Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book. The righteous power of god, not the evil plans of the nations, determines the course of history. Obadiah, author of the shortest book in the bible, is the fourth of the minor prophets. According to the talmud, obadiah is said to have been a convert to judaism from edom, a descendant of eliphaz, the friend of job. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. Jan 02, 2020 book of obadiah bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. If for no other reason, this book is important because it is part of the inspired bible ii timothy 3.
Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. In hebrew the book is titled hydbu meaning servant of yahweh. Outline of the book of obadiah introduction the book of obadiah gives the historical record of edoms wickedness and consequential fall to the allseeing eyes of jehovah god ezek. Yahweh will judge edom both historically through the nations and eschatologically through israel. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. More than ten persons of the ot bear the same name but none of them is identical with the prophet. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. This is what the sovereign lord says about edomwe have heard a message from the lord. But the book of obadiah is more than an oracle of judgment against wicked edom. We do not know anything of the books author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. Obadiah and easu in the book america accurate description. A brief description of heretics kindle edition by sedgwick, obadiah, pagitt, ephraim, mcmahon, c. Given the detailed description of the edomites actions during the calamity, it seems likely that obadiah was written not long after the events described, that is, sometime during the babylonian exile 587538 b.
While it sure does sound like obadiah was talking about the babylonians, the book itself doesnt bother to give the invaders a name. Obadiah, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament of the bible, with only 21 verses. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. Edom was an ancient people group that inhabited the land south of judah and the dead sea.
The scriptures have that beautiful faculty of appearing to be one thing on the surface, but on a deeper level, yielding rich and mighty treasures. But it has the single most terrifying message of any book in the bible. The prophet obadiah specifically mentions edom as a people to be judged for their pride in rejoicing over the destruction of jerusalem. We have heard a report from the lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations. Nothing is known about the prophet as a person or about his times. Sabbath school study hour helping you get the most out of your sabbath school quarterly every week. Obadiah 1 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. The position of the book in the old testament canon argues for an early date. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. Nothing is known of the author, although his prophecy against edom, a neighbor and rival of israel, indicates a date of composition sometime after the babylonian destruction of jerusalem in 587 b. Assyria is also the subject of the book of jonah, but jonah focuses on the capital city, nineveh, more than on the whole nation of assyria.
The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Obadiah, with only one chapter consisting of 21 verses, is the shortest of all old testament books and purports to be a record of the vision of obadiah. The book of obadiah is based on a prophetic vision concerning the fall of edom, a mountain dwelling nation whose founding father was esau. Verse 20 concerns the redistribution of the holy land to the. Dec 15, 2018 obadiah in the book america accurate description the book can be found at the following site. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and longforgotten nation, the land of edom. Book of obadiah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament since it contains only 21 verses. The canonical book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgmentof edom and the restoration of israel. Thus says the lord god concerning edom we have heard a report from the lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, arise, and let us rise up against her for battle.
Obadiah meansservant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the ot, referring to at least 20 other ot individuals. Like a number of prophetic books, it is both a book of judgment and a book of hope. The form of obadiahs name used in the septuagint is obdios. We do not know anything of the book s author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. Matthew, mcmahon, therese b download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Obadiah nrsv proud edom will be brought low bible gateway. Home faq books of the bible obadiah questions about obadiah. Proud edom will be brought low the vision of obadiah. Obadiah describes an encounter with god, who addresses edoms arrogance and charges them for their violent actions against their brother nation, the house of jacob israel. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21. Book of zephaniah, also called sophonias, the ninth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. Perhaps this message should be more sobering to the saints.
Amazing facts 247 television station featuring the best in bible study streamed lived and ondemand. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of obadiah. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Amid great spiritual degeneracy he maintained his fidelity to god, and interposed to protect the lords prophets, an hundred of whom he hid at great personal risk in a cave 4. The book is attributed to a prophet named obadiah, but we have no biographical information about him. The name obadiah seems to have been fairly common, as eleven other people by that name are mentioned in the old testament. In latin it is translated as abdias while in arabic it is. Obadiah is only one chapter the shortest book in the old testament yet it tells of gods prophet obadiah as he announces gods powerful and authoritative judgment on the nation of edom. Book of obadiah, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, in the jewish canon treated as one book, the twelve.
The book is written at a time when edom helped an enemy attack jerusalem and edom took the opportunity to take over control of part of the negev. The name obadiah means servant of the lord or servant of jehovah. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Obadiah, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. Welcome to the study of the shortest book in the word. Obadiah is the shortest book in the ot and is not quoted in the nt. Historical background in general, the background for the book of obadiah is the relationship between israel and edom. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and. The book of obadiah home new christian bible study. Except for a few passages in aramaic, appearing mainly in the apocalyptic book of daniel, these scriptures were written originally in hebrew during the period. The book of obadiah and obadiah, the person i am alpha.
The name means servant of yahweh and so would be a popular one. If it is, surely it cannot be very important because it only has 21 verses which is the shortest book in the old testament. Quick outline of obadiah the book of obadiah begins with a promise to bring edom down from their mountain sier, and ends with the deliverers of israel ascending mount zion to judge edom. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and. Obadiah, with only one chapter consisting of 21 verses, is the shortest of all old testament books and purports to be a record of the vision of.
