Old TestamentProphecy

Obadiah

1Chapters

21Verses

0Notes

0Reflections

Book Introduction

Obadiah is the Old Testament's shortest book, a single searing oracle against Edom, Israel's brother-nation descended from Esau. When Jerusalem fell, Edom did not merely watch; it gloated, looted, and cut down fugitives at the crossroads. Obadiah announces that the people who nested among the mountain crags like eagles will be brought down, for pride deceives the heart, and violence against a brother will return on the offender's own head. The little book widens at its close: the day of the Lord is near for all nations, deliverance will come to Mount Zion, and the kingdom will be the Lord's.

Author

Obadiah; nothing more is known of him.

Date

Likely soon after Jerusalem's fall in 586 BC; debated.

Audience

Judah, wounded by Edom's treachery during Jerusalem's calamity.

Purpose

To pronounce judgment on Edom for violence against Judah, and to affirm that the kingdom belongs to the Lord.

Key Themes

Pride before a fallBetrayal of a brotherThe day of the LordJustice for the nationsZion's deliverance

Book Outline

1:1–9Edom's pride brought down

1:10–14The charge: violence against Jacob

1:15–18The day of the Lord nears

1:19–21The kingdom shall be the Lord's

Key Verses

1:3The pride of your heart 1:15As you have done, it returns 1:17In Mount Zion, escape 1:21The kingdom shall be the Lord's

ALL CHAPTERS1 chapters

Obadiah delivers God's judgment against Edom, a nation de...