Edomite living at the time of the Patriarchs
Alvan was a Horite chief, a descendant of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom before Esau's descendants.
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Also known as Alian
Alvan is mentioned in the genealogies of the Horites, the original inhabitants of the land of Seir, which later became known as Edom. He is listed as one of the sons of Shobal, who was a descendant of Seir the Horite. (1Ch.1.40; Gen.36.23)
The Horites were the people who lived in the mountainous region of Seir before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, settled there. The genealogy in Genesis 36 and 1Chronicles 1 provides a record of the Horite clans and their chiefs.
Apart from being listed as a Horite chief, no further details are provided about Alvan's life, his role within the clan, or any significant events associated with him.
The mention of Alvan in the genealogies serves to document the pre-Edomite inhabitants of Seir and to provide a historical context for the later Edomite settlement in the region. It also highlights the diverse peoples and cultures that inhabited the lands surrounding Israel in the patriarchal period.
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(tall), a Horite, son of Shobal, (Genesis 36:23) written Alian in (1 Chronicles 1:40)
AL'VAN (tall), a descendant of Sier the Horite. Gen 36:23. Called Alian in 1 Chr 1:40.
AL'VAN (tall), a descendant of Sier the Horite. Gen 36:23. Called Alian in 1 Chr 1:40.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H5935
These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.