Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
2. Esau took his wives ] The list of Esau’s wives in this chapter does not agree with that in Gen 26:34 and Gen 28:9.
( a) In this passage and in Gen 36:9-14 Esau’s wives are (1) Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; (2) Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; (3) Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth.
( b) In Gen 26:34 (P) and Gen 28:9 (P) Esau’s wives are (1) Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite; (2) Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; (3) Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth. Thus there are two widely differing versions of P tradition. For the differences are too considerable to have arisen from corruptions in the text.
Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite ] “Daughter,” as in Gen 36:14. But the reading “son” is found in LXX, Sam. and Syr. Pesh., and is to be preferred; see Gen 36:24. “Daughter” is probably a correction, on the assumption that “Anah” was a feminine name.
the Hivite ] For “Hivite” should be read “Horite,” if the Anah of Gen 36:2 be the same as the Anah in Gen 36:24. Probably, in Gen 36:25, “the daughter of Anah” has been introduced as a gloss.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 2. His wives] It appears that Esau’s wives went by very different names. Aholibamah is named Judith, Ge 26:34; Adah is called Bashemath in the same place; and she who is here called Bashemath is called Mahalath, Ge 28:9. These are variations which cannot be easily accounted for; and they are not of sufficient importance to engross much time. It is well known that the same persons in Scripture are often called by different names. See the Table of variations, chap. xxv., where there are some slight examples. See Clarke on Ge 25:18.
Anah the daughter of Zibeon] But this same Anah is said to be the son of Zibeon, Ge 36:24, though in this and Ge 36:14 he is said to be the daughter of Zibeon. But the Samaritan, the Septuagint, (and the Syriac, in Ge 36:2,) read son instead of daughter, which Houbigant and Kennicott contend to be the true reading. Others say that daughter should be referred to Aholibamah, who was the daughter of Anah, and granddaughter of Zibeon. I should rather prefer the reading of the Samaritan, Septuagint, and Syriac, and read, both here and in Ge 36:14, “Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the SON of Zibeon,” and then the whole will agree with Ge 36:24.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If this account be compared with that Gen 26:34, we shall find some difficulties, which yet admit of an easy reconciliation, if these things be considered.
1. That it is very usual, and confessed by all, that the same persons are oft called by several names.
2. That the names of some persons are in Scripture given to others, because of a great resemblance between them. Upon which account the parents of the Israelites are called Armorites and Hittites, Eze 16:3; and the governors of Jerusalem are called the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah, Isa 1:10; and John the Baptist is called Elias, Mat 17:12.
3. That the same men ere ofttimes denominated from several countries, as Christ is noted to have a threefold country in Scripture; Bethlehem by his birth, Nazareth by his education, and Capernaum by his much residence and preaching there.
4. That the same names are sometimes common to men and women.
5. That persons are called the children, not only of their immediate parents, but of their grandparents, and of those who adopted them. These things premised, the seeming contradictions objected by infidels do vanish. She who was properly called Judith, Gen 26:24, is here called Aholibamah, a name which seems to be given her either by Isaac or by Moses, from her settledness in her idolatrous courses. And Adah was also called Bashemath, Gen 26:34; and Mahalath, Ishmaels daughter, was called Bashemath, either because in her principles and manners she resembled Esaus other wife so called, or to show that Ishmaels marriage to a third wife was no less opprobrious to him and displeasing to his parents than the former.
Anah, a man, and the son of Zibeon, as appears from Gen 35:24, called here a Hivite, is called Beeri the Hittite, Gen 26:34, either because those two people were mixed together in habitation and by marriage, or because the one people were larger than the other, and comprehended under their name, or because he was a Hivite by birth, a Hittite by habitation or incorporation with them. Hence also we may learn how Aholibamah here comes to be the daughter both of Anah and of Zibeon; the one being either the natural or proper father, and the other either the grandfather, or father by adoption.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2, 3. Esau took his wives of thedaughters of CanaanThere were three, mentioned under differentnames; for it is evident that Bashemath is the same as Mahalath (Ge28:9), since they both stand in the relation of daughter toIshmael and sister to Nebajoth; and hence it may be inferred thatAdah is the same as Judith, Aholibamah as Bathsemath (Ge26:34). It was not unusual for women, in that early age, to havetwo names, as Sarai was also Iscah [Ge11:29]; and this is the more probable in the case of Esau’swives, who of course would have to take new names when they went fromCanaan to settle in mount Seir.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan,…. Of the Canaanites, the posterity of cursed Canaan, most of them were of them, though not all, the two following were, and so those, if different from them in Ge 26:34, one of his wives was of the family of Ishmael, as after related:
Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; according to Jarchi and Aben Ezra, this is the same with Bashemath, Ge 26:34; and that she had two names:
and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; the daughter of the one, and the granddaughter of the other, it being usual in Scripture to call grandchildren children, for Zibeon and Anah were father and son, Ge 36:24; and the Samaritan, Septuagint, and Syriac versions read here, “the daughter of Anah the son of Zibeon”: there are an Anah and a Zibeon who were brethren, Ge 36:20; wherefore Aben Ezra supposes that these two brothers, or the father and son, lay with the same woman, and it could not be known whose child it was that was born of her, and therefore this was called the daughter of them both. Jarchi supposes this wife of Esau to be the same with Judith, Ge 26:34; but not only the names differ, but also the names of their fathers, and of the tribe or nation they were of.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite.In Gen. 26:34, she is called Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and is placed second. Here she is everywhere placed first. We do not often elsewhere find women possessed of two names, but it has not been sufficiently borne in mind that she was a Hittite, and her own name in her own language neither Adah nor Bashemath. As Adah means ornament, and Bashemath sweet-scented, both may possibly have been terms of endearment, arising from modifications of her Hittite name.
Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite.She is supposed to answer to Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, in Gen. 26:34. But in Gen. 36:24-25, we find her genealogy given again, and Zibeon, the father of Anah, the father of Aholibamah, is there described as a Horite. Now, as Hivi (Hivite) and Hori (Horite) differ in Hebrew only in the length of the top of the middle letter, and as mistakes in the transcription of Biblical names are of constant occurrence, it seems certain that Aholibamah was a Horite, and therefore, entirely distinct from Judith. Judith, the first wife, apparently had no children, and hence arose the temptation to Esau to marry some one besides. Hence, too, Adah comes in her proper order, as being the first wife who had sons; and Eliphaz as the son of the first wife who had children, has the right of primogeniture. Hence, too, Aholibamah in the genealogy is always placed third. She was the fourth and last wife taken, and her children are placed after those of Bashemath. And this was a matter of far too great importance in a genealogy for there to be any mistake made in it. And now we see the reason for giving the genealogy of the Horites, and also why Esau took the Horite land for a possession. In some expedition into the country of Seir, Esau had married the daughter of one of the dukes there, and through her had acquired a right to ducal rank. Through her family, moreover, he had friendly relations with one portion at least of the Horite people. Our knowledge of the princely Hittites has of late been too largely increased for us to be able to connect a Horite race with them, and Rebekah distinctly calls Judith and Adah-Bashemath daughters of Heth. Excepting the Semites, no race in Palestine stands so high as the Hittites, and no race so low as the Horites. But their rulers were probably of a higher breed; and Esaus invasions of their country, his final settlement there, and the introduction of the genealogy of Seir the Horite, together with Aholibamahs place as the last of Esaus wives, all are facts which strongly confirm the supposition of his having contracted a Horite marriage during Jacobs absence in Padan-aram.
The meanness of the Horites is not a deduction merely from their having dwelt in caves, for the country is so admirably adapted to this mode of living that it still exists there; but they are omitted from the table of nations in Genesis 10, and seem generally to have been a feeble aboriginal race.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Sons of Esau ( Gen 36:2-9 )
Gen 36:2
‘Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.’
In Gen 26:34 Esau’s Cananite wives are named Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Ishmael’s daughter is called Mahalath, sister of Nebaioth (Gen 28:9). Thus Basemath has become Adah, Judith has become Oholibamah (Beeri the Hittite may well have been married to Anah), and Mahalath becomes Basemath.
One possibility we must consider is that on marriage Canaanite wives often took on another name indicating their change of status. Thus Judith may have become Oholibamah (‘tent of the high place’), a suitable marriage name due to its connection with the holy tent, and a name connected with her mother’s family, and Mahalath may have become Basemath (possibly ‘the fragrant one’). Basemath may have thus changed her name to Adah (meaning unknown).
As Basemath probably means ‘fragrant’ it is also very possible that this was a nickname regularly used by Esau. He may have called Adah this as a love name, and later applied it to Mahalath when his affections varied (compare our use of ‘honey’ or ‘sugar’) causing confusion to the record keepers. Or he may have liked the name and when Basemath relinquished it on marriage have suggested it to Mahalath as a married name.
As mentioned Oholibamah means ‘tent of the high place’ suggesting a tabernacle similar to some extent to that later in use in by the Israelites. It is also the name of one of the ‘dukes of Edom’ (Gen 36:41) and of one of the daughters of Anah the Horite (Gen 36:25). The dual name theory would account for why a Canaanite woman bears an Edomite name due to Esau’s early connections with Edom prior to his marriages. Consider also how Beeri the Hittite appears to have been married to an ‘Edomite’ woman, Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite (compare Zibeon the Horite in Gen 36:24 who also had a son called Anah. There seems to be some parallel between Hivites and Horites).
