The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. The book itself does not directly tell us what was going on, but there are good historical and literary reasons to believe that obadiah was written in the aftermath of the philistinearabian invasion of jerusalem around 850 b. When were obadiahs prophecies against edom fulfilled obadiah 1. 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. Book of obadiah, the destruction of edom, judahs misfortune. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, the 4th book of the twelve minor prophets. It is thought to have been written by a person named obadiah, which means servant or worshipper of the lord.
In judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. Like a number of prophetic books, it is both a book of judgment and a book of hope. Obadiahs prophecy closely follows the pattern of a covenantlawsuit address. Obadiah in the picture study bible the book of obadiah. Welcome to the study of the shortest book in the word. The book of obadiah is found in the hebrew bible and the old testament of the christian bible where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible in judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. Constables notes on obadiah 2020 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. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins.
Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. Its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father esaus rejection. Obadiah s prophecy closely follows the pattern of a covenantlawsuit address. 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 prior to joel, and a contemporary of elisha. The shortest book in the old testament and among all the writing prophets, obadiah provides an overview of the message presented in each of the writing prophets. The book of obadiah stoke poges is a small village in england not too far from windsor castle. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. Obadiah is not only the shortest prophecy, but also the shortest book of the old testament.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make. It is primarily a prophecy against edom, a mountainous country southeast of israel. As brief as this book is, scholars raise many questions about it. Book of obadiah bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Frank shallieu in 1992 and circa 1970 before actually commencing the study, we would like to consider some historical background that is essential for understanding verse 1. The prophecy is largely concerned with the condemnation of edom descendants of esau for treachery toward their brother israel descendants of jacob and the resultant punishment. Throughout most of the history of judah, edom was controlled absolutely from jerusalem as a vassal state.
Some think that obadiah was a steward in the household of king ahab 1 kings 18. The biggest piece of evidence for this early date comes from obadiah 1. Introduction the author the author of the book is named obadiah which. The prophecy of obadiah is a prophecy concerning edom, that nation which descended from esau, jacobs brother. Like so many of the prophets, little is known of obadiah. Gods judgment on the unbelieving gentiles who opposed gods chosen people israel, and gods grace and ultimate deliverance of the believing israel. 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. Book of obadiah simple english wikipedia, the free. This is the central message of the bible so clearly presented in the little book penned by an ancient prophet named obadiah. Obadiah 1, new international version niv the bible app. Obadiahs name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah. 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. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament.
Obadiah probably wrote the book sometime between 850 and 550 b. In hebrew the book is titled hydbu meaning servant of yahweh. It had been settled by the descendants of esau, jacobs brother. 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.
First, since the identity of obadiah is obscure, some students of the. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament of the bible, with only 21 verses. Why did god judge edom so harshly in the book of obadiah. In order to understand the prophecy concerning edom, one must understand all of the history of the nation, and its relationship to israel and to god, from the days of jacob and.
Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Yet it tells the prophet obadiahs mission to carry gods message that the kingdom of edom shall be ultimately destroyed for its sins. Book of obadiah, also spelled abdias, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. The nation of edom, which eventually disappeared into history, remains one of. The book of obadiah consists of one chapter, concerning edom, its impending doom 1. Obadiah, book of, servant of yah, the shortest ot book, stands fourth among the minor prophets in the mt, but fifth in the lxx. Some have thought that this is the same obadiah that was ahabs steward in 2 chronicles 17. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries.
The book of obadiah christogenea on talkshoe 12302011. Obadiah niv obadiahs vision the vision of bible gateway. The smallest book in the old testament may also be one of the least known prophecies. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration. The smallest old testament account, the book of obadiah is a vision written by the lords prophet known as obadiah, who prophesied against israels relative nation edom. Book of obadiah simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel.
This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. The book of obadiah is a prophetic book of the hebrew bible and the christian old. Bartons theory of the composition of obadiah is thus summed up by bewer. In favor are the many similarities between the book of obadiah and jeremiah 49. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. Overview of the book of obadiah reformed answers to. Van gorder obadiah this little book is one of the shortest in the bible. This is what the sovereign lord says about edom we have heard a message from the lord. God gave these children to rebecca and told her before they were born that the elder shall serve the younger. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. We have heard a rumour from the lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Their fortified cities included sela petra, teman and. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. Introduction the author the author of the book is named obadiah which means servant of yahweh. The book of obadiah is fourth in the listing of the 12 minor prophets.
The name obadiah means servant or worshipper of jehovah. Yahweh will judge edom both historically through the nations and eschatologically through israel. This is what the sovereign lord says about edomwe have heard a message from the lord. This book of obadiah is only one chapter long, with 21 verses in the king james version. Pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. Oct 07, 20 pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. Edom and its people edomites are the descendants of esau. Edom was also hostile against judah at other times in their history. In judaism, obadiah is considered a later prophet, one of the twelve prophets in the final sec. Obadiah was sent to declare gods judgment on edomthe descendants of esau. There are many people with this name in the old testament. The edomites are accused of cruelty and supporting israels enemies. Obadiah in the picture study bible the book of obadiah with.
To understand this future judgment on the edomites we. 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. Obadiah means servant of god and just as some names are common now because of some connotation or other like being named after a footballer or pop singer, so obadiah servant of god was a popular name in israel as parents hoped their child would grow up to be a. In studying the book of amos chapter 1, we found out that edom means out of earth or bloody. It is argued that verses 1014 of obadiah refer to the philistinearab invasion of judah cf. Book of obadiah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway.
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. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. The author was obadiah, whose name means the servant of the eternal. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. Obadiah was the name of a variety of individuals in the ancient world. An envoy was sent to the nations to say, rise, let us go against her for battle see, i will make you small among the nations.
The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. Worshiper of yahweh or servant of yahweh year written. May 05, 2020 book of obadiah bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Almost the same message was delivered by joel, the only difference is that joel prophesied to the nation of judah. The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. Their fortified cities included sela petra, teman and bozrah. Remember that many of the minor prophets are of supreme importance in understanding scripture and prophecy in particular. The righteous power of god, not the evil plans of the nations, determines the course of history. Overview of the book of obadiah third millennium ministries. The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the.
Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and longforgotten nation, the land of edom. Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book. In this, the shortest book of the old testament, it seems the prophet obadiah. This summary of the book of obadiah will help with many different forms of bible study. Nevertheless, i believe that the prophesy occurred sometime immediately after 586 b. This small book has, amazingly and providentially, survived more than 2500 years, and while it contains a message of judgment for an ancient neighbor of israel, it has many relevant messages for us today. This relationship began with the two sons of isaac and rebecca, jacob and esau gen. This was created to assess how well you know the book. This article is about obadiah in the old testament, particularly the prophet to whom authorship of the book of obadiah is attributed. Summary of the book of obadiah bible history online. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. 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. Historical background in general, the background for the book of obadiah is the relationship between israel and edom. Obadiah s name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah.
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