Genesis 36:31
in Genesis 36These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
KJV
And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
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This verse in Genesis 36
Commentary
6 notes on this verseGod had lately promised Jacob that kings shall come out of his loins: yet Esau's blood becomes royal long before any of Jacob's did. Probably it was a trial to the faith of Israel, to hear of the power of the kings of Edom, while they were bond-slaves in Egypt: but those that look for great things from God must be content to wait for them. God's time is the best time.
This site's exposition
before any king reigned over the Israelites
on Genesis 36:31-32
Eight kings reigned in Edom before Israel had any king of its own. The first of them is Bela son of Beor, whose city was Dinhabah. Calvin reads the line about Israel's kings as Moses writing in the light of the promise that kings would come from Jacob at Genesis 35:11, and others take it as a note set down later. Henry observes that little beyond the names is recorded here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Little more is recorded than their names, because the history of those that were out of the church (though perhaps it might have been serviceable in politics) would have been of little use in divinity. It is in the church that the memorable instances are found of special grace, and special providence; for that is the enclosure, the rest is common.
These are the names - Observe here, 1. That only the names of Esau's sons and grand-sons are recorded: not their history, for it is the church that Moses preserves the records of, not of those that were without. The elders only that lived by faith obtained a good report.
And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Before there reigned any king over - Israel - I suppose all the verses, from Gen 36:31-39 inclusive, have been transferred to this place from 1Ch 1:43-50, as it is not likely they could have been written by Moses; and it is quite possible they might have been, at a very early period, written in the margin of an authentic copy, to make out the regal succession in Edom, prior to the consecration of Saul; which words being afterwards found in the margin of a valuable copy, from which others were transcribed, were supposed by the copyist to be a part of the text, which having been omitted by the mistake of the original writer, had been since added to make up the deficiency; on this conviction he would not hesitate to transcribe them consecutively in his copy.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ | veeleh | and these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הַמְּלָכִ֔ים | hamelakhim | [were] the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מָלְכ֖וּ | malkhu | they reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֱד֑וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מְלָךְ־ | melokh- | reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| מֶ֖לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לִבְנֵ֥י | livnei | of [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙and these
veelehH428 →746 times
הַמְּלָכִ֔ים[were] the kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מָלְכ֖וּthey reigned
malkhuH4427 →348 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
אֱד֑וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
מְלָךְ־reigned
melokh-H4427 →348 times
מֶ֖לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
לִבְנֵ֥יof [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 17:6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:4
“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- Genesis 35:11
And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 1:6–17
and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife,
- Genesis 17:4
Through
Genesis 25:23and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the…
it leads to
- Romans 9:10–13
Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.
- Genesis 27:40
You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
- 2 Samuel 8:14
He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- Malachi 1:2–5
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
- Romans 9:10–13
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.