis 36:15-16 

¹⁵ These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of various clans: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the clan leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 

The biblical story continues with giving attention to Esau. Soon the focus will turn to the descendants of Isaac. This passage refers to the leaders of clans among Esau’s descendants. The Bible does not neglect mentioning plural wives and concubines. Such was permitted even though it was not what God planned from the beginning when His will was one husband and one wife. 

REFLECT 

As you reflect on the past, be aware that the free will of man leads into all kinds of activities that do not have God’s approval even though He allows such. Someday, however, everyone will face God to give account. 

RESPOND 

With your friend read Genesis 36:15-19. Have you found a source yet that will read these names to you as you follow along? 

Day 4 

READ 

Genesis 36:20-21 

²⁰ These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite clan leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. 

At this point you may begin to wonder, will these strange names ever end? If you had been living during these times you would have been concerned about knowing your ancestry. Here is where Esau’s descendants would have found theirs.  

REFLECT 

Have you ever searched for your ancestry using some modern techniques today?  

RESPOND 

With your friend read Genesis 36:20-30. Take time to discuss handling difficult passages because of the names listed. May the exercise on this chapter alert you to the problems involved. 

Day 5 

READ 

Genesis 36:31-35 

³¹ These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: ³² Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from his city of Dinhabah.  

³³ When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place.  

³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. 

Notice that all of this is taking place before Israel had its rulers. Notice also how briefly some of the rulers are mentioned. See Numbers 25:16-18 for what God told Moses about the Midianites. This passage in Genesis 36 brings a conclusion to Genesis Part 2 in our study. A brief summary of Parts 1 and 2 will be given as Genesis Part 3 begins. 

REFLECT 

Through this study of Genesis Part 2 you have seen the history of Israel. Not all history may be interesting to you, but as someone has suggested, history is “His Story.” God tells what occurred in the past as it folds into the topic of salvation that is provided for mankind.  

RESPOND 

With your friend read Genesis 36:31-43. The brief mention of some of these rulers can remind you of the brevity of life in comparison to eternity. Be sure you are ready to meet God by trusting in Jesus for your salvation.