Genesis 26:34 has a daughter of Elon the Beney Chet (Hittite) who married Esav, much to his parents' dismay.
Genesis 36:3 ff names her as a daughter of Yishma-El, sister of Nevayot.
1 Chronicles 1:29 makes Nevayot Yishma-El's eldest son; there are names which can be both masculine and feminine, though this is more likely an error in one or other part of the text.
1 Kings 4:15 gives her as a daughter of Shelomoh (Solomon) who married Achi-Ma'az, the royal governor of Naphtali.
Basmat means "sweet-smelling", as in besom, which takes its name from the Yehudit; literally the balsam plant (cf Songs 5:1, 6:2 and 4:16; also Exodus 30:23 and Isaiah 3:24.) It is likely to have been one of the sweet-smelling fragrances used as incense in the Temple, and almost certainly belongs to the original Havdalah spice-box.
Where today we have forgotten or lost the meaning of most names - if indeed we ever knew some of them - in the ancient world they were often given as a title. Basmat as the sweet-smelling incense links her to the Astarte rites, but her role would have been a relatively minor one amongst the priestesses, for the incense, though significant to the ceremonies, was far from central. That Esav, a royal prince, or at least the first-born son of a minor tribal sheikh, should marry a princess of such low status, may seem surprising. However the Genesis 24 reference makes her father the High Priest of an important shrine - though which one is not stated. The Genesis 36 reference may be an attempt to equate Yishma-El with Elon, which would then fill the gap in Genesis 24. Either way we know that Yishma-El too was an important sheikh, so again it is surprising that his daughter should be of such low rank. The answer seems to lie in the fact that she was not his first wife. Genesis 26 tells us that he took Yehudit the daughter of Be'eri before Basmat; Genesis 36 that he took Adah, who is also called a daughter of Elon the Beney Chet (Hittite), first, then Ahali-Vamah the daughter of Anah the Chivite, and Basmat only third. If Basmat was indeed Adah's younger sister, with an elder brother as well, and only the third wife of the man who had now taken over the shrine of Elon through matrilocal marriage, we have not only resolved this mystery but also made a significant discovery about the hierarchical system that existed in ancient Beney Kena'ani temples.
Basmat's only son by Esav was named Re'u-El; he in turn fathered Nachat, Zerach, Shamah and Mizah (Genesis 36:13); all became Edomite chieftains.
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