Sela
“Rock or Cliff”
Summary
The rock fortress and capital of Edom, later known as Petra, captured by King Amaziah and renamed Joktheel.
☩Biblical References
Sela (Hebrew for 'the rock') was the metropolis of the Edomites in Mount Seir. King Amaziah of Judah 'slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and called it Joktheel' (meaning 'subdued by God'). The prisoners were cast from the cliff headlong to their deaths. Isaiah mentions Sela in connection with tribute to Judah.
☩Identification with Petra
Sela is universally identified with Petra, the famous rose-red city carved from rock. The city lay in a hollow shut in by mountain cliffs, accessible only through narrow ravines through which a river winds. The ruins at Wady Musa include temples, tombs, and a theater hewn from living rock, capable of seating 3,000 spectators.
☩Later History
The Nabateans possessed Petra from the 4th century BC, making it a major station for Eastern commerce to Rome. Around 70 BC, Arab princes named Aretas resided there. Emperor Trajan reduced it to Roman subjection, and Hadrian gave it the name Hadriana. Early tradition suggests Paul may have visited Petra during his time in Arabia. The city was devastated by Muslim conquests in 629-632 AD.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Sela," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 4.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 5.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 6.James Orr (ed.), "Sela," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 7.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 8.John McClintock and James Strong, "Sela," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 9.James Orr (ed.), "Sela," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).