Genesis 36:19
in Genesis 36All these are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and they were their chiefs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs: the same is Edom.
KJV
These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
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This verse in Genesis 36
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The head of each tribe was called by a term which in our version is rendered "duke"--not of the high rank and wealth of a British peer, but like the sheiks or emirs of the modern East, or the chieftains of highland clans. Fourteen are mentioned who flourished contemporaneously.
This site's exposition
These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau
on Genesis 36:15-19
The Berean gives chief where the King James gives duke, and Clarke traces that English to the Latin dux, a leader. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown count fourteen chiefs alive at once, from Eliphaz, from Reuel and from Oholibamah. Korah stands among the chiefs of Eliphaz in verse 16, though verse 14 makes him a son of Oholibamah. Gill allowed a grandson carrying the same name.
This site's exposition
they were their chiefs
Chief is alluf in Hebrew, tied to eleph, a thousand. An alluf heads one of the families of the sons of Esau in the land of Edom. Exodus 15:15 uses the word when the chiefs of Edom are dismayed at the sea.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 19.) These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs; he is Edom. And these are the sons of Seir. Esau and Edom and Seir are the names of one man; and the reason why they are called by different names has been explained above.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
These are the sons of Esua,.... See Gill on Gen 36:15.
Esau's sons were dukes when Jacob's sons were but plain shepherds, ch. xlvii. This is not a reason why such titles should not be used among Christians; but it is a reason why men should not overvalue themselves, or others, for the sake of them. There is an honour that comes from God, and a name in his house that is infinitely more valuable.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֧לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [were] [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֵשָׂ֛ו | ʾesav | Esau | H6215 → | 97 times |
| וְאֵ֥לֶּה | veeleh | and these | H428 → | 746 times |
| אַלּוּפֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾalufeihem | [were] chiefs their | H441 → | 69 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֱדֽוֹם׃ ס | ʾedom | [is] Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
אֵ֧לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
בְנֵי־[were] [the] sons of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
עֵשָׂ֛וEsau
ʾesavH6215 →97 times
וְאֵ֥לֶּהand these
veelehH428 →746 times
אַלּוּפֵיהֶ֖ם[were] chiefs their
ʾalufeihemH441 →69 times
ה֥וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֱדֽוֹם׃ ס[is] Edom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.