Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/266

 These were the caravans from Dedan which, according to Jeremiah, 49: 7, were threatened with destruction by the enemies of Têmân. We may therefore infer that the great transport route from Dedan to Syria traversed the territory of the people of Têmân and that the latter acted as sureties for the safety of the trade caravans. If this is the case, we must locate the people of Têmân in the eastern part of northern Edom, whence led and still lead the main routes connecting north and south, avoiding the deep gorges and ravines in the western part of northern Edom. When the people of Têmân were destroyed, the caravans of Dedan were without protection and could easily be plundered by the common enemy. Ezekiel, 25: 13, refers to the same thing when he threatens that the Lord will stretch out his hand upon Edom and will cut off man and beast from it, that he will make it desolate from Têmân, and that they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. Têmân here designates the whole of Edom, and Dedan all the territory ruled by the master of the oasis of that name which bordered on Edom to the south.

In Habakkuk, 3: 3, there is evidence that a great transport route passed through Têmân, for in this passage it is stated that God came from Têmân and the Holy One from Mount Pârân. After leaving Madian, which bordered on Edom to the south, the Israelites passed along the eastern side of the rift valley of al-ʻAraba, or the ancient Pârân, halted at the latitude of what was later the city of Petra, turned southward, entered the southwestern spur of the Seʻîr mountain range, and reached the southeastern extremity of Moab by way of the transport route. Hence they proceeded along the eastern border of Edom, where we locate Têmân; and thus Habbakuk could say God came from Têmân and the Holy One from Mount Pârân.

Têmân is located in these regions also by Eusebius, who in the Onomasticon (Klostermann), p. 96, says that Teman is the land of the princes of Edom in the country of Gebal and that the settlement of Taiman is still there, at 15,000 paces (according to Jerome, 5000 paces) distant from the city of Petra and with a Roman military garrison. The came Eliphaz, king of Teman, and also one of the sons of Ishmael whose name was Taiman.—The distances given by Eusebius and Jerome should not be taken into account, as the latter does not agree with the former. Jerome must have used a different source. In any case it is difficult to decide which of them is accurate, especially when we see that the statements in the Onomasticon concerning eastern Edom are often at variance with the real facts. Thus, we know with absolute certainty the situation of the Biblical Dedan; nevertheless, contrary to the Bible and to the facts, the Onomasticon locates it in northern Edom, stating that it is situated 4000 paces to the north of Fênân in Edom (ibid., p. 81).

The eastern environs of Petra have been thoroughly explored to a distance of 10,000 paces. They contain no settlement with a name resembling Têmân nor the remains of the Roman camp which existed there according to the Onomasticon. Teman of the Onomasticon, therefore, must have been situated more in the southern half of Edom at some distance from the main caravan route; whereas, according to the Bible, it must be sought in the northern half and upon that route. We may therefore suppose that at the time of Eusebius there was a settlement in Gebal located on the Roman road and known as Teman or