Genesis 36

This chapter is mostly genealogy, so I’d like to take a moment to look at the different ways Judaism views the story of Jacob, a story which will take us to the end of Bereishit (Genesis). Kabbalistic traditions are definitely in the minority amongst Jews, but I found the Kabbalah perspective interesting, and included it here.

From the point of view of the Jewish tradition, it is not the historical Jacob (if there is one) that matters most, but Jacob as he appears in Genesis as the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel. It is believed to be a moot point whether or not the narrator(s) of Genesis approve of Jacob’s actions and behavior. There is certainly much Jewish commentary that disapproves of Jacob’s deceptions, and his claim to birthright. However, in rabbinic literature, Jacob is made to represent the Jewish people as a whole, and the conflict between Jacob and Esau has been interpreted as the love-hate relationship between Rome and the Jews. Later in history, this relationship is seen as a symbol of the relationship between Christianity (Esau) and Judaism (Jacob).

In Kabbalistic doctrine of the Sefirot, and the Zohar text, each of the patriarchs represent one of the ten Sefirot. Abraham is the “pillar of loving-kindness”; Isaac, “the pillar of judgement”; and Jacob the “pillar of truth”, since truth is arrived at when apparently contradictory principles are reconciled.

The Kabbalah Sefirot.

Biblical Geneaology

Going back to the genealogy, we find that Esau’s wives don’t match up with previous chapters. In Genesis 26, Esau marries Judith and Basemath. In Genesis 28 he marries Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath.

Now, in Genesis 36, the order of the names of the wives is Adah, Aholibamah, and Basemath. Basemath is stated to be the daughter of Ishmael, whereas in Genesis 28, Basemath was a Hittite, and Mahalath was a daughter of Ishmael.

Confused? Yep, me too.

Many Christian commentators hold the view that yes, there are variations that are not easily accounted for, but they are not important enough to waste time thinking about. In other words, just sweep these inconsistencies under the rug and forget about it.

One aspect of the genealogy that stands out is Amalek, one of the chiefs of Edom descended from Eliphaz, firstborn son of Esau. If we recall, back in Genesis 14, the Amalekites were destroyed back during the time of Abraham. But here, turns out the founder of the Amalekites is Abraham’s great-grandson, who was not alive all those years ago! Quite a conundrum.