Discovery BoxJeremiah 25:9
Context25:9 So I, the Lord, affirm that 1 I will send for all the peoples of the north 2 and my servant, 3 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy 4 this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it 5 and make them everlasting ruins. 6 I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. 7
Jeremiah 25:21
Context25:21 all the people of Edom, 8 Moab, 9 Ammon; 10
Genesis 25:30
Context25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 11 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 12 Edom.) 13
Genesis 27:41
Context27:41 So Esau hated 14 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 15 Esau said privately, 16 “The time 17 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 18 my brother Jacob!”
Genesis 36:8
Context36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 19
Numbers 20:14-21
Context20:14 20 Moses 21 sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: 22 “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, 23 20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, 24 and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. 25 20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, 26 and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now 27 we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. 28 20:17 Please let us pass through 29 your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; 30 we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” 31
20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, 32 or I will come out against 33 you with the sword.” 20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we 34 or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”
20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them 35 with a large and powerful force. 36 20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.
Numbers 24:17-18
Context24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not close at hand. 37
A star 38 will march forth 39 out of Jacob,
and a scepter 40 will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the skulls 41 of Moab,
and the heads 42 of all the sons of Sheth. 43
24:18 Edom will be a possession,
Seir, 44 his enemies, will also be a possession;
but Israel will act valiantly.
Deuteronomy 23:7
Context23:7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; 45 you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner 46 in his land.
Psalms 83:4-10
Context83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! 47
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
83:5 Yes, 48 they devise a unified strategy; 49
they form an alliance 50 against you.
83:6 It includes 51 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites, 52
83:7 Gebal, 53 Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. 54
83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. 55 (Selah)
83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian 56 –
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River! 57
83:10 They were destroyed at Endor; 58
their corpses were like manure 59 on the ground.
Psalms 137:7
Context137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell. 60
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, 61
right to its very foundation!”
Isaiah 34:1-17
Context34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!
Pay attention, you people!
The earth and everything it contains must listen,
the world and everything that lives in it. 62
34:2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations
and furious with all their armies.
He will annihilate them and slaughter them.
34:3 Their slain will be left unburied, 63
their corpses will stink; 64
the hills will soak up their blood. 65
34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, 66
the sky will roll up like a scroll;
all its stars will wither,
like a leaf withers and falls from a vine
or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 67
34:5 He says, 68 “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. 69
Look, it now descends on Edom, 70
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 71 with fat;
it drips 72 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 73 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 74 in Bozrah, 75
a bloody 76 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 77 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 78
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 79
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 80
34:9 Edom’s 81 streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn; 82
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
34:11 Owls and wild animals 83 will live there, 84
all kinds of wild birds 85 will settle in it.
The Lord 86 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 87 of destruction. 88
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 89
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 90 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 91
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; 92
wild goats will bleat to one another. 93
Yes, nocturnal animals 94 will rest there
and make for themselves a nest. 95
34:15 Owls 96 will make nests and lay eggs 97 there;
they will hatch them and protect them. 98
Yes, hawks 99 will gather there,
each with its mate.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! 100
Not one of these creatures will be missing, 101
none will lack a mate. 102
For the Lord has issued the decree, 103
and his own spirit gathers them. 104
34:17 He assigns them their allotment; 105
he measures out their assigned place. 106
They will live there 107 permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
Isaiah 63:1-6
Context63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, 108
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? 109
Who 110 is this one wearing royal attire, 111
who marches confidently 112 because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!” 113
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? 114
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them 115 in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained 116 all my clothes.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 117
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 118
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 119
63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,
I made them drunk 120 in my rage,
I splashed their blood on the ground.” 121
Ezekiel 25:12-14
Context25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom 122 has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable 123 by taking vengeance 124 on them. 125 25:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, 126 and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die 127 by the sword. 25:14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience 128 my vengeance, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
Ezekiel 35:1-15
Context35:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 35:2 “Son of man, turn toward 129 Mount Seir, 130 and prophesy against it. 35:3 Say to it, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you, Mount Seir;
I will stretch out my hand against you
and turn you into a desolate ruin.
35:4 I will lay waste your cities;
and you will become desolate.
Then you will know that I am the Lord!
