Genesis 36:20-30

"These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shebal and Zibeon and Anah, and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotan's sister was Timna. And these are the children of Shebal: Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepo and Onam. And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; this is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the children of Dishon: Hemdan and Eshban, and Ithran and Cheran. These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan and Zavaran and Akan. These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. These are the chiefs that came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir."

This list of the pre-Edomite inhabitants of Seir is of the greatest significance, for it reveals the manner of Edom's eventual amalgamation with the people through intermarriages with them, and finally coming to dominate the whole area. Esau's wives included Anah a daughter of Zibeon, and Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah, another of the Horite, or Hivite chiefs. Also, Timna, the concubine of Esau's first-born son Eliphaz, who was the mother of chief Amalek, was a sister of Lotan, one of the chiefs of Seir. What Esau did here through intermarriage with the pagans of Seir, Jacob likewise could have done at Shechem; but the result would have been just as disastrous as it was for the posterity of Esau. Sure, Esau took over the country, but the pagan culture of Seir took over the Edomites. Thus, the wisdom of God's providential interference with Jacob's continued residence in Shechem is demonstrated in this chapter.

Note that Zibeon is called a Hivite is Genesis 36:2, and a Horite in Genesis 36:20. "Hivite is a synonym for Horite, and both are applied where `Hurrians' are involved."[16]

"Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness ..." The words here given as "hot springs" are rendered "the mules" in the KJV. There has been much dispute about this expression. "There is no warrant for the traditional `hot springs',"[17] which began with Jerome. The word is "hymn" and is used only here in the whole Bible. Jewish scholars generally favor the KJV rendition of "mules," which we also favor. A feeding lot for asses is a far more likely place to find a mule than a hot spring. The Tarrgum of Jonathan paraphrases this place as follows:

"This is the Anah who united the `onager' with the tame ass; and in the process of time, he found mules produced by them."[18] (Onager here should be understood as a wild horse.)