The Hebrew Bible mentions two distinct geographical areas named Seir: a 'land of Seir' and 'Mount Seir' in the South, bordered by the Arabah to the west; and another 'Mount Seir' further north, on the north boundary of Judah, mentioned in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 15:10).[5]
Southern land of Seir, Mount Seir
Mount Seir was named for Seir the Horite, whose offspring, the Horites, had previously inhabited the area (Genesis 14:6, 36:20). The children of Esau, the Edomites, battled against the Horites and destroyed them (Deuteronomy 2:4–5, 12, 22). Mount Seir is specifically noted as the place where Esau made his home (Genesis 32:3; 33:14, 16; 36:8; Joshua 24:4).
In the Book of Numbers, the prophet Balaam, predicting Israelite victories over the Trans-Jordanian nations at the end of their Exodus from Egypt, stated "Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession" (Numbers 24:18).
In the antique Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges, God is described as emerging from Seir to lead the Israelites in battle (Judges 5:4).
Mount Seir is also given as the location where the remnants "of the Amalekites that had escaped" were annihilated by five hundred Simeonites (1 Chronicles 4:42–43). In 2 Chronicles 20:22–23, the "inhabitants of Mt. Seir", i.e. the Edomites, came along with the Ammonites and Moabites against Jehoshaphat of Judah, however "the LORD set ambushments" against them,[6] causing their forces to annihilate one another. Mount Seir is also referenced in the prophetic books as a term for Edom, as in Isaiah 21:11 and Ezekiel 25:8 and 35:10.