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{{Short description|Third mentioned wife of Esau in the Book of Genesis}}
{{for|the wife of Rehoboam|Mahalath (wife of Rehoboam)}}
'''Mahalath''' was, according to the [[Hebrew Bible|Bible]], the third wife of [[Esau]], daughter of [[Ishmael]] and sister of [[Nebaioth]]. Esau took Mahalath from the house of Ishmael to be his wife, after seeing that his [[Canaan]]ite wives ([[Basemath]] and Judith) displeased his father, [[Isaac]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|28:6-9}}).

Esau sought this union with a non-Canaanite, in an effort to reconcile his relationship with his parents,<ref name="Easton, 236">Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', ({{ISBN|1596059478}}, {{ISBN|978-1-59605-947-4}} ), 2006, p.236</ref><ref name="Phillips, 2842">Phillips, J. ''Exploring Genesis: an expository commentary'', ({{ISBN|0825434882}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8254-3488-4}}), 2001, p. 284</ref> namely with his father [[Isaac]] whose blessing he sought ({{bibleverse||Genesis|28:6-9|HE)}}). However, there is no record of his parents' approval for the union of Esau and Mahalath. She bore a son, [[Reuel]], to Esau. ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:4|HE)}})

In {{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}, on the other hand, Esau's three wives are differently named; his family is mentioned as consisting of two Canaanite wives, [[List of minor Old Testament figures, A–K|Adah]], the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and [[Aholibamah]], and a third: Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter. Some scholars equate the three wives mentioned in Genesis 26 and 28 with those mentioned in Genesis 36, in the following way:<ref name="Phillips, 284">Phillips, J. ''Exploring Genesis: an expository commentary'', ({{ISBN|0825434882}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8254-3488-4}}), 2001, p. 284</ref>
* Basemath ({{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}) = [[Adah (daughter of Elon)|Adah]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), the daughter of Elon the Hittite;
* Judith ({{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}) = [[Aholibamah]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), also a Canaanite;
* '''Mahalath''' ({{bibleverse||Genesis|28:9|HE)}}) = Bashemath ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), Esau's cousin and third wife, daughter of Ishmael
Nonetheless, other scholars dispute these connections.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Reuven-Klein/publication/305724978_The_Wives_of_Esau/links/579d046e08ae80bf6ea485de/The-Wives-of-Esau.pdf|title=the Wives of Esau |author=Klein, Reuven Chaim|year=2014|journal=Jewish Bible Quarterly
|volume=42|issue=4|pages=211-220}}</ref> See [[Wives of Esau]].
==References==
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[[Category:Book of Genesis people]]
[[Category:Women in the Hebrew Bible]]