The neighbour and traditional enemy of ancient Israel, Edom was located on the Transjordanian highlands south of Moab. Seir is a common synonym for Edom in the Old Testament. The region was also referred to sometimes as Mount Seir (Deut 1:2; Jos 15:10; 2 Chron 20:10-23 (3x); Eze 35:2-15 (4x)).
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According to the book of Genesis, the Edomites were the descendents of Esau, the disenfranchized older brother of Jacob (25:30; 32:3; 36:1). Historically, the first serious encounter between the two peoples occurred when, during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses sent to ask the king of Edom for the privilege of transit through his land but his request was met with rejection and a show of force (Num 20:14-21) and Moses had to lead Israel around the country instead (21:4).
Over the years the animosity between the two grew, and Edom became the object of denouncement in a number of the Old Testament prophets, most notably Obadiah. Malachi, the last of the prophets, opens his oracles with a comparison between the descendants of Jacob (i.e., Israel) and those of Esau (Edom) in a famous hypobole "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?' declares the Lord. 'Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" (1:2-3). We should be careful not to press this strong use of language to suggest that Yahweh's hatred for Esau-Edom was absolute; indeed, when Israel was approaching Esau on their way to the Promised Land to conquer it, Yahweh commanded Israel through Moses that they should "be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own" (Deut 2:4-5). Further down in Deut Israel was commanded not to "despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you" (23:7).
Following the depopulation of the land brought about by the exile under Nebuchadnezzer, the Edomites—pressured by the invasion of their own territory by Nabatean tribes from the south—moved across the Rift Valley to occupy the land in southern Judea, and later came to be called Idumea.
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Isolated from their Arabian neighbours they were no match for John Hyrcanus' conquest at the end of the 2nd Cent BC, and they were forced to convert to Judaism. The most famous of the Idumeans to come thus to play a decisive role in later Jewish history were Antipater and his son Herod the Great, as well as the latter's descendents. Idumea is mentioned only once in the New Testament: "When they heard all he [Jesus] was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon" (Mk 3:8).
Resources & Further Reading:
J. R. Bartlett, "The Kingdom of Edom," Irish Biblical Studies 10 (1988): 207-224. Pdf N 5-6 (Open on Phone)
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