Friday, February 25, 2011

Genesis 36:15-19 Chiefs of Edom

"These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants:
     The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
          Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam and Amalek.  These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah.

     The sons of Esau's son Reuel:
          Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.  These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

     The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah:
          Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah.  These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.

These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs."   (Genesis 36:15-19 NIV) 

If you closely compare the two  lists of Esau's descendants/chiefs (vs. 11-14 and vs. 15-19) there is one difference:  In the first set of verses, Korah is listed as being the son of Oholibamah, while in the second set of verses, Korah is said to be the grandson of Adah.

Also, in the very section we are taking a look at today -- verses 15-19 -- we see that Korah is listed in both v.16 and v.18.  What is going on here?  Are there two men named Korah?  Or is this a matter of two different sources of genealogical information being used?  If each had different purposes, the information can be different without it being 'wrong'.   I am still studying this one out.  I think that there is some explanation which can harmonize the accounts, so I will put this information on the back burner, so to speak, as we continue to explore Esau's descendants.

One thing which we can say is that God is continuing to fulfill his promise of making Esau's descendants, too, into a nation (Genesis 25:23).

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