An article in "Biblical Archaeology Review" (July/August 2006) deals with the mining of copper in Edom. According to the Bible, David and several of the other early kings of Israel fought battles with the Edomites. However, modern scholarship has contended that Edom was not a complex society at that time and could not have fielded an army. Recent archaeological discoveries have proven differently. The Edomites were involved in major copper production all the way back to the 12th century B.C. This required a great deal of sophistication and organization in the nation. And, the biblically recorded battles with David were in the early 10th century B.C. As usual, the Bible is correct and the scholars were wrong.
