The Edomites were descendants of Esau whose name means "red" as in the colour because he was hairy and a man of the earth. He was the twin son with Jacob of Isaac the son of Abraham. Although Esau was the elder son of Isaac and was entitled to the blessing and birthright he despised or looked down on them and gave them up for trivial things like a pot of lentils or stew. Although his younger brother Jacob tricked him into it God willed this as God commended Jacob for the higher value he put on spiritual things. Jacob also showed his disregard for spiritual things by taking two wives from the Gentiles one from the daughters of Heth (the Hittites) and the other from a daughter of Ishmael. Especially the daughter of Heth was an annoyance to his mother Rebekah who would have rather that he married from the Israelites. Esau later caused anxiety to Jacob who feared Esau would exact revenge for having the birthright and blessing stolen from him. Later on in Genesis Jacob was confronted with his fears about Esau when he encountered a large contingent of Esau and his men but fortunately Esau and Jacob then showed favour to each other and Esau expressed contentment at the material prosperity God had given him. Later on the Edomites who settled south of the land of Israel in what is now southern Jordan or northern Saudi Arabia with their capital being what is now called Petra became regular enemies of the Israelites. This started in earnest when the Edomites would not let the Israelites through their territory without a fight when the Israelites were coming back to the promised land from the land of Egypt under Moses. The Edomites killed or injured some of the relatively defenceless of the Israelites which God and the Israelites remembered as a serious offence. The capital of the Edomites is also called Sela or Mount Sela, Mount Seir or the Mount of Esau among other names and I heard it is the third most mentioned city in the Bible after Jerusalem and Babylon. Petra or Sela was built into the rock south of the Dead Sea and was an imposing fortress city that could be readily defended. The book of Obadiah only one chapter long in the Old Testament is all about the eventual doom of the Edomites and the Israelites getting their territory in the Messianic Kingdom. Some notable Edomites in the New Testament are the Herod dynasty which were called Idumeans which is a variation of Edomites. Although the Herods sometimes persecuted the Jews and accomplished some negative actions against Jesus like the attempted assasination when he was an infant and having a part in putting him to death on the cross they also did some good in some major building projects such as an extensive and extravagant renovation of the second temple and an improvement of the tomb of the patriarchs in Hebron where Abraham, Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah were buried who are also forebears of Esau and the Edomites as well as the Israelites. Other than through DNA analysis of some remains in Edomite territory and comparing that with some of the current Bedouin or other current inhabitants it is not clear what existing people are related to the Edomites.
Jacob who was renamed Israel and who became the father of the Israelites or Jews and Esau the father of the Edomites were twins. They were born of Isaac the son of Abraham and Isaac's wife Rebekah. Esau was the firstborn and he came out of the womb red and hairy which gave rise to his name Esau which means red in Hebrew. This was also a foreshadowing that he would be a man of the earth and be preoccupies by natural as opposed to heavenly or spiritual things. When his brother Jacob was born immediately after Esau, Jacob was holding on to Esau's heel which gave rise to Jacob's name which means supplanter. This event and its connotation and Jacob later stealing the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau has given rise to considerable negative sentiment including among Christians concerning Jacob but the fact is that God authorized the birthright and blessing to be given to Jacob and not to Esau although the methods he used to obtain them perhaps could have been less deceptive. The scripture reference from Genesis 25 or the birth of Esau the father of the Edomites and his brother Jacob the father of the Israelites and its significance including for the Edomites is as follows:
And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. Genesis 25:24-26
In Numbers 20 there is the account of the Jews seeking to go peacably through the land of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau on the final part of the journey of the Jews from Egypt to the promised land of Israel or Canaan. The Jews sought to go through the land of the Edomites with minimal interference by staying on the King's highway which was a main highway of that time that went from Ezion-geber (Elath) on the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea then north along the east side of the Dead Sea. This passed through the territory of the Edomites. The Israelites sent messengers from Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea) which was about 40 miles from where the King's highway went through Edom. The Israelites appealed to the Edomites as being brothers and of the misfortune the Jews had endured in Egypt to get some sympathy from the Edomites to let the Israelites pass peacably though their territory. However the Edomites refused this reasonable request and instead came out with some of their armed forces to intimitate the Jews. The Jews or Israelites then decided to avoid confrontation and find some other way to the promised land even though going through Edom would have been the easiest and most direct route. There is evidence later in the Old Testament that God was displeased at this hostile response to the peaceful request for his chosen people Israel from the Edomites and held this against the Edomites. However God didn't direct the Israelites to fight against the Edomites and take their territory like he did to the Amorites when they and their leader Sihon later gave a similiar response as the Edomites to refuse to let the Jews go peacefully through their territory. The Israelites then ended up going east from Kadesh Barnea through a place called Oboth to the north end of the Edomite territory and to the river Arnon near the Moabite territory north of Edom. This is probably because the Edomites, unlike the Amorites, were still descendants of Abraham and brethren of the Israelites and God had given the Esau and his descendants the Edomites the land of Edom as their inheritance. The scripture reference from Numbers 20 of the Edomites' refusal of the peaceful request of the Israelites to pass quietly though their land on the way to the promised land of Israel or Canaan is as follows:
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: Let us pass, I pray thee, though thy country: we will not pass through thy fields, or through thy vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of they wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. Numbers 20:14-22
Although not too many of the names mentioned as the sons or their wives of their children of the descendants of Esau might mean much to people today or be mentioned too much elsewhere in the Bible there are some exceptions. One exception I want to mention is Teman who was the grandson of Esau through Esau's son Eliphaz and his wife Adah who was a Hittite or descendant of Heth. Eliphaz the Temanite is mentioned in Job 2:11, 4:1 and later references in the book of Job. Teman was the person for whom the city Teman was named in northern Arabia. Teman was a main city in the Edomite territory and was also regarded as a place famous for its wise men as in Jeremiah 49:7 and also mentioned in Jeremiah 49:20. Teman was located near the Edomite city of Petra or Sela and the southern end of the Dead Sea. Teman in the Bible was usually considered part of the territory of the Edomites or later Idumea shows that the territory of the Edomites extended well into the northern part of the Arabian peninsula. Teman wasAnother important descendant of Esau is Amalek who gave birth to the Amalekites who were persistant enemies of the Israelites at least until the time of King David. Mount Seir or Mount Sela or Petra was the capital of the Edomite territory but as has already been mentioned their territory extended well into northern Arabia which was probably then more fertile land than it is now. The scripture reference from Genesis 36 of the direct descendents of Esau or the Edomites including the later much referenced Teman is as follows:
Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Basemath bare Reuel; And Abolibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter or Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek; these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes. Genesis 36:1-19
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