Beginning the Writing Process
After a long time of study and reading, I’ve finally begun the writing process. The coming period of time will see several articles published about Edom and the Edomites, which should be followed by several articles about Idumea and the Idumeans, and in context of the latter: The Judeans and Nabataeans.
Shifting Focus to the Edomites
It’s curious, I didn’t intend to go all the way back to the Edomites at this point. My focus was primarily on the Idumeans, my curiosity awoken by an interesting article by the archaeologist Yigal Levin, who has written a number of articles about the Idumeans. So why suddenly shift the focus and go further back in time in order to write about the Edomites? Well, basically because they are the same people, the Edomites and the Idumeans. And yet, they’re not entirely the same people. But I realized that you can’t really write about the Idumeans, whether by themselves or in context of the Judeans, without first focusing on the Edomites, on their own and their relation to the Judahites.
Identity and Differentiation
And yes, if you ponder why I shift between different uses of identities, you have made the correct observation. As with the Edomites/Idumeans, we most likely also will need to differ between Judahites and Judeans, and in turn, Jews. Of course, there are differing views on whether such distinctions should be made between Judahites, Judeans, and Jews, but for me it seems, well, maybe not obvious, but clear that we should differ between the three identities to reflect their specific historical and cultural contexts.
Exploring the Concept of Identity
This blog post isn’t going to be about the Jews, or Judahites, or Judeans. It’s about the concept of identity in the ancient Near East, particularly in Palestine, and how identities seem to be elusive and shifting. For example, the Judahite was a pre-exile people with its power center in First Temple period Jerusalem, a people with a different self-conception and understanding of the world around them than the Judeans, a post-exile people, who struggled to restore their power center in a destroyed Jerusalem, a destruction and exile, which left an everlasting impact and impression on them, felt even by the Jews (and Christians) in our days.
The Judean-Idumean Merger
And of course, while the Judeans did manage to rebuild that power center and establish a second temple, the destruction of that temple changed the political-regional identity of the Judeans into the ethno-religious identity of the Jews, an identity that absorbed the aforementioned Idumeans, in effect making the Jews a result of a Judean and Idumean identity merger.
Fluid and Shifting Identities
The curious thing about the Edomite, how they came to be and how they came to disappear—or turn into a new different, but similar, people—is how we understand identity, both today and back then. We have this concept of how the ancient Palestinian people came to be, somehow conceiving of them as just suddenly being, and often trying to understand them in light of how we understand “people,” and maybe particularly “nations,” today. But it seems that few things were so clear cut back then. There were no clear borders to separate groups of people from each other, and the further we would move from power centers, the more diffuse the identities would become.
Local Realities in the Negev
For example, in the northern Negev, with Jerusalem and Busayra far away, the people there—Edomites, Judahites, Arabs—would be more concerned with local matters and relations than what supposed rulers in the far-away capitals would tell them to care about.
The Theme of Identity in Palestinian History
And this is a theme that continues down history, a theme that is crucial to understand Palestinian history and what it means to be part of Palestine, or even what it means to be Palestinian. I of course am not thinking about “Palestinian” as it’s used in the context of modern nationalist narratives and contests, which has taken on a whole different meaning. Unlike today’s rigid notions of nationhood, ancient identities were far more fluid and context-dependent. I’m thinking about it in context of historical Palestine, the Palestine where we find a multitude of people: Canaanites, Israelites, Judahites, Samaritans, Edomites, Qedarites, Nabataeans, Greeks, even Romans, and later religious-oriented people like Jews, Pagans, Christians, and Muslims.
Introducing the Edomites
Understanding the Edomites and their transformation into the Idumeans offers key insights into how identities evolve and interweave within the larger history of Palestine. This theme of fluid and evolving identities isn’t unique to the Edomites but is critical to understanding the broader history of Palestine.
An Invitation to Explore Together
I’m curious about delving further into the Edomite story, exploring their impact on Palestinian history with you. For now, at least, I’m thrilled to present the first article, The Birth of Edom: Through the Lens of History and Archaeology. I hope you will read it, share it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts: What aspects of Edom and the Edomites would you like me to explore in future articles?