The Rise and Fall of the Edomites

And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. (Genesis 36:9)

Genesis 36 is a chapter filled with names, recording the notable men among the descendants of Esau, the father of the Edomites, who became an important neighbor nation to Israel. Edom and the Edomites are mentioned some 130 times in the Bible.

When the Israelites came through the wilderness to the promised land in the time of Moses, the Edomites refused them passage through their land (Numbers 20:21). This was a source of great discouragement for Israel (Numbers 21:4).

Even so, God commanded special regard for the Edomites among Israel: You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother (Deuteronomy 23:7).

In the days of Saul, Edom was made subject to Israel (1 Samuel 14:47), and David established garrisons there (2 Samuel 8:14). But later, in the days of Joram, the son of Ahab, the Edomites became independent of Israel (2 Kings 8:16-22).

Several of the prophets spoke about and against Edom, including Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:17-18), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 25:12-14). From the time Islam conquered the Middle East, the region was mostly unoccupied, except for a few Bedouins and military outposts. It has been brought to nothing, as Obadiah had prophesied. The entire book of Obadiah records an extended prophecy against Edom.

So, what happened to the Edomites? They were judged by God, as the prophets said would happen (such as Obadiah and Jeremiah). The Edomites were conquered by the Nabatean Arabs, perhaps as early as 500 b.c. Many of the surviving Edomites went to the area of southern Judea (the land on the western side of the Dead Sea) these became known as Idumeans, also mixed the with people already living in that that area.

By the end of spring, AD 68, the Romans had laid waste to Idumaea. This was effectively the end of the Edomite people, who had been in decline and mixing with neighboring peoples for a long time. As a genetic people, the descendants of Esau are lost to history. Of course, their DNA lives on in some sense, but they are so intermixed with other peoples that there is no definable genetic group of “Edomites” today.

It is a strange and sobering thought. The Edomites were a people so numerous and prominent that God devoted an entire chapter in the first Book of Moses to listing the names of their chiefs and notable men.

Yet, because of their many sins – including the sin of rejoicing and offering no help when their cousin-nation Israel was attacked – God brought upon them a severe judgment, so severe that they no longer exist as a people.

It is also significant that God has preserved the people of Israel, when they could have ended up as Edom. It shows a basic truth: How good it is to be in God’s favor (by the grace of Jesus Christ), and how terrible it is to be the target of His judgment.