That Anah was an important person due to her connections comes out in the constant reference to her (Gen 36:2; Gen 36:14; Gen 36:18). She was the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite (Gen 36:2) who is probably the same as Zibeon, the son of Seir the Horite (Gen 36:20). We do not know who the Hivites were but they are regularly mentioned as one of the tribes in Canaan, and their connection with the Horites is suggested here. Indeed the name may be an alternative rendering, ‘v’ instead of ‘r’, either as an error in copying or otherwise. The LXX of Gen 34:2 and Jos 9:7 renders Hivite as Horite which may suggest an original different reading.
Gen 36:4-5
‘And Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, and Basemath bore Reuel. And Oholibamah bore Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
The sons born to Esau by his wives in Canaan are now listed. ‘Reuel’ appears to mean ‘friend of God’.
Gen 36:6-8
‘And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters, and all the folk in his house, and his cattle and all his beasts and all his possessions which he had gathered in the land of Canaan and went into a land away from his brother Jacob, for their substance was too great for them to dwell together and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of their cattle, and Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.’
This combination of genealogy and snippets of historical events is a feature of early genealogies, compare the Sumerian king lists where the same occurs.
As we have seen Esau had divided his time between his band of warriors in Mount Seir and helping his father in Canaan. But now that his father is dead, and we cannot doubt that he left a generous legacy to Esau, he removes to Mount Seir permanently. This was necessary anyway because their joint possessions were so great that there was not room for both Jacob and Esau. Once again we have brought home to us the wealth of the patriarchs and their sizeable ‘households’.
“Esau is Edom.” A constant refrain in this chapter. See Gen 36:1, Gen 36:19. Compare Gen 36:9 and Gen 36:43 where ‘Esau is the father of Edom’ that is of the Edomites. Esau was nicknamed Edom because of his red colouring, and this name passes on to those who are connected with him.
Gen 36:9
‘This is the family history of Esau the father of Edom in mount Seir.’
Again we have a colophon showing to whom the tablet belongs. (Alternately it may head the following tablet).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 36:2. Esau took his wives It appears by comparing ch. Gen 26:34. that these wives of Esau went under several names, as seems to have been a common custom in those days. It is of little importance to settle these names, and perhaps impossible at present. The word daughter, in Scripture, is frequently used, like that of brother, in a general sense, for a grand-daughter, a niece, &c. Anah the daughter of Zibeon, should be read the son; see Gen 26:24 as several of the versions direct; if, which may probably be the case, the same name belongs not to two different persons of different sexes.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 26:34 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 36:2-5
2Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, 5and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Gen 36:2 “Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan” The names of Esau’s Canaanite wives are recorded in three different places: Gen 26:34-35; Gen 28:8; and Gen 36:2 ff. However, the problem arises when these three accounts differ on the names of the wives. This discrepancy has been explained in different ways: (1) that there were not three wives, but four and (2) that these women had more than one name. It seems obvious from the text that Esau had at least two wives from Canaan and one daughter of Ishmael.
“Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite” In Gen 26:34 the daughter of Elon the Hittite is called Basemath (BDB 142). It seems unusual that this same name is used for Ishmael’s daughter in Gen 36:3. Rashi says that this may have been a common name for women because it is possibly related to the term for fragrance or incense (BDB 141). The Jewish tradition that is so biased against Esau affirms that her name relates to incense which she burned to idols, therefore, making her an idolater.
The term “Hittite” (BDB 366) is used of three distinct groups in the OT.
1. The original inhabitants of central Asia Minor called Hattians (i.e., they spoke Hattic) in the third millennium B.C. They were not Semitic or Judo-European.
2. Judo-European invaders in the second millennium B.C. (i.e., they spoke Nesite) who founded a large powerful empire.
3. Descendants from Heth (Gen 10:15; Gen 23:3; Gen 23:5; Gen 23:7; Gen 23:10; Gen 23:16; Gen 23:20; Gen 25:10; Gen 27:46; Gen 49:32). They are listed as one of the ten groups who inhabited Canaan.
This titling of three distinct groups by the same name causes great confusion.
