Genesis 36:39 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 36:39
And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Achbor
עַכְבּוֹר֒'akh.bOr
H5907
Akbor · proper noun, a man's name
died
וַיָּמָת֮vai.ya.Mat
H4191
to die (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Hadar
הֲדַ֔רha.Dar
H1924
Hadar · proper noun, a man's name
reigned
וַיִּמְלֹ֤ךְvai.yim.Lokh
H4427
to reign · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
name
וְשֵׁ֥םve.Shem
H8034
an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
city
עִיר֖וֹi.Ro
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Pau
פָּ֑עוּPa.'u
H6464
Pau or Pai · proper noun, a place name
wife’s
אִשְׁתּ֤וֹ'ish.To
H802
a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
name
וְשֵׁ֨םve.Shem
H8034
an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
Mehetabel
מְהֵֽיטַבְאֵל֙me.hei.tav.'El
H4105
Mehetabel · proper noun, a man's name
daughter
בַּתbat-
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Matred
מַטְרֵ֔דmat.Red
H4308
Matred · proper noun, a woman's name
daughter
בַּ֖תbat
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Mezahab
מֵ֥יmei
H4314
Me-Zahab · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Exodus 15:15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall mel…
1 Chronicles 1:50 And when Baal-hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 36:31–end
By degrees, it seems, the Edomites wormed out the Horites, obtained full possession of the country, and had a government of their own. 1. They were ruled by kings, who governed the whole country, and seem to have come to the throne by election, and not by lineal descent; so bishop Patrick observes. These kings reigned in Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel, that is, before Moses's time, for he was king in Jeshurun, Gen 36:3. God had lately promised Jacob that kings should come out of his loins (Gen 35:11), yet Esau's blood becomes royal long before any of Jacob's did. Note, In external prosperity and honour, the children of the covenant are often cast behind, and t…
kings of Edom--The royal power was not built on the ruins of the dukedoms, but existed at the same time.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 36:35
Smote Midian in the field of Moab - Bishop Cumberland supposes that this was Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah, and that he was killed by Hadad some time before he was one hundred and nine years of age; and that Moses recorded this, probably, because it was a calamity to the ancestor of Jethro, his father-in-law - Orig. of Nat., p. 14.
John Gill on Genesis 36:39
And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died,.... About A. M. 2367.
and Hadar reigned in his stead; the last of the Horite kings, when an end was put to this monarchy by the united families of Seir and Esau, and changed into dukedoms; of which there were seven of the race of Seir, and fourteen of the race of Esau, of whom an account is given in the preceding part of this chapter: as for this last king it is further said of him:
and the name of his city was Pau; but where it was cannot be said:
and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab; this woman seems to be a person of note, by the particular mention made of her; but whether the names of her ancestors are…
Achbor — Gnawing = mouse. (1.) An Edomitish king (Gen. 36:38; 1 Chr. 1:49). (2.) One of Josiah’s officers sent to the prophetess Huldah to inquire regarding the newly-discovered book of the law (2 Kings…
Baal — Lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is…
Baal-hanan — Lord of grace. (1.) A king of Edom, son of Achbor (Gen. 36:38, 39; 1 Chr. 1:49, 50). (2.) An overseer of “the olive trees and sycomore trees in the low plains” (the Shephelah) under David (1 Chr.…
Bashemath — Sweet-smelling. (1.) The daughter of Ishmael, the last of Esau’s three wives (Gen. 36:3, 4, 13), from whose son Reuel four tribes of the Edomites sprung. She is also called Mahalath (Gen. 28:9). It…
Duke — Derived from the Latin dux, meaning “a leader;” Arabic, “a sheik.” This word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe (Gen. 36:15-43; Ex. 15:15; 1 Chr. 1:51-54).
Edom — (1.) The name of Esau (q.v.), Gen. 25:30, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [Heb. haadom, haadom, i.e., ‘the red pottage, the red pottage’] ...Therefore was his name called Edom”,…
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Hadad — Adod, brave(?), the name of a Syrian god. (1.) An Edomite king who defeated the Midianites (Gen. 36:35; 1 Chr. 1:46). (2.) Another Edomite king (1 Chr. 1:50, 51), called also Hadar (Gen. 36:39; 1…
Hadar — Adod, brave(?). (1.) A son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:15); in 1 Chr. 1:30 written Hadad. (2.) One of the Edomitish kings (Gen. 36:39) about the time of Saul. Called also Hadad (1 Chr. 1:50, 51). It is…
Matred — (pushing forward) daughter of Mezahab and mother of Mehetabel, who was wife of Hadar or Hadad of Pau, king of Edom. (Genesis 36:39; 1 Chronicles 1:50)
John Calvin on Genesis 36:31–end
These are the kings that reigned, etc We must keep in memory what we have said a little before, that reprobates are suddenly exalted, that they may immediately fall, like the herb upon the roofs, which is destitute of root, and has a hasty growth, but withers the more quickly. To the two sons of Isaac had been promised the honor that kings should spring from them. The Idumeans first began to reign, and thus the condition of Israel seemed to be inferior. But at length, lapse of time taught how much better it is, by creeping on the ground, to strike the roots deep, than to acquire an extravagant pre-eminence for a moment, which speedily vanishes away. There is, therefore, no reason why the fai…
(Parallel, Ch1 1:43-50). The Kings in the Land of Edom: before the children of Israel had a king. It is to be observed in connection with the eight kings mentioned here, that whilst they follow one another, that is to say, one never comes to the throne till his predecessor is dead, yet the son never succeeds the father, but they all belong to different families and places, and in the case of the last the statement that "he died" is wanting. From this it is unquestionably obvious, that the sovereignty was elective; that the kings were chosen by the phylarchs; and, as Isa 34:12 also shows, that they lived or reigned contemporaneously with these. The contemporaneous existence of the Alluphim an…
It is not clear how these kings of Edom were related to Esau. The clans in Edom followed the same pattern of organization as the later tribes of Israel. They eventually chose a king from one of their tribes and carried on a line of succession from him.
36:31 before any king ruled over the Israelites: This editorial note was probably inserted into the text during Israel’s monarchy (see study note on 35:20).
Rashi on Genesis 36:39
בת מי זהב THE DAUGHTER OF ME-ZAHAB — meaning מהו זהב what value has gold? He was so rich that gold had no value in his eyes (Genesis Rabbah 83:4).
Mehetabel — Wife of Hadad, one of the kings of Edom (Gen. 36:39).
Mezahab — Water of gold, the father of Matred (Gen. 36:39; 1 Chr. 1:50), and grandfather of Mehetabel, wife of Hadar, the last king of Edom.
Pau — (Gen. 36:39) or Pai (1 Chr. 1:50), bleating, an Edomitish city ruled over by Hadar.
Achbor · 1. Father of King Baal-hanan — 1. Father of King Baal-hanan
Baal-Hanan · 1. A king of Edom — 1. A king of Edom
Duke · Title of the princes of Edom — Title of the princes of Edom
Edomites · Kings of — Kings of
Edomites, The · Cities of: Pau — Cities of: Pau
Hadad · . — .
Matred · Mother of Mehetabel — Mother of Mehetabel
Mehetabel · Wife of Hadar — Wife of Hadar
Mezahab · Grandfather of Mehetabel — Grandfather of Mehetabel
Pai · General references — General references
Pau · A city of Edom — A city of Edom
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
