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EDOM

(Heb. ʾĕḏôm)

The name of a nation, a geographical region, and a person in OT times. Edom is derived from a root meaning “red.” The association of name with the place is usually explained by the reddish appearance of the rock and soil formations; with the person it is sometimes assumed that Edom was of ruddy complexion and, less frequently, one with red hair.

The person, Edom, is initially known as Esau, the elder of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah; the younger was Jacob or Israel. The Gen. 25 story of Esau’s birth gives two clues to his being called “Edom” or “red.” Gen. 25:26 describes him as red at birth; v. 30 associates the name with the red food (pottage?) for which he traded his birthright to Jacob. He is regarded as eponymous ancestor of the Edomites.

The geographical area known as Edom is located primarily E of the Wadi Arabah, N of the Gulf of Aqabah, S of the Wadi el-µesā (its boundary with Moab), and W of the Arabian Desert. There is general agreement as to the north, south, and eastern boundaries, but the western border is variously described. The biblical description of Edomite territory appears to include areas W of the Wadi Arabah. Num. 34 describes the territory of Judah as lying “against” the territory of Edom. The territory of Judah is further described in Josh. 15:1 as reaching southwest to the boundary of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. In Num. 20:16 Kadesh (probably ʾAin el-Qudeirât) is described as on the border of the king of Edom. It is important to note the existence of a major route, “the King’s Highway,” traversing this land. Profiting from control of travel and trade on this route must have been one of the significant economic forces at work in Edom in ancient times.

The dominant view of mid-20th-century scholarship, based primarily on Nelson Glueck’s survey of the region in the 1930s and 1940s, argued that Edom lay east of the Wadi Arabah. Recent archaeological discoveries have documented a significant Edomite presence extending to the west, especially from the 7th century and later. Most likely the heartland of Edom was the area E of the Arabah, but there were from time to time Edomite presence and control to the west as well.

The early history of Edom (also called Seir) is shrouded in the uncertainties of antiquity. Early settlement dates to prehistoric times. The region was probably not known as Edom until the 13th century. The patriarchal stories, pointing to an earlier time, report that Esau/Edom along with his family settled there. These early Edomites may represent the nomadic peoples of the region mentioned in Egyptian texts (Papyrus Anastasi VI) as occasionally coming with their flocks inside the borders of Egypt.

Several references (Gen. 14:6; 36:20ff.) refer to Horites as pre-Edomite inhabitants of the land. The identity of the Horites is debated: some associate them with the Hivites, but identification with the Hurrians is more likely. Gen. 36 includes a list of kings who ruled the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites. The same chapter lists wives and descendants of Esau as well as some Horite lists.

The archaeological record of Edom is based primarily on regional surface surveys with a few soundings and a small but increasing number of excavations. Survey results, but not excavated sites, indicate pre–Iron Age occupation. However, the excavated sites document the 8th-6th centuries as the time of significant occupation with fortified cities, with significantly more evidence from the 7th century. Later occupation does appear at some sites, especially for the Hellenistic period. The picture presented is only tentative, subject to continuing revision as more evidence becomes available.

The pattern of occupation seems to be one of fluctuation, likely related to climatic and ecological forces. It appears that there was considerable occupation in the latter phases of the Early Bronze Age — especially EB III and IV (mid- to late 3rd millennium) — diminishing until almost the beginning of the Iron Age. Nevertheless, there was continuing occupation in the land on through the MB and LB periods.

According to Num. 20:14-21 during the wilderness wanderings the “king of Edom” refused to permit the Israelites safe passage through his land, forcing them to circumvent Edom. No archaeological evidence of a fortified and organized settlement in this time has yet been found.

The Edomites are not mentioned as a factor at the time of the Hebrews’ settlement in Canaan. Saul was the first to fight them (1 Sam. 14:47). David carried out a major campaign in Edom (2 Sam. 8:13-14), gaining and retaining control of this territory. An uprising led by Hadad, an Edomite of royal blood, forced Solomon to fight the Edomites again and again. Solomon utilized Ezion-geber in Edomite territory as a functioning port.

