Genesis 36:2

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

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; Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan.

If this account be compared with that , 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, ; and the governors of Jerusalem are called the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah, ; and John the Baptist is called Elias, . 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, , 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, ; and Mahalath, Ishmael’ s daughter, was called Bashemath, either because in her principles and manners she resembled Esau’ s other wife so called, or to show that Ishmael’ s 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 , called here a Hivite, is called Beeri the Hittite, , 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.

(2) Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite.—In Genesis 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 Genesis 26:34. But in Genesis 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 Esau’s invasions of their country, his final settlement there, and the introduction of the genealogy of “Seir the Horite,” together with Aholibamah’s place as the last of Esau’s wives, all are facts which strongly confirm the supposition of his having contracted a Horite marriage during Jacob’s absence in Padan-aram.

Verse 2. His wives] It appears that Esau's wives went by very different names. Aholibamah is named Judith, Genesis 26:34; Adah is called Bashemath in the same place; and she who is here called Bashemath is called Mahalath, Genesis 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 Genesis 25:18. Anah the daughter of Zibeon] But this same Anah is said to be the son of Zibeon, Genesis 36:24, though in this and Genesis 36:14 he is said to be the daughter of Zibeon. But the Samaritan, the Septuagint, (and the Syriac, in Genesis 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 Genesis 36:14, "Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the SON of Zibeon," and then the whole will agree with Genesis 36:24.

2. Esau took his wives] The list of Esau’s wives in this chapter does not agree with that in Genesis 26:34 and Genesis 28:9. (a) In this passage and in Genesis 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 Genesis 26:34 (P) and Genesis 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 Genesis 36:14. But the reading “son” is found in LXX, Sam. and Syr. Pesh., and is to be preferred; see Genesis 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 Genesis 36:24. Probably, in Genesis 36:25, “the daughter of Anah” has been introduced as a gloss.

ESAU’S WIVES AND , AND THEIR REMOVAL TO MOUNT SEIR, Genesis 36:1-8. A comparison of the names of Esau’s wives, as given here and in Genesis 26:34; Genesis 28:9, will show noticeable differences. Here we have:1.