Person Old Testament
Jobab
Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, was an early king of Edom who reigned before Israel had a king. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 36:33.
Why it matters. A king of Edom, son of Zerah of Bozrah
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Jobab
Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, is mentioned in Gen.36.33-34 and 1Ch.1.44-45 as one of the early kings of Edom. He ruled after the death of King Bela, son of Beor, and was succeeded by Husham of the land of the Temanites. These kings reigned in Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites, indicating that the Edomite monarchy was established earlier than that of Israel.
The mention of Jobab and other Edomite kings in these passages provides historical context for the relationship between Edom and Israel, as well as insight into the political structure of the region during the patriarchal period. However, no additional details are given about Jobab's reign or personal life.
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
- Zerah
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.