Komentarz do Rodzaju 36:22

AND LOTAN’s SISTER WAS TIMNA. This is analogous to the verses: And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah;²⁸⁵Above, 4:22. And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail;²⁸⁶I Chronicles 2:16. And Tamar was their sister;²⁸⁷Ibid., 3:9. and Serah their sister.²⁸⁸Genesis, 46:17. It is the custom of Scripture to trace the genealogy of a daughter through the brothers. Now it would have been proper that Timna be enumerated above with the sons of Se’ir by saying, “And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan²⁸⁹Verse 21 here. and their sister Timna.” But since she was Lotan’s sister both paternally and maternally, and not the maternal sister of the other brothers, Scripture therefore wanted to trace her genealogy through Lotan. It may be that she was Lotan’s maternal but not paternal sister and she was not the daughter of Se’ir the Horite, [and therefore could not be listed among his children].

ואחות לוטן תמנע. Seeing that Lotan was the outstanding one among his brothers, Timna’s genealogy is linked to her prominent brother rather than to her father. We have encountered the same principle when Machalat whom Esau married to assuage the hurt feelings of his parents, is described as the sister of Nevayot, a son of Yishmael. Also Miriam the prophetess, is described as Aaron’s sister instead of as Amram’s daughter. (Exodus 15,20)

ואחות לוטן תמנע. “Lotan’s sister was Timna.” It is customary for the Bible to trace the ancestry of the daughters by mentioning their brothers. Examples are: “the sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah,” (Genesis 4,22) Actually, she should have been listed already together with the sons of Seir and Dishan, etc. (36,30). It is possible, however, that she was a full sister to Lotan, both having the same father and mother, whereas she was not a sister to the sons of Seir mentioned in verses 26-30, as she was not a daughter of the tribe of Seir.

ואחות לוטן תמנע, “Lotan’s sister was called Timna.” Seeing that Lotan was the senior of the brothers, Timna’s name appears next to his. [Normally, we would have expected the sequence: ותמנע אחות לוטן, “Timna was the sister of Lotan.” Ed.] We find a similar example of this construction in Genesis 28,9, as well as in Exodus 15,20 and in Exodus 6,23.