## Tur HaArokh, Genesis

###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:5:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:5:1)

**את עדה בת אילון החתי.**פירש"י הוא בשמת בת אלון ונקראת בשמת על שם שהית' מקטרת בשמים לע"ז ואהליבמה הוא יהודית וכנה שמה יהודית לומר שכופרת בע"ז. וכתב הרמב"ן הנה לא נתן טעם לבארי אבי אהליבמה שנקרא שם בארי וכאן ענה ועוד בשמת בת ישמעאל הי' שם העצם ובשמת בת אלון יהי' שם התואר לקיטור הבשמים ור' אברהם אמר כי היו לה ב' שמות וגם לאביה. ויתכן לומר כי השתי נשים הראשונים שהוזכרו למעלה מתו בלא בנים אולי בעבור שהיו מורת רוח ליצחק ולרבקה ונשא אחות אשתו בת אלון ושמה עדה ונשא אחרת ושמה אהליבמה בת ענה אבל בת ישמעאל אחות נביות בעבור שהי' לה שם כעור בלשון הקודש מחלת קרא שמה בשם הנכבד אשר הי' לאשתו הראשונה מלשון בשמים כי היתה חביבה עליו בעבור שהיתה ממשפחתו ואיננה רעה בעיני יצחק:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
את עדה בת אילון החתי, “Ada, daughter of the Hittite Eylon;” *Rashi* claims that Ada was identical with Bosmas, seeing the latter had acquired that nickname as she was in the habit of burning up a lot of fragrant incense to please the idol she worshipped.
 Nachmanides notes that *Rashi* failed to explain why Be-eri, the father of Oholiav who is called here Anah, is called Be-eri elsewhere. Furthermore, seeing that Bosmas was a daughter of Ishmael, this clearly was a proper name and not a nickname as we know from verse 3. On the other hand, the Bosmas who is described as the daughter of Eylon was nicknamed because of her burning incense frequently.
 Ibn Ezra claims that she simply was known by two names, as was her father. It is possible that the two first named women died without having had children, perhaps because they were reported of being so disrespectful to Yitzchok and Rivkah, as reported in Genesis Esau subsequently married a sister of his deceased wife whose name was Oholivamah, daughter of Anah. But the daughter of Ishmael, a sister of Nevayot, was renamed Bosmas the name of her predecessor, as her original name has a negative connotation in Hebrew [מחלת= the sickly one, or ‘the sickness.” Ed.] Esau was very fond of her as she stemmed from his own family, (1st cousin) and was not displeasing in the eyes of his father Yitzchok.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:6:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:6:1)

**ויקח עשו את נשיו ואת בניו.**פירש"י עשו הקדים נשיו לבניו אע"ג דגבי יעקב נמי כתיב ויקח את שתי נשיו ואת שתי שפחותיו וכן גבי משה ויקח את אשתו ובניו. וי"ל דיעקב עשה כן משום שהי' מתירא מעשו ומשה נמי בעבור שהיו קטנים ולא היו יכולין זולתי אשתו שתפוס בהם משא"כ בעשו. כתב הרמב"ן כי זה המסע הי' אחרי בוא יעקב מחרן ואחרי מות יצחק ואע"ג דבעוד שהי' יעקב בחרן הי' הוא בשעיר כמו שמפורש למעלה כן הי' הענין כי הלך לשעיר בימי אלופי החורי יושבי הארץ והי' הולך שם עם ת' איש עמו ובניו ובני ביתו היו בארץ כנען ויתכן שהי' לו שום אחוזה במישור אבל לא בהר שעיר על כן ייוחס לו ארצה כנען שדה אדום ואחר שחזר יעקב לארץ כנען פנה לו מפניו כי ידע שהוא נחלת אבותיו אשר נתן לו אביו בברכתו ולקח כל נפשות ביתו והלך לשעיר להתיישב שם ואז נלחם בבני שעיר החרי יושבי הארץ:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויקח עשו את נשיו ואת בניו, “Esau took his wives and his children, etc.” *Rashi* alerts us to the fact that Esau’s wives took precedence over his children as opposed to his brother Yaakov, even though the Torah also mentions his wives first when his family was introduced to Esau as we know from The only reason Yaakov presented his wives before presenting his children, was on account of his fear at that time, also because they were of tender age and unable to be without their mothers. Such considerations did not apply in our context here.
 Nachmanides writes that Esau’s migration took place after Yaakov had returned from Charan, and after their father Yitzchok had died. While it is true that Esau had been in Seir also during the period that Yaakov was at Lavan, as has been explained previously, (32,4), the correct sequence of events is as follows: Esau had first gone to Seir during the days of the Alufey Chori who had then resided and ruled in that region. At that time Esau, accompanied by 400 men, had invaded that region leaving his wives and family behind in the land of Canaan. It is quite likely that he conquered part of the low lying areas in that region already at that time, and that this accounts for the reference to the “land of Seir”, as opposed to the “mountain of Seir,” which also appears as שדה אדום, ”the field of Edom.” (32,4) After Yaakov had returned to the land of Canaan, Esau decided to vacate that land which his father had allocated to Yaakov as his inheritance. At that time he conducted a war against the inhabitants of the mountain of Seir Hachori, the predomi- nating tribe of the region.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:6:2
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:6:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:6:2)

**וילך אל ארץ.**תרגום אונקלוס אל ארץ אחרת ופי' רש"י שהלך לגור באשר ימצא עד אשר בא אל שעיר וישב שם. והרמב"ן כתב והנכון בעיני שאמר וילך אל ארץ שעיר והכתוב חסר הכינוי בעבור היותו ידוע שכבר הוזכר שהי' עומד בהר שעיר ובידוע כי שם יוליך ביתו וכמוהו רבים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וילך אל ארץ, “he went to ארץ.” According to Onkelos, the word ארץ is short for ארץ אחרת, “another country.” *Rashi* explains that Esau simply went in search of any country other than the land of Canaan, finally settling on the land of Seir as his new residence.
 Nachmanides writes that the Torah simply abbreviated, instead of writing וילך עשו אל ארץ שעיר, the Torah omitting details that it considered as obvious to the reader. This is especially so, since Esau’s having gone to Seir had already been mentioned in chapter 32. There are numerous such abbreviations to be found in the Torah.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:7:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:7:1)

**ולא יכלה ארץ מגוריהם.**פי' כמו עיר מגוריהם והוא חברון כי ארץ כנען כולה תשא כזה וכזה אלף פעמים אבל בראותו כי לא יכול לעמוד בעירו ובמקומו עזב כל הארץ לאחיו והלך לו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ולא יכלה ארץ מגוריהם לשאת אותם, “and the land of their sojourning could not support them (their combined wealth of livestock).” The word ארץ, “land,” is used here very loosely, the reference being to the city of Chevron and its immediate surroundings. The Torah most certainly does not wish to imply that the whole land of Canaan was inadequate for these two families and their livestock. The point was that when Esau saw that he could not remain in his home town as it did not offer a good enough economic base for him, he decided to migrate.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:9:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:9:1)

**ואלה תולדות עשו.**מזכיר התולדות שהולידו בניו אחרי בואם לשעיר כי הוא לא הוליד שם והנה החל ממנו לומר הוא הוליד אליפז ורעואל והם הולידו בארץ שעיר תולדות הללו והזכיר עמהם בני אהליבמה הנולדים בארץ כנען אע"פ שלא הזכיר להם תולדות בארץ שעיר כדי שיומנו עם אחיהם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה תולדות עשו, and the following are Esau’s developments.” The Torah proceeds to list biological descendants of Esau born after his migration to Seir, for he himself is not reported to have sired any more children at that time. Still, the Torah relates the descendants by starting with Esau having sired Eliphaz, etc. The children of Oholivamah who had been born in the land of Canaan are also mentioned here once more. By doing so, the Torah made sure they were included in the count with their brothers.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:12:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:12:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:12:1)

**ותמנע היתה פלגש לאליפז בן עשו.**בשביל שבכל האחרים לא הזכיר שמות אמותם אלא בנו לבד דרשו בו רבותינו כדי להודיע גדולתו של אברהם אבינו כמו שפירש"י. וכתב הרמב"ן ויתכן לומר כי בני אליפז היו ידועים לו כי הולידם מנשיו ועמלק בעבור היותו בן פלגש בא הכתוב לומר בן אמו כלומר אשר הוא נודע לה ילדתו לאליפז אבל אינו בכלל בני עשו ולא ישב עמהם בהר שעיר והנה נצטוונו שלא נתעב בני עשו ולא נקח מארצם והם הידועים היושבים בהר שעיר ונקראים אדום על שמו אבל בן הפלגש אינו יושב בארצו ולא נקרא על שמו ונצטווינו עליו למחות את שמו. ופירש"י בדברי הימים מונה תמנע בבניו של אליפז מלמד שבא על אשת שעיר החרי ויצאה תמנע מביניהן וכשגדלה היתה פלגשו וזהו ואחות לוטן תמנע שלא מנאה מבנות שעיר שהיתה אחותו מן האם ולא מן האב. וכתב הרמב"ן ואין דעתי סובלת זה כי הי' ראוי לומר בדברי הימים ותמנע היתה בתו למה ימנה האשה בבנים ואולי אין הפסוק מקפיד על כך בדבר הידוע כי מצינו שם בדברי הימים ובני עמרם אהרן ומשה ומרים ומ"מ רחוק שימנה האשה בין הבנים ואולי נאמר על דעת רבותינו כי תמנע הנזכר בדברי הימים הוא תמנע האלוף הנזכר למטה ונמנה שם עם בני אליפז כאשר מונה שם קרח עם בני אליפז והוא מבני אהליבמה כי שניהם היו ממזרים נולדו מן האחד ונמנים עם בני האחר. ועל דרך הפשט יש לומר כי תמנע אשת אליפז אחרי לדתה את עמלק ילדה בן ותקש בלדתה ותמת ותקרא שמו תמנע כדי להזכיר שמה ואביו קרא לו קרח ולא הזכיר הכתוב הבן הזה לתמנע כדי שלא יאריך כי הכונה היתה למנות עמלק בפני עצמו אבל בני אליפז ז' היו אע"פ שמונה באלופים קרח קודם עמלק שהוא גדול ממנו מונה אותם דרך מעלתם ועל כן הקדים קנז לקרח וגעתם. ועוד אני אומר שכן פי' הפסוק ובני אליפז תימן אומר צפו וגעתם וקנז ותמנע פי' גם הוא מבניו וחזר ואמר והיתה פלגש לאליפז בן עשו ותלד לאליפז את עמלק ולא הזכיר הפלגש והאמת שהוא אחות לוטן תמנע ומפני זה לא הזכיר שמה כי לא רצה לומר ב' פעמים תמנע לזכר ולנקבה והני בני אליפז ז' הם האלופים הנזכרים לו. ומה שהחליפו באלופים שם זה של תמנע בשביל שהי' שמו כשם הפלגש שלא יחשב כבנה וקראוהו קרח בעלותו למעלת האלוף ורבותינו דרשו שבא אליפז אל אהליבמה אשת אביו ויצא קרח מבין שניהם. ור' אברהם פי' כי קרח בן אהליבמה אשת עשו היתה ונמנה פעמים כי הי' הקטן לאהליבמה ומתה אמו וגדלתו עדה ולכך נמנה עם בניה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ותמנע היתה פילגש לאליפז בן עשו. “Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, son of Esau.” Seeing that the Torah did not mention by name any of the mothers of Esau’s children except this one, *Rashi* was prompted to explain that Timna was outstanding, as expressed by her urge to marry into Avraham’s family, even to be married to Esau’s son as a concubine, if that was the best she could do.
 Nachmanides writes that it is possible that the sons of Eliphaz were already well known to him [i.e. he knew who their mothers were. Ed.] seeing their mothers were his real wives. On the other hand, Amalek, the son of a concubine, had to be identified clearly, else we could not have been certain who the father was. Amalek therefore was not included in Esau’s sons (grandsons) as he also did not dwell with his brothers. The Torah has commanded us not to detest the sons of Esau, and not to grab any part of their ancestral lands. This law refers to the known ancestral lands of Esau, the region of Mount Seir. The inhabitants of that region were known as Edomites. The son of the concubine did not reside in that land and was not called Edomite, and this is why there is no contradiction in the Torah having commanded us to wipe out the memory and name of Amalek.
 *Rashi* explains that in Chronicles I 1,39 Timna is included without hesitation as one of Eliphaz’s children, something which reveals to us that Eliphaz must have committed incest (adulterous) with the wife of Seir. When she grew up she became the concubine of Eliphaz, and that is the meaning of the words אחות לוטן תמנע, that from the father’s side she was a sister of Lotan. She is not enumerated with the descendants of Seir, as she was only a sister through the mother.
 Nachmanides does not agree that we can accept an explanation which would result in our accepting that Ezra in Chronicles counted Timna with the male offspring of Eliphaz when she clearly was a daughter and not a son. She should have been identified as Eliphaz’ daughter in Chronicles if *Rashi* is correct.
 Perhaps the Bible is not so explicit when the subject is something so well known, [that Timna was a woman. Ed.] We also find Miriam paired with Aaron and Moses in the same line in Chronicles I, 5,29 which would give the impression to the uninitiated that all three were males. The three personages are so familiar to the readers of Chronicles, that Ezra did not see the need to add that Miriam was a woman. At any rate, it is quite unlikely that Timna, not a world famous lady, would be enumerated together with the males. Perhaps we should say, in agreement with our sages, that the Timna mentioned in Chronicles was identical with the *Aluf* Timna who appears in verse 40 of our chapter, and is enumerated there as one of the sons of Eliphaz, just as the name Korach is also enumerated with the sons of Eliphaz This Korach who was the son of Oholivamah, wife of Esau, was also a *mamzer*, bastard, born from a forbidden incestuous relationship. He too was not listed with the category he belonged to.
 According to the plain meaning of the text we would have to say that Timna who was the wife of Eliphaz and bore him Amalek, became pregnant again and experienced a difficult birth as a result of which she died. The Torah did not mention the name of the baby whose birth caused her death. His father may have called that son Korach, a detail that the Torah omitted in order not to make the narrative unduly long. The major purpose of the Torah when narrating all these details was to isolate Amalek in such a way that the subsequent commandment that we are to wipe out the memory of Amalek should not be perceived as contradictory to the Torah’s injunction not to discriminate politically against the family of Esau. The Torah was not concerned with telling us who Amalek’s mother was. While it is true that when the *Alufim* are enumerated later on, the name Korach appears prior to the name Amalek although he was senior, these *Alufim* were mentioned in the order of their relative importance. This is also why Kenaz, though younger, was listed ahead of both Korach and Gaaton.
 I have to add that the verse needs to be understood as follows: “the sons of Eliphaz are Teiman, Omer, Tzfo, Gaaton, Knaz and Timna; i.e. Timna was also one of the sons of Eliphaz.” At that point, the Torah backtracks by saying that Eliphaz, the son of Esau, also had a concubine who bore Amalek for him. The name of the concubine is not mentioned. Actually, this concubine called Timna was a sister of Lotan. The reason why her name was not mentioned where you would have expected it, was that the Torah did not want to confuse the reader by listing two “Timnas” consecutively, one being male the other female. The seven sons of Eliphaz who were named here, appear later under the heading of “Alufey Esau,” ‘the “headmen” of Esau. As to the fact that this name of Timna has been exchanged when the Torah enumerates the “alufim,” this is precisely because his name was the same as that of Eliphaz’ concubine who was not considered a son of his in the regular manner. Hence he was renamed “Korach,” who had been elevated to the status of “Aluf.”
 Our sages believe that Eliphaz had slept with Oholivamah, the wife of his father, and that the result of this union was Korach.
 Ibn Ezra considers that Korach was the son of Oholivamah, wife of Esau, and that he is listed as one of her sons.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:12:2
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:12:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:12:2)

