Edom (redirected from Idumaean)

Edom (ē`dŏm), Idumaea, or Idumea (both: īdymē`ə), mountainous country, called also Mt. Seir. According to the Book of Genesis, it was given to Esau, also called Edom, and his descendants. It extended along the eastern border of the Arabah valley, from the Dead Sea to Elat. Edomite history was marked by continuous hostility and warfare with Jews, Assyrians, and Syrians. At the end of the 2d cent. B.C., they were subdued by Hasmonaean priest-king John Hyrcanus I, forcibly circumcised, and merged with the Jews. Herod the Great was Idumaean. The Romans grouped Idumaea with Judaea and Samaria in one procuratorship. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Idumaea was included in Arabia Petraea.

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Edom

Ancient country of the Middle East, south of the Dead Sea. The Edomites probably occupied the area c. 13th century BC. Though closely related to the Israelites, they were in frequent conflict with and were probably subject to the Israelite kingdom (11th–10th century BC). Located on the trade route between the Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea coast, Edom was known for its copper industry. Later conquered by the Nabataeans, the Edomites migrated to southern Judaea. Edom and neighbouring Moab were known in Maccabean and Roman times as Idumaea.