(Koil, Kalisch, Lange, • Speaker's Comment- the Edomitea. Tho clauso is equivalont to a.ry '). Duke Timnah, -according to the saying, This Esau (already referred to) wo.a ,xplana tion just given this should perhaps the ancestor of these Edomitos. c,e read duke of Tirnnah= Amalek, whose :,,other was Timna (Lange), but this is con- jectural - duke Alvah,- or of Alvah, or CHAPTER XXXVII. Aliah, closely allied to Alvan (ver. 28)- Ver. l.-And .Ta.cob dwelt in the land duke (oO .Tetheth,-" Nail" (Gesenius), ~herein his father ~as a _stranger (literally, "Subjugntion" (Fiirst)-duke (of) Aholiba- in the land of the so;ournings of his father), mah,-vide ver. 2; perhaps Esau's wife as in the land of Canaan. This verse is not tlie ,rell as Eliphaz's concubine go.ve her name commencement of the ensuing (Keil, Kalisch, to the district over which her son ruled- Lange, &c.), but the concluding sentence of duke Elah,-" Strength" (Fiirst), "Tere- the present, section, the adversative particle hinth" (M:urphy)-duke Pinon,-probably ,, corresponding to the o, of the LXX., in• equal to Pimou, dark(Gesenius)-duke Kenu troducing 11 contrast between Esau, who dwelt (vide ver. 11), duke Teman (ver. 15), duke in Mount Seir, and Jacob, who dwelt in the llibzar,-"Fortress," "Strong City" (Gese- land of Canaan, and the following verse be- niue)-duke llagdiel, - " Prince of God" ginning the next division of the book with (Gesenins)-duke Iram :-"Citizen" (Gese- the customary formula, "These are the nius)-these be the dukes of Edom, accord- generations" (LJS_X., some llfS., Quarry, ing to their habitations (i. e. their capitals, p. 523). Rosenmuller less happily connects or districts) in the land of their possessions. the present verse with eh. xxxv. 29 ; tho The word seems to indicate an independent Vulgate begins the next section witl1 ver. 3. sovereignty within their respective provinces A similar division of verses to that propose,! or principalities. Re is Esau the father of will be found in eh. u:v. 11
HOMILETICS. Ch. xxxvi. 1-xxxvii. 1.-The last of the ltouse of Esau. I. THE REMOVAL ou EsAu's HOUSE FROM CAN UN. 1. A complete removal. "Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into a land apart from the face of his brother." 2. A necessary removal. 'fwo things rendered the withdrawal of Esau from Canaan imperative-(}) that wl1ich was patent to Esau's sense, viz., that the land of Canaan was too strait to afford uccommodation to two so powerful chieftains as his brotl,er and himself; and (2) that which appears to have been accepted by Esau's faith, viz., that the decision of Divine providence was agaiilst him, and that the land belonged to Jacob. Hence for this twofold reason his retirement from Canaan is said to have taken place on account of his brother. 3. A peaceful removal. Though in one sense compulsory, in another aspect of it Esau's departure was voluntary. Instead of disputing pos- session of the land with his brother, which, humanly speaking, he might have done with some considerable hope of success, he quietly ceded what perhaps he saw he could not ultimately retain. Still it was to his credit that, instead of wrangling with Jacob about its present occupation, he peacefully withdrew to the wild mountain region of Seir. .A permanent removal. Esau established his settlements altogether ontside the limits of the Holy Land, and never again nppeared as a claimant for its jJDSscssion, leaving it finally in the free and undisputed ownership of Jacob. Hence, wl,ile it is said that "Esau dwelt in Mount Seir," it is appropnately added by the J,istorian, in concluding the present section, "And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein l1is father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan." II. TrrE DEVEL0P)IENT Oll' EsAu's HOUSE IN EooM. 1. A numerous race. Though Esau's sons were not so many os tlwse of Jacob, yet his descendants developed into a people much more ropidly than did those of Jacob. This may have b.een partly due to the circumstance that they were-2. A mixed race, having ohviously incorporated amongst themselves a portion at lenst of the original Horites, whose land they appro- pri!Lted, and wh,,se political life they appear to have adopted. Then it is npporent that they were-3. An aristocratic race. At the time of their invasion by the Esahitee, the cave-dwellers of Mount Seil" had attained to something like n settled government by meons of alluphim, phylarchs, or tribe princes, each of whom on. xxxv1. 1-xn:vn. 1.J THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 425
enjoyed a sort of independent sovereignty; and, as has often happened since, though obliged to retire before the more powerful Canaanitish tribe, they succeeded in impos- ing on their conquerors their own political institutions. No fewer than fourteen of Eeau's grandsons became reigning dukes in the country. Still further, it may be inferred that they were-4. A progres8i-ve race. The impulse towards a national life thus communicated by the Scirites does not appear to have exhausted itself by simply the formation of small independent principalities, which, as civilisation advances, are always felt to be a source of weakness rather than strength to tl,e country whose social and political unity is thus broken up, and which eventually call for the reverse process of a unification of the different fragments, whether by free confederation or by imperial subordination. In the case of the Edomitea the phylarchs were succeeded by kings, whether elective monarchs or foreign usurpers cannot be determined, though the preponderance of sentiment among interpreteu is in favour of the former hypothesis. And then, finally, they were-5. An eJiled race; that is to say, though sprung from the soil of Canaan, they developed outside its limi~Jacob's family alone, ns the Heaven-appointed heirs, remaining within the borders of the Holy Land. Learn-I. That God is able to bring about· his purposes in peaceful ways when he so desireth. 2. That natural men often exemplify great virtues in their conduct. 3. That abundance of wealth is frequently a cause of separation among friends. 4. That political greatness is much more easily attained, by nations as well as indi- viduals, than spiritual pre-eminence. 5. That a nation's advancement in civilisation is no certain guarantee of its continuance. 6. That in nature, as well as grace, the first is often last, and the last first. 7. That the heirs of the covenant are certain in the long run to obtain the inheritance.