Map showing kingdom of Edom (in red) at its largest extent, c. 600 BCE. Areas in dark red show the approximate boundary of classical-age Idumaea.
(larger image)

Map of the southern Levant, c. 830s BC.     Kingdom of Judah      Kingdom of Israel      Philistine city-states      Phoenician states      Kingdom of Ammon      Kingdom of Edom      Kingdom of Aram-Damascus      Aramean tribes      Arubu tribes      Nabatu tribes      Assyrian Empire      Kingdom of Moab(larger image)

The Edomite people were a Semitic-speaking tribal group inhabiting the Negev Desert and the Aravah valley of what is now southern Israel ^[] and adjacent Jordan. The region has much reddish sandstone, which may have given rise to the name "Edom". The nation of Edom is known to have existed back to the 8th or 9th Century BCE, and the Bible dates it back several centuries further[1]. Recent archeological evidence may indicate an Edomite nation as long ago as the 11th Century BCE, but the topic is controversial. The nation ceased to exist with the Jewish-Roman Wars.

The Edomites

And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Gen. 25:23-25 [3]

The Bible explains the name "Edom" with no mention of red rock. It refers to the Edomites as descendants of Esau, and the Book of Genesis mentions "red" a number of times in describing Esau and explaining his alternate name Edom (Genesis 25:29-30)[5]

The Edomites' original country, according to the Tanakh, stretched from the Sinai peninsula as far as Kadesh Barnea. Southward it reached as far as Eilat, which was the seaport of Edom.[6] On the north of Edom was the territory of Moab.[7] The boundary between Moab and Edom was the Wadi Zered.[8] The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah.[9]

Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Isaiah 63:1

"The first one [Esau] came out reddish [admoni in Hebrew], as hairy as a fur coat. They named him Esau." Years later, "Jacob was once simmering a stew, when Esau came home exhausted from the field. Esau said to Jacob, 'Give me a swallow of that red stuff [ha-adom, ha-adom, i.e., using the word ha-adom twice]! I'm famished!' He was therefore given the name Edom ['Red' or 'Ruddy']."

The Edomites' original country, according to the Tanakh, stretched from the Sinai peninsula as far as Kadesh Barnea. Southward it reached as far as Eilat, which was the seaport of Edom. On the north of Edom was the territory of Moab. The boundary between Moab and Edom was the Wadi Zered. The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah. According to Genesis, Esau's descendents settled in this land after displacing the Horites. It was also called the land of Seir; Mount Seir appears to have been strongly identified with them and may have been a cultic site.

In the time of Amaziah (838 BCE), Selah (Petra) was its principal stronghold; Eilat and Ezion-geber its seaports.

Esau Selling his birthright
to Jacob
(larger image)

³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) ³¹ Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." ³² Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" ³³ Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25:30-36 ESV

Genesis 36 chronicles Esau's family and the kings of Edom:

³¹ These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. ³³ Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. ³⁸ Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. (Genesis 36:31-39 ESV) [4]

[The Hebrew word translated as "clan" is aluf, also translated as "chief", "general", or "duke", and used in this sense only in connection with Edom and Hori. Since 1948 it has been used for senior ranks in the Israeli Defense Force).]

The Entrance to Urn Tomb Petra Edom, Modern-day Jordan
(larger image)

If the account may be taken at face value, the kingship of Edom was, at least in early times, elective rather than hereditary. First Chronicles mentions both a king and chieftains. When the King of Edom refused to allow the Jews to pass through his land on their way to Canaan, they detoured around the country because of his show of force or because God ordered them to do so rather than wage war. The King of Edom did not attack the Israelites, though he prepared to resist aggression.

Nothing further is recorded of the Edomites in the Tanakh until their defeat by King Saul of Israel in the late 1000's BCE. Forty years later King David and his general Joab defeated the Edomites in the "valley of salt," (probably near the Dead Sea). An Edomite prince named Hadad escaped and fled to Egypt, and after David's death returned and tried to start a rebellion, but failed and went to Syria. From that time Edom remained a vassal of Israel. David placed over the Edomites Israelite governors or prefects and this form of government seems to have continued under Solomon. When Israel divided into two kingdoms Edom became a dependency of the Kingdom of Judah. In the time of Jehoshaphat (c. 914 BCE) the Tanakh mentions a king of Edom, who was probably an Israelite appointed by the King of Judah. It also states that the inhabitants of Mount Seir invaded Judea in conjunction with Ammon and Moab, and that the invaders turned against one another and were all destroyed. Edom revolted against Jehoram and elected a king of its own. Amaziah attacked and defeated the Edomites, seizing Selah, but the Israelites never subdued Edom completely.

In the time of Nebuchadnezzar II the Edomites helped plunder Jerusalem ^[] and slaughter the Jews. For this reason the Prophets denounced Edom violently.

According to the Torah, the congregation could not receive descendants of a marriage between an Israelite and an Edomite until the fourth generation. This law was a subject of controversy between Shimon ben Yohai, who said it applied only to male descendants, and other Talmudists, who said female descendants were also excluded.

Economy

Edom probably exported salt and balsam (used for perfume and temple incense in the ancient world) from the Dead Sea region.

Post-Biblical Times

During the revolt of the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire, II Maccabees refers to a Seleucid general named Gorgias as "Governor of Idumaea"; whether he was a Greek or a Hellenized Edomite is unknown. Some scholars maintain that the reference to Idumaea in that passage is an error altogether. Judas Maccabeus conquered their territory for a time in around 163 BCE. They were again subdued by John Hyrcanus (c. 125 BCE), who forced them to observe Jewish rites and laws. They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation.

The Hasmonean official Antipater the Idumaean was of Edomite origin. He was the progenitor of the Herodian dynasty that ruled Judea after the Roman conquest. Under Herod the Great Idumaea was ruled for him by a series of governors, among whom were his brother Joseph ben Antipater and his brother-in-law Costobarus.

Immediately before the Siege of Jerusalem (70) by Titus, 20,000 Idumaeans, under the leadership of John, Simeon, Phinehas, and Jacob, appeared before Jerusalem to fight in behalf of the Zealots who were besieged in the Temple

After the Great Jewish Revolt the Idumaeans ceased to be a separate people, though the geographical name "Idumea" still existed at the time of Jerome.

Edomite religion

Identification with Rome

Controversy

Recently, however, excavations such as the 2004-2004 UCSD dig at Khirbat an-Nahas in Jordan have shed new light on the history of Edom, unearthing artifacts and evidence of settled state society as early as the tenth century BCE,1 2), although whether and to what extent these sites reflect Edomite statehood is debated. Thomas E. Levy, among other scholars, concluded from a survey of the an-Nahas cite that Edom was a sophisticated, industrialized society as early as the eleventh century BCE.

1.  « . Piotra Bienkowski Iron Age Settlement in Edom, p. 261 Retreived 09/03/2009
2.  « . Redford, Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton Univ. Press, 1992. p.228, 318. Retrieved 09/03/2009
3.  « . Gen. 25:24-25
4. Blue Letter Bible. "Book of Beginnings - Genesis 25:23-25 - (ESV - English Standard Version)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. Retreived 09/03/2009
5.  « . Genesis 36:31-39 ESV Retreived 09/03/2009
6.  « . Genesis 25:29-30 BibleGateway.com Retrieved 09/03/2009
7.  « . Deuteronomy 1:2 ESV; Deuteronomy 2:1-8 ESV BibleGateway.com Retrieved 09/03/2009
8.  « . Judges 11:17-18; II Kings 3:8-9
9.  « . Deuteronomy 2:13-18
10.  « . Genesis 36:33; Isaiah 34:6, Isaiah 63:1, et al.
11.  « . II Kings 14:7
12.  « . I Kings 9:26
13.  « . Exploring Jordan: The Other Biblical Land Retreived 09/03/2009

Notes

• Redford, Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton Univ. Press, 1992. p.228, 318.
• Genesis 25:25, ORT translation, material in brackets added.
• Genesis 25:29–30, ORT translation, material in brackets added.
• Deut. 1:2; 2:1-8
• Judges 11:17-18; II Kings 3:8-9
• Deut. 2:13-18
• Gen. 36:33; Isa. 34:6, 63:1, et al.
• II Kings 14:7
• I Kings 9:26
• Genesis 36:31-43
• Hebrew word #441 in Strong's
• a b c Richard Gottheil, M. Seligsohn (1901–1906). Edom, Idumaea. In The Jewish Encyclopedia (3, 40–41). Funk and Wagnalls. LCCN:16014703. Retrieved on 2005-07-25.
• I Chron. 1:43–54
• Num. 20:14–21
• Deut. 2:4–6
• II Sam. 8:13–14; I Kings 9:15–16
• ib. 9:14–22; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities viii. 7, § 6
• II Sam. 8:14,
• II Kings 3:9–26
• II Chron. 20:10–23
• II Kings 8:20–22; II Chron. 21:8
• II Kings 14:7; II Chron. 25:11–12
• Ps. 137:7; Obad. 11-14
• Isa. 34:5–8; Jer. 49:7–22; Obadiah passim
• Deut. 23:8–9
• Yevamot 76b
• Müller, Asien und Europa, p. 135.
• Mark 3:8; Ptolemy, "Geography," v. 16
• II Maccabees 12:32
• Josephus, "Ant." xii. 8, §§ 1, 6
• ib. xiii. 9, § 1; xiv. 4, § 4
• Josephus, Jewish Wars iv. 4, § 5
• Redford 305.
• Levy, Thomas E. and Mohammed Najjar. "Edom and Copper." Biblical Archaeology Review. July/August, 2006.

references

• Gottheil, Richard and M. Seligsohn. "Edom, Idumea." Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906; which cites: >ul>
• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.