“Oholibamah” This name means “tent of high place” (BDB 14), however, all of these names are very debatable as to their original etymological connection. The same root can mean “tree,” “aloe,” “shine,” or “be clean.” From Gen 26:34-35 this same girl is apparently called Judith (if Esau had only three wives). Rashi says that Esau changed her name to Judith (BDB 397 II), which he says means “Jewish” (ADJECTIVE, BDB 397 I). This shows that she had left her idol worship and, thereby, would impress his father (i.e., Isaac). It is unusual that this same name occurs in Gen 36:41 of this same chapter to denote a man. It is still in the FEMININE form, which shows that there has been some disruption of the Hebrew text in this chapter. The divergence of genealogies is common in the Bible because of (1) the difficulty of recording long series of names without spelling errors and (2) the difficulty of transcribing names from one language to another. Notice how many names change in 1Ch 1:35-54.
“the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite” The Masoretic Text simply has “the daughter of,” however, the Samaritan Pent., the Septuagint, and the Syriac translations have “son.” It is obvious from the context and Gen 36:24 that we are talking about a granddaughter.
Zibeon is called a Hivite. If it is true that this girl is related to one of the girls recorded in chapter 26, she is also called a Hittite. There has been much confusion in the translation of the OT between the exact relationship of Hittite (BDB 366), Hivite (BDB 295), and Horite (BDB 360 II, cf. Gen 36:20; Gen 14:6). Usually the term “Horites” (cf. Gen 36:20) is used for non-Semitic Hurians (ZPBE, vol. 3, pp. 228-229), but apparently the term may refer to a group of Semites who were miners or cave dwellers (BDB 359, KB 339, “hole”). The evidence for this is that all of their names are Semitic, not Hurian.
Gen 36:3 “Basemath” This girl is called “Mahalath,” which means “pardon” (BDB 142) in Gen 28:9. It is interesting that in the Samaritan Penteteuch her name is changed from Basemath (Gen 36:3-4; Gen 36:10) to Mahalath. This shows that, very early, scholars recognized the problems with these names (i.e., a person has two names, a nickname, a change of names). It is to be remembered that Esau married one of Ishmael’s daughters in order to please his father and mother.
“the sister of Nebaioth” It is assumed that Ishmael was dead at this time and that her brother acted in his place in giving her away and that is the reason why his name is included in the text. It is also possible, because this happens so often (i.e., brother acts as family representative in marriage issues, Laban, Simeon/Levi, even Abram claiming to be Sarai’s brother), that this may reflect ANE culture. Some have assumed because of the predominance of women’s names in this genealogy that there was a tendency toward matriarchy present in these Arabian tribes, but at this point historical documentation is uncertain.
Gen 36:4-5 This is a list of some of the major tribes of Esau which will later be developed in the chieftain lists occurring later in this chapter. This chapter can be divided based on the content of these genealogies.
1. Gen 36:2-9 is Esau’s children in Canaan
2. Gen 36:10-14 is Esau’s grandchildren in Seir
3. Gen 36:5-19; Gen 36:40-43 are the chieftains of the nation of Edom
4. Gen 36:20-30 lists the native rulers in this area
5. Gen 36:31-39 is the later kings of Edom.
6. Gen 36:40-43 is the names of chiefs descended from Esau
A very similar list occurs in 1Ch 1:35-54.
Gen 36:5 “Korah” I have simply chosen one of the names which is used two different times in order to show the problem of really understanding the detailed relationship of these genealogies. It is asserted by some that there are two different “Korah’s” listed; one here in Gen 36:5 and one in Gen 36:16. However, Rashi says that they are related by the fact that the same person took his father’s wife. This shows the Jewish bias against Esau. The rabbinical interpretation of this chapter is very negative and assumes horrendous incest and family problems in the linage of Esau. This may be true, but it is not spelled out in the text and this negative understanding can be attained only by a biased presupposition.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Adah. Her second name was Bashemath, Gen 26:34.
Aholibamah. Her second name was Jud 26:34; and her father, Anah, got a second name also from his discovery of the hot springs (see note on “rnules”, Gen 36:24). in Gen 26:34, called Hittite, because Hittite included Hivite.
daughter. Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, and Syriac read “son”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Esau: Gen 9:25, Gen 26:34, Gen 26:35, Gen 27:46
Adah: or, Bashemath, Gen 26:34
Aholibamah: Gen 36:25, Gen 26:34, Judith
the daughter: We ought, most probably, to read here and in Gen 36:14, as in Gen 36:20, “the son of Zibeon;” which is the reading of the Samaritan, Septuagint – and Syriac, in Gen 36:2, and which Houbigant and Kennicott contend to be genuine.
Reciprocal: Gen 4:18 – Lamech
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
36:2 Esau took his wives of the {b} daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
(b) Besides those wives spoken of in Gen 26:34.