Encyclopedia entry
Sela
=Se’lah, rock, the capital of Edom, situated in the great valley extending from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea (2 Kings 14:7). It was near Mount Hor, close by the desert of Zin. It is called “the rock” (Judg. 1:36). When Amaziah took it he called it Joktheel (q.v.) It is mentioned by the prophets (Isa. 16:1; Obad. 1:3) as doomed to destruction.
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It appears in later history and in the Vulgate Version under the name of Petra. “The caravans from all ages, from the interior of Arabia and from the Gulf of Persia, from Hadramaut on the ocean, and even from Sabea or Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common centre; and from Petra the tide seems again to have branched out in every direction, to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem, and Damascus, and by other routes, terminating at the Mediterranean.” (See EDOM [2].)
In the Bible
5
Verses where Sela is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Samuel 23:28
So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why that place is called Sela-hammahlekoth.
- 2 Kings 14:7
Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
- Isaiah 16:1
Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.
- Isaiah 42:11
Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
- Judges 1:36
And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.
Entries that reference Sela
2
Sela references
16
Voices on Sela
1
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.