Genesis 36:2

2 Esau took wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah, the daughter of Elon (the) Hittite, and Oholibamah (and Aholibamah), the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon (the) Hivite;

Genesis 36:2 Meaning and Commentary

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 different from them in ( Genesis 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, ( Genesis 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, ( Genesis 36:24 Genesis 36:25 ) ; 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, ( Genesis 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, ( Genesis 26:34 ) ; but not only the names differ, but also the names of their fathers, and of the tribe or nation they were of.

Genesis 36:2 In-Context

1 Forsooth these be the generations of Esau; he is (also called) Edom.
2 Esau took wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah, the daughter of Elon (the) Hittite, and Oholibamah (and Aholibamah), the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon (the) Hivite;
3 also Bashemath (and Bashemath), the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebajoth.
4 And Adah childed Eliphaz; Bashemath childed Reuel;
5 Oholibamah childed Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah (and Aholibamah gave birth to Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah). These were the sons of Esau, that were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.