The Descendants of Esau

361 And these are the generations of Esau, that is Edom. 2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basmath Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz; and Basmath bore Reuel. 5 And Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau that were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went into a country away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their property was too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were sojourners could not bear them, because of their cattle. 8 Thus Esau dwelt in mount Seir; Esau is Edom.

9 And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, in mount Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Basmath the wife of Esau. 11 —And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah Esau's wife. 13 —And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. 14 —And these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bore to Esau Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. 18 —And these are the sons of Oholibamah Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jaalam, chief Korah; these are the chiefs of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau, and these their chiefs: he is Edom.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitant of the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, 21 and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 —And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 —And these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 —And these are the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This is the Anah that found the warm springs in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. 25 —And these are the sons of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 —And these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. 27 —These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. 28 —These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

31 And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned a king over the children of Israel. 32 And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 And Bela died; and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. 34 And Jobab died; and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. 35 And Husham died; and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the fields of Moab, reigned in his stead. And the name of his city was Avith. 36 And Hadad died; and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. 37 And Samlah died; and Saul of Rehoboth on the river reigned in his stead. 38 And Saul died; and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 39 And Baal-hanan 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 daughter of Mezahab. 40 And these are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, after their places, with their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling-places in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of Edom.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

371 And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned—in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, fed the flock with his brethren; and he was doing service with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father an evil report of them. 3 And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was son of his old age; and he made him a vest of many colours. 4 And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, and they hated him, and could not greet him with friendliness.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told [it] to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more. 6 And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream, which I have dreamt: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the fields, and lo, my sheaf rose up, and remained standing; and behold, your sheaves came round about and bowed down to my sheaf. 8 And his brethren said to him, Wilt thou indeed be a king over us? wilt thou indeed rule over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words. 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamt another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me. 10 And he told [it] to his father and to his brethren. And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamt? Shall we indeed come, I and thy mother and thy brethren, to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying.

12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock at Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] at Shechem? Come, that I may send thee to them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see after the welfare of thy brethren, and after the welfare of the flock; and bring me word again. And he sent him out of the vale of Hebron; and he came towards Shechem. 15 And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the country; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16 And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed [their flocks]. 17 And the man said, They have removed from this; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them at Dothan. 18 And when they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to put him to death. 19 And they said one to another, Behold, there comes that dreamer! 20 And now come and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast has devoured him; and we will see what becomes of his dreams. 21 And Reuben heard [it], and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. 22 And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood: cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness; but lay no hand upon him—in order that he might deliver him out of their hand, to bring him to his father again.

23 And it came to pass when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his vest, the vest of many colours, which he had on; 24 and they took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty—there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from Gilead; and their camels bore tragacanth, and balsam, and ladanum—going to carry [it] down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said to his brethren, What profit is it that we kill our brother and secrete his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened [to him]. 28 And Midianitish men, merchants, passed by; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver-pieces; and they brought Joseph to Egypt. 29 And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his garments, 30 and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph's vest, and slaughtered a buck of the goats, and dipped the vest in the blood; 32 and they sent the vest of many colours and had it carried to their father, and said, This have we found: discern now whether it is thy son's vest or not. 33 And he discerned it, and said, [It is] my son's vest! an evil beast has devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces! 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and said, For I will go down to my son into Sheol mourning. Thus his father wept for him. 36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard.

Judah and Tamar

381 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a man of Adullam whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanitish man whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in to her. 3 And she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she again conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah; and he was at Chezib when she bore him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah slew him. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and fulfil to her the brother-in-law's duty, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 But when Onan knew that the seed should not be his own, it came to pass when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, in order to give no seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and he slew him also. 11 And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow in thy father's house, until Shelah my son is grown; for he said, Lest he die also, as his brethren. And Tamar went and remained in her father's house.

12 And as the days were multiplied, Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheep-shearers, to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14 And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as wife. 15 And Judah saw her, and took her for a harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned aside to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me go in to thee; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in to me? 17 And he said, I will send [thee] a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give [me] a pledge, until thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy lace, and thy staff which is in thy hand. And he gave [it] her, and went in to her; and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose and went away; and she laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand; but he found her not. 21 And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at Enaim, by the way-side? And they said, There was no prostitute here. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, No prostitute has been here. 23 Then Judah said, Let her take [it] for herself, lest we be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law has committed fornication, and behold, she is also with child by fornication. And Judah said, Bring her forth, that she may be burned. 25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man to whom these [belong] am I with child; and she said, Acknowledge, I pray thee, whose are this signet, and this lace, and this staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged [them], and said, She is more righteous than I, because I have not given her to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. 27 And it came to pass at the time of her delivery, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass when she brought forth, that one stretched out [his] hand, and the midwife took it and bound round his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth! on thee be the breach! And they called his name Pherez. 30 And afterwards came out his brother, round whose hand was the scarlet thread; and they called his name Zerah.

