Edom

"Edomite" redirects here. For the language, see Edomite language. For the pottery, see Edomite pottery. For other uses, see Edom (disambiguation).

Edom (/ˈiːdəm/;^[2][3] Edomite: 𐤀𐤃𐤌 ʾDM; Hebrew: אֱדוֹם ʾĔḏōm, lit.: "red"; Akkadian: 𒌑𒁺𒈪 Údumi, 𒌑𒁺𒈬 Údumu;^[4] Ancient Egyptian: jdwmꜥ)^[5] was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.^[6] Most of its former territory is now divided between present-day southern Jordan and Israel. Edom appears in written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the Iron Age in the Levant.

Kingdom of Edom 𐤀𐤃𐤌
c. 13th century BC–c. 553 BC^[1]
A theoretical map of the region around 830 BC (Edom shown in yellow)
Status	Monarchy
Capital	Bozrah
Common languages	Edomite
Religion	Canaanite religion
History
• Established	c. 13th century BC
• Conquered by the Babylonian king Nabonidus	c. 553 BC^[1]
Today part of	Jordan Israel

Edomites are related in several ancient sources including the list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I from c. 1215 BC as well as in the chronicle of a campaign by Ramesses III (r. 1186–1155 BC), and the Tanakh.^[6] Archaeological investigation has shown that the nation flourished between the 13th and the 8th centuries BC and was destroyed after a period of decline in the 6th century BC by the Babylonians.^[6] After the fall of the kingdom of Edom, the Edomites were pushed westward towards southern Judah by nomadic tribes coming from the east; among them were the Arab Nabataeans, who first appeared in the historical annals of the 4th century BC and had already established their own kingdom in what used to be Edom by the first half of the 2nd century BC.^[6] More recent excavations show that the process of Edomite settlement in the southern parts of the Kingdom of Judah and parts of the Negev down to Timna had started already before the destruction of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar II in 587/86 BC, both by peaceful penetration and by military means and taking advantage of the already-weakened state of Judah.^[7][8]

Once pushed out of their territory, the Edomites settled during the Persian period in an area comprising the southern hills of Judea down to the area north of Be'er Sheva.^[9][10] The people appear under a Greek form of their old name, as Idumeans or Idumaeans, and their new territory was called Idumea or Idumaea (Greek: Ἰδουμαία, Idoumaía; Latin: Idūmaea), a term that was used in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, also mentioned in the New Testament.^[11][12] During the 2nd century BC, the Edomites were forcibly converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans, and were incorporated into the Jewish population.^[13] Other scholars believe that the assimilation was voluntary. ^[14]

Edom and Idumea are two related but distinct terms; they relate to a historically-contiguous population but to two separate, if adjacent, territories which the Edomites/Idumeans occupied in different periods of their history. The Edomites first established a kingdom ("Edom") in the southern area of modern-day Jordan and later migrated into the southern parts of the Kingdom of Judah ("Idumea", modern-day Mount Hebron)^{[dubious ]} when Judah was first weakened and then destroyed by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC.^[15][16]

Name

The Hebrew word Edom means "red", and the Hebrew Bible relates it to the name of its founder, Esau, the elder son of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, because he was born "red all over".^[17] As a young adult, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a portion of "red pottage".^[18] The Tanakh describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau.^[19]

History

Further information: History of Israel, History of Jordan, and History of Palestine

Edom

jdwmꜥ Edom^[5] in hieroglyphs
Era: New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC)

The Edomites may have been connected with the Shasu and Shutu, nomadic raiders mentioned in Egyptian sources. Indeed, a letter from an Egyptian scribe at a border fortress in the Wadi Tumilat during the reign of Merneptah reports movement of nomadic "shasu-tribes of Edom" to watering holes in Egyptian territory.^[20] The earliest Iron Age settlements—possibly copper mining camps—date to the 11th century BC.^[21] Settlement intensified by the late 8th century BC and the main sites so far excavated have been dated between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The last unambiguous reference to Edom is an Assyrian inscription of 667 BC. Edom ceased to exist as a state when it became conquered by Nabonidus in the 6th century BC.^[22]

