Old Testament

Obadiah

Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, is a single vision against Edom, the nation descended from Esau, for its pride and for betraying its brother Jacob on the day Jerusalem fell. It announces that the Day of the LORD is near for all nations, that what Edom has done will be done to it, and that Mount Zion will be holy and 'the kingdom will belong to the LORD' (v. 21). It belongs in the Bible because it shows God defending His people against those who exploit their ruin, and because it ends the long story of Jacob and Esau with the LORD's reign.

Author: Obadiah, whose name means servant or worshipper of the LORD; nothing else is known about him. Several other men in the Old Testament share the name.
Audience: Formally addressed to Edom, but heard by the people of Judah, who needed assurance that the LORD saw what had been done to them.
When: Most scholars link it to Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, when Edom joined in (compare Psalm 137:7). Some date it earlier, to a raid on Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoram in the ninth century BC (2 Chronicles 21:16-17).
Where: Edom lay in the rugged highlands southeast of the Dead Sea, with mountain strongholds that seemed unreachable (v. 3). The prophecy looks toward Jerusalem and Mount Zion.
Genre: Obadiah is a prophetic oracle against a foreign nation, a form also found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Amos. Verses 1-9 closely parallel Jeremiah 49:7-22, and scholars debate who borrowed from whom or whether both used a shared oracle. The poem moves from Edom's fall, to the reasons for it, to the Day of the LORD and the restoration of Zion. Read it as a verdict in a family feud that began in Genesis, and as a statement about how God judges pride and cruelty.

Shape of the book

Edom's Pride Brought Down (vv. 1-9) · ch 1Nations are summoned against Edom; its rocky heights, treasures, allies and wise men will not save it.
Violence Against a Brother (vv. 10-14) · ch 1On Jerusalem's day of disaster Edom stood aloof, gloated, looted and handed over fugitives, in a series of 'you should not' lines.
The Day of the LORD and the Kingdom (vv. 15-21) · ch 1Edom will receive what it gave, while Zion is holy, Jacob reclaims its land, deliverers rule Esau's mountains and the kingdom belongs to the LORD.

Themes

Pride That Deceives. 'The pride of your heart has deceived you' (v. 3). Edom trusted in its rocky strongholds, its wise men and its allies. The LORD will bring it down even if it soars like an eagle and sets its nest among the stars (v. 4).
Betrayal of a Brother. Edom's crime is violence against 'your brother Jacob' (v. 10). The rivalry of Jacob and Esau (; ) ran through Israel's history, but Edom's gloating and looting on Jerusalem's worst day is treated as betrayal of kin.
As You Have Done. The book's principle is stated in verse 15: as you have done, it will be done to you, and your recompense will return on your own head. Judgment fits the deed.
The Kingdom Belongs to the LORD. The vision widens from Edom to all nations under the Day of the LORD (v. 15), and from Edom's fall to Zion's restoration. The last word is not Israel's revenge but the LORD's reign (v. 21).

Where Christ is

The connection to Christ is indirect, since the New Testament does not quote Obadiah. Its closing line, that the kingdom will belong to the LORD, is echoed when Revelation announces that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. The deliverers on Mount Zion recall the judges God raised up, and Christians see the line completed in the one Savior who reigns from the heavenly Zion.

The Kingdom Will Be the LORD's. Echo. Obadiah ends with the LORD's reign over Zion and over Esau's mountains. Revelation proclaims that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, who will reign forever. (; )
Deliverers on Mount Zion. Echo. The 'deliverers', literally saviors, recall the judges God raised to rescue Israel (). Hebrews speaks of believers coming to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant; this is a tentative echo, not a quotation. (; ; ; )
The Day of the LORD for All Nations. Echo. Obadiah says the Day of the LORD is near for all nations (v. 15). Paul says God has fixed a day to judge the world in righteousness through the man He raised from the dead. (; )

Reading well, key terms and common misreadings

Read it well

Read Genesis 25:19-34 and 27:41 first; Obadiah is the verdict on a family rivalry that began in the womb.
Compare verses 1-9 with Jeremiah 49:7-22, and Edom's role in Jerusalem's fall with Psalm 137:7, Lamentations 4:21-22 and Ezekiel 35.
Follow the eight 'you should not' lines in verses 12-14, which move step by step from watching to gloating to looting to handing over survivors.
Note verse 15 as the hinge, where Edom's judgment becomes one instance of God's judgment on all nations.

Key terms

Edom / Esau אֱדוֹם (Edom) — Edom was the nation descended from Jacob's twin Esau (Genesis 36:1); Obadiah uses both names. The name is related to the word for red (Genesis 25:30).
Brother אָח (ach) — The key to the charge in verses 10 and 12. Edom's betrayal is worse because Jacob was its brother.
Day יוֹם (yom) — Verses 11-14 repeat 'day' again and again: the day of disaster, of distress, of calamity. Verse 15 answers with the Day of the LORD.

Easy to misread

Reading Obadiah as licence for ethnic hatred. Edom is judged for specific deeds, pride, violence and gloating over a brother's ruin, and the same standard applies to all nations (v. 15).
Treating the book as only about ancient Edom. Its warnings against pride and against delighting in another's disaster rest on how God judges every people, and it ends with the LORD's universal kingdom.
Assuming the date must be settled before the message can be understood. Whether it fits 586 BC or an earlier raid, the book's charges and promises are the same.

Further reading: David Guzik, Enduring Word · Matthew Henry on CCEL · BibleProject overview video