בראשית, פרק ל״ו, פסוק כ״ה

The genealogical records in the Book of Genesis contain subtle clues about the complex family and social structures of the ancient inhabitants of the land. The family line of Anah, in particular, reveals a web of intricate relationships, duplicate names, and marriage ties that connect the family of Seir the Horite to the family of Esau.

The record introduces the children of Anah using the term for sons, yet immediately lists Oholibamah, a woman. Including a daughter under the general category of sons is a standard biblical convention, similar to how Dinah is counted among the sons of Jacob [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך]. The primary reason Oholibamah is highlighted in this registry is her historical significance as the wife of Esau [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The genealogical account concludes by specifically identifying Oholibamah as the daughter of Anah, a detail that seems redundant since Anah's name was already established at the beginning of the record. This repetition leads to several perspectives regarding the exact identities of these figures. One approach suggests that the record is actually speaking of two different men named Anah. The first is the fourth son of Seir the Horite and the brother of Zibeon, while the second is actually the son of Zibeon. Therefore, Oholibamah is the daughter of this second Anah. According to this view, if the text were referring to the same person, it would have simply called her his daughter rather than repeating the father's name [אבן עזרא, רבינו אברהם בטור הארוך, יהל אור].

Conversely, another perspective maintains that the entire account revolves around a single Anah, the son of Seir the Horite. In this reading, Anah had a son named Dishon, named after his uncle, and a daughter named Oholibamah. This daughter was named after her famous relative, the Oholibamah who married Esau. The repetition of the name serves to emphasize that these are two different women who share the same name [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, ביאור יש״ר]. Others add that the repeated mention of Anah refers to the same individual, serving to clarify that while Oholibamah is referred to elsewhere as the daughter of Zibeon, she is fundamentally the daughter of Anah [שד״ל, חזקוני].

Beyond these straightforward readings, ancient traditions present a darker picture of incestuous relationships within the family. According to one such tradition, there is only one Anah in the entire narrative, born from an illicit union between Zibeon and his mother, the wife of Seir the Horite. Because Anah was raised in Seir's household and treated as his son, he is sometimes listed as the son of Seir and at other times as the son of Zibeon. Following this tragic pattern, Anah himself engaged in a forbidden relationship with his own mother, Zibeon's wife, fathering Oholibamah. This explains why she is interchangeably called the daughter of Anah and the daughter of Zibeon [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך בשם רבותינו ורש״י].

Finally, a completely different and unique perspective proposes that Anah was actually a woman. Masculine terminology is applied to her because her brother, Aiah, died, leaving her as the sole heir to her father's estate. Since she inherited the property in the place of a man, she assumed a masculine role in the social hierarchy and was counted among the chiefs of Seir the Horite [רבינו תם בטור הארוך, קרני אור].