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{{for|the daughter of [[Solomon]] and wife of [[Ahimaaz]]|Basemath, daughter of Solomon}}
'''Basemath''' ({{Hebrew Name|בָּשְׂמַת|Basmat|Bāsəmaṯ|"Sweet-smelling"}}, [[Arabic]]: بسمة; "Sweet-smile"), in the [[Hebrew Bible]], is the name of two different wives of [[Esau]]. See [[Wives of Esau]].

In {{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}, Basemath is the name of the first wife of [[Esau]]. She was the daughter of Elon the [[Biblical Hittites|Hittite]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}). Because Basemath was a [[Canaan|Canaanite]], Esau’s marriage to Basemath (as well as to his second wife, Judith) ignored [[God]]'s wishes that Abraham’s descendants keep themselves separate from the Canaanites in marriage. Esau’s marriage to Basemath, therefore, brought bitterness to [[Isaac]] and [[Rebekah]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Basemath, Bashemath - Encyclopedia of The Bible - Bible Gateway|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Basemath-Bashemath|access-date=2021-08-21|website=www.biblegateway.com|language=en}}</ref> Esau is then said to have taken as his third wife a daughter of his uncle [[Ishmael]], [[Mahalath]].

In {{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}, on the other hand, Esau's three wives are differently named; his family is mentioned as composed of two Canaanite wives, [[List of minor Old Testament figures, A–K|Adah]], the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and [[Aholibamah]], and a third: ''Bashemath'', Ishmael's daughter. 

Some scholars equate the three wives mentioned in Genesis 26 and 28 with those in Genesis 36, the following way:<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Reuven-Klein/publication/305724978_The_Wives_of_Esau/links/579d046e08ae80bf6ea485de/The-Wives-of-Esau.pdf|title=the Wives of Esau |author=Klein, Reuven Chaim|year=2014|journal=Jewish Bible Quarterly
|volume=42|issue=4|pages=211-220}}</ref>

* '''Basemath''' ({{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}) = [[Adah (daughter of Elon)|Adah]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), the daughter of Elon the Hittite;
* Judith ({{bibleverse||Genesis|26:34-35|HE)}}) = [[Aholibamah]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), also a Canaanite;
* [[Mahalath]] ({{bibleverse||Genesis|28:9|HE)}}) = ''Bashemath''{{what|date=December 2021}} ({{bibleverse||Genesis|36:2,3|HE)}}), Esau's cousin and third wife, daughter of Ishmael.

==See also==

* In {{bibleverse|1 Kings|4:15}}, [[List of minor Old Testament figures, A–K|Basemath]] is also the name of a daughter of King Solomon.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Edomite people]]
[[Category:Book of Genesis people]]
[[Category:Esau]]
[[Category:Women in the Hebrew Bible]]
{{Tanakh-stub}}