Edom is mentioned in Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions in the form 𒌑𒁺𒈪 Údumi and 𒌑𒁺𒈬 Údumu;^[4] three of its kings are known from the same source: Kaus-malaka at the time of Tiglath-pileser III (c. 745 BC), Aya-ramu at the time of Sennacherib (c. 705 BC), and Kaus-gabri at the time of Esarhaddon (c. 680 BC). According to the Egyptian inscriptions, the "Aduma" at times extended their possessions to the borders of Egypt.^[23]

The existence of the Kingdom of Edom was asserted by archaeologists led by Ezra Ben-Yosef and Tom Levy, by using a methodology called the punctuated equilibrium model in 2019. Archaeologists mainly took copper samples from Timna Valley and Faynan in Jordan’s Arava valley dated to 1300-800 BC. According to the results of the analysis, the researchers thought that Pharaoh Shoshenk I of Egypt (the Biblical "Shishak"), who attacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BC, encouraged the trade and production of copper instead of destroying the region. Tel Aviv University professor Ben Yosef stated "Our new findings contradict the view of many archaeologists that the Arava was populated by a loose alliance of tribes, and they’re consistent with the biblical story that there was an Edomite kingdom here."^[24][25][26]

Idumaea

After the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians, Edomites settled in the region of Hebron. They prospered in this new country, called by the Greeks and Romans "Idumaea" or "Idumea", for more than four centuries.^[27] Strabo, writing around the time of Jesus, held that the Idumaeans, whom he identified as of Nabataean origin, constituted the majority of the population of Western Judea, where they commingled with the Judaeans and adopted their customs.^[28] A view not necessarily shared by modern scholarly works.^{[29][30][31][32]}

Hebrew Bible

 

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

The Edomites' original country, according to the Hebrew Bible, stretched from the Sinai peninsula as far as Kadesh Barnea. It reached as far south as Eilat, which was the seaport of Edom.^[33] On the north of Edom was the territory of Moab.^[34] The boundary between Moab and Edom was the brook of Zered.^[35] The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah.^[36] According to Genesis, Esau's descendants settled in the land after they had displaced the Horites.^[37] 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. According to biblical narrative, at the time of Amaziah (838 BC), Selah was its principal stronghold,^[38] Eilat and Ezion-geber its seaports.^[39]

 

Busaira (Bozra) archaeological site in modern-day Jordan, what used to be the capital of Edom

Genesis 36:31-43 lists the kings of Edom "before any Israelite king reigned":

These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before a king ruled the children of Israel. And Bela ben Beor ruled in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, and Jobab ben Zerah from Bozrah ruled in his place. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani ruled in his place. And Husham died, and Hadad ben Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab, ruled in his place, and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah ruled in his place. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth on the river ruled in his place. And Saul died, and Baal-hanan ben Achbor ruled in his place. And Baal-hanan ben Achbor died, and Hadar ruled in his place, and the name of his city was Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel bat Matred bat Mezahab. And these are the names of the clans of Esau by their families, by their places, by their names: clan Timnah, clan Alvah, clan Jetheth, clan Aholibamah, clan Elah, clan Pinon, clan Kenaz, clan Teman, clan Mibzar, clan Magdiel, clan Iram.^[40]

The Hebrew word translated as leader of a clan is aluf, used solely to describe the Dukes of Edom and Moab, in the first five books of Moses. However beginning in the books of the later prophets the word is used to describe Judean generals, for example, in the prophecies of Zachariah twice (9:7, 12:5–6) it had evolved to describe Jewish captains, the word also is used multiple times as a general term for teacher or guide for example in Psalm 55:13.^[41] Aluph as it is used to denote teach or guide from the Edomite word for Duke is used 69 times in the Tanakh.

