Jobab

Jobab is a name borne by four distinct figures in the Hebrew Bible: a son of Joktan in the Table of Nations, the second king of Edom, a Canaanite ally of Jabin king of Hazor, and at least two Benjamites in the genealogy of Shaharaim. They are collected under one umbrella heading, but the four are unrelated to one another and surface in widely separated narrative settings.

Son of Joktan

The earliest Jobab appears at the close of the Joktanite line in the Table of Nations. He is named last among the thirteen sons of Joktan in Genesis: "and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan" (Gen 10:29). The Chronicler reproduces the list in identical order: "and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan" (1Ch 1:23). The Joktanite branch of Eber's descendants is associated with the Arabian peninsula in the surrounding genealogy, but Jobab himself receives no narrative beyond the bare name.

King of Edom

A second Jobab is the second king listed in the Edomite king-list of Genesis 36, which the Chronicler later copies almost word for word. The Edomite list opens by noting that "these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the sons of Israel" (Gen 36:31). After Bela the son of Beor dies, "Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead" (Gen 36:33). His own death is recorded in the next verse: "And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead" (Gen 36:34). The Chronicler's parallel preserves the same succession in the same words: "And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead" (1Ch 1:44-45). Jobab is therefore identified by patronym (son of Zerah) and by city (Bozrah), set between Bela of Dinhabah and Husham of the land of the Temanites.

King in the Northern Coalition

A third Jobab is a Canaanite king who joins the northern coalition mustered against Joshua. When the southern campaign has ended, "it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Maron, and to the king of Shimeon, and to the king of Achshaph" (Jos 11:1). Jobab is one of the first kings Jabin summons; the coalition that follows is broken by Joshua at the waters of Merom in the same chapter.

Benjamites in the Line of Shaharaim

The remaining two bearers of the name appear in the Benjaminite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 8, both within the line of Shaharaim, who "begot children in the field of Moab" (1Ch 8:8). The first is one of the sons born to Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh: "And he begot of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcam" (1Ch 8:9). These sons are described as "heads of fathers' [houses]" (1Ch 8:10). The second is listed several verses later among the sons of Elpaal: "and Ishmerai, and Izliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal" (1Ch 8:18). The Chronicler supplies no narrative for either Benjaminite Jobab beyond the placement in the family register.