For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock.
Observe here, 1. Concerning Esau himself, Gen 36:1. He is called Edom (and again, Gen 36:8), that name by which was perpetuated the remembrance of the foolish bargain he made, when he sold his birthright for that red, that red pottage. The very mention of that name is enough to intimate the reason why his family is turned off with such a short account.
Commenting on Genesis 36:1-8
Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir,.... Before he is said to be in the land of Seir, Gen 32:3; now to dwell in a mount of that name; from which driving the Horites, he seized upon and dwelt in it; it had not its name from his own rough, shaggy hair, as Josephus says (r), much less from the satyrs, and hairy demons that frequented it, as R.
Gen 36:1-8 Esau’s Wives and Children. His Settlement in the Mountains of Seir. - In the heading (Gen 36:1) the surname Edom is added to the name Esau, which he received at his birth, because the former became the national designation of his descendants. - Gen 36:2, Gen 36:3.
Commenting on Genesis 36:1-8