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Place · Edom

Edom

Edom, a nation descended from Esau that was often in conflict with Israel.

Also known as Edom,Edomite · Idumea · Edomite · Aramean · Syrian · Syria

Edom was a nation located southeast of Israel, in the area that is now southern Jordan. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Israel (or 'Jacob') (Israel). The name Edom means "red", referring to Esau being born red and selling his birthright for red stew.

Edom and Israel had a tumultuous relationship throughout their history. During the Exodus, Edom refused to let the Israelites pass through their territory. Edom was later defeated by King Saul and subjugated under King David. However, they rebelled in later years and were able to establish their independence from Judah.

The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and Obadiah all prophesied against Edom for its arrogance and for standing by when Judah was invaded by Babylon. Edom helped the Babylonians loot Jerusalem and expressed joy over its destruction. As a result, the prophets declared that Edom would face God's wrath and be completely destroyed.

Approximate location: 30.735, 35.606 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas

Bible dictionary

Edom Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

(1.) The name of Esau (q.v.), Gen. 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. (2.) Idumea (Isa. 34:5, 6; Ezek. 35:15). “The field of Edom” (Gen. 32:3), “the land of Edom” (Gen. 36:16), was mountainous (Obad. 1:8, 9, 19, 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 (Isa. 63:1). The early inhabitants of the land were Horites. They were destroyed by the Edomites (Deut. 2:12), between whom and the kings of Israel and Judah there was frequent war (2 Kings 8:20; 2 Chr. 28:17). At the time of the Exodus they churlishly refused permission to the Israelites to pass through their land (Num. 20:14-21), and ever afterwards maintained an attitude of hostility toward them. They were conquered by David (2 Sam. 8:14; comp. 1 Kings 9:26), and afterwards by Amaziah (2 Chr. 25:11, 12). But they regained again their independence, and in later years, during the decline of the Jewish kingdom (2 Kings 16:6; R.V. 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 (Jer. 27:3, 6). There are many prophecies concerning Edom (Isa. 34:5, 6; Jer. 49:7-18; Ezek. 25:13; 35:1-15; Joel…

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Edom Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

red, earthy; of blood

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Edom Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

E'DOM (red), called also Idumaea and Mount Seir. The country extended from the Dead Sea southward to the Gulf of Akabah, and from the valley of the Arabah eastward to the desert of Arabia, being about 125 miles long and 30 miles wide. Physical Features. — A mountain-range of porphyritic rock forms the backbone of the country; above this rises sandstone, assuming fantastic forms, while on either side of these formations are limestone hills. On the west, along the valley of the Arabah, the hills are low; on the east the mountains attain their highest The Approach to Edom from the East. (After a Photograph hy Frith.) elevation, and border on the great plateau of Arabia. The country is well watered, rich in pasturage, abounding with trees and flowers, reminding us of Isaac's prophecy: "Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth." Gen 27:39. Cities. — Its principal towns were Bozra, Elath, Maon, Ezion-geber, Selah, or Petra. A description of them will be found under their proper titles. For a history of the people see Esau and Idumaeans.

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Edom Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

E'DOM (red), called also Idumaea and Mount Seir. The country extended from the Dead Sea southward to the Gulf of Akabah, and from the valley of the Arabah eastward to the desert of Arabia, being about 125 miles long and 30 miles wide. Physical Features. — A mountain-range of porphyritic rock forms the backbone of the country; above this rises sandstone, assuming fantastic forms, while on either side of these formations are limestone hills. On the west, along the valley of the Arabah, the hills are low; on the east the mountains attain their highest The Approach to Edom from the East. (After a Photograph hy Frith.) elevation, and border on the great plateau of Arabia. The country is well watered, rich in pasturage, abounding with trees and flowers, reminding us of Isaac's prophecy: "Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth." Gen 27:39. Cities. — Its principal towns were Bozra, Elath, Maon, Ezion-geber, Selah, or Petra. A description of them will be found under their proper titles. For a history of the people see Esau and Idumaeans.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Edom appears

100 verses in 22 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0123

Genesis7
Exodus1
Numbers9
Deuteronomy1
Joshua2
Judges3
1 Samuel5
2 Samuel3
1 Kings7
2 Kings11
1 Chronicles4
2 Chronicles9
Psalms8
Isaiah4
Jeremiah8
Lamentations2
Ezekiel6
Daniel1
Joel1
Amos5
Obadiah2
Malachi1

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.