Like the list of Jacob's descendants in Genesis 35:23-26, this section of Scripture has information regarding Esau's descendants.
- Verses 1-8 give an overview, and then,
- verses 9-19 expand on this information.
- Following these sections, Chapter 36:20-30 has information on the Horite chiefs, specifically about the sons of Seir the Horite, living in that region.
- Later, in verses 31-43, a list of the rulers of Edom is given.
Sometimes when Scripture starts tracing the genealogy of a family, I take a separate piece of paper and write myself a family tree so that I can at least keep the names in some type of order. Later I can look back to see who is related to whom. Why does it matter? Well, sometimes the fact that a person is from a particular family or tribe can be significant. Perhaps someone is from a tribe which leads to the Messiah, or perhaps the person is from a people group which is antagonistic towards Israel. Knowing some of the background can help to explain certain difficult passages which may not have seemed to make sense otherwise. At times it can bring praise and glory to God, for the reader can see that despite years or centuries of conflict, where some of the same nations are still opposing the Israelites, the God of Israel is still keeping the covenant which He made with Abraham. In this latter case, it is amazing to catch a glimpse of the spiritual battle that is continuing to this day.
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