Although it is not possible to identify or explain where Mesha, Sephar and the hill country of the east are, translators need to translate verse 30 clearly. They refers to the people in verses 26-29. Thus the subject may be expressed as “All these people….”

From Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill … is probably to be understood as “all the territory lying between Mesha and Sephar, which is in the hill country in the east.” Bible en français courant offers a good model for translating: “They lived between Mesha and the mountainous region of Sephar in the east.”

To the question of why a table of nations would include this list of rather obscure names in an isolated part of South Arabia, Westermann answers that these are probably on the list of trading partners during the reign of Solomon.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .