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.
Genesis 36:2-3
Adah means "ornament", Eliphaz means "god of gold", and Aholibamah means "tent of the high place". Esau married for wealth and status, not for character. (See Genesis 36:2,10,14.) He followed the pattern of Lamech. When he realized how displeased his parents were with his choice of brides, he married Bashemath, whose name means "fragrance." By her he hoped to remove the stench he had become to his parents, but he was still missing the point.
While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
Genesis 35:22
It was common practice in the ancient world for a usurper to take the deposed ruler's wives in a show of dominance. Reuben sleeping with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah, was a failed coup attempt. By taking one of his father's wives, he was making a claim to his father's place in the household. He's fortunate that he only lost his place as firstborn and not his life.
SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS --- LESSON 22
WELLS
ISAAC REFUSES TO QUARREL
From Genesis 26
A famine swept across the land again as it had in the days of Abraham, so Isaac moved to Gerar where Abimelech, the Philistine king, lived. Adonai appeared to Isaac and said, [Do not go to Egypt. Stay here in this land and I will be with you and bless you; for I will give these lands to you and your descendants, and I will renew with you the Covenant I made with your father Abraham. Your descendants will become as numerous as the stars and they will inherit this land from Me and become a blessing to all nations on earth. I will do this because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My Covenant and My Laws.] Isaac remained in Gerar. When the men of Gerar began to ask about his beautiful wife Rebekah, Isaac said, [She is my sister.] He was afraid to tell them that she was his wife, for he thought they would kill him to get her. But one day after Isaac had lived there for some time, King Abimelech looked out of his window and noticed Isaac caressing Rebekah. Abimelech called for Isaac and said, [Now, look here, she is really your wife, isn’t she? Why did you tell us that she is your sister?] [Because I was afraid someone might kill me to get her,] Isaac explained. [But don’t you realize what you have done to us?] Abimelech complained. [One of our men might have laid with her and you would have brought great trouble to us.] Then Abimelech proclaimed publicly, [Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall be put to death.] The crops that Isaac sowed that year brought forth rich harvests, a hundred times what he had sown. Adonai blessed him and gave him more and more until Isaac became a wealthy man. Because he had flocks and herds and a large number of servants, the Philistines began to envy him. Some of them filled his wells with dirt, the wells which Abraham’s servants had dug. [Why don’t you go somewhere else to live,] Abimelech told Isaac. [You are too powerful to live among us now.] Isaac moved to the Valley of Gerar and settled there. He cleaned out the wells his father Abraham had dug, which the Philistines had filled with dirt when Abraham died, and he gave the wells the names that Abraham had given them. But when Isaac’s servants dug a new well and found a spring of water, the Philistine shepherds quarrelled with them and said, [The water is ours!] Isaac called that well [Esek] for it spoke of the quarrelling. His servants dug another well, but the Philistine shepherds quarrelled about that one also. Isaac named it [Sitnah] which meant Anger. Isaac left that well also and dug a third well. This time the Philistines left him alone. Isaac named the third well [Rehoboth,] which meant Room, for he said, [At last Adonai has made room for us all and we shall prosper in the land.] Isaac built an altar and called upon the Name of Adonai. Isaac moved his tent to Beersheba and dug a well there. One day Adonai appeared to him. [I am YHVH Elohiym of your father Abraham,] Adonai said. [Do not fear Me, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.] One day Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and his army commander Phicol. [Why have you come here to me since you hate me and sent me away from you?] Isaac asked. [It is clear that Adonai is with you, so we would like to make a covenant between us. You will not harm us as we have not harmed you and have done nothing but good to you and sent you away in peace,] they answered. [You are now blessed of Adonai.] Isaac prepared a feast for them and they ate and drank together. Early the next morning they made an oath that they would not harm one another. Then Isaac sent them home in peace. The same day Isaac’s servants brought him good news. [We have found water in the well we were digging,] they reported. Isaac named it Shebah, which referred to the oath. Thus, the town is still known as Beersheba. When Esau was forty, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. These marriages to ungodly people disturbed Isaac and Rebekah greatly.
COMMENTARY
ISAAC’S FAMILY
Like his father, Abraham, Isaac was a wanderer. Travelling with great herds, Isaac often came into conflict with the people who were settled in the land. One cause of conflict was water. Water was a life-or-death issue to the people of the land and their flocks. No wonder Isaac faced growing hostility over wells. Isaac was the child of promise, the son through whom YHVH fulfilled His Covenant with Abraham. The Bible traces Isaac’s life from the prophecy of his birth to the day of his death. Isaac was a -- miracle-baby -- born to Abraham when he was one hundred years old. His name meant Laughter because Sarah laughed when the angel of Adonai said that she would bear a child in her old age. But this long-awaited baby was not the only child born to Abraham. Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Hagar, was Isaac’s half brother. As the oldest son in the family, Ishmael had a claim to the birthright. But YHVH chose Isaac to be Abraham’s heir. He received his father’s blessing and the bulk of his household goods. Material wealth was only a portion of the inheritance Isaac received from his father. More important was the promise YHVH made to Abraham and extended to Isaac. Through him YHVH created the nation of Israel and a line of kings that climaxed centuries later in the birth of Yeshua. As the child of Abraham’s old age and his chosen heir, Isaac held a special place in his father’s heart. He returned his father’s affection with complete obedience. Isaac willingly accompanied Abraham to Mount Moriah, carrying the fuel for the sacrificial fire. Although he questioned his father about the sacrifice, he did not struggle when Abraham bound him and prepared to offer him on the altar. As Isaac grew to be a young man, he continued to trust his father’s guidance. He willingly married Rebekah, the wife chosen for him by Eliezer, Abraham’s faithful servant. He did not rebel against his father’s wishes by choosing a bride for himself from among the Canaanite women. Just as he was obedient to his father, Isaac was also obedient to Adonai. He learned to trust YHVH through Abraham’s example. On Mount Moriah Isaac witnessed the supreme test of his father’s faith. His life was spared only at the last moment by YHVH’s intervention. In later years Adonai again intervened in Isaac’s life by warning him against entering Egypt. In response to the voice of YHVH, Isaac changed the direction of his travels and remained in Canaan. But the Bible is honest in presenting Isaac’s failings as well as his virtues. He was at fault in his dealings with Abimelech, the Philistine king. Using the same false story that his father once used, Isaac pretended that Rebekah was his sister rather than his wife. Isaac’s domestic troubles were also provoked by the favouritism he openly displayed for one son over another. He preferred Esau, the rugged hunter, over Jacob, his younger son. Isaac’s obvious preference forced Jacob to gain his father’s blessing by dishonesty and deceit. When Esau discovered that he had lost the birthright to his younger brother, his desire for revenge split the family in two. The strife within his family must have troubled Isaac. By nature, he was a peaceful man who avoided conflict with his neighbours. When the Philistine shepherds questioned his right to the wells dug on their land, he moved on and dug new wells for his herds. In spite of the hostility of the Philistines, Isaac continued to prosper in the land of Canaan. He acquired great herds and a large household that was the envy of his neighbours. Isaac lived a very long life. Although his eyesight dimmed greatly in his old age, he still enjoyed the respect accorded a man of many years. He lived to see Jacob, his estranged son, return to Canaan as the head of a large family. Before his death he was comforted to know that Jacob and Esau had made peace with one another and the old quarrel between them was forgotten. Together, Isaac’s two sons laid him to rest in the tomb of his father Abraham.
Matthew 13;34, “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.” This verse is an example of a verse that deserves to be scrutinized. While he often used parables, there are examples recorded of him speaking very plainly in public.
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