Welcome back to my study/review of The Book of Obadiah. If you missed the previous parts of this study, you can find them HERE.
Obadiah 15-21
15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
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The end of the Book of Obadiah shifts focus to The Day of the Lord. It’s worth taking the time to define what “the Day of the Lord” actually is. From wiki:
“The Day of the LORD” is a biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible (יֹום יְהוָה Yom Adonai) and the New Testament (ἡμέρα κυρίου, hēmera Kyriou), as in “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31, cited in Acts 2:20).
In the Hebrew Bible, the meaning of the phrases refers to temporal events such as the invasion of a foreign army, the capture of a city and the suffering that befalls the inhabitants. This appears much in the second chapter of Isaiah which is read on the Sabbath of Vision, immediately before the 10th of Av.
The prophet Malachi foretells the return of Elijah immediately preceding the “great and terrible day of the LORD”. This prophecy is read in synagogues on the Great Sabbath immediately preceding Passover.
In the New Testament, the “day of the Lord” may also refer to the writer’s own times, or it may refer to predicted events in a later age of earth’s history including the final judgment and the World to Come. The expression may also have an extended meaning in referring to both the first and second comings of Jesus Christ.
There is an argument to be made for an “all of the above” approach to the meaning of the term, meaning that it can be a viewed as an event that has already taken place, is on-going, AND that has not taken place yet. A lot of prophetic writing has potential “already but also not yet” interpretation.
Looking at verse 15, this already but not yet concept can be applied. Edom was a real people and place, and they no longer exist as a specific people on the earth. They faced the same fate as Israel and Judah, except that they 1) did not continue to maintain a unique identity (unassimilated) while in exile, and 2) they have not been gathered back together from around the world. The thing Edom did to Israel has been done to Edom, but Edom was not preserved. Edom has already been judged, however, Edom – as a stand-in name for the non-Believing nations – has not yet been judged.
From The Pulpit Commentaries:
The day of the Lord. This is not primarily the final day of judgment, but the time when “Jehovah reveals his majesty and omnipotence in a glorious manner, to overthrow all ungodly powers, and to complete his kingdom” (Keil). It is announced by Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1, Joel 2:31; Zephaniah 1:14; but the notion of a judgment to fall on Gentile nations, and to issue in the establishment of the kingdom of God, was familiar long before. Balaam had seen it in dim vision (Numbers 24:17-24); Hannah had anticipated the destruction that would accompany it (1 Samuel 2:9, 1 Samuel 2:10); so had David (2 Samuel 23:5-7) in his last words; it is clearly predicted in the Psalms (see Psalms 2:1-12 and Psalms 110:1-7.) (Knabenbauer). Is near. Because every such judgment upon individual nations is typical of the great day and preparative of it. As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee (comp. Judges 1:7; Psalms 137:8; Jeremiah 50:15). This law of retribution was the ideal of heathen justice, according to the Rhadamanthian rule, “If a man should suffer what he hath done, then there would be strict justice” (Aristotle, ‘Eth. Nic.’ 5.5. 3). Thy reward (Joel 3:7 [4:7, Hebrew]; better, that which thou hast performed—thy work or dealing, Upon thine own head. Like a stone cast towards heaven (comp. Psalms 7:16; Esther 9:25).
We’ll cover it as we move forward, but it is worth considering that some of Edom’s fate has been spiritual, rather than strictly physical. Continuing on with Ellicott’s Bible Commentary:
(16) As ye have drunk . . .—For the figure, so common in prophecy and so expressive, comp. Jeremiah 25:27-28; Psalms 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Revelation 18:3-6. But who are addressed, the people of Jerusalem or the Edomites? The question is perplexed. If we keep the tropical sense of drink in both clauses, which is the most natural way, understanding by it the cup of suffering, since it is said to have been drunk on Mount Zion, it must have been drained by Israelites, as Ewald and others take the passage. On the other hand, it seems awkward to make the prophet turn from addressing Edom to Judah, not else addressed in his prophecy. If taken in a literal sense, the drinking on Mount Zion would, of course, refer to the carousing and revelry which always followed heathen victory, and sometimes with terrible aggravation (Joel 3:3). Taking the passage in this sense, we must understand the prophet to take Edom as a type of all heathen in their attitude towards Israel, so that what he says of one nation applies to all. But it is quite possible that our text embodies an old oracular saying addressed to Israel. This is Ewald’s view.
