Edom

The Semitic root of Edom is 'dm meaning "man" (from whence "Adam") and "red". Its semantic extensions include "earth" (adam-at) and "deserts". The Hebrew Bible writes of Esau, the elder son of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, that he was born "red all over". As a young adult, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a portion of "red pottage". The Tanakh describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau. ==Ancient history==

Edom 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. The earliest Iron Age settlements—possibly copper mining camps—date to the 11th century BC. 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 was conquered by Nabonidus in the 6th century BC. Edom is mentioned in Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions in the form and ; 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." Khirbat en-Nahas is a large-scale copper-mining site excavated by archaeologist Thomas Levy in what is now southern Jordan. The scale of mining on the site is regarded as evidence of a strong, centralized 10th century BC Edomite kingdom. 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. 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, a view shared by modern scholarly works, which consider these Idumaeans as of Arab, possibly Nabataean, stock. The Idumean onomasticon catalogued in ostraca found in southern Palestine and dated to the 4th century BCE reveals a preponderance of Arabic names ending in waw and characterized as "proto-Nabataean". ==Classical Idumaea==

Persian period In the late 5th century BC, the Qedarite confederacy, headed by Geshem the Arab, were prominent players in the administration of the territory of southern Palestine and Transjordan. Compared to the neighboring Moabites and Ammonites, the name "Edom" completely disappeared from the area east of Arabah. The Qedarite king of the Arabs had allied with Egyptian forces during their campaign into Palestine and Phoenicia in 387, challenging Persian dominance in the region. A Persian counterattack launched in 385 ended with the dissolution of the Qedarite kingdom and the creation of truncated province of Idumea by 365. 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 Judeans and Phoenicians inhabited the area during the late Persian period. 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. An Idumean marriage contract from Maresha, dating from 176 BCE, closely resembles the ketubbot used by Jews. 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. According to Josephus, the Judeans under Judas Maccabeus first defeated the Idumaeans in the two Idumaean border towns of Hebron and Marisa and plundered them around 163 BC. About 50 years later, Judeans under John Hyrcanus I again attacked Marisa and the nearby Adoraim: according to Josephus and Ammonius Grammaticus, Hyrcanus conquered the cities of Marisa and Adoraim, forcibly converted all Idumaeans to Judaism and incorporated them into the Jewish nation: Since the late 1980s, some scholars have questioned the traditional account of Idumaea's conquest and forced conversion by the Hasmoneans. Several reasons have been proposed for this skepticism. As a result, historians have toned down the Hasmonean history of Idumaea as recounted by Josephus in several ways. Most historians still maintain that the events happened largely as Josephus describes. This view was first moderated by the assumption that only Maresha and Adoraim, located on Idumaea's northern border, were actually conquered, while other Idumeans voluntarily aligned themselves with the Judeans. The reports of forced conversions, in this view, are either anti-Hasmonean propaganda or, conversely, Hasmonean propaganda, In line with this interpretation, it is now often assumed that Idumaea was not annexed by the Hasmoneans at all. Instead, the remaining Idumeans may have entered into an alliance with the Judeans, within which the Idumaean religion could continue to be practiced. This reinterpretation leaves the prior depopulation of Idumaea 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 . For example, a minority of contemporary Jews argued Herod could not 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. These Jews did not openly express their views because Herod violently suppressed critics. Evie Gassner believed the sages disparaged Herod because he supported the Sadducees, who opposed the Pharisees. 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. It was part of his wider plan to attack Jerusalem and seize authority for himself. 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. Idumean zealotry arguably reflected their attempts to 'prove' their Jewishness. such as Hebron, Halhul, in Greek called Alurus , Bethsura , Begabris Dura (Adorayim), Caphethra,, Bethletephon, Teqoa, and Marissa, the latter being a principal city of Idumaea after the influx of Idumaeans into the Hebron Hills, shortly after the demise of the kingdom of Judah and the Judean exile in the 6th-century BC. The Gospel of Mark states that the Idumeans joined Judeans, Jerusalemites, Tyrians, Sidonians and east Jordanians in meeting Jesus by the Sea of Galilee. The Mishnah refers to Rabbi Ishmael's dwelling place in Kfar Aziz as being "near to Edom." ==Religion==

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. As close relatives of other Levantine Semites and Arabs, they seem to have worshiped such gods as El, Baal and 'Uzza. In some Jewish traditions stemming from the Talmud, the descendants of Esau are the Romans (and to a larger extent, all Europeans). Juan Manuel Tebes argues that Quas is a similar god to Yahweh. Both gods descend from a common cultural heritage and their cults were described by Egyptians. Quas's popularity during the Persian and Hellenistic periods forced the pro-Yahwist authors of the Book of Chronicles to portray several Edomite characters as 'pious Levites'. Clues about their Edomite heritage are hidden in their theophoric names. Josephus states that Costobarus was descended from the priests of "the Koze, whom the Idumeans had formerly served as a god". Victor Sasson describes an Edomite text that parallels the Book of Job, which provides insight on the language, literature, and religion of Edom. Hebrew Bible 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, the seaport of Edom. On the north of Edom was the territory of Moab. |250px The boundary between Moab and Edom was the Zered, now called Wadi al-Hasa. The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah, now Busaira, Jordan. According to the Book of Genesis, Esau's descendants settled in the land after they had displaced the Horites. 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 King Amaziah of Judah (796–769 BC), Selah was its principal stronghold, Eilat and Ezion-Geber its seaports. archaeological site, the former capital Bozra of Edom Genesis 36:31-43 lists the kings of Edom "before any Israelite king reigned": The Hebrew word translated as leader of a clan is aluf, used solely to describe the dukes of Edom and Moab in the Torah. However, beginning in the books of the later prophets, the word is used to describe Judean generals; for example, in the prophecies of the Book of Zechariah twice (9:7, 12:5–6), it had evolved to describe Jewish captains. The word is also used multiple times as a general term for teacher or guide, for example, in Psalm 55:13. If the account may be taken at face value, the kingship of Edom was, at least in early times, not hereditary, perhaps elective. The first book of Chronicles mentions both a king and chieftains. 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. Accordingly, they detoured around the country because of his show of force or because God ordered them to do so rather than wage war (). 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 (). Forty years later King David and his general Joab defeated the Edomites in the "Valley of Salt" (probably near the Dead Sea; ; ). An Edomite prince named Hadad escaped and fled to Egypt, and after David's death he returned and tried to start a rebellion but failed and went to Syria (Aramea). From that time Edom remained a vassal of Israel. David placed over the Edomites Israelite governors or prefects, 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 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 (). Edom revolted against Jehoram and elected a king of its own (; ). Amaziah attacked and defeated the Edomites, seizing Selah, but the Israelites never subdued Edom completely (; ). In the time of Nebuchadnezzar II the Edomites may have helped plunder Jerusalem and slaughter the Judaeans in 587 or 586 BCE (; ). Some believe that it is for this reason the prophets denounced Edom (; ; Obadiah passim). Evidence also suggests that at that time Edom may have engaged in a treaty betrayal of Judah. The people of Edom would be dealt with during the Messiah's rulership, according to the prophets. Despite this, many Edomites peacefully migrated to southern Judea, which continued even during the reign of Nabonidus. 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". According to the Torah, 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 for four generations. From these, some early conversion laws in halacha were derived. ==See also==