Category: Biblical Chronology

Abraham was promised a special child from his own body to whom he would pass on the promises of the covenant (Genesis 15: 4). Sarah, Abraham’s wife, had not produced a child and was advancing in age. She was barren, and believed this was God’s plan for her. She suggested to Abraham that he have a child with Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid. Abraham complied, and they produced a male child, and the son of that union was named Ishmael. Later, God affirmed that Abraham would have a child with his wife Sarah, and his name would be Isaac. Sarah’s child is the one that would inherit the covenant, not Ishmael (Genesis 17: 19-21). In fact, God made it quite clear that Ishmael, while he would be mighty and produce a number of descendants, would be troublesome for Isaac and his descendants.  God said, “Ishmael would be as a wild ass among men and his hand would be against every man and every man’s hand would be against him.” Finally, God said, “he would dwell over against all his brethren” (Genesis 16: 12). In essence, Ishmael and his descendants would be at war with all peoples, and especially with his brethren the Jews. This is the beginning of the animosity of the Arabs (Ishmaelites) toward the Jews and other people groups.

   

Title: The sons of Abraham

 Source: Daniel Woodhead

Jacob and Esau – Circa 1834 B.C.

Isaac eventually married, and his wife Rebecca had twin boys. The first out of the womb was Esau, and after him was born Jacob. During the difficult pregnancy the two boys were unusually active within her womb. The activity was not natural, and this worried Rebecca. The expressive Hebrew language captures this activity with the word vy-yitrotsetsu , and translated it means “they crushed and thrust” one another. This foretold their future hostile relationship. Rebecca inquired of the Lord regarding this, and He responded, “two nations that is, twin progenitors of two nations, were struggling in her womb.” These twins would become two entirely different people groups. One group would be stronger and the other weaker. God concluded by stating “the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25: 23). Once again, like Isaac and Ishmael, brothers would be against each other for Jacob, not Esau, received the Abrahamic Covenant from the Lord through his father Isaac (Genesis 28: 13-15). The Israelis (Jacob’s descendants) and the Edomites (Esau’s descendants) have fought continuously since then. Esau’s descendants became additional peoples to the Arab nations of Ishmael. Esau, attempting to retaliate against his father Isaac for not becoming the covenant heir, married a Canaanite woman against his father’s wishes (Genesis 28:9). She was Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, and this the made the Arab alliance against Israel stronger.

The Sons of Esau

Genesis 36: 1-43

¹ Now these are the generations of Esau (the same is Edom). ²Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ³and Basemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. ⁴And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Basemath bare Reuel; ⁵and Oholibamah bare Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, that were born unto him in the land of Canaan. ⁶And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan; and went into a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷For their substance was too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojournings could not bear them because of their cattle. ⁸And Esau dwelt in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. ⁹And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: ¹⁰these are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹²And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ¹³And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁴And these were the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah.¹⁵These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, ¹⁶chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek: these are the chiefs that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁸And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs that came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. ¹⁹These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs: the same is Edom. ²⁰These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, ²¹and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. ²²And the children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. And Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³And these are the children of Shobal: Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. ²⁴And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; this is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. ²⁵And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. ²⁶And these are the children of Dishon: Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. ²⁷These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan. ²⁸These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹These are the chiefs that came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, ³⁰chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan: these are the chiefs that came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. ³¹And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. ³²And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. ³⁴And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. ³⁵And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. ³⁷And Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the River reigned in his stead. ³⁸And Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. ³⁹And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. ⁴⁰And these are the names of the chiefs that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, ⁴¹chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, ⁴²chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, ⁴³chief Magdiel, chief Iram: these are the chiefs of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites (ASV 1901).

Title: Sons of Esau – Edom – Present day Southern Jordan, Wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kingdoms_of_the_Levant_Map_830.png

Esau’s wives and children settled in the mountains of Seir. In verse 1 above, the surname Edom is added to the name Esau, which is the name he received at his birth. But it is the name Edom that became the national designation of his descendants. In verses 2 and 3, the names of Esau’s three wives differ from those given in the previous accounts (Genesis 26:34 and 28:9), and in one instance the father’s name is also different.

The daughter of Elon the Hittite was Adah (the ornament), and in Genesis 26:34 Basmath (the fragrant); the second is called Aholibamah (probably tent-height), the daughter of Anah, daughter, i.e., grand-daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and in 26:34, Jehudith (the praised or praiseworthy), daughter of Beeri the Hittite; the third, the daughter of Ishmael, is called Basmath here and Mahalath in Genesis 28:9. This difference probably comes from Moses redaction of the available genealogical documents for Esau’s family and tribe, and inserted them without alteration. The giving of surnames, as the Arabs frequently do still, are founded upon some important or memorable event in a man’s life, which gradually superseded the other name (e.g., the name Edom, as explained in Genesis 25:30). Women however received new names when they were married. The different names given for the father of Aholibamah or Judith is that Anah, the son of Zibeon, while watching the asses of his father in the desert, discovered the warm springs (of Calirrhoe).

Esau sought a home in Seir, because he knew that Jacob, as the heir, would enter upon the family possessions, but without waiting till he returned and actually took possession. In the clause “went into the country” (v. 6), the name Seir or Edom (v. 16) must have dropped out, as the words “into the country” seem to convey no sense by themselves.

Genesis 36:9–14 (cf. 1 Chronicles 1:36, 37). Esau’s Sons and Grandsons as Fathers of Tribes. Through them he became the father of Edom, i.e., the founder of the Edomitish nation on the mountains of Seir. Mount Seir is the mountainous region between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic Gulf, the northern half of which is called Jebâl (Gebalene) by the Arabs, the southern half, Sherah. As to the two of the wives of Esau, who bore only one son each, the tribes were founded not by the sons, but by the grandsons; but out of Aholibamah the three sons were born.

Among the sons of Eliphaz we find Amalek, whose mother was Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz. He was the ancestor of the Amalekites, who attacked the Israelites at Horeb as they came out of Egypt under Moses (Exodus 17:8), and not merely of a mixed tribe of Amalekites and Edomites, belonging to the supposed aboriginal Amalekite nation. The allusion to the fields of the Amalekites in Genesis 14:7 does not imply that the tribe was in existence in Abraham’s time, neither does the expression “first of the nations,” in the saying of Balaam (Numbers 24:20), represent Amalek as the aboriginal or oldest tribe, but simply as the first Arab tribe by which Israel was attacked. The Old Testament says nothing of any fusion of Edomites or Horites with Amalekites, nor does it mention two Amaleks.  If there had been an Amalek previous to Edom, with the important part, which they took in opposition to Israel even in the time of Moses, the book of Genesis would not have omitted to give their names in the list of the nations. At a very early period the Amalekites separated from the other tribes of Edom and formed an independent people, having their headquarters in the southern part of the mountains of Judah, as far as Kadesh (Genesis 14:7; Numbers 13:29; 14:43, 45), but, like the Bedouins, spreading themselves as a nomad tribe over the whole of the northern portion of Arabia Petraea, from Havilah to Shur on the border of Egypt (1 Samuel 15:3, 7; 27:8); while one branch went into the heart of Canaan, so that a range of hills, in what was afterwards the inheritance of Ephraim, were given the name of the mountains of the Amalekites (Judges 12:15;  5:14). Those who settled in Arabia seem also to have separated in the course of time into several branches, so that Amalekite hordes invaded the land of Israel in connection sometimes with the Midianites and the sons of the East (the Arabs, Judges 6:3; 7:12), and at other times with the Ammonites (Judges 3:13). After they had been defeated by Saul (1 Samuel 14:48; 15:2), and frequently chastised by David (1 Samuel 27:8; 30:1; 2 Sam. 8:12), the remnant was exterminated under Hezekiah by the Simeonites on the mountains of Seir (I Chronicles 4:42, 43).

Genesis 36:15–19. The Tribe-Princes Who Descended from Esau—אַלּוּפִים aloofeem was the distinguishing title of the Edomite and Horite phylarchs (Ancient title for military men who chose rulers), and it is only incidentally that it is applied to Jewish heads of tribes in Zechariah 9:7, and 12:5. It is probably derived from אֶלֶף elef or אֲלָפִים, alafeem equivalent to מִשְׁפָּחֹות, families (1 Samuel 10:19; Micah 5:2), the heads of the families, i.e., of the principal divisions, of the tribe. The names of these Alluphim are not names of places, but of persons.

