Genesis 28:6

28:6-9 Good examples impress even the profane and malicious. But Esau thought, by pleasing his parents in one thing, to atone for other wrong doings. Carnal hearts are apt to think themselves as good as they should be, because in some one matter they are not so bad as they have been.

And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob,.... Had conferred the blessing before given, or had wished him a good journey; which perhaps may be all that Esau understood by it, and so was not so much offended with it: and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; which likewise might not be displeasing to him, partly as he understood it to be only on account of taking a wife, and not on account of his ill design upon him, which he might imagine his parents knew nothing of; and partly as he would now be out of the way, and he might find means the easier to ingratiate himself into his father's favour, and get him to revoke the blessing, and settle the inheritance upon him: and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; or of the Canaanites, of any of the tribes or nations that belonged to that people, whether Hittites or others.

ESAU MARRIES A DAUGHTER OF ISHMAEL. (6) When Esau.—The solemn transfer of the birthright to Jacob, and Isaac’s complete assent thereto, must have been the cause of no little grief to Esau, and evidently it made him feel that he had greatly contributed to this result by his own illegitimate marriages. When, then, he sees Jacob sent away to obtain a wife, in accordance with the rule established by Abraham, he determines also to conform to it, and marries a daughter of Ishmael. She is called Bashe-math in chap 36:3, and described in both places as “the sister of Nebajoth,” in order to show that as Nebajoth “the firstborn” (Genesis 25:13) was undoubtedly the son of Ishmael by his first wife, “whom Hagar took for him out of the land of Egypt” (Genesis 21:21), so also Mahalath shared in this precedence, and was not the daughter of any of Ishmael’s subsequent wives, or of a concubine.

6 . Now Esau saw ] The conduct of Esau in this passage is prompted by the desire to obtain a blessing such as Isaac had given Jacob in Genesis 28:3-4 . In order to propitiate his father, he contracts a marriage with his first cousin, the daughter of Ishmael. Neither in this, nor in the following verse, is there implied any resentment on the part of Esau towards Jacob, or any other reason for Jacob’s journey to Paddan-aram beyond that of marriage with one of his own kindred.

6-9. when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, &c.—Desirous to humor his parents and, if possible, get the last will revoked, he became wise when too late (see Mt 25:10), and hoped by gratifying his parents in one thing to atone for all his former delinquencies. But he only made bad worse, and though he did not marry a "wife of the daughters of Canaan," he married into a family which God had rejected. It showed a partial reformation, but no repentance, for he gave no proofs of abating his vindictive purposes against his brother, nor cherishing that pious spirit that would have gratified his father—he was like Micah (see Jud 17:13).

CHAPTER 28 Ge 28:1-19. Jacob's Departure. 1. Isaac called Jacob and blessed him—He entered fully into Rebekah's feelings, and the burden of his parting counsel to his son was to avoid a marriage alliance with any but the Mesopotamian branch of the family. At the same time he gave him a solemn blessing—pronounced before unwittingly, now designedly, and with a cordial spirit. It is more explicitly and fully given, and Jacob was thus acknowledged "the heir of the promise."Isaac calls Jacob; charges him not to marry a Canaanite, but one of his kindred in Padan-aram, Genesis 28:1,2; confirms the blessing to him, Genesis 28:3,4. Jacob obeys his father, and goes to Laban, Genesis 28:5. Esau perceiving this, marries one of his kindred, but of Ishmael’s family, Genesis 28:6-9. Jacob journeys towards Haran; in his way takes of the stones of the place for pillows, Genesis 28:10,11. In a dream sees a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, angels ascending and descending on it, Genesis 28:12. The Lord standing above it, renews his covenant concerning Canaan and the promised seed, &c., Genesis 28:13-15. Jacob awakened, acknowledges God’s presence there, and is afraid, Genesis 28:16,17; sets up the stones for a pillar, pours oil on it, Genesis 28:18.

Verses 6-9. - When (literally, and) Esau saw that Issue had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge , - literally, in his blessing him (forming a parenthesis), and he commanded him - saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; and that (literally, and ) Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone (or went) to Padan-aram; and Esau seeing that (more correctly, saw that ) the daughters of Canaan pleased not (literally, were evil in the eyes of ) Isaac his father; then (literally, and ) went Esau unto Ishmael ( i . e . the family or tribe of Ishmael, aiming in this likely to please his father), and took unto the wives which he had (so that they were neither dead nor divorced) Mahalath (called Bashemath in Genesis 36:3 ) the daughter of Ishmael (and therefore Esau's half-cousin by the father's side, Ishmael, who was now dead thirteen years, having been Isaac's half-brother) Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, - Ishmael's firstborn ( vide Genesis 25:13 ) - to be his wife. CHAPTER 28:10-22 Genesis 28:6

Esau is induced, by the charge of his parents to Jacob, the compliance of the latter with their wishes, and by their obvious dislike to the daughters of Kenaan, to take Mahalath, a daughter of Ishmael, in addition to his former wives. "Went unto Ishmael;" that is, to the family or tribe of Ishmael, as Ishmael himself was now thirteen years dead. Esau's hunting and roving career had brought him into contact with this family, and we shall presently find him settled in a neighboring territory.

When Esau heard of this blessing and the sending away of Jacob, and saw therein the displeasure of his parents at his Hittite wives, he went to Ishmael - i.e., to the family of Ishmael, for Ishmael himself had been dead fourteen years - and took as a third wife Mahalath, a daughter of Ishmael (called Bashemath in Genesis 36:3 , a descendant of Abraham therefore), a step by which he might no doubt ensure the approval of his parents, but in which he failed to consider that Ishmael had been separated from the house of Abraham and family of promise by the appointment of God; so that it only furnished another proof that he had no thought of the religious interests of the chosen family, and was unfit to be the recipient of divine revelation.