The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord* Yahweh* says about Edom. We have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle.
The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
Twenty-one verses, written to a brother nation
The whole book is one vision about one nation: Edom (v1), also called Esau (v6), whose “brother Jacob” is named at v10.
It has no chapters, so it is cited v7, not 1:7.
The verses end at 21 with no chapter navigation. “Edom” is at v1 and v8, “Esau” first at v6, “your brother Jacob” at v10.
Who is speaking in the first sentence
Both words of “the Lord Yahweh” (v1) carry a translators’ footnote.
On “Lord”: The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.” On “Yahweh”: “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
Both footnotes are attached to v1 in the source and are printed on this page. They appear verbatim in src/data/books/obadiah.json under "footnotes".
This oracle against Edom stands in two books
“Small among the nations”, the pride of the heart, the clefts of the rock, the eagle: Jeremiah 49 says all this about Edom.
Eight verses matched (1–5, 7, 8, 20); none from vv10–14, where the brother and the day are.
src/data/derived/obadiah.json lists all eight with the shared run and the Jeremiah verse matched; the four-word floor is its "minRun". Jeremiah 49 is in data/source/25-JEReng-web.usfm.
Which of the two said it first is not knowable from the words
Three accounts are possible, and this site holds none: Obadiah’s wording came from Jeremiah’s, Jeremiah’s from Obadiah’s, or both from something older.
A shared run reads the same either way, so the plate marks it and stops.
src/data/derived/obadiah.json records shared words, nothing about order or date. Read Obadiah 1–5 beside Jeremiah 49:9–16; see whether either settles it.
Behold,* I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised.
“Behold”, from “ הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
Edom’s safety is a place, and it is the thing the answer takes away
What Edom is sure of is a place: the clefts of the rock, a nest among the stars.
It asks “Who will bring me down to the ground?” and v4 answers: “I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
“bring … down” occurs at v3 and v4 only; the other “down”s are “look down” (v12, v13) and “swallow down” (v16).
Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?
How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!
All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”
Three of the eight are not really an echo
v7 shares four words of forty-seven, “All the men of”; v20 four of thirty-six, “of the children of”; v8 five of twenty-two, a formula.
Raising the floor would delete them and flatter the figure.
Count the words in the "shared" strings for OBA.1.7, OBA.1.8 and OBA.1.20 in src/data/derived/obadiah.json, and compare them with the run for OBA.1.3.
“Won’t I in that day”, says Yahweh, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau?
Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.
In v11 Edom carries nothing off, and the verse counts it in anyway
Every act in the verse belongs to someone else: strangers carried away his substance, foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem.
Edom is the subject of two clauses: “you stood”, and “you were like one of them”.
Read v11 on this page and mark every clause whose subject is “you”.
But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
The list starts with the things you can do without moving
The list runs: look down, be glad, speak proudly — then enter the gate, look down, seize the wealth, stand at the crossroads, hand over the remnant.
Eight prohibitions in three verses, and the three that cost nothing come first.
Count the occurrences of “Don’t”/“don’t” in vv12–14 on this page — three, two and two — and add the “neither” clause in v13.
Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.
Don’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.
For the day of Yahweh is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
The day Edom stood and watched is the day it is measured by
Through vv11–14 the day is the brother’s — his disaster, their destruction, their calamity, distress.
At v15 it is “the day of Yahweh”, and the sentence after it is “As you have done, it will be done to you.”
Occurrences of “day” found in the text: v8, v11 (×2), v12 (×3), v13 (×3), v14, v15. Count them on this page.
For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau.” Indeed, Yahweh has spoken.
Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.
The book’s last clause does not name the nation it was written against
Every name the book has used for the nation it is speaking to — Edom, Esau, the mountain of Esau — is absent from its last clause.
What it ends on instead is “and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.”
“Edom”: v1, v8. “Esau”: v6, v8, v9, v18 (×2), v19, v21. The last clause ends v21.
The land list of Obadiah 19–21
Obadiah 1:1–20
Map of places named in Obadiah; Edom, Teman, Jerusalem, the field of Samaria, Gilead, the Negev, the lowland, Zarephath and Sepharad are drawn; the field of Ephraim, the Philistines, Benjamin and the Canaanites are named but not drawn.
- a place the text names, at the dataset's point
- a region: its name only, no border drawn
- identification disputed: never a pin
- Sepharad lies off this map, to the NW
- Edom is also named “the mountain of Esau” (1:19): the dataset puts it on the same point
- Jerusalem is also named “Mount Zion” (1:17): the dataset puts it on the same point
- the Negev is also named “the South” (1:19): the dataset puts it on the same point
Places on this map
- Edom Obadiah 1:1 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Edom” 30.735, 35.606; flag “>” (the point stands for a surrounding area); cross-check: places.txt has no numeric coordinate for this row Also named here: the mountain of Esau Obadiah 1:19 (the dataset's “Mount Esau” row gives the same point)
- Teman Obadiah 1:9 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Teman” 30.204, 35.733; flag “>” (the point stands for a surrounding area); row comment “region”; cross-check: agrees with places.txt
- Jerusalem Obadiah 1:20 · drawn as a point OpenBible “Jerusalem” 31.777, 35.235; cross-check: agrees with places.txt Also named here: Mount Zion Obadiah 1:17 (the dataset's “Mount Zion” row gives the same point)
- the field of Samaria Obadiah 1:19 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Samaria” 32.280, 35.198; cross-check: places.txt has no numeric coordinate for this row
- Gilead Obadiah 1:19 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Gilead” 32.043, 35.724; flag “>” (the point stands for a surrounding area); row comment “region”; cross-check: agrees with places.txt
- the Negev Obadiah 1:20 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Negeb” 30.300, 34.200; flag “>” (the point stands for a surrounding area); cross-check: agrees with places.txt Also named here: the South Obadiah 1:19 (the dataset's “Negeb” row gives the same point)
- the lowland Obadiah 1:19 · drawn as a region: its name only, no border drawn OpenBible “Shephelah” 31.778, 34.852; flag “>” (the point stands for a surrounding area); row comment “region”; cross-check: places.txt has no numeric coordinate for this row
- Zarephath Obadiah 1:20 · drawn as a point OpenBible “Zarephath” 33.433, 35.300; cross-check: places.txt has no numeric coordinate for this row
- Sepharad Obadiah 1:20 · drawn as identification disputed: an open ring, never a pin ; it lies off this map, to the NW (bearing 321°), so an arrow at the edge stands for it OpenBible “Sepharad” 38.477, 28.114; cross-check: places.txt has no numeric coordinate for this row
Named but not drawn
- the field of Ephraim Obadiah 1:19 · the dataset's "Ephraim" row does not cite Obadiah 1:19 (it cites John 11:54)
- the Philistines Obadiah 1:19 · the dataset's "Philistia" row does not cite Obadiah 1:19 (it cites Ex 15:14, Ps 60:8, Ps 83:7, Ps 87:4, …)
- Benjamin Obadiah 1:19 · no geocoding row named "Benjamin" in the dataset
- the Canaanites Obadiah 1:20 · the dataset's "Canaan" row does not cite Obadiah 1:20 (it cites Gen 11:31, Gen 12:5, Gen 13:12, Gen 16:3, …)
Coast: Natural Earth (public domain) · Places: OpenBible.info geocoding (CC BY)
In verse 11 strangers carry off, enter and cast lots. In that verse Edom only stands, and it ends: “even you were like one of them.”
When have you said nothing and let wrong happen to someone else?