Bozrah

Boz´rah, an ancient city, known also to the Greeks and Romans by the name of Bostra. In most of the passages of the Old Testament where it is mentioned, it appears as a chief city of the Edomites (Isa 34:6; Isa 63:1; Amo 1:12; Jer 49:13; Jer 49:22); but it appears to have been afterwards taken from them by the Moabites, who for a time retained it in their possession.

Bozrah lay southward from Edrei, one of the capitals of Bashan, and, according to Eusebius, 24 Roman miles distant from it. Alexander Severus made it the seat of a Roman colony. In the acts of the Nicene, Ephesian, and Chalcedonian councils mention is made of bishops of Bozrah, and at a later period it became an important seat of the Nestorians. Abulfeda makes it the capital of the Hauran, in which, according to Burckhardt, it is still one of the most important towns. It has recently been visited by various travelers, who give a very ample description of its ruins, the extent and importance of which are alone sufficient to evince the ancient consequence of the place. They are of various kinds, Greek, Roman, and Saracenic, with traces of the native works in the private dwellings.

Fig. 100—Bozrah

These monuments of ancient grandeur serve but to heighten the impression which is created by the present desolation and decay. ’Bozrah,’ says Lord Lindsay, ’is now for the most part a heap of ruins, a most dreary spectacle: here and there the direction of a street or alley is discernible, but that is all. The modern inhabitants—a mere handful—are almost lost in the maze of ruins. Olive-trees grew here within a few years, they told us—all extinct now, like the vines for which the Bostra of the Romans was famous. And such, in the nineteenth century, and under Muslim rule, is the condition of a city which even in the seventh century, at the time of its capture by the Saracens, was called by Caled “the market-place of Syria, Iraq, and the Hedjaz.” “I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord of Hosts, that Bozrah shall become a desolation and reproach, a waste and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes!” (Jer 49:13). And it is so.’

Gen 36:33, a city of Edom, Isa 34:6 63:1, and the region around it, Jer 49:13,22 . It is associated with Terman, and with the Red sea, Jer 49:20-22 1Sa 1:12 . Its site is found in the modern El-Busaireh, midway between Kir Moab and Mount Hor, south by east of the Dead sea. This is a village of about fifty houses, on a hill crowned by a small castle. The ruins are those of a considerable city. Bozrah of Moab, Jer 48:24, may be the same place with this, or perhaps with Bezer.\par

Boz’rah. (fortress).

1. In Edom, the city of Jobab, the son of Zerah, one of the early kings of that nation. Gen 36:33; 1Ch 1:44. Mentioned by Isaiah, Isa 34:6; Isa 63:1, in connection with Edom, and by Jeremiah, Jer 49:13; Jer 49:22; Amo 1:12, and Mic 2:12. Its modern representative is el-Busaireh, which lies on the mountain district to the southeast of the Dead Sea.

2. In his catalogue of the cities of the land of Moab, Jeremiah, Jer 48:24, mentions a Bozrah as in "the plain country" Jer 48:21, that is, the high level downs, on the east of the Dead Sea.

BOZRAH, from a root "restrain," a sheepfold, Septuagint version of Jer 49:22. Jobab is styled "of Bozrah" (Gen 36:33) among the kings of Edom (1Ch 1:44).

1. Now El-busaireh, containing about 50 houses and a castle on a hill, in the mountain district S.E. of the Dead Sea, half way between Petra and the Dead Sea. Burckhardt saw goats in large numbers there, just as Isaiah (Isa 34:6) describes; compare Isa 63:1; Amo 1:12; Mic 2:12.

2. Another Bozrah in Moab, in "the plain country," i.e. the high level downs E. of the Dead Sea (Jer 48:21-24), enumerated among the cities of Moab. The Bozrah of Edom on the mountains (Jer 49:13) and Edom’s other cities are to be "perpetual wastes"; but the Bozrah of Moab "in the plain" is to be restored "in the latter days" (Jer 48:47). Though not mentioned elsewhere, this Bozrah of Moab, where kings were "sheepmasters" (2Ki 3:4), would be a name ("sheepfold") of probable occurrence. Others identify this Bozrah with the Roman Bostra in Bashan, 60 miles from Heshbon, containing magnificent remains; Jeremiah’s including the cities "far and near’ may favor this view; but Jer 48:21, "in the plain," seems to mark it among the other Moabite cities.

