This is the shortest book in the Old Testament. The name means "servant of Jehovah." Obadiah stands fourth among the minor prophets according to the Hebrew arrangement of the canon, the fifth according to the Greek. Some consider him to be the same as the Obadiah who superintended the restoration of the temple under Josiah, 627 B.C. ( 2Ch 34:12). But Ob 11-16, 20 imply that Jerusalem was by this time overthrown by the Chaldeans, and that he refers to the cruelty of Edom towards the Jews on that occasion, which is referred to also in La 4:21, 22; Eze 25:12-14; 35:1-15; Ps 137:7. From comparing Ob 5 with Jer 49:9, Ob 6 with Jer 49:10, Ob 8 with Jer 49:7, it appears that Jeremiah embodied in his prophecies part of Obadiah's, as he had done in the case of other prophets also (compare Isa 15:1-16:14 with Jer 48:1-47). The reason for the present position of Obadiah before other of the minor prophets anterior in date is: Amos at the close of his prophecies foretells the subjugation of Edom hereafter by the Jews; the arranger of the minor prophets in one volume, therefore, placed Obadiah next, as being a fuller statement, and, as it were, a commentary on the foregoing briefer prophecy of Amos as to Edom [M AURER]. (Compare Am 1:11). The date of Obadiah's prophecies was probably immediately after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 588 B.C. Five years afterwards (583 B.C.) Edom was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah must have incorporated part of Obadiah's prophecies with his own immediately after they were uttered, thus stamping his canonicity.
JEROME makes him contemporary with Hosea, Joel, and Amos. It is an argument in favor of this view that Jeremiah would be more likely to insert in his prophecies a portion from a preceding prophet than from a contemporary. If so, the allusion in Ob 11-14 will be to one of the former captures of Jerusalem: by the Egyptians under Rehoboam ( 1Ki 14:25, 26; 2Ch 12:2, &c.), or that by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Joram ( 2Ch 21:16, 17); or that by Joash, king of Israel, in the reign of Amaziah ( 2Ch 25:22, 23); or that in the reign of Jehoiakim ( 2Ki 24:1, &c.); or that in the reign of Jehoiachin ( 2Ki 24:8-16). On all occasions the Idumeans were hostile to the Jews; and the terms in which that enmity is characterized are not stronger in Obadiah than in Joe 3:19 (compare Ob 10); Am 1:11, 12. The probable capture of Jerusalem alluded to by Obadiah is that by Joash and the Israelites in the reign of Amaziah. For as, a little before, in the reign of the same Amaziah, the Jews had treated harshly the Edomites after conquering them in battle ( 2Ch 25:11-23), it is probable that the Edomites, in revenge, joined the Israelites in the attack on Jerusalem [JAEGER].
This book may be divided into two parts: (1) Ob 1-6 set forth Edom's violence toward his brother Israel in the day of the latter's distress, and his coming destruction with the rest of the foes of Judah; (2) Ob 17-21, the coming re-establishment of the Jews in their own possessions, to which shall be added those of the neighboring peoples, and especially those of Edom.
Ob 1-21. DOOM OF EDOM FOR CRUELTY TO JUDAH, EDOM'S BROTHER; RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.
1. Obadiah--that is, servant of Jehovah; same as
Abdeel and Arabic Abd-allah.
We--I and my people.
heard-- (
Isa 21:10).
and an ambassador is sent--Yea, an
ambassador is already sent, namely, an angel, to
stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans)
against Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on
the heathen is, they simultaneously exclaim, "Arise
ye, and let us (with united strength) rise," &c.
Jer 49:14 quotes this.
2. I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north ( Jer 49:8, 13). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" ( Ob 3)? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? Jer 49:15, confirms MAURER'S view.
3. clefts of . . . rock-- ( So 2:14; Jer 48:28). The cities of Edom, and among them Petra (Hebrew, sela, meaning "rock," 2Ki 14:7, Margin), the capital, in the Wady Musa, consisted of houses mostly cut in the rocks.
4. exalt thyself--or supply from the second clause,
"thy nest" [MAURER] (Compare
Job 20:6; Jer 49:16; Am 9:2).
set . . . nest among
. . . stars--namely, on the loftiest hills which
seem to reach the very stars. Edom is a type of Antichrist
(
Isa 14:13; Da 8:10; 11:37).
thence will I bring thee down--in
spite of thy boast (
Ob 3), "Who shall bring me down?"
