Ge 36:1-43

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Descendants of Esau

(Gen 36:1-43)

The story is now about to move on from Jacob to his family, but first the record of Esau is brought to a close.

The covenant family (Jacob’s) had settled in Canaan, while the non-covenant family (Esau’s) had settled in Edom. There, over many years, Esau’s descendants grew into a large nation (Gen 36:1-19; cf. Gen 27:39-40).

As the Edomites grew, the original inhabitants of the land, the Horites, were either forced to move elsewhere or absorbed into Edom (Gen 36:20-30; cf. Gen 14:6; Deut 2:12).

The record lists the early Edomite kings (Gen 36:31-39) and the main Edomite tribal divisions (Gen 36:40-43).