Book of Obadiah

The Book of Obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel. 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. His name means “servant of Yahweh”.

In Christianity, the Book of Obadiah is classified as a minor prophet of the Old Testament, due to its short length.

In Judaism, Obadiah is considered a “later prophet” and this Masoretic Text is chronologically placed in the Tanakh under the section Nevi'im in the last category called The Twelve Prophets.

The book of Obadiah is based on a prophetic vision concerning the fall of Edom, a mountain dwelling nation whose founding father was Esau. Obadiah describes an encounter with God who addresses Edom’s arrogance and charges them for their violent actions against their brother nation, the House of Jacob (Israel).

The western half of ancient Edom is the Negev desert all the way to Eilat, all part of modern Israel. The eastern half is possessed by the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. In the days of Obadiah, the Edomites lived along the cliffs and mountaintops of the arid land south of the Dead Sea, all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea. There was very little in the way of arable land, so the Edomites made their living supporting (and controlling) the main caravan route between Egypt and Babylon that passed through their whole land.

Throughout most of the history of Judah, Edom was controlled absolutely from Jerusalem as a vassal state. Among the region's great powers, Edom was held in low regard. Obadiah said that the high elevation of their dwelling place in the mountains of Seir had gone to their head, and they had puffed themselves up in pride. "Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the Lord. (Obadiah 1:4, NIV)

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