35:5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword 131 at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 35:7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; 132 I will cut off 133 from it the one who passes through or returns. 35:8 I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. 35:9 I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
35:10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands 134 will be mine, and we will possess them,” 135 – although the Lord was there – 35:11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you. 35:12 Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate, they have been given to us for food.” 35:13 You exalted yourselves against me with your speech 136 and hurled many insults against me 137 – I have heard them all! 35:14 This is what the sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 35:15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you – you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom – all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Daniel 11:41
Context11:41 Then he will enter the beautiful land. 138 Many 139 will fall, but these will escape: 140 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership.
Joel 3:19
Context3:19 Egypt will be desolate
and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,
because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, 141
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
Amos 1:11-12
Context1:11 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Edom has committed three crimes 142 –
make that four! 143 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 144
He chased his brother 145 with a sword;
he wiped out his allies. 146
In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; 147
in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. 148
1:12 So I will set Teman 149 on fire;
fire 150 will consume Bozrah’s 151 fortresses.”
Obadiah 1:1-9
Context1:1 The vision 152 that Obadiah 153 saw. 154
The Lord God 155 says this concerning 156 Edom: 157
We have heard a report from the Lord.
An envoy was sent among the nations, saying, 158
“Arise! Let us make war against Edom!” 159
1:2 The Lord says, 160 “Look! I will 161 make you a weak nation; 162
you will be greatly despised!
1:3 Your presumptuous heart 163 has deceived you –
you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs, 164
whose home is high in the mountains. 165
You think to yourself, 166
‘No one can 167 bring me down to the ground!’ 168
1:4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, 169
even if you 170 were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
1:5 “If thieves came to rob you 171 during the night, 172
they would steal only as much as they wanted! 173
If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards, 174
they would leave some behind for the poor! 175
But you will be totally destroyed! 176
1:6 How the people of Esau 177 will be thoroughly plundered! 178
Their 179 hidden valuables will be ransacked! 180
1:7 All your allies 181 will force 182 you from your homeland! 183
Your treaty partners 184 will deceive you and overpower you.
Your trusted friends 185 will set an ambush 186 for 187 you
that will take you by surprise! 188
1:8 At that time,” 189 the Lord says,
“I will destroy the wise sages of Edom! 190
the advisers 191 from Esau’s mountain! 192
1:9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, 193
so that 194 everyone 195 will be destroyed 196 from Esau’s mountain!
Malachi 1:3-4
Context1:3 and rejected Esau. 197 I turned Esau’s 198 mountains into a deserted wasteland 199 and gave his territory 200 to the wild jackals.”
1:4 Edom 201 says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all 202 responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as 203 the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.
[25:9] 1 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[25:9] 2 sn The many allusions to trouble coming from the north are now clarified: it is the armies of Babylon which included within it contingents from many nations. See 1:14, 15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 13:20 for earlier allusions.
[25:9] 3 sn Nebuchadnezzar is called the
[25:9] 4 tn The word used here was used in the early years of Israel’s conquest for the action of killing all the men, women, and children in the cities of Canaan, destroying all their livestock, and burning their cities down. This policy was intended to prevent Israel from being corrupted by paganism (Deut 7:2; 20:17-18; Josh 6:18, 21). It was to be extended to any city that led Israel away from worshiping God (Deut 13:15) and any Israelite who brought an idol into his house (Deut 7:26). Here the policy is being directed against Judah as well as against her neighbors because of her persistent failure to heed God’s warnings through the prophets. For further usage of this term in application to foreign nations in the book of Jeremiah see 50:21, 26; 51:3.
[25:9] 5 tn Heb “will utterly destroy them.” The referent (this land, its inhabitants, and the nations surrounding it) has been specified in the translation for clarity, since the previous “them” referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.
[25:9] 6 sn The Hebrew word translated “everlasting” is the word often translated “eternal.” However, it sometimes has a more limited time reference. For example it refers to the lifetime of a person who became a “lasting slave” to another person (see Exod 21:6; Deut 15:17). It is also used to refer to the long life wished for a king (1 Kgs 1:31; Neh 2:3). The time frame here is to be qualified at least with reference to Judah and Jerusalem as seventy years (see 29:10-14 and compare v. 12).
[25:9] 7 tn Heb “I will make them an object of horror and a hissing and everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been broken up to separate the last object from the first two which are of slightly different connotation, i.e., they denote the reaction to the latter.
