Alvah

Alvah is one of the chiefs of Edom listed among the descendants of Esau. The same figure reappears in the Chronicler's parallel list under the variant name Aliah.

A Chief of Edom in the Esau Genealogy

The Genesis register of Edomite chiefs places Alvah second in its sequence, paired with Timna and Jetheth: "And these are the names of the chiefs who came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth" (Ge 36:40). The framing is by family, by place, and by name, and Alvah heads one of the Esau-descended clans.

The Chronicler's Parallel: Aliah

The Chronicler reproduces the same list of Edomite chiefs in the same opening sequence, but reads the name as Aliah: "And Hadad died. And the chiefs of Edom were: chief Timna, chief Aliah, chief Jetheth" (1Ch 1:51). The position between Timna and Jetheth and the death-of-Hadad context fix the identification with Alvah.