COME AS A CHILD LESSON 90 CATCHING UP WITH ESAU

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

While we have been busy studying the life of Jacob, a lot has been going on in the life of Esau. 

Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan.  He had three wives, Adah (the daughter of Elon the Hitite) and Oholibamah (the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), and Basemath (the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.)  More than likely this WAS the same Ishmael who was the son of Hagar, since people lived to be very, very old in those days, it is conceivable that this could happen. 

Esau was also called Edom.  His wife Adah gave him a son named Eliphaz.  His wife Basemath gave him a son named Reuel.  His wife Oholibamah gave him three sons named Jeush, Jalam and Korah.  All of these, five sons were born to Esau in Canaan. 

We are told that the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, after resolving their issues with one another separated into two groups and Esau moved some distance away to a land further distanced from Jacob.  This was not because they did not get along, but because their possessions were too great for them to remain together.  There was not enough land to support both of their groups of livestock. 

Esau settled in the country of Sier where he became known as “Edom” and the father of the Edomites.  I find it interesting that Esau’s name also changed as he grew older.  It is not said that God changed his name, only that he became known by the same name as the land he inhabited.  Though the name itself changed, the meaning behind it did not.  You could think of this more as the frequent use of a nickname that became the known name.  Edom in Hebrew means "red."  He was called Edom because he was known for trading his birthright for a bowl of red soup.  How appropriate for the land of Edom that is known for its formations of red sandstone.

Esau and his family lived in the hill country.  While they were living there Esau’s son by his wife named Adar bore Esau and Adar grandchildren; Eliphaz, had five sons born to him; Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.  These wore born to Eliphaz by his wife. 

Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna.  He had a son by her named Amalek.  Pay attention to Amalek the son of Timna, we will hear much about him later.   

Esau and his wife Basemath also had grandsons named; Reuel, Nahath, Zerah, Shammath and Mizzah.

Esau’s sons were all very trained and mighty military chieftains.  They were heads over each of their own tribes.  They were great patriarchal sheikhs who were celebrated as heroes by their people.

It is impossible to trace the descendants of these tribes with any accuracy .  We do have knowledge of Eliphaz the Temanite being mentioned again in the book of Job   His grandson Teman was most known for his great wisdom and the city Teman was named after him. 

As mentioned earlier Amalek became the founder of the Amalekites who later attacked the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt to Sinai.  They did not just attack them, they targeted the weakest of the people and preyed upon their vulnerabilities.  These descendants of Amalek became a powerful and famous tribe.  Since Amalek was the son of a concubine, his brothers had little use for him, and Amalek became separated from the tribes of Esau early in life and formed his own band of men.    This one descendant of Esau has given the whole clan a very bad reputation.  As the saying goes "one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch." 

We will study more about the life of Amalek at a later date.  It seems that every generation since Esau has had its own form of Amalek.  It is not so much the form of Amalek that we must prepare to fight against, but the spirit of evil that lies behind and drives that form.  We must defeat that evil spirit so much so that it will never even be remembered again.      

The Horites were the original inhabitants of the land of Sier even before Esau came there, but it seems that Esau’s sons subdued them and the remnants of their tribes intermarried with the Edomites (descendants of Esau.)   The Horites and the tribes of Esau (Edom) were so intermingled that some of the Horites became a part of the mentioned genealogy of Esau.  There is a special note in the scriptures about one of them named Anah. 

While Anah pastured the mules of his father Zibeon it seems that he discovered some warm springs with medicinal qualities.  These are possibly the springs around the area of Callirhoe on the east of the Dead Sea in the Wadi, as these springs are famous for their medicinal qualities and their very hot temperatures.  Many think that Anah was the same person as Berri who became known as “the fountain man” or the “well finder”

The sons of Esau all had cities named after them, some of these cities still have their names today.  The scriptures tell us that Edom had kings reigning and in power long before the Israelite kings came into existence. 

The chiefs, or kings, or princes, or dukes from Esau (it has been translated many different ways, but they all imply royalty and rule) were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel and Iram.  

Esau was known by all of these as The Father of the Edomites.