**אלה בני עדה.**פי' הרוב הי' מבניה כי עמלק לא הי' מבני'. ור' אברהם פי' בעבור שהי' בן שפחתה קורא אותו בניה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
אלה בני עדה, “These are the sons of Adah.” .The meaning is that the majority of these listed were her sons, barring Amalek who was not hers.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:20:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:20:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:20:1)

**אלה בני שעיר החרי.**פירש"י לא כתב יחוסין של אלו אלא בשביל תמנע להודיע גדולת אברהם. ור' אברהם פי' שכתבו להפריש יחוס שעיר ועשו בשביל שישראל נצטוו על בני עשו. פי' הרמב"ן החרי הוא שם אב אומה קדמונית ונקראת על שמו ונקרא שעיר על שם הארץ והשם הזה הי' לארץ מעשו מיום שהלך לשם שהוא איש שעיר וכן שם אדום ממנו היה והכתוב הפריש ביניהם כי אלה הם בני שעיר החרי יושבי הארץ לא בני שעיר האדומי אשר בא שם ואינו נראה שנקראת שעיר על שם עשו כדכתיב ובשעיר ישבו החרים לפנים ובני עשו יירשום אלמה שנקראת שעיר קודם שהורישם עשו אם לא שנפרש ובשעיר שנקראת עתה שעיר ישבו החרים. ומיהו קשה לדבריו מהא דכתיב בפ' לך לך ואת החרי בהררם שעיר אלמא שנקראת שעיר בימי אברהם. ור' אברהם פי' החרי כמו חרי יהודה פי' הגדולים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
אלה בני שעיר החרי, “These are the sons of Seir, the Chori.” *Rashi* writes that the genealogy of all the people following was recorded here only in order to demonstrate the outstanding reputation of Avraham, which had caused Timna to make every conceivable effort to become related to him by marriage to him or one of his family members.
 Ibn Ezra writes that the reason for this chapter having been written is to separate the genealogy of Esau from that of the local inhabitants, the Chori. The Israelites received instructions from G’d concerning the descendants of Esau, but these were not applicable to the descendants of the Chori.
 Nachmanides explains that the Chori was the name of a founder of a nation which had been named after their founder-father. The nation was also called Seir, on account of the region inhabited by that nation. This latter name became associated with Esau and his descendants. The land of the Chori, which had first been inhabited by members of that tribe, was taken over by Esau and his sons. Our verse shows that the name Seir for the region concerned predated the arrival of Esau in that region. It is related to the arrival there for the first time by Esau, whom we have known from birth as איש שעיר, “a hairy man.” The name “Edom” also is traced back to Esau. The Torah makes a distinction between the inhabitants of the land Seir traced to Chori, and those traced to Esau. The difficulty with Nachmanides’ explanation is that we do find already in Genesis 14,6 a reference to “Chori in their mountains of Seir.” The chapter in question describes a situation prevailing at least 100 years before Esau was born.
 Ibn Ezra understands the word חרי as in חרי יהודה, “outstanding men of Yehudah.” (compare Jeremiah 27,20; Nechemyah 6,17)


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:22:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:22:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:22:1)

**ואחות לוטן תמנע.**כן דרך הכתוב לייחס הבת אל האחים כמו ואחות תובל קין נעמה והיה ראוי שימנה אותה למעלה עם בני שעיר ודישון ואצר ודישן ותמנע אחותם ואפשר שהיתה אחות לוטן מן האב ומן האם ולא אחות שאר האחים ולא היתה בת שעיר:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואחות לוטן תמנע. “Lotan’s sister was Timna.” It is customary for the Bible to trace the ancestry of the daughters by mentioning their brothers. Examples are: “the sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah,” (Genesis 4,22) Actually, she should have been listed already together with the sons of Seir and Dishan, etc. (36,30). It is possible, however, that she was a full sister to Lotan, both having the same father and mother, whereas she was not a sister to the sons of Seir mentioned in verses 26-30, as she was not a daughter of the tribe of Seir.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:24:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:24:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:24:1)

**ואלה בני צבעון ואיה וענה.**ו"ו יתירה וכן רבים והיה צבעון בן שלישי לשעיר החרי והוליד בנים וסיפר הכתוב כי ענה בן צבעון מצא הימים להבדיל בינו ובין ענה דודו אחי צבעון וזה ענה בן צבעון הוא חמיו של עשו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה בני צבעון ואיה וענה, “and these are the sons of Tzivon, Veayah and Veanah, The prefixes ו in the names “Ayah,” and “Anah,” are nothing unusual. Tzivon was the third son of Seir the Chori, and he sired numerous children. The Torah narrates that Anah had discovered the mules while pasturing his father’s flocks in the desert, because it wanted to distinguish between him and another Anah, his uncle, the brother of his father Tzivon. This Anah was the father-in- law of Esau.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:24:2
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:24:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:24:2)

