Genesis 26 · Verse 34

Genesis 26:34

And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
Genesis 26:34, King James Version

Genesis 26:34 in other translations

BSBWhen Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
WEBWhen Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
ASVAnd when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
YLTAnd Esau is a son of forty years, and he taketh a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite,
DARBYAnd Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
BBEAnd when Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
WebsterAnd Esau was forty years old when he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

What does Genesis 26:34 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
34. Esau ... took to wife--If the pious feelings of Abraham recoiled from the idea of Isaac forming a matrimonial connection with a Canaanitish woman [Ge 24:3], that devout patriarch himself would be equally opposed to such a union on the part of his children; and we may easily imagine how much his pious heart was wounded, and the family peace destroyed, when his favorite but wayward son brought no less than two idolatrous wives among them--an additional proof that Esau neither desired the blessing nor dreaded the curse of God. These wives never gained the affections of his parents, and this estrangement was overruled by God for keeping the chosen family aloof from the dangers of heathen influence.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 34 He took to wife - the daughter, etc. - It is very likely that the wives taken by Esau were daughters of chiefs among the Hittites, and by this union he sought to increase and strengthen his secular power and influence.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 26:34-35
Esau was foolish in marrying two wives together, and still more in marrying Canaanites, strangers to the blessing of Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah. It grieved his parents that he married without their advice and consent. It grieved them that he married among those who had no religion. Children have little reason to expect God's blessing who do that which is a grief of mind to good parents.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 26:34 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְהִ֤יvay.Hiand he wasH1961
עֵשָׂו֙'e.SavEsauH6215
בֶּן\־ben-a son ofH1121
אַרְבָּעִ֣ים'ar.ba.'ImfortyH705
שָׁנָ֔הsha.Nahyear[s]H8141
וַיִּקַּ֤חvai.yi.Kachand he tookH3947
אִשָּׁה֙'i.Shaha wifeH802
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוּדִ֔יתye.hu.DitJudithH3067
בַּת\־bat-[the] daughter ofH1323
בְּאֵרִ֖יbe.'e.RiBeeriH882
הַֽחִתִּ֑יha.chi.Tithe HittiteH2850
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
בָּ֣שְׂמַ֔תba.se.MatBasemathH1315
בַּת\־bat-[the] daughter ofH1323
אֵילֹ֖ן'ei.LonElonH356
הַֽחִתִּֽי\׃Ha.chi.Tithe HittiteH2850

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 26:34

  • Genesis 36:2

    Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

  • Genesis 36:13

    And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

  • Exodus 34:16

    And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

  • Genesis 24:3

    And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

  • Genesis 28:9

    Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

  • Genesis 36:5

    And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:2

    Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

  • Hebrews 12:16

    Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 2208. B.C. 1796. And Esau.
36:2,5,13
the daughter.
24:3; Ex 34:16; 1Co 7:2; Heb 12:16
Bashemath.
36:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 26:33

    And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer–sheba unto this day.

  • Genesis 26:34

    And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

  • Genesis 26:35

    Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Read all of Genesis 26

Genesis 26:34 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y cuando Esaú fué de cuarenta años, tomó por mujer á Judith hija de Beeri Hetheo, y á Basemat hija de Elón Hetheo:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Ésaü était âgé de 40 ans, et il prit pour femmes Judith, fille de Beéri, le Héthien, et Basmath, fille d’Élon, le Héthien;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Esau war vierzig Jahre alt, da nahm er zum Weibe Judith, die Tochter Beeris, des Hethiters, und Basmath, die Tochter Elons, des Hethiters.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Esau vero quadragenarius duxit uxores, Judith filiam Beeri Hethæi, et Basemath filiam Elon ejusdem loci: