Annotations for Obadiah

1 Heading. This introduces the prophet, the literary form of his book, and the Lord’s commission of him to preach against a neighboring enemy (see Introduction).

1a Title. The literary genre of the book is a “vision,” something known through either physical sight (Isa 1:1) or other means of prophetic perception. This prophet is Obadiah (see Introduction: Author).

1b The Lord Against Edom. The narrator introduces the speaker, Israel’s God, and the nation against whom he urged his people to join him in battle.

1b This is what . . . says. A messenger formula found also in contemporary documents to indicate who commissioned the messenger. Edom. Located in southern Transjordan, from the tip of the Dead Sea south to the Gulf of Aqaba. Esau is their founding ancestor (Gen 36). Edom opposed Israel after the exodus (Num 20:14–21) and at others times in Israel’s history (2 Sam 8:13–14; 2 Kgs 16:6). They moved into southern Judah when Edom fell to the Arabs in the fifth century BC, as shown by archaeological remains. Their new location was later named after them: Idumea (Mark 3:8).

2-14 Messages Against Edom. God holds the Edomites, longtime opponents of Israel, responsible for how they have mistreated their neighbors. Even non-Israelites fall under God’s judgment, receiving punishment for the evil they inflict.

2-4 Pride’s Downfall. Living high among the rocky plateaus rising up to 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) above sea level to the south and east of the Dead Sea, the Edomites felt pride in their security against attack from human enemies. They forgot that God is not stopped by such fortifications. They are condemned in almost the same words in Jer 49:14–16.

2 small. Compared even to Israel (and more so to the major nations of the period: Babylonia and Egypt), Edom is “small” numerically and geographically, and God will diminish their honor even further.

3 clefts of the rocks. Narrow mountain passages where a few soldiers could easily hold off an attacking army. They were common in western Edom. “Rock” can also be translated “Sela,” a fortress captured by Amaziah king of Judah in the early eighth century BC (2 Kgs 14:7).

4 The cliffs of Edom provide good nesting for the eagle or griffin vulture (Job 39:27–28), large birds of prey that fly swiftly and high (2 Sam 1:23; Prov 23:5), though not literally to the “stars,” which emphasizes height through hyperbole.

5-7 Hurtful Enemies and Friends. The Edomites became rich both from trade routes passing through their land (Num 20:17) and from sea traffic (1 Kgs 9:26–28), but both enemy and friend find them open to plunder.

5 leave a few grapes. Israelite law required farmers to leave some grapes at the harvest to supply food for the poor of the land who did not have their own vineyards to harvest (Lev 19:10). Edom was known for its grapes and wine (cf. Isa 63:1–3), but these, and all other things of value, will be pillaged.

6 hidden treasures. Their wealth and vulnerable family members. The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus mentions the Edomites using their mountain fortresses as protection for their treasures.

7 allies. Or “those of your covenant.” Edom will be abandoned by those with whom they had a formal relationship as “friends.” those who eat your bread. This group would have also been at peace with Edom since only friends and partners (not enemies) eat together (Gen 14:18; 31:51–54).

8-10 In That Day. When the Edomites are violent toward their neighbor, even those who should help them are unable to withstand God. They will find themselves vulnerable even in their mountain fortress.

8 In that day. Though referring to Edom’s imminent destruction, it also anticipates the eschatological day of the Lord (see Introduction: Themes and Theology), when all humanity will be judged. Edom. Famed for its “wise men” (see Jer 49:7), whose human insights are unable to help them any more than Egypt’s wise men were able to help Pharaoh (Exod 7:11). Using poetic variation, three terms identify Israel’s enemy: they designate the nation through its geographic location (Edom), through what could be either another name for the land as a whole (Teman, “southland”; v. 9; Job 2:11; Jer 49:7) or one of its cities (Tawilan, in southern Jordan just north of Petra), and through its ancestral founder (Esau; Gen 36).

9 warriors. The elite force of Teman (2 Sam 20:7). They will be anything but heroic; they will cower in terror (cf. 1 Sam 17:51).

10 your brother Jacob. The Edomites descended from Esau, who is first called “Edom” when he sells his birthright to his brother (Gen 25:30). Violence against anyone is wicked, but it is even more so when it ignores kinship bonds.

11-14 Why You Suffer, Edom. The Edomites gradually increased their evil against Judah, starting out as spectators gloating at its misfortune, becoming plunderers, and finally turning refugees back to their enemy. This will all come back against them.

11, 13 gates. For protection, towns had walls to keep enemies and animals out. Entry was through the “gates,” which were closed at night. Unguarded and open gates show that the town was humiliated, no longer under its own control.

11 stood aloof. The Edomites were indifferent (cf. 2 Sam 18:13; Ps 38:11) rather than defending their brothers and standing beside them when they were under attack as is expected of a family. This event is probably in conjunction with an onslaught by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in which Jerusalem was plundered and many people were taken into exile, though no mention of such a role for Edom is found either in the Bible or elsewhere. cast lots. Conquerors cast lots to divide booty in a way that would not favor one party over another or to decide what was to be taken and what was to be destroyed (Ps 22:18; Joel 2:3; Mark 15:24).