**אשר מצא את הימים.**הם פרדים והוא מצא בחכמה כי יולד מין משאינו מינו מה שאין כן בשאר כלאים ותחשב לו הדבר לחכמה כי הכיר במיניהם שהם קרובים בטבע ויולידו. ואונקלוס תרגם גבריא ורוצה לומר שבאו עליו מהאומה ששמה ימים ורצו לגזול ממנו החמורים והוא לבדו במדבר ואין עוזר לו ותמצא ידו והציל מהם והוא מלשון תמצא ידך לכל שונאיך אי נמי שמצא אותם וניצל מהם ונודע שמו בגבורה הזאת:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
אשר מצא את הימים, “who had discovered the mules.” These animals are what we know as mules. Anah discovered this by using his intelligence, succeeding in producing offspring through pairing two different species, i.e. the horse and the donkey. This is the only known example of mating two different species resulting in offspring. His achievement was considered a feat of wisdom, as he matched two species which appeared to him to have much in common genetically, and the product was supposed to combine the advantages of a horse and a donkey.
 Onkelos translates our verse as Anah “finding courage.” He surmises that a nation known as “yemim” attacked him, wanting to steal his donkeys, while he was alone in the desert. He succeeded in saving the donkeys from the attack of these people. The word מצא would have to be understood as in תמצא ידך לכל אויביך, (Psalms 21,9) “your hand is equal to all your enemies.” Alternately, what happened was that he found, i.e. encountered these “Yemim,” and was saved (miraculously) from their attack. His fame as a warrior was established henceforth.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:25:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:25:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:25:1)

**ואלה בני ענה דישון ואהליבמה בת ענה.**כן דרך הפסוק לומר בבנות כמו ואת דינה בתה וזה ענה הוא בן רביעי לשעיר והוא אחי צבעון ונמנה אחריו למעלה והיה לו בן אחר ששמו דישון כשם דודו ולו בת ששמה אהליבמה כשם קרובתה בת ענה בן צבעון ולכן אמר הכתוב באשת עשו אהליבמה בת ענה בת צבעון כי הוא בת ענה שמצא את הימים נכדת צבעון ולא אהליבמה בת ענה בן שעיר החרי אחי צבעון ורבינו אברהם כתב ואהליבמה בת ענה אין זה הנזכר בראש הפסוק שאם היה אותו עצמו מה צריך להזכירו אלא הוא ענה בן צבעון הנזכר בפסוק ראשון ולא היתה אלא אהליבמה אחת והיתה בת ענה בת צבעון ורבותינו דרשו שלא היה אלא ענה אחד שבא צבעון על אמו והוליד ממנה ענה ונתגדל בבית שעיר החורי עם בניו ולכן מונאו עם בניו של צבעון כי הוא בנו. **ור"ת** פירש כי ענה אשה היתה כדכתיב אהליבמה בת ענה בת צבעון והא דכתיב הוא ענה בלשון זכר משום שירשה בירושה עם אחי צבעון בני שעיר דודיה בנכסי שעיר כדמוכח ביש נוחלין. ופירש"י דלכך קורא אהליבמה בת ענה שבא ענה על אמו אשת צבעון והוליד ממנה אהליבמה ולכך קורא אותה בת ענה ובת צבעון:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה בני ענה, דישון ואהלבימה בת ענה, “this is the offspring of Anah; Dishon and Oholivamah daughter of Anah.” This is the way the Bible lists names of girls, as for instance in Genesis 46,15 ואת דינה בתו, “and his daughter Dinah.” This Anah was the fourth son of Seir, being a brother of Tzivon; he is listed after Tzivon, as they are listed in order of their prominence, not their ages. He had another son, named Dishon, the same name as that of his uncle, and this son had a daughter whose name was Oholivamah, the same name as her relative the Oholivamah who was a daughter of Anah, son of Tzivon. In order to avoid confusion, the Torah writes in connection with Oholivamah the wife of Esau, that she was the daughter of Anah who was the son of Tzivon, seeing that she had been the daughter of the Anah who had discovered the mules. In other words, she was a granddaughter of Tzivon. She was not the Oholivamah who was the daughter of Anah, who was the son of Seir the Chivi, a brother of Tzivon.
 Ibn Ezra writes that “Oholivamah the daughter of Anah,” does not refer to the Anah mentioned at the end of the verse (24 as the father of Oholivamah), for if it had been, there would have been no reason to mention him once more. He must therefore be the one mentioned at the end of the first verse, and there was only one Oholivamah.
 Our sages explain that there was only one man called Anah, the result of his father Tzivon having slept with his mother. This Anah was raised in the house of Seir the Chori together with his other sons. This is why he is enumerated together with the sons of Tzivon, seeing he was his son.
 Rabbeinu Tam believes that Anah was a woman and proves it from the line “Oholivamah, daughter of Anah” (verse 13). Anah herself was a daughter of Tzivon. As to the apparent contradiction, seeing the Torah writes: "הוא ענה" which means “he is the Anah, etc.;” this means that she inherited part of Seir’s estate together with Tzivon, her uncle’s other sons. (compare Talmud *Baba Batra* 116)
 *Rashi* claims that the reason why Oholivamah is described as the daughter of Anah was because Anah slept with his mother the wife of Tzivon and that he sired Oholivamah from that union. This is why she was referred to as “the daughter of Anah.and the daughter of Tzivon.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:26:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:26:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:26:1)

