Women in the Bible – Aholibamah
(or Oholibamah) – Daughter of Anah, One of Esau's Wives.
Genesis
36:2-24 (ESV) 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.
Then
Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his
household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had
acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother
Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The
land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. So
Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)
These
are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of
Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of
Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s
son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.
These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the
sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter
of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and
Korah.
These
are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the
chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. These are
the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah;
these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of
Basemath, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: the
chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the
daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and
these are their chiefs.
This is the most unusual
name to me. The next Women in the Bible we consider is Aholibamah, or Oholibamah
as is most commonly used. The name comes from the Hebrew word ʾoholîbāmâ which
means “tent of (the) height.” All we know of her is that she married Esau. That
should qualify her for some kind of award right there! Esau, the twin brother
of Jacob, was a rough character. He was a man’s man, a hunter, a farmer. He
also had a temper.
She was a blessing to Esau
by giving him three sons: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. We never hear anything of
these three in scripture. Every time Oholibamah is referenced they mention her
mother, and her mother’s father, but never her father. This could imply that
she was illegitimate. Rarely do you see just a mother mentioned in a lineage.
Even if the father is deceased he is still mentioned. Because of this, Esau
would not have received a dowry with his wife. It also could mean that
Oholibamah’s mother came to live with them. Regardless of these things Esau’s
“tent was increased” when he took her as his wife.
Raising three boys in any
culture is a challenge. Raising them as a nomadic people had to be very
difficult. We don’t know the outcome of all of this. We know Esau eventually
made peace with Jacob. Hopefully this change of heart in Esau was also
experienced by his wives, and Oholibamah.
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