Difference between revisions of "Horites"

<p> <strong> [[Horites]] </strong> . The pre-Edomitic inhabitants of [[Seir]] or [[Edom]] according to &nbsp; [[Genesis]] 14:6 (a late passage) and &nbsp; Deuteronomy 2:12; &nbsp; Deuteronomy 2:22 (D [Note: Deuteronomist.] 2). Apparently they commingled with the [[Edomite]] invaders, for &nbsp; Genesis 36:20-21; &nbsp; Genesis 36:29 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] 3) counts them among the descendants of Esau. The name is usually taken to mean ‘cave-dwellers,’ and this is probably correct. There are many tombs in the rocks at [[Petra]] (cf. Robinson, <em> BRP </em> <em> [Note: RP Biblical Researches in Palestine.] </em> 2 ii. 129, 134), and some of these, like some at Beit Jibrin and some recently discovered at [[Gezer]] (cf. <em> PEFSt </em> <em> [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] </em> , 1902, pp. 345 ff., and 1903, pp. 9 12) may have been used as dwellings originally. Sayce ( <em> HCM </em> <em> [Note: CM [[Higher]] [[Criticism]] and the Monuments.] </em> 203 ff.) derives the name from a root meaning ‘white’ as contrasted with the ‘red’-skinned Edomites, while Hommei ( <em> AHT </em> <em> [Note: HT [[Ancient]] [[Hebrew]] Tradition.] </em> 261 ff.) takes it as a form of <em> Garu </em> (or <em> Kharu </em> ) of one of the Amarna tablets. <em> Kharu </em> was, however, in [[Egyptian]] a name for all the inhabitants of Syria (cf. W. M. Müller, Asien <em> und [[Europa]] </em> , 148 ff.), and can hardly be connected with <em> Horites </em> . Driver ( <em> Deut </em> . p. 38) favours the explanation as equivalent to ‘cave-dwellers’ or ‘troglodytes.’ </p> <p> [[George]] A. Barton. </p>

<p> The Hebrew word for Horites corresponds to the extrabiblical Hurrians, a non-Semitic people who migrated into the Fertile [[Crescent]] about 2000 B.C. The [[Hurrians]] created the Mitannian [[Empire]] in [[Mesopotamia]] about 1500 B.C. and later became an important element in the [[Canaanite]] population of Palestine. In locations where there is extrabiblical evidence for Hurrians, the Hebrew term [[Hivites]] appears (&nbsp;Genesis 34:2; &nbsp;Joshua 9:7; &nbsp;Joshua 11:3 ,Joshua 11:3,&nbsp;11:19 ) as a designation for certain elements of the Canaanite population. The [[Septuagint]] (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), however, substitutes Horites for Hivites in &nbsp;Genesis 34:2 and &nbsp; Joshua 9:7 . Also, Zibeon, son of Seir the [[Horite]] (&nbsp;Genesis 36:20 ), is identified as a [[Hivite]] in &nbsp;Genesis 36:2 . For these reasons, many scholars equate both Horites and Hivites (the names are quite similar in Hebrew) with the extrabiblical Hurrians. </p> <p> Nevertheless, the Hebrew text only mentions Horites in Mt. Seir where there is no record of Hurrians. Therefore, another suggestion holds that the biblical Horites were not Hurrians, but simply the original cave-dwelling (the Hebrew <i> hor </i> means “cave”) population of Edom (Mt. Seir). The Hivites, according to this theory, should be identified with the extrabiblical Hurrians. </p> <p> Daniel C. Browning, Jr. </p>

<p> The Horites were the original inhabitants of the region around Mt Seir, south of the [[Dead]] Sea. When [[Esau]] and his descendants moved into the region, they overpowered the Horites and took possession of the land for themselves. It became part of the land of Edom, and the remaining Horites were absorbed into the [[Edomites]] (&nbsp;Genesis 14:6; &nbsp;Genesis 36:20-21; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 2:12; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 2:22; see [[Edom]] ). </p>

<p> Ho´rites or Horim. The people who inhabited Mount Seir before the Edomites [IDUMEA]. </p>