BOZRAH

(Bozʹrah) [Unapproachable Place].

1. A prominent city of Edom, the home of the father of Jobab, an Edomite king in the second millennium B.C.E. (Ge 36:31, 33; 1Ch 1:44) Its prominence is evident from the fact that the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos under inspiration referred to it as representative of all Edom, due for desolation.​—Isa 34:5, 6; 63:1-4; Jer 49:12, 13, 17, 22; Am 1:11, 12.

Bozrah is identified with modern Buzera, located about 50 km (30 mi) NNE of Petra and situated near the ancient road called the King’s Highway. It thus occupied a fairly central position in the Edomite kingdom and guarded the approaches to the copper mines in the Arabah. The ancient ruins at Buzera show Bozrah to have been a fortified city built on a narrow spur jutting out from the Jebel esh-Sheraʼ with deep wadis on either side.

The rendering of Micah 2:12 in the King James Version contains the name “Bozrah,” but most modern translations view this as referring, not to a town, but to an enclosure or pen for sheep.

2. In prophesying against Moab, Jeremiah 48:24 refers to Bozrah as among cities “of the land of Moab.” It is included among other cities of the tableland or “land of level country” (Jer 48:21), and the use of this same Hebrew expression in connection with Bezer (De 4:43) has caused some scholars to view them as likely the same place.​—See BEZER No. 2.