Petra/Edom/Sela
PETRA [PET ruh] (rock) - the capital of Edom and later of Nabatea, situated about 275 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of modern Amman and about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the Dead Sea. Petra is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but many scholars believe it was the same place as SELA (Judges 1:36; 2 Kings 14:7). (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
SELA [SEE luh] (rock, cliff) - the name of three places in the Old Testament: 1. A fortress city, the capital of Edom, situated on the Wadi Musa ("the Valley of Moses") between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba (2 Kings 14:7; Selah, KJV). A rock formation about 1,160 meters (3,800 feet) above sea level, now known as Umm el-Bayyarah, the great acropolis of the Nabatean city of PETRA dominates the site. Sela was near Mount Hor, close to the Wilderness of Zin. Its name was changed to Joktheel by Amaziah, king of Judah, after he captured it (2 Kings 14:7). Amaziah's men took 10,000 of the people of Seir (Edomites), "brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down...so that they all were dashed in pieces" (2 Chronicles 25:12). 2. A place apparently in the territory of Judah near the boundary of the Amorites (Judges 1:36; the rock, KJV). Some scholars believe the site was in Amorite territory. Its exact location is unknown. 3. An unidentified site in Moab mentioned by Isaiah in a prophecy of doom (Isaiah 16:1). (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
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