בראשית, פרק ל״ו, פסוק י״ב

The genealogy of Esau's family pauses its steady list of names to focus on the origins of Amalek, the historical enemy of the Israelites. The narrative carefully distinguishes Amalek from the rest of Esau's descendants by revealing the complex background of his birth. The primary approach among commentators is that emphasizing the mother's status as a concubine intentionally separates Amalek from the broader Edomite nation. Unlike the other sons of Eliphaz, who were born to legal wives and inherited Mount Seir, Amalek was born into the lower status of a concubine and is therefore not considered part of Edom. This distinction carries deep legal and historical weight: while the Israelites are forbidden from hating the Edomites or taking their land, the command regarding Amalek is the exact opposite—to erase his memory completely. Consequently, Amalek is deliberately excluded from the sons of the primary wives [רמב״ן, רבנו בחיי, תולדות יצחק, הטור הארוך]. Some note that Eliphaz originally took Timna by force, making her his concubine during his military conquests [ספורנו].

The decision to specifically name this concubine, a detail omitted for the other sons, serves to highlight the honor and greatness of Abraham in the eyes of the surrounding nations. Timna was not a commoner; she belonged to a royal family and was the sister of a prominent regional chief. Despite her high status, she preferred to be a concubine within Abraham's wider family rather than a leading lady in another nation [רש״י, רד״ק, מזרחי]. A tragic element surrounds her story. Timna genuinely wished to convert and join the founders of the Israelite nation, but because she also sought power and honor, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rejected her. Left with no other choice, she joined Eliphaz. As a consequence of the Patriarchs pushing her away too harshly, she gave birth to Amalek, who would later cause great suffering for the Israelites [תורה תמימה].

A significant question arises when comparing this account to the Book of Chronicles, which lists Timna as one of Eliphaz's male sons. To resolve this, two main perspectives emerge. The first points to deep moral corruption within Esau's family, suggesting that Eliphaz fathered Timna through an illicit relationship with the wife of Seir the Horite. When Timna grew up, Eliphaz took his own daughter as a concubine. Thus, Chronicles lists her as his descendant, while the current narrative clarifies her role as his concubine [רש״י, מזרחי, ריב״א]. The second approach offers a simpler explanation, suggesting there were actually two different people named Timna: a male son and a female concubine. According to this view, the narrative uses a continuous reading style where a single name concludes the list of sons and immediately introduces the concubine [רשב״ם, בכור שור, חזקוני, פענח רזא, הכתב והקבלה]. Subtle differences in the traditional vowel markings support this, distinguishing the female concubine from the male son [שד״ל]. Alternatively, it is possible that Timna the concubine died giving birth to Amalek, and Eliphaz later named a son after her to preserve her memory [רמב״ן].

The lineage concludes by attributing the descendants to Adah, Eliphaz's primary wife. Since Amalek was actually the son of the concubine Timna, this summary either refers only to the majority of the sons listed earlier, or it includes Amalek under Adah's name, reflecting the practice where a maidservant's child is sometimes considered the child of the mistress [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך].