Introduction to Obadiah
The nation of Edom, descendants of Jacob's, brother Esau, live to the southeast of Israel. They have been at war at Israel many times since the exodus from Egypt. Here, in this one chapter prophecy, Obadiah warns Edom of their coming destruction. The 21-verse book ends with statements about a Day of the Lord that are not just for Edom.
The short book of Obadiah begins with a message against the arrogant nation of Edom. The Edomites, descendants of Jacob's, brother Esau, live to the southeast of Israel and have been at war at Israel many times since the exodus from Egypt.
For the book of Obadiah, I have relied mainly on a commentary in The Expositors Bible Commentary series, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, volume 7, the chapter by Carl E. Ammerding.
There are other resources online.
- Amongst the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentary on Obadiah.
- The Gospel Coalition now has a set of online commentaries. Here is their commentary on Obadiah.
I highly recommend the Bible Project video on Obadiah. That short video looks at the 21 verses of Obadiah and points out that ultimately the name Edom (אֱדֹם) represents all of Adam (אָדָם, mankind); the Hebrew consonants are the same.
The Text of Obadiah
Obadiah 1:1, Envoy to the nations
The vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom--
We have heard a message from the LORD:
An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
"Rise, and let us go against her for battle"--
Obadiah begins with a message from YHWH to the land of Edom. Is the envoy a human or supernatural agent? Regardless, the upcoming actions of the nations is something designed by YHWH.
Obadiah 1:2-4, The lofty pride of Edom
"See, I will make you small among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself, `Who can bring me down to the ground?'
Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD.
The Edomite are warned that their arrogance and pride will be brought down, that even though they live in the rocky hills above caravan routes, they will be brought down. Even if they think they can reach the stars, YHWH can still reach them.
This is a message about arrogance. But when I was a high school student and a new Christians, just as NASA's Apollo project was landing people on the moon, a friend suggested that this last verse was a message to Americans who were reaching for the stars. (This is one example of the common "don't-read-it-just-grab-verses" approach to the Old Testament! For decades all I knew about Obadiah is that it had a weird verse about stars!)
Edom's boasts about living in clefts of rocks, soaring like eagles, living among the stars is also recorded in Jeremiah 49:16.
Obadiah 1:5-6, Not just a robbery
"If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night--
Oh, what a disaster awaits you--
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?
Verses 5 and 6 are almost identical to Jeremiah's accusations about Edom in Jeremiah 49:9. These verse set up a comparison between a supposed ordinary robbery and the devastation of Edom that will really occur, described in the following verses.
Earlier disputes with Edom, during the time of Moses, are recorded in Numbers 20:14-21. Another prophetic passage on the future destruction of Edom is given in Ezekiel 25:12-14.
Obadiah 1:7, Ransacked
But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
All your allies will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread will set a trap for you,
but you will not detect it.
Instead of a mere raid, Edom will suffer devastation, ransacked and pillaged. Even their friends will betray them.
Amerding says that the Hebrew of the next-to-last line above ("those who eat your bread...") is obscure, reading literally "your bread shall lay a trap"; furthermore, the Hebrew word mazor, translated "trap", is obscure, appearing in the Old Testament only here. In this case translators are saved by Hebrew parallelism: that line is parallel to the one above it, "your friends will deceive and overpower you" and so the single Hebrew word "your bread" must represent "those friends who eat bread with you."
Obadiah 1:8-9, Wisdom destroyed
"In that day," declares the LORD,
"will I not destroy the wise men of Edom,
men of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down in the slaughter.
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed forever.
Edam was famed for a place of wisdom, the wisdom of Teman. This wisdom is explicitly mentioned in the parallel passage in Jeremiah's prophecy, in Jeremiah 49:7. One of Job's supposedly wise counselors was Eliphaz, the Temanite (see Job 4, for example.) Some have even argued that Uz, Job's homeland, was in Edom. (See, for example, Lamentations 4:21.) Regardless of their wisdom or the power of their warriors, the descendants of Esau in the mountains of Edom will be destroyed.
Obadiah 1:11-14, Betrayal
On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
You should not look down on your brother
in the day of his misfortune,
nor rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,
nor boast so much
in the day of their trouble.
You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their disaster,
nor look down on them in their calamity
in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their disaster.
You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.
Esau was Jacob's brother; the descendants of Esau have betrayed the descendants of Jacob by taking advantage of the pillage of Jerusalem. The Edomites have looted Israel after her defeat, looking down on the Israelites, robbing them, giving no aid. The poetic accusation rings with repetition: "... in the day of their disaster, ...in the day of their disaster, ... in the day of their disaster, ... in the day of their trouble..."
When did Edom watch while Jerusalem was looted? Although there were invasions of Judah at various times prior to the exile, the most likely date is the late one of the Babylonian victory and captivity of the people of Judah in 585 BC. If this is indicated, the destruction of Edom occurs afterwards, further along in the sixth century, as Babylon grows in power. (Amerding, pages 350-1, gives six possible events of which the Babylonian invasion is the last.)
Obadiah 1:15-16, That coming day
"The day of the LORD is near for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
Just as you drank on my holy hill,
so all the nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.
But a day is coming, a prophetic day of the Lord, in which judgment will ring down on Edom. But the prophecy broadens and begins to include a Day for all nations. We appear to be moving into the Messianic message that this "day" of the Lord will be the Day of the Lord, a far future day for all people.
Obadiah 1:17-18, Deliverance on Mount Zion
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.
The house of Jacob will be a fire
and the house of Joseph a flame;
the house of Esau will be stubble,
and they will set it on fire and consume it.
There will be no survivors from the house of Esau."
The LORD has spoken.
Mount Zion (Jerusalem and Judah) will some day return to glory while Edom is just a stubble. Note the four lines of parallelism beginning with "The house of Jacob will be a fire" and ending with "they will set it on fire and consume it."
Obadiah 1:19-21, Mount Zion restored
People from the Negev
will occupy the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills
will possess the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess [the land] as far as Zarephath;
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.
Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the LORD's.
The people of Israel (from the Negev and the foothills") and the exiles will return and possess the land, extending the kingdom to the old boundaries declared during Joshua's invasion of Canaan a thousand years before. Mount Zion will be restored as the center of this large kingdom.
Some Random Thoughts
The Bible Project video on Obadiah points out that the direction of the last six verses has changed and that not just Edom is being addressed. That video suggests that ultimately Edom (אֱדֹם) represents all of Adam (אָדָם, mankind); the Hebrew consonants aleph-dalet-mem, are the same.
First published July 7, 2025; updated July 7, 2025
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