Notes 49: The Edomites (36:1-43)

SYNOPSIS: An almanack-like notice about the kings of the neighbouring nation of Edom, founded by Jacob's brother Esau.

• Text of the passage in Nawat

As far as the narrative is concerned, the only really obvious reason for needing this chapter at all is to wrap up the story of Esau, who is made the father of another nation, Edom, and thereupon leaves the stage of Genesis for good. 

The historical dimension of this chapter is much more salient than the very slight relevance it seems to have to the book of Genesis as a "novel", but of course Genesis isn't per se a novel, so that is not in itself a reason for ignoring it. Genesis is a narrative, but the historical aspect is part of the narrative's point. The trouble is that I am not a historian. As far as the rest of the story goes, as a story, nobody would notice if this chapter wasn't there. Since I am neither highly motivated nor well-equipped to analyse this text for what it is, I prefer to let the commentaries that I am consulting do the talking.


The Century Bible makes the point that "the chapter is tribal history in the form of genealogies", adding that "it suggest that many clans of Edom ultimately were absorbed in Israel" (CB p. 327).


Speiser expands greatly on this (EAS, p. 281):

Esau-Seir is the ancestor of the Edomites in the same way that Jacob-Israel is the eponym of the Israelites. As Israel's neighbor and close relative, Edom is no stranger to biblical tradition, even though it never loomed large in historical times. There must have been, however, a period in the formative stage of Israel when Edom's position had been of greater consequence. This is still reflected by Esau's status as the older of the twins. The surrender of his birthright to Jacob (xxv 29ff.) is but a reminder of the eventual turn in political fortunes. The present section contains another such reminder - indeed, a far more impressive one in a historical sense - with a list of Edomite rulers who antedate any king of Israel... The material, in short, dry though it may seem, is significant in its own way, and it has retained its importance to this day precisely because the nameless researchers who compiled it in ancient times had great respect for such data. But by the time that the results had to be incorporated in the general framework of Genesis, the compilations had grown into several lists, based on much the same facts but arranged according to different principles; hence the various duplications in the composite account that has come down to us.

Which lists are those (p. 282)?

The section as a whole subdivides into several lists (cf. von Rad) which appear to be curiously interlocked and repetitious: (a) vss. 1-9; (b) 10-14; (c) 15-19; (d) 20-30; (e) 31-39; and (f) 40-43. List "b" combines the names cited in "a" and "c," while "f" duplicates in turn some of the names in "b." On further probing, however, a pattern begins to emerge. List "a" gives the names of Esau's three wives and their children; "b" starts out with the sons and goes on to the grandchildren; "c" treats the same individuals as heads of clans, and "f" deals outright with "the clans of Esau - each with its subdivisions and localities - by their name" (vs. 40)... The two remaining lists are substantially different from the above. List "d" records a number of clan-eponyms who are explicitly designated as Horite (29 f.); it also contains an incidental notice (vs. 24) that is in the style and spirit of narratives (cf. xxx 14). And list "e" gives a succession of Edomite kings, all of whom antedate the Israelite monarchy.

So, again the "Horites", but Speiser adds here an important word of caution (p 283):

But the Horites of Seir-Edom can no longer be equated with Hurrians. There is no archaeological or epigraphic trace of the Hurrians anywhere in Edomite territory. Moreover, the Horite personal names recorded in this section (20ff.) are clearly Semitic... It follows that Heb. [xori]... designated two unrelated groups: the non-Semitic Hurrians, who had spread to Syria and North-Central Palestine; and the Semitic group that bore by coincidence the same name and was centred in Seir.

According to Speiser, the word élef, literally 'thousand' (plural alafim) was used here in the sense of 'clan', and alluf (pl. allufim) was the title of the clan leader, translated as 'chieftain' or 'duke' (Latin dux, really meaning 'leader').
 
The commentary in Etz Hayim carries out a segmentation of the chapter which coincides with Speiser's except at the beginning, as follows:

Esau's wives and sons in Canaan (1-5): According to EH, the details about Esau's marriages "tell the reader about the various ethnic relationships among the tribes and record the absorption of Canaanite clans into the sphere of Edom."

The migration to Seir (6-8): Seir (se‛ir) is "a territory southeast of the Dead Sea alongside the Arabah, which becomes the national territory of Esau/Edom."

Esau's descendants in Seir (9-14): Repetition of the preceding genealogy but continuing on to the third generation for Adah and Basemath. In all there are twelve descendants, excluding Amalek (the son of a concubine), implying another twelve-tribe confederation on the same model seen in the tribes of Israel, Ishmael and Nahor.

The allufim of Esau (15-19): Yet another genealogy, this time presenting them as the allufim (chieftains) of the homonymous clans; these mostly follow the foregoing list with a few adjustments.

The indigenous Horites of Seir (20-30): The names in this section, in contrast to those related to Esau, are non-Semitic. EH comments: 

The information given in this chapter, taken in conjunction with the report of Deut. 2:12, adds up to a picture of a violent invasion of Seir by the Esau clan, followed by a process of gradual absorption of the native Horites into the "descendants of Esau." We are now given a genealogy of Seir, who is regarded as the name-giving patriarch of the leading native clans, numbering seven in all.

The Edomite kings (31-39): Not a genealogy this time but a list of kings. The throne was not hereditary. EH thinks that "the narrator probably used Edomite records as the source for the list." I had something to say about this king list in my earlier post here.

The Edomite allufim (40-43): Rounds off the chapter with a summary. EH: "This list, arranged by localities that are identical with the clan names, reflects administrative arrangements in Edom."


36:6-7
The reason given for Esau's removal to Seir was (wayyélekh el éretz) mipne ya‛aqov 'to get away from Jacob' (sic), and the following statement recalls that used to refer to the separation of Abraham and Lot (ch. 13): ki haya r'khusham rav misshévet yaxdaw 'for their estates were too big for them to live together' (cf. 13:6 w'lo nasa otam ha'áretz lashévet yaxdaw).

36:24 asher matza et hayyemim bammidbar
Unintelligible: this Ana found yemim in the desert, but what are yemim?? The Septuagint transcribes the word without translating it (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Ωνας, ὃς εὗρεν τὸν Ιαμιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ). The Vulgate ventures aquas calidas whence 'hot springs' in KJV and other translations, for which Speiser says there is "no warrant." His own conjecture is that h-y-m-y-m was a mistake for h-m-y-m = hammáyim 'water.' Finding water in the desert, he says, is news enough.