Obadiah 1

Obadiah consists of a single chapter and is the shortest book in the Old Testament, so there is no preceding chapter. It is the fourth of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Protestant Bible, placed after Amos and before Jonah.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The book opens with the heading "the vision of Obadiah" (a revelation received in a vision). It declares that proud Edom, dwelling on high in the clefts of the rock, will be brought down even though it soar as high as the eagle.
• Verses 5–9 Esau will be plundered more thoroughly than by thieves or grape gatherers. His allies betray him, and the wise men and the mighty men of Teman perish.
• Verses 10–14 The violence done to his brother Jacob is given as the reason for judgment. On the day when strangers cast lots to take Jerusalem, Edom stood aloof and rejoiced, laid hands on their substance, and cut off those who fled, delivering them up to the enemy.
• Verses 15–16 The day of the LORD is near. What Edom has done will return upon its own head.
• Verses 17–21 On Mount Zion there shall be deliverance; the house of Jacob shall be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble. Those who had been taken captive will possess the mount of Esau, Philistia, the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Gilead, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Key Verses

• Obadiah 1:3 "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee" — identifies pride as the root of Edom's judgment.
• Obadiah 1:15 "As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee" — sets forth the principle that on the day of the LORD, God repays according to deeds.
• Obadiah 1:21 "The kingdom shall be the LORD'S" — the conclusion of the entire book.

People and Places

• Obadiah: His name means "servant of the LORD." Nothing is known of his life. A Jewish tradition identifies him with Obadiah (Ahab's steward), but the text offers no basis for this.
• Esau: Jacob's elder brother and the ancestor of the Edomites.
• Teman: A region of Edom.
• Zarephath: A town in the north, near Sidon.
• Sepharad: The place where captives from Jerusalem were living. Its location is uncertain.

Points for Reflection

• Date of composition: Many date the book to around the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Others connect it with the plundering of Jerusalem by the Philistines and Arabians during the reign of King Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:16–17).
• Relationship to other Scripture: The wording of verses 1–6 closely resembles the prophecy against Edom in Jeremiah 49. Psalm 137:7 also mentions Edom on the day Jerusalem fell.
• Later interpretation: In later Jewish literature, Edom was sometimes used as a name for Rome, and Sepharad was understood to mean Spain. These are later interpretations, not what the text itself says.
• Connection to the New Testament: Christian tradition reads verse 21 in connection with the consummation of the kingdom of God, sometimes comparing it with "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ" (Revelation 11:15).

In the Korean Church

In preaching, the chapter serves as a text for warnings against pride (vv. 3–4) and for the lesson that one should not stand by while a neighbor or brother suffers (v. 12). Because it is a single-chapter book, it is usually read as part of a single day's portion in reading through the Bible.