5. The spoliation which thou shalt suffer shall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as that is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest--nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they, when they have gathered most of the grapes, leave gleanings behind--but it shall be utter, so as to leave thee nothing. The exclamation, "How art thou cut off!" bursting in amidst the words of the image, marks strongly excited feeling. The contrast between Edom where no gleanings shall be left, and Israel where at the worst a gleaning is left ( Isa 17:6; 24:13), is striking.
6. How are the things of Esau searched out!--by
hostile soldiers seeking booty. Compare with
Ob 5, 6 here, Jer 49:9, 10.
hidden things--or "places."
Edom abounded in such hiding-places, as caves, clefts in
the rock, &c. None of these would be left unexplored by
the foe.
7. Men of thy confederacy--that is, thy confederates.
brought thee . . . to the
border--that is, when Idumean ambassadors shall go to
confederate states seeking aid, these latter shall conduct
them with due ceremony to their border, giving them empty
compliments, but not the aid required [DRUSIUS]. This view
agrees with the context, which speaks of false friends
deceiving Edom: that is, failing to give help in need
(compare
Job 6:14, 15). CALVIN translates, "have
driven," that is, shall drive thee; shall
help to drive thee to thy border on thy way into
captivity in foreign lands.
the men that were at peace with
thee--literally, "the men of thy peace." Compare
Ps 41:9; Jer 38:22, Margin, where also the same
formula occurs, "prevailed against thee."
they that eat thy bread--the poorer
tribes of the desert who subsisted on the bounty of Edom.
Compare again
Ps 41:9, which seems to have been before Obadiah's
mind, as his words were before Jeremiah's.
have laid a wound under
thee--"laid" implies that their intimacy was used
as a SNARE laid with a view to wound; also, these
guest friends of Edom, instead of the cushions ordinarily
laid under guests at table, laid snares to
wound, that is, had a secret understanding with Edom's
foe for that purpose. MAURER translates, "a
snare." But English Version agrees with the
Hebrew, which means, literally, "a bandage for a
wound."
none understanding--none of the wisdom
for which Edom was famed (see
Ob 8) to extricate him from his perilous
position.
in him--instead of "in
thee." The change implies the alienation of God from
Edom: Edom has so estranged himself from God, that He
speaks now of him, not to him.
8. (
Isa 49:7; compare
Job 5:12, 13; Isa 19:3; Jer 19:7).
in that day . . . even
destroy--Heretofore Edom, through its intercourse with
Babylon and Egypt, and from its means of information
through the many caravans passing to and fro between Europe
and India, has been famed for knowledge; but in that day
at last ("even") I will destroy its wise
men.
mount of Esau--that is, Idumea, which
was a mountainous region.
9. cut off by slaughter--MAURER translates, "on account of the slaughter," namely, that inflicted on Judea by Edom (compare Ob 14). The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate connect these words with Ob 10, "for the slaughter, for the violence (of which thou art guilty) against thy brother Jacob." English Version, "cut off by slaughter" (that is, an utter cutting off), answers well to "cut off for ever" ( Ob 10). However, the arrangement of the Septuagint gives a better parallelism in Ob 10. "For the slaughter" (1) being balanced in just retribution by "thou shalt be cut off for ever" (4); as "For thy violence (not so bad as slaughter) against thy brother Jacob" (2) is balanced by "shame (not so bad as being cut off) shall cover thee" (3). Shame and extinction shall repay violence and slaughter ( Mt 26:52; Re 13:10). Compare as to Edom's violence, Ps 137:7; Eze 25:12; Am 1:11.
10. against thy brother--This aggravates the sin of Esau,
that it was against him who was his brother by birth and by
circumcision. The posterity of Esau followed in the steps
of their father's hatred to Jacob by violence against
Jacob's seed (
Ge 27:41).
Jacob--not merely his own brother, but
his twin brother; hence the name Jacob, not
Israel, is here put emphatically. Compare
De 23:7 for the opposite feeling which Jacob's seed
was commanded to entertain towards Edom's.
shame . . . cover thee-- (
Ps 35:26; 69:7).
for ever-- (
Isa 34:10; Eze 35:9; Mal 1:4). Idumea, as a
nation, should be "cut off for ever," though
the land should be again inhabited.