Swallow down.—Margin, sup up. The substantive loa’ signifies a throat. (Comp. Job 6:3 : “Therefore my words are swallowed up.”)
Shall be as though they had not been.—For the expression, comp. Job 10:19. Here, totally insensible from the effects of the draughty, therefore dead, destroyed.
The word continually offers some difficulty. Ewald translates immediately, but this is not the natural sense of tamîd, which seems rather to express that continuous display of the Divine purpose and judgment in the overthrow overtaking successively the proud monarchies of the heathen. “God employs each nation in turn to give that cup to the other. So Edom drank it at the hand of Babylon, and Babylon from the Medes, and the Medes and Persians from the Macedonians, and the Macedonians from the Romans, and they from the barbarians.”
Edom swallowed Israel when it went into exile. The author here says Edom will be swallowed and it will be as if Edom never existed. For Edom the distinct people, this has already occurred. For Edom, as a stand-in for the gentile nations, this has not yet occurred.
Verses 17 and 18 contrast the fates of Israel, Judah, and Esau. The House of Joseph and Jacob will survive, whereas the House of Esau will not. Returning again to the Pulpit Commentaries:
Upon Mount Zion. Once desecrated by the idolatrous revelry of the Edomites and the other nations, now the seat of Jehovah (Joel 3:17) and the kingdom. Deliverance (peletah); Septuagint, σωτηρία. Abstract for concrete, and to be rendered, “those that escape,” or “those that are saved;” i.e. a remnant that shall escape destruction (comp. Joel 2:32; Amos 9:8). There shall be holiness; rather, it (Mount Zion) shall be holy; so Septuagint, καὶ ἔσται ἄγιον: Hebrew, kodesh, “a sanctuary,” where the heathen shall not come (Isaiah 52:1; comp. Joel 3:17 [4:17, Hebrew]; Revelation 21:27). The house of Jacob. Judah and Benjamin, the holy seed, in whom the kingdom of the Lord should be established (comp. Obadiah 1:18). The northern kingdom is not mentioned. Shall possess their possessions; Septuagint, Κατακληρονομήσουσιν ὁ οἶκος Ἰακὼβ τοὺς κατακληρονομὴσουσιν ὁ αὐτούς, “The house of Jacob shall take for an inheritance those who took them for an inheritance;” Vulgate, Possidebit domus Jacob eos qui se possederant. These versions must have used a different punctuation from that of the Masoretic text—morishehem for morashehom (comp. Numbers 24:18, Numbers 24:19). The Hebrew pronoun is ambiguous, and “their possessions” may mean either those that the Jews themselves had lost, or those of the Edomites. But nothing is said of Israel being carried away captive and losing its country; and, though the prophet may have looked forward to such a catastrophe and to a future restoration, thin is not the subject here. The possessions referred to are those of the enemy represented by the Edomites, and those which the Jews had lost since the days of David and Solomon; and “the house of Jacob” signifies, not merely the earthly kingdom of Judah, but “the people of God, who are eventually to obtain the dominion of the world” (Keil); Mark 16:15.
The last clause of the preceding verse is here expanded and more fully explained. The house of Jacob … the house of Joseph. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the two and the ten tribes united once more, In Psalms 77:15 the whole people are called “the sons of Jacob and Joseph.” So elsewhere. The reunion of the tribes is mentioned in Hosea 1:11; Ezekiel 37:19; Zechariah 10:6. The future salvation is to be for all. For stubble, which the Israelites used rather than wood for lighting fires and heating ovens (Matthew 6:30). (For the image of fire consuming the ungodly as stubble, see Exodus 15:7; Isaiah 5:24; Nahum 1:10.) They shall kindle in them. This may mean, the Israelites “shall burn among” the Edomites; but more probably is merely a repetition of what has gone before: the Jews shall consume the Edomites. There shall not be any remaining. This refers to the total annihilation of the Edomites under John Hyrcauus (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ 12.8. 6; 13.9, 1), and is a punishment quite distinct from their defeat at the hands of the Nabathaeans predicted in verses 1-9 (see Introduction, § I.). The LXX. gives, οὐκ ἕσται πυροφόρος (τυρφόρος, Alex.); St. Jerome reads, πυροφόρος, which he translated frumentarius. Many of the Fathers read, πυρφόρος: thus, too, the Arabic and Coptic Versions. Schleusner, sub voce, thinks that the LXX. had in view the Greek proverb, οὐδέ πυρφόρος, which is used to express the idea that not even a single survivor remains (see Herod; 8.6). For the Lord hath spoken it (Joel 3:8).
