Bible Atlas: A Manual of Biblical Geography and History

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

THE LAND OF EDOM.

I. Boundaries. The country of Edom, or of the Edomites, lay south of that of the Moabites, the boundary between them being the brook Zered (Wady el Ahsy), which flows into the southern lagoon of the Dead Sea. On the east it extended to the great Arabian desert, in that section supposed to be the "land of the Temanites." On the south its border was the country of the Midianites, and the head of the Gulf of Akaba. The western boundary was the Arabah, or sunken ravine running northward between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. There is, however, an opinion gaining ground, that "the field of Edom" extended somewhat to the west of the Arabah, and south of Palestine.

II. Names. The earliest name of this country, and one often used throughout Bible history, was Mount Seir, "the rugged," from its rough, mountainous nature. This was the name of its earliest inhabitants, "the sons of Seir the Horite." (Gen. 36:20.) Afterward it was possessed by the descendants of Esau, and called Edom, "red," from the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright. Probably the red color of its sandstone mountains also aided to fix the name. In the New Testament time the word received a Greek form, and became Idumea. Josephus called it Geballene, "mountainous." At present it is divided into two sections, each having a different name; north of Petra being called Jebal, and south, esh Sherah.

III. Natural Features. Edom is emphatically a land of mountains. On the west, along the side of the Arabah, is a line of low limestone hills. Back of these rise higher, igneous rocks, surmounted by variegated sandstone, of peculiar color, 2,000 feet high. The eastern side of the mountains slopes gently away into the Arabian desert. But, though rough, the land is rich, and the terraced hill-sides have in all ages been bright with vegetation, and its people have been prosperous. So the blessing of Esau (Gen. 27:39, 40) has been fulfilled in a land of "the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven." Its capital during the Old Testament period was Bozrah (now Busireh), near its northern border. Afterward, Sela, the Petra of remarkable rock-hewn buildings, arose to prominence. Ezion-geber, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, was its seaport.

IV. History. Mount Seir was first settled by the Horites, or Horim, like the inhabitants of Palestine a people of unknown origin. During the later patriarchal age it was conquered and possessed by Esau, the brother of Jacob, and ever after occupied by his descendants, the Edomites. The refusal of this people to allow the Israelites to journey through their territory compelled them to make a long detour around Edom on the south and east, and enter Palestine by the land of the Moabites. During the period of the Judges the Edomites are not mentioned; but they were beaten by Saul, and thoroughly conquered by David, after a severe struggle. At the division of the kingdom, B.C. 935, Edom was held by Judah. Its people rebelled in the time of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, and, although defeated by Judah, were able to maintain their independence. They joined the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar in the destruction of Jerusalem, for which the later prophecies and psalms gave them bitter denunciations. About the time of the captivity, B.C. 587-536, the Edomites gained possession of most of the country south of Judah, extending even to the confines of Egypt. But they lost their own land, Mount Seir, which became the possession of the Nabatheans. These were a race, perhaps allied to the Arabians, who laid aside their nomad habits, and founded a kingdom, whose people grew rich by the caravan trade. The Edomites, or Idumeans, south of Palestine, were conquered by the Maccabean princes and incorporated with the Jews, B.C. 130, and the Nabathean kingdom was annexed to the Roman empire, A.D. 105.

V. Peculiarities. The Edomites, though descended from the stock of Abraham, adopted the idolatry of the Canaanites, with whom they had intermarried. But their most remarkable feature, as a nation, was that of dwelling in caves. The mountains of Idumea are of soft sandstone, easily wrought, and are penetrated with caves and grottoes, which were used, not like those of other nations, for burial places, but for residence. The rock-hewn temples, palaces and homes of Petra, so well known to travelers, are magnificent in appearance. The custom probably arose from the fear of robbers, and from the ease with which the caves could be excavated in the sandstone rock.

OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.

1. Boundaries. Moab; Desert: Midianites; Arabah.

2. Names. Seir, Edom, Idumea, Geballene, Jebal and esh Sherah.

3. Natural Features. Mountains; Soil; Capitals (Bozrah, Petra).

4. History. Horites; Esau; Edomites; Israelite Supremacy; Chaldeans; Nabatheans; Maccabeans; Romans.

5. Peculiarities. Religion; Rock Houses.