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Person Old Testament

Shobal

Shobal was a Horite chief, the son of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. Mentioned in 5 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 36:20.

Why it matters. Horite chief, son of Seir, in the land of Edom.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Shobal

Shobal is mentioned in Gen.36.20,23,29 and 1Ch.1.38,40 as one of the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land of Edom before the descendants of Esau. Shobal is described as a Horite chief, indicating his leadership position within the Horite clan. The Horites were the original inhabitants of the mountainous region of Seir, which later became known as Edom. Shobal's descendants, along with the other Horite clans, are listed in the genealogy of the chiefs of Edom. This genealogy demonstrates the intermingling of the Horites with the Edomites, who were descended from Esau, and the eventual dominance of the Edomites in the region.

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

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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
Seir

Appears in Scripture

Named in 5 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.