Genesis 36:1-30 / 1Chronicles 1:38-42 / Genesis 36:31-43 / 1Chronicles 1:43 – 2:2
ESAU’S WIVES
Genesis 36 is dedicated to the genealogy of Esau and his descendants, as verse 1 clearly states: “these are the records of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).”. Immediately, we encounter the difficulty of what seems to be a discrepancy from what was written in earlier chapters. In 36:2-3, it is written, “2 Esau 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; 3 also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.”
So, according to chapter 36, Esau had three wives. However, ten chapters earlier in 26:34, it says, “When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite”.
Now, according to chapter 26, a woman named Judith was one of Esau’s wives; however, she was omitted from chapter 36. In addition, chapter 26 listed Basemath as being the daughter of Elon the Hittite whereas chapter 36 states that Basemath was the daughter of Ishmael. So, does Scripture contradict itself? And why isn’t Judith listed in Genesis 36 or its parallel passages in 1Chronicles 1? Was Basemath Ishmael’s daughter or was she the daughter of Elon the Hittite?
In addition, Genesis 28:9 states that Esau took as a wife “Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth”.
So, how many wives did Esau actually have? Three, four, five, or six? Well, an examination of Scripture seems to reveal that Esau had four wives: Adah, Oholibamah, Basemath, and Judith. In Genesis 26:34, one of his wives is called Basemath, and she is the daughter of Elon the Hittite. In 36:2, this same woman is called Adah, yet she is still the daughter of Elon the Hittite. But how can the listing of two names for one female be reconciled? Most likely, chapter 36 uses a different name she was also known as in order to distinguish her between the other Basemath mentioned (who was the daughter of Ishmael). Likewise, in 28:9, the name of Ishmael’s daughter (who is the sister of Nebaioth) is Mahalath whereas 36:3 lists the name of this same woman as Basemath, yet she is still the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. Therefore, Adah/Basemath is the same female, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Likewise, Mahalath/Basemath is the same female, the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. And so each Basemath was not the same Basemath.
It was a common practice in the Ancient Near East for people to be associated with more than one name. Israel is a perfect example – he was also known as Jacob. In fact, Esau himself is another example because he was also known as Edom (25:30; 36:1); Esau’s descendants will later become known as the Edomites (36:43). And later on in our chronological journey, we will see in Esther 2:7 that Esther was also known as Hadassah. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that a wife of Esau would have been known by more than one name.
Now, why was a particular wife known as both Adah and Basemath? We don’t know. Scripture is silent on the matter. The name “Basemath” is the Hebrew בָּשְׂמַת [H1315] bāśmaṯ (bose-math’), which has the meaning of a sweet-smelling spice; i.e., a perfume. And the name “Adah” is the Hebrew עָדָה [H5711] ʿāḏâ (aw-daw’), which means an ornament, or beauty. So, it is possible that the names were interchangeable; however, it is also possible that because she was known as Basemath in Genesis 26 and then known as Adah in chapter 36, that her name had been changed between those two time periods. Likewise, the wife who was known as both Mahalath and Basemath would be explained as the same reasons previously mentioned.
Now, as for Judith, the reason why she is not listed in chapter 36 or the parallel passages of 1Chronicles 1 could be as simple as the fact that she had been barren and she bore Esau no children; therefore, she would have been excluded from a genealogy account, which is the purpose of Genesis 36, which verse 1 clearly states. However, it is also possible that between the time period of chapters 26 and 36 that Judith either died or had been divorced. Regardless, Judith would have been omitted from all future records, whether she was barren, had died, or had been divorced – especially if she had been divorced because she had been barren and never bore Esau any children.
In conclusion to this apparent contradiction of Esau’s wives, I believe it is reasonable to state that Esau had four wives, but ultimately only three wives remained within the records because Judith had been omitted. Though he had three wives, two of the wives were known by two different names. Therefore, Esau’s wives who brought forth his descendants were:
- Adah/Basemath (daughter of Elon the Hittite)
- Mahalath/Basemath (daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth)
- Oholibamah
Now, of course it is possible that both Adah and Basemath were two different females with the exact same description of being the daughter of Elon the Hittite; likewise, it is also possible that both Mahalath and Basemath were two different females with the exact same description of being the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. However, if they were different females, then Esau would have had a total of six wives, yet only three of them would have been listed as having brought forth children. If that is the case, then Judith, Basemath (daughter of Elon the Hittite), and Mahalath (daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth) would all have been omitted from the genealogical record. However, due to the names sharing the exact same descriptions, I believe Esau had three wives who brought forth descendants, and two of the wives were known by two different names.
A lot of seemingly difficult passages we encounter in the Bible are not so difficult if only we would take the time to investigate them in their proper historical context while also using critical thinking to come to a reasonable conclusion.
But why bother with this genealogy account anyway? Because all of these details are much more important than they seem to be when we first encounter them. Though many minor details within the Bible seem to be insignificant, the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to include such minor details because they will be helpful in other portions of Scripture to bring together missing pieces of the puzzle so that we can see the entire picture. For example, do you remember how Genesis 11:2 stated that people journeyed east, found a plain in the land of Shinar, settled there, and then they established the Tower of Babel? Well, only because of the genealogy account in 10:8-10 do we know that the Tower of Babel had its origins from Nimrod. And if you remember, the Nephilim were described as “mighty men”, which is the Hebrew גִּבּוֹר [H1368] gibôr (ghib-bore’), and it refers to mere men who were mighty, strong, and valiant warriors. This is the same word used to describe Nimrod. In Hebrew, this name uses a verbal form meaning, “to rebel.” In fact, Nimrod’s name may suggest that he was “against YHWH.” And 10:10-11 says that the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babylon and then he expanded his territory to Assyria and built the city of Nineveh. As we will later see in this chronological journey, Babylon and Assyria will be GOD’s judgment against Israel and Judah; GOD uses wicked people to bring judgment against His children for their wickedness. And in the end, Babylon represents the devil’s children of this wicked world (Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:1-24). Therefore, Nimrod appears to be the antithesis of what GOD desires in that it’s not GOD’s will for humans to use their freedom of choice to acquire power for themselves in order to build kingdoms of their own that stand in opposition to GOD’s Kingdom. And so all of these minor details in Genesis 36 regarding Esau’s descendants will become important later on in our chronological journey. Therefore, we should notate right now that chapter 36 will be material we will need to review again later on when the topic of Edom or Edomites come up again.
- As we are advancing through this chronological study of the Bible, are you getting better at identifying and remembering minor details that might be important later on? Are you getting better at asking crucial clarifying questions?
- How many wives do you believe Esau had? Why do you believe what you believe?
Quest For Truth 