38 Obadiah

III

6:1 -6 Is 28:15 J, 5:12

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the House of Jacob co m pletely-it is Yahweh who speaks. Fo r now I will issue orders and sha ke the House of Israel amo ng all th e nation s,' as yo u shak e. a sieve so that not o ne pebble can fall on the ground) All the sinners of my people are going to perish by th e sword, all th ose who say, "N 0 misfo rtun e will ever tou ch us, nor even co me a nywh er e near us" . k

AND Tb 13:10 17

G n22 :t 7 Nb24: I H

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Ps 65: 11: 72:16 L v 26:5 / JI 4: I H

D t 30: 3-5 Is 65:2 1-22 J r 3 1:5

1-1 01 4 :8

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a.., IV. PROS PECTS

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9:9

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RES T OR A T I O N

OF I DYLLIC PROSPER IT Y'

'T hat day I will rc-erec t the totteri ng hut of Dav id, ma ke goo d the ga ps in it, restore its ru ins > a nd rebuild it as it was in the da ys of old, so th at th ey ca n co nq uer t he rem na nt o f Edom and all the nati on s that belon ged to me." It is Ya hweh wh o spea ks, a nd he will ca rry this o ut.

II

'The day s ar e comi ng now- it is Yahweh who spea kswhen ha rvest will fo llow d irectly after plo ughin g, the tread ing of grapes soo n aft er sowing, when the mou ntain s will run with new wine a nd the hills a ll flow wit h it. I mean to res to re the fortu nes of my peop le Israel;" they will reb uild t he ru ined citi es and live in them , plant vineyard s a nd d rin k their wine, dig ga rdens a nd eat the ir produce. I will plan t them in their own co untry, never to be root ed u p again out of the land I have given them , says Ya hweh, your God.'

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OBADIAH

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T itle and prologue 12

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Nb 20:23+

Vision o f O badiah: about Edom. I have received a message" fro m Yahweh, a herald has been sent throu ghout th e nati on s, I, 'Up ! Le t us march aga inst t his peo ple. Into battle! '

IIJ , 49:14

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Sentence pronounced on Edomr Ih

14

15

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T he Lord Ya hweh says th is: Now I a m go ing to reduce yo u a mo ng the nati on s, a nd make you utterly des pised .

IIJ, 49: 15- 16

Is 14:13f

Th ough yo u soared like the eagle , though you set! your nest a mo ng th e sta rs, I wo uld st ill fling you down a gai n-it is Ya hweh who speaks.

Ha b 2:9

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T he annih ilat ion of Edom If rob bers came to you , or plunderers a t nig ht , they wo uld stea l to thei r hear t's content. If gra pe-gat herers cam e to yo u, they wo uld leave no gleani ngs behin d them." How yo u have been pillaged!' How Esa u has been looted,

9 i. T h is oracle dates po ssib ly from the t ime of th e firs l Israeli te d cn o rt uuo n (734 ). Sec 2 K 15:29. I. Eitne r th e sieve th at hol d s th e sm a ll sto ne (t he s inne rs) a llo wing th e line sa nd (t he vir t uo us ) 1O pass thr ou gh, or the s ieve t hat hol d s th e grai n (t he virt u ous ). t he c ha ff bei ng b lo wn a wa y ; (i n th is second case we s ho u ld t ra ns late ' wit ho ut o ne gr-ain fa llin g o n the grou nd ' ) , k . T he tr a nslanon fo llows G reek, I. These pr omises in clud e the re st o rati on of th e

Da vid ic ki ngdo m . vv. 11-1 2 ; mat eri a l n ros nc r trv vv. 13-14 : th e homela nd reco vered fo r ever, v, 15. O n t he ha p p iness o f messia nic days, cf. H o 2:20 +. T his pa ssa ge is a pp are nt ly o f a la ter d a te. sec Intr odu ct ion to th e Pro phet s. m. 'g a ps '. ' ru ins' co rr. n . Li t. ' o ve r w hic h my name has been p ro nou nced ' o . Or ' I mea n to b ri ng bad. t ho se of my pe opl e Is rae l who ha ve been held ca ptive ".

IIJ , 49 :9

IIJ, 49: 10

cap ita l of Ed a m , Has-se ta . 'T he Rock ' , cf. 2 K 14 :7; t he Greek na me of this capital , Petra. preserves the same sense. c. 'm a ke the heigh ts' vers io ns. r. ' YOU se t' ca rr . wi th Greek . g. Th is is exp la ined b y vv , 6 ~7 : Edam has be en despoiled m ore th o rou gh ly th a n by co m mon b r iga nds. who a lway s leave s om et h in g be h ind . or by t he ord in ary grape-gatherer who wo u ld lea ve a fe w gra pes for th e glea ne r, d. Dt 24:2 1. b. T h is line is found in the Hebr , after ' o r plunderers at night' .

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Your pr ide o f heart has led yo u astray, you whose home is in the holes in t he ro cks," who make the heights ' yo ur dwe lling, who say in you r heart, ' W ho will bring me do wn to the grou nd?'

a . Li t. 'I ha ve he ar d (co r r. w it h Greek a nd J r 49: 14; ' We have he ard ' Heb e ) wha t was heard '. b. Metaphor ical descrin n o n of a confederacy in IlrOCeSS of forma tion aga inst Edorn. Cf. J r 4:5 ; 50:2 . Co The time will co me whe n Edom in tu rn will be desp ised , 2. tuc. a nd so becom e an obj ect of deris ion tn Israel . 12 ; the collapse w ill be the p un ishment of arr oga nce. On t h is do ctr ine of pride and fa ll see Pr 16: 18 ; 29:23 an d (appl ied to na tio ns) Is 14 ; J r 50-51; EJ.k 29-32 ; 26- 28; Zc 10: II. d. The ' ro ck ' (seta ) in wh ich Edom is ensco nced is II te rm cho sen , perhaps, to suggest the name of the

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OBADIAH

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Jr 38:22 Ps 41;9

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Is 19:11 - 15 ; 29; 14 Jr 8:8-9; 1149; 7 IIJ r 49 :22

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Am 1: 11-12

11 rI Ps 137;7

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Lm4;2 1

The House of Jacob shall be a fire, the House of Joseph- a flame, the H ouse of Esau stubble. Th ey will set it alight and burn it up , and no mem ber of the House of Esau shall survive. Ya hweh has spoken.

18

When that day comes v-s-it is Yahweh who speaks shall I not deprive Edom of sages,' the Mount of Esau" of intelligence?

» JI 3:5 R v 14: 1

114;8

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Men from the Negeb will occupy the Mount of Esau, men from the Lowlands the country of the Philistines; they will occupy the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin will occup y Gilead.'

19

Fo r the slaughter, - fo r the violence do ne to you r broth er Jacob," shame will cover you a nd you will vanish for ever.

10

20

The exiles from this army, the so ns of Isra el, will occupy Ca naan-« as far as Zare phath; and the exiles from Jerusalem now in Sepha rad will occupy the towns of the Negeb.

On the day Q you stood by as strangers carried off his riches, as barbarians passed throug h his gate a nd cast lots for Jer usa lem, you behaved like the rest of them .

II

21

Victorio us, they will climb Mount Z ion to j udge the Mount of Esau."" and the sovereignty shall belong to Ya hweh.'"

Do not gloat over your brother r on the day of his misfortu ne. Do not exult over the sons of Judah on the day of their ruin. Do not play the braggart on the day of distres s.

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Mi 4:7


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liP s 22;28 Q.

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Do not pass through the gate of my people on the day of its misfortu ne. Do not, in you r turn, gloa t over its disas ter on the day of its misfortun e. Do not lay a finger on its treasures on the day of its rnisfortun e.

13

Do not take your sta nd at the cros sroads to cut off its fugitives. Do not hand over its survivors on the day of distress.

14

For the day of Yahweh is near for a ll the nations. As you have done, so will it be do ne to you: you r deeds will recoil on your own head . S

15

But on Mount Zio n there will be so me who have escaped" - it shall becom e a holy place-

Ex 15;7

The new Israel

Yo ur warriors, Ternan," will be seized with terro r until not a single one is left in the Mou nt of Esau.

The day of Yahweh. Israel revenged on Edom' u Yes, as you have dr unk" on my holy mo unt ain, so will all the nati on s drink unspa ringly; they will dri nk, a nd drink deep, and will be as if they had never been.

21

and the House of Jacob will despoil its own despoilers.>

his hidden treasures rifled! T hey have driven you' right to the fron tiers, they ha ve misled you , a ll your allies. T hey have deceived you, your fine friends. T hose who ate you r bread now set traps for you, ' He has no intellige nce now' )

The guilt of Edom 0 J 14 ; 19

OBADIAH

I, T he Ed omi te s in t urn a re be trayed by t heir a llies wh o dr ive th e: Inh a b ita nt s fro m t he ir ow n rer r tt o r y. I. Ironical observa tio n by t he fa lse friends of Edam . ' Those who ale ' is ad ded fo llow ing Ps 4 1:9; 'Those w ho cal w it h YOu' v u te.

' tr ans' corr ., cf'. Jb 19:6 ;

the meaning of Hebr. is uncer tat n. k. The day o f t he jud ge me nt of Ed a m is co ns idered as pa rt of th e d ay o f Y a hwe h, 15. cr. A m 5: 18 -t, whe n G od "pu nishes Eda m and th e ot he r nati on s . 16-17. but resc ues a nd rest ores Israe l. t 7-2 1.

16

17

I. Edam was reno wned (o r wisdom. cr. J b 2:11+ . m. He re a nd in 9, 19,2 1 an expr ession for t he mo unta ino us co untry of Edo m, also called ' Mount

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Gn 32;4 ; 33: 14. 16; 36: 8-9 ; Dt 2:4 .5. 12. T he

Philistines, JI 4:4,7. to T he per spec tive broadens to incl ude the uay of Ya hwe h' who will Iud ge a ll the na tion s, cr. A m 5:18 + : hit hert o oppressed, Zio n now becomes the centre of sa lva tio n a nd t he po wer pa sses into its hand s. The host ile paga n nati on s are defe a ted : Edo m in pa rt icular suffers last in g rui n. u . F rom now on the prop het is address ing the Israe lites . Y. Of the cu p of the wra th of Go d, cf. Is 51: 17+ , ' d rink deep' sense uncert ain. w. Tex t c ited in J1 3:5 as an oracle fro m scri pture . Fo r the preserved 'remna nt ' of J uda h , cf. Is 4:3 +. the day of Ya hweh no lon ger hold s a ny te rro r, but gives ass ura nce of sa lva d on on Mo unt Z io n , a n invio la ble sa nct ua ry through which ' no a lien will ever pass agai n',

territory referred to is S. Transio rda nia. n. N , di str ict of Edo m. He re as elsewhere t he term J I4 ; 17. is used to ind ica te t he who le co untry. o . T he be hav io ur of Edo m at t he ti me of t he fa ll of Jeru salem is repeat edl y reb uked in bib lica l trad it ion: X. ' tre own despo ilers ' (lit . 'those who despoiled it ') Ezk 25 ; 12- 14; 35; Lm 4 ;21-2 2; Ps 137 ;7 . From Ezk 35; 5- 12 and 36:2,5 it wou ld seem t ha t at t ha t time Ed om versio ns ; 'its spo lia tions' Hebr. Y. The 'House of Jacob' , cf.l0, is J udah. ' t he House occ upied Ju da h , at least pa rtia lly. F or simila r co mplaints a gainst the Ammo ni tes see Ezk 25:1-7, cr. 2 1: of Joseph ' the Northern K ingdom . cf. Am 5:6; ZC 10:6, assoc iated wit h Ju da h at the time of flna l sal va tion. 23-27, a nd agai nst (he Philistines , see Ezk 25: 15-17. p. O n the re latio nship a nd Quarr els betwee n Edam cf. J r 3: 18+ . T he two kingdo ms reco nqu er , vv, 19-20, and Israel cf. G n 25;2 2-28 ; 27 :27-2 9 ; 32 ;4-33; 16; the emp ire of Da vid, her e defined in idea l ra t her than Dt 23:8: N b 20:23 +- . Here 'Ja cob' indica tes t he land geograp hica l te rms , cr . I K 8:65: 2 K 14:25. z, Transla tio n supported by Greek a nd v ula. of J udah , cf. 18 : J I4:19. as opposed to 'Joseph '. aa. Lit. 't he Ca naa nit es' , t.e. Phoenicia. Za repha th. q, The 'day of Je rusalem', Ps 137:7, is t ha t on which t he Cha ldaeans entered the city, 2 K 25:3-4, between Tyr e a nd Sidon , marks the front ier of the new or else that of t he burn ing of t he Temp le, 2 K 25:8-9, Nort he rn K ingdo m. Sepharad is un known . bb. ' victoriou s' corr. (li t. ' those who have been In 587 s.c . r . ' yo ur brother' co rr .: 't he day of you r brother' saved ') : 'the sa viours ' Hebr. 'ju dge ' , i.e. r ule over, govern. H eb r. cc, T he triumph ant sloga n of Isr ae lite eschatology, s . T he lex tali onis, Ex 21:25 +, is ap plied here to Edo m. T he sa me ret ribution is ca lled down on Ps 22 :28 ; 103;19 ; 14S: II ·13 ; cf. Ps 10;16; 47:8; 93 ;1; Babylon. Jr 50:15,29, cf Rv 18:6-7, on the ene mies of 97:1; 99: 1. T he rule of Israel is the rule of Yah weh Jerusal em , Lm 3:64 , a nd on Tvre, Sidon and the and the fu lfilme nt of history.

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