Genesis 36:31

And these [are] the kings that reigned in the land of Edom,.... In the land that was afterwards called the land of Edom; for this laud was not so called when these kings began to reign: for,

And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom.

He speaks of the posterity of Esau, who after they had subdued the Horites, erected a kingdom there. Here profane wits triumph. How, say they, could Moses write this, when as yet there was no king in Israel? Answ. 1. The word may be taken for any chief governor, in which sense the title of king is given to Moses, ; and to the judges, ; and to others who were not kings, properly so called, , &c. Answ. 2. Moses might well say thus, because he did by the Spirit of prophecy foresee, and therefore could foretell, that the Israelites would have a king, as appears from ,15. Answ. 3. This, with other clauses of the same nature, might be inserted afterwards by some holy and inspired man of God, as it is confessed that part of the last chapter of Deuteronomy was.

Genesis 36:31 And these [are] the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.Ver. 31. Before there reigned any king, &c.] Sicut herba tectorum praecocem habet vigorem, sed citius arescit. Exoriuntur impii, sed exuruntur. They are set up on high, but "on slippery places"; advanced, as Haman, but to be brought down again with a vengeance. This observation the Hebrews make upon this text: While Edom reigns and flourishes, Israel groanes under the servitude of Egypt. Pomp and prosperity, then, is no sure note of the true Church.

(31) The kings.—In the triumphal song of Moses on the Red Sea we still read of “dukes of Edom” (Exodus 15:15; but when Israel had reached the borders of their land, we find that Edom had then a king (Numbers 20:14). But in the list given here, no king succeeds his father, and probably these were petty monarchs, who sprang up in various parts of the country during a long period of civil war, in which the Horites were finally as completely conquered as were the Canaanites in Palestine under the heavy hands of Saul and Solomon. In the time of the dukes, there were also Horite dukes of the race of Seir, ruling districts mixed up apparently with those governed by the descendants of Esau. But all these now disappear.

Verse 31. Before there reigned any king over - Israel.] I suppose all the verses, from Genesis 36:31-39 inclusive, have been transferred to this place from 1 Chronicles 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. In most MSS. sentences and paragraphs have been left out by the copyists, which, when perceived, have been added in the margin, either by the original writer, or by some later hand. Now, as the margin was the ordinary place where glosses or explanatory notes were written, it is easy to conceive how the notes, as well as the parts of the original text found in the margin, might be all incorporated with the text by a future transcriber; and his MSS., being often copied, would of course multiply the copies with such additions, as we have much reason to believe has been the case. This appears very frequently in the Vulgate and Septuagint; and an English Bible now before me written some time in the fourteenth century, exhibits several proofs of this principle. See the preface to this work. I know there is another way of accounting for those words on the ground of their being written originally by Moses; but to me it is not satisfactory. It is simply this: the word king should be considered as implying any kind of regular government, whether by chiefs, dukes, judges, &c., and therefore when Moses says these are the kings which reigned in Edom, before there was any king in Israel, he may be only understood as saying that these kings reigned among the Edomites before the family of Jacob had acquired any considerable power, or before the time in which his twelve sons had become the fathers of those numerous tribes, at the head of which, as king himself in Jeshurun, he now stood. Esau, after his dukes, had eight kings, who reigned successively over their people, while Israel were in affliction in Egypt.

31–39. Kings of Edom 31. any king] From this verse we infer that the writer lived at a time subsequent to the foundation of the Israelite monarchy. The definition, however, of the date is not quite clear in the opinion of some scholars. It is simplest to render, “before there reigned a king for Israel,” i.e. before the time of Saul. But it is noteworthy that LXX Cod. A renders, “before there reigned any king in Jerusalem.” Dillmann translates “before an Israelite king reigned,” i.e. over Edom, referring to the subjugation of the Edomites by David. The tradition shews that Edom had a settled constitution before Israel. In Scriptural terms Esau was “the elder.” It is to be observed that the Edomite kings, (1) had different places of residence, (2) were not hereditary kings. Perhaps they may be compared with the local judges of Israel. “The land of Edom” is the whole territory, more extensive than “mount Seir” (Genesis 36:8). There was a “king of Edom” in Moses’ time (Numbers 20:14).

THE KINGS OF EDOM, Genesis 36:31-39. How a monarchy arose among the Edomites we are not told, but it is noticeable that of the eight kings here mentioned, not one is said to have succeeded to his father.