11. thou stoodest on the other side--in an attitude of
hostility, rather than the sympathy which became a brother,
feasting thine eyes (see
Ob 12) with the misery of Jacob, and eagerly watching
for his destruction. So Messiah, the antitype to Jerusalem,
abandoned by His kinsmen (
Ps 38:11).
strangers--the Philistines, Arabians
in the reign of Jehoram, &c. (
2Ch 21:16); the Syrians in the reign of Joash of Judah
(
2Ch 24:24); the Chaldeans (
2Ch 36:1-23).
carried . . . captive his
forces--his "host" (
Ob 20): the multitude of Jerusalem's
inhabitants.
cast lots upon Jerusalem-- (
Joe 3:3). So Messiah, Jerusalem's antitype, had
lots cast for His only earthly possessions (
Ps 22:18).
12. looked on--with malignant pleasure, and a brutal stare.
So the antitypes, Messiah's foes (
Ps 22:17). MAURER translates, as the Margin,
"thou shouldest not look" any more. English
Version agrees with the context better.
the day of thy brother--his day of
calamity.
became a stranger--that is, was
banished as an alien from his own land. God sends heavy
calamities on those who rejoice in the calamities of their
enemies (
Pr 17:5; 24:17, 18). Contrast the opposite conduct of
David and of the divine Son of David in a like case (
Ps 35:13-15).
spoken proudly--literally, "made
great the mouth"; proudly insulting the fallen (
Eze 35:13, Margin; compare
1Sa 2:8; Re 13:6).
13. substance--translated "forces" in Ob 11.
14. stood in the crossway, to cut off those of
his--Judah's.
that did escape--The Jews naturally
fled by the crossways. (MAURER translates, "narrow
mountain passes") well known to them, to escape to the
desert, and through Edom to Egypt; but the Edomites stood
ready to intercept the fugitives and either kill or
"deliver them up" to the foe.
15. For--resumptive in connection with
Ob 10, wherein Edom was threatened with cutting off
for ever.
the day of the Lord--the day in which
He will manifest Himself as the Righteous Punisher of the
ungodly peoples (
Joe 3:14). The "all" shows that the
fulfilment is not exhausted in the punishment inflicted on
the surrounding nations by the instrumentality of
Nebuchadnezzar; but, as in
Joe 3:14, and Zec 12:3, that the last judgment to come
on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred
to.
as thou hast done, it shall be done
unto thee--the righteous principle of retribution in kind
(
Le 24:17; Mt 7:2; compare
Jud 1:6, 7; 8:19; Es 7:10).
thy reward--the reward of thy deed
(compare
Isa 3:9-11).
16. ye . . . upon my holy mountain--a periphrasis
for, "ye Jews" [MAURER], whom Obadiah now by a
sudden apostrophe addresses. The clause, "upon My holy
mountain," expresses the reason of the vengeance to be
taken on Judah's foes; namely, that Jerusalem is
God's holy mountain, the seat of His temple, and Judah
His covenant-people.
Jer 49:12, which is copied from Obadiah, establishes
this view (compare
1Pe 4:17).
as ye have drunk, &c.--namely, the
cup of wrath, being dispossessed of your goods and places
as a nation, by Edom and all the heathen; so shall all the
heathen (Edom included) drink the same cup (
Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 13:12, 13; 25:15-33; 49:12;
51:7; La 4:21, 22
Na 3:11; Hab 2:16).
continually--whereas Judah's
calamity shall be temporary (
Ob 17). The foes of Judah shall never regain their
former position (
Ob 18, 19).
swallow down--so as not to leave
anything in the cup of calamity; not merely
"drink" (
Ps 75:8).
be as though they had not been--not a
trace left of their national existence (
Job 10:19; Ps 37:36; Eze 26:21).
17. upon . . . Zion . . .
deliverance--both in the literal sense and spiritual sense
(
Joe 2:32; Isa 46:13; 59:20; Ro 11:26). MAURER as the
Margin explains it, "there shall be a remnant
that shall escape." Compare
Isa 37:32; to the deliverance from Sennacherib there
described G ROTIUS thinks Obadiah here refers.
"Jerusalem shall not be taken, and many of the
neighboring peoples also shall find deliverance
there." Unlike Judah's heathen foes of whom no
remnant shall escape (
Ob 9, 16), a remnant of Jews shall escape when the rest
of the nation has perished, and shall regain their ancient
"possessions."
there shall be holiness--that is, Zion
shall be sacrosanct or inviolable: no more violated by
foreign invaders (
Isa 42:1; Joe 3:17).
18. fire--See the same figure,
Nu 21:28; Isa 5:24; 10:17.
house of Jacob . . .
