DISHON

(Diʹshon) [antelope].

The name of one or possibly two different men in the genealogies recorded at Genesis 36:20-28 and 1 Chronicles 1:38-42.

At Genesis 36:20, 21 (also verses 29, 30) seven “sons of Seir the Horite” are listed as sheiks, namely, Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. Then, in verses 22 to 28, each of the seven sheiks is listed with his sons. At verse 25 one of the sons of Anah is named Dishon. Some believe that this Dishon is a grandson of Seir and a nephew of Sheik Dishon, considering that the seven sheiks were all “sons” of Seir in the strict sense of the word, that is, of the same generation.

Others, however, believe the account to present the seven sheiks merely as descendants of Seir, not of the same generation, hence “sons” in the broad sense of the word. So they suggest that the Dishon of verse 25 is the same as Sheik Dishon (vss. 21 and 26) and not his nephew. According to this view, although actually the son of Sheik Anah, Dishon is named with the other six sheiks not because of being their brother but because of being their equal in the sense of being a sheik.