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Edom (Hebrew Edom,) sounds like
the Biblical Hebrew word for "red" and is a vividly apposite designation
for the red sandstones of Edom. 'Edom' is also an alternative name for
Esau according to the Bible. The Book of
Genesis mentions "red" a number of times when
describing Esau and connecting that color to him.
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"The first one Esau came out reddish
as hairy as a fur coat. They named him Esau." (Genesis 25:25)."Jacob was
once simmering a stew, when Esau came home exhausted from the field. Esau
said to Jacob, 'Give me a swallow of that reddish red (ha-adom, ha-adom
[i.e. using the word ha-adom twice]) I am exhausted.' He was therefore given
the name Edom ('Red' or 'Ruddy')." [2] (Genesis 25:29-30) . See also
Genesis
36. |
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Thus how Esau gained the name Edom is explained in the
Book of Genesis commencing with his reddish hairy body at birth, the strange
symbolic hurried eating of Jacob's red stew (for which he sold his
birthright of being the first-born) which the narrative attaches to his
name, and the descriptions of him and his descendants connecting Esau with
Edom inextricably and calling them Edomites. Later they were called Idumeans
in Roman times. |
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The land of Edom is also called the land of Seir in
which the descendants of Esau settled, displacing the Horites, and the
Edomites are the people of the nation they formed there. The land of Edom
is generally believed to be the hill country immediately to the east of
Wadi Arabah, which is today part of the Kingdom of Jordan as well as
northern Saudi Arabia. Later in Jewish history, it was the
Roman Empire
that came to be identified with Esau and "Edom" because of their reliance
on the symbolism of red in their banners and standards and with their
ruthless "bloody" reign in Judea as experienced by the people of Judea. |
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