Kejadian 35:21--37:2
Konteks35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 1 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with 2 Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, 3 to Kiriath Arba 4 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 5 35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 6 35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. 7 He died an old man who had lived a full life. 8 His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). 9
36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: 10 Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 11 of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from 12 Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled 13 was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 14
36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father 15 of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons 16 of Esau’s wife Adah.
36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons 17 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 18 of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.
36:15 These were the chiefs 19 among the descendants 20 of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, 21 chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons 22 of Adah.
36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons 23 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.
36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, 24 who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants 25 of Seir in the land of Edom.
36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; 26 Lotan’s sister was Timna.
36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, 27 and Onam.
36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs 28 in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).
36:25 These were the children 29 of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: 30 Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.
36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 31
36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.
36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River 32 reigned in his place.
36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 33 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 34 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements 35 in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.
37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 36 in the land of Canaan. 37
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 38 was taking care of 39 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 40 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 41 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 42 to their father.
[35:21] 1 sn The location of Migdal Eder is not given. It appears to be somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Various traditions have identified it as at the shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem (the Hebrew name Migdal Eder means “tower of the flock”; see Mic 4:8) or located it near Solomon’s pools.
[35:22] 2 tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.
[35:22] sn Reuben’s act of having sexual relations with Bilhah probably had other purposes than merely satisfying his sexual desire. By having sex with Bilhah, Reuben (Leah’s oldest son) would have prevented Bilhah from succeeding Rachel as the favorite wife, and by sleeping with his father’s concubine he would also be attempting to take over leadership of the clan – something Absalom foolishly attempted later on in Israel’s history (2 Sam 16:21-22).
[35:27] 3 tn This is an adverbial accusative of location.
[35:27] 4 tn The name “Kiriath Arba” is in apposition to the preceding name, “Mamre.”
[35:27] 5 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” refers to temporary settlement without ownership rights.
[35:28] 6 tn Heb “And the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.”
[35:29] 7 tn Heb “and Isaac expired and died and he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.
[35:29] 8 tn Heb “old and full of years.”
[36:1] 9 sn Chapter 36 records what became of Esau. It will list both his actual descendants as well as the people he subsumed under his tribal leadership, people who were aboriginal Edomites. The chapter is long and complicated (see further J. R. Bartlett, “The Edomite King-List of Genesis 36:31-39 and 1 Chronicles 1:43-50,” JTS 16 [1965]: 301-14; and W. J. Horowitz, “Were There Twelve Horite Tribes?” CBQ 35 [1973]: 69-71). In the format of the Book of Genesis, the line of Esau is “tidied up” before the account of Jacob is traced (37:2). As such the arrangement makes a strong contrast with Jacob. As F. Delitzsch says, “secular greatness in general grows up far more rapidly than spiritual greatness” (New Commentary on Genesis, 2:238). In other words, the progress of the world far out distances the progress of the righteous who are waiting for the promise.
[36:2] 10 tn Heb “from the daughters of Canaan.”
[36:2] 11 tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.
[36:6] 12 tn Heb “from before.”
[36:7] 13 tn Heb “land of their settlements.”
[36:8] 14 tn Traditionally “Mount Seir,” but in this case the expression בְּהַר שֵׂעִיר (bÿhar se’ir) refers to the hill country or highlands of Seir.
[36:9] 15 sn The term father in genealogical records needs to be carefully defined. It can refer to a literal father, a grandfather, a political overlord, or a founder.
[36:12] 16 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
[36:13] 17 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
[36:14] 18 tn Heb “daughter,” but see Gen 36:24-25.
[36:15] 19 tn Or “clan leaders” (so also throughout this chapter).
[36:16] 21 tc The Samaritan Pentateuch omits the name “Korah” (see v. 11 and 1 Chr 1:36).
[36:16] 22 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
[36:17] 23 tn Or “grandsons” (NIV); “descendants” (NEB).
[36:20] 24 sn The same pattern of sons, grandsons, and chiefs is now listed for Seir the Horite. “Seir” is both the name of the place and the name of the ancestor of these tribes. The name “Horite” is probably not to be identified with “Hurrian.” The clan of Esau settled in this area, intermarried with these Horites and eventually dispossessed them, so that they all became known as Edomites (Deut 2:12 telescopes the whole development).
[36:22] 26 tn Heb “Hemam”; this is probably a variant spelling of “Homam” (1 Chr 1:39); cf. NRSV, NLT “Heman.”
[36:23] 27 tn This name is given as “Shephi” in 1 Chr 1:40.
[36:24] 28 tn The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain; Syriac reads “water” and Vulgate reads “hot water.”
[36:25] 29 tn Heb “sons,” but since a daughter is included in the list, the word must be translated “children.”
[36:26] 30 tn Heb “Dishan,” but this must be either a scribal error or variant spelling, since “Dishan” is mentioned in v. 28 (see also v. 21).
[36:31] 31 tn Or perhaps “before any Israelite king ruled over [them].”
[36:37] 32 tn Typically the Hebrew expression “the River” refers to the Euphrates River, but it is not certain whether that is the case here. Among the modern English versions which take this as a reference to the Euphrates are NASB, NCV, NRSV, CEV, NLT. Cf. NAB, TEV “Rehoboth-on-the-River.”
[36:39] 33 tc Most
[36:39] 34 tn The name of the city is given as “Pai” in 1 Chr 1:50.
[36:43] 35 tn Or perhaps “territories”; Heb “dwelling places.”
[37:1] 36 tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”
[37:1] 37 sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob – that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.
[37:2] 38 tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”
[37:2] 39 tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”
[37:2] 40 tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.
[37:2] 41 tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”
[37:2] 42 tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.
[37:2] sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light – not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular – and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.
