Edom

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Location and Dates

Edom was located in the arid region south of the Dead Sea, on the Aravah Valley. Later, its territory shifted west, reaching as far as the Mediterranean coast, with its eastern border in the Negev.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Location

The kingdom was almost 100 miles long, but only about 20 miles wide

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Location

Bozrah; other important settlements include Petra, Teman, and Dedan.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Dating

The 14th century BC Amarna Letters in Egypt contain the earliest extrabiblical mention of Edom, citing a group from “Seir-Edom.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary History and Biblical Relevance

Nearly everything known about Edom comes from the biblical text, which mentions the nation almost 100 times.

Gen. 25.21.

Genesis 25:21–23 (ESV)

21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 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.”

The Blessing and beginning of Edom Gen. 27.39-40 Gen 36.7

Genesis 27:39–40 ESV

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

Genesis 36:7 ESV

7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock.

Esau Leaves Jacob around 1900 BC

Edom shows up at the Exodus 15.15 Deut. 2.3-5 Ex 20.1—21

Exodus 15:15 ESV

15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

Deuteronomy 2:3–5 ESV

3 ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward 4 and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5 Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

Exodus 20:1–21 ESV

1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” 18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

Edom vs the Kings of Israel

Saul 1 Sam 14.47

1 Samuel 14:47 ESV

47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.

2. David face them at the valley of Salt 2 Sam. 8.13 1Chr 18.12 Psalm 60.1

2 Samuel 8:13 ESV

13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

1 Chronicles 18:12 (ESV)

12 And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Psalm 60:1 ESV

1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.

Joab killed evey male in Edom 1 Kings 11.15 “15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom”

3. Solomon was harassed by Hadad 1Kings 11.1-22 -

4. Jehosaphat made the king of edom help him against Moab 1 KIngs 3.

5. Jehoram Edom revolted and gains independence 2 Kings 8.22.

6. Amaziah Squelched the revolt and made them take a cliff dive. 2 Chron. 25.11-15 796-767

2 Chronicles 25:11–15 ESV

11 But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 men of Seir. 12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces. 13 But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil. 14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. 15 Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?”

7. Uzziah pushed them south to Eilat 792-740 2 Chr 26.1-2.

8. Ahaz lots Eilat and then lost Captives from judah 2 Chr 28.17.

Edom and the Babylonian siege of Judah 687/6 bc Ob 10-11. Ezek 35.5. Amos 1.11-12.

Obadiah 10–11 ESV

10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 11 On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

Ezekiel 35:1–5 ESV

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. 4 I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 5 Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment,

Amos 1:11–12 ESV

11 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. 12 So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.”

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Decline and Fall of Edom and the Rise and Fall of Idumea

During the sixth century, Arabian tribes infiltrated Edom and forced the Edomites to migrate west. During the Persian period, Edom became a province of Persia; its administrative center was far west of Edom’s traditional territory in Lachish. Little is known about Edom during this period.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Decline and Fall of Edom and the Rise and Fall of Idumea

When Alexander the Great conquered the Levant, the name “Edom” was Hellenized to “Idumea”

Judas Maccabeus Captured Hebron in 164 BC

125 bc, John Hyrcanus captured most of Idumea, forced them to convert to Judaism, and submit to circumcision

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Decline and Fall of Edom and the Rise and Fall of Idumea

When Judaea became a client kingdom of Rome, Rome installed an Idumean—Antipater—as procurator of the new province. His son, Herod, inherited the kingdom upon Antipater’s death and instituted a grand building program, for which he gained the moniker “Great.”

Idumea Mark 3.7-8. in the Bible.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Decline and Fall of Edom and the Rise and Fall of Idumea

During the First Jewish Revolt of AD 66–70, Idumea joined the side of the Jewish Zealots against Rome. After Rome crushed the revolt, Edom as a people fades from history.