Obadiah

Composition

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, and the fourth-shortest book in the Bible as a whole. It consists of one chapter of twenty-one verses with a word count of about 440. Its author is believed to be a prophet named Obadiah, although no historical details are known about him. The book was likely written after the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians in the sixth century BCE. The book concerns God’s promised judgment on the people of Edom, a neighboring country and traditional antagonist of Judah. Obadiah is considered one of the Old Testament’s twelve minor prophets, biblical authors whose works were shorter than major prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah.

Other than Obadiah’s identity as a Jewish prophet, nothing else is known about him. In Hebrew, the name Obadiah means servant, or worshipper, of the Lord. The book was likely written in the years after 586 BCE, when Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem, destroying the city and its holy temple.

Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah began a period known as the Babylonian exile. Tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly relocated from their homeland to Babylon. They remained there until the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon in 537 BCE and allowed the Jews to return home. The practice of resettling conquered peoples was common in ancient Mesopotamia. The conquerors believed that it would lessen the chance of an uprising in the newly acquired territory and add to the economies of their homeland.

Edom was a kingdom located to the south of Judah. Many Old Testament accounts portray the kingdom as a historical antagonist to the Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judah. According to the book of Numbers, the Edomites forbid the Jews passage through Edom as they were returning from bondage in Egypt. Edom was under Israel’s control during the reign of King Saul and rebelled against Israel after the death of King Solomon. Israel was once a united land until it separated into a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern kingdom called Judah. The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

During the Babylonian captivity, the Edomites were said to have taken advantage of the situation by invading parts of southern Judah. They were also said to have actively supported the Babylonian invasion and supposedly encouraged Jerusalem’s destruction.

The longstanding animosity between the Jews and the Edomites has its roots in the biblical history of the founding of Judaism. According to the book of Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham and promised him that his descendants would go on to form a great nation. Abraham passed down his legacy to his son Isaac. Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Esau was the eldest and stood to inherit his father’s blessing. However, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal of red stew when he was starving.

Esau later went back on his word and was prepared to receive his father’s blessing. However, Jacob conspired with his mother to trick the now old and nearly blind Isaac into blessing Jacob instead. As a result, Jacob inherited his father’s position as head of the family and became the patriarch of the Jewish people. Esau was angry at the deception and begged Isaac to give him a blessing as well. But Isaac could not and told Esau that it was his destiny to serve Jacob and his descendants. According to Genesis, Esau founded Edom—a name meaning “red” in Hebrew from Esau’s red hair—and his descendants became the Edomites.

Summary

The book of Obadiah begins with a declaration that God has issued a prophetic message for the nation of Edom. God tells the nations of the world to rise and prepare for battle against Edom. He tells Edom that he will make it a “small nation” that will be greatly despised. God says the Edomites are arrogant and proud, thinking they are safe in their fortified positions in the high cliffs. The Edomites think that they soar like eagles and live among the stars, but the Lord will bring them down from their high places and overthrow them.

God warns the Edomites that complete destruction is upon them. He says that if thieves come to them in the night, they will steal only as much as they could. If grape pickers come to Edom, they would leave behind some scraps of grapes. But when God destroys Esau, the people will be utterly ransacked. All their treasures will be plundered with nothing left behind.

The Lord tells Edom that its allies will abandon them. They will set a trap for Edom and the people will not be able to see the deception coming. Those who once ate bread with the Edomites will overpower them and force them to their borders.

When judgment comes upon Edom, the Lord says he will destroy the nation’s wise men and terrorize and slaughter its warriors. God says the violence he will carry out against Edom is in return for their violence against the people of Jacob. The Edomites will first be “covered in shame” and then completely wiped out.

God blasts Edom for standing aside in its arrogance while foreign armies and strangers looted Jerusalem. Although the Edomites did not take part in sacking the city, God still says they were complicit in its destruction. He claims that Edom gloated over the misfortune of its “brother,” rejoiced in Judah’s destruction, and boasted as the Jews suffered. God then accuses the Edomites of invading Judah and scavenging what was left by the Babylonians. He says the Edomites killed the fleeing Jews and handed others over to the Babylonians.

As the prophecy continues, the Lord shifts his wrath from Edom to include all nations. He says that their misdeeds will be inflicted back upon them. God says that a time will come when the followers of Jacob will come into their promised inheritance while the followers of Esau will be set ablaze and reduced to nothing. No one in Edom will survive God’s wrath.

The Lord says that the people displaced from Israel will occupy the mountains of Edom. They will take control of the lands of Philistia, Ephraim, and Samaria. They will reclaim their lands in Judah and near the Jordan River in Gilead. The Israelites will take possession of lands as far away as Phoenicia. The Lord also promises that the Israelites will retake control of Mount Zion in Jerusalem and rule over the people of Edom and all the other lands.

Themes

The book of Obadiah is written in verse form, except for the last two verses, which are written in prose. This raises the possibility that these sections were added later. The book consists of three sections. The first concerns God’s prophecy of destruction on Edom; the second, God’s condemnation of Edom’s betrayal; and the third, the fall of Edom and the restoration of Judah.

Obadiah contains many themes found throughout the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The main theme is that God’s punishment of disobedience is swift and absolute. While the Jewish people are the targets of God’s wrath in most biblical prophecies, Obadiah stands out because it condemns a foreign nation for its sins against Judah. Some modern scholars have even classified the book as a work of nationalist propaganda.

The author portrays Edom’s crime against Judah as particularly loathsome because the Edomites and the Jews were considered to have descended from the same family. On many occasions, Obadiah refers to Edom as Esau and Judah as Jacob. He also condemns Edom for turning its back on its “brother.” Obadiah also presents other common Old Testament themes such as the dangers of pride and arrogance and the ultimate prophecy of God’s universal kingdom with a restored Israel at its center.

The longstanding rivalry between Edom and Judah has led some scholars to theorize that Obadiah may have been written centuries earlier during the invasion by the Assyrians or another hostile group. However, Obadiah and the book of Jeremiah share some similar verses, with only small differences. Jeremiah is one of the Old Testament’s major prophets and chronicles events leading up to the fall of Jerusalem and the start of the Babylonian exile. For this reason, it is most likely that Obadiah and Jeremiah were written at the same time. Some scholars believe that both books may have copied information from an earlier unknown text or recorded similar oral testimony.

Bibliography

“Edom.” Jewish Virtual Library, 2022, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/edom. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

“The Global Message of Obadiah.” English Standard Version, 2022, www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/global-message-of-obadiah/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

“Minor Prophets.” Society for Old Testament Study, 2022, www.sots.ac.uk/wiki/minor-prophets/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

“Obadiah.” Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Obadiah&version=NIV. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

“Obadiah.” Society for Old Testament Study, 2022, www.sots.ac.uk/wiki/obadiah/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Obadiah.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2022, bible.usccb.org/bible/obadiah/1. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

Timmer, Daniel C. Obadiah, Jonah and Micah: An Introduction and Commentary. InterVarsity, 2021.

“Why Were the Ancient Israelites and Edomites Enemies?” DailyHistory.org, 23 Sept. 2021, dailyhistory.org/Why‗Were‗the‗Ancient‗Israelites‗and‗Edomites‗Enemies. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.