Genesis 36:5 | 69
13
Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14
Ja cob set up a stone pil lar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink of fer ing on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Beth el. a
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
35:23-26pp— 1Ch 2:1-2
16
Then they moved on from Beth el. While they were still some dis tance from Eph rath, Ra chel began to give birth and had great dif fi cul ty. 17 And as she was hav ing great dif fi cul ty in child birth, the mid wife said to her,“ Don’ t de spair, for you have an oth er son.” 18 As she breathed her last— for she was dy ing— she named her son Ben-Oni. b But his fa ther named him Ben ja min. c
19
So Ra chel died and was bur ied on the way to Eph rath( that is, Beth le hem). 20 Over her tomb Ja cob set up a pil lar, and to this day that pil lar marks Ra chel’ s tomb.
21
Is ra el moved on again and pitched his tent be yond Mig dal Eder. 22 While Is ra el was liv ing in that re gion, Reu ben went in and slept with his fa ther’ s con cu bine Bil hah, and Is ra el heard of it.
Ja cob had twelve sons:
23
The sons of Leah: Reu ben the first born of Ja cob, Sim e on, Levi, Ju dah, Is sa char and Zeb u lun.
24
The sons of Ra chel: Jo seph and Ben ja min.
25 The sons of Ra chel’ s ser vant Bil hah: Dan and Naph ta li.
26
The sons of Le ah’ s ser vant Zil pah: Gad and Ash er.
These were the sons of Ja cob, who were born to him in Pad dan Aram.
27
Ja cob came home to his fa ther Isaac in Mamre, near Kir i ath Arba( that is, He bron), where Abra ham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived a hun dred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gath ered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Ja cob bur ied him.
Esau’ s Descendants
36:10-14pp— 1Ch 1:35-37 36:20-28pp— 1Ch 1:38-42
36
This is the ac count of the fam i ly line of Esau( that is, Edom).
2
Esau took his wives from the wom en of Ca naan: Adah daugh ter of Elon the Hittite, and Ohol i ba mah daugh ter of Anah and grand daugh ter of Zib e on the Hi vite— 3 also Bas e math daugh ter of Ish ma el and sis ter of Ne ba ioth.
4
Adah bore El i phaz to Esau, Bas e math bore Reu el, 5 and Ohol i ba mah bore Je ush, Ja lam and Ko rah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Ca naan. a
15 Bethel means house of God. b
18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble. c
18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
35:14 stone pillar See note on 28:18. drink offering This offering involved pouring out liquid, usually wine, in honor of God( compare Ex 29:40 – 42; Isa 57:6). oil on it This marks the pillar as sacred( compare Ge 28:18).
35:16 – 29 This section describes Jacob’ s travels south and records the deaths of Rachel and Isaac, as well as an additional tragic incident involving Reuben.
35:16 Ephrath Genesis 35:19 identifies Ephrath with Bethlehem, as do other passages( 48:7; 1Sa 17:12; Ru 1:2; 4:11; Mic 5:2). Bethlehem is located in the territory of the tribe of Judah; it is surprising that Rachel is not buried in one of the territories allotted to her sons— Joseph and Benjamin. 35:18 Ben-Oni This Hebrew name can mean either“ son of my sorrow,”“ son of my oath” or“ son of my wickedness.” Because of the context,“ son of my sorrow” is more likely. his father named him Benjamin Benjamin( binyamin in Hebrew) means“ son of the right hand.” Since the Hebrew word yamin is also used to denote the southern direction( facing east), the name can also mean“ son of the south.” See the table“ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew” on p. 1388. 35:22 his father’ s concubine Bilhah Bilhah was Rachel’ s maidservant. With the matriarch of the family( Rachel) now dead, Reuben’ s violation of Bilhah ensures she will never replace Rachel as chief wife. Had Bilhah desired this status, her chief rival would have been Leah— Reuben’ s mother. Reuben was already the firstborn( Ge 29:32; 35:23), but Jacob’ s favor of Rachel— and thus her sons— likely concerned him. He may have also been concerned for his mother. Since Reuben was the firstborn, cohabiting with his father’ s concubine represented a challenge to his aging father’ s position and authority. Reuben’ s act is a political move for power, one that recurs elsewhere in the OT for similar reasons( 2Sa 3:7 – 8; 12:7 – 10; 16:21 – 22; 1Ki 2:13 – 25). Jacob commemorates Reuben’ s failure in his deathbed rebuke, denying Reuben any right to preeminence over his siblings and their families( Ge 49:3 – 4). 35:27 Kiriath Arba This is an early name for Hebron. See note on 23:2.
36:1 – 43 There are two genealogies in this passage: vv. 1 – 8 and vv. 9 – 43. This passage is the last mention of Esau in Genesis( compare note on 5:1). The remainder of the book( chs. 37 – 50) focuses on Jacob’ s descendants.
36:1 Esau See note on 25:25. Edom See 25:30 and note. 36:2 Esau took his wives The names of Esau’ s wives in this account differ from those in 26:34 and 28:9. Despite these variances, all the traditions agree that Esau married foreign wives( see 26:35; 27:46— 28:9). women of Canaan This Hebrew term is used in the Pentateuch to refer to the wide range of peoples living in the region.