And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
And the Horites in their mount Seir - the most southern section of the Rephaite nation, called Horites [from chowr (H2715), a hole, or chuwr (H2354), to bore], the aboriginal inhabitants of the mountainous tract on the east side of the great valley of the Arabah, which extended from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. They were troglodytes, dwellers in caves (cf. Job 30:1-8), and both by their habitations and food (wild roots) were a race of low, uncivilized beings.
"Mount Seir" (rugged) - the name was derived either from Seir the Horite (Genesis 36:20), or from the physical aspect of the region. It was afterward the Edom or Idumea, possessed by the descendants of Esau, and is now Esh-Sherah.
Unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness - [Hebrew, 'Eeyl-Paa'raan (H364)]. The Septuagint has [heos tees terebinthou tees Pharan] unto the terebinth of Paran-some well-known sacred tree or grove in the wilderness of Paran, which formed a part, or was situated to the north, of the Et-Tih desert. The terebinth, however, is not the tree of the desert, but the palm; and accordingly it is maintained by Tuch that El-paran is identical with Elath, at the southern extremity of Wady Arabah, at the shore of the Red Sea; because the wilderness Paran really terminated at Elath with Akabah Aileh, the Elanitic Pass; so that the plane in question might be said with perfect propriety to be at the entrance of the Great Wilderness. To penetrate thus far was absolutely necessary to attain the great object of the expedition. 'That was,' as Tuch has clearly shown,' to secure command of the great caravan-road to Arabia, and its choice productions; so that all commerce with the southern coast, and the bazaars in western and eastern Asia, might come into the hands of one and the same power; which was a sufficient motive for procuring these advantages by conquest, and for maintaining them against revolt by the putting forth of force.