Genesis 26:35
New International Version
They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

New Living Translation
But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

English Standard Version
and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Berean Standard Bible
And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

King James Bible
Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

New King James Version
And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

New American Standard Bible
and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

NASB 1995
and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

NASB 1977
and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Legacy Standard Bible
and they brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

Amplified Bible
and they were a source of grief to [Esau’s parents] Isaac and Rebekah.

Christian Standard Bible
They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

American Standard Version
and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Contemporary English Version
But these two women brought a lot of grief to Esau's parents Isaac and Rebekah.

English Revised Version
and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.

Good News Translation
They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

International Standard Version
This brought extreme grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Majority Standard Bible
And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

NET Bible
They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.

New Heart English Bible
They brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Webster's Bible Translation
Who were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

World English Bible
They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

Young's Literal Translation
and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will be bitterness of spirit to Isaak and to Rebekah.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebekah.

New American Bible
But they became a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

New Revised Standard Version
and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they grieved the spirit of Isaac and of Raphqa.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Esau's Wives
34When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Cross References
Genesis 27:46
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”

Genesis 28:8-9
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, / Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had.

Genesis 34:30
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

Genesis 49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Exodus 34:16
And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, / because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

Judges 3:5-6
Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. / And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

1 Kings 11:1-2
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

Nehemiah 13:25-27
I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! / Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. / Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

Proverbs 17:25
A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

Malachi 2:11
Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

Matthew 10:35-36
For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. / A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

Luke 12:53
They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

John 4:9
“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)


Treasury of Scripture

Which were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebekah.

Which.

Genesis 6:2
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Genesis 27:46
And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Genesis 28:1,2,8
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan…

grief of mind.

Jump to Previous
Bitter Bitterness Grief Grieved Isaac Isaac's Life Mind Rebecca Rebekah Rebekah's Source Spirit Spirits
Jump to Next
Bitter Bitterness Grief Grieved Isaac Isaac's Life Mind Rebecca Rebekah Rebekah's Source Spirit Spirits
Genesis 26
1. Isaac, because of famine, sojourns in Gerar, and the Lord blesses him.
7. He is reproved by Abimelech for denying his wife.
12. He grows rich, and the Philistines envy his prosperity.
18. He digs wells.
23. God appears to him at Beersheba, and blesses him;
26. and Abimelech makes a covenant with him.
34. Esau's wives.














And they brought grief
This phrase refers to Esau's wives, Judith and Basemath, who were Hittites. The grief they brought to Isaac and Rebekah can be understood in the context of the cultural and religious differences between the Hittites and the Hebrews. The Hittites were part of the Canaanite tribes, known for their idolatrous practices, which were in direct opposition to the worship of Yahweh. This intermarriage with the Hittites would have been seen as a threat to the covenantal purity and the spiritual heritage of Abraham's descendants. The grief is not merely personal but also spiritual, as it represents a potential deviation from God's promises and commands regarding the chosen lineage.

to Isaac and Rebekah
Isaac and Rebekah, as the patriarch and matriarch of the covenant family, had a vested interest in maintaining the purity of their lineage. Their grief is compounded by the fact that Esau, as the firstborn, was expected to carry on the family line in accordance with God's promises to Abraham. The choice of Esau's wives reflects his disregard for the spiritual responsibilities associated with his birthright, which he had already shown by selling it to Jacob for a meal (Genesis 25:29-34). This situation foreshadows the ongoing tension between Esau and Jacob, and the eventual fulfillment of God's plan through Jacob, who becomes Israel. The grief of Isaac and Rebekah also highlights the importance of marrying within the faith, a theme that is echoed throughout Scripture, including in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Esau
- The elder son of Isaac and Rebekah, known for selling his birthright to his brother Jacob. His marriages to Hittite women caused distress to his parents.

2. Isaac
- The son of Abraham and Sarah, and father of Esau and Jacob. He is a patriarch in the lineage of the Israelites.

3. Rebekah
- The wife of Isaac and mother of Esau and Jacob. She played a significant role in the family dynamics and the fulfillment of God's promises.

4. Hittite Women
- The women from the Hittite nation whom Esau married. Their cultural and religious differences brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

5. Canaan
- The land where Isaac and his family lived, inhabited by various tribes including the Hittites, who were often at odds with the Israelites.
Teaching Points
The Impact of Unequally Yoked Relationships
Esau's marriages to Hittite women serve as a cautionary tale about the challenges and grief that can arise from being unequally yoked in faith and values.

Parental Influence and Responsibility
Isaac and Rebekah's grief highlights the importance of guiding children in making godly choices, especially in relationships.

Cultural and Spiritual Integrity
The account underscores the need for maintaining cultural and spiritual integrity in a world with differing values and beliefs.

Consequences of Disobedience
Esau's actions remind us that disobedience to God's commands can lead to personal and familial distress.

The Importance of Spiritual Heritage
The grief of Isaac and Rebekah reflects the significance of preserving a spiritual heritage and the challenges faced when it is threatened.Verse 35. - Which were a grief of mind (literally, bitterness of spirit) unto Isaac and to Rebekah - possibly because of their personal characters, but chiefly because of their Canaanitish descent, and because in marrying them Esau had not only violated the Divine law which forbade polygamy, but also evinced an utterly irreligious and unspiritual disposition.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And
וַתִּהְיֶ֖יןָ (wat·tih·ye·nā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

they brought
ר֑וּחַ (rū·aḥ)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

grief
מֹ֣רַת (mō·raṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4786: Bitterness, trouble

to Isaac
לְיִצְחָ֖ק (lə·yiṣ·ḥāq)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3327: Isaac -- 'he laughs', son of Abraham and Sarah

and Rebekah.
וּלְרִבְקָֽה׃ (ū·lə·riḇ·qāh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 7259: Rebekah -- wife of Isaac


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OT Law: Genesis 26:35 They grieved Isaac's and Rebekah's spirits (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 26:34
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