What is…
Idumea
also known as: Edom and Idumaea
Greek: Ἰδουμαία —transliteration: Idoumaia —occurrences: 1 (Mark)
Idumea is a later Greek form of the name Edom, an alternate name of Esau, and of the country his descendants, the Edomites, ruled. It was located south of Judea (see: EDOM).
The name “Idumea” is mentioned by name in all translations of the book of Mark, as it is written in Greek.
and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. —Mark 3:8
The name also appears in the King James Version of 4 verses in the book of Ezekiel. However, more recent translations stick to the name “Edom”, which is the transliteration of the actual word in Hebrew: אֱדֹם. In 100 other Old Testament occurences the KJV uses “Edom”.
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. —Isaiah 34:5-6 KJV
Also “Idumea” in Ezek. 35:15 KJV and Ezek. 36:5 KJV
More information
- Who are the men called Herod in the Bible, the Herodian Dynasty? —Idumeans, Edomites
- Who and what is Edom?
- Who is Esau?
- Land of Seir
- About the Greek language in the Bible
- Places of the Bible