Genesis 26:34

Summary

The verse reports that Esau, at the age of forty, took two wives: Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. It is a chronological notice within the narrative framework, marking a life stage of Esau with the standard formula for age.

Key words

• yechi ("he was", H1961) — qal verb with narrative vav, the standard opening formula that advances the story ("and it happened that...").
• ben ("a son of", H1121L) — masculine singular construct noun, here used idiomatically with a number to express age ("son of forty years" = forty years old).
• yiqqach ("he took", H3947I) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking the next sequential action; the same root used elsewhere for marriage-taking.
• bat ("[the] daughter of", H1323G) — feminine singular construct noun, appearing twice to link each wife's name to her father's name.
• ha-Chitti ("the Hittite", H2850 with H9009) — gentilic noun with definite article, repeated for both fathers-in-law, identifying their ethnic/national affiliation.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative formula va-yechi ("and he was"), followed by the construct phrase ben-arba'im shanah ("son of forty years"), the standard Hebrew idiom for stating a person's age using the noun ben ("son of", H1121L) in construct with a number. This is not a literal filial relationship but a grammatical convention for age.

The second clause is introduced by another narrative verb, va-yiqqach ("and he took", H3947I), followed by ishah ("a wife", H0802H) and the object marker 'et. The text then names two women in parallel construct chains: Yehudit bat Be'eri ha-Chitti ("Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite") and, joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) with a second object marker, Basemat bat Eilon ha-Chitti ("Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite"). Both fathers are identified by the same gentilic term ha-Chitti ("the Hittite", H2850 with the definite article H9009), repeated verbatim for each, which grammatically ties both women to the same ethnic group without further elaboration in the Hebrew syntax itself.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew verb yiqqach ("he took", H3947I) is singular in form but the BSB renders it with the plural "wives," reflecting that two women are named as objects of the single verb. The LXX (Swete) transliterates the second Hittite reference as "τοῦ Ἐαίου" (a variant spelling) rather than repeating "Χετταίου" as in the first instance, differing from the Hebrew's identical repetition of ha-Chitti in both places. The Vulgate renders the second gentilic phrase as "ejusdem loci" ("of the same place") rather than repeating "Hethæi," diverging from the Hebrew's literal repetition of the same gentilic term for both fathers-in-law.