Genesis 36:20 - Meaning and Application

In the middle of this family record of the Edomites, the writer inserts the line of the Horites, the Canaanite or Hittite people who lived in Mount Seir (compare Genesis 26:34). They are mentioned earlier in Genesis 14:6, and again in Deuteronomy 2:12, Deuteronomy 2:22, where their land in Mount Seir is spoken of before the Edomites took it over.

This is included here not only to help explain the history, but also as a warning against the Edomites. They had married into the Horites, and it is likely that through this connection they learned their ways and became corrupted. Esau had sold his birthright, lost his blessing, and joined himself to the Hittites, so his descendants are listed together with the sons of Seir.

There is a special mention of Anah, who fed the donkeys of his father Zibeon (Genesis 36:24), yet later is called Duke Anah in Genesis 36:29. Those who hope to rise high should be willing to begin low. A noble family line should not keep a man from honest work, and humble work should not block anyone’s advancement.

This Anah was not only hardworking, but also skilled and successful. He found mules, or, as some understand it, hot springs in the wilderness. People who are diligent in their work sometimes discover more good than they expected.