@Ob 1:1-21. DOOM OF EDOM FOR CRUELTY TO JUDAH, EDOM'S BROTHER; RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.
1. Obadiah--that is, servant of Jehovah; same as Abdeel
and Arabic Abd-allah.
We--I and my people.
heard--(@Isa 21:10).
and an ambassador is sent--Yea, an ambassador is already
sent, namely, an angel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans) against
Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on the heathen is, they simultaneously
exclaim, "Arise ye, and let us (with united strength) rise," &c. @Jer 49:14 quotes this.
2. I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north (@Jer 49:8,13). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" (@Ob 1:3)? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? @Jer 49:15, confirms MAURER'S view.
3. clefts of . . . rock--(@So 2:14 Jer 48:28). The cities of Edom, and among them Petra (Hebrew, sela, meaning "rock," @2Ki 14:7, Margin), the capital, in the Wady Musa, consisted of houses mostly cut in the rocks.
4. exalt thyself--or supply from the second clause,
"thy nest" [MAURER] (Compare @Job 20:6 Jer
49:16 Am 9:2).
set . . . nest among . . . stars--namely,
on the loftiest hills which seem to reach the very stars. Edom is a type of Antichrist (@Isa 14:13 Da 8:10
11:37).
thence will I bring thee down--in spite of thy boast (@Ob 1:3), "Who shall
bring me down?"
5. The spoliation which thou shalt suffer shall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as that is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest--nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they, when they have gathered most of the grapes, leave gleanings behind--but it shall be utter, so as to leave thee nothing. The exclamation, "How art thou cut off!" bursting in amidst the words of the image, marks strongly excited feeling. The contrast between Edom where no gleanings shall be left, and Israel where at the worst a gleaning is left (@Isa 17:6 24:13), is striking.
6. How are the things of Esau searched out!--by
hostile soldiers seeking booty. Compare with @Ob 1:5,6 here, @Jer 49:9,10.
hidden things--or "places." Edom abounded in such
hiding-places, as caves, clefts in the rock, &c. None of these would be left
unexplored by the foe.
7. Men of thy confederacy--that is, thy confederates.
brought thee . . . to the border--that is, when
Idumean ambassadors shall go to confederate states seeking aid, these latter shall conduct
them with due ceremony to their border, giving them empty compliments, but not the aid
required [DRUSIUS]. This view agrees with the context, which speaks
of false friends deceiving Edom: that is, failing to give help in need (compare @Job 6:14,15). CALVIN translates, "have driven," that is, shall drive
thee; shall help to drive thee to thy border on thy way into captivity in
foreign lands.
the men that were at peace with thee--literally, "the men
of thy peace." Compare @Ps 41:9 Jer 38:22, Margin,
where also the same formula occurs, "prevailed against thee."
they that eat thy bread--the poorer tribes of the desert who
subsisted on the bounty of Edom. Compare again @Ps 41:9, which seems to have
been before Obadiah's mind, as his words were before Jeremiah's.
have laid a wound under thee--"laid" implies that
their intimacy was used as a SNARE laid with a view to wound; also, these guest
friends of Edom, instead of the cushions ordinarily laid under guests at table, laid
snares to wound, that is, had a secret understanding with Edom's foe for that purpose. MAURER translates, "a snare." But English Version agrees
with the Hebrew, which means, literally, "a bandage for a wound."
none understanding--none of the wisdom for which Edom was
famed (see @Ob 1:8) to
extricate him from his perilous position.
in him--instead of "in thee." The change implies the
alienation of God from Edom: Edom has so estranged himself from God, that He speaks now of
him, not to him.
8. (@Isa 49:7; compare @Job 5:12,13
Isa 19:3 Jer 19:7).
in that day . . . even destroy--Heretofore Edom,
through its intercourse with Babylon and Egypt, and from its means of information through
the many caravans passing to and fro between Europe and India, has been famed for
knowledge; but in that day at last ("even") I will destroy its wise men.
mount of Esau--that is, Idumea, which was a mountainous
region.
9. cut off by slaughter--MAURER translates, "on account of the slaughter," namely, that inflicted on Judea by Edom (compare @Ob 1:14). The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate connect these words with @Ob 1:10, "for the slaughter, for the violence (of which thou art guilty) against thy brother Jacob." English Version, "cut off by slaughter" (that is, an utter cutting off), answers well to "cut off for ever" (@Ob 1:10). However, the arrangement of the Septuagint gives a better parallelism in @Ob 1:10. "For the slaughter" (1) being balanced in just retribution by "thou shalt be cut off for ever" (4); as "For thy violence (not so bad as slaughter) against thy brother Jacob" (2) is balanced by "shame (not so bad as being cut off) shall cover thee" (3). Shame and extinction shall repay violence and slaughter (@Mt 26:52 Re 13:10). Compare as to Edom's violence, @Ps 137:7 Eze 25:12 Am 1:11.
