Introduction: There is much debate concerning just what was the number of the wives of Esau. The estimates range from 3 to 5. The debate is sparked by the biblical references giving the names and genealogy of these women.
| Gen 26:34 |
"... Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: |
| Gen 36:2-3 |
"... Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. |
| Gen 28:9 |
"... Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth |
As can be seen, there are two mentions of a wife, or wives, named Bashemath. One is Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and, Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
The possible explanations are several:
1. The biblical account could be in error.
(As is claimed by the opponents of the inerrancy of God's Word.)
2. The two mentions of women named Bashemath could both be a reference to one woman
and a lineage confused by intermarriage. And, according to some, this also could be true
of one other of the wives mentioned. Which would put the number of wives at 3.
3. It could be a reference to two different women. Which would put the number of wives at
4 or 5. Five, if the other names are those of different women also; or four, if there is one
other woman that is referred to by two different names. (Many Jews believe that there are
two names given to each of two of the women and, thus, place the number of wives at
three.)
An interesting article written by Stephen Caesar espouses one of those possible explanations.
"The name Bashemath (correctly Basemath) probably comes from the Semitic word-stem b-s-m, meaning “fragrant” (for example, besem means “balsam” in Hebrew). When you add the Hebrew feminine ending –ath, you get Basemath, “fragrant woman.” The possibility exists that Mahalath (daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebajoth) and Adah (daughter of Elon the Hittite) were both given the nickname “fragrant” (Douglas 1982:
124). In other words, the Bashemath, daughter of Elon, in Gen. 26:34 is the same as the Adah, daughter of Elon, in Gen. 36:2, while the Bashemath, daughter of Ishmael, in Gen. 36:3 is the same as Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, in Gen. 28:9.
After first marrying Judith the daughter of Beeri, Esau may have married Adah the daughter of Elon and nicknamed her “Fragrant.” The possibility exists that Adah died, whereupon he married Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, and nicknamed her “Fragrant,” in honor of his dead
wife. Another possibility is that Esau divorced Adah “the Fragrant” (which was allowed by secular Near Eastern law in the Patriarchal Era), and then married Mahalath, nicknaming her “the Fragrant” to spite Adah. Thus, Esau’s various marriages can be plausibly reconstructed as follows:
- First wife: Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite
- Second wife: Adah, “the Fragrant” (Bashemath), daughter of Elon the Hittite; deceased or divorced
- Third wife: Mahalath, “the Fragrant” (Bashemath), daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebajoth
- Fourth wife: Aholibamah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite
There are at least two examples of a wife having a nickname different from her real name. The first example comes from the Mari texts, which were contemporary with the Patriarchal Era. Abraham Malamat of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem writes:
“Some years ago I published a study (together with P. Artzi) on the most prominent of the Mari ladies—Shibtu, Zimri-Lim’s queen [Zimri-Lim was king of Mari in the time of the Patriarchs]….Until quite recently it was thought that Shibtu was the daughter of Yarim-Lim, king of
Aleppo, and his chief wife, Gashera. In several documents, however, Shibtu’s mother is named as Zizi. Either Shibtu was a princess by a secondary queen at Aleppo, or it might be assumed that Zizi was Gashera’s nickname. Such nicknames were not uncommon in antiquity, and even Zimri-Lim was not immune to this phenomenon, for his family often addressed him as ‘my Star’” (Malamat 1989: 12).
Much later, the wife of Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC) bore an Aramaic name, Naqia, and an Assyrian name, Zakutu (Boardman 1991: 138; Kuhrt 1995: 527). Thus, it is entirely possible
that two of Esau’s wives were known by two different names: their names given to them at birth, Adah and Mahalath, and their identical nicknames, 'Fragrant.'"
These are, of course, mere conjecture but they do offer possible explanations of the two biblical statements. This view would suggest that Bashemath, daughter of Elon, and Adah, daughter of Elon, were the same woman; one name being merely what we would call a "nickname." This would put the number of wives
at 4. However, it also suggests that another possibility exists- one of divorce and remarriage, which would put the number back at 5 again. Both mere conjecture, at best.
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However, Jewish speculation somewhat parallels some of this same conjecture.
Article in "JEWISH WOMEN, a Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia"
Name and author of Article: Esau, Wives of: Midrash and Aggadah by Tamar Kadari
"Esau married his first two wives, who were from among the daughters of Heth, against his parents’ wishes. According to the Rabbis, these women spent all their days in adultery and idolatry. Adah adorned herself with jewelry for harlotry, from which her name Adah is derived, with the meaning of the wearing [adayat]
of jewelry (Gen. Rabbati, Vayishlah, p. 160). Adah’s other name was Basemath (based on the exchange of names between Gen. 26:34 and 36:2). This name also attests to her deeds, for she would perfume herself (mevasemet) for
harlotry. Esau’s second wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, was an illegitimate child resulting from an adulterous union (Tanhuma, Vayeshev 1). Judith was also named Oholibamah, a name she was given because she built places for idolatry (bamot).
She dwelled in Esau’s tent, but “performed her needs elsewhere” (that is, she engaged in extramarital relations). In taking two wives, Esau acted the same as the men of the Flood generation, who also took two spouses: one to provide them with offspring, and the other to provide them with sexual pleasure (see Adah, the wife of Lamech).
After Esau saw that his father Isaac had ordered Jacob not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, he abandoned his evil ways and married Mahalath, the daughter of his uncle Ishmael. By merit of this marriage, the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave Esau all his sins (JT Bikkurim
3:3, 65c–d). Mahalath’s name indicates that God pardoned (mahal)
Esau. However, according to another view, Esau did not mend his ways and Mahalath was as evil as his first two wives Midrash Aggadah, ed. Buber, Gen. 28:9). This
later marriage was also the result of negative motives: Esau plotted together with Ishmael to kill Isaac and Jacob, to marry the daughter of Ishmael, and to inherit both families. Accordingly, his marriage to Mahalath was ke-mahalah (as an affliction) and only increased the pain his
parents had suffered upon his first marriages (Gen. Rabbah 67:8, 13)."
This, of course, is also as much conjecture as the earlier theory put forth by Stephen Caesar. The Jewish view places the number of wives at three, with two of the names in the biblical account being alternate names for two of the three wives.
However, although all of these are mere conjecture, still, all of these are possibilities and are presented simply to show that what some call a "contradiction" in the biblical account is not one because there are multiple ways that the two accounts could be easily reconciled.
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I. The First two wives of Esau.
A. They were Hittites, and that means they were Canaanites. (Gen 26:34)
"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter
of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:"
B. The Cursed Line of Canaan (Gen 9:22-27)
The family line of Canaan was cursed because of his father, Ham.
C. These two wives were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. (Gen 26:35; 27:46; 28:6-8)
II. Children From the Wives Were Under the Curse Put Upon Canaan.
This was introduced into the family through the two Canaanite wives.
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