Obadiah 1:11

1:11 You stood aloof ¹  while strangers took his army ²  captive,

and foreigners advanced to his gates. ³ 

When they cast lots ⁴  over Jerusalem, ⁵ 

you behaved as though you were in league ⁶  with them.

Obadiah 1:20

1:20 The exiles of this fortress ⁷  of the people of Israel

will take possession ⁸  of what belongs to

the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, ⁹ 

and the exiles of Jerusalem ¹⁰  who are in Sepharad ¹¹ 

will take possession of the towns of the Negev.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Heb “in the day of your standing”; NAB “On the day when you stood by.”

[1:11]  ² tn Or perhaps, “wealth” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew word is somewhat ambiguous here. This word also appears in v. 13, where it clearly refers to wealth.

[1:11]  ³ tc The present translation follows the Qere which reads the plural (“gates”) rather than the singular.

[1:11]  ⁴ sn Casting lots seems to be a way of deciding who would gain control over material possessions and enslaved peoples following a military victory.

[1:11]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “like one from them”; NASB “You too were as one of them.”

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Or “army” (TEV); KJV, NAB, NASB “host”; NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).

[1:20]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.

[1:20]  ⁹ sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.

[1:20]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:20]  ¹¹ sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. Lipinski, “Obadiah 20,” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.