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There have been alliances between the Israelites and Edom. I'm quite puzzled as to why the prophets are so critical of the Edomites? Can anyone send me sources of terrible things that The Edomites did to the Jews? Besides of course King Herod..

mevaqesh
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TheTribeOfJudah
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    Could you add references to the prophets being critical of Edom, and the alliances with them? – mevaqesh Mar 21 '17 at 04:53
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    note that you are asking 2 different questions. One, in your title, of why they were critical, and the second, presupposing the answer to the first, of what terrible things they did. – mevaqesh Mar 21 '17 at 04:54
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    Off of the tip of my head: They were unfriendly to the point of aggression in Deuteronomy. Amalek, the tribal arch-nemesis of Israel, is an Edomite tribe. There also seems to have been some sort of atrocity committed by Edom that they are severely criticized for in Obadiah and Jeremiah in a very similar fashion. – Baby Seal Mar 21 '17 at 06:12
  • Hating our brothers the Edomites is a biblical prohibition לא תתעב אדומי כי אחיך הוא – Double AA Mar 21 '17 at 11:43
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    @DoubleAA you can be critical without hating. – Baby Seal Mar 21 '17 at 14:29
  • If you look in context, there seems to have been an expectation of fraternity and loyalty on Edoms part that was not fulfilled. The critiques of Edom are primarily in later writings, namely Obadiah and Jeremiah. Amos, and Deuteronomy both seem to speak well of Edom as far as Israel's attitude towards them. – Baby Seal Mar 30 '17 at 00:26
  • This could suggest that Edom's behavior towards Israel was unexpected towards the end of the 1st commonwealth. There is evidence that after Edom gained it's independence from Israel there was in short order a regional alliance between many kingdoms, Israel and Edom included, against the imminent Assyrian threat. There is evidence that Edom betrayed this alliance with Israel during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem which ended with the temple's destruction. This would fit well with the narratives in Jeremiah and Obadiah, as well as with anti Edom verses in Malachi, psalms, and lamentations. – Baby Seal Mar 30 '17 at 00:37
  • I wrote a paper on this for college. I will try to post an answer when I have time. – Baby Seal Mar 30 '17 at 00:49

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See psalms 137:7 (Al Naharoth Bavel). They destroyed the temple! Rome is often equated with Edom/Esau!

yonatanhakatan
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