← H172 H174 →

אׇהֳלִיבָמָה

𐤀𐤄𐤋𐤉𐤁𐤌𐤄

Holivamah

H173 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אהל-במה tent, dwelling, high place, elevated site

Definition

Oholibamah — a personal name appearing in the Hebrew Bible, most notably as the wife of Esau and the matriarch of several Edomite clans. The name is a compound meaning 'tent of the high place' or possibly 'my tent is on the high place.' This reflects a connection to the root concepts of a tent (dwelling) and a high place (elevated site, often associated with worship or ancestral gathering). In usage, always denotes a female individual from an Edomite or Seirite background.

Semantic Range

personal name, tent of/high place, tent associated with elevation or shrine, matriarch of Edomite clans

Root / Etymology

Compound of אֹהֶל (ʼohel, 'tent') and בָּמָה (bamah, 'high place', often a cultic or elevated location). The prefix י (yod) likely reflects a first-person singular pronominal suffix ('my'). Thus, the name can be parsed as 'my tent [is] the high place' or 'tent of the high place.' Some uncertainty in precise morphological parsing remains, but the association of these elements is clear.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Oholibamah appears in Genesis 36, as one of Esau's wives and a mother of Edomite clans. The name's structure is unusual among Israelite onomastics, combining terms for a dwelling and a cultic or elevated site, suggesting a likely non-Israelite (Edomite or Seirite) origin and resonance, possibly reflecting lineage or status. In post-biblical and English traditions, the name has sometimes been rendered 'Aholibamah,' but this reflects Greek/Latin transliteration practices. In biblical genealogies, the presence of 'bamah' (high place) in a personal name is rare and may indicate a connection to ancestral territory or a shrine. The name's meaning is not directly reflected in translation and it appears only as a proper name, never as a common noun. Care should be taken not to read later Judean or Jewish associations into the term.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from אֹהֶל and בָּמָה; tent of (the) height; Oholibamah, a wife of Esau; Aholibamah.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

אהל-במה (ʾ-h-l / b-m-h) — tent, dwelling, high place, elevated site

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H173-01 אָהֳלִֽיבָמָה֙ aholivamah HNp Aholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place 6
H173-02 וְ/אָהֳלִֽיבָמָה֙ veaholivamah HC/Np and Aholibamah and Tent-of-the-High-Place 2

Occurrences in Scripture

8 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H173-01 Genesis 36:2 אָהֳלִֽיבָמָה֙ aholivamah HNp Oholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-02 Genesis 36:5 וְ/אָהֳלִֽיבָמָה֙ veaholivamah HC/Np and Aholibamah and Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-01 Genesis 36:14 אָהֳלִיבָמָ֧ה aholivamah HNp Oholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-01 Genesis 36:18 אָהֳלִֽיבָמָה֙ aholivamah HNp Aholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-01 Genesis 36:18 אָֽהֳלִיבָמָ֛ה aholivamah-2 HNp Aholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-02 Genesis 36:25 וְ/אָהֳלִיבָמָ֖ה veaholivamah HC/Np and Oholibamah and Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-01 Genesis 36:41 אָהֳלִיבָמָ֛ה aholivamah HNp Aholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
H173-01 1 Chronicles 1:52 אָהֳלִיבָמָ֛ה aholivamah HNp Oholibamah Tent-of-the-High-Place
← H172 Hebrew Lexicon H174 →