[25:21] 8 sn See further Jer 49:7-22 for the judgment against Edom. Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah.
[25:21] 9 sn See further Jer 48:1-47 for the judgment against Moab.
[25:21] 10 sn See further Jer 49:1-6 for the judgment against Ammon.
[25:30] 11 tn The rare term לָעַט (la’at), translated “feed,” is used in later Hebrew for feeding animals (see Jastrow, 714). If this nuance was attached to the word in the biblical period, then it may depict Esau in a negative light, comparing him to a hungry animal. Famished Esau comes in from the hunt, only to enter the trap. He can only point at the red stew and ask Jacob to feed him.
[25:30] 12 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so is given a passive translation.
[25:30] 13 sn Esau’s descendants would eventually be called Edom. Edom was the place where they lived, so-named probably because of the reddish nature of the hills. The writer can use the word “red” to describe the stew that Esau gasped for to convey the nature of Esau and his descendants. They were a lusty, passionate, and profane people who lived for the moment. Again, the wordplay is meant to capture the “omen in the nomen.”
[27:41] 14 tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.
[27:41] 15 tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”
[27:41] 16 tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.
[27:41] 18 tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.
[36:8] 19 tn Traditionally “Mount Seir,” but in this case the expression בְּהַר שֵׂעִיר (bÿhar se’ir) refers to the hill country or highlands of Seir.
[20:14] 20 sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.
[20:14] 21 tn Heb “And Moses sent.”
[20:14] 22 sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.
[20:15] 24 tn Heb “many days.”
[20:15] 25 tn The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”
[20:16] 26 tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.
[20:16] 27 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.
[20:16] 28 tn Heb “your border.”
[20:17] 29 tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.
[20:17] 30 sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).
[20:18] 32 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.
[20:19] 34 tn The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rendered in the plural. Similarly, Edom speaks in the first person, probably from the king. But it too could be rendered “we.”
[20:20] 35 tn Heb “to meet him.”
[20:20] 36 tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.
[24:17] 38 sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in
[24:17] 39 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”
[24:17] 40 sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”
[24:17] 41 tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”
[24:17] 42 tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.
[24:17] 43 sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.
[24:18] 44 sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.
[83:4] 47 tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”
[83:5] 49 tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”
[83:5] 50 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[83:6] 51 tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[83:6] 52 sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.
[83:7] 53 sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).
[83:7] 54 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[83:8] 55 tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.
[83:9] 56 tn Heb “do to them like Midian.”
[83:9] 57 sn The psalmist alludes here to Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (see Judg 7-8) and to Barak’s victory over Jabin’s army, which was led by his general Sisera (Judg 4-5).
[83:10] 58 sn Endor is not mentioned in the accounts of Gideon’s or Barak’s victories, but both battles took place in the general vicinity of the town. (See Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, 46, 54.) Because Sisera and Jabin are mentioned in v. 9b, many understand them to be the subject of the verbs in v. 10, though they relate v. 10 to Gideon’s victory, which is referred to in v. 9a, 11. (See, for example, Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 263.)
[83:10] 59 tn Heb “they were manure.” In addition to this passage, corpses are compared to manure in 2 Kgs 9:37; Jer 8:2; 9:21; 16:4; 25:33.
[137:7] 60 tn Heb “remember, O
[137:7] 61 tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”
[34:1] 62 tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”
[34:3] 63 tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”
[34:3] 64 tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”
[34:3] 65 tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”
[34:4] 66 tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”
[34:4] 67 tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”
[34:5] 68 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
[34:5] 69 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”
[34:5] 70 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
[34:6] 71 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
[34:6] 72 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 73 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 74 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
[34:6] 75 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
[34:6] 76 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[34:7] 77 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
[34:7] 78 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
[34:8] 79 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
[34:8] 80 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
[34:9] 81 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:10] 82 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
[34:11] 83 tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
[34:11] 84 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
[34:11] 85 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
[34:11] 86 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 87 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
[34:11] 88 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
[34:12] 89 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[34:13] 90 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:13] 91 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
[34:14] 92 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
[34:14] 93 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
[34:14] 94 tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
[34:14] 95 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
[34:15] 96 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
[34:15] 97 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
[34:15] 98 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
[34:15] 99 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
[34:16] 100 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”
[34:16] 101 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:16] 102 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
[34:16] 103 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval
[34:16] 104 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 105 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 106 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
[34:17] 107 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
[63:1] 108 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
[63:1] 109 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
[63:1] 110 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
[63:1] 111 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
[63:1] 112 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
[63:1] 113 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
[63:2] 114 tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”
[63:3] 115 sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.
