Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine
The first Edomite sanctuary ever excavated — inside Judah's Negev
Found 1984 — Itzhaq Beit-Arieh, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University (1984–86)
Where Horvat Qitmit, eastern Negev (about 10 km south of Tel Arad) (Israel)
Dates from c. 630–580 BCE · Iron Age IIC · Josiah to the fall of Jerusalem; Edom pressing into the Negev
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem (goddess head, figurines and stands)
How Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine was found
A low hill east of Tel Ira, south of Arad, was excavated in several short seasons after survey pottery showed an unusual density of Edomite ware; two cult complexes and hundreds of figurine fragments emerged.
What it is
Complex A: three side-by-side rooms open to the south, later fitted with stone podiums for statues, with a walled enclosure holding a platform (bamah), an altar and a basin. Complex B: a second enclosure. Finds include cylindrical cult stands painted red and black, chalices with pomegranates, small altars, a clay 'sphinx', and the famous head of a goddess with three horns. Sherds carry the name of the Edomite god Qos.
Why it matters for the Bible
Qitmit shows Edomites worshiping their own god inside Judah's Negev in the kingdom's last decades — the background to the prophets' anger at Edom for moving in as Judah collapsed (Obadiah 10-14; Ezekiel 35:10). It is also the fullest picture we have of Edomite religion, whose god Qos never appears in the Bible by name. The shrine's open plan and standing stones show a cult quite different from the Torah's single-sanctuary ideal, right on Judah's doorstep.
The Hebrew word: eh-DOHM
אֱדוֹם
אֱדוֹם is pronounced eh-DOHM and means Edom, the nation descended from Esau (Strong's H123).
People this discovery connects to
- Esau (Edom) — עֵשָׂו (ay-SAHV) — hairy
Places
- Edom — אֱדוֹם (eh-DOHM) — red
- Negev — נֶגֶב (NEH-gev) — dry land, south
Events
Edomite expansion into the Negev · Edom's part in Judah's fall (Obadiah; Psalm 137:7)
Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine in Scripture
Genesis 25:30 First mention of Edom in Scripture.
Ezekiel 35:10 Edom claims 'these two nations and two lands will be mine' — the Negev encroachment made visible at Qitmit.
Obadiah 1:10-12 Edom is condemned for standing by and joining in when Judah fell; Qitmit shows Edomites already settled in Judah's south.
Questions people ask
What is Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine?
Complex A: three side-by-side rooms open to the south, later fitted with stone podiums for statues, with a walled enclosure holding a platform (bamah), an altar and a basin. Complex B: a second enclosure. Finds include cylindrical cult stands painted red and black, chalices with pomegranates, small altars, a clay 'sphinx', and the famous head of a goddess with three horns. Sherds carry the name of the Edomite god Qos.
When was Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine discovered?
It was found in 1984 by Itzhaq Beit-Arieh, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University (1984–86), at Horvat Qitmit, eastern Negev (about 10 km south of Tel Arad).
Where is Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem (goddess head, figurines and stands).
Which Bible verses does Horvat Qitmit Edomite Shrine relate to?
Genesis 25:30, Ezekiel 35:10, Obadiah 1:10-12.
Related discoveries
- אֱדוֹםHorvat Uza Edomite OstraconAn Edomite letter blessing by 'Qaus' found in a Judean fort — Edom moving into the Negev
- נְחֹשֶׁתTimna Valley Copper MinesEgyptian-run mines in the Aravah, later worked by Edomite and Midianite smelters
- בֵּית יְהוָהArad Ostraca (the Eliashib Archive)Supply orders from a Judean desert fort naming the 'House of YHVH' and the Kittim
- אֱדוֹםPapyrus Anastasi VIA border official lets Shasu of Edom through the fort to the pools of Pithom
- בָּצְרָהBozrah (Buseirah): Capital of EdomBennett's excavation of the Edomite royal city that Amos and Isaiah singled out
- נְחֹשֶׁתKhirbet en-Nahas (Faynan Copper Center)A fortress and slag mounds in Edom dated to the tenth century
Sources
- I. Beit-Arieh, Horvat Qitmit: An Edomite Shrine in the Biblical Negev (Tel Aviv University, 1995)
- I. Beit-Arieh, 'New Light on the Edomites', BAR 14:2 (1988)
- Beit-Arieh, 'The Edomite Shrine at Horvat Qitmit in the Judean Negev: Preliminary Excavation Report', Tel Aviv 18 (1991)