First, since the identity of obadiah is obscure, some students of the. Because of this they will suffer gods wrath at the day of the lord that comes on all nations. Worshiper of yahweh or servant of yahweh year written. Book of obadiah simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. And the house of jacob shall be a fire, and the house of joseph a flame, and the house of esau stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them. Obadiah is the shortest book of the old testament, and the fourthshortest book of the bible after third john, second john, and philemon. Obadiah 1, new international version niv the bible app. Edom and its people edomites are the descendants of esau. Dake there are men named obadiah in the old testament.
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. Obadiah was the name of a variety of individuals in the ancient world. First, god rules in this world right now and turns the course of nations and history as he pleases. 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 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. 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. Start studying obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. Lost somewhere in the dark corner of your bible is a brief, but largely unfamiliar book called obadiah. Obadiah king ahabs servant hid one hundred prophets in caves. The book of obadiah bible prophets and prophecy of the. Edom is indicted because of his violence against his brother jacob. This summary of the book of obadiah will help with many different forms of bible study. Almost the same message was delivered by joel, the only difference is that joel prophesied to the nation of judah.
The book of obadiah consists of one chapter, concerning edom, its impending doom 1. About obadiah we know only that his name means servant of the lord. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. 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.
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. May 01, 2004 the author does a wonderful job showing the interaction between obadiah and his siblings in the book. The book of obadiah bible scriptures located in obadiah 1. 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. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom.
The name obadiah means servant or worshipper of jehovah. God says to the messiah, sit here on the right side of me. 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. 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 book of obadiah is fourth in the listing of the 12 minor prophets. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. The form of obadiahs name used in the septuagint is obdios. We have heard a rumour from the lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, arise ye, and let us rise up. Obadiah clearly predicted edoms destruction obadiah 1. David guzik there are obadiah s in the old testament, and one of these may the obadiah who wrote this book. 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. Like a number of prophetic books, it is both a book of judgment and a book of hope. Yahweh will judge edom both historically through the nations and eschatologically through israel. There is some uncertainty about the time of obadiah s ministry.
The prophet therefore portrays christ as our savior, for it is only in christ that we possess all things. 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. Unmatched in scathing intensity, ezekiel 35 functions in tandem with chapter 36. As the passage in jeremiah dates from the fourth year of the reign of jehoiakim 604 b. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins. The book of obadiah stoke poges is a small village in england not too far from windsor castle. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. Nevertheless, i believe that the prophesy occurred sometime immediately after 586 b. Obadiahs book is the shortest of all the old testament. Some have guessed that he was the earliest of the minor prophets, while others have said that he lived after the babylonians destruction of jerusalem. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. 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.
The book of obadiah contains only 21 verses making it the shortest book in the holy bible. The book of obadiah is based on a prophetic vision concerning the fall of edom, a mountain dwelling nation v. The global message of obadiah obadiah in redemptive history. From the historical references in the book, we can locate obadiahs ministry in judah during the reign of jehoram 848841 b. In favor are the many similarities between the book of obadiah and jeremiah 49. The pride of your heart has deceived you obadiah 1. Introduction the author the author of the book is named obadiah which means servant of yahweh. Edom was the land southeast of the dead sea reaching down to the gulf of acaba on the dead sea. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how god will bring down all arrogant and violent nations.
The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament of the bible, with only 21 verses. The edomites are accused of cruelty and supporting israels enemies. 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. The book has a lot of realistic elements to the story and was a rather enjoyable read. The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. Obadiah s book is the shortest of all the old testament books. John piper draws out five brief lessons from obadiah which will affect the way we live. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make. Since the edomites were descendants of jacobs brother, esau, this betrayal by edom was especially painful to gods people.
The latter describes the conflict over judea and samaria, and the former describes the fate of those who tried to steal that land from. The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the. 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, 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 destruction seems to have been typical, as their father esaus rejection. Thats because, although obadiah is an easy read only 21 verses long, it is in the running for the most forgotten book in our bibles. Obadiah prophecies the day of the lord, and the setting up of christs kingdom on earth. We bought it along with rachel and obadiah and thy friend obadiah all three were wonderful stories. In this book, we learn that god will completely defeat his enemies. 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 1114. 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.
Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. 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. Apr 22, 2020 obadiah prophesies that edom would be small among the nations. Obadiah probably wrote the book sometime between 850 and 550 b. It is thought to have been written by a person named obadiah, which means servant or worshipper of the lord. The book of obadiah tells the story of two nations, the nation of israel and the nation of edom, the country to the south of israel that is now usually referred to as the negev or negeb. 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. Obadiah is not only the shortest prophecy, but also the shortest book of the old testament. Through this ancient land of edom the israelites marched as they came into the land of israel out of the captivity and slavery of egypt. This obadiah is in the time of king ahab and elijah is not the same obadiah the prophet that wrote the book named after him. Welcome to the study of the shortest book in the word. This is what the sovereign lord says about edom we have heard a message from the lord. Obadiah prophesies that edom would be small among the nations. The smallest book in the old testament may also be one of the least known prophecies.
Obadiah was sent to declare gods judgment on edomthe descendants of esau. Remember that many of the minor prophets are of supreme importance in understanding scripture and prophecy in particular. Obadiah niv obadiahs vision the vision of bible gateway. As brief as this book is, scholars raise many questions about it. An envoy was sent to the nations to say, rise, let us go against her for. The name obadiah comes from the hebrew word obadyah meaning, servant of god. The form of obadiah s name used in the septuagint is obdios. The book of obadiah is the fourth of the twelve books of the minor prophets in the old testament.
The house of esau will be stubble, and the house of jacob will set it on fire and consume it. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, the 4th book of the twelve minor prophets. 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. Oct 07, 20 pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. The book of obadiah is also closely related to the prophecy of ezekiel 35, which is a prophecy against the same group of people. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. Their fortified cities included sela petra, teman and bozrah. Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book. Yet it tells the prophet obadiah s mission to carry gods message that the kingdom of edom shall be ultimately destroyed for its sins. Edom was another name for esau, the brother of jacob. The relatively short book of obadiah ends with the comforting of zion and with the sons of joseph destroying edom.
This book of obadiah is only one chapter long, with 21 verses in the king james version. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and longforgotten nation, the land of edom. Why did god judge edom so harshly in the book of obadiah. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. Bartons theory of the composition of obadiah is thus summed up by bewer. This is what the sovereign lord says about edomwe have heard a message from the lord. Posted on december 12, 2010 december 9, 2010 by pam larson. 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 author was obadiah, whose name means the servant of the eternal.
Some have thought that this is the same obadiah that was ahabs steward in 2 chronicles 17. 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. Pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Like so many of the prophets, little is known of obadiah. 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 encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The house of esau will be stubble, and the house of. Obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah. In studying the book of amos chapter 1, we found out that edom means out of earth or bloody. To understand this future judgment on the edomites we.
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