SEIR. - A geographical name used in the Old Testament (Heb. Sē'ir; cf. Sā'ir “hairy, shaggy” and “goat”; also “wild demonic being”: Is. 13:21).
1. A mountainous plateau in Edomite territory, from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Elanitico, inhabited by the Horites (Gen. 14:6), later subjugated by the Edomites (Deut. 2:12, 22). The reading of the name of this place on an obelisk of Ramses II has recently been noted: this text clarifies the information in Deut. 2:8 concerning the passage of the children of Israel while avoiding the Edomites of S.
2. A “Horite” population (a branch of the Hurrians) inhabiting the plateau of the same name: in the genealogy given in Gen. 36:20-30, many subdivisions (“sons”) appear with totemic names.
3. A mountain in the western part of the tribe of Judah (Ios. 15:10): perhaps the height four hours from Jerusalem on which the village of Sāris stands. But the text is doubtful (Septuagint: Ἀσσάρ).