10. against thy brother--This aggravates the sin of Esau,
that it was against him who was his brother by birth and by circumcision. The posterity of
Esau followed in the steps of their father's hatred to Jacob by violence against Jacob's
seed (@Ge 27:41).
Jacob--not merely his own brother, but his twin
brother; hence the name Jacob, not Israel, is here put emphatically. Compare @De 23:7 for the opposite
feeling which Jacob's seed was commanded to entertain towards Edom's.
shame . . . cover thee--(@Ps 35:26 69:7).
for ever--(@Isa 34:10 Eze
35:9 Mal 1:4). Idumea, as a nation, should be "cut off for ever,"
though the land should be again inhabited.
11. thou stoodest on the other side--in an attitude of
hostility, rather than the sympathy which became a brother, feasting thine eyes (see @Ob 1:12) with the misery of
Jacob, and eagerly watching for his destruction. So Messiah, the antitype to Jerusalem,
abandoned by His kinsmen (@Ps
38:11).
strangers--the Philistines, Arabians in the reign of Jehoram,
&c. (@2Ch 21:16); the
Syrians in the reign of Joash of Judah (@2Ch 24:24); the Chaldeans (@2Ch 36:1-23).
carried . . . captive his forces--his
"host" (@Ob 1:20):the
multitude of Jerusalem's inhabitants.
cast lots upon Jerusalem--(@Joe 3:3). So Messiah,
Jerusalem's antitype, had lots cast for His only earthly possessions (@Ps 22:18).
12. looked on--with malignant pleasure, and a brutal stare.
So the antitypes, Messiah's foes (@Ps 22:17). MAURER
translates, as the Margin, "thou shouldest not look" any more. English
Version agrees with the context better.
the day of thy brother--his day of calamity.
became a stranger--that is, was banished as an alien from his
own land. God sends heavy calamities on those who rejoice in the calamities of their
enemies (@Pr 17:5
24:17,18). Contrast the opposite conduct of David and of the divine Son of David in a
like case (@Ps 35:13-15).
spoken proudly--literally, "made great the mouth";
proudly insulting the fallen (@Eze 35:13, Margin;
compare @1Sa 2:8 Re
13:6).
13. substance--translated "forces" in @Ob 1:11.
14. stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his--Judah's.
that did escape--The Jews naturally fled by the crossways. (MAURER translates, "narrow mountain passes") well known to them,
to escape to the desert, and through Edom to Egypt; but the Edomites stood ready to
intercept the fugitives and either kill or "deliver them up" to the foe.
15. For--resumptive in connection with @Ob 1:10, wherein Edom was
threatened with cutting off for ever.
the day of the Lord--the day in which He will manifest Himself
as the Righteous Punisher of the ungodly peoples (@Joe 3:14). The
"all" shows that the fulfilment is not exhausted in the punishment inflicted on
the surrounding nations by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar; but, as in @Joe 3:14, and @Zec 12:3, that the last
judgment to come on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred to.
as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee--the righteous
principle of retribution in kind (@Le 24:17 Mt 7:2;
compare @Jud
1:6,7 8:19 Es 7:10).
thy reward--the reward of thy deed (compare @Isa 3:9-11).
16. ye . . . upon my holy mountain--a periphrasis
for, "ye Jews" [MAURER], whom Obadiah now by a sudden
apostrophe addresses. The clause, "upon My holy mountain," expresses the reason
of the vengeance to be taken on Judah's foes; namely, that Jerusalem is God's holy
mountain, the seat of His temple, and Judah His covenant-people. @Jer 49:12, which is copied
from Obadiah, establishes this view (compare @1Pe 4:17).
as ye have drunk, &c.--namely, the cup of wrath, being
dispossessed of your goods and places as a nation, by Edom and all the heathen; so shall
all the heathen (Edom included) drink the same cup (@Ps
60:3 Isa 51:17,22 Jer 13:12,13 25:15-33 49:12 51:7; Lam 4:21,22 @Na 3:11 Hab 2:16).
continually--whereas Judah's calamity shall be temporary (@Ob 1:17). The foes of Judah
shall never regain their former position (@Ob 1:18,19).
swallow down--so as not to leave anything in the cup of
calamity; not merely "drink" (@Ps 75:8).
be as though they had not been--not a trace left of their
national existence (@Job 10:19 Ps
37:36 Eze 26:21).
17. upon . . . Zion . . . deliverance--both
in the literal sense and spiritual sense (@Joe 2:32
Isa 46:13 59:20 Ro 11:26). MAURER as the Margin explains
it, "there shall be a remnant that shall escape." Compare @Isa 37:32; to the
deliverance from Sennacherib there described GROTIUS thinks Obadiah
here refers. "Jerusalem shall not be taken, and many of the neighboring peoples also
shall find deliverance there." Unlike Judah's heathen foes of whom no remnant shall
escape (@Ob 1:9,16), a
remnant of Jews shall escape when the rest of the nation has perished, and shall regain
their ancient "possessions."
there shall be holiness--that is, Zion shall be sacrosanct or
inviolable: no more violated by foreign invaders (@Isa 42:1 Joe 3:17).