**ואלה בני דישן חמדן.**והוא דישן בן החמישי לשעיר ואין קפידא שיקראנו דישון או דישן רק כשהם שניהם בפסוק אחד להבדיל בין שניהם וכן ויעש חירום ויכל חירם והוצרך הכתוב לקרותו כאן דישן שלא יהא נראה שהוא דישון בן ענה הנזכר שלפניו מיד כי כן היה משמע שבא ליחס לו תולדות אלמלא ששינה שמו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה בני דישון, חמדן וגו', “and these are the sons of Dishon, Chemdon, etc.” This refers to Dishon the fifth son of Seir, and it does not matter that once he is referred to as דישון and another time as דישן. These two spellings would refer to different people only if they would appear in the same verse. In that instance, the difference in the spelling would alert us to the fact that the Torah refers to two different people whose names sound alike. We encounter a similar situation in Kings I 7,40 ויעש חירום, “Chirom constructed etc,” and ויכל חירם, “Chiram completed.” In this verse the Torah had to refer to Dishon once with a letter ו and once without it, in order to make sure that we understand that these are two different people and not the Dishon son of Anah who had been mentioned before, unless, of course, he had changed his name.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:31:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:31:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:31:1)

**ואלה המלכים.**נכתב זה להודיע כי נתקיים ברכת אביו על חרבך תחי' שנתגבר על בני החרי ומלכו עליהם בארצם שאלה הערי' כלם מדינות הם מארץ אדום וסיפר הכתוב כי לא היה להם מלך בן מלך כמו בישראל:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה המלכים, “and these were the kings, etc.” The Torah narrates all this in order to show that Yitzchok’s blessing to Esau that he would survive by his sword was fulfilled, seeing that his descendants had overpowered the tribe of the Chori and they ruled over them and their lands for hundreds of years, as the cities mentioned are all part of the land of Edom. The Torah also informs us that the Kings of Edom were not automatically the sons of the former kings so that no dynasties had been founded.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:31:2
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:31:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:31:2)

**לפני מלוך מלך בישראל.**ולא שנמשכה מלכותם עד מלכות ישראל אלא שבא לומר כי אז כאשר ימלוך מלך בישראל לא יהיה להם מלך לקיים ואת אחיך תעבוד ואפשר שכולם מתו כבר בימי משה וכן פי' רבינו אברהם לפני מלוך מלך זה משה כדכתיב ויהי בישורון מלך ופי' כן מפני שהקשה לו האיך כתב משה שמות אלה המלכים ועדיין לא מלכו. וי"מ כי בנבואה כתבה משה. וכתב הרמב"ן ואינו נכון כי הנבואה למה תזכיר את אלה ועד איזה זמן תמנה ותפסק בהם והנכון שכל אלה לפני התורה ומשלו כאחד ומה שאומר למקומותם פי' שהיה כ"א במקומו או שהיה ממשלתם זמן מועט כי שנות רשעים תקצרנה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
לפני מלוך מלך בישראל, “before a king ruled over Israel.” This does not mean that the kings mentioned here ruled during the entire period until King Sha-ul became king (some 800 years later than the time frame during which Yaakov and Esau lived). What the Torah did mean to show was that once the Israelites had a king, the Edomites did not, so that Yitzchok’s blessing to Yaakov (when he thought that Esau stood before him) “your mother’s sons will prostrate themselves before you,” (27,29) was fulfilled. It is quite possible that the last of the kings mentioned in this chapter already died during the days of Moses, a view held by Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra feels that if we did not understand the history in that way, whence did Moses know the names of Edomite kings who lived long after he himself had died. 
 Some commentators hold that Moses’ prophetic insights enabled him to record the names of as yet unborn Edomite Kings. Nachmanides disagrees with such an interpretation, saying that there would be no point in Moses’ prophetic insight including such matters, moreover, if so, how many years of history beyond his death was Moses able to foresee in such detail, and when did such prophetic insight stop?
 The proper explanation is that all these Edomite kings lived before the Torah was given to the Jewish people. Many ruled simultaneously over different parts of that kingdom. [The Midianites also had 5 kings, (Numbers 31) and the Canaanites in the time of Joshua had 31 kings simultaneously. Ed.] It is also possible that each of these kings ruled only for a short period.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:38:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:38:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:38:1)

**בעל חנן בן עכבור.**הוא היה ממקום שאול שמלך לפניו ועל כן לא הזכיר לו עיר אחרת ויתכן שהיה חנן שם מקום ונקרא בעל עליו ואחרי כן הומלך:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
בעל חנן בן עכבור He was from the place in which Sha-ul had ruled before him. This is why no other city is mentioned in connection with him. It is also possible that the name of his city was Chanan, and that the word בעל חנן simply means that he was in authority over the city known as Chanan.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:1
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:40:1)

**ואלה שמות אלופי עשו.**מתחלה מנה בני עשו שהיו אלופים בדור ההוא ואחרי כן הצליחו ועלו למלוכה ואחר כן פסק מלכותם ונתנו אלופיהם לראש וכן כתוב בדברי הימים וימת הדד ויהיו אלופי אדום וגו':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואלה שמות אלופי עשב, “and these are the names of he headmen of Esau.” First the *alufim* among the sons of Esau who were such in that generation are mentioned. From positions as headmen, the success of these people in war led to them or their sons becoming Kings, and in due course their pre-eminence ebbed again so that they were simply ראשים. Compare Chronicles I 1,43 -54) 36,43 בארץ אחוזתם, “in the land of their ancestral inheritance.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:2
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:40:2)

**למשפחות' למקומותם בשמותם וגו' בארץ אחוזתם.**כי הראשונים היו כל האחים אלופים יושבים כלם בעיר אחת ומושלים בעם אחד או שהיו נשיאי שבט או ראשי בית אב אבל אלו האחרונים אלופים למשפחותם שהיה כ"א אלוף לכל משפחות בני עשו ולכל מקומות מושבותם ואין אלוף אחר בדור אלא הוא כי היו כמלכים בארצם אלא שלא עלו לכסא לקרות בשם מלך:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
The heads mentioned earlier were all brothers, the *alufim* all residing in the same town, and ruling over a single nation, or they were heads of a tribe each. The ones mentioned here were heads of the combined families of Esau, their authority extending over all the towns inhabited by Esau’s offspring. They were comparable to kings in their authority.


###### Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:3
[Tur HaArokh, Genesis 36:40:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Genesis/r/36:40:3)

**אלוף תמנע.**כתב רבינו אברהם תמנע זה הוא שם איש ושמות רבים לזכר ולנקבה שוין וכן אהליבמה. אי נמי אלוף זה הוא יתר והכי פירושו אלוף תמנע שהיתה פלגש אליפז אלה אלופיהם עלוה ויתת וכן אלוף אהליבמה שהיתה אשת עשו אלה אלופיהם וגו':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
אלוף תמנע. Ibn Ezra believes that the “Timna” mentioned here was a man. It is not unusual to find men or women having the same names. Oholivamah was one such example. It is also possible that seeing the word *aluf* at this point is superfluous, we must understand the verse as follows: the headman of the family of Timna who had been a concubine of Eliphaz produced several *alufim,* their names being Alvah, and Yetet. Similarly, the family of Oholivama, wife of Esau, produced *alufim* known as Eylah, and Pinon.