Book of obadiah bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Obadiah is the shortest book of the old testament, and the fourthshortest book of the bible after third john, second john, and philemon. The book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are rightly attributed to zephaniah, written probably about 640630 bc. Why did god judge edom so harshly in the book of obadiah. The book of the prophet obadiah is the shortest book of the ot with 21 verses only. A brief description of heretics kindle edition by sedgwick. Obadiah summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of obadiah for bible study or sunday school lessons. Publisher description this is a bible study on the book of obadiah, from a lutheran perspective, that explores this book s presentation of the relationship between jacob and esau, meaning and message, and, through basic questions, the implications for our contemporary lives. This description of the book of obadiah is from eastons bible dictionary. The purpose of the book of obadiah, therefore, was not to warn edom of imminent judgment but to reassure gods people of his triumphant justice at work for them.
Yet it tells the prophet obadiahs mission to carry gods message that the kingdom of edom shall be ultimately destroyed for its sins. If position in the canon argues for chronology, why not place obadiah before hosea, joel, and amos. Constables notes on obadiah 2019 edition unity some scholars have contended that this small book, the shortest one in the old testament but not in the bible, is a collection of prophecies that two or more unidentified prophets uttered. When were obadiahs prophecies against edom fulfilled obadiah 1. An israelite who was chief in the household of king ahab 1 kings 18. Author and date nothing is known for certain about the author.
Edom is the subject of the little book of obadiah as assyria is of the larger book of nahum. Their fortified cities included sela petra, teman and bozrah. The first nine verses of obadiah echo many of the sentiments of jeremiah 49. This is what leads most to believe that obadiah prophesied not.
As brief as this book is, scholars raise many questions about it. While several options have been proposed by scholars, the best argument places obadiah in the 840s bc, making him the earliest writing prophet, a few years. Ahabs steward who met elijah 1 kings 18 was so named. There is a vital reason why god is finally revealing it now. Your proud heart has deceived you, you that live in the clefts of the rock, whose. The book of joshua reads like an actionpacked adventure story, filled with military campaigns and conquests of the promised land as the children of israel traveled from the wilderness to the the book of joshua read more. Obadiah, book of, servant of yah, the shortest ot book, stands fourth among the minor prophets in the mt, but fifth in the lxx.
The description of jerusalems fall in obadiah 1114 places the date for the book s composition after 587 b. The book has a lot of realistic elements to the story and was a rather enjoyable read. The book is named after the prophet who received the vision. Murrell an anonymous british engraving, london 1676. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. The prophet obadiah is otherwise unknown and nothing of his family or background is given in his prophecy. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament. Obadiah is a biblical theophorical name, meaning servant or slave of god or worshiper of yahweh. First, since the identity of obadiah is obscure, some students of the book have concluded that obadiah is a title that describes prophets in general, as servants of the lord, rather than the name of one specific individual. References to edom occur more than 120 times in the old testament.
They debate its author and date of composition, and they point to the striking similarity between passages in obadiah and jeremiah to question whether obadiah. Obadiah means servant of the lord or one who serves. None of them can easily be identified with the writer of this exilic book. While others of the prophetic books contain passages of judgment against edom and other nations. What are the most commonly asked questions about the book of obadiah. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Some have thought that this is the same obadiah that was ahabs steward in 2 chronicles 17. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. Edom and its people edomites are the descendants of esau. Obadiah is the thirtyfirst book of the bible, the fourth book of the socalled minor or shorter prophets, the group of twelve prophetic books that close the old testament. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. See the introduction regarding this socalled problem. The author does a wonderful job showing the interaction between obadiah and his siblings in the book.
God was the author, both of the book of jeremiah and of the book of obadiah. The new testament writers did not quote from or allude to the book of obadiah. We bought it along with obadiah the bold and thy friend obadiah all three were wonderful stories. This fact makes it difficult to date the time of writing. The folly of misplaced trust obadiah 59 israel my glory. Obadiah nkjv the coming judgment on edom the bible gateway. But theres one more element in obadiah s little book one more big thing. Obadiah 1, new international version niv the bible app.
Book of obadiah, also spelled abdias, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, in the jewish canon treated as one book, the twelve. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. Obadiah 1 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary provides notes on all 66 books of the bible, and contain more than 7,000 pages of material. The majority of the book pronounces judgment on the foreign nation of edom, making obadiah one of only three prophets who pronounced judgment primarily on other nations nahum and habakkuk are the others. The author of the book is named obadiah which means servant of yahweh. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. The value of the book is seen in its description of 1 obadiah as a worshipper of yahweh. Perhaps this message should be more sobering to the saints than any of gods messages. The book of obadiah stoke poges is a small village in england not too far from windsor castle. Consequent upon the overthrow of edom is the enlargement of the borders of judah and the establishment of the kingship of yahweh. Consequently, especially by modern audiences, this tiny book has been overlooked or totally ignored and to the detriment of the church. Point of note this is one of the 7 old testament books that are not quoted in the nt. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible.