Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is not quoted in the new testament. Southwest of the dead sea lived a group of people called the edomites. The date of composition is disputed among scholars and is difficult to determine due to the lack of personal. In this, the shortest book of the old testament, it seems the prophet obadiah. I must point out that there is doubt surrounding this date as there is dispute over whether obadiah is referring to the sacking of jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc or in fact referring to 845 bc when jerusalem was attacked by the philistines and the arabs. The theme of this book is the abuse of gods people, gods land, and gods holy hill, the temple mount in jerusalem.
Amos testified boldly at bethel, a main worship center of the northern kingdom, until amaziah, chief priest at bethel, reported him to jeroboam ii as a traitor. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. There are obadiahs in the old testament, and one of these may the obadiah who wrote this book. Zephaniahs message in the first chapter, he clearly speaks out on the peoples sins and retells judahs doom. 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. We can begin to pinpoint exactly when zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text.
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. Outlines of the book vary, but there are several obvious transitions in the book which center on a. This relationship began with the two sons of isaac and rebecca, jacob and esau gen. Obadiah is a little book, but it is an example of an atomic bomb in the bible. The book is named after the prophet who received the vision 1. Like so many of the prophets, little is known of obadiah. 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.
The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the. An obadiah was an officer in king ahab of israels court and hid gods prophets in a. Because the book of amos is a prophetic book and not an ancient history, such as ones that were written by the likes of herodotus and thucydides, it contains little recorded history to examine as a background for its events. Zephaniahs background zephaniah was the great grandson of hezekiah, supposably the good king of the past. Obadiah intro to obadiah biblica the international bible society. Historical and theological themes the book is a case study of ge 12. Obadiah was the name of a variety of individuals in the ancient world. 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. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. Intro to jonah biblica the international bible society.
Rather, it is an outgrowth of the old hebrew arrangement that was topical. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. Obadiah introduction commentary commentary critical and. It appears that jeremiah was familiar with the work of obadiah. Pusey said, god has willed that his name alone and this brief prophecy should be known to the world.
Historical background i propose that a good topic for obadiahs historical background should be insights on how it was canonized in various bibles, such as the tanakh, old testament and septuagint. Obadiah introduction commentary commentary critical. Nothing is known historically about the author from the book or from other background materials. The supposed legendary character of some of the events e. Some think that obadiah was a steward in the household of king ahab 1 kings 18.
The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. The prophet obadiah is otherwise unknown and nothing of his family or background is given in his prophecy. The name means servant of yahweh and so would be a popular one. Obadiah 1, new international version niv the bible app. Obadiah is the shortest book in the ot and is not quoted in the nt. Historical background in general, the background for the book of obadiah is the relationship between israel and edom. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Throughout most of the history of judah, edom was controlled absolutely from jerusalem as a vassal state.
Nevertheless, i believe that the prophesy occurred sometime immediately after 586 b. The name obadiah means servant or worshipper of jehovah. Ahabs steward who met elijah 1 kings 18 was so named. In favor are the many similarities between the book of obadiah and jeremiah 49. They were the descendants of esau who lived around 2000 b. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how god will bring down all arrogant and violent nations. 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. Historical setting of the book of jeremiah october 8, 2006 prophetic background just as the eighth century b.
Nothing is known historically about the author from the book or from other background materials iii. Insights on where the text came from and an analysis of the original text used for translation would be great info. Negative critics are usually content to let most of the book to stand as a unit and concede a historical background for the information given. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is. Obadiah is a prophetic book, rooted in particular historical circumstances but looking to a future time when gods reign will be established on earth.
This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Title the book is named after the prophet who received the vision. Jacob, from whom the nation of israel came, and esau seemed to be in constant competition with one another. This may have been a popular name as with ahabs steward who met elijah cf. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. The book was probably written in the first half of the babylonian exile, after 586 b. Dating the prophecy is mainly a matter of relatingvv.
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. Oct 07, 20 pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. Message to edomites, they were brothers and they were descendants of esau, brother of jacob. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament.
The nation of edom was made up of the descendants of esau, the twin brother of jacob and the son of isaac. Pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. Obadiah meansservant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the ot, referring to at least 20 other ot individuals. 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 righteous power of god, not the evil plans of the nations, determines the course of history.
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. You should read it, therefore, both with some knowledge of its historical background and with an understanding of its future vision. Our present form of the hebrew scriptures is not a chronological arrangement. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. The book of obadiah records a prophetic vision given by the lord to a man named obadiah. A major problem they often imagine is centered in the salvation prophecies e. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The second chapter depicts the doom of judahs enemies, namely the philistines, moab, amon, ethiopia and assyria. The nation of edom, which eventually disappeared into history, remains one of. Many have questioned whether the book of jonah is historical.
There are three clues concerning when the prophet wrote it. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. Book of zephaniah overview insight for living ministries. In hebrew the book is titled hydbu meaning servant of yahweh. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. This is what the sovereign lord says about edomwe have heard a message from the lord. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring to many other old testament individuals. Obadiah is a book of recompense and deliverance, ending with the kingdom will be the lords. 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.
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. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of obadiah. The hebrew name obadiah means worshipper of yahweh or servant of yahweh. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. Intro to obadiah biblica the international bible society. The only thing known about this prophet is his name.
There is strong evidence that the prophet jeremiah had read and adapted for his own purposes obad. Introduction from the niv study bible go to obadiah. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins. Jacob, from whom the nation of israel came, and esau seemed to. There is insufficient historical data in the book to identify its historical setting. The villain, the guilty party, will end up belittled, loathed, and devastated. 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. This was apparently told to judah, thereby providing reassurance to judah that the day of the lord obadiah 15 would bring judgment upon edom for her pride and for her. Obadiahs prophecy closely follows the pattern of a covenantlawsuit address. Overview of the book of obadiah third millennium ministries.
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