Biblical Nations - Horites

Horites

Key Scripture: Deuteronomy 2:12

Figures: Seir

The flow of people groups in and out of the lands described in the Bible has been constant for quite a number of years.  Some nations have managed to establish a homeland for a significant amount of time, such as the Egyptians, while others have been relocated, destroyed, or assimilated by other cultures.  This week we look at the story of an old group about which little is known, and in fact may have gone entirely unnoticed if it weren't for a record of their existence found in the pages of Scripture.  They are the Horites, and like any group with little definitive information they are the subject of much conjecture.

The first mention of the Horites is found in Genesis 14, shortly after Lot parted company with his uncle.  They were said to live in Seir, the mountainous region south of the Dead Sea, and in response to their rebellion against King Chedorlaomer of Elam were attacked by a confederation of his allies.  The Horites are mentioned alongside other tribes such as the Rephaim that were considered to be giants, although it isn't clear if the text intends for them to be understood as having such large stature.  In either case, they were unable to withstand the attack and were conquered, but the men in Abram's camp were successful in defeating Chedorlaomer's forces after they took his nephew captive.  It does not seem that any of the patriarchs themselves were involved in battles that involved the Horites.

One major figure in Scripture who did have dealings with the Horites, however, was Esau.  Jacob's older brother moved south of where his father Isaac had lived, and according to Deuteronomy he and his offspring drove out the Horites in a way that sounds much like what his brother's descendants did to the inhabitants of Canaan.  But who exactly were these people?  A passage later in Genesis states that they were descended from a man named Seir, after whom their mountainous land was named.  There are two leading scholarly thoughts on where the group originated, so let's look at them in turn.  First, there is the idea that the Horites were ethnically the same as the Hurrian people groups from north of the Fertile Crescent.  This is supported by the argument that phonetically the two names are the same in Hebrew, and if that is the case it is unlikely that they were Semitic.  They could have been instead related to the Hivites, who were descended from Ham, which would interestingly mean that Esau's wife Oholibamah was part of that family.  On the other hand, however, is the idea that these were a Semitic people group because of the names of the sons of Seir listed in Genesis 36.  The list of names are identified as chiefs of their people, but no additional information is provided either about their families or activities.  As for which view seems correct, I simply don't have enough understanding of the relevant languages from across the region to have an educated opinion either way.

Another dispute centers around what the name "Horite" actually means.  There are Egyptian records that describe the region of Khar as the area that included southern Canaan all the way through the lands of Edom, which some scholars think aligns with the Horite name and therefore makes their name a geographic identifier.  Others point out the Hebrew word for cave is "hor" and believe it is a cultural descriptor for those who live in caves or among the rocks.  There is also some belief that those living in Mount Seir were actually descended from an individual named Hor who lived sometime around the time of Reu (Abram's great-great-grandfather), and therefore the word is a family name.  And finally, a recent school of thought espouses the idea that "Hori" in Hebrew could indicate something white, and therefore the people group could have been racially distinctive due to having lighter skin tone.  Whatever their origin and however their name may be interpreted, the destiny of the Horites is practically the only thing in their history that is known for certain.  The people of Esau did not live among them long before Deuteronomy records that they dispossessed and destroyed the inhabitants of Mount Seir.  The Horites were never again mentioned in Scripture and they have been wholly lost to history.