If the account may be taken at face value, the kingship of Edom was, at least in early times, not hereditary,^[42] perhaps elective.^[43] The first book of Chronicles mentions both a king and chieftains.^[44] Moses and the Israelite people twice appealed to their common ancestry and asked the king of Edom for passage through his land, along the "King's Highway", on their way to Canaan, but the king refused permission.^[45] Accordingly, they detoured around the country because of his show of force^[46] or because God ordered them to do so rather than wage war (Deuteronomy 2:4–6). 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 11th century BC (1 Samuel 14:47). Forty years later King David and his general Joab defeated the Edomites in the "Valley of Salt" (probably near the Dead Sea; 2 Samuel 8:13–14; 1 Kings 9:15–16). 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 (Aramea).^[47] From that time Edom remained a vassal of Israel. David placed over the Edomites Israelite governors or prefects,^[48] 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. 870 – 849 BC) the Tanakh mentions a king of Edom,^[49] who was probably an Israelite deputy 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 (2 Chronicles 20:10–23). Edom revolted against Jehoram and elected a king of its own (2 Kings 8:20–22; 2 Chronicles 21:8). Amaziah attacked and defeated the Edomites, seizing Selah, but the Israelites never subdued Edom completely (2 Kings 14:7; 2 Chronicles 25:11–12).

In the time of Nebuchadnezzar II the Edomites may have helped plunder Jerusalem and slaughter the Judaeans in 587 or 586 BCE (Psalms 137:7; Obadiah 1:11–14). Some believe that it is for this reason the prophets denounced Edom (Isaiah 34:5–8; Jeremiah 49:7–22; Obadiah passim). Evidence also suggests that at that time Edom may have engaged in a treaty betrayal of Judah.^[50] The people of Edom would be dealt with during the Messiah's rulership, according to the prophets.^[51] Despite this, many Edomites peacefully migrated to southern Judea, which continued even during the reign of Nabonidus.^[52]Regarding the territory of Edom, the book of Jeremiah states that "no one will live there, nor will anyone of mankind reside in it".^[53]

Although the Idumaeans controlled the lands to the east and south of the Dead Sea, their peoples were held in contempt by the Israelites. Hence the Book of Psalms says "Moab is my washpot: over Edom will I cast out my shoe".^[54] According to the Torah,^[55] 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 Tannaim, who said female descendants were also excluded^[56] for four generations. From these, some early conversion laws in halacha were derived.

Classical Idumaea

Persian period

Former Edom

Compared to the neighboring Moabites and Ammonites, the name "Edom" completely disappeared from the area east of Arabah. The Qedarites controlled the territory, followed by the Nabateans, thus ensuring the end of Iron Age Edom.^[52]

"Idumaea" in southern Judah

According to ostraca from sites in Idumaea, i.e. southern Judah after the fall of the kingdom to the Babylonians, dating mainly to the 4th century BCE, a diverse population of Arabs, Edomites as well as Judahites and Phoenicians inhabited the area during the late Persian period.^[57]

Cultural continuity

Strabo identifies Idumeans with the Nabateans who were expelled to southern Judea after committing sedition. However, there is evidence for cultural continuity between the Iron Age Edom and Idumea, based on settlement patterns and religious practices^{[clarification needed]}.^[52]

Maccabean revolt

During the revolt of the Maccabees against the Seleucid kingdom (early 2nd century BC), II Maccabees refers to a Seleucid general named Gorgias as "Governor of Idumaea"; whether he was a Greek or a Hellenized Idumean is unknown. Some scholars maintain that the reference to Idumaea in that passage is an error altogether.^{[citation needed]} Judas Maccabeus conquered their territory for a time around 163 BC.^[58]

Conversion to Judaism

Around 110 BCE, Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus I conquered Idumaea. According to several ancient sources, including Josephus and Ptolemy, he forcibly converted them to Judaism,^[59] and incorporated them into the Jewish nation:^[60][43]

Hyrcanus also captured the Idumean cities of Adora and Marisa and after subduing all the Idumeans, permitted them to remain in their country as long as they had themselves circumcised and were willing to observe the laws of the Jews. And so, out of attachment to the land of their fathers, they submitted to circumcision and to make their manner of life conform in all other respects to that of the Jews. And from that time onward they have continued to be Jews.^[61]

