דברי הימים ב, פרק כ״א, פסוק ט׳

Jehoram's military campaign against Edom was a direct attempt to crush an uprising and reassert his control. The operation began with his army crossing the border deep into Edomite territory to confront the rebellion face-to-face [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

As the conflict unfolded under the cover of darkness, the exact nature of the night battle is viewed from different perspectives. One approach suggests that Jehoram initiated the nighttime strike out of sheer weakness. Lacking the military power to face the Edomites openly in the daylight, he resorted to a hidden attack in the dark [מצודת דוד]. Conversely, another view proposes that it was the rebellious Edomite forces who rose up during the night, launching a surprise offensive against Jehoram's camp [רלב״ג].

The identity of the casualties in this battle further shapes the understanding of the event. According to one approach, the victims were enemy forces. These were either Edomite soldiers who had ambushed and surrounded Jehoram [ביאור שטיינזלץ], or simply the enemy fighters on the immediate front lines. Because Jehoram did not have the strength to push deeper into the battlefield, he could only manage to strike the immediate circle of enemies closest to him [מצודת דוד, רש״י].

However, a completely different angle suggests a tragic internal conflict. In this view, the Edomites who were struck were actually Jehoram's own allies. Since not all of the Edomite nation had rebelled, some had remained loyal and joined Jehoram's ranks to offer support [רלב״ג]. Yet, as the tension of the battle mounted, Jehoram grew paranoid. He feared that when tested in combat, these loyalists might switch sides, joining their rebellious brothers and turning against him. To eliminate this potential threat, Jehoram took preemptive action, rising up in the dead of night to slaughter his own Edomite allies [רש״י].