Bozrah

Bozrah in the Bible

Bozrah was a city in the land of Edom and is mentioned in several places in the Old Testament.

• Genesis 36:33; 1 Chronicles 1:44: These passages record that after the death of Bela, king of Edom, "Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead." This is the earliest reference to the city and appears in the list of the kings of Edom.
• Isaiah 34:6: In a prophecy of judgment against Edom, the text declares that "the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea."
• Isaiah 63:1–6: The passage describes one who "cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah," and who has trodden down his enemies alone, as one treads the winepress.
• Jeremiah 49:13, 22: Jeremiah prophesies that "Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse." He also says that the enemy will spread his wings like an eagle over Bozrah.
• Amos 1:12: The LORD declares, "I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah."
• Micah 2:12: God promises to gather the remnant of Israel "as the sheep of Bozrah."

Jeremiah 48:24 also mentions a Bozrah among the cities of Moab. This site is generally considered distinct from the Edomite Bozrah.

Background

The name is understood to be related to a Hebrew word denoting a place fenced in so as to be difficult to approach—that is, a fortress or a sheepfold. The site is widely identified with Buseirah in Jordan, on the highlands southeast of the Dead Sea. The area lies near the trade routes linking north and south. Excavations there are reported to have uncovered the remains of large buildings from the late Iron Age. On this basis scholars regard Bozrah in this period as the principal city of Edom, though opinions differ on the details of the chronology.

Bozrah (Bostra) in southern Syria has a similar name but is a different city, one that flourished in the Nabataean and Roman periods.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the prophetic books, the name Bozrah stands for Edom as a whole. Because Edom, descended from Esau, had a long history of hostility toward Israel, it became a symbol of the judgment that would come upon the powers opposed to God. This theme is also connected with the prophecies of the Day of the LORD.

The New Testament does not mention Bozrah directly. However, many interpreters see the imagery of the "vesture dipped in blood" and the "winepress" in Revelation 19:13, 15 as echoing Isaiah 63.

Interpretations and Debates

• The figure in red garments in Isaiah 63: Since the patristic era, Christian tradition has read this figure as Christ, and some have linked the blood to the sufferings of the cross. In the context of the passage, however, the blood is that of the enemies. For this reason, many commentators today read the scene as a foreshadowing of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment.
• "Bozrah" in Micah 2:12: Translations and interpretations differ on whether the word should be taken as a place name or as a common noun meaning "sheepfold."
• The end-times refuge interpretation: Some dispensationalist interpreters combine Micah 2:12 and Isaiah 63 to argue that in the last days the remnant of Israel will flee to the region of Bozrah and that Christ will come there. This interpretation is inferred by connecting several passages; Scripture does not state it directly. Other denominations and scholars frequently reject it.