As mentioned in the note above, The House of Joseph is a stand-in term for the Northern Kingdom and the ten tribes that lived therein. The largest portion of land was allotted to the two tribes descended from Joseph, so the term can be applied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
2 Samuel 19:20 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
Zechariah 10:6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
The verse refers to the House of Jacob, rather than for the House of Judah. Jacob might either be specifically named for the southern Kingdom, or alternatively, it might be inclusive of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. EITHER WAY… using both terms together refers to all the tribes of Israel. Just as Edom partook in Israel’s destruction, so too shall the tribes of Jacob burn up the House of Esau (Edom.) The theme of this section is that what was done to Israel shall be done to Edom.
Continuing on to verse 19 in Ellicott, we see Obadiah explain the ultimate outcome after these events come to pass:
(19) After the destruction of the heathen the new kingdom of Zion will be restored, at least as far as the ancient territories which are at present held by the Idumæans, to the north and west of the original Edom, are concerned. Three divisions are enumerated of the house of Jacob (i.e., Judah; see Note, Obadiah 1:18), and separate mention made of Benjamin.
They of the south.—Those at present occupying the south—Heb., negev—i.e., the dry parched country forming the southern portion of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:21), are to inhabit Mount Esau: i.e., are to extend their territory to its extreme south-eastern limit; they of the Shephelah, i.e., the western lowland on the Mediterranean, are to seize on the neighbouring Philistia, at present Idumæan; while they at present confined to the hill-country in the north and centre of Judah are to spread themselves over Ephraim and Samaria. Our present Hebrew text leaves the subject of this latter clause uncertain, as it is in the Authorised Version “they.” But the LXX., τὸ ὄρος indicates that hahor=the mountain, has dropped out, a conjecture which is abundantly borne out by the geographical arrangement of the localities in the passage. Benjamin, for which no room is left on the west of Jordan, is to push across it into Gilead instead. This prophetic vision recalls Genesis 28:14.
The verse, as the note explains, refers to the restoration of the territorial holdings promised initially to the Patriarchs. Who precisely will possess this land, though? The Pulpit Commentaries provides a more clear explanation:
Judah and Benjamin between them shall possess the whole territory that once belonged to the children of Israel. In Joshua 15:21, Joshua 15:33, Joshua 15:48, the inheritance of Judah is distributed into three portions—the south, the plain, and the mountains; the same divisions are noticeable here (see note on Zechariah 7:7). They of the south. The inhabitants of the Negeb, “the dry country” the southern part of Judah, shall take possession of Idumea (Amos 9:12). They of the plain. Of the Shephelah, or “low land”—the maritime plain and the country held by the Philistines (2 Chronicles 28:18; Zephaniah 2:7). And they shall possess. The Judaeans not already mentioned, i.e. those of the mountains, shall take the territory of the ten tribes. The fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria. The country, and the capital. Septuagint, τὸ ὄρος Εφραὶμ καὶ τὸ πεδίον Σαμαρείας, “the Mount of Ephraim and the Plain of Samaria.” Others translate, “Ephraim shall possess the field of Samaria,” considering that otherwise Ephraim would be excluded from the restored kingdom, and Judah would inherit the territory of Ephraim, in violation of the covenant. But the Israelites proper were merged in the Judaeans at the return; and if Benjamin possesses Gilead, it is not unnatural that Judah should extend northward to Samaria. And Benjamin shall possess Gilead. Benjamin, the other portion of the house of Jacob, whose territory originally reached to the river, shall possess all the territory on the other side of Jordan. Thus the restored people shall, in accordance with the promise in Genesis 28:14, “spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south” (comp. Isaiah 54:1-3). Obadiah sees the twelve tribes, once more united, extending their territory on every side; and, to make this evident, he gives certain examples, using Judah and Benjamin as equivalent to “the people of God,” and their enlargement as denoting the majestic progress of the kingdom of God.