(Heb. Botsrah’, בָּצְרָה, apparently meaning enclosure; Sept. Βοσόῤῥα in Genesis and Chronicles, elsewhere Βόσορ, but omits in Jer 49:13, ὀχυρώματα in Jer 49:22, τείχεα in Amos, θλῖψις in Mic.), the name apparently of more than one place east of Jordan. Others, however, contend that we should regard them as the same city; for, in consequence of the continual wars, incursions, and conquests which were common among the small kingdoms of that region, the possession of particular cities often passed into different hands (Kitto, Pict. Bible, note on Jer 49:13).

1. In Edom, the city of Jobab, the son of Zerah, one of the early kings of that nation (Gen 36:33; 1Ch 1:44). This is doubtless the place mentioned in later times by Isaiah (Isa 34:6; Isa 63:1, in connection with Edom), and by Jeremiah (Jer 49:13; Jer 49:22), Amos (Amo 1:12), and Micah (Mic 2:12, "sheep of Bozrah," comp. Isa 34:6; the word is here rendered by the Vulgate " fold," " the sheep of the fold;" so Gesenius and Furst). It was known to Eusebius and Jerome, who speak of it in the Onomasticon (Βοσώρ, Bosor) as a city of Esau, in the mountains of Idumsea, in connection with Isa 63:1, and in contradistinction to Bostra in Peraea. There is no reason to doubt that the modern representative of Bozrah is el-Busseirah, which was first visited by Burckhardt (Syria, p. 407), and lies on the mountain district to the south-east of the Dead Sea, about half way between it and Petra (see also Raumer, Palast. p. 243; Ritter, Erdk. 15:127; 14:993, 101 sq.; Schwarz, Palest. p. 209). Irby and Mangles mention it under the name of Ipseyra and Bsaida (ch. viii). The "goats" which Isaiah connects with the place were found in large numbers in this neighborhood by Burckhardt (Syria, p. 405). It is described by Dr. Robinson (Researches, ii, 570) as lying about six miles south of Tophel, and "now a village of about fifty houses, situated on a hill, on the top of which is a small castle."

2. In his catalogue of the cities of the land of Moab, Jeremiah (Jer 48:24) mentions a Bozrah as in "the plain country" (Jer 48:21, אֶרֶוֹ הִמַּישֹׁרּ), i.e. apparently the high level downs on the east of the Dead Sea and of the lower Jordan, the Belka of the modern Arabs, where lay Heshbon, Nebo, Kirjathaim, Diblathaim, and the other towns named in this passage. Yet Bozrah has been sought at Bostra, the Roman city in Bashan, .full sixty miles from Heshbon (Porter’s Damascus, ii, 163, etc.), since the name stands by itself in this passage of Jeremiah, not being mentioned in any of the other lists of the cities of Moab, e.g. Numbers 32; Joshua 13; Isaiah 16; Ezekiel 25; and the catalogue of Jeremiah is expressly said to include cities both " far and near" (Jeremiah 48; Jeremiah 24). SEE KERIOTH. Some weight also is due to the consideration of the improbability that a town at a later date so important and in so excellent a situation should be entirely omitted from the Scripture. Still, in a country where the very kings were "sheep-masters" (2Ki 3:4), a name signifying a sheepfold may have been of common occurrence. This Bozrah is also mentioned in the Talmud (see Schwarz. Palest. p. 223), and is apparently the BOSORA SEE BOSORA (q.v.) of 1 Macc. v, 26-28 (comp. ἡ Βοσοῤῥά, Josephus, Ant. 12:8, 3). Reland incorrectly identifies it (Palcest. p. 655) with the Beeshterah of Jos 21:27 (comp. Jour. Sac. Lit. Jan. 1852, p. 864). SEE MISHOR.

The present Busrah is situated in an oasis of the Syro-Arabian desert, about 60 miles south of Damascus, and 40 east of the Jordan, in the southern part of the Hauran, of which it has formed the chief city since the days of Abulfeda. In the time of the Romans it was an important place, and was called by them Bostra (Gr. ἡ or τὰ Βόστρα). Cicero mentions it as having an independent chieftain (ad Q. F. ii, 12). The city was beautified by Trajan, who made it the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, as is commemorated on its coins of a local era thence arising, and dating from A.D. 102 (Chronicles Pasch. p. 253, ed. Paris; p. 472, ed. Bonn; Eckhel, Doctr. Num. 3:500). Under Alexander Severus it was made a "colony" (Damascins, ap. Phot. Cod. p. 272). The Emper or Philip, who was a native of this city, conferred upon it the title of "’ metropolis," it being at that time a large, populous, and well-fortified city (Amtm. Marc. 14:8). It lay 24 Roman miles north-east of Adraa (Edrei), and four days’ journey south of Damascus (Eusebius, Onomast. s.v. ; Hierocl. Notit.). Ptolemy (v, 17, 7; 8:20, 21) mentions it among the cities of Arabia Petrsea, with the surname of Legio (Λεγίων), in allusion to the " Legio III Cyrenaica," whose head-quarters were fixed here by Trajan; it is also one of that geographer’s points of astronomical observation. Ecclesiastically, it was a place of considerable importance, being the seat first of a bishopric and afterward of an archbishopric, ruling over twenty dioceses (Ac’a Concil. Nic., Ephes., Chalcedon, etc.), and forming apparently the centre of Nestorian influence (Assemani’s Biblioth. Orient. III, ii, 595, 730). SEE BOSTRA.