After Solomon’s death Edom remained under the control of Judah, though unattested in the biblical narrative until the time of Jehoshaphat. According to a royal inscription in the Karnak temple, Edom was one of the territories overrun by the Egyptian Shishak on the same excursion that took him to Jerusalem in Rehoboam’s time. Jehoshaphat (873-849) sought to reactivate maritime trade by way of the Red Sea, but his fleet was wrecked on rocks near Elath (1 Kgs. 22:47-50). Near the end of Jehoshaphat’s reign, Edomites joined with other enemies of Judah for a raid on En-gedi (2 Chr. 20). Edom successfully revolted against Jehoram (849-842), gaining freedom from Judah (2 Kgs. 8:20-22).

There followed a time of Assyrian power and Edomite and Judean weakness. Adad-nirari III of Assyria (810-783) claims to have made expeditions to the west in 806, 805, and 797, in which tribute was received from Edom, among other places. Edom is named by this monarch as a new conquest for Assyria. But Assyria became weak for a brief period in the early 8th century, and Judah expanded her territory to include Edom once more.

Edom was subdued partially by Amaziah of Judah, who captured Sela and changed its name to Joktheel. Amaziah’s son Uzziah pursued to a successful conclusion the attack upon Edom, even capturing Elath. It was in the time of Ahaz that Judah’s control of Edom was permanently broken. Edom was never again to regain her former splendor but did retain some measure of independence. While Ahaz was king the Edomites were making raids on Judah to acquire slaves, prompting Ahaz to appeal to Assyria (2 Chr. 28:16-17). The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (744-727) claims, in a building inscription, that he received tribute from Kaushmalaku (Qaushmalaku) of Edom. Payment of tribute to Assyria was burdensome and Edom, among other states (but not Judah), was encouraged to revolt by Egypt. Sargon II (721-705) records on his “Broken Prism” this attempted revolt which he subdued. The revolt was against paying tribute, indicating that the revolting nations, including Edom, had not been conquered as had Israel. Sennacherib claims to have received tribute from the Edomite king Aiarammu in 701, as did Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal from Qaushgabri.

The biblical accounts, as well as secular records, maintain almost complete silence concerning the role of Edom following the decline of the Assyrian Empire. Edom along with Ammon, Moab, Tyre, Sidon, and Judah plotted a revolt against Babylon ca. 592, but the revolt failed to materialize.

As to the part played by Edom and the effect of the circumstances in Palestine on Edom in the 587 destruction of Jerusalem, the historical records — biblical and nonbiblical — are silent. The only information, which is debated, is the reference in 1 Esdr. 4:45: “You also vowed to build the temple, which the Edomites burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.” This affirms Edomite support of and participation in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Babylonians.

That Edomites moved into the Negeb of Judah in the late 7th century is quite clear. Edomite ceramic remains have been found at many sites. An Edomite ostracon, which includes a reference to their chief god Qos was found at µorvat ʿUza, near Arad. Edomite shrines have been found in the Arabah at ʿEn Haṣeva and at µorvat Qitmit near Arad. Significant Edomite materials also have been found at Malḥata.

The Edomites are frequently mentioned in prophetic writings — almost always in words of condemnation (e.g., Obadiah, Jer. 49). The unparalleled hatred for the Edomites in the OT is usually related to either or both the Edomite encroachment into Hebrew territory and the support and/or assistance they rendered the Babylonians when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 587.

The Edomites in the southern part of Cisjordanian Palestine were known as Idumaeans during the Hellenistic/Roman periods. The family of Antipater and Herod the Great were of Edomite descent. It is impossible to trace Edomites or their descendants beyond the time of the Roman campaign which resulted in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 c.e.

So thoroughgoing was the hatred of the Edomites that Edom/Edomite became a term for “the enemy,” particularly applied to Rome during their oppressive actions against both Jews and Christians in the early centuries c.e.

Bibliography. Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1979); J. R. Bartlett, Edom and the Edomites. JSOTSup 77 (Sheffield, 1989); I. Beit-Arieh, “New Light on the Edomites,” BARev 14/2 (1988): 28-41; R. Cohen and Y. Yisrael, On the Road to Edom: Discoveries from ʾEn Hazeva (Jerusalem, 1995); B. C. Cresson, “The Condemnation of Edom in Postexilic Judaism,” in The Use of the Old Testament in the New, ed. J. M. Efird (Durham, 1972), 125-48; B. MacDonald, Ammon, Moab, and Edom (Amman, 1994).

Bruce C. Cresson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EDOM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)