Person Old Testament
Samlah
Samlah was a king of Edom who reigned before Israel had kings, as mentioned in the genealogies of Esau. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 36:36.
Why it matters. King of Edom before Israel had kings
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Samlah
Samlah is mentioned in Gen.36.36-37 and 1Ch.1.47-48 as one of the kings who reigned in Edom before Israel had kings. He was from the city of Masrekah and succeeded Hadad, son of Bedad, as king of Edom. After Samlah's death, Shaul from Rehoboth on the River succeeded him as king. The genealogies in Genesis 36 and 1Chronicles 1 list the descendants of Esau, who was Jacob's brother, and the kings who ruled in Edom. These kings were not necessarily related to each other, and their reigns were not dynastic. The mention of these kings demonstrates Edom's political organization and its existence as a nation before Israel had a centralized monarchy. Samlah's inclusion in these lists provides a glimpse into the history of Edom and its relationship with Israel.
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.
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.