The Edomites were the descendants of Esau (1), the firstborn son of Isaac (2) and the twin brother of Jacob (3). In the womb, Esau and Jacob struggled together, and God (4) told their mother, Rebekah (5), that they would become two nations, with the older one serving the younger (Genesis 25:23). As an adult, Esau rashly sold his inheritance to Jacob for a bowl of red soup (Genesis 25:30-34), and he hated his brother afterward. Esau became the father of the Edomites and Jacob became the father of the Israelites (6), and the two nations continued to struggle through most of their history. In the Bible (7), “Seir” (8) (Joshua 24:4), “Bozrah” (Isaiah 63:1) and “Sela” (2 Kings 14:7) are references to Edom’s land and capital. Sela is better known today as Petra.
 
The name “Edom” comes from a Semitic word meaning “red,” and the land south of the Dead Sea (9) was given that name because of the red sandstone so prominent in the topography. Esau, because of the soup for which he traded his birthright, became known as Edom (10), and later moved his family into the hill country of the same name. Genesis 36 recounts the early history of the Edomites, stating that they had kings reigning over them long before Israel had a king (Genesis 36:31). The religion of the Edomites was similar to that of other pagan societies who worshiped fertility gods. Esau’s descendants eventually dominated the southern lands and made their living by agriculture and trade. One of the ancient trade routes, the King’s Highway (Numbers 20:17), passed through Edom, and when the Israelites requested permission to use the route on their Exodus from Egypt (11), they were rejected by force.
 
Because they were close relatives, the Israelites were forbidden to hate the Edomites (Deuteronomy 23:7). However, the Edomites regularly attacked Israel, and many wars (12) were fought as a result. King Saul (13) fought against the Edomites, and King David (14) subjugated them, establishing military garrisons in Edom. With control over Edomite territory, Israel had access to the port of Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea (15), from which King Solomon (16) sent out many expeditions. After the reign of Solomon, the Edomites revolted and had some freedom until they were subdued by the Assyrians (17) under Tiglath-Pileser III (18).
 
During the Maccabean wars (19), the Edomites were subjugated by the Jews and forced to convert to Judaism. Through it all, the Edomites maintained much of their old hatred for the Jews. When Greek became the common language, the Edomites were called Idumaeans. With the rise of the Roman Empire (20), an Idumaean whose father had converted to Judaism was named king of Judea. That Idumaean is known in history as King Herod the Great (21), the tyrant who ordered a massacre in Bethlehem (22) in an attempt to kill the Christ child (23) (Matthew 2:16-18).
 
After Herod’s death, the Idumaean people slowly disappeared from history. God had foretold the destruction of the Edomites in Ezekiel 35, saying, “As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir (24), and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 35:15). Despite Edom’s constant efforts to rule over the Jews, God’s prophecy to Rebekah was fulfilled: the older child served the younger, and Israel proved stronger than Edom.

FAST BIBLE FACTS ABOUT EDOM & THE EDOMITES
dates are approximate (25)

 
2006 BC Esau is born along with his twin brother, Jacob (Genesis 25:19-34).
 
1978 BC Esau sells his birthright to Jacob (Genesis 25:27-34).
 
1966 BC Esau marries Judith (26) (daughter of Beeri the Hittite) and Basemath (27) (daughter of Elon the Hittite) (Genesis 26:34).
 
1930 BC With the help of Rebekah, Jacob tricks an old, nearly blind Isaac into giving him Esau's blessing (Genesis 27; 29:1-14).
 
1908 BC After meeting with Jacob, Esau journeys toward Seir but stops in Sukkoth (28) (Genesis 33:1-20).
 
1908 BC Esau moves his family and belongings to the hill country of Seir (Genesis 36:6-8).
 
1908 BC Esau is identified as the father of the Edomites (Genesis 36:9); his descendants are listed in Genesis 36:1-30.
 
----- BC Rulers of ancient Edom (29) are listed in Genesis 36:31-43 and 1 Chronicles 1:43-54.
 
1407 BC During the Exodus, the King of Edom refuses Israelites' passage through Edom (Numbers 20:14-21).
 
1349 BC Edomites under the partial control of the Amorites (30) (Judges 1:35-36).
 
1041 BC King Saul leads Israelite forces in defeating the Moabites (31), Ammonites (32), Edomites (33), Amalekites (34), Philistines (35) and the kings of Zobah (36) (i) (1 Samuel 14:47).
 
