Aholibamah

Aholibamah — spelled Oholibamah in the UPDV — appears in two distinct roles in Genesis 36, the genealogy of Esau and Edom. She is named first as one of Esau's three wives, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and mother of three sons who become chiefs of Edom. A second, unrelated figure of the same name appears later in the same chapter as one of the Edomite chiefs listed by family.

Wife of Esau

Esau's wife list opens with his marriages to Canaanite women. "Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth" (Gen 36:2-3). Aholibamah's parentage is given twice — through her father Anah and her grandfather Zibeon — placing her in the Horite line of Seir.

Her three sons are named together at the close of the wife list: "and Oholibamah bore Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan" (Gen 36:5). The same three sons are repeated in the formal genealogy a few verses later: "And these were the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bore to Esau Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah" (Gen 36:14).

Mother of Edomite Chiefs

When Esau's descendants are reorganized as Edomite clan chiefs, Aholibamah's three sons head their own group: "And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife" (Gen 36:18). Her line, like Adah's and Basemath's, becomes a tribal head within Edom.

Daughter of Anah

The Horite genealogy that follows the chiefs lists names her again on her father's side. Among the sons of Anah: "Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah" (Gen 36:25). This places her with a brother, Dishon, in the line that intermarried with Esau's family.

Possibly Judith

A note earlier in Genesis records Esau's first marriages to Hittite women: "And when Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite" (Gen 26:34). Aholibamah is sometimes identified with this Judith. The UPDV does not make that identification — the names, fathers, and clan affiliations differ between Gen 26:34 and Gen 36:2 — and the link is offered only as a harmonization, not as something the text itself states.

An Edomite Chief

Later in the chapter, the chiefs of Edom are listed by their families and places, and "Oholibamah" appears again — this time as the name of a chief, not Esau's wife: "chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon" (Gen 36:41). The list runs through male chiefs of Edom, so this Oholibamah is a separate person who shares the name. The shared name is the only connection the text records between the two figures.