The site still contains extensive vestiges of its ancient importance, consisting of temples, theatres, and palaces, which have been described by Burckhardt (Syria, p. 326 sq.). It lies in the open plain, being the last inhabited place in the south-east extremity of the Hauran, and is now, including its ruins, the largest town in that district. It is of an oval shape, its greatest length being from east to west; its circumference is three quarters of an hour. Many parts of its ancient wall, especially on the west side, still remain, showing that it was constructed with stones of a moderate size strongly cemented together. The principal buildings in Bozrah were on the east side, and in a direction from thence toward the middle of the town. The south and south-east quarters are covered with ruins of private dwellings, the walls of many of which are still standing, but most of the roofs have fallen in. On the west side are numerous springs of fresh water. The castle of Bozrah is a most important post to protect the harvests of the Hauran against the hungry Bedouins, but it is much neglected by the pashas of Damascus. Of the vineyards for which Bozrah was celebrated, not a vestige remains. There is scarcely a tree in the neighborhood of the town; and the twelve or fifteen families who now inhabit it cultivate nothing but wheat, barley, horsebeans, and a little dhoura. SEE HAURAN.

Bozrah (bŏz’rah), fortress. Two cities. 1. Bozrah in Edom, Isa 34:6; Isa 63:1, which was to become a perpetual waste. Jer 49:13; Amo 1:12; Mic 2:12; perhaps Buseireh, in the mountains of Petra, 20 miles southeast of the Dead Sea. 2. Bozrah in Moab. Jer 48:24. Judgment has surely fallen upon it. Porter thinks it is the same as modern Buzrah, where are the ruins of a magnificent city nearly five miles in circuit, once having 100,000 inhabitants, but now only 20 families. It is near the Hauran, 60 miles south of Damascus. Portions of its massive walls and towers, theatre, temples, stone doors and roofs, some of the ruins of the work of the early inhabitants, perhaps the giants Rephaim, but more likely of the later Roman builders, are still to be seen in good state of preservation.

[Boz’rah]

1. Royal city of Edom, on which the prophets pronounced judgements. Gen 36:31; 1Ch 1:44; Jer 49:13; Jer 49:22; Amo 1:12; Mic 2:12. Christ is represented as coming from thence with dyed garments, having trodden the winepress of His wrath upon the nations (Gentiles). Isa 63:1-4: cf. Isa. 34. Identified with el Buseireh, 30° 50’ N, 35° 35’ E.

2. City in the land of Moab, upon which judgement is pronounced. Jer 48:24.

BOZRAH (‘fortification’).—1. An Edomite city known only as the place of origin of Jobah, son of Zerah, one of the Edomite kings (Gen 36:33, 1Ch 1:44). It was, however, of such importance in the kingdom of Edom that it is coupled with the name of the latter in poetic parallelisms (e.g. the denunciation in Isa 34:6; cf. Jer 49:22). The reference in Isa 63:1 to ‘dyed garments’ of Bozrah, and in Mic 2:12 to ‘sheep of Bozrah,’ may indicate the industries for which it was noted. The guesses that have been made at its identification are of no importance. 2. A Moabite city denounced by Jeremiah (Jer 48:24), and also unknown.

R. A. S. Macalister.

boz´ra (בּצרה, bocrāh, “sheepfold”; Βοσόῤῥηα, Bosórrha, Βοσόρ, Bosór):

(1) The capital of Edom, a city of great antiquity (Gen 36:33; 1Ch 1:44; Isa 34:6; Isa 63:1; Jer 49:13; Amo 1:12). It may be identical with Buṣeirah, which lies about 7 miles Southwest of Ṭufı̄leh, on the main road to Petra.

(2) A city in Moab mentioned in Jer 48:24. It is probably identical with Bezer, the city of refuge. It may be represented today by Ḳusūr Bashair, which towers lie some 15 miles Southeast of Dibon. In this case Beth-gamul would be identical with Jemail, 8 miles East of Dibon, and Beth-meon with Ma‛in, Southwest of Medebah.