Mahalath

Biblical Account

Mahalath, Wife of Rehoboam

According to 2 Chronicles 11:18, Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David. The Korean Revised Version presents Mahalath as the daughter of Abihail, who was the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse. Verse 19 then records three sons: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. Verses 20–21 state that Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and that he had many wives and concubines. The record of Mahalath goes no further than this brief marriage account, and Scripture says nothing else about her life.

Mahalath, Wife of Esau

According to Genesis 28:6–9, Esau saw that his parents were displeased with the daughters of Canaan. He therefore took as a wife, in addition to the wives he already had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael the son of Abraham and the sister of Nebajoth. For more on Ishmael, see Hagar and Ishmael.

Significance in Scripture

Mahalath, the wife of Rehoboam, was a granddaughter of David through her father. If the text is read as in the Korean Revised Version, she was also, through her mother, a granddaughter of Eliab, David's eldest brother. Through this marriage account the Chronicler shows that Rehoboam's household was continued within the house of David. The account belongs to a passage describing the state of the royal house of Judah immediately after the division of the kingdom. Neither Mahalath is mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The place of Abihail: The Hebrew of 2 Chronicles 11:18 can be read in two ways. One reading takes Abihail to be Mahalath's mother; the other takes Abihail to be another wife of Rehoboam. The Korean Revised Version follows the former reading, while some translations, including the King James Version, follow the latter. The identity of the mother of the three sons named in verse 19 depends on which reading is adopted.
• Jerimoth: Jerimoth does not appear in the list of David's sons in 1 Chronicles 3. For this reason, some hold that Jerimoth was the son of a concubine.
• The name of Esau's wife: Genesis 36:3 calls Esau's wife who was Ishmael's daughter and the sister of Nebajoth "Bashemath." Accordingly, a traditional interpretation holds that Mahalath and Bashemath are two names for the same person, although the text does not explain this directly.
• "Mahalath" in the Psalms: The word "Mahalath" in the titles of Psalms 53 and 88 is understood as a musical term relating to a tune or manner of performance. It is unrelated to the women discussed in this article.

In the Korean Church

Neither Mahalath is commonly the subject of a standalone sermon or a Sunday school lesson. Readers usually encounter the name in passing during Bible reading-through programs or while reading genealogies and marriage accounts. Mahalath, the wife of Esau, is sometimes mentioned in connection with the scene in which Esau, belatedly mindful of his parents' wishes, takes another wife.