Genesis 28: 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Continuing in verse 20, still with The Pulpit Commentaries:
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; Septuagint, Καὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας ἡ ἀρχὴ αὔτη τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραὴλ γῆ τῶν Χαναναίων ἕως Σαρεπτῶν, “And this shall be the beginning of the captivity of the children of Israel, the land of the Canaanites as far as Sarepta.” This would imply that the Ephraimitas should be the first to go into exile, and on their return should occupy the territory of the Canaanites on the north. But ἀρχὴ may mean “domain.” Vulgate, Et transmigratio exercitus hujus filiorum Israel, omnia loca Chananaeorum usque ad Sareptam. The general meaning is that Jewish captives, who have been taken to other lands, shall return and possess the cities of the south. The sentence in the Hebrew is incomplete. Our translators supply, “shall possess.” Pusey renders, “which are among the Canaanites;” and this seems to be correct, making “shall possess the cities of the south” the predicate of both clauses. So the first portion of the verse means, as Henderson says, the number of Israelitish captives which were found in Phoenicia, into which they had been sold at different times as slaves (comp. Obadiah 1:11, Obadiah 1:14; Joel 3:6, Joel 3:7). This host. Not a general deportation, but only the portion of the people referred to. From this expression some have inferred that Obadiah himself was one of this body. This is possible, but not necessary. The captives who are among the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; as far as Zarephath, were probably placed there for safe keeping before being sold into Greece and other countries. Zarepbath (“Melting house”), the Sarepta of St. Luke (Luke 4:26), now Surafend or Sarafend, and celebrated in the history of Elijah (1 Kings 17:9, etc.), lay between Tyre and Sidon, a little inland, and was a town of some importance, as its ruins prove. The captivity of Jerusalem. The captives from Jerusalem. Which is in Sepharad; Septuagint, ἕως Ἐφραθά “as far as Ephrathah;” Vulgate, quae in Bosphoro est. The name occurs nowhere else in the Bible, and its identification cannot be established. Jerome suggests, in his commentary, that it is the Assyrian for “boundary,” and not a proper name at all. The Peshito and the rabbins And modern Jews interpret it as “Spain.” Keil supposes it to be “Sparta;” Pusey, “Sardis.” For this last explanation some ground has been found in an inscription of Nakshi-Rustam, where a place called Cparda occurs in a list of tribes between Cappadocia and Ionia; and Cparda is considered to be the Persian form of Sardis. A further confirmation of this identification is found in the complaint of Joel
. The judges had a twofold character—they were deliverers and governors, as in the present ease. Here the immediate reference is to Zerubbabel and the valiant Maccabees, who severely punished the Idumeans (2 Macc. 10:15, etc.; Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ 13.9. 1). But all these “saviours” are types and forerunners of the Messiah, “the Saviour which is Christ the Lord?” Shall come up. Not from exile, but simply as ascending a hill, and taking their seat there. Mount Zion. The seat of the kingdom of God, in contrast with “the mount of Esau,” the type of the enemies of Israel and of God. To judge; LXX; τοῦ ἐκδικῆσαι, “to take vengeance on.” But the “judging” is not only the taking of vengeance on Edom and that which it represents, the expression includes the notion of governing; so that the prophet looks forward to the time when the heathen shall submit themselves to the dominion of the people of God, and, as the following clause foretells, “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). The kingdom shall be the Lord’s. No earthly accomplishment could fulfil this great announcement. The kingdom can be Jehovah’s; he can show himself as Ruler of the world, and be acknowledged as such by the nations, only under Christ. This is “the sceptre of Judah” of which Jacob spoke (Genesis 49:10); this is the throne of David which was to be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16); this is what all the prophets fore, w, what we are still expecting, what we daily pray for, as we say, “thy kingdom come”—when “the Lord shall be King over all the earth, and there shall be one Lord, and his name one” (Zechariah 14:9).
It is implied in the text and the note that the exile is not over until all the tribes of Israel have returned. The destruction of Edom also appears to be linked to the end of the exile. Has that happened? Some Christian theologians might argue yes, while their Jewish counterparts would likely say no.
From a Christian perspective, what happened at Pentecost? Jews visiting from all over the known world received the Holy Spirit. What happened shortly after? Gentile believers were converted to Christianity.
