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Genesis 36

Genesis 36 traces Esau’s household into the people of Edom, recording their land, family lines, and rulers.

Esau moves his household and livestock away from Jacob because the land cannot support both brothers’ possessions. He settles in the hill country of Seir, and the narrator traces his descendants as the people of Edom. The record includes Esau’s sons and their chiefs, alongside the families of Seir the Horite. It then lists Edom’s kings, who ruled before Israel had a king, and closes with chiefs named according to their settlements.

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1Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
2Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite;
4Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz. Basemath bore Reuel.
5Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
7For their substance was too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their travels couldn’t bear them because of their livestock.
8Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.
9This is the history of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir:
11The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
12Timna was concubine to Eliphaz, Esau’s son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek. These are the descendants of Adah, Esau’s wife.
13These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the descendants of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
14These were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
15These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
16chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs who came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah.
17These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs who came of Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
18These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.
20These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
24These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father.
25These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
27These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29These are the chiefs who came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,
30chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.
31These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel.
33Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.
34Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
40These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families, after their places, and by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,
43chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites.
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Key verses
Genesis 36:8This verse anchors Esau in Seir and identifies him with Edom, the people whose origins the chapter records.
Genesis 36:11Eliphaz’s sons include names that recur among Edom’s chiefs, linking the family register with the chapter’s account of leadership.
Genesis 36:6Esau’s departure separates the brothers’ households and prepares for the account of his descendants in Seir.
Where this chapter reaches

1 Chronicles repeats much of this chapter’s genealogy, including Esau’s descendants, the Horite families, and Edom’s kings, preserving the same family and political record. Deuteronomy also identifies Seir with Esau’s descendants, while Numbers describes Israel’s later encounter with Edom as a related people.

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After reading the whole chapter

What changes in your understanding of Esau when you read the names of his descendants and their settlements?

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What do you notice about the reason for Esau’s departure and the account of Edom’s kings?

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Questions people ask about Genesis 36

Why does Genesis 36 list Esau’s descendants?

The chapter records how Esau’s household became the people of Edom and locates them in Seir. Its lists connect family names with chiefs, settlements, and kings. It also includes the Horite inhabitants of the land. This establishes Edom’s identity and its family relationship to Jacob’s descendants.

Why did Esau move away from Jacob in Genesis 36?

Verses 6–7 give an economic and geographical reason: the brothers had so many possessions and livestock that the land could not support them together. Esau took his whole household away and lived in Seir. The passage does not describe a fresh quarrel or say that Jacob expelled him.

Why does Genesis 36 mention kings before Israel had a king?

Verse 31 places Edom’s monarchy before Israel’s monarchy, giving a point of comparison between the two peoples. The following list names successive rulers and sometimes their cities or notable deeds. It supplies no dates or reign lengths, so the precise chronology cannot be established from this chapter alone.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).