ESAU MARRIES A DAUGHTER OF ISHMAEL.

(6) When Esau.--The solemn transfer of the birthright to Jacob, and Isaac's complete assent thereto, must have been the cause of no little grief to Esau, and evidently it made him feel that he had greatly contributed to this result by his own illegitimate marriages. When, then, he sees Jacob sent away to obtain a wife, in accordance with the rule established by Abraham, he determines also to conform to it, and marries a daughter of Ishmael. She is called Bashe-math in chap 36:3, and described in both places as "the sister of Nebajoth," in order to show that as Nebajoth "the firstborn" (Genesis 25:13) was undoubtedly the son of Ishmael by his first wife, "whom Hagar took for him out of the land of Egypt" (Genesis 21:21), so also Mahalath shared in this precedence, and was not the daughter of any of Ishmael's subsequent wives, or of a concubine.

Verses 6-9. - When (literally, and) Esau saw that Issue had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, - literally, in his blessing him (forming a parenthesis), and he commanded him - saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; and that (literally, and) Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone (or went) to Padan-aram; and Esau seeing that (more correctly, saw that) the daughters of Canaan pleased not (literally, were evil in the eyes of) Isaac his father; then (literally, and) went Esau unto Ishmael (i.e. the family or tribe of Ishmael, aiming in this likely to please his father), and took unto the wives which he had (so that they were neither dead nor divorced) Mahalath (called Bashemath in Genesis 36:3) the daughter of Ishmael (and therefore Esau's half-cousin by the father's side, Ishmael, who was now dead thirteen years, having been Isaac's half-brother) Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, - Ishmael's firstborn (vide Genesis 25:13) - to be his wife.

CHAPTER 28:10-22

28:6-9 Good examples impress even the profane and malicious. But Esau thought, by pleasing his parents in one thing, to atone for other wrong doings. Carnal hearts are apt to think themselves as good as they should be, because in some one matter they are not so bad as they have been.And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob,.... Had conferred the blessing before given, or had wished him a good journey; which perhaps may be all that Esau understood by it, and so was not so much offended with it:

and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; which likewise might not be displeasing to him, partly as he understood it to be only on account of taking a wife, and not on account of his ill design upon him, which he might imagine his parents knew nothing of; and partly as he would now be out of the way, and he might find means the easier to ingratiate himself into his father's favour, and get him to revoke the blessing, and settle the inheritance upon him:

and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; or of the Canaanites, of any of the tribes or nations that belonged to that people, whether Hittites or others.