Genesis 36:20–30 (parallel, 1 Chronicles 1:38–42). Descendants of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land, are the pre-Edomitish population of the country. “The Horite:” is the dweller in caves, which abound in the mountains of Edom. The Horites, who had previously been an independent people (Genesis 14:6), were partly exterminated and partly subjugated by the descendants of Esau (Deuteronomy 2:12, 22). Seven sons of Seir are listed as tribe-princes of the Horites, who are afterwards are mentioned as Alluphim (vv. 29, 30), also their sons, as well as two daughters, Timna (v. 22) and Aholibamah (v. 25), who obtained notoriety from the face that two of the headquarters of Edomitish tribe-princes bore their names (vv. 40 and 41). Timna was probably the same as the concubine of Eliphaz (v. 12); but Aholibamah was not the wife of Esau (cf. v. 2). There are a few instances in which the names in this list differ from those in the Chronicles. But they are differences, which consist of variation in form.

Of Anah, the son of Zibeon, it is related (v. 24), that as he fed the asses of his father in the desert, he “found הַיֵּמִם” hayeameem not “he invented mules,” as some render it, for mules are פְּרָדִים, peradeem and מָצָא matza does not mean to invent; but he found or discovered, either the hot sulphur spring of Calirrhoe in the Wady Zerka Maein or those in the Wady el Ahsa to the S.E. of the Dead Sea, or those in the Wady Hamad between Kerek and the Dead Sea.

Gen. 36:30. “These are the princes of the Horites according to their princes,” i.e., as their princes were individually named in the land of Seir. לְ (lamed) in enumerations indicates the relation of the individual to the whole, and of the whole to the individual.

Gen. 36:31–39 (parallel, 1 Chronicles 1:43–50). The Kings in the Land of Edom: before the children of Israel had a king. It is to be observed in connection with the eight kings mentioned here, that while they follow one another, that is to say, one never comes to the throne till his predecessor is dead, yet the son never succeeds the father, but they all belong to different families and places. From this it is obvious, that the sovereignty was elective; that the kings were chosen by the phylarchs; and, as Isaiah 34:12 also shows, that they lived or reigned contemporaneously with these. The contemporaneous existence of the Alluphim and the kings may also be inferred from Exodus 15:15 as compared with Numbers 20:14. While it was with the king of Edom that Moses treated respecting the passage through the land, in the song of Moses it is the princes who tremble with fear on account of the miraculous passage through the Red Sea (Ezekiel 32:29). Lastly, this is also supported by the fact, that the account of the seats of the phylarchs (vv. 40–43) follows the list of the kings. Of all the kings of Edom, not one is named elsewhere. Hadad (v. 35), is probably not the Edomite Hadad who rose up against Solomon (1 Kings 11:14); because there is no good evidence. The contemporary of Solomon was of royal blood, but neither a king nor a pretender; this Hadad, on the contrary, was a king, but he was the son of an unknown Hadad of the town of Avith, and no relation to his predecessor Husham of the country of the Temanites. It is related of him that he smote Midian in the fields of Moab (v. 35).

Of the tribe-cities of these kings only a few can be identified now. Bozrah, a city of Edom (Isaiah 34:6; 43:1, etc.), is still to be traced in el Buseireh, a village with ruins in Jebal. The land of the Temanite (v. 34) is a province in northern Idumaea, with a city, Teman, which has not yet been discovered; according to Jerome, quinque millibus from Petra. Rehoboth of the river (v. 37) can neither be the Idumaean Robotha, nor er Ruheibeh in the wady running towards el Arish, but must be sought for on the Euphrates, say in Errachabi or Rachabeh, near the mouth of the Chaboras. Consequently Saul, who sprang from Rehoboth, was a foreigner. Of the last king, Hadar (v. 39; not Hadad, as it is written in 1 Chronicles 1:50), the wife, the mother-in-law, and the mother are mentioned: his death is not mentioned here, but is added by the later chronicler (1 Chronicles 1:51). At the time when the table was first drawn up, Hadad was still alive and seated upon the throne. In all probability, therefore, Hadad was the king of Edom, to whom Moses applied for permission to pass through the land (Numbers 20:14). At any rate the list is evidently a record relating to the Edomitish kings of a pre-Mosaic age. But if this is the case, the heading, “These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel,” does not refer to the time when the monarchy was introduced into Israel under Saul, but was written that kings should come out of the loins of Jacob (Genesis 35:11; 17:4), and merely expresses the thought, that Edom became a kingdom at an earlier period than Israel.