[63:3] 116 tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).
[63:4] 117 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
[63:5] 118 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
[63:5] 119 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
[63:6] 120 sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.
[63:6] 121 tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).
[25:12] 122 sn Edom was located south of Moab.
[25:12] 123 tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.
[25:12] 124 tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”
[25:12] 125 sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6
[25:13] 126 tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”
[35:2] 129 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[35:2] 130 sn Mount Seir is to be identified with Edom (Ezek 35:15), home of Esau’s descendants (Gen 25:21-30).
[35:5] 131 tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.
[35:7] 132 tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (lÿshimmah umÿshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ) resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (lÿshimmah ushÿmamah).
[35:10] 134 sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.
[35:13] 136 tn Heb “your mouth.”
[35:13] 137 tn Heb “and you multiplied against me your words.” The Hebrew verb occurs only here and in Prov 27:6, where it refers to the “excessive” kisses of an enemy. The basic idea of the verb appears to be “to be abundant.” Here it occurs in the causative (Hiphil) stem.
[11:41] 138 sn The beautiful land is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel.
[11:41] 139 tn This can be understood as “many people” (cf. NRSV) or “many countries” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).
[11:41] 140 tn Heb “be delivered from his hand.”
[3:19] 141 tn Heb “violence of the sons of Judah.” The phrase “of the sons of Judah” is an objective genitive (cf. KJV “the violence against the children of Judah”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “violence done to the people of Judah”). It refers to injustices committed against the Judeans, not violence that the Judeans themselves had committed against others.
[1:11] 142 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.
[1:11] 143 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Edom, even because of four.”
[1:11] 144 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
[1:11] 145 sn It is likely that “brother” refers here to a treaty partner (see the note on the word “brotherhood” in 1:9). However, it is possible, if Israel is in view, that Edom’s ancient blood relationship to God’s people is alluded to here. Cf. NCV, NLT “their relatives, the Israelites.”
[1:11] 146 tn Or “He stifled his compassion.” The Hebrew term רָחֲמָיו (rakhamayv) is better understood here (parallel to “brother/treaty partner”) as a reference to “allies” which Edom betrayed. An Aramaic cognate is attested (see DNWSI 2:1069-70). See M. Fishbane, “The Treaty Background of Amos 1:11 and Related Matters,” JBL 89 (1970): 313-18; idem, “Critical Note: Additional Remarks on rh£myw (Amos 1:11),” JBL 91 (1972): 391-93; and M. Barré, “Amos 1:11 reconsidered,” CBQ 47 (1985) 420-27. Some argue that the clause is best translated as “and destroyed his womenfolk.” רַחַם (rakham) means “womb”; the plural here would be a metonymy for “women” and could establish a parallel with the atrocity of 1:13. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 64-65.
[1:11] 147 tn Heb “his anger tore continually.” The Hebrew verb טָרַף (taraf, “tear apart”) is often used of an animal tearing apart its prey. The word picture here is that of a vicious predator’s feeding frenzy.
[1:11] 148 tn Traditionally, “he kept his fury continually.” The Hebrew term שְׁמָרָה (shÿmarah) could be taken as a Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person feminine singular suffix (with mappiq omitted), “he kept it” (NASB, NKJV, NRSV). It is also possible in light of the parallelism that שָׁמַר (shamar) is a rare homonym cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to rage; to be furious.” Repointing the verb as שָׁמְרָה (shamÿrah, third person feminine singular), one could translate literally, “his fury raged continually” (NIV, NJPS).
[1:12] 149 sn Teman was an important region (or perhaps city) in Edom.
[1:12] 150 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:12] 151 sn Bozrah was a city located in northern Edom.
