Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel.
- KJV And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
- BSB These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites:
- NKJV Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel:
- NLT These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
This introduces the kings of Edom who reigned before Israel had any king. It notes Edom developed monarchy earlier than Israel.
Overview
Edom established kingship before Israel did, a fact the narrator points out deliberately. This reflects Isaac's blessing that Esau would gain earthly dominion (Genesis 27:40), while Israel's path to monarchy came later and through God's appointed time. The note also looks ahead to Israel's eventual kings, and ultimately to Christ, the true King in David's line, whose kingdom outlasts every earthly throne.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 17:6I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you.
- Gen 17:16I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.”
- 1 Chr 1:43–50Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
- Num 24:17–18I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth.
- Deut 17:14–20When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me”;
- Deut 33:5He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
- Gen 25:23Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger.”
- Num 20:14Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the travail that has happened to us;
- Deut 33:29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 36:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.