Some scholars dispute the claim of forced conversions and believe that the Idumeans voluntarily assimilated into Judean society. Forced conversions were rare in Near Eastern and Hellenistic societies, with some Idumeans retaining their native identity. Others contributed to religious innovations that were adopted in Pharisaical Judaism. In addition, it explains why Idumean territory was absorbed in Judea over one generation, compared to other non-Judean territories (e.g. Samaritan territories), which remained detached. Reasons for the rapid assimilation include their cultural affinity with Judaism, opposition to Hellenism and aniconic tendencies.^[52]

Herodian dynasty

Antipater the Idumaean, the progenitor of the Herodian Dynasty along with Judean progenitors, that ruled Judea after the Roman conquest, was of Idumean origin.^[62] Under Herod the Great, the Idumaea province was ruled for him by a series of governors, among whom were his brother Joseph ben Antipater, and his brother-in-law Costobarus.

Overall, Herodian influence on Judea, Jerusalem and the Temple was significant. However, this was obsfucated by later variants of Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism .^[63] For example, a minority of contemporary Jews argued Herod cannot be Jewish because of his genealogical origins. These beliefs were promoted by works such as Jubilees and 4QMMT, which were of Essene, Hasidean or Sadducee origin.^[64][65] These Jews did not openly express their views because Herod violently suppressed critics. ^[66]

Evie Gassner believed the Sages disparaged Herod because he supported the Sadducees, who opposed the Pharisees.^[67]

Borders

Josephus, when referring to Upper Idumaea, speaks of towns and villages immediately to the south and south-west of Jerusalem,^[68] such as Hebron (Antiq. 12.8.6,Wars 4.9.7), Halhul, in Greek called Alurus (Wars 4.9.6), Bethsura (Antiq. 12.9.4), Begabris (Wars 4.8.1.),^[69] Dura (Adorayim) (Antiq. 13.9.1, Wars 1.2.5), Caphethra (Wars 4.9.9), Bethletephon (Wars 4.8.1), Tekoa (Wars 4.9.5), and Marissa (Antiq. 13.9.1, Wars 1.2.5), the latter being a principal city of Idumaea after the influx of Idumaeans into the Mount Hebron region, shortly after the demise of the kingdom of Judah and the Judean exile in the 6th-century BC.^[15]

Strabo describes western Judea as being populated by Idumeans, who commingled with Judeans and adopted their customs.^[70]

Archaeological records gleaned from Maresha, though largely of Idumaean origin, attest to the region being under the influences of Greek culture, as well as that of Nabatean/Arab, Phoenician, Palmyrene and Jewish culture.^[71]

The Gospel of Mark states that the Idumeans joined Judeans, Jerusalemites, Tyrians, Sidonians and east Jordanians in meeting Jesus by the Sea of Galilee.^[72] The Mishnah refers to Rabbi Ishmael's dwelling place in Kfar Aziz as being "near to Edom."^[73]

First Jewish–Roman War

By 66 CE, during the First Jewish–Roman War, the Zealot leader Simon bar Giora attacked the Jewish converts of Upper Idumaea, and brought near complete destruction to the surrounding villages and countryside in that region.^[74] It was part of his wider plan to attack Jerusalem and seize authority for himself.^[75]

According to Josephus, during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE by Titus, 20,000 Idumaeans, under the leadership of John, Simon, Phinehas, and Jacob, joined the Zealots as they besieged the Temple.^[76] Idumean zealotry arguably reflected their attempts to 'prove' their Jewishness.^[66]

After the Jewish–Roman wars, the Idumaean people disappear from written history, though the geographical region of "Idumea" is still referred to at the time of Jerome.^[43]

Religion

Further information: Canaanite religion

 

