Nota Bene-- C:\DOCUME~1\XPMUSER\MYDOCU~1\NBFILE~1 ...

In 26:34 the narrator presents Judith as “the daughter of Beeri haḥittî” and Basemath as
“the daughter of Elon haḥittî.” The Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX and Peshitta present Elon as a
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“Hivite” (perhaps Hurrian) vis-à-vis the haḥittî of the MT. When Esau realized the bOnôt¯
KOnāan vexed his parents (28:8) he married “Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham,
the sister of Nebaioth” (Ishmael’s oldest son; 28:9). The Peshitta reads “Basemath” for
בשמתהיא)‏ Basemath” “Mahalath” and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interprets “Mahalath who is
both of these are likely an attempt at harmonization with 36:3 where Basemath is ‏;(מחלת
presented as the daughter of Ismael and sister of Nebaioth, rather than the daughter of Elon.
Genesis 36:2-3 falls in the TôlOd¯ôt framework for Esau where the narrator states that
“Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan [bOnôt¯
KOnāan]”: Adah “the daughter of
Elon haḥittî,” Oholibamah “the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter 48 of Zibeon the Hivite,” and
Basemath “the daughter of Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth.” The Samaritan Pentateuch reads
“Mahalath” for “Basemath,” likely an attempted harmonization with 28:9. In 36:20 Zibeon is
referred to as a Horite (Hurrian) prince of Seir. 49
If the sequence of the MT is taken at face value, Esau first marries two women with
haḥittî parentage (Judith and Basemath), one of whom is characterized as Hivite (Basemath) in
the Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX and Peshitta. Rebekah then grieves over his choices, referring to
them as and as “the daughters of the land.” This combination indicates Rebekah’s
———————————
bOnôt¯
Ḥēt¯
48 The MT reads “daughter of Zibeon,” ‏,ַּבת־ֵאילֹון but the LXX supplies “son,” τουñ υιουñ Σεβεγὼν, a reading
supported by the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Peshitta, and is also consistent with Anah’s lineage expressed in 36:24-
25 (the same situation appears in 36:14; cf. 36:39). In 36:1 Anah is introduced with the other chiefs of Seir,
including his father Zibeon, as the offspring of their eponymous ancestor Seir. This connection does not de facto
make them brothers, but simply emphasizes their organic linkage to this important individual. Glossing “daughter
of Zibeon” with “granddaughter” clarifies the family relationship, where “daughter” is taken to indicate “ancestor”
and apply to Oholibamah rather than Anah. The versions appear to be harmonizing a perceived inconsistency.
49 “Hivite” and “Horite” may both refer to Hurrians (cf. Hoffner 1973, 225) though the southern location
of Seir appears to militate against their presence in Edom (Bartlett 1973, 230). Speiser suggests the Horites/Hivites
located in north Syria-Palestine are non-Semitic Hurrians but those of Seir are Semites to whom the biblical text
coincidentally or mistakenly applied the term (1964, 282–283). His reasoning is based on lack of archeological and
epigraphic data in the region. Whether the connection made in the textual record can be nuanced will depend on
the type of material evidence which might yet surface.