For the town in Syria, see Bosra. For the town in Connecticut, see Bozrah, Connecticut.

Botsra, Botzrah, Bozrah (Hebrew: בצרה‎) is an ancient biblical city in southern modern-day Jordan, now Bouseira between Tafilah (Tophel) and Shobak.

[edit] History

Bozrah was the capital city of Edom. According to the Old Testament, the city was the homeland of Jacob's twin brother, Esau. Bozrah means "sheepfold" and was a pastoral city in Edom southeast of the Dead Sea.

"And these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before the reigning of a king over the sons of Israel...And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah, from Bozrah, reigned in his place". (Gen 36:31-33)

The prophets Amos and Isaiah predicted Bozrah's destruction.

"But I will send a fire against Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah". (Amos 1:12)

According to Isaiah 63:1-6, the Lord will come from Edom (modern-day Jordan) and Bozrah on the day of vengeance and the year of redemption (cf. Revelation 19:13).

According to one Christian interpretation of Micah 2:12-13, Bozrah, (or a place the Bible cryptically refers to as Bozrah), will also be the scene of a magnificent "break-out" of God's covenant people. According to this interpretation the deliverance will come at an Edomite controlled place of exile and incarceration in the End times. This epic event referred to in Micah 2:12-13 has been referred to by Dr G Finley as "the Bozrah deliverance". Bozrah is in the Hebrew, but most translators render it as "fold" - sheep in the fold. This "break-out" could be tied to Zechariah 14:1-5, when Yahweh fights against the nations, stands on the Mount of Olives (north of Israel), and splits the Mount in two as a valley, so that the remnant of Israel trapped in Jerusalem can escape those who would kill them. If so, Micah 2:12-13 would not relate to the locale of Bozrah.