Ex-spouses Esau, Rehoboam | ||
Similar Esau, Rehoboam, Abijah of Judah, Rebecca, Judith | ||
Mahalath (Hebrew מָחֲלַת, meaning either "sickness", "a company of dancers" or "a harp") was the third mentioned wife of Esau, a daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebajoth. Esau took Mahalath from the house of Ishmael to be his wife, after seeing that Canaanite wives displeased his father, Isaac (Genesis 28:6-9).
It has been proposed by some biblical scholars that Mahalath is another name for Esau's wife Basemath who is mentioned in Genesis 36. J.B. Phillips suggests that Esau changed the names of his Hittite wives, Judith and Basemath, as a way of pacifying his parents for the grief he caused them when he married Canaanite women: since he had two wives in his life called Basemath, he had to change the Ishmaelite's name, of which he chose: Mahalath. (Genesis 28:6-9,36:2-3)