Catholic Commentary
The Kings of Edom Before Israel Had a King (Part 2)
39Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
Genesis 36:39 records that Baal Hanan died and Hadar became the eighth and final king of Edom, ruling from his city Pau with his wife Mehetabel, whose maternal lineage is uniquely traced through Matred to Mezahab. The passage exemplifies the transient, non-dynastic nature of Edomite kingship, contrasting with Israel's covenantal succession, while the singular mention of both a royal capital and a queen emphasizes human achievement that ultimately fades from history.
Hadar ruled from a city, his wife bore a name meaning "God does good"—and both are forgotten, a biblical reminder that human glory without covenant with God leaves no lasting mark.
The Church Fathers, following the allegorical method employed by Origen and later developed by Augustine, read Edom typologically as representing the "old man" or the carnal order—the realm of human striving apart from grace. Esau, the progenitor of Edom, sold his birthright for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29–34), and this act of preferring the immediate and material over the eternal covenantal promise echoes throughout his descendants' history. The Edomite kings, however splendid in their earthly succession, rule without the covenant. Their kingship is real but rootless in the ultimate sense—it does not flow from the divine election that will ground the Davidic dynasty and find its fulfillment in Christ the King.
The detail of Mehetabel—"God does good"—invites a spiritual reading: God's goodness is not confined to Israel alone. Even within the lineage of Esau, a name proclaims divine beneficence. This aligns with the Catholic understanding (CCC 57–58) that God's covenant with Noah and the universal providential care of all peoples precedes and encompasses the particular covenant with Israel. The nations are not abandoned; they are encompassed within a broader providential economy even as they await the fullness of revelation.
Catholic tradition reads this passage within the framework of salvation history (historia salutis), understanding even genealogical lists as bearing theological weight. The Catechism teaches that "God's plan of loving goodness…embraces all peoples" (CCC 55–56), and the presence of Edomite kings in the sacred text witnesses to God's universal sovereignty over all nations, not merely Israel.
St. Augustine, in The City of God (Book XVI), reflects on the nations descended from the sons of Noah and sees in their histories a shadow-drama played out against the backdrop of the City of God's advance through history. The Edomite royal house can be understood as an instance of the civitas terrena—a city organized around temporal power, pride of lineage, and human achievement, lacking the animating principle of charity that constitutes the true City of God.
The absence of a dynastic principle in Edom's king-list stands in stark theological contrast to the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12–16), which the Magisterium—following Patristic and medieval tradition—reads as a preparation for and prefiguration of the eternal kingship of Christ (CCC 436, 2579). The Edomite kings rise and fall in isolation; the Davidic line is guaranteed by divine promise and ultimately fulfilled in the Son of David who "will reign over the house of Jacob forever" (Luke 1:33).
The naming of Mehetabel, "God does good," also resonates with the Church's teaching on universal grace. Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Missio (§28), affirms that "the Spirit's presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions." Even in Edom, a name bears witness to divine goodness—an echo, however faint, of the universal reach of the Spirit.
At first glance, a list of ancient Edomite kings seems remote from daily Catholic life. But verse 39 offers a sharp and practical spiritual challenge: where do we place our hope for continuity and legacy? Hadar ruled from a city called Pau; his wife bore a name meaning "God does good." Yet Pau is forgotten, and Hadar's dynasty ended with him. We invest enormous energy in building résumés, accumulating titles, and securing our family's social position—the modern equivalents of a royal city and a prestigious lineage. The Edomite king-list is Scripture's quiet reminder that all such structures are provisional.
The name Mehetabel—"God does good"—offers the counter-word. Embedded within a list of forgotten kings is a confession that God's goodness is the one constant. For Catholics today, this calls us to examine our own "king-lists": the achievements, positions, and social identities we treat as ultimate. The spiritual practice this passage invites is a regular memento mori—not morbid fatalism, but the liberating Christian conviction that only what is rooted in covenant with God endures. Concretely: examine one area where you are building for legacy without reference to God, and ask how that effort might be reoriented toward the Kingdom.
Commentary
Genesis 36:39 — Literal and Narrative Analysis
"Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place." The formulaic repetition throughout Genesis 36:31–39 ("X died, and Y reigned in his place") mirrors ancient Near Eastern annalistic records and is structurally significant: it emphasizes the mortality and transience of each reign. Unlike the later Israelite monarchy, where dynastic succession is the norm, the Edomite king-list shows no consistent father-to-son inheritance—each king appears to be chosen independently, perhaps by tribal election or conquest. This is not merely a genealogical curiosity; it underscores the absence of a divinely guaranteed, covenantally grounded dynasty.
Hadar is the eighth and final king in the list. The number eight in biblical numerology often suggests a new beginning or an eschatological surplus beyond the complete seven—though we should not over-allegorize this in a passage that is primarily historical. What is theologically notable is that the list stops here, without recording Hadar's death, perhaps because his reign was contemporary with the final editing of this source, or because the tradition simply lacked further data. This open-endedness is itself suggestive: Edom's story trails off without resolution, in sharp contrast to the ongoing, narrated history of Israel.
"The name of his city was Pau." All other kings in this list lack a named royal city, making Pau unique. The name Pau (or Pai in 1 Chronicles 1:50) may mean "bleating" or "screaming," though its precise etymology is uncertain. The mention of a royal city signals Hadar's greater administrative or territorial consolidation. It is a mark of earthly achievement—a king with a capital—yet the city and its name are entirely absent from subsequent biblical history. The glory of Pau is fleeting, unremembered.
"His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab." This is the most striking detail in the verse. Nowhere else in the entire Edomite king-list is a queen named. This maternal genealogy descending through Matred to Mezahab is unique. Some scholars suggest that Mehetabel's lineage carried significant tribal prestige, perhaps explaining her inclusion—her ancestry may have legitimized Hadar's claim or consolidated a political alliance. The name Mehetabel means "God does good" or "favored of God," which carries quiet theological resonance: even in Edom, the goodness of God touches human lives. Mezahab means "waters of gold," evoking either a place of origin or a metaphorical expression of wealth and abundance.
Typological and Spiritual Senses