Often in one of the genealogies of the Bible you find a hidden gem. Along with lots of odd names (why doesn’t anyone name their kid Me-Zahab anymore?), glimpses of past lives peek from the soil.

Anah shot to fame because he discovered the hot springs in the desert. Any water source in the desert creates value, and apparently the story of Anah carried down generations. The author assumes the audience knew the reference.

Also interesting is the fact that he discovered the springs while grazing his father’s donkeys. Older translations use the term “mules” instead of donkeys, but since a mule is the offspring of a donkey and a horse, and no horses were thought to be present in that part of the world at that time, it’s doubtful he grazed mules. So, later translations use “donkeys.” Who knew so much detail and argumentation existed over a minuscule character in the biblical stories?

This anecdote about Anah, along with all the other names listed in the various genealogies in the Bible, remind me of the value of each and every person. So much breadth of life! Perhaps Anah explored new regions, or actively sought a fabled source of wealth, or merely dragged along behind the donkeys until they smelled water? We don’t know anything more about him, but we do know he warranted a line in scripture.

These lists of names represent faces and hopes and tragedies and triumphs and parents and children and lives lived into old age and lives cut short.

The Lord paid attention to each one of these fascinating people, just as he pays attention to me and you today.

Genesis 36 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Juli Kosolapova