Who
Esau’s wife “Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth” (Genesis 36:3), the mother of Reuel. She is the Mahalath whom Esau married when he saw that the Canaanite women displeased his father: “Esau went to Ishmael, and took … Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael” (Genesis 28:9). Genesis 26:34 gives the name Basemath to his Hittite wife, the daughter of Elon, so the names of Esau’s wives vary between the passages.
Key verses
- Genesis 28:9
So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
- Genesis 36:3
and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.
- Genesis 36:4
Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz. Basemath bore Reuel.
Where the Bible names her
Family
- Children