18. fire--See the same figure, @Nu 21:28 Isa 5:24
10:17.
house of Jacob . . . Joseph--that is, the two
kingdoms, Judah and Ephraim or Israel [JEROME]. The two shall form
one kingdom, their former feuds being laid aside (@Isa
11:12,13 37:22-28 Jer 3:18 Ho 1:11). The Jews returned with some of the Israelites
from Babylon; and, under John Hyrcanus, so subdued and, compelling them to be circumcised,
incorporated the Idumeans with themselves that they formed part of the nation [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 13.17; 12.11]. This was but an earnest of
the future union of Israel and Judah in the possession of the enlarged land as one kingdom
(@Eze 37:16, &c.).
stubble--(@Mal 4:1).
19. they of the south--The Jews who in the coming time are
to occupy the south of Judea shall possess, in addition to their own territory, the
adjoining mountainous region of Edom.
they of the plain--The Jews who shall occupy the low country
along the Mediterranean, south and southwest of Palestine, shall possess, in addition to
their own territory, the land of "the Philistines," which runs as a long strip
between the hills and the sea.
and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim--that is, the
rightful owners shall be restored, the Ephraimites to the fields of Ephraim.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead--that is, the region east of
Jordan, occupied formerly by Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. Benjamin shall possess
besides its own territory the adjoining territory eastward, while the two and a half
tribes shall in the redistribution occupy the adjoining territory of Moab and Ammon.
20. the captivity of this host--that is, the captives of
this multitude of Israelites.
shall possess that of the Canaanites--MAURER
translates, "the captives . . . whom the Canaanites (carried away captive
into Phoenicia) even unto Zarephath, shall possess the south," namely, Idumea as well
as the south (@Ob 1:19). HENDERSON, similarly, "the captives that are among the
Canaanites," &c. But the corresponding clauses of the parallelism are better
balanced in English Version, "the ten tribes of Israel shall possess the
territory of the Canaanites," namely, Western Palestine and Phoenicia (@Jud 3:3). "And the
captives of Jerusalem (and Judah) shall possess the southern cities," namely, Edom,
&c. Each has the region respectively adjoining assigned to it; Israel has the western
Canaanite region; Judah, the southern.
even unto Zarephath--near Zidon; called Sarepta in @Lu 4:26. The name implies it
was a place for smelting metals. From this quarter came the "woman of Canaan" (@Mt 15:21,22). Captives of
the Jews had been carried into the coasts of Palestine or Canaan, about Tyre and Zidon (@Joe 3:3,4 Am 1:9).
The Jews when restored shall possess the territory of their ancient oppressors.
in Sepharad--that is, the Bosphorus [JEROME,
from his Hebrew Instructor]. Sephar, according to others (@Ge 10:30). Palæography
confirms JEROME. In the cuneiform inscription containing a list of
the tribes of Persia [Niebuhr tab. 31.1], before Ionia and Greece, and after
Cappadocia, comes the name CPaRaD. It was therefore a district of Western Asia Minor,
about Lydia, and near the Bosphorus. It is made an appellative by MAURER.
"The Jerusalem captives of the dispersion" (compare @Jas 1:1), wherever they be
dispersed, shall return and possess the southern cities. Sepharad, though literally the
district near the Bosphorus, represents the Jews' far and wide dispersion. JEROME says the name in Assyrian means a boundary, that is,
"the Jews scattered in all boundaries and regions."
21. saviours--There will be in the kingdom yet to come no
king, but a prince; the sabbatic period of the judges will return (comparethe phrase so
frequent in Judges, only once found in the times of the kings, @2Ch 14:1, "the land had rest"),
when there was no visible king, but God reigned in the theocracy. Israelites, not
strangers, shall dispense justice to a God-fearing people (@Isa 1:26 Eze 45:1-25).
The judges were not such a burden to the people as the kings proved afterwards (@1Sa 8:11-20). In their
time the people more readily repented than under the kings (compare @2Ch 15:17), [ROOS]. Judges were from time to time raised up as saviours or deliverers
of Israel from the enemy. These, and the similar deliverers in the long subsequent age of
Antiochus, the Maccabees, who conquered the Idumeans (as here foretold, compare II
Maccabees 10:15,23), were types of the peaceful period yet to come to Israel.
to judge . . . Esau--to punish (so
"judge," @1Sa 3:13)
. . . Edom (compare @Ob 1:1-9,15-19). Edom
is the type of Israel's and God's last foes (@Isa 63:1-4).
kingdom shall be the Lord's--under Messiah (@Da
2:44 7:14,27 Zec 14:9 Lu 1:33 Re 11:15 19:6).