Interesting Facts

• Hur was the father of Seir.
• Hur was the son of Hivi.
• Hivi was the son of Canaan.
• Seir the son of Hur inhabited the land later known as the land of Seir.
• The sons of Seir the Horite are listed as Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishon.
• These sons of Seir were considered dukes of the Horites in the land of Edom.
• One of the sons of Anah encountered great and terrible animals in the wilderness.
• These animals were described as having the shape of men from the middle downward and likenesses of bears or keephas from the middle upward.
• The children of Esau fought with the children of Seir, leading to bitterness among Esau’s descendants.

Genealogy

• Hur was part of the lineage of Ham, as Canaan was the son of Ham, Hivi was the son of Canaan, and Hur was the son of Hivi.
• Seir was the son of Hur.
• Seir the Horite had seven sons: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishon.
• Lotan had sons named Hori and Hemam, and a sister named Timna.
• Shobal had sons named Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
• Anah had children named Dishon and Aholibamah.
• Timna, Lotan’s sister, became a concubine to Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and bore him Amalek.

Historical Context

The emergence of Hur and his son Seir, and the subsequent Horites, occurs in the period after the dispersion of Noah’s descendants and the establishment of various peoples in their allotted lands. The text notes that the children of Ham, including Canaan, built cities and named them after themselves. Seir, being a descendant of Canaan, followed this pattern by finding a valley opposite Mount Paran, building a city, and naming it Seir after himself. This act of settlement signifies a claim to territory and the establishment of a community. The location of Seir’s settlement, opposite Mount Paran, is geographically significant as it later became associated with the land of Edom, inhabited by the descendants of Esau. The Horites, as the descendants of Seir, established themselves as dukes in this land of Seir, indicating a tribal or hierarchical structure within their society. The later conflict between the children of Esau and the children of Seir suggests a period of territorial disputes and power struggles in the region.

Narrative

The narrative concerning Hur is limited to his genealogical connection to Seir. He appears as a link in the lineage from Canaan to Seir, who is the central figure associated with the Horites in the provided texts. The primary narrative focus is on Seir and his descendants, the Horites. Seir’s actions are marked by his initiative in finding a suitable location and establishing a city named after himself, signifying his role as a founder. His seven sons became the leaders or “dukes” of the Horites in the land of Seir, indicating the growth and organization of their community. An intriguing episode involves one of Seir’s grandsons, Anah, the son of Zibeon (although the text specifies this Anah is the son of Seir), who encountered strange, part-human, part-animal creatures in the wilderness, leading to fear and avoidance of that location. This encounter adds a mythical or fantastical element to the early history of the Horites in their land. The relationship between the Horites and the descendants of Esau is characterized by conflict, as mentioned in the context of Esau’s children seeking a king not of their brethren due to the “evil they sustained from their brethren when they fought with the children of Seir”. This suggests a significant and impactful conflict that shaped the later political structure of Edom. While the texts do not provide extensive details about the daily lives or specific actions of Hur or the Horites beyond these instances, they are portrayed as an early people who established themselves in a specific territory, developed a social structure with leaders, and experienced interactions, both peaceful and hostile, with neighboring groups.