[1:1] 152 sn The date of the book of Obadiah is very difficult to determine. Since there is no direct indication of chronological setting clearly suggested by the book itself, and since the historical identity of the author is uncertain as well, a possible date for the book can be arrived at only on the basis of internal evidence. When did the hostile actions of Edom against Judah that are described in this book take place? Many nineteenth-century scholars linked the events of the book to a historical note found in 2 Kgs 8:20 (cf. 2 Chr 21:16-17): “In [Jehoram’s] days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and established a king over themselves.” If this is the backdrop against which Obadiah should be read, it would suggest a ninth-century
[1:1] 153 sn The name Obadiah in Hebrew means “servant of the
[1:1] 154 tn Heb “the vision of Obadiah” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “This is the prophecy of Obadiah.”
[1:1] 155 tn Heb “Lord
[1:1] 156 tn The Hebrew preposition לְ (lÿ) is better translated here “concerning” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “about” (so NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV) Edom rather than “to” Edom, although much of the book does speak directly to Edom.
[1:1] 157 sn The name Edom derives from a Hebrew root that means “red.” Edom was located to the south of the Dead Sea in an area with numerous rocky crags that provided ideal military advantages for protection. Much of the sandstone of this area has a reddish color. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob (Gen 25:19-26).
[1:1] 158 tn Although the word “saying” is not in the Hebrew text, it has been supplied in the translation because what follows seems to be the content of the envoy’s message. Cf. ASV, NASB, NCV, all of which supply “saying”; NIV, NLT “to say.”
[1:1] 159 tn Heb “Arise, and let us arise against her in battle!” The term “Edom” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to specify the otherwise ambiguous referent of the term “her.”
[1:2] 160 tn The introductory phrase “the
[1:2] 161 tn The Hebrew perfect verb form used here usually describes past events. However, here and several times in the following verses it is best understood as portraying certain fulfillment of events that at the time of writing were still future. It is the perfect of certitude. See GKC 312-13 §106.n; Joüon 2:363 §112.h.
[1:2] 162 sn Heb “I will make you small among the nations” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NRSV “least among the nations”; NCV “the smallest of nations.”
[1:3] 163 tn Heb “the presumption of your heart”; NAB, NIV “the pride of your heart”; NASB “arrogance of your heart.”
[1:3] 164 tn Heb “in the concealed places of the rock”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “in the clefts of the rock”; NCV “the hollow places of the cliff”; CEV “a mountain fortress.”
[1:3] 165 tn Heb “on high (is) his dwelling”; NASB “in the loftiness of your dwelling place”; NRSV “whose dwelling (abode NAB) is in the heights.”
[1:3] 166 tn Heb “the one who says in his heart.”
[1:3] 167 tn The Hebrew imperfect verb used here is best understood in a modal sense (“Who can bring me down?”) rather than in the sense of a simple future (“Who will bring me down?”). So also in v. 4 (“I can bring you down”). The question is not so much whether this will happen at some time in the future, but whether it even lies in the realm of possible events. In their hubris the Edomites were boasting that no one had the capability of breaching their impregnable defenses. However, their pride caused them to fail to consider the vast capabilities of Yahweh as warrior.
[1:3] 168 tn Heb “Who can bring me down?” This rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “No one!”
[1:4] 169 sn The eagle was often used in the ancient Near East as a symbol of strength and swiftness.
[1:4] 170 tc The present translation follows the reading תָּשִׂים (tasim; active) rather than שִׁים (sim; passive) of the MT (“and your nest be set among the stars,” NAB). Cf. LXX, Syriac, Vg.
[1:5] 171 sn Obadiah uses two illustrations to show the totality of Edom’s approaching destruction. Both robbers and harvesters would have left at least something behind. Such will not be the case, however, with the calamity that is about to befall Edom. A virtually identical saying appears in Jer 49:9-10.
[1:5] 172 tn Heb “If thieves came to you, or if plunderers of the night” (NRSV similar). The repetition here adds rhetorical emphasis.
[1:5] 173 tn Heb “Would they not have stolen only their sufficiency?” The rhetorical question is used to make an emphatic assertion, which is perhaps best represented by the indicative form in the translation.
[1:5] 174 tn Heb “If grape pickers came to you.” The phrase “to harvest your vineyards” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation to clarify the point of the entire simile which is assumed.
