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→The Edomites’ Conflicts with Israel and Judah
The book of Deuteronomy (2:1-8), though, states that the Hebrews were in fact allowed to pass through Edom. This apparent inconsistency is rectified by modern scholars through understanding the political geography of ancient Edom. The Edomite king who initially barred the Hebrews entry into his kingdom controlled the northern section of the land around Mount Seir, while the Edomites who allowed them to pass were in the southern, wilderness region of Edom. <ref> Glatt-Gilad, David A. “The Re-Interpretation of the Edomite-Israelite Encounter in Deuteronomy II.” <i>Vestus Testamentum.</i> 47 (1997) p. 443-5</ref> The circuitous route coincides with most of the likely Exodus routes, which would have sent the Hebrews through the town of Ezlon-geber on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba before turning north and skirting the western edge of Edom.
====The Edomites’ Conflicts with Israel and Judah====
[[File: Edomite_shrine_Tamar.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|An Edomite Shrine from the Town of Tamar]]
The Edomites transitioned from a primarily nomadic society to a more or less sedentary stationary state around the same time that the states of Moab, Ammon, and Israel formed in the same region. <ref> Kuhrt, Amélie. <i>The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC.</i> (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 416</ref> There are no signs of conflict between Edom and Israel in this period immediately before 1000 BC, and in fact many scholars have suggested that early Edom and Israel shared many cultural affinities. Although little is known about Edomite religion, the Israelite’s god was probably known in Edom and shared attributes with the Edomites’ primary god. The Edomites may also have worshipped the Israelite god and shared some of the Israelites’ rituals, but this is unknown. <ref> Assis, Elie. “Why Edom? On the Hostility Towards Jacob’s Brother in Prophetic Sources.” <i>Vestus Testamentum.</i> 56 (2006) p. 437</ref> It is known, though, that there was no theological or religious conflict between the two peoples. By the time the Edomites and Israelites transitioned into kingdom states, land became a commodity that was exploited and taken by force if need be, which proved to be at the core of the Israelite-Edomite conflict.
Although little is known about Edomite religion, the Israelite’s god was probably known in Edom and shared attributes with the Edomites’ primary god. The Edomites may also have worshipped the Israelite god and shared some of the Israelites’ rituals, but this is unknown. <ref> Assis, Elie. “Why Edom? On the Hostility Towards Jacob’s Brother in Prophetic Sources.” <i>Vestus Testamentum.</i> 56 (2006) p. 437</ref> It is known, though, that there was no theological or religious conflict between the two peoples. By the time the Edomites and Israelites transitioned into kingdom states, land became a commodity that was exploited and taken by force if need be, which proved to be at the core of the Israelite-Edomite conflict. When Israel became a kingdom around the year 1000 BC, Saul, the first king of Israel, campaigned against Edom. <ref> 1 Sam. 14:47</ref> According to the Old Testament, it was Saul’s successor, David, who conquered Edom and , after doing so , installed permanent garrisons to ensure the Edomites would be compliant.
“And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men. And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.” <ref> 2 Sam. 8:11-14</ref>
The Edomites were the subject people of Israel for several decades, until King Solomon, David’s successor, died in 928 BC. After the famous king’s death, Edom rebelled as Israel split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north with Samaria as its capital and Judah in the south governed from Jerusalem. <ref> Kuhrt, p. 456</ref> The split meant that Edom was independent for a time, but it also then had to deal with the Kingdom of Judah and a resurgent Egypt.
After Shoshenq I’s foray into the Levant, neither Judah nor Israel were was able to reassert their hegemony over the region, although both tried. The Assyrians first began moving into the region territory during the rule of Adad-nirari II (810-783 BC) and then . Then other Assyrian kings followed, with Shalmanser Shalmaneser V (reigned 726-722 BC) beginning a long siege of Israel that ended with Sargon II (ruled 722-705 BC) taking most of Israel’s population into captivity. Judah escaped the Assyrian scourge, but fell victim to a similar fate in 587-586 BC at the hands of the Neo-Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 604-562 BC). After Nebuchadnezzar took the population of Judah captive to Babylon, the Edomites quickly occupied Judah. <ref> Assis, p. 5</ref> The event was chronicled in the books of Obadiah and Lamentations, where curiously the Edomites are referred to as brothers of the Israelites.
“For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for everforever. In the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction.” <ref> Obad. 1:10-14</ref>
===So Why Were the Edomites and Israelites Enemies?===
