Genesis 36:33

33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.

Genesis 36:33 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 36:33

And Bela died
How long he reigned is not known with any certainty, nor whether he left any sons behind him; if he did, they did not succeed him in the throne; for Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead:
this king some have thought to be the same with Job, and from whom one of the books of Scripture has its name; but neither their names, nor age, nor country agree: who this Jobab and his father Zerah were cannot be said: they seem to be of the same country in which Jobab reigned, since he is said to be of Bozrah, a famous city of Idumea, after spoken of in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and others, ( Isaiah 34:6 ) ( 63:1 ) ( Jeremiah 48:24 ) ( Jeremiah 49:13 Jeremiah 49:22 ) ( Amos 1:12 ) ( Micah 2:12 ) ; Jarchi takes it to be a city of Moab, and indeed it is sometimes placed in Moab, and sometimes in Edom, it being on the borders of both, and sometimes belonged to the one and sometimes to the other. According to Mr. Bedford F11, this king began his reign, A. M. 2135, so that the former king must have reigned about forty two years; which is a space of time he allows to each successor, taking them one with another, the particular and exact time of each reign he not being able to fix.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Scripture Chronology, p. 327.

Genesis 36:33 In-Context

31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.
32 Bela the son of Be'or reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Din'habah.
33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Te'manites reigned in his stead.
35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Mid'ian in the country of Moab, reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Avith.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.