Edom

Meanings

1. The name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible.
2. A region whose inhabitants, the Edomites, traditionally traced their ancestry to Esau.
3. Rome, the Roman Empire.
4. Christianity; Christendom, the Christian countries.

Etymology

Via Late Latin Edōm from Koine Greek Ἐδώμ (Edṓm) from Biblical Hebrew אֱדוֹם (ʾĔḏōm). The medieval Jewish use of "Edom" to refer to Christians referred to their view of Christianity as a heresy that originated from Judaism, comparing Christians to Esau as a relative who was hostile to Jacob (who represented the Jewish people). It originated from Jewish writings that compared the Roman authorities to Edom for their persecution of Jewish people, which was later applied to Christianity when the latter became the state religion of the Roman Empire.