Obadiah 1:19

1:19 The people of the Negev ¹  will take possession ²  of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah ³  will take

possession ⁴  of the land of ⁵  the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession ⁶  of Gilead. ⁷ 

Obadiah 1:14

1:14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road ⁸  to slaughter ⁹  those trying to escape. ¹⁰ 

You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. ¹¹ 

Obadiah 1:17

1:17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, ¹² 

and it will be a holy place once again.

The descendants ¹³  of Jacob will conquer ¹⁴ 

those who had conquered them. ¹⁵ 

Obadiah 1:21

1:21 Those who have been delivered ¹⁶  will go up on Mount Zion

in order to rule over ¹⁷  Esau’s mountain.

Then the Lord will reign as King! ¹⁸ 

Obadiah 1:1

God’s Judgment on Edom

1:1 The vision ¹⁹  that Obadiah ²⁰  saw. ²¹ 

The Lord God ²²  says this concerning ²³  Edom: ²⁴ 

Edom’s Approaching Destruction

We have heard a report from the Lord.

An envoy was sent among the nations, saying, ²⁵ 

“Arise! Let us make war against Edom!” ²⁶ 

Obadiah 1:20

1:20 The exiles of this fortress ²⁷  of the people of Israel

will take possession ²⁸  of what belongs to

the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, ²⁹ 

and the exiles of Jerusalem ³⁰  who are in Sepharad ³¹ 

will take possession of the towns of the Negev.

[1:19]  ¹ tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.

[1:19]  ² sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:19]  ³ tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:19]  ⁵ tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ⁶ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:19]  ⁷ sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

[1:14]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word פֶּרֶק (pereq; here translated “fork in the road”) is uncertain. The word is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in Nah 3:1, where it means “plunder.” In the present context it seems to refer to a strategic intersection or fork in a road where bands of Edomites apprehended Israelites who were fleeing from the attack on Jerusalem. Cf. NAB, NIV, NLT “crossroads”; NRSV “crossings.”

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “to cut off” (so KJV, NRSV); NASB, NIV “to cut down.”

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his fugitives”; NAB, CEV “refugees.”

[1:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the day of distress” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular. Cf. NCV “some will escape the judgment.”

[1:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “house” (so most English versions); NCV, TEV “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.

[1:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ tc The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. NAB, NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the MT (cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg, followed by KJV, ASV, NASB).

[1:21]  ²² tc The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (musha’im, “those who have been delivered”; cf. NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshi’im,“deliverers”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) of the MT (cf. LXX, Aquila, Theodotion, and Syriac).

[1:21]  ²³ tn Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. NAB “to rule”; NIV “to govern”).

[1:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”

[1:1]  ²⁹ 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 b.c. date for the book, since Jehoram reigned ca. 852-841 b.c. But the evidence presented for this view is not entirely convincing, and most contemporary Old Testament scholars reject a ninth-century scenario. A more popular view, held by many biblical scholars from Luther to the present, understands the historical situation presupposed in the book to be the Babylonian invasion of Judah in the sixth century (cf. Ps 137:7; Lam 4:18-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15). Understood in this way, Obadiah would be describing a situation in which the Edomites assisted in the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem. Although it must be admitted that a sixth-century setting for the book of Obadiah cannot be proven, the details of the book fit reasonably well into such a context. Other views on the dating of the book, such as an eighth-century date in the time of Ahaz (ca. 732-716 b.c.) or a fifth-century date in the postexilic period, are less convincing. Parallels between the book of Obadiah and Jer 49:1-22 clearly suggest some kind of literary dependence, but it is not entirely clear whether Jeremiah drew on Obadiah or whether Obadiah drew upon Jeremiah, In any case, the close relationship between Obadiah and Jer 49 might suggest the sixth-century setting.

[1:1]  ³⁰ sn The name Obadiah in Hebrew means “servant of the Lord.” A dozen or so individuals in the OT have this name, none of whom may be safely identified with the author of this book. In reality we know very little about this prophet with regard to his exact identity or historical circumstances.

[1:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “the vision of Obadiah” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “This is the prophecy of Obadiah.”

[1:1]  ³² tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.” Cf. NIV, TEV, NLT “Sovereign Lord.”

[1:1]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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.”

[1:20]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.

[1:20]  ³⁸ sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.

[1:20]  ³⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:20]  ⁴⁰ 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.