Prophecy
Prophecy: The End of Edom
- Era
- prophesied c. 6th century BC; fulfilled by 1st century BC
- Location
- Edom / Petra (Jordan)
- Discovered
- —
Obadiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all predicted that Edom — the wealthy fortress kingdom carved into the red cliffs at Petra — would become permanently desolate. By the time of Jesus, the kingdom was gone.
The find
Obadiah 1:18, Jeremiah 49:7-22, and Ezekiel 35 announce that Edom (whose strongholds included Petra) would be "cut off forever" and that "no one will remain of the house of Esau." The Edomites were displaced by the Nabateans by the 5th-4th century BC, absorbed into Idumea, and after the destruction of the Second Temple ceased to exist as a distinct people. Petra itself, abandoned after earthquakes and trade-route shifts, became the "lost city" until rediscovered by Burckhardt in 1812.
Why it matters
An entire people-group was prophesied to vanish from the earth — and vanish they did, exactly as foretold.
Cross-linked Scripture
Doctrine check
Sources
- ·Bartlett, J.R. (1989). Edom and the Edomites
- ·Glueck, N. (1940). The Other Side of the Jordan
- ·Obadiah & Ezekiel 25 — Edom prophecies (Bible Gateway)
- ·Edom — history (Wikipedia)