Page:EB1911 - Volume 08.djvu/977

 preserved. After the death of David he returned to Edom; if, as the narrative implies, he became a troublesome adversary to Solomon, nothing is known of his achievements, and if the royal trading-journeys from Ezion-geber were maintained, Edom could have done little. However, in the first half of the 9th century Edom was under the rule of Jehoshaphat of Judah, and this king together with Israel held Ezion-geber (1 Kings xxii. 47 sqq.; 2 Chron. xx. 35 sqq.). But some catastrophe befell the fleet, and shortly afterwards Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram had to face a revolt in which Edom and the men of Libnah (the Philistines) were concerned. It was about this period that Israel had conquered Moab, thrusting it farther south towards Edom, and the subsequent success of Moab in throwing off the yoke, and the unsuccessful attempt of Jehoram of Israel to regain the position, may show that Edom was also in alliance with Moab. In the time of Adad-nirari of Assyria (812–783 ) Edom is mentioned as an independent tributary with Beth-Omri (Israel) and Palashtu (Philistia); the absence of Judah is perplexing. Amaziah of Judah had gained a signal victory over Edom in the valley of Salt (2 Kings xiv. 7), but after his defeat by Jehoash of Israel there is a gap and the situation is obscure. Consequently it is uncertain whether Edom was the vassal of the next great Israelite king Jeroboam II., or whether the Assyrian evidence for its independent position belongs to this later time. However, Uzziah, a contemporary of Jeroboam II., and one of the most successful of Judaean kings, overcame Edom and its natural allies (2 Chron. xxvi. 6 sqq.), and at this stage Edomite history becomes more prominent. It joined the great coalition in which Philistia and Israel were leagued against Assyria, and drove out the Judaeans who had been in possession of Elath. On the events that followed see ; ;. The Assyrian inscriptions name as tributary kings of Edom, Kauš-melek (time of Tiglath-Pileser IV.), Malik (?)-ram (701 ), and Kauš-gabri (7th century). In the middle of the 7th century both Edom and Moab suffered from the restlessness of the desert tribes, and after another period of obscurity, they joined in the attempt made by Zedekiah of Judah to revolt against Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. xxvii. 3). In the last years before the fall of Jerusalem many of the Jews found a refuge in Edom (Jer. xl. 11), although other traditions throw another light upon the attitude of Edom during these disasters.

That Edomites burned the temple after the destruction of Jerusalem (1 Esd. iv. 45, cf. v. 50) is on a line with the repeated denunciation of their “unbrotherly” conduct in later writings. Certainly the weak state of Palestine invited attacks from the outlying tribes, but the tone of certain late writings implies a preliminary period of, at least, neutrality (cf. Deut. ii. 4 sqq., xxiii. 7 seq.; the omission of Edom in xxiii. 3; Neh. xiii. 1; and in Ezra ix. 1—contrast 1 Esd. viii. 69). Subsequently Edom is execrated for revengeful attacks upon the Jews, and its speedy destruction is foretold; but the passages appear to be much later than the disaster of 587, and may even imply conditions after the restoration (Ob. 10 sqq.; Ezek. xxv. 12-14; Jer. xlix. 7; Ps. cxxxvii. 7; Lam. iv. 21 seq., v. 2 sqq.). But at length the day of reckoning came (cf. Is. xxxiv. 5; lxiii. 1-6), and the fate of Edom is still fresh in the mind of Malachi (i. 1-5).

The problem is complicated by the possibility that during the ages over which the references can range many changes of fortune could have occurred. The pressure of the (q.v.) forced Edom to leave its former seats and advance into the south of Judah with Hebron as the capital. This had been fully accomplished by 312, but the date of the first occupation cannot be ascertained from the literary evidence alone. Thus the district in question is Jewish in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. xi. 25-30), but it is uncertain whether the Edomite occupation was earlier (a fusion being assumed) or later, or whether the passage may be untrustworthy. Henceforth, the new home of the Edomites is consequently known as Idumaea. See, for further history, ;.

Although but little is known of the inhabitants of Edom, their close relationship to Judah and their kinship with the surrounding tribes invest them with particular interest. The ties which united Lot (the “father” of Ammon and Moab), Ishmael, Midian and Edom (Esau) with the southern tribes Judah and Simeon, as manifested in the genealogical lists, are intelligible enough on geographical grounds alone, and the significance of this for the history of Judah and Palestine cannot be ignored. The traditions recording the separation of Lot from Abraham, of Hagar and Ishmael from Isaac, and of Esau from Jacob, although at present arranged in a descending scheme of family relationship, are the result of systematic grouping and cannot express any chronological order of events (see ). Many motives have worked to bring these legends into their present form, and while they depict the character of Israel’s wilder neighbours, they represent the recurrent alternating periods of hostility and fellowship between it and Edom which mark the history. Esau (Edom) although the older, loses his superiority, and if the oracles declare that the elder shall serve the younger (Jacob, i.e. Israel), the final independence of Esau (Gen. xxv. 23, xxvii. 39 seq.), as foretold, obviously alludes to some successful Edomite revolt. As an enemy, Edom in alliance with the tribes along the trade-routes (Philistines, Moabites, &c.) was responsible for many injuries, and in frequent forays carried away Judaeans as slaves for Gaza and Tyre (Am. i. 6 seq., 9). As an ally or vassal, it was in touch with the wealth of Arabia (Ezek. xxvii. 16, read “Edom” for “Aram”), and Judah and Israel as well as Gaza and Damascus enjoyed the fruits of its commerce. In view of the evidence for the advanced culture of early Arabia, the question of Edom is extremely suggestive, and although speculation at this stage would be premature, it is interesting to observe that Edomite and allied tribes were famed for their wisdom, and that apart from the possibility of Arabian influence upon Israelite culture, the influence of Midian and related tribes is certain from the traditions of Moses and of his work (see ; ; ), and the Edomite district was a traditional home of Yahweh himself (Deut. xxxiii. 2; Judg. v. 4; Hab. iii. 3); see. It should be added, however, that the Edomite names and other evidence point to the cult of other gods, viz. Baal, Hadad, Malik (cf. ), Kauš, or Kuš, and Kozeh (Jos. Ant. xv. 7, 9), who was probably a sky or lightning deity.

 EDRED, king of the English (d. 955), was the youngest son of Edward the Elder and his wife Eadgifu. He succeeded his brother Edmund in the year 946 and at this time received the formal submission both of the Northumbrians and Scots. In the next year Edred himself went to Tanshelf, near