GENESIS 36, or, "So-and-so begat so-and-so"

You know the drill by now

This is another chapter where we learn the names of the descendants of an important figure in the Bible. This time, it's Esau.

Interesting things to note here: We are told that "Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan". Canaan, remember, is the land of the descendants of Ham, Noah's cursed son and believed by some to be the father of the African people. This reinforces Genesis' theme of "Good Brother/Bad Brother". There is the chosen lineage that God favors, and then there are the others. Without a doubt, Esau falls into the "other" category, where Ham also fell.

I've noticed that sometimes the Bible will throw in funny little asides while laying out these lineages. Like here, in GEN 36:24, we have "The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon"

I like imagining someone from the olden times reading that and going, "Oh... that Anah"

BONUS: Today, I'll leave you with a miniaturized version of a gigantic diagram that outlines the genealogy of the Old Testament. See the full resolution diagram HERE on the University of Minnesota Duluth website (Go bulldogs!).