Genesis 36:40–43 (parallel, 1 Chronicles 1:51–54). Seats of the Tribe-Princes of Esau According to Their Families. That the names which follow relate to the capital cities of the old Phylarchs is evident from the expression in the heading, “After their places, by their names,” as compared with v. 43, “According to their habitations in the land of their possession.” This being the substance and intention of the list, there is nothing surprising in the fact, that out of the eleven names only two correspond to those given in vv. 15–19. This proves nothing more than that only two of the capitals received their names from the princes who captured or founded them. Pinon is the same as Phunon, an encampment of the Israelites (Numbers 33:42–43), celebrated for its mines, in which many Christians were condemned to labour under Diocletian, between Petra and Zoar, to the northeast of Wady Musa. Teman is the capital of the land of the Temanites (v. 34). Mibzar is thought to be Petra; but this is called Selah elsewhere (2 Kings 14:7). Magdiel and Iram cannot be identified. The concluding sentence, “This is Esau, the father (founder) of Edom” (i.e., from his sprang the great nation of the Edomites, with its princes and kings, upon the mountains of Seir), terminates this section.

1. God’s Grievous Punishment (34:1–17)
2. Judgment upon all nations (34:1–4): These verses refer to the coming Great Tribulation.
3. The world’s armies will be destroyed (34:1–2): The Lord’s anger will be brought down upon them.
4. The mountains will flow with the blood of unburied corpses (34:3): The bodies of the dead will be left unburied.
5. The heavens will dissolve, and the stars will fall (34:4): They will be like withered leaves and fruit falling from a tree.
6. Judgment upon one nation (34:5–17): This doomed nation is Edom.
7. The severity of God’s judgment (34:5–15)
8. Edom’s people will be cut down like animals (34:5–8): The Lord’s sword will be covered in blood and fat as if used for sacrifices.
9. The ground will be covered with fire (34:9): Even the streams will be filled with burning pitch.
10. The land will become desolate and uninhabited (34:10–15).
11. The surety of God’s judgment (34:16–17): He guarantees all this by putting it in writing!

Upon return to the Northern Kingdom capital of Samaria, the prophet Oded tells the Israelites not to make bondsmen of their brethren.  Being moved by his words, the elders clothe, feed, and anoint the captives with the spoils and returns them to Judah.  When attacked by Pekah, King of Israel, Rezin, King of Syria, the Edomites, and the Philistines, Ahaz refuses the instruction offered by Isaiah.  Instead, he purchases help from Tiglath-Pileser, King of Assyria, who only defeats Rezin, but not the other four enemies.  Ahaz fashions an altar after the manner of the Assyrians’ worship and places it in the house of the Lord, yet he keeps the altar intact of his father to “inquire” by.  He increases his idolatry up to his death and is buried outside the king’s sepulcher.

Isaiah 11:11–16

¹¹And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. ¹²And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth ¹³The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. ¹⁴And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. ¹⁵And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. ¹⁶And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt (ASV, 1901).

In the days of King Jehoshaphat, the Ammonites joined the Moabites and Edomites in a raid on Judah (II Chronicles 20:1–30).

Joel 3:19

¹⁹Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land (ASV, 1901).

The Judgment of Edom

Now Isaiah begins a prophecy about another country. Although there are only two verses prophesying the judgement of Edom, they are very important. Edom was first subjugated by the Babylonians and then Media-Persia and then in 126 B.C. they were compelled to become Jews by the Hasmonean John Hyrcanus. There is no easily identifiable trace of Edomites now although their abandoned cities can still be identified. But God knows who they are and they will be destroyed.

