Bible Strands
Genesis 36:15
These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a genealogical register of Esau’s descendants in Edom immediately after listing the sons of his wife Oholibamah. This moment functions as an administrative inventory of tribal leadership within the Edomite lineage.
The words — אַלּוּפֵי (‘alupe) translates literally as “chiefs” or tribal commanders, and בְּכוֹר (bĕkôr) means “firstborn,” establishing Eliphaz’s primacy among Esau’s sons. These terms frame the list as a record of inherited authority rather than a narrative account.
The thread — The same chiefs appear in Genesis 36:11 and 36:16, while Teman is cited in Obadiah 1:9 as a marker of Edomite military power and in Job 2:11 as the hometown of Eliphaz. This textual recurrence tracks the enduring tribal structure of Esau’s line across historical and prophetic literature.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge how patriarchal lineages are preserved through precise genealogical documentation. It asks for recognition of tribal continuity without importing theological commentary into a census-style record.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
Cross-references
- Obadiah 1:9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter.
- Genesis 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
- Job 2:11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.
- Genesis 36:4 And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel,
- Genesis 36:18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
- Exodus 15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
- 1 Chronicles 1:35 The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
- 1 Chronicles 1:45 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
- 1 Chronicles 1:51 Then Hadad died. Now the chiefs of Edom were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
- Job 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: