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Easton's Bible Dictionary
The name of Esau (q.v.), Genesis
25:30 , "Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [Heb. haadom, haadom,
i.e., 'the red pottage, the red pottage'] ...Therefore was his name called Edom",
i.e., Red.
Idumea ( Isaiah
34:5 , 34:6
; Ezekiel
35:15 ). "The field of Edom" ( Genesis
32:3 ), "the land of Edom" ( Genesis
36:16 ), was mountainous ( Obadiah
1:8 , 1:9
, 1:19
, 1:21
). It was called the land, or "the mountain of Seir," the rough hills on the east
side of the Arabah. It extended from the head of the Gulf of Akabah, the Elanitic
gulf, to the foot of the Dead Sea ( 1
Kings 9:26 ), and contained, among other cities, the rock-hewn Sela (q.v.),
generally known by the Greek name Petra ( 2
Kings 14:7 ). It is a wild and rugged region, traversed by fruitful valleys.
Its old capital was Bozrah ( Isaiah
63:1 ). The early inhabitants of the land were Horites. They were destroyed
by the Edomites ( Deuteronomy
2:12 ), between whom and the kings of Israel and Judah there was frequent
war ( 2
Kings 8:20 ; 2
Chronicles 28:17 ).
At the time of the Exodus they churlishly refused permission to the Israelites
to pass through their land ( Numbers
20:14 - 21
), and ever afterwards maintained an attitude of hostility toward them. They were
conquered by David ( 2
Samuel 8:14 ; Compare 1
Kings 9:26 ), and afterwards by Amaziah ( 2
Chronicles 25:11 , 25:12
). But they regained again their independence, and in later years, during the
decline of the Jewish kingdom ( 2
Kings 16:6 ; RSV marg., "Edomites"), made war against Israel. They took part
with the Chaldeans when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, and afterwards they
invaded and held possession of the south of Palestine as far as Hebron. At length,
however, Edom fell under the growing Chaldean power ( Jeremiah
27:3 , 27:6
).
There are many prophecies concerning Edom ( Isaiah
34:5 , 34:6
; Jeremiah
49:7 - 18
; Ezekiel
25:13 ; 35:1
- 15
; Joel
3:19 ; Amos
1:11 ; Obadiah
; Malachi
1:3 , 1:4
) which have been remarkably fulfilled. The present desolate condition of that
land is a standing testimony to the inspiration of these prophecies. After an
existence as a people for above seventeen hundred years, they have utterly disappeared,
and their language even is forgotten for ever. In Petra, "where kings kept their
court, and where nobles assembled, there no man dwells; it is given by lot to
birds, and beasts, and reptiles."
The Edomites were Semites, closely related in blood and in language to the Israelites.
They dispossessed the Horites of Mount Seir; though it is clear, from Genesis
36 , that they afterwards intermarried with the conquered population. Edomite
tribes settled also in the south of Judah, like the Kenizzites ( Genesis
36:11 ), to whom Caleb and Othniel belonged ( Joshua
15:17 ). The southern part of Edom was known as Teman.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
red
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Edom, Idumaea or Idumea (red). The name Edom was given
to Esau, the first-born son of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob, when he sold his
birthright to the latter for a meal of lentil pottage. The country which the Lord
subsequently gave to Esau was hence called "the country of Edom," ( Genesis 32:3
) and his descendants were called Edomites. Edom was called Mount Seir and Idumea
also. Edom was wholly a mountainous country. It embraced the narrow mountainous
tract (about 100 miles long by 20 broad) extending along the eastern side of the
Arabah from the northern end of the Gulf of Elath to near the southern end of
the Dead Sea. The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah (Buseireh ). Sela (Petra)
appears to have been the principal stronghold in the days of Amaziah (B.C. 838).
( 2 Kings 14:7 ) Elath and Ezion-geber were the seaports. ( 2 Samuel 8:14 ; 1
Kings 9:26 )
History. --
Esau's bitter hatred to his brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining his blessing
appears to have been inherited by his latest posterity. The Edomites peremptorily
refused to permit the Israelites to pass through their land. ( Numbers 20:18 -
21 ) For a period of 400 years we hear no more of the Edomites. They were then
attacked and defeated by Saul, ( 1 Samuel 14:47 ) and some forty years later by
David. ( 2 Samuel 8:13 , 8:14 ) In the reign of Jehoshaphat (B.c. 914) the Edomites
attempted to invade Israel, but failed. ( 2 Chronicles 20:22 ) They joined Nebuchadnezzar
when that king besieged Jerusalem. For their cruelty at this time they were fearfully
denounced by the later prophets. ( Isaiah 34:5 - 8 ; 63:1 - 4 ; Jeremiah 49:17
) After this they settled in southern Palestine, and for more than four centuries
continued to prosper. But during the warlike rule of the Maccabees they were again
completely subdued, and even forced to conform to Jewish laws and rites, and submit
to the government of Jewish prefects. The Edomites were now incorporated with
the Jewish nation. They were idolaters. ( 2 Chronicles 25:14 , 25:15 , 25:20 )
Their habits were singular. The Horites, their predecessors in Mount Seir, were,
as their name implies, troglodytes , or dwellers in caves; and the Edomites seem
to have adopted their dwellings as well as their country. Everywhere we meet with
caves and grottos hewn in the soft sandstone strata.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
e'-dum, e'-dum-its 'edhom, "red"; Edom:
1. Boundaries:
The boundaries of Edom may be traced with some approach to accuracy. On the East
of the 'Arabah the northern border ran from the Dead Sea, and was marked by Wady
el-Kurachi, or Wady el-Chasa. On the East it marched with the desert. The southern
border ran by Elath and Ezion-geber (Deuteronomy 2:8). On the West of the 'Arabah
the north boundary of Edom is determined by the south border of Israel, as indicated
in Numbers 34:3 f: a line running from the Salt Sea southward of the Ascent of
Akrabbim to Zin and Kadesh-barnea. This last, we are told, lay in the "uttermost"
of the border of Edom (Numbers 20:16). The line may be generally indicated by
the course of Wady el-Fiqrah. How much of the uplands West of the 'Arabah southward
to the Gulf of 'Aqaba was included in Edom it is impossible to say.
2. Character and Features:
The land thus indicated varies greatly in character and features. South of the
Dead Sea in the bottom of the valley we have first the stretch of salt marsh land
called es-Sebkha; then, beyond the line of white cliffs that crosses the valley
diagonally from Northwest to Southeast, a broad depression strewn with stones
and sandhills, the debris of an old sea bottom, rises gradually, and 60 miles
to the South reaches a height of about 700 ft. above the level of the Red Sea,
2,000 ft. above that of the Dead Sea. From this point it sinks until it reaches
the shore of the Gulf of 'Aqaba, 45 miles farther South. The whole depression
is known today as Wady el-'Arabah (compare Hebrew ha-'arabhah, Deuteronomy 2:8
the Revised Version (British and American), etc.). On either side the mountains
rise steeply from the valley, their edges carved into many fantastic shapes by
the deep wadys that break down from the interior (see ARABAH).
The northern part of the plateau on the West forms the spacious grazing ground
of the 'Azdzimeh Arabs. The mountains rise to a height of from about 1,500 ft.
to a little over 2,000 ft. This district was traversed by the ancient caravan
road to South Palestine; and along the eastern side traces of the former civilization
are still to be seen. The desert region to the South is higher, reaching to as
much as 2,600 ft. The mountain range East of the 'Arabah is generally higher in
the South than in the North. Jebel Harun beside Petra, is 4,780 ft. above sea-level;
while East of 'Aqaba, Jebel el-Chisma may be as much as 5,900 ft. in height.
Limestone, porphyry and Nubian sandstone are the prevailing formation; but volcanic
rocks are also found. The range consists mainly of rough rocky heights with many
almost inaccessible peaks separated by deep gorges. But there are also breadths
of fertile land where wheat, grapes, figs, pomegranates and olives are grown to
advantage. The northern district is known today by the name el-Jebal, corresponding
to the ancient Gebal. Seir is the name applied to the eastern range in Genesis
36:8 ; Deuteronomy 2:1 , 5 ; 2 Chronicles 20:23. It is also called Edom, and the
Mount of Esau (Obadiah 1:8). Seir, however, is used for the western highlands
in Deuteronomy 33:2. This seems to be its meaning also in Judges 5:4, where it
appears as the equivalent of "the field of Edom." With this same phrase, however,
in Genesis 32:3 it may more fitly apply to the eastern range.
3. Origin of Name:
The name Edom, "red," may have been derived from the red sandstone cliffs characteristic
of the country. It was applied to Esau because of the color of his skin (Genesis
25:25), or from the color of the pottage for which he sold his birthright (Genesis
25:30). In Genesis 36:8 Esau is equated with Edom as dwelling in Mt. Seir; and
he is described as the father of Edom (36:9, Hebrew). The name however is probably
much older. It may be traced in the records of the Twelfth Dynasty in Egypt. In
the Tell el-Amarna Letters (Brit Mus No. 64) Udumu, or Edom, is named; and in
Assyrian inscriptions the name Udumu occurs of a city and of a country. The latter
may have been named from the former: this again may have been derived from a deity,
Edom, who may be traced in such a name as Obed-edom (2 Samuel 6:10).
4. History:
The children of Esau are said to have "destroyed" the Horites who dwelt in Seir
before them (Genesis 14:6 ; Deuteronomy 2:22). This only means that the Horites
were subdued. Esau married the daughter of Anah, a Horite (Genesis 36:20 --in
verse 2 he is called a Hivite); and the lists in this chapter show that the races
intermingled. The Horite government was in the hands of "dukes" (Genesis 36:29,
the Revised Version (British and American) "chiefs"). They were succeeded by dukes
of the house of Esau (Genesis 36:40). This form of government gave way to that
of an elective monarchy (Genesis 36:31); and this had existed some time before
Israel left the wilderness. The then reigning king would not permit Israel to
pass through the land (Numbers 20:14 ; 21:4). Israel was forbidden to "abhor an
Edomite," on the ground that he was a brother; and children of the third generation
might enter the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:7). War with Edom was out
of the question.
Some thirty years after the Exodus, Ramses III "smote the people of Seir." The
Israelites could not have been far off. We first hear of war between Israel and
Edom under Saul (1 Samuel 14:47). David prosecuted the war with terrific energy,
slaying 18,000 Edomites (so read instead of "Syrians") in the Valley of Salt (2
Samuel 8:13) ; Joab remaining for six months in the country, which was garrisoned
by Israelites, "until he had cut off every male in Edom" (1 Kings 11:15). Hadad
of the blood royal of Edom escaped to Egypt, and later became a source of trouble
to Solomon (1 Kings 11:14 , 25). The conquest of Edom opened to Israel the ports
of the Red Sea, whence the expeditions of Solomon and Jehoshaphat set out. In
Jehoshaphat's time the king is called a "deputy" (1 Kings 22:47). Its king acknowledged
the supremacy of Judah (2 Kings 3:9, etc.). Under Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat,
Edom revolted. Jehoram defeated them at Zair, but was unable to quell the rebellion
(2 Kings 8:20). Amaziah invaded the country, slew 10,000 in the Valley of Salt,
and took Sela which he named Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7). Uzziah restored the Edomite
port of Elath (2 Kings 14:22). In the Syrian war Rezin regained Elath for Syria,
and cast out the Jews. It was then permanently occupied by Syrians--here also
probably we should read Edomites (2 Kings 16:6). From the cuneiform inscriptions
we learn that when Tiglath-pileser subdued Rezin, among the kings from whom he
received homage at Damascus was Qaus-malaka of Edom (736 BC). Later Malik-ram
paid homage to Sennacherib. To Ezarhaddon also they were compelled to render service.
They gave what help they could to Nebuchadnezzar, and exulted in the destruction
of Jerusalem, stirring the bitterest indignation in the hearts of the Jews (Lamentations
4:21; Ezekiel 25:12 ; 35:3 ; Obadiah 1:10). The Edomites pressed into the now
empty lands in the South of Judah. In 300 BC Mt. Seir with its capital Petra fell
into the hands of the Nabateans.
5. Idumaea and the Idumeans:
West of the 'Arabah the country they occupied came to be known by the Greek name
Idumaea, and the people as Idumeans. Hebron, their chief city, was taken by Judas
Maccabeus in 165 BC (1 Macc 4:29,61; 5:65). In 126 BC the country was subdued
by John Hyrcanus, who compelled the people to become Jews and to submit to circumcision.
Antipater, governor of Idumaea, was made procurator of Judea, Samaria and Galilee
by Julius Caesar. He paved the way to the throne for his son Herod the Great.
With the fall of Judah under the Romans, Idumaea disappears from history.
The names of several Edomite deities are known: Hadad, Qaus, Koze, and, possibly,
Edom; but of the religion of Edom we are without information. The language differed
little from Hebrew.
W. Ewing
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, edom, edomite, esau, idumea, mount seir
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