>>520291543 (OP)
Our story begins in the 6th century B.C., after the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 B.C.. Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the Edomites were displaced from their homeland by the Nabataeans and took advantage of the depopulation of Judah’s southern lands. They migrated north into these former Judean territories, where they established the region of Idumea.
Over the following centuries, Idumea developed as a distinct territory centered on Hebron and Mareshah, inhabited by a mixed population of Edomites, Arabs, and Judeans. Cultural and linguistic exchange deepened the ties between Idumea and Judah, even as the political boundary between them grew increasingly fluid.
By the 2nd century B.C., this proximity turned to conflict during the Maccabean Revolt, when Idumea’s fortified cities posed a threat to Judea’s southern frontier. In 163 B.C., Judas Maccabeus invaded Idumea, captured Hebron, and subdued the region, marking the first major step toward Idumea’s integration into the expanding Hasmonean Jewish state.
By 125 B.C., under the rule of John Hyrcanus I, the Idumeans were fully integrated into Judah through conquest and conversion, becoming an inseparable part of the Jewish nation.
>Why does any of this matter?
The rise & prominence of the Pharisees is directly tied to the Idumeans and their influence on the Judeans.
"The Pharisees said to Jesus, "We are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man" (John 8:33). Yet, Israelites, who are Abraham's seed, had a long history of bondage in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Therefore, the Pharisees were the other branch of Abraham's seed in Palestine at the time -- EDOMITES. Christ called the Pharisees and Saduccees "a wicked and adulterous generation.""
(1/2)