Introduction to Obadiah

Authorship and Date of Obadiah

The fall of Jerusalem is in the past (Obad. 11) and the fall of Edom is in the future. Therefore, date between 586 BC and 553 BC (Babylon’s campaign against Edom).

When the Babylonian army was destroying Jerusalem, the people of Edom helped the Babylonians by capturing Israelites who were fleeing from Judea to surrounding countries and handing them over to the Babylonians. This book shows “the furious resentment … at the way the Edomites took advantage of Jerusalem’s subjugation by the Babylonians” (Douglas Stuart).

Outline of Obadiah

ESV Study Bible

1. First Announcement of Judgment to Edom (vv. 1–4)
2. Second Announcement of Judgment to Edom (vv. 5–7)
3. Announcement of Judgment, Accusation, and Warning to Edom (vv. 8–15)
4. Promise of Restoration and Victory to Israel (vv. 16–18)
5. Promise of Restoration and Yahweh’s Kingship (vv. 19–21)

Overview of the History of Edom

1. Isaac had twin sons: Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25:19–28).
2. Esau was also called Edom (Gen. 25:30; 36:1, 8, 19).
3. Esau took his wives from the Canaanites (Gen. 36:2).
4. The Edomites were descendants of Esau (Gen. 36).
5. Edom can refer to the Edomites collectively or to the land where they lived.
6. Geographical highlights in Edom: Bozrah, Dedan, Mount Seir, Sela, Tema(n).
7. When Israel came out of Egypt, they requested to pass through Edom, but the king of Edom refused to give them passage (Num. 20:14–21; Judg. 11:17–18). Thus begins constant hostility of Edom toward Israel.
8. Balaam’s “star and scepter” prophecy of the Messiah (Num. 24:17–19).
9. Hadad the Edomite, an enemy that the Lord raised up against Solomon (1 Kings 11:14–22).
10. The Edomites should have assisted their brothers (the Israelites) during the invasion of the Babylonian army.
11. Instead, they stood aloof (Obad. 11), gloated over Israel’s misfortune (Obad. 12; Ps. 137:7), took part in the looting (Obad. 13), captured the fleeing Israelite refugees, and handed them over to the Babylonians (Obad. 14).
12. Other “Judgment on Edom” passages: Isa. 34; 63:1–6; Jer. 49:7–22; Lam. 4:21–22; Ezek. 25:12–15; 35; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11–12; 9:12.
13. Moab, Edom, Ammon, and Philistia are mentioned together (Ps. 60:8; Jer. 25:21; Ezek. 25; Dan. 11:41).
14. Edom became a vassal-state of Assyria (736 BC), then was conquered by Babylon (553 BC).
15. King Herod and his sons were Edomites. They were also viewed as semi-Jews because the Edomites were forced proselytes under John Hyrcanus (ca. 110 BC).
16. Idoumaia or Idumea = Edom in Greek (Septuagint; Mark 3:8).

The Importance of Edom in Biblical Theology

Three factors that made Edom so prominent among Israel’s enemies (Stuart):

1. The sheer chronological length of its enmity (Ezek. 35:5).
2. The consistency and intensity of its enmity (Obad. 12–14; Ps. 137:7).
3. The treasonous nature of its enmity (Amos 1:11).
   • Jacob and Esau serve as paradigms for the elect and the reprobate (Rom. 9:10–13; Mal. 1:2–3).
   • Edom represents the reprobate seed of the serpent, at enmity with the seed of the woman.
   • Herod’s enmity against the infant Messiah reflects this pattern (Matt. 2).
   • Edom’s punishment and destruction becomes a picture of God’s punishment of the wicked in the final day of judgment: “the smoke of her burning goes up forever” (Rev. 14:11; 18:9, 18; 19:3, borrowing language from Edom’s punishment in Isa. 34:10 and Gen. 19:28).
   • As a historical preview and paradigm of judgment utilized throughout Scripture, the destruction of Edom ranks alongside the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah.

Themes of Obadiah (ESV Study Bible)

1. Every proud human effort at self-security will ultimately fail before God’s coming judgment (Obad. 1–9).
2. Enemies will be put to shame because of their enmity against God’s people (Obad. 10).
3. God’s retributive justice is strict and fair, with the punishment corresponding to the misdeeds (Obad. 15).
4. Reunited Israel will experience God’s deliverance (vv. 16–17), possess the Promised Land, and defeat and rule over Edom (vv. 17–21).
5. In the future, Yahweh will definitively manifest his kingly rule (v. 21).

“Saviors (or deliverers) shall go up on Mount Zion” (v. 21)

Possible interpretations:

1. The Hebrew vowels could be repointed to read “those who have been rescued” (cf. Obad. 17). This is how the Greek translators understood it (Septuagint).
2. Israel’s judges/kings as “saviors” who deliver the people from their oppressors (e.g., Judg. 3:9; 2 Kings 13:5; Neh. 9:27; Isa. 19:20), fulfilled ultimately in Jesus the Messiah, the Savior (cf. Rom. 11:26 quoting Isa. 59:20–21).

New Testament Use of Obadiah

Obadiah	New Testament
v. 21	Rev. 11:15: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”