Komentarz do Rodzaju 36:31

’ואלה המלכים וגו AND THESE ARE THE KINGS etc. — There were eight and Jacob raised an equal number in whose days the kingdom of Esau temporarily ceased to exist, viz., Saul, Ishbosheth, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Asa, Abiah and Jehoshaphat. For of the days of Yoram his (Jehoshaphat’s) son it is written, (2 Kings 8:20) “In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves”, whereas in the days of Jehoshaphat it is written, (1 Kings 23:48) “And there was no king in Edom: a deputy was king”. (יובב בן זרח מבצרה (33 JOBAB, THE SON OF ZERAH OF BOZRAH — Bozrah was one of the Moabite cities, as it is said (Jeremiah 48:24 which chapter is a prophecy against Moab), “[Judgment is come upon…] and upon Keriath and upon Bozrah etc.” Because it produced a king for Edom it is to be smitten together with them (the Edomites), as it is said (Isaiah 34:6) “For the Lord hath a slaughtering in Bozrah, [and a great slaughter in the Land of Edom]’ (Genesis Rabbah 83:2).

AND THESE ARE THE KINGS THAT REIGNED IN THE LAND OF EDOM. This was written in order to relate that the blessing of Isaac was fulfilled in Esau. He had said to him, And by thy sword shalt thou live,³⁰⁴Above, 27:40. and they prevailed over the sons of Se’ir the Horite and reigned over them in their land. These cities mentioned here were provinces in the land of Edom, for Bozrah³⁰⁵Verse 33 here. belonged to Edom, as it is written, For the Eternal hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.³⁰⁶Isaiah 34:6. Similarly, the land of the Temanites,³⁰⁷Verse 34 here. is also of Edom, as it is said concerning it, And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau,³⁰⁸Obadiah 1:9. as are all the cities mentioned here. Scripture, however, relates that these kings did not succeed their fathers, as was the case in Israel.
The expression, Before there reigned any king, means “many years before.” But before there reigned any king does not mean that these kingdoms of Edom continued to exist until the kingdom of Israel. Instead, it means to say that at that time the Edomites will not have sovereignty, in order to fulfill Isaac’s words, and thou shalt serve thy brother.³⁰⁴Above, 27:40. It is possible that all these kings had already passed away in the days of Moses³⁰⁹Ramban here implies that the expression before there reigned any king, refers to Moses. This coincides with the opinion of Ibn Ezra expressed in his commentary on Verse 31. as they were old when they crowned them, and their lives were not prolonged.

לפני מלך מלך, before Moses arose as the saviour of Israel. All national heads of a people are automatically called “king,” regardless of their constitutional function. I have found in the historic writings of Josephus a list of about 40 such kings in Israel before the establishment of the Davidic dynasty.