Anah

Biblical Record

Anah appears in Genesis 36, which presents the genealogy of Esau. Genesis 36:24 introduces him as the son of Zibeon and records that, "as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father," he found in the wilderness what Korean Bibles render as "hot springs." Genesis 36:25 lists Anah's children as Dishon and Oholibamah. Oholibamah became the wife of Esau and bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah, all three of whom became chiefs of Edom (Genesis 36:2, 36:14, 36:18). 1 Chronicles 1:40–41 likewise names Aiah and Anah as the sons of Zibeon and Dishon as the son of Anah.

Significance Within the Bible

Anah shows that the house of Esau was joined through marriage to the Horites, the original inhabitants of the land of Seir. This marriage alliance serves to explain the lineage of the chiefs of Edom. Anah is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Two men of the same name: Genesis 36:20, 36:29, and 1 Chronicles 1:38 mention a separate Anah, a son of Seir and a chief of the Horites. This Anah was the brother of Zibeon. Because Genesis 36:25 falls within a passage that lists the sons of Seir in sequence, interpreters differ over whether Oholibamah's father was Anah the son of Zibeon or Anah the son of Seir. Some commentators hold that an uncle and his nephew bore the same name, while other scholars regard the duplication as the result of overlapping genealogical traditions.
• "Anah the daughter of Zibeon": In the Hebrew Masoretic Text of Genesis 36:2, the phrase "the daughter of Zibeon" can be read as referring to Anah. By contrast, the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch are known to read "the son of Zibeon" at this point. The same verse also calls Zibeon a "Hivite," in contrast to "Horite" in 36:20. Some scholars regard these discrepancies as confusions that arose during scribal transmission.
• The meaning of "hot springs": The Hebrew word rendered "hot springs" in Genesis 36:24 occurs only here in the Bible, so its meaning is uncertain. The Vulgate rendered it "hot waters," and the Korean Bible's "hot springs" reflects the same understanding. The King James Version translates it "the mules." Jewish tradition also preserves an interpretation that Anah was the first to produce mules by crossbreeding donkeys with horses. This, however, is not stated directly in the text but is a story derived from interpretation.

In the Korean Church

Anah is seldom treated as a subject in his own right in sermons or Sunday school. He is encountered mainly when readers come to the genealogy of Genesis 36 while reading through the Bible.