[1:5] 175 tn Heb “Would they not have left some gleanings?” The rhetorical question makes an emphatic assertion, which for the sake of clarity is represented by the indicative form in the translation. The implied answer to these rhetorical questions is “yes.” The fact that something would have remained after the imagined acts of theft or harvest stands in stark contrast to the totality of Edom’s destruction as predicted by Obadiah. Edom will be so decimated as a result of God’s judgment that nothing at all will be left
[1:5] 176 tn Heb “O how you will be cut off.” This emotional interjection functions rhetorically as the prophet’s announcement of judgment on Edom. In Hebrew this statement actually appears between the first and second metaphors, that is, in the middle of this verse. As the point of the comparison, one would expect it to follow both of the two metaphors; however, Obadiah interrupts his own sentence to interject his emphatic exclamation that cannot wait until the end of the sentence. This emphatic sentence structure is eloquent in Hebrew but awkward in English. Since this emphatic assertion is the point of his comparison, it appears at the end of the sentence in this translation, where one normally expects to find the concluding point of a metaphorical comparison.
[1:6] 177 tn Heb “Esau.” The name Esau here is a synecdoche of part for whole referring to the Edomites. Cf. “Jacob” in v. 10, where the meaning is “Israelites.”
[1:6] 178 tn Heb “How Esau will be searched!”; NAB “How they search Esau.” The Hebrew verb חָפַשׂ (khafas, “to search out”) is used metonymically here for plundering the hidden valuables of a conquered people (e.g., 1 Kgs 20:6).
[1:6] 179 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); this is singular agreeing with “Esau” in the previous line.
[1:6] 180 tn Heb “searched out” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “pillaged”; TEV “looted”; NLT “found and taken.” This pictures the violent action of conquering warriors ransacking the city in order to loot and plunder its valuables.
[1:7] 181 tn Heb “All the men of your covenant”; KJV, ASV “the men of thy confederacy.” In Hebrew “they will send you unto the border” and “all the men of your covenant” appear in two separate poetic lines (cf. NAB “To the border they drive you – all your allies”). Since the second is a noun clause functioning as the subject of the first clause, the two are rendered as a single sentence in the translation.
[1:7] 182 tn Heb “send”; NASB “send you forth”; NAB “drive”; NIV “force.”
[1:7] 183 tn Heb “to the border” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[1:7] 184 tn Heb “the men of your peace.” This expression refers to a political/military alliance or covenant of friendship.
[1:7] 185 tn Heb “your bread,” which makes little sense in the context. The Hebrew word can be revocalized to read “those who eat bread with you,” i.e., “your friends.” Cf. KJV “they that eat thy bread”; NIV “those who eat your bread”; TEV “Those friends who ate with you.”
[1:7] 186 tn Heb “set a trap” (so NIV, NRSV). The meaning of the Hebrew word מָזוֹר (mazor; here translated “ambush”) is uncertain; it occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The word probably refers to something “spread out” for purposes of entrapment, such as a net. Other possibilities include “trap,” “fetter,” or “stumbling block.”
[1:7] 187 tn Heb “beneath” (so NAB).
[1:7] 188 tn Heb “there is no understanding in him.”
[1:8] 189 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “on that day.”
[1:8] 190 tn Heb “Will I not destroy those who are wise from Edom?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic affirmation. For the sake of clarity this has been represented by the emphatic indicative in the translation.
[1:8] 191 tn Heb “understanding”; NIV “men of understanding.” This undoubtedly refers to members of the royal court who offered political and military advice to the Edomite kings. In the ancient Near East, such men of wisdom were often associated with divination and occultic practices (cf. Isa 3:3, 47:10, 13). The Edomites were also renown in the ancient Near East as a center of traditional sagacity and wisdom; perhaps that is referred to here (cf. Jer 49:7).
[1:8] 192 tn Heb “and understanding from the mountain of Esau.” The phrase “I will remove the men of…” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Here “understanding” is a synecdoche of part for whole; the faculty of understanding is put for the wise men who possess it.
[1:9] 193 sn Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.
[1:9] 194 tn The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, lÿma’an) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.
[1:9] 195 tn Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. KJV “every one.”
[1:9] 196 tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “cut down”; CEV “wiped out.”
[1:3] 197 tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).
[1:3] 198 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:3] 199 tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”
[1:3] 200 tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).
[1:4] 201 sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).
[1:4] 202 sn The epithet
[1:4] 203 tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”
