Obadiah

The day of the LORD upon Edom for its treachery against Judah, and the kingdom that shall be the LORD’s.

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament—one chapter of twenty-one verses—and it concerns one nation: Edom, the descendants of Esau. From the rugged cliffs of Mount Seir and the rock fortress of Sela (Petra), Edom thought itself unreachable: “Who shall bring me down to the ground?” God answered, “though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down” (3–4).

Edom’s crime was violence against his brother Jacob. When strangers carried away Jerusalem’s forces and cast lots for the city, Edom stood aloof, rejoiced, looted, and even cut off fugitives and handed them to the enemy (10–14). The family feud that began with Jacob and Esau in the womb ended in treachery.

The prophecy looks beyond Edom’s historical downfall to the day of the LORD upon all the heathen. Mount Zion will be delivered and holy, the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions, saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, “and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (21).

Writer: Obadiah
Written: Probably about 587 BC, after Jerusalem’s fall (some place it about 848 BC under Jehoram).
Name: Servant of the Lord

Title and authorship

Obadyah means “servant of the LORD.” About a dozen men in the Old Testament bear this name, so care must be taken to identify each one.

Obadiah wrote the book (1). Nothing else is known of him; he is not to be confused with Ahab’s steward of 1 Kings 18.

Historical background

The date depends on which attack on Jerusalem is meant. The traditional chronology places it about 587 BC, after the Babylonian conquest when Edom rejoiced (Psalm 137:7). Others place it in the reign of Jehoram about 848 BC, when Philistines and Arabians plundered Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 21:16–17).

Judah, assured that God would judge Edom’s treachery and restore His people; and Edom, warned of its coming destruction.

Edom and Israel

Esau sold his birthright and the feud with Jacob continued in their descendants. Edom refused Israel passage in the wilderness (Numbers 20:14–21), was subdued by David, revolted under Jehoram, and repeatedly joined Israel’s enemies. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Edom cried, “Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof” (Psalm 137:7).

Petra

Edom’s strongholds lay in the red sandstone mountains south of the Dead Sea. The only approach to Petra was through a narrow gorge more than a mile long, with cliffs hundreds of feet high. Dwellings and tombs were carved into the rock “in the clefts of the rock” (3).

Edom’s disappearance

Edom was displaced by Arab Nabataeans, who took Petra, and the Edomites moved into southern Judea (Idumea). John Hyrcanus forced them to adopt Judaism. Herod the Great was an Idumean. After the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Edomites disappear from history, as Obadiah foretold: “there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau” (18).

Key passages

Obadiah 4

Though Edom sets its nest among the stars, God will bring it down.

Obadiah 15

“As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.” The day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen.

Obadiah 21

Saviours on Mount Zion shall judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

Obadiah 10

Violence against Jacob supplies the central reason for Edom’s judgment.

Outline

1–9 · Pride brought down

Edom’s strong position, alliances, wisdom, and warriors cannot protect it from the Lord.

10–16 · The crime and its recompense

Violence, gloating, plunder, and the betrayal of fugitives bring judgment.

17–21 · Zion delivered

Holiness, restored possession, and the Lord’s kingdom answer Edom’s hostility.

Original language

זָדוֹן (zadon, H2087) — “pride”

Arrogance or presumption. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee” (3). Edom’s geography fed its pride.

חָמָס (chamas, H2555) — “violence”

Violence, wrong, cruelty. “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee” (10). The same word describes the world before the Flood (Genesis 6:11).

סֶלַע (sela, H5553) — “rock”

“Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock” (3). Sela was also the name of Edom’s rock fortress, later Petra (2 Kings 14:7).

Doctrinal study

Reaping what is sown

“As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head” (15). God’s judgment matches the crime. The principle of Genesis 12:3 governs the nations’ treatment of Israel.

The flesh and the spirit

Esau and Jacob were twins who struggled in the womb (Genesis 25:22). Hebrews calls Esau a profane person (12:16). Their conflict pictures the war between the flesh and the Spirit in the believer, a war that will end in the victory of the Spirit.

Petra in the Tribulation

Many Bible students believe the rock city of Petra, in the region of Edom, Moab, and Ammon that escape the Antichrist’s hand (Daniel 11:41), will shelter the fleeing remnant of Israel during the last half of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:6, 14).

Commentary notes

Charges against Edom

Obadiah lists Edom’s sins in escalating order: standing aloof (11), looking on with pleasure (12), rejoicing (12), speaking proudly (12), entering the gate (13), laying hands on the substance (13), standing in the crossway to cut off those who escaped (14), and delivering up those who remained (14).

The wisdom of Edom

Edom was famous for wise men (Jeremiah 49:7); Eliphaz, the wisest of Job’s friends, was from Teman. Obadiah foretold that God would “destroy the wise men out of Edom” (8).

Obadiah and Jeremiah

Obadiah 1–9 closely parallels Jeremiah 49:7–22. Scholars debate who used whom; whichever came first, the Holy Ghost repeated the message for emphasis.

Christ in the book

  • The saviours on Mount Zion and the kingdom that is the LORD’s (21)
  • The Warrior who comes from Edom with dyed garments (Isaiah 63:1–6, the companion prophecy)

Applications

Historical

  • The destruction of Edom for its mistreatment of Israel, especially its betrayal at the time of Jerusalem’s fall.
  • Edom descends from Esau and stands in a brother relationship to Jacob, making its betrayal particularly serious.
  • The early setting relates Edom’s hostility to the attack on Jerusalem in Jehoram’s reign. Later datings connect the same descriptions with the invasions under Ahaz or the Babylonian destruction.

Doctrinal

  • The day of the LORD, when Jesus Christ judges and destroys the Gentile enemies of Israel. Edom represents the Gentile nations hostile to Israel (Isaiah 34; 63:1–6), and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.
  • The Lord’s treatment of Edom belongs to his covenant concern for Israel and his judgment of the nations.
  • The final kingdom promise reaches beyond Edom’s immediate defeat to the Lord’s public rule and Israel’s restored inheritance.

Devotional

  • The ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit—Esau and Jacob—and the ultimate victory of the spirit (Galatians 5:16–17). Pride deceives the heart.
  • Edom’s confidence in its defenses, alliances, and wisdom illustrates the danger of treating favorable circumstances as protection from divine judgment.
  • Refusing help, celebrating another’s ruin, and profiting from suffering are moral choices for which a person is accountable.

Answering the critics

The main debate over Obadiah concerns its date, and with it the unity and accuracy of the text.

Proper dating is helpful but not essential to the message. The contextual theme concerns the day of the LORD and the Second Advent, which is still future, so the prophecy’s ultimate fulfillment is unaffected by the debate over the historical occasion.