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Bible Encyclopedias
Seir
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or Se´ir (hairy)
A phylarch or chief of the Horim, who were the former inhabitants of the country afterwards possessed by the Edomites.
Seir, Mount. The mountainous country of the Edomites, extending from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. The name is usually derived from the Seir above mentioned, and as he was a great chief of the original inhabitants, it is difficult to reject such a conclusion. These mountains were first inhabited by the Horim (; ); then by Esau (;; ) and his posterity (;; ). The northern part of them now bears the designation of Jebal, and the southern that of esh-Sherah, which seems no other than a modification of the ancient name. The whole breadth of the mountainous tract between the Arabah (the great valley between the Dead Sea and Elanitic Gulf) and the eastern desert above is about 15 or 20 geog. miles. These mountains are quite different in character from those which front them on the other (west) side of the Arabah. The latter seem to be not more than two-thirds as high as the former, and are wholly desert and sterile; while those on the east appear to enjoy a sufficiency of rain, and are covered with tufts of herbs and occasional trees. The valleys are also full of trees and shrubs and flowers, the eastern and higher parts being extensively cultivated, and yielding good crops. It is indeed the region of which Isaac said to his son Esau, 'Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above' ().
A mountain in the territory of Judah ().
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Seir'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/s/seir.html.
