From Edom to Idumea: Analysis of Selected Passages from the Hexateuch

Abstract

This paper deals with selected parallel passages from the Hebrew (MT) and Greek (LXX) Bibles that are relevant to the historical geography of Edom/Idumea: Numbers 20:16, Deuteronomy 2:1, and Joshua 15:1–4. The purpose of the comparison of the Hebrew and Greek texts is to verify that the LXX passages do not contain any textual differences that may reflect historical events that occurred between the time of the composition of the Hebrew Bible and the time of the creation of the Greek Bible (LXX). To be more precise, the historical event in question is the migration of the Edomites from Transjordan into the Negev and southern Judah and the creation of the province of Idumea, which included the entire Negev and southern Judea as far as Beth-Zur. In the end, the comparison shows that, despite minor textual differences, the Greek text does not contain any differences which may be attributed to the influence of the historical event in question.