Anah עֲנָה
Horite, father of Oholibamah, Esau's wife
Biography
Anah was a Horite, a descendant of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. He was the father of Oholibamah, one of Esau's wives. Anah is mentioned in the genealogies of Esau and Seir, both in Genesis and 1 Chronicles.
One notable event associated with Anah is his discovery of hot springs in the wilderness while he was grazing his father's donkeys. This discovery suggests that Anah was an observant and resourceful individual.
Anah is also referred to as a Hivite in one passage, which may indicate that the Horites and Hivites were related or that Anah had a connection to both groups. As the father-in-law of Esau, Anah played a role in the intermarriage between the Edomites and the Horites, which had significant implications for the history of the region.
Family
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study contentGenesis 5 verses
- Genesis 36:2
"Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite;"
Study Genesis → - Genesis 36:14
"These were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 36:18
"These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 36:20
"These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,"
Study Genesis → - Genesis 36:24
"These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father."
Study Genesis →
1 Chronicles 3 verses
- 1 Chronicles 1:38
"The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan."
- 1 Chronicles 1:40
"The sons of Shobal: Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah."
- 1 Chronicles 1:41
"The son of Anah: Dishon. The sons of Dishon: Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | עֲנָה | H6034 |
Anah
.36.2">Ge 36:2,14,18,25). The Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Peshitta read "son," identifying this Anah with number 3 (see below); Ge 36:2, read (ha-chori), for (ha-chiwwi).
(2) Son of Seir, the Horite, and brother of Zibeon; one of the chiefs of the land of Edom (compare Ge 36:20,21 = 1Ch 1:38). Seir is elsewhere the name of the land (compare Ge 14:6; Isa 21:11); but here the country is personified and becomes the mythical ancestor of the tribes inhabiting it.
(3) Son of Zibeon, "This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness" (compare Ge 36:24 = 1Ch 1:40,41)
The word ha-yemim, occurs only in this passage and is probably corrupt. Ball (Sacred Books of the Old Testament, Genesis, critical note 93) suggests that it is a corruption of we-hemam (compare Ge 36:22) in an earlier verse. Jerome, in his commentary on Ge 36:24, assembles the following definitions of the word gathered from Jewish sources.
(1) "seas" as though yammim;
(2) "hot springs" as though hammim;
(3) a species of ass, yemim;
(4) "mules."
This last explanation was the one most frequently met with in Jewish lit; the tradition ran that Anah was the first to breed the mule, thus bringing into existence an unnatural species. As a punishment, God created the deadly water-snake, through the union of the common viper with the Libyan lizard (compare Ge Rabbah 82 15, Yer. Ber 1 12b; Babylonian Pes 54a, Ginzberg, Monatschrift, XLII, 538-39).
The descent of Anah is thus represented in the three ways pointed out above as the text stands. If, however, we accept the reading ben, for bath, in the first case, Aholibamah will then be an unnamed daughter of the Anah of Ge 36:24, not the Aholibamah, daughter of Anah of 36:25 (for the Anah of this verse is evidently the one of 36:20, not the Anah of 36:24). Another view is that the words, "the daughter of Zibeon," are a gloss, inserted by one who mistakenly identified the Anah of 36:25 with the Anah of 36:24; in this event, Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, will be the one mentioned in 36:25. The difference between (2) and (3) is to be explained on the basis of a twofold tradition. Anah was originally a sub-clan of the clan known as Zibeon, and both were "sons of Seir"--i.e. Horites.
H. J. Wolf
a-na'-ha-rath ('ana-charath, meaning unknown): A place which fell to the tribe of Issachar in the division of the land (Jos 19:19). Located in the valley of Jezreel toward the E