Pau

Pau is an Edomite city named in the king-lists that close out the genealogies of Esau. It appears as the seat of King Hadad, the last king listed in the Edomite series before the kings of Israel. The two passages that mention it spell the name differently — "Pau" in Genesis, "Pai" in the Chronicler's parallel.

Hadad's City in Edom

Genesis attaches the city to a particular Edomite king. Following the death of Baal-hanan, the throne passes: "And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab" (Genesis 36:39). The verse identifies the city as Hadad's, gives his queen and her ancestry, and stops the king-list of Edom at that point.

The Chronicler's Parallel — Pai

The same king and the same city return in the parallel genealogy at the head of 1 Chronicles, with the place-name spelled differently: "And Baal-hanan died, and Hadad reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Pai: and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab" (1 Chronicles 1:50). The wife and her ancestry repeat verbatim; the spelling shifts from "Pau" to "Pai." The two verses together show one Edomite royal city remembered under two forms — both attached to Hadad and to Mehetabel of the line of Matred.