21 But brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father child; and children shall rise up against parents and shall put them to death; 22 and ye shall be hated of all on account of my name. But he that has endured to [the] end, he shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee to the other; for verily I say to you, Ye shall not have completed the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the bondman above his lord. 25 [It is] sufficient for the disciple that he should become as his teacher, and the bondman as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household?

Whom to Fear

26 Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered which shall not be revealed, and secret which shall not be known. 27 What I say to you in darkness speak in the light, and what ye hear in the ear preach upon the houses. 28 And be not afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear rather him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father; 30 but of you even the hairs of the head are all numbered. 31 Fear not therefore; ye are better than many sparrows. 32 Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, I also will confess him before my Father who is in [the] heavens. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in [the] heavens.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 Do not think that I have come to send peace upon the earth: I have not come to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man at variance with his father, and the daughter with her mother, and the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law; 36 and they of his household [shall be] a man's enemies. 37 He who loves father or mother above me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter above me is not worthy of me. 38 And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 He that finds his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it.

Rewards

40 He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me. 41 He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 10:21-42

Commentary on Matthew 10:16-42

(Read Matthew 10:16-42)

Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures. Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom. Thus Christ has dealt fairly and faithfully with us, in telling us the worst we can meet with in his service; and he would have us deal so with ourselves, in sitting down and counting the cost. Persecutors are worse than beasts, in that they prey upon those of their own kind. The strongest bonds of love and duty, have often been broken through from enmity against Christ. Sufferings from friends and relations are very grievous; nothing cuts more. It appears plainly, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and we must expect to enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations. With these predictions of trouble, are counsels and comforts for a time of trial. The disciples of Christ are hated and persecuted as serpents, and their ruin is sought, and they need the serpent's wisdom. Be ye harmless as doves. Not only, do nobody any hurt, but bear nobody any ill-will. Prudent care there must be, but not an anxious, perplexing thought; let this care be cast upon God. The disciples of Christ must think more how to do well, than how to speak well. In case of great peril, the disciples of Christ may go out of the way of danger, though they must not go out of the way of duty. No sinful, unlawful means may be used to escape; for then it is not a door of God's opening. The fear of man brings a snare, a perplexing snare, that disturbs our peace; an entangling snare, by which we are drawn into sin; and, therefore, it must be striven and prayed against. Tribulation, distress, and persecution cannot take away God's love to them, or theirs to him. Fear Him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. They must deliver their message publicly, for all are deeply concerned in the doctrine of the gospel. The whole counsel of God must be made known, Acts 20:27. Christ shows them why they should be of good cheer. Their sufferings witnessed against those who oppose his gospel. When God calls us to speak for him, we may depend on him to teach us what to say. A believing prospect of the end of our troubles, will be of great use to support us under them. They may be borne to the end, because the sufferers shall be borne up under them. The strength shall be according to the day. And it is great encouragement to those who are doing Christ's work, that it is a work which shall certainly be done. See how the care of Providence extends to all creatures, even to the sparrows. This should silence all the fears of God's people; Ye are of more value than many sparrows. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. This denotes the account God takes and keeps of his people. It is our duty, not only to believe in Christ, but to profess that faith, in suffering for him, when we are called to it, as well as in serving him. That denial of Christ only is here meant which is persisted in, and that confession only can have the blessed recompence here promised, which is the real and constant language of faith and love. Religion is worth every thing; all who believe the truth of it, will come up to the price, and make every thing else yield to it. Christ will lead us through sufferings, to glory with him. Those are best prepared for the life to come, that sit most loose to this present life. Though the kindness done to Christ's disciples be ever so small, yet if there be occasion for it, and ability to do no more, it shall be accepted. Christ does not say that they deserve a reward; for we cannot merit any thing from the hand of God; but they shall receive a reward from the free gift of God. Let us boldly confess Christ, and show love to him in all things.