38 And the sons of Seir; Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. 39And the sons of Lotan; Hori and [1]Homam: and Timna was Lotan's sister. The sons of 40Shobal; [2]Alian and Manahath and Ebal, [3]Shephi and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah and Anah. 41The sons of Anah; Dishon. And the sons of Dishon; [4]Hamran and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. 42The sons of Ezer; Bilhan and Zaavan [5]Jaakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz and Aran. 43Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor; and the name of
38—42.The Genealogy of the Horite Inhabitants
of Seir. (Cp. Gen. xxxvi. 20—28.)
38. The sons of Seir] Chron. omits the further description given in Gen. "the Horite, the inhabitants of the land," words which show clearly that these "sons of Seir" were not descendants of Esau, but aboriginal inhabitants of the land.
Lotan] perhaps to be connected with Lot, a name anciently associated with the land or people dwelling E. of the Jordan (cf. Gen. xix. 30).
40. Aiah and Anah] See Gen. xxxvi. 24.
43—51a.The early Kings of Edom. (Cp. Gen. xxxvi. 31—39.)
43. kings] Note that the kings are of different families and localities. They may be compared with the "judges" of early Israel.
in the land of Edom] In early times the mountainous region of Seir, extending from the S.E. of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba, but the precise territory of the Edomites is uncertain and of course must have varied from time to time. In the post-exilic period Edomites (Idumeans) pressed up into the south of Judah (cp. ii. 42), and Edom (Idumea) continued to play an important and often sinister part in the history of Israel till long after the Chronicler's lifetime. See (e.g.) 1 Macc. v. 65; 2 Macc. x. 14—17. The Herods were of Edomite descent.
before . . . Israel] i.e. before Saul; or possibly "before David," if the phrase means before the reign of the first Israelitish king over Edom. For the use made of this statement in the discussion of the date of the Hexateuch, see Chapman, Introd. to the Pentateuch, p. 40, in this series.
Bela the son of Beor] possibly the same as the familiar Balaam son of