Edomite goddess figure in the Israel Museum

The nature of Edomite religion is largely unknown before their conversion to Judaism by the Hasmoneans. Epigraphical evidence suggests that the national god of Edom was Qaus (קוס) (also known as 'Qaush', 'Kaush', 'Kaus', 'Kos' or 'Qaws'), since Qaus is invoked in the blessing formula in letters and appear in personal names found in ancient Edom.^[77] As close relatives of other Levantine Semites and Arabs, they seem to have worshiped such gods as El, Baal and 'Uzza.^[13][78] In some Jewish tradition stemming from the Talmud, the descendants of Esau are the Romans (and to a larger extent, all Europeans).^[79][80][81]

Juan Manuel Tebes argues that Quas is a similar god to Yahweh. Quas seems to have descended from a cultural heritage common between Edomites and Jews, with the worship of both the Edomite Quas and the God of the Israelites being described by Egyptians. Quas's popularity during the Persian and Hellenistic periods appears, according to Tebes, to have forced the purportedly pro-Yahwist authors of the Book of Chronicles to portray several Edomite persons as 'pious Levites'. Clues about their Edomite heritage appear to be hidden in their theophoric names.^[82]

Josephus states that Costobarus, appointed by Herod to be governor of Idumea and Gaza, was descended from the priests of "the Koze, whom the Idumeans had formerly served as a god".^[83]

Victor Sasson describes an Edomite text that paralles the Book of Job, which provides insight on the language, literature, and religion of Edom.^[84]

Economy

The Kingdom of Edom drew much of its livelihood from the caravan trade between Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and southern Arabia, along the Incense Route. Astride the King's Highway, the Edomites were one of several states in the region for whom trade was vital due to the scarcity of arable land. It is also said that sea routes traded as far away as India, with ships leaving from the port of Ezion-Geber. Edom's location on the southern highlands left it with only a small strip of land that received sufficient rain for farming.^{[citation needed]} Edom probably exported salt and balsam (used for perfume and temple incense in the ancient world) from the Dead Sea region.^{[citation needed]}

Khirbat en-Nahas is a large-scale copper-mining site excavated by archaeologist Thomas Levy in what is now southern Jordan. The scale of tenth-century mining on the site is regarded as evidence of a strong, centralized 10th century BC Edomite kingdom.^[85]

