Hemam is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Hemam was a descendant of Seir the Horite, named in the genealogies of the Horites recorded in Genesis. He appears in the family line of Lotan, who was one of the sons of Seir. The brief notice in Genesis 36:22 states, “And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.” This places Hemam within the wider record of the Horite clans who inhabited the land of Seir before the descendants of Esau settled there and intermingled with them.
The setting of this genealogy is the region of Seir, also called Edom, where Esau made his home after separating from his brother Jacob. Genesis 36 carefully preserves the lines of both Esau and the Horites, showing how the two peoples became joined together. Hemam belongs to that older Horite stock, the inhabitants of the land whom Esau’s family encountered and, in time, absorbed. His name is listed alongside his brother Hori, and the mention of their sister Timna suggests this was a family of some standing within the Horite clan structure.
Scripture tells us nothing further about Hemam beyond this single appearance. We are not given his deeds, his character, or the length of his life. He is one name in a long chain of names, preserved in the sacred text as part of the ancestry of a people who lived in the hill country of Seir. Yet his inclusion in Genesis shows that even the obscure branches of these ancient families were known and remembered by God.
The Name
The name Hemam is Hebrew in form, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text or from the standard lexical sources. Some have tentatively connected it with terms suggesting warmth, heat, or a similar root, but no meaning is well established, and any proposal remains uncertain. It is best to say plainly that the meaning of this name is obscure, and we should not press a definition where Scripture and the language do not give us one.
A Closing Thought
Hemam is a reminder that most of God’s people are not remembered for great deeds but simply for belonging to a family, a clan, and a generation that God saw fit to record. His single verse tells us almost nothing about him, yet he was known by name to the God who numbers the stars and calls them each by name. If your life feels hidden and unremarkable, take heart: the Lord does not overlook the quiet and the obscure. He remembers those the world forgets, and a name written in His book is worth more than a monument.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 36:22 — And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.