Who were the Nabataeans?

Alice C. Linsley


The term "Nabataean" refers to the empire and city-building royal house of Idumea. Idumea is a Greek word meaning "Land of Red People" and is another reference to ancient Edom. According to Josephus, Idumea extended in antiquity from Hebron (where Sarah resided) to Beersheba (where Keturah resided). This is the extent of Abraham's territory. The map shows Abraham's territory extending between the settlements of his two wives in Hebron and Beersheba.

Some have speculated that the Magi were Nabataeans. This is not an unreasonable thesis (though the biblical text says the Magi came from the east, not the south.) The rulers of Idumea were heirs to a body of astronomical knowledge and a Messianic expectation that was common to the people of Idumea (ancient Edom) and Judah. Ancient Edom once included what is today a large section of Judah. 

The antiquity and prestige of the Edomite rulers is expressed in Jeremiah's reference to Edom and Teman of Edom as ancient seats of wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7). Genesis 36 explains, "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel."

The Nabataeans are the heirs of that wisdom. They are mentioned in historical records such as Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca (book 19), dating to 312 BC, and in an Egyptian papyrus dating to 259 BC. They are mistakenly classified as Arabs. Jan Retso's excellent paper on Nabataean origins indicates that it is misleading to apply the label "Arabs" to the Nabataeans. Retso observes that in 1 Maccabees 5 (v. 25) the Nabataeans were allied with Judas Maccabees while the Arabs are named as his enemies (v. 39).

The Nabataean capital of Petra reflects the pillared architecture of the Horite shrines of the Nile, and the first ruler of Petra, Obodas, took his name from the Edo/Edomite name for ruler which is Oba.

According to the linguist Helene Longpre, Nabataean Aramaic most closely correspond to Meroitic or Old Nubian. (See H. Longpre, "Investigation of the Ancient Meroitic Writing System", Rhode Island College, 1999.) 

Related reading: Petra Reflects Horite Beliefs; The Extent of Edomite Territory; Edo, Edom and Idumea; Horite Hebrew Expectation and the Star of Bethlehem

The Temple of the Winged Lions

Alice C. Linsley

It is said that the Temple of the Winged Lions was built to honor al-Uzza, a goddess of the pre-Islamic Quraysh. The temple stands on a promontory overlooking Petra and was accessible by ascending a massive staircase. The entrance was flanked by huge columns and the inner chamber has multiple columns, typical of the ancient Nilotic temples. The twelve columns surrounding the main podium were adorned with “winged lion” capitals.

In the ancient world, the lion was the animal totem of the rulers identified in Genesis as the "mighty men of old." This is why the names of many biblical rulers have the ar affix. It signifies both the lion and the ruler. Ari was an honorific for a man of distinction and power. The Hebrew word ari (or aryeh), the Akkadian aria, the Aramaic arya, and the Sanskrit word aryeh  mean "noble." In Genesis 49:9, Jacob refers to his son Judah as Gur Aryeh גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה, a "young lion."

The totem of Shobal's clan was the lion, fierce in it youthful strength. Shobal was one of the Horite Habiru kings named in the Genesis 36 ruler list.

The ruler Ar-pacshad is named in Genesis as one of Abraham's ancestors. His name means "happy ruler" or "happy lion." He ruled sometime in the period between 2445–2160 BC.

The narrative surrounding the goddess Uzza comes from a later time, about 200 AD, and mainly from Islamic sources. In his effort to eradicate idolatry Mohammed is said to have ordered the destruction of shrines dedicated to al-Uzza.Yet this monumental temple stands and was clearly a prestigious religious site in the time of Jesus when the Nabateans controlled the Arabian incense trade and a kingdom that stretched from Damascus to the Hejaz.

The Nabataean warriors had long wavy hair and wore feathers. 

Was Uzza a goddess or a clan designation?

It is strange that to find the name Uzza associated with a goddess because Uzza is a man's name. In Hebrew the names Uzza עזא and Uzzah עזה apply only to men. A man named Uzza tried to stop the Ark from falling off a cart (1 Chronicles 13:7; also 2 Samuel 6:6.) 

Another Uzza is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 8:7 as a son of Gera of Benjamin and a brother of Ahihud. Ezra 2:49 mentions a temple servant named Uzza who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylonian captivity.

There is also a man named Uzza associated with a palace garden in which king Manasseh is interred (2 Kings 21:18). Some think this might king Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:23).

The root of the names Uzza, Uzzah, and Uzziah is Uz. The "land of Uz" is Job's homeland, according to Job 1:1. Uz is also associated with the rulers of Edom, the region where Petra is located. Uz was a grandson of Seir the Horite (Genesis 36). 

It seems likely that the temple of Uzza was dedicated to Hathor, not a goddess named Uzza. The Horites of Edom venerated Hathor, the mother of Horus. The three trees symbolism at the temple of the Winged Lions likely represents the divine Triad: Ra, Horus and Hathor. Generally, the architecture at Petra reflects the Horite three-part structure of the Divine Triad. 