See also

• Edomite language
• Habiru
• Herodian Dynasty
• List of rulers of Edom

References

1. Levin, Yigal (2015). "The Formation of Idumean Identity". Aram. 27. London: 187–202.
2. "Edom". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
3. churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from «ē´dum»
4. Parpola, Simo (1970). Neo-Assyrian Toponyms. Kevaeler: Butzon & Bercker. pp. 364–365.
5. Gauthier, Henri (1925). Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques. Vol. 1. p. 126.
6. Negev & Gibson (ed.), 2001, Edom; Edomites, pp. 149–150
7. Prof. Itzhaq Beit-Arieh (December 1996). "Edomites Advance into Judah". Biblical Archaeology Review. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
8. Jan Gunneweg; Th. Beier; U. Diehl; D. Lambrecht; H. Mommsen (August 1991). "'Edomite', 'Negbite'and 'Midianite' pottery from the Negev desert and Jordan: instrumental neutron activation analysis results". Archaeometry. 33 (2). Oxford, UK: Oxford University: 239–253. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.1991.tb00701.x. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
9. Negev & Gibson (ed.), 2001, Idumea, pp. 239–240
10. Ben-Yosef (1979), p. 25
11. Charles Léon Souvay, ed. (1910). "Idumea". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
12. "Edom". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
13. Levin, Yigal (2020-09-24). "The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism". Religions. 11 (10): 487. doi:10.3390/rel11100487. ISSN 2077-1444.
14. Levin, Yigal (2020-09-24). "The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism". Religions. 11 (10): 487. doi:10.3390/rel11100487. ISSN 2077-1444.
15. Lepinski, Nadav (n.d.). "Tell Maresha". In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.). Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. p. 325. OCLC 745203905.
16. Eph'al, Israel (1998). "Changes in Palestine during the Persian Period in Light of Epigraphic Sources". Israel Exploration Journal. 48 (1/2): 115. JSTOR 27926503.
17. Genesis 25:25
18. Genesis 25:29–34
19. Genesis 36:9: This is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites
20. Redford, Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton Univ. Press, 1992. p.228, 318.
21. Crowell 2021, p. 47.
22. Tebes 2022, p. 651.
23. Müller, Asien und Europa, p. 135.
24. "Israeli researchers identify biblical kingdom of Edom - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
25. Amanda Borschel-Dan. "Bible-era nomadic Edomite tribesmen were actually hi-tech copper mavens". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
26. Levy, Thomas E.; Najjar, Mohammad; Tirosh, Ofir; Yagel, Omri A.; Liss, Brady; Ben-Yosef, Erez (2019-09-18). "Ancient technology and punctuated change: Detecting the emergence of the Edomite Kingdom in the Southern Levant". PLOS ONE. 14 (9): e0221967. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1421967B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221967. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6750566. PMID 31532811.
27. Ptolemy, "Geography," v. 16
28. Strabo, Geography Bk.16.2.34
29. "Herod | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
30. Retso, Jan (2013-07-04). The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. Routledge. ISBN 9781136872891.
31. Chancey, Mark A. (2002-05-23). The Myth of a Gentile Galilee. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139434652.
32. Shahid, Irfan; Shahîd, Irfan (1984). Rome and the Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs. Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 9780884021155.
33. Deuteronomy 1:2; Deuteronomy 2:1–8
34. Judges 11:17–18; 2 Kings 3:8–9
35. Deuteronomy 2:13–18
36. Genesis 36:33; Isaiah 34:6, Isaiah 63:1, et al.
37. Tobi, Yosef Yuval [in Hebrew] (2019). "The Bible as History: Sa'adia Gaon, Yefet ben 'Eli, Samuel ben Ḥofni, and Maimonides on the Genealogy of Esau and the Kingdom of Edom (Genesis 36)". In Polliack, Meira; Brenner-Idan, Athalya (eds.). Jewish Biblical Exegesis from Islamic Lands (PDF). Society of Biblical Literature (SBL Press). pp. 101–120. doi:10.2307/j.ctvrs8z1w. S2CID 243304416.
38. 2 Kings 14:7
39. 1 Kings 9:26
40. Genesis 36:31–43
41. אַלּוּף
42. Gordon, Bruce R. . Regnal Chronologies. Archived from the original on 2006-04-29. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
43. Richard Gottheil, Max Seligsohn (1901-06-19). . The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Funk and Wagnalls. pp. 40–41. LCCN 16014703. Archived from the original on 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2005-07-25.
44. 1 Chronicles 1:43–54
45. Numbers 20:14–20, King James Version 1611
46. Numbers 20:21
47. 2 Samuel 9:14–22; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities viii. 7, S 6
48. 2 Samuel 8:14
49. 2 Kings 3:9–26
50. Dykehouse, Jason (2013). "Biblical Evidence from Obadiah and Psalm 137 for an Edomite Treaty Betrayal of Judah in the Sixth Century B.C.E." Antiguo Oriente. 11: 75–122.
