Wives of Esau explained

In Book of Genesis we see two different lists of Esau's wives.^[1] Basemath's name is mentioned twice.

According to Bible, first two wives were Canaanites and so not good to Good. To make the story clear, some Biblical scholars believed that Esau changed names of two wives to the Hebrew to pacify his parents:

• Basemath (No.1), Canaanite (Genesis 26:34–35) = Adah (Genesis 36:2,3), the daughter of Elon the Hittite;
• Judith (Genesis 26:34–35) = Aholibamah (Genesis 36:2,3), also a Canaanite;
• Mahalath (Genesis 28:9) = Bashemath (No.2) (Genesis 36:2,3), Esau's cousin and third wife, daughter of Ishmael.

26:34–35 JPS describes Esau's marriage at the age of forty to two Canaanite women: Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. This arrangement grieved his parents.^[2] Upon seeing that his brother was blessed and that their father rejected Esau's union to Canaanites, Esau went to the house of his uncle Ishmael and married his cousin,^[3] Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth. Esau's family is again revisited in 36 JPS, this passage names two Canaanite wives; Adhah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and a third: Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth. Some scholars equate the three wives mentioned in Genesis 26 and 28 with those in Genesis 36.^{[4] [5]} Casting his lot with the Ishmaelites, he was able to drive the Horites out of Mount Seir to settle in that region. According to some views, Esau is considered to be the progenitor not only of the Edomites but of the Kenizzites and the Amalekites as well.^{[6] [7]}

Reuven Chaim Klein summarizes how the various Medieval Jewish commentators broadly provide four interpretations to address the inconsistency between the accounts of Esau's wives in Genesis 26 and Genesis 36:^[8]

• Rashi suggests that the three women listed are all the same individuals, but referred to by different names.
• Sefer ha-Yashar and several other commentators largely agree with Rashi, but assert that Esau had four wives, as they do not equate Judith with Oholibamah.
• Nahmanides generally concurs, adding that Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite, were sisters, not the same person, thus proposing that Esau had five wives.
• Abraham Maimuni, however, completely rejects the idea of the Bible using different names for the same individuals. He posits that the three wives mentioned in Genesis 26 and the three in Genesis 36 are entirely different people, concluding that Esau had six wives in total.

In Midrash and Aggadah we found more context and background of the lives of Esau's wives.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Phillips, J. Exploring Genesis: an expository commentary,, 2001, p. 284
2. 26:34–35 JPS
3. Mandel. Ultimate Who's Who, p. 176
4. Phillips. Exploring Genesis, p. 284
5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
6. Web site: Caleb . 8 October 2014.
7. Web site: Amalekites . 8 October 2014.
8. the Wives of Esau . Klein, Reuven Chaim. 2014. Jewish Bible Quarterly. 42. 4. 211-220.
9. Web site: Esau, Wives of: Midrash and Aggadah . 2024-06-26 . Jewish Women's Archive . en.