Bozrah
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- For the town in Syria, see Bosra. For the town in Connecticut, see Bozrah, Connecticut.
Botsra, Botzrah, Bozrah (Hebrew: בצרה) is an ancient biblical city in southern modern-day Jordan, now Bouseira between Tafilah (Tophel) and Shobak.
[edit] History
Bozrah was the capital city of Edom. According to the Old Testament, the city was the homeland of Jacob's twin brother, Esau. Bozrah means "sheepfold" and was a pastoral city in Edom southeast of the Dead Sea.
- "And these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before the reigning of a king over the sons of Israel...And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah, from Bozrah, reigned in his place". (Gen 36:31-33)
The prophets Amos and Isaiah predicted Bozrah's destruction.
- "But I will send a fire against Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah". (Amo 1:12)
According to a Christian interpretation of Isaiah 63:1, Bozrah will be one of the venues of the Last Judgement when Messiah returns to earth to judge the wicked.
According to a Christian interpretation of Micah 2:12-13, Bozrah will also be the scene of a magnificent "break-out" of God's covenant people from an Edomite controlled place of exile and incarceration in the End times. This has been referred to by some Bible scholars as the Bozrah deliverance.