JOKTHEEL, a rock which Amaziah King of Judah took from the Edomites, from the top whereof he threw down ten thousand Edomites, whom he had taken in battle. Eusebius is of opinion, that this rock 2 Kings xiv. 7. & 2 Chr. xxv. 5, 6, &c. Plin. l. 5. c. 24.is the city of Petra, the Capital of Arabia Petræa. The battle, wherein the Edomites were defeated, was fought in the valley of Salt, which we place between Palmyra and Bozra1. Pliny says, that the solitudes of Palmyra, reach as far as the city of Petra. It is very probable therefore, that Amaziah pushed his conquest as far as this city, and gave it the name of Joktheel, that is to say, Obedience to the Lord; thereby signifying, that he understood the victory which he had obtained over the Edomites, to proceed from the obedience which he had paid to God.
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Footnotes
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See the relation of Palmyra inserted in M. le Brun’s voyage, p. 343. ↩