Ok so most of the time people just skip over Genesis 36, since it's just Esau's lineage, but I think there's some really funky stuff going on there, I'm trying to figure it out but I'll put it all here for your amusement. Here's the gist of the part that I'm actually interested in.
Ok so to start out with, a couple things to mention: Seir was a Horite, a giant clan mentioned in Deuteronomy, and Timna was Eliphaz's concubine, not wife, and this is significant.
So, Seir had three relevant kids: Anah (M), Timna (F), and Lotan (M). The first is significant insofar as his daughter was (one of) Esau's wife(s), simple enough. Timna, however, is where things get interesting. She was a concubine, and of a giant clan no less. This means that she was likely a cult prostitute, which would then imply that Amalek was itself a giant clan itself, being born of demonic rituals. This is also seen in the future with the wickedness of Amalek and their attack on Israel in Exodus. In addition, Lotan is really never mentioned again, but his name is significant. The name Lotan is the same name for Leviathan, the chaos sea dragon who is mentioned in a few places in the scripture. It's confusing as to what the text is referring to. Perhaps Seir had an actual son and named him after the great serpent, which would show his wickedness and the wickedness of Eliphaz in meeting with such a concubine. Or else, it's also possible that Moses is literally referring to the monster, talking about how Leviathan is her brother because she is a giantess and thus part demon.
I have to say, probably one of the most interesting genalogies I've ever read (although the ones in Genesis are mostly fire).
Comments