51. "Bible Gateway passage: Numbers 24:14, Numbers 24:17-18, Isaiah 11:14, Amos 9:11-12 - New American Standard Bible". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
52. Levin, Yigal (2020-09-24). "The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism". Religions. 11 (10): 487. doi:10.3390/rel11100487. ISSN 2077-1444.
53. "Bible Gateway passage: Jeremiah 49:17-18 - New American Standard Bible". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
54. Psalms 60:8 and Psalms 108:9
55. Deuteronomy 23:8–9
56. Yevamot 76b
57. Kloner, Amos; Stern, Ian (2007). "Idumea in the Late Persian Period (Fourth Century B.C.E.)". In Lipschits, Oded; Knoppers, Gary N.; Albertz, Rainer (eds.). Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E. Penn State University Press. pp. 139–143. ISBN 9781575065809.
58. Josephus, "Ant." xii. 8, §§ 1, 6
59. ib. xiii. 9, § 1; xiv. 4, § 4
60. Weitzman, Steven (1999). "Forced Circumcision and the Shifting Role of Gentiles in Hasmonean Ideology". The Harvard Theological Review. 92 (1): 37–59. doi:10.1017/S0017816000017843. ISSN 0017-8160. JSTOR 1510155. S2CID 162887617.
61. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 13.257-58
62. Marshak, Adam Kolman (2012-01-01). "Rise of the Idumeans: Ethnicity and Politics in Herod's Judea". Jewish Identity and Politics Between the Maccabees and Bar Kokhba: 117–129. doi:10.1163/9789004218512_008. ISBN 9789004218512.
63. Levin, Yigal (2020). "The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism". Religions. 11 (10) – via MDPI.
64. McGuire, J. Amanda (2011). "Sacred Times: The Book of Jubilees at Qumran". Papers. 2 – via Digital Commons @ Andrews University.
65. Schiffman, Lawrence H., Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: their True Meaning for Judaism and Christianity, Anchor Bible Reference Library (Doubleday) 1995.
66. Thiessen, Matthew (2011). Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity. Oxford University Press. pp. 87–110. ISBN 9780199914456.
67. Gassner, Evie (2019). "How Jewish Was Herod?". TheTorah.com.
68. Marciak, Michael (2017). "Idumea and the Idumeans in Josephus' Story of Hellenistic-Early Roman Palestine (Ant. XII-XX)". Aevum. 91 (1). Vita e Pensiero: 171–193. JSTOR 26477573.
69. Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1856). Biblical Researches in Palestine, and in the Adjacent Regions. Journal of Travels in the Year 1838. Vol. 2. London / Boston: Crocker & Brewster. p. 67 (note 7). OCLC 425957927., citing Reland who cites in turn Tyrannius Rufinus in his Latin translation of Josephus' The Jewish War (4.8.1.).
70. Strabo, Geography Bk.16.2.34
71. Ameling, Walter; Cotton, Hannah M.; Eck, Werner; Ecker, Avner; Isaac, Benjamin (2018). Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae / Palaestinae. Vol. 4 (Iudaea / Idumaea). Berlin/Munich: De Gruyter. p. 939. ISBN 9783110544213.
72. Mark 3:8
73. Mishna Kilaim 6:4; Ketuvot 5:8
74. Josephus, De Bello Judaico (The Jewish War) IV, 514 (Wars of the Jews 4.9.3) and De Bello Judaico (The Jewish War) IV, 529 (Wars of the Jews 4.9.7)
75. Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book IV
76. Josephus, The Jewish War iv. 4, § 5
77. Ahituv, Shmuel. Echoes from the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period. Jerusalem, Israel: Carta, 2008, pp. 351, 354
78. M. Leuenberger (2017). "YHWH's Provenance from the South". In J. van Oorschot; M. Witte (eds.). The Origins of Yahwism. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110447118.
79. "Did the Edomite tribe Magdiel found Rome? | AskNoah.org". January 13, 2011.
80. "Edomites". in rabbinical sources, the word "Edom" was a code name for Rome
81. "Esau the Ancestor of Rome - TheTorah.com". www.thetorah.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
82. Tebes, Juan Manuel (2022). . TheTorah.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
83. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 15, chapter 7, section 9
84. Victor Sasson (2006). "An Edomite Joban Text, with a Biblical Joban Parallel". Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 117 (4). doi:10.1515/zatw.2006.117.4.601. S2CID 170594788.
85. Robert Draper National Geographic, December 2010.

Bibliography

• Tebes, Juan Manuel (2022). "Edom and the Southern Jordan in the Iron Age". In Keimer, Kyle H.; Pierce, George A. (eds.). The Ancient Israelite World. Taylor & Francis. pp. 639–654. ISBN 978-1-000-77324-8.
• Crowell, Bradley L. (2021). Edom at the Edge of Empire: A Social and Political History. SBL Press. ISBN 978-0-88414-528-8.
•   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Edom". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
• Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon, eds. (2001). Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York and London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-1316-1. Retrieved 26 July 2021.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edom.

• Spencer, Richard (24 September 2019). "Scientists find state of Edom which they thought was a Bible story". The Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
• UCSD article on age of Edom