Jaakan
1:
JAAKAN (PERSON) [Heb ya˓ăqān (יַעֲקָן)]. A clan name in the genealogy of Seir the Horite in 1 Chr 1:42. Jaakan is listed as the third son of Ezer and he is thus a grandson of Seir. The Horites are not to be confused with the Hurrians of Mesopotamia. They are described as the original “inhabitants of the land” in Gen 36:20. They occupied the region of Edom until the incursions of the Esau clans drove them out. This conquest is paired in the text with the conquest of Canaan by the tribes of Israel. The designation of the Horites as “cave dwellers” may be a reflection of their use of these natural shelters for themselves and their animals or it may be a disparaging remark by their conquerors to demonstrate how “uncivilized” they were. The name Jaakan appears in this form only in 1 Chr 1:42 (Jakan in KJV). In some Gk mss and in the parallel genealogical clan list in Gen 36:27 it appears as Akan.
Jaakan’s name apparently became associated with two places in the region of Edom, Bene-Jaakan (Num 33:31–32) and Beeroth Bene-Jaakan (Deut 10:6). This probably reflects the usage of water resources at these sites by the Horite clans and perhaps the control over water rights by the clan of Jaakan. Matthews (1986: 123) discusses a similar example of the regular use and proprietorship over wells and springs in Genesis 26 by Isaac and his herdsmen. Names were often given to clan wells and eventually these names were expanded or modified to include the name of the principal clan in the area.
Bibliography
Matthews, V. H. 1986. The Wells of Gerar. BA 49: 118–26.
Victor H. Matthews
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (3:590). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Jaakan — he twists, one of the sons of Ezer, the son of Seir the Horite (1 Chr. 1:42).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
JAAKAN Esau’s descendant and a son of Ezer the Horite (1 Chr 1:42, nlt mg); alternately called Akan in Genesis 36:27. See Beeroth Bene-jaakan.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (659). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
JA´AKAN (jaʹa-kan). The son of Ezer and grandson of Seir (1 Chron. 1:42; “Jakan,” KJV). The ancestor of the Bene-jaakan, around whose well the children of Israel encamped after they left Moseroth (Num. 33:30–32) and again in a reverse direction after they left Kadesh-barnea, before they reached Mt. Hor or Moserah (Deut. 10:6), before 1440 b.c. In Gen. 36:27 the name appears in the simple form Akan.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
Jaakan (Heb. ya˓ăqān) (also AKAN)
A Horite, son of Ezer and descendant of Seir (1 Chr. 1:42); called Akan at Gen. 36:27. The name occurs also in Bene-jaakan (Num. 33:31–32) and Beeroth Bene-jaakan (Deut. 10:6), where the Israelites encamped during the wilderness wanderings.
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (663). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
