Bible Dictionaries
Dumah

Holman Bible Dictionary

(dyoo' mah) Place name meaning, “silence” or “permanent settlement.” 1. A son of Ishmael and the original ancestor of the Arabian tribe (Genesis 25:14 ) centered in the oases of Dumah, probably modern el-Gof, also called Dumat el-Gandel, meaning Dumah of the Rocks. Rulers in Dumah apparently led coalitions supported by Damascus and later by Babylon against Assyria between 740,700 B.C. Thus Assyria punished Dumah in 689 when they also defeated Babylon. Sennacherib conquered Dumah. The remainder of Assyrian history is filled with troubled relationships with Arabian vassals, particularly those around Dumah. Isaiah proclaimed an oracle against Dumah (Isaiah 21:11 ). 2 . A city of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:52 ). It is probably modern khirbet ed-Dome about nine miles southwest of Hebron. It may be mentioned in the Amarna letters.