The Problem With Esau’s Wives

Genesis 36 gives an account of Esau’s family including his wives Basemath, Adah, and Aholibamath, and his son’s concubine Timna. Adah and Aholibamath were Esau’s first wives who brought grief to his parents. Their names were changed, though, when they married. Mahalath was Esau’s third wife who he married out of spite when he realized that his parents didn’t like his other Canaanite wives.

When Esau was 40-years-old he took as wives Judith and Basemath, both Hitite women. He chose to marry pagan women who had no regard for the God of his family. Genesis 26:34 tells us they were a “grief of mind” to Isaac and Rebekah.

Later, after Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac and Esau, Rebekah claimed she was weary of her life because of Esau’s wives. She dramatically claimed that if Jacob married a local woman as well, that her life would be no good to her. So they sent Jacob to Padan Aram to find a suitable wife.

When Esau heard what his parents had done and realized that they didn’t like his Canaanite wives, he sought out another wife from the family of Ishmael. He married Mahalath in addition to his previous wives.

Esau lived life impulsively. He saw a beautiful woman, he married her. He saw another one, he married her, too. He didn’t take into account what kind of wife they might be or whether they were right for him. When he got offended, he rashly married another woman, again, putting no real thought into it.

At some point, Esau was named Edom, which means red earth. It’s a reference to the color of the lentil soup he bought from Jacob in exchange for his birthright. The descendants of Esau became known as Edomites.

The genealogy of Esau repeatedly mentions which wife bore which sons. It includes which of the sons became chiefs among the Edomites. The land of Edom had kings before the Israelites had kings. Genesis 36 includes the history of kings including Bael-Hanan whose wife’s name was Mehetabel.

In Genesis 25:23 God prophesied to Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” This was true not only of the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, but the generations to follow.

Esau married foolishly, choosing ungodly idol-worshiping women. As a result, their children followed in the ways of the ungodly.

What kind of life did Esau’s wives live? We have no indication that he loved them. We know they weren’t happy in their marriage as they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Esau failed to live a godly life. These women probably had no clue that he worshiped a different god than them because they didn’t witness him following God at all. On the other hand, they influenced him towards their worship.

As wives and daughters we need to make sure that we are following God and setting an example for those around us. We want to draw our loved ones closer to God rather than leading them astray.

Esau’s Wives in the Bible: Genesis 26:34, 27:46, 28:9