Verse Lens · Concise explanation

Genesis 36:37 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 37. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

Saul from Rehoboth by 'the River' succeeds Samlah. The ruler is not Israel's Saul, and the River may be the Euphrates, but the location is not certain here.

Read It With

  • Genesis 36:31–37:1

Read verses 31–39 together and compare the Hebrew and major translations. The king list distinguishes this Saul by city, while the wider context separates him from the later Israelite monarchy mentioned only as a comparison.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Saul and Rehoboth by the River preserve another ruler-place memory while creating a geographical question that the text does not settle.

Read Genesis 36:31–39 together

Why these verses belong together: A heading and repeated succession formula name eight Edomite kings, their varied places, one military event, and the final king's wife and city.

Verse 31. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

Verse 32. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

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

Verse 34. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.

Verse 35. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.

Verse 36. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.

Verse 37. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

Verse 38. And Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.

Verse 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, the daughter of Mezahab.

What Remains True

A familiar name and a possible place identification should remain distinct from a proven personal or geographical identity.

How It Can Shape Life

  • When names recur, require actual evidence before treating the people or places as identical.

Continue in Context

The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.

Read Genesis 36:31–37:1 — Edom's Kings and Chiefs Precede Jacob in Canaan
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

Where care is needed

The River often means the Euphrates, but Rehoboth's precise location remains disputed.

This Edomite Saul is not identified with Saul son of Kish.

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Displayed wording, king and chief sequences, political comparison, Hadad's conflict, Mehetabel's ancestry, Jacob bridge, parallel list, and canonical brotherhood and monarchy restraints.

Exact location: Genesis 36:31–37:1 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 27:39–40; 35:11; 36:1–30; 37:2–11; Deuteronomy 2:4–5; 23:7; 1 Samuel 8–10; 14:47; 2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Kings 11:14–22; 22:47; 2 Kings 8:20–22; 1 Chronicles 1:43–54

Open source ↗

hebrew text morphology and lemma data

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026

Supports: Hebrew political, succession, place, clan-territorial, possession, dwelling, and sojourning evidence.

Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 36:31–37:1; forms and syntax for king, reign, in his stead, the River, Hadar, alluf, families, places, names, habitations, possession, dwelt, and sojournings

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026

Supports: Translation alternatives, textual variants, KJV-language clarification, and geographical uncertainty.

Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 36:31–37:1 and translator notes on verse 31's alternative syntax, Rehoboth by the River, Hadar or Hadad, Pau or Pai, chiefs, territories, and the 37:1 transition

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