Person Old Testament
Alvan
Also known as Alvan =KJV, ESV, NIV; Alian =KJV
Alvan was a Horite chief, a descendant of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom before Esau's descendants. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 36:23.
Why it matters. Horite chief, descendant of Seir
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Alvan
Alvan is mentioned in the genealogies of the Horites, the original inhabitants of the land of Seir, which later became known as Edom. He is listed as one of the sons of Shobal, who was a descendant of Seir the Horite. (1Ch.1.40; Gen.36.23)
The Horites were the people who lived in the mountainous region of Seir before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, settled there. The genealogy in Genesis 36 and 1Chronicles 1 provides a record of the Horite clans and their chiefs.
Apart from being listed as a Horite chief, no further details are provided about Alvan's life, his role within the clan, or any significant events associated with him.
The mention of Alvan in the genealogies serves to document the pre-Edomite inhabitants of Seir and to provide a historical context for the later Edomite settlement in the region. It also highlights the diverse peoples and cultures that inhabited the lands surrounding Israel in the patriarchal period.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Shobal
Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.