God would be directing the Israelites to invade Canaan from the east. The most direct route to the region east of the Jordan River led through the territory of Edom, the nation descended from Jacob's brother Esau.
Moses made a formal request for Israel to be granted safe passage through the territory of Edom, but the Edomites turned it down (Num 20:14-21). This was an early instance of the hostility that developed between the two sibling nations.
A famous later instance came at the time when Babylon conquered the kingdom of Judah in the early sixth century BC. Edom rejoiced in Israel's misfortune (Ps 137:7), an attitude for which they were rebuked by the prophets (Obadiah 11-14; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15). By cheering on the Babylonians, the Edomites "were hoping for the destruction of the 'foundations' of the Yahweh's rule on earth," Willem Van Gemeren observes in his commentary on Psalm 137. The Edomites, in Numbers 20 and later, placed themselves in opposition to God's purpose and plan.
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