Petra and the biblical city of Sela
Petra means “rock” in Greek. The ancient city now called Petra sits among dramatic cliffs and narrow rock passages in the region once associated with Edom. Many readers connect it with Sela, a Hebrew word meaning “rock”, though ancient place names and sites cannot always be identified with complete certainty.
Sela appears in the account of King Amaziah of Judah defeating Edom. After the battle, he captured the place and renamed it Joktheel, a name that remained known when 2 Kings was written (2 Kings 14:7). That reference shows that this rocky Edomite stronghold mattered in the long history between Judah and its neighbour.
He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.
A place linked with Edom
Edom descended from Esau, Jacob's brother, and its relationship with Israel was often troubled. The prophets spoke against Edom not because rocky cities were bad, but because Edom acted proudly and violently towards Judah in its day of disaster (Obadiah 1:10-11).
The cliffs around Petra help us understand the imagery. Edom's people could feel protected by high, hard-to-reach homes. Yet Obadiah says that even those who make their dwelling high among the rocks cannot place themselves beyond God's reach (Obadiah 1:3-4). The message is searching, whatever kind of security we trust in.
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
A warning against false security
Jeremiah uses similar language when speaking of Edom. Its confidence in steep places and high rocks would not save it from the consequences of its choices (Jeremiah 49:16). Petra's landscape makes this warning vivid: a fortress can look unbreakable, but no human power is stronger than God.
This is the lasting spiritual significance of Petra or Sela in Scripture. It points beyond a remarkable archaeological site to God's justice. He sees nations and individuals clearly, and he opposes pride while calling people to live humbly before him.
What about prophecy and the end times?
Some Christians connect Petra with prophecies about people fleeing into the wilderness, especially Revelation 12:6 and Revelation 12:14. Those verses do not name Petra, however. Other Christians understand the imagery in Revelation differently, so it is wise not to claim more than the text says.
Isaiah does mention Sela in messages that reach beyond Edom, including a call connected with bringing tribute to Zion and a picture of people in rocky places joining creation's praise (Isaiah 16:1; Isaiah 42:11). Read these passages in their wider context. Petra may help bring the Bible's geography to life, but the Bible's central hope is not a hidden city. It is the Lord who rescues, judges rightly, and deserves our trust.
Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.