Person Old Testament
Mahalath
Also known as Basemath =ESV, NIV; Bashemath =KJV
Mahalath, also known as Basemath, was one of Esau's wives, a daughter of Ishmael. Mentioned in 6 verses across 1 book, first at Genesis 28:9.
Why it matters. Esau's wife, daughter of Ishmael
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Mahalath
Mahalath, also referred to as Basemath, was one of the wives of Esau, the son of Isaac and the twin brother of Israel (or 'Jacob') (Gen.28.9; 36.3). She was the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son with Hagar, making her Esau's cousin (Gen.28.9). Esau married Mahalath in addition to his other wives, who were Hittite women (Gen.26.34; 28.8-9). This marriage likely strengthened the ties between Esau's descendants, the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites. Mahalath is mentioned in the genealogies of Esau, which list his wives, children, and descendants (Gen.36.4,10,13,17). These genealogies emphasize the importance of family lineage and the relationships between different people groups in the ancient Near East. The Bible does not provide further details about Mahalath's personal life or her role in the family dynamics of Esau's household. Her inclusion in the biblical record primarily serves to document Esau's marital alliances and the ancestry of the Edomites.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 6 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.