  996 BC 18,000 Edomites are struck down by Israelite forces led by David in the Valley of Salt (37) (2 Samuel 8:13-14; 1 Chronicles 18:12).
 
  939 BC Some wives of King Solomon were of Edomite heritage (1 Kings 11:1).
 
  939 BC The LORD raises up an adversary, Hadad the Edomite (38), against King Solomon (1 Kings 11:14-25).
 
  847 BC Edom, a vassal of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (39), rebels (40) (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10).
 
  796 BC Amaziah (41), king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, (42) conquers Edom (2 Chronicles 25:11-13).
 
  742 BC Rezin (43), king of Aram, recovered Elath for Aram (44) by driving out the people of Judah. The Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day (2 Kings 16:5-7; 2 Chronicles 28:17).
 
 586 BC Prophecies before and condemnations after Edom failed to help the Southern Kingdom of Judah when the Babylonians (45) conquered Jerusalem (46) (Psalms 137:7; Jeremiah 27:1-3, 49:13, 16-18; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 25:12-14, 32:29, 35:1-15; Obadiah 1:10-14).
 
 553 BC Led by King Nabonidus (47), Neo-Babylonian forces attack Edom, destroying it. This fulfills the prophecy in Obadiah 1:18. A non-biblical support reference of this event is the Nabonidus Chronicle (g).

FOOTNOTES:
  (1) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/esau
  (2) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/isaac
  (3) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jacob
  (4) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/god-of-the-bible
  (5) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/rebekah
  (6) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/israelites
  (7) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-good-news
  (8) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seir
  (9) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/dead-sea
(10) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/edom
(11) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/egypt
(12) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/biblical-battles
(13) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/saul-king-of-israel
(14) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/a-man-after-gods-own-heart
(15) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/red-sea
(16) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/solomon
(17) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/assyrians
(18) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/tiglath-pileser-iii
(19) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/maccabean-revolt
(20) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/rome
(21) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/herod
(22) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/massacre-of-the-innocents-1
(23) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-birth-of-jesus
(24) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/mount-seir
(25) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-timeline
(26) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/judith-wife-of-esau
(27) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/basemath
(28) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/sukkoth
(29) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/kings-of-edom
(30) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/amorites
(31) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/moabites
(32) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/ammonites
(33) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/edomites
(34) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/amalekites
(35) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/philistines
(36) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/kings-of-aram-damascus
(37) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/more-conquests
(38) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/hadad-the-edomite
(39) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/southern-kingdom-of-judah
(40) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/battle-of-zair
(41) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/amaziah
(42) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/kings-of-judah
(43) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/rezin
(44) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/aram-damascus
(45) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/babylonians
(46) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jerusalem
(47) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/nabonidus
(48) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/listing-by-city
(49) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-gracious-visitor
(50) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-studies
(51) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/christian-education
(52) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/discipleship
 
PAGE CREDITS:
(a) Who Were the Edomites?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed April 13, 2021,
https://www.gotquestions.org/Edomites.html
 
(b) Who/What is Edom (Obadiah 1:1,8)?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed April 13, 2021,
https://www.gotquestions.org/Edom-Obadiah.html
 
(c) Copyright Policy, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 11, 2020,
https://www.gotquestions.org/about.html
 
(d) Videos, Milestones, Blogs & Poster, BibleProject, accessed September 29, 2020,
https://www.bibleproject.com/terms/#use
 
(e) Bible Gateway, New International Version (NIV) Bible, accessed September 18, 2020,
https://www.biblegateway.com/
 
EXTERNAL RESOURCES:
(f)  How Do I Convert to Christianity?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 12, 2020    https://www.gotquestions.org/convert-to-Christianity.html
 
(g) Livius, Articles on Ancient History, accessed April 15, 2021,
https://www.livius.org/sources/content/mesopotamian-chronicles-content/abc-7-nabonidus-chronicle/
 
(h) The Interactive Bible, Steve Rudd, accessed April 15, 2021,
https://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-edomite-territory-mt-seir.htm
 
(i) Bible Gateway, Encyclopedia of the Bible, Zobah, accessed April 16, 2021,
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Zoba-Zobah

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