Oholibamah (Genesis 36:25)

1. Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah the Hivite (Gn 36:2, 5, 14, 18, 25, kjv “Aholibamah”), who bore to him Jeush, Jalam, and Korah before Esau left Canaan for Seir.

The absence of her name from the other lists of Esau’s wives (see Gn 26:34; 28:9) has occasioned a great deal of discussion. The considerable variation in these lists may indicate either a confusion in the scribal transmission or may point to the use of alternate names, gained either at marriage or as a result of some memorable event in the women’s lives. Whether or not she is identified with Judith, as some have suggested, the scriptural observation that she was “a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah” is true (26:35).