Women in the Bible – Adah – Daughter of Elon, the Hittite – A Wife of Esau

Women in the Bible – Adah – Daughter of Elon, the Hittite – A Wife of Esau

Genesis 26:34-35 (ESV) When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 36:1-5 (ESV) These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

The woman known as “Adah” in Genesis 36 is apparently the same woman named “Basemath” in Genesis 26. Some theorize that Esau changed her name. It’s not known exactly why. At any rate, they are the same person.

Adah, as we saw last time, means “ornament.” Basemath comes from the Hebrew word bāśemat which means “fragrance”. When we are first introduced to Adah she was known as Basemath, When she first married Esau “they made life bitter for Issac and Rebekah.” The “fragrance” that defined her life was not a pleasant one; more of a stench than an aroma. However, she bore Esau a son. This child must have been a golden boy (Eliphaz means “God of gold”) and the joy brought to Adah mellowed her to the point that Esau changed her name from Basemath to Adah. She had become an ornament (of gold!) which blessed him.

That may not be what happened, but it is plausible. We do know that when Jacob and Esau encountered one another later in life there was no animosity in Esau’s heart toward Jacob. It could be that Adah, and her golden child, softened Esau’s heart to the point that he became a different man.

It is common in scripture for names to be changed. Sometimes it is a prophetic gesture that leads to a life change. Other times it is because the one they have no longer represents who they have become. I believe the latter is the case here. Never let who you are or what you’ve done define what you are capable of becoming.