12 gloat . . . rejoice . . . boast. The response of Edom to their brother’s difficulties was not neutral: they took perverse pleasure, stopping to “gloat” (an internal response), “rejoice” (showing their attitude outwardly; cf. Prov 24:17), and even “boast” (taking national credit for their perversity).

13 The Edomites should not have “marched” into the conquered city, entering what was not theirs, or “gloat over them,” or “seizing” what the demoralized Israelites could no longer protect.

14 wait . . . cut down . . . hand over. The culminating act of betrayal against their brothers was to lie in wait, capturing any “fugitives” who escaped, any “survivors” of the battle for Jerusalem, and turning them over to their conquerors. This fits the period of Edomite expansion into southern Judah (v. 1b). The Edomites, who prided themselves in their geographic protection from attack, do not protect their own kin but show them treachery instead, handing them over to defeat and slavery (Amos 1:6, 9).

15-21 The Nations and Israel. Judgment day, when it comes, will not be only for Edom; God will judge every nation that oppresses his people, the Israelites. Israel gladly receives this news of judgment on their enemies since that means that God will restore what they lost.

15-18 A Reversal. The Lord’s day of judgment will turn the mistreated Israelites into the means through which God will bring about his just punishment.

15 The day of the LORD. An important prophetic theme (e.g., Amos 2:16; 5:18; Zeph). It has two aspects: It will bring (1) judgment upon the enemies of God and his people and (2) blessing upon those who follow God’s ways. Edom, and now “all nations,” will be among the former group because they mistreated Israel. The Edomites (“you”) are specifically told that they will receive the same kind of indignities that they rained on their brothers.

16 drank . . . drink . . . drink and drink. Celebrating a successful military campaign often involved an excess of drink, from which Edom (Lam 4:21) and the nations will become drunk and stupefied, losing all ability to aid themselves. This refers not only to literal alcohol, which could be part of their plunder, but also to the metaphoric cup of God’s wrath that would bring not joy but suffering (Jer 49:12; Hab 2:16; Rev 14:10). holy hill. Commonly called “Mount Zion” (v. 17; Ps 48:2; Joel 2:32), it was the location of the temple and the center not only of Jerusalem but of all Israel. Cf. Jer 31:23.

17-18 But. A major contrast and change in focus comes in the course of events. Restoring an “inheritance” that Judah will “possess” will replace defeat and loss (Gen 15:7–8; Isa 54:3). Two titles represent Israel: (1) Jacob. Esau’s brother, appropriate in this context in which Jacob’s descendants, the people of Judah, are in conflict with Esau’s descendants, Edom. It represents the southern kingdom. (2) Joseph. Represents the northern kingdom of Israel. Israel is often called “Ephraim” after the son of its founder, Joseph (Gen 41:50–52; see Obad 19 and note). This suggests that though the northern kingdom had been previously exiled, the northern and southern kingdoms will be reunited, restoring both the nation and the temple (Ezek 40–48). no survivors. This claim of the complete extermination of the Edomites, like that of the Canaanites (Josh 10:40), is literary hyperbole (see Amos 9:12, noting the comparison with Acts 15:17).

19-21 Israel Will Return. While a message of judgment on their enemies can encourage Israel, hearing that Israel will get back what they lost to their enemies is even better news. God does remember his people in their need!

19 Negev. Southwest of the Dead Sea (Gen 20:1). Edomites who had encroached upon Judah’s territory (to Edom’s west) will now receive the same treatment from Judah. Israel will also dispossess other “nations” (v. 15), including the Philistines. Philistines. Longtime enemies of Israel (1 Sam 7:3; 17:1); their land lay in the southwest of Judah’s territory. Judah’s expansion will also move into the territory of the exiled northern kingdom of Ephraim. Samaria. Ephraim’s capital. Benjamin. One of the two tribes (Josh 18:11) north of Judah’s territory. They will take the area of “Gilead,” across the Jordan to Benjamin’s east.

20 Israelite restoration expands, including “Canaan” (the promised land; Num 34:2–12), as far north as Zarephath. Zarephath. South of Sidon in Lebanon (1 Kgs 17:9), a territory Israel never completely occupied (Josh 13:1–6). Sepharad. The Lydian capital in western Turkey. It was a distant place of exile. The returnees to the Negev will complete the restoration to Israel of the entire promised land.

21 the kingdom will be the LORD’s. In the midst of joy at the restoration of the land, Israel needs reminding that it all belongs to God. He is the “King of all the earth” (Ps 47:7) and most specifically the king of Israel. He reigns from his sanctuary on Mount Zion (see v. 16 and note; see also Exod 15:17–18). This eschatological kingdom will be reestablished by God and his Son, Jesus the Messiah (Rev 11:15).