The Nabataean kings, such as Harithath IV, bear the Horus name. King Harithath is called King Aretas in II Corinthians 11:32. Coins bearing the image of Aretas have been found in the Nabataean town of Avdat. He was called "King of the Nabatu, who loves his people" (Philopatris), and it was during his reign that the greatest of Petra's tombs were created.

The word Nabataean is related to Naba or Nabu, the guardian of scribes and prophets. This is the origin of the Hebrew word nabi, meaning prophet. The earliest scribes were Horite priests. The cult of Nabu was introduced into Mesopotamia and Babylon by the Kushites. Kushite kings sometimes bore the name Nabu, as with Nabu-shum-libur, an early Kushite king in Babylon and Nabu-apluiddina.

The first ruler of Petra was Obodas. This name is derived from the Edo/Edomite name for ruler which is Oba. Linguist Helene Longpre recognizes that Demotic Egyptian (7th-5th c. B.C.) and Nabatean Aramaic most closely correspond to Meroitic or Old Nubian. (Longpre, "Investigation of the Ancient Meroitic Writing System", Rhode Island College, 1999.) Demotic is the script of the Rosetta stone in the Ptolemaic period (BC 332-30).

Related reading: Petra Reflects Horite Architecture; Edo, Edom, Idumea; New Petra Monument Spotted Through Satellites; The Lion and Ancient Rulers; Black Stones and Al-Uzza

The Edomites and the Color Red

Alice C. Linsley

The point of origin for humans is Africa and from the beginning humans exhibited a wide range of physical traits, including skin color, hair textures, eye shape, etc. The San (Bushmen) are one of the oldest people groups of Africa and they have a yellow skin tone. The peoples of the Upper Nile had both black and red skin tones. Images of black and red Nubian appear on ancient Egyptian monuments.

Petrie's study of ancient images suggested to him that Egypt was the product of racial mixture. He found images of Nubians in which some have black skin, others red skin, and some have brown skin. This confirmed what had been discovered by the 1828 Franco-Italian expedition to Egypt led by Jean-Francois Champollion and Ippolito Rosellini. Below is a detail from one of Rosellini's drawings showing both black and red Nubians taken captive by the Egyptians under Rameses II (1279-1213 B.C.).

The red skin tone is especially evident in peoples of Haplogroup R1b. Among these peoples were the Edo of Nigeria and Benin and the Edomites.

The Edo and the Edomites are related genetically. These are among Abraham's ancestors who came out of Africa. These were originally river peoples who moved along river systems and mountain ridges (the "high places"). They dispersed rather widely and settled in different regions including the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley and Southern Europe. Some lived in the red city of Petra, the capital of the Nabataean territory in Edom (modern Jordan).

The Greeks called the Edomites the "Idumea" or red people. Esau of Edom was described as having a red skin tone in Genesis 25:25. He was also described as hairy. Abraham's Ainu ancestors also were hairy and had a red skin tone. Abraham's father was called Tera (Terah) a royal name associated with the Ainu of the Upper Nile. These spread as far as Japan where only about 300 pure-blooded Ainu still remain on the island of Hokkaido. The original name of Tokyo was Edo. Among the Ainu the word "Tera" (Terah) means priest. Abraham's father was Terah, a ruler-priest whose territory along the Tigris River extending between Ur and Haran.

The Edomites of the Bible are related to the Edo or Idu of Nigeria and Benin. The title of their rulers is further evidence. The ruler of the Edo is called "Oba" and the first ruler of Petra was the deified Nabataean King Obodas.


The Clan of Seir the Horite (Genesis 36).

Esau the Elder and Seir were contemporaries and possibly brothers. Therir lines intermarried.

The biblical Edomites are associated with the color red. Edom means red and Genesis 25:25 links Esau to the Edomites. Esau was the name of at least two Edomite rulers. Isaac’s sons were not Jews, but Horites like their father and grandfather Abraham. That is why Esau the Elder married into the line associated with Seir the Horite (Gen. 36) and why Jacob married into the Horite line of Na-Hor. See diagram and note that there are 2 named Esau.  Esau the Elder married Adah, the daughter of the Horite ruler Elon.  Esau the Younger was Esau the Elder's grandson.  Esau the Younger married Oholibamah, a high-ranking Horite maiden.

The Edomites, along with the Jebusites, appear to have belonged to the Horite Confederation which originated in the Upper Nile region.  This is the homeland of Abraham's ancestors and is called Kush in Genesis 10. From ancient Kush, the peoples spread in many directions. Some live today in Nigeria and Benin as the Edo or Idu. 

Edo ruler called "Oba"  (Benin)

Likewise, the Biblical Jebusites have living descendants in Nigeria. They are called the Ijebu. The Jebusites built and controlled Jerusalem. Melchizedek was the priest-king of Jerusalem in Abraham's time. Very likely he and Abraham were kin. Read more here.

The Shasu were related to the Horites of Edom and according to monument inscriptions in Nubia, they called upon the God YHWH.


Related reading:  The Nubian Contecxt of YHWH; The Genesis Record of Horite Rule; Two Named Esau; A Kindling of Ancient Memory; Edo, Edom, Idumea; Edom and the Horites; The Red Heifer; The Bible and the Question of "Race"; Intermarriage Between the Dedanites and the Edomites