Dedan lay to the south of Edom and was a major trading post in the north-eastern Arabian desert. It was never under Edom’s control, but they seem to have had significant influence over the city.1 It seems that the warning here is for residents of Dedan who are living in Edom, probably because of their trade links, to flee back home because the Lord is about to punish Edom, bringing calamity onto Esau’s descendants2
8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him.