Isaiah 21:11–12

¹¹The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? ¹²The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: turn ye, come (ASV, 1901).

                          Source: http://www.bible-history.com/maps/edomites.html

Edom is referred to here as “Seir” and “Dumah”. “Dumah” is a word with a double meaning. The first meaning is that “Dumah” was a region of Idumea, also called Edom, near the mountains of Seir.  Today this region is southern Jordan. The second meaning has to do with the root letters of the Hebrew word “Dumah”, and it means “silence”. So, “Dumah” means “a place of silence.” “Dumah”, meaning silence, therefore symbolizes the destiny of Edom who has been the hereditary enemy of Israel. It will one day become a silent and forgotten place. The prophet hears a voice coming from Seir with the anxious query: How far is the night spent? When will morning come?

The watchman, who is the prophet himself, then answers the rhetorical questions he has just asked: “The morning will come, but then night will fall again.” The prophet uses two words in these questions which are not Hebrew, but Aramaic. Aramaic, a language closely related to the Babylonian and other Semitic tongues, was a common language of the Middle East. The first Aramaic word is atha, meaning “to come” (as in Maran-atha—The Lord come). The second Aramaic word is Thibayun, meaning “to inquire”. It is related to the Hebrew word shuv, meaning “to return” and also means “to repent”. The sense of the prophet’s answer is: The night of your present will end, and a new day will follow, but soon another night will come filled with fear and anxiety. If you seek a comforting answer to your anxious inquiries, you first “return and repent.” Only then will the answer be what you hoped for. The night of your suffering will come an end, and a new bright morning of deliverance will dawn upon.

The Edomite inquirer is voicing man’s eternally agonizing question: “How long will the night of suffering, evil and violence last?” And “How soon will come?” It has a universal significance. It is the cry of mankind in the midst of a nightmare of mutually inflicted torment and endless horror for most of the world that are outside of Christ. The prophetic answer given to the Edomites, and to every one of the world’s generations, is “Come back to God”, and shuvu, or “return and repent”. Otherwise, there can only be one dark night of horror followed by another, with only brief intervals between. In those intervals you will be in torment until you repent and turn to God for forgiveness.

What Did Edom Do?

Edom was one of the bordering kingdoms south of Israel, and related to the Jews through their common father Abraham. Every one of the ancient and present Arab nations have caused pain and suffering to the Jews. There are no exceptions. In fact, the Psalmist Asaph characterizes the Jew’s pain as they cry out to God for vengeance on those nations:

Psalm 83:1–8

¹O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. ²For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. ³They take crafty counsel against thy people, And. consult together against thy hidden ones. ⁴They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. ⁵For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant: ⁶The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagarenes; ⁷Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: ⁸Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah (ASV, 1901).

Who these ancient nations are today? Here is a chart describing the biblical ancient names, and how they can be understood today:

Edom              Southern Jordan

Ishmaelites      Descendants of Ishmael, a son of Abraham born to

                        Hagar

Moab               Central Jordan

Hagarenes       Egypt

Gebal              Lebanon

Ammon           Northern Jordan

Amalek           The Sinai Peninsula

Philistia           The Gaza Strip

Tyre                Lebanon

Assyria            Iraq and parts of Syria

God promised to extract vengeance on nations who harmed the Jews:

Genesis 12:1–3

¹Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee: ²and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: ³and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed (ASV, 1901, underlining added).

This is the first stage of the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised to give Abraham a special son to carry on that covenant. Because his wife Sarah tired of waiting to have her own child, she suggested that he have a child with her handmaid Hagar. Ishmael was the result. Later, Isaac, the child of promise, was born to Sarah and Abraham. Ishmael was characterized by God as a “wild ass” whose hand would be against everyone, and especially against his brother (Genesis 16:12).  He became the father of the Arab nations. This set the standard for the future constant war between the Arabs (the Ishmaelites) and the Jews (the descendants of Isaac).

Isaac and his wife Rebecca had twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob received the covenant and Esau did not because he despised his birthright (Genesis 25:23). The Israelis (Jacob’s descendants) and the Edomites (Esau’s descendants) have fought continuously. Edom is the Hebrew name for “red”, so they referred to him as Edom because he was born “red all over” (Genesis 25:25). Esau retaliated against his father Isaac for not becoming the covenant heir by marrying a Canaanite woman, which was against his father’s wishes. She was Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath and Esau’s descendants became an additional people group of the Arab nations. Esau’s wives and children settled in the Mountains of Seir. Edom or Esau, became the national designation of his descendants, and of the region in which they settled. Esau/Edom joining the Ishmaelites brought additional strength to the forces opposing Israel. Even though Jacob and Esau later made peace, it was clear that they did not trust one another (Genesis 32:3-21). This mistrust was conveyed to successive generations in Edom, and through that they persecuted the Jews many times. God has given them time to repent and they never have. He is causing their sleepless nights to make them think of repenting. Because it is clear that they will not, He will bring judgment upon them.

The Prophecies Against Edom

Although not elaborated on here is Isaiah 21, other prophets have a lot to say about the judgment against Edom.

Ezekiel 25:12–14

¹²Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; ¹³therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I will stretch out my hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword. ¹⁴And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord Jehovah (ASV, 1901).

This prophecy is an expansion of that which the Lord gave Ezekiel in chapter 25:12-14.

Ezekiel 35:1-5

¹ Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ²Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, ³and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a desolation and an astonishment. ⁴I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. ⁵Because thou hast had a perpetual enmity, and hast given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end (ASV, 1901).

Edom is characterized here by the mountain range on the east border of the Wadi Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. Edom can also be viewed as a prototype of all gentile nations in general, and more specifically, the Arab States. Ezekiel is commanded to convey the prophecy of God to the nation of Edom, emphasizing His desire to destroy Edom as a judgment for the way in which they have historically treated Israel. God seems to consider two factors when determining the degree of judgment against those who have come against the nation Israel. First, their history and degree of hatred toward the Jews and second, how closely they are related by blood to Israel. God, through the prophet Obadiah, prophesied that He would destroy the nation of Edom because of its pride and violence. In particular, they scornfully looked down upon Judah’s misfortune, and are specifically named along with the Babylonians as those who caused harm to the Jews (Psalm 137:7) in the 586 B.C invasion of the Southern Kingdom of Judah:

Obadiah 10-14

¹⁰For the violence done to thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. ¹¹In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. ¹²But look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither speak proudly in the day of distress. ¹³Enter not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. ¹⁴And stand thou not in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape; and deliver not up those of his that remain in the day of distress (ASV, 1901).

God’s Judgment of Perpetual Desolation

Ezekiel 35:6-9

⁶ Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood(shed), therefore blood shall pursue thee. ⁷Thus will I make mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it him that passeth through and him that returneth. ⁸And I will fill its mountains with its slain: in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy watercourses shall they fall that are slain with the sword. ⁹I will make thee a perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not be inhabited; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah (ASV, 1901).

God says that the destruction will be total and He will leave their mountains, hills, valleys and watercourses strewn with bodies and blood. This is a massive degree of destruction on Edom. Edom was considered Israel’s most bitter enemy primarily due to the closeness of the association by blood, that is, the warring twins Jacob and Esau (Edom). God says that because Edom have shed blood of Israel, they will be punished because they did not control their bloodthirsty persecution of a relative. This is apparent in different sections of Scripture. For example:

• Edom gave aid to Babylon when they invaded Judah (Ezekiel 35:5; Obadiah 1).
• Edom tried to annex Israel’s territory as her own (Ezekiel 35:10).
• Edom expressed vengeful joy and hatred over Judah’s fall to Babylon (Ezekiel 35:12; Isaiah 34:5; 63:1-4; Psalm 137:7; Malachi 1:2-5).
• Edom has always had perpetual enmity towards the Jews (Amos 1:11).
• Edom refused the Jews safe passage into Canaan at the start of the Exodus (Numbers 20:14-18).

