Mount Seir
Mount Seir is a mountain mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Shoresh. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Mount Seir is a prominent biblical landmark most commonly associated with the mountainous territory of Edom, the land of Esau's descendants, stretching south of the Dead Sea through modern Jordan. The name first appears in Genesis 14:6, where the Horites inhabiting Mount Seir are defeated by Chedorlaomer's coalition. Esau settled in the hill country of Seir (Genesis 36:8-9), and the region became synonymous with Edom. In Deuteronomy 33:2, Mount Seir appears alongside Sinai and Paran as a place from which God's glory shone forth. However, a separate Mount Seir mentioned in Joshua 15:10 lies on the northern boundary of Judah's tribal territory, near Chesalon. This Judahite Mount Seir is a forested ridge west of Jerusalem, distinct from the Edomite range. Prophetically, Ezekiel 35 pronounces judgment against Mount Seir for Edom's hostility toward Israel, declaring it would become a perpetual desolation because of its bloodshed and enmity against God's people.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The Mount Seir referenced in Joshua 15:10, located on Judah's border, is identified with the ridge near modern Shoresh, west of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. This identification places it in the forested highlands between Kiriath-jearim and Beth Shemesh. The area today is part of the Jerusalem corridor, surrounded by Israeli communities and planted forests. The larger Edomite Mount Seir to the southeast, centered on the Shara mountain range in Jordan, has been extensively surveyed, revealing numerous Iron Age settlements and the famous Nabataean city of Petra carved into its sandstone cliffs. Archaeological work continues to distinguish the two separate biblical locations bearing this name.
Verse Appearances (1)
Josh
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]