You could interpret this event as the beginning of the tribes’ restoration to YHWH AND the conquering of Edom (via salvation, rather than via military victory.) Let’s look at verse 21 in Ellicott:
(21) Saviours.—Comp. Judges 3:9; Judges 3:15; Nehemiah 9:27. The Jewish interpreters understood by “saviours” men like the judges of old, Gideon, Barak, &c., who will chastise the Christians and subdue them. The Mount of Esau is of course, according to this interpretation, Rome.
And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.—See the reference in margin to Zechariah, who gives this anticipation of the pure form of the theocracy in its wider extent. But here, too, the prophetic look over the world seems to extend far beyond Judah and the fortunes of the Jewish race, and as the vision widens Zion and Edom both retire from sight; both are comprehended in the one Divine kingdom, and God is all in all. For the bearing of this conclusion to the prophecy on its date, see Excursus.
As the note points out, Obadiah uses an interesting word – saviors.
saviors / deliverers = יָשַׁע yâshaʻ, yaw-shah’; a primitive root; properly, to be open, wide or free, i.e. (by implication) to be safe; causatively, to free or succor:—× at all, avenging, defend, deliver(-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save(-iour), get victory.
How would a New Testament writer have viewed Obadiah 21? Let’s look at a few passages and see if we can draw some conclusions.
Hebrews 12:18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
The author of Hebrews envisages Mt. Zion as a literal and a spiritual place. Believers – regardless of global geography – go to the spiritual Mt. Zion.
Acts 15: 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’
James is quoting from the Book of Amos:
Amos 9: 11 “In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,”
declares the Lord who does this.
James – as recorded in the Book of Acts – interprets Amos in a way wherein 1) Edom refers to “mankind” and the Gentiles, and 2) he conflates possession of Edom and all the nations with Gentiles seeking the Lord.
James thus appears to equate possession of Edom (Amos) with spiritual conquest and restoration to YHWH (Acts.) The “they” from verse 12 in Amos above would thus refer to Believers from the perspective of James.
Is the Christian interpretation of Obadiah and similar texts that the Church *replaced* national Israel? I think that takes it too far. The Apostle Paul describes the Gentile converts to Christianity as being grafted onto the existing tree of Israel (Romans 11) and he also suggests the possibility of re-grafting once pruned dead branches back onto that tree. The text in Obadiah and other places also indicates that Israel – via the exile – already drank God’s cup of wrath. The future ahead of national Israel would thus appear to be one of restoration of land and a spiritual return to YHWH. For Christians, then, that means a belief exists that at some point Jews will convert to Christianity in large numbers. Once restored to God through Christ, the exile will be over.
So to summarize:
- Edom will be judged and its own behavior against its brother Israel will be the standard of its judgment.
- Literal Edom was judged, its people were scattered, and they no longer exist as a distinct people
- Spiritual Edom continues to exist and refers generally to the gentile nations who are hostile to the God of Israel.
- The final judgment of spiritual Edom is linked with the Day of the Lord
- The official end of exile of Israel appears to be linked to the judgment of Edom
- Christians believe that the end of the Jewish exile and the judgment / conquest of Edom are linked to the expansion of Christianity
- Jews and Christians alike believe that the Day of the Lord will be a final conclusion wherein all wrongs are set right, though Christians believe the Church Age is the beginning of this process
- Christians thus believe that the Cross both set things into motion and that it is the moment when victory was won.
Edom = אֱדֹם ʼĔdôm, ed-ome’; or (fully) אֱדוֹם ʼĔdôwm ; from H122; red (see Genesis 25:25); Edom, the elder twin-brother of Jacob; hence the region (Idumaea) occupied by him:—Edom, Edomites, Idumea.
mankind = אָדָם
An interesting sidenote – the consonants for both words are the same.
Thus we end Obadiah. It was both short and subject matter dense. It raises a lot of large questions and probably provides some genuine problems for some eschatological systems.
Whether I confused you readers, or myself, I hope that I can impress upon you the importance of studying the text. Even in the minor prophets, there are important things to learn and to understand. If I did confuse anyone, continue to study. In the introduction I recommended a more recent commentary. I’ll plug that again here below.
Obadiah (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) Hardcover – September 1, 1996
by Paul R. Raabe (Author)
