Doeg’s heritage as a man coming from Edom is emphasized to explain why he was willing to kill the priests of the Lord. He was not an Israelite,1 and by extension, it appears as if he did not know or worship the Lord. As a result, he had no misgivings about putting the Lord’s priests to death.
18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.