Their destruction will be total, and there will be no nation call Edom in the Messianic Kingdom. The Lord will bring His wrath upon Edom in due time, which will cause them to become a reproach, a waste and a curse (Jeremiah 49:19-20). The means that God will utilize an armed military conflict, which will probably come near the end of the Great Tribulation when all armies of the world come toward Jerusalem to attempt to destroy it (Zechariah 14:2). This is not to say that God has not caused them to receive partial judgment in the past. For example, their main cities were Petra and Teman, both of which lie in ruins today. Petra will be the place for the believing Jews to flee to during the Great Tribulation, and the Lord will make His first stop there in the Campaign of Armageddon. For now, it is an uninhabited ruin.

Edom Desires the Two Nations of the Jews

Ezekiel 35:10-11

¹⁰Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas Jehovah was there: ¹¹therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast showed out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall judge thee (ASV, 1901).

God speaks of the “two nations” of Israel and Judah, which He says Edom wanted to possess. Edom wanted to take the land they thought should rightfully be theirs due to their view of Jacob’s deception of Esau and then Isaac (Genesis 27:1-40). This jealously led them to desire Israel’s land, both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms. They seemed to think by aiding the Babylonians that they would be able to take the Jew’s land after the final Babylonian captivity. Since God hears and knows everything, He knew that the Edomites wanted these kingdoms of Israel. Therefore, He said that He would do to them exactly what they intended to do to the Jews. In fact, when He brings judgment upon them, they will realize immediately who is doing this. God says that vengeance belongs to Him, He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19). In their envy to possess something that God gave to somebody else, namely the Jews, they lusted after it and were willing to murder to obtain it. Lust is a “fruit of the flesh”, driven by Satan:

James 4:2-3

² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. ³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (KJV).

Lust, envy or jealousy is an ungodly fruit of the flesh. It always comes from the unsaved natural man that does not have the Holy Spirit living within. If one is not walking in the Spirit, then the old man takes precedence and exhibits envy, whether they acknowledge it or not as described in Galatians:

Galatians 5:16-21

¹⁶ I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are revealed, which are these: adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I previously warned you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (MEV).

It is really clear that Edom will not be going in to the Messianic Kingdom when God establishes it.

Edom’s Sins are Against God

Ezekiel 35:12-13

¹²And thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, have heard all thy revilings which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour. ¹³And ye have magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard it (ASV, 1901).

God says He heard all their “revilings”. The word “revilings” is more accurately translated as “blasphemies” from the Hebrew word neatzah. It has the characteristic of being provoking with reproachful, accursing speech. They will know who it is that “have magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and have multiplied your words against me”.Anyone who harms the Jews will receive personal harm from God Himself. He proclaimed this in Genesis 12:3 to Abraham in the covenant He gave to him. He later also affirmed it through Zechariah:

Zechariah 2:8-9

⁸For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which plundered you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. ⁹For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me (ASV, 1901).

The Jews are the apple of God’s eye. As God states His love for Israel, He also provides some personal insight into that relationship with these verses. The one who speaks is a Divine being who brings judgment to the nations, and then comes to love and dwell with His people in Jerusalem. God says it is as if the pupil of His eye has been harmed when anyone who harms the Jews, indicating a very close and personal pain. The Hebrew word used here literally means “the gate,” or the opening of the eye. That is the pupil of the eye. This is the aperture through which light and images pass through to the retina, and is the tenderest part of the eye. We carefully guard this area as very precious because the slightest injury can cause a loss that is irreplaceable. All sin is against God, and for those who harm Israel, this sin is clearly directly against Him. In fact, as we see in Zechariah 2:8 where Jehovah God is sending the second person of the Trinity to deal in judgment with those who harm Israel. This is none other than the Lord Jesus who will conduct the Great Tribulation, and bring judgment upon a despotic government who will implement the worst persecution of the Jewish people of all times. Two-thirds of the Jews will die at the hands of the Antichrist’s armies and police brutality (Zechariah 13:8).

Final Desolation of Edom

Ezekiel 35:14-15

¹⁴Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. ¹⁵As thou didst rejoice over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it; and they shall know that I am Jehovah (ASV, 1901).

The time of the whole earth rejoicing is clearly the Messianic Kingdom when there is universal peace, security, safety and plenty of food. Edom will not be a nation at that time. They will be destroyed during the Campaign of Armageddon and will not have a place in the Kingdom. Their destruction will finally provide peace between them and the nation Israel.

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