Joseph--that is, the two kingdoms, Judah and Ephraim or
Israel [JEROME]. The two shall form one kingdom, their
former feuds being laid aside (
Isa 11:12, 13; 37:22-28; Jer 3:18; Ho 1:11). The Jews
returned with some of the Israelites from Babylon; and,
under John Hyrcanus, so subdued and, compelling them to be
circumcised, incorporated the Idumeans with themselves that
they formed part of the nation [JOSEPHUS,
Antiquities, 13.17; 12.11]. This was but an earnest of
the future union of Israel and Judah in the possession of
the enlarged land as one kingdom (
Eze 37:16, &c.).
stubble-- (
Mal 4:1).
19. they of the south--The Jews who in the coming time are
to occupy the south of Judea shall possess, in addition to
their own territory, the adjoining mountainous region of
Edom.
they of the plain--The Jews who shall
occupy the low country along the Mediterranean, south and
southwest of Palestine, shall possess, in addition to their
own territory, the land of "the Philistines,"
which runs as a long strip between the hills and the
sea.
and they shall possess the fields of
Ephraim--that is, the rightful owners shall be restored,
the Ephraimites to the fields of Ephraim.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead--that
is, the region east of Jordan, occupied formerly by Reuben,
Gad, and half Manasseh. Benjamin shall possess besides its
own territory the adjoining territory eastward, while the
two and a half tribes shall in the redistribution occupy
the adjoining territory of Moab and Ammon.
20. the captivity of this host--that is, the captives of
this multitude of Israelites.
shall possess that of the
Canaanites--M AURER translates, "the captives
. . . whom the Canaanites (carried away captive
into Phœnicia) even unto Zarephath, shall possess the
south," namely, Idumea as well as the south (
Ob 19). HENDERSON, similarly, "the captives that
are among the Canaanites," &c. But the
corresponding clauses of the parallelism are better
balanced in English Version, "the ten tribes of
Israel shall possess the territory of the Canaanites,"
namely, Western Palestine and Phœnicia (
Jud 3:3). "And the captives of Jerusalem (and
Judah) shall possess the southern cities," namely,
Edom, &c. Each has the region respectively adjoining
assigned to it; Israel has the western Canaanite region;
Judah, the southern.
even unto Zarephath--near Zidon;
called Sarepta in
Lu 4:26. The name implies it was a place for smelting
metals. From this quarter came the "woman of
Canaan" (
Mt 15:21, 22). Captives of the Jews had been carried
into the coasts of Palestine or Canaan, about Tyre and
Zidon (
Joe 3:3, 4; Am 1:9). The Jews when restored shall
possess the territory of their ancient oppressors.
in Sepharad--that is, the Bosphorus
[JEROME, from his Hebrew Instructor]. Sephar,
according to others (
Ge 10:30). Palæography confirms JEROME. In the
cuneiform inscription containing a list of the tribes of
Persia [NIEBUHR, Tab. 31.1], before Ionia and
Greece, and after Cappadocia, comes the name CPaRaD. It was
therefore a district of Western Asia Minor, about Lydia,
and near the Bosphorus. It is made an appellative by
MAURER. "The Jerusalem captives of the
dispersion" (compare
Jas 1:1), wherever they be dispersed, shall return and
possess the southern cities. Sepharad, though literally the
district near the Bosphorus, represents the Jews' far
and wide dispersion. J EROME says the name in Assyrian
means a boundary, that is, "the Jews scattered
in all boundaries and regions."
21. saviours--There will be in the kingdom yet to come no
king, but a prince; the sabbatic period of the judges will
return (compare the phrase so frequent in Judges, only once
found in the times of the kings,
2Ch 14:1, "the land had rest"), when
there was no visible king, but God reigned in the
theocracy. Israelites, not strangers, shall dispense
justice to a God-fearing people (
Isa 1:26; Eze 45:1-25). The judges were not such a
burden to the people as the kings proved afterwards (
1Sa 8:11-20). In their time the people more readily
repented than under the kings (compare
2Ch 15:17), [ROOS]. Judges were from time to time
raised up as saviours or deliverers of Israel
from the enemy. These, and the similar deliverers in the
long subsequent age of Antiochus, the Maccabees, who
conquered the Idumeans (as here foretold, compare
2 Maccabees 10:15,23), were types of the peaceful
period yet to come to Israel.
to judge . . . Esau--to
punish (so "judge,"
1Sa 3:13) . . . Edom (compare
Ob 1-9, 15-19). Edom is the type of Israel's and
God's last foes (
Isa 63:1-4).
kingdom shall be the Lord's--under
Messiah (
Da 2:44; 7:14, 27; Zec 14:9; Lu 1:33; Re 11:15; 19:6).