Idumea

Term derived from the Greek form of Edom (“red”). The change from Edomite to Idumean resulted from the conquests of Alexander the Great, which made Greek the common language of the area. The name was applied to the former country of the Edomites and to the portion of south Judah occupied by the descendants of Esau after the Jews had been deported to Babylon following the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The country known as Idumea in the intertestamental period had its northern boundary at Bet-sur (Beth-zur), a few miles north of Hebron, and included some of the Shephelah (low country) extending down into the former Philistine country (1 Macc 4:15, 22, 61; 5:65).

First known as Edomites, then as Nabateans, and finally as Idumeans, the ancestors of the Idumeans trace their lineage to the elder brother of Jacob, Esau, who was cheated out of both his birthright and his blessing (Gn 27:1–45). This led to conflict between the children of Israel and the descendants of Esau throughout the entire biblical period.