Idumea

Idumea was the Greek word for Edom. Edom was south of Judea and the Dead Sea. Mark 3: 7-12

The Edomites (Idumeans) were blood relatives of the Israelites for they traced their ancestry to Esau, the brother of Jacob. Genesis 36: 1-9

Julius Caesar in 47 B.C. appointed an Idumean, Antipater, procurator of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Herod, son of Antipater, was crowned king of the Jews in 37 B.C.

When Titus besieged Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Idumeans joined the Jews in rebellion against Rome and when Rome took over Jerusalem with great slaughter, Idumea, or Edom, ceased to exist.