by Stephen Rodgers
OBADIAH IN 10 WORDS OR LESS
“Edom will suffer for participating in Jerusalem’s destruction.”
TITLE
Like almost all the other prophetic books, the book of Obadiah takes its name from the prophet responsible for its content (Ob. 1:1). Unfortunately, that name occurs numerous times throughout the OT (1Ki 18:3–16; 1Ch 3:21; 7:3; 8:38; 9:16; 12:9; 27:19; 2Ch 17:7; 34:12; Ezr 8:9; Ne 10:5; 12:25), making it difficult to pin down exactly who it refers to.
There is also a theory that “Obadiah” (and also “Malachi”) were intended as titles, not as proper names. However, this theory is a minority view that doesn’t enjoy significant popularity among scholars, since it tends to further complicate a situation that is already starved for information.
AUTHOR & AUDIENCE
I’ll briefly discuss some difficulties with placing the author, but you might want to skip ahead to the DATE section and then come back here.
The short version is as follows:
- The vast majority of scholars agree that we don’t have enough information to firmly establish Obadiah’s identity.
- Just to further muddy the waters, the minority of scholars who do make declarations regarding Obadiah’s identity tend to disagree with one another (the author of the introduction to “Obadiah” in the Archaeological Study Bible emphatically denies that the Obadiah in 1 Kings 18 could have been the author of the book, whereas C.F. Keil emphatically affirms the claim in his book The Twelve Minor Prophets).
- The dating of the invasion in which Edom participated in an attack against Jerusalem would help to resolve the issue, but as you’ll see, that is precisely the point that is most hotly contested.
DATE
The MSB does a better job than most of the materials in laying out the difficulties with dating Obadiah:
The date of writing is equally difficult to determine, though we know it is tied to the Edomite assault on Jerusalem described in vv. 10–14. Obadiah apparently wrote shortly after the attack. There were 4 significant invasions of Jerusalem in OT history: 1) by Shishak, king of Egypt, ca. 925 B.C. during the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kin. 14:25,26; 2 Chr. 12); 2) by the Philistines and Arabians between 848–841 B.C. during the reign of Jehoram of Judah (2 Chr. 21:8–20); 3) by Jehoash, king of Israel, ca. 790 B.C. (2 Kin. 14; 2 Chr. 25); and 4) by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Of these 4, only the second and the fourth are possible fits with historical data.
It should be noted that while the MSB goes on to defend #2 over and against #4 (and gives reasons for doing so, as does Constable), this view is itself a minority position. The majority of scholars surveyed for this article agree that the invasion during Jehoram’s reign and the Babylonian invasion are the likely candidates, then lean towards the latter.
(For anyone interested in an even more exhaustive discussion on the topic of possible invasion events, their corresponding chronologies, and scholarly opinion, I highly recommend Constable’s notes on Obadiah in the NET Bible (in the “Date” section), which I’ll decline to reproduce here for reasons of space.)
BACKGROUND & SETTING
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, just as the Israelites were the descendants of Jacob (Gen. 25). They settled in the rugged mountains to the south of the Dead Sea, where they were known to launch raids from the security of their virtually impregnable mountain strongholds.
The book of Obadiah is primarily concerned with condemning Edom for their participation in an attack on Jerusalem (as part of a larger invasion by a foreign power), and assuring Israel they would not go unpunished.
Per the MSB:
The Edomites opposed Saul (ca. 1043–1011 B.C.) and were subdued under David (ca. 1011–971 B.C.) and Solomon (ca. 971–931 B.C.). They fought against Jehoshaphat (ca. 873–848 B.C.) and successfully rebelled against Jehoram (ca. 853–841 B.C.). They were again conquered by Judah under Amaziah (ca. 796–767 B.C.), but they regained their freedom during the reign of Ahaz (ca. 735–715 B.C.). Edom was later controlled by Assyria and Babylon; and in the fifth century B.C. the Edomites were forced by the Nabateans to leave their territory. They moved to the area of southern Palestine and became known as Idumeans. Herod the Great, an Idumean, became king of Judea under Rome in 37 B.C. In a sense, the enmity between Esau and Jacob was continued in Herod’s attempt to murder Jesus. The Idumeans participated in the rebellion of Jerusalem against Rome and were defeated along with the Jews by Titus in A.D. 70. Ironically, the Edomites applauded the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. Ps. 137:7) but died trying to defend it in A.D. 70. After that time they were never heard of again. As Obadiah predicted, they would be “cut off forever” (Ob. 1:10); “and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau” (Ob 1:18).
HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES
There are two significant themes in the book of Obadiah:
- Judgment for Edom. Obadiah assures his audience that God will punish those who attacked Israel.
- Deliverance and Restoration for Israel. Obadiah also teaches that God is sovereign over the nations. While the enemies of Israel achieved momentary victory, ultimately they would be defeated by God and their lands would be given to His people (Ob. 1:19–21).
INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES
While the majority of uncertainty regarding Obadiah tends to focus on the chronological period in which it was written (see DATE), there is a secondary issue as well: the fact that there are striking similarities between Obadiah 1:1-9 and Jeremiah 49:7-22. Scholars who maintain that one prophet was familiar with (and borrowed from) the other tend to be divided along chronological lines. Those committed to an early dating of Obadiah have no problem suggesting that it was Jeremiah who borrowed from Obadiah. However, those committed to a later dating of Obadiah tend to support the opposite.
There is a third line of thought that opines that both Obadiah and Jeremiah drew from an unknown third source.
LITERARY FEATURES
Per the ESVSB:
The primary genre is prophecy, and as is customary in prophecy, the predictions of the future are couched in oracles of judgment and an oracle of salvation or deliverance. The oracles of judgment against Edom are examples of satire, with discernible objects of attack and a satiric norm by which Edom and other nations are criticized.
OBJECTIONS
While not an objection per se, secular scholars tend to assume that Obadiah must have written after the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, given the vividness of his description.
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
- Obadiah 1:15
- Obadiah 1:17
DID YOU KNOW?
- Obadiah is the shortest book in the OT.
- Obadiah is not quoted in the NT.
- Edom, particularly Teman, was known for its wise men. Eliphaz (one of Job’s three friends), was a Temanite.
Other Works Referenced
- Apologetics Study Bible, “Obadiah”
- Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Obadiah”
- ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Obadiah”
- MacArthur Study Bible, “Obadiah”
- NET Bible, Obadiah
- NIV Study Bible, Obadiah
- Reformation Study Bible, “Obadiah”
- The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Obadiah” (as with other books I’ve mentioned, the article here is particularly brief and disappointing)
- Know Your Bible
- Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
- Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
- Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook