complete verse (Genesis 36:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 36:21:

  • Newari: “Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were sons of Seir, chiefs of the Horites of the land of Edom.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They also became leaders of the Horhanon who live in Edom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Those seven men became ancestors of people-groups. Each of the people-groups had the same name as the name of their ancestor.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 36:20 - 21

These are the sons of Seir the Horite: These points ahead. Seir, which has until now been the name of the mountainous region in Edom, is here personalized. Horite appears to refer to Hurrians who migrated from Mesopotamia into Syria and Canaan. In the second millennium the Egyptians used the term Horite to refer to the populations of that region. It is not known why the Israelites used Horite for the people of the ancient area of Edom.

Inhabitants of the land means they were already in the region of Edom when Esau’s sons settled there. Note Good News Translation “original inhabitants,” which may need to be rendered, for example, “The first people to live in the region of Edom….” A fuller rendering of this whole statement is “Before Esau went to that country of Edom, the Horite people were there, and that was their country. All the Horite tribes were descended from one old man whose name was Seir.”

In translation we may combine verses 20-21 for the same reason as in verses 15-16. We may restructure verses 20-21 to say, for example, “The first people who lived in Edom were the descendants of Seir, who was of the tribe called Horite. The ancestors of the clans of the Horite tribe were Lotan, Sobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. All of these were the descendants of Seir.” For another model see Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .