As such, this book is o ne of the most difficult to date with accuracy. In hebrew the book is titled hydbu meaning servant of yahweh. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is not quoted in the new testament. The prophet denounces the crimes against humanity committed by the gentile nations, tells israel that even they have sinned and are guilty of the same crimes. The prophecy is largely concerned with the condemnation of edom descendants of esau for treachery toward their brother israel descendants of jacob and the resultant punishment edom will endure. Prophets have existed throughout every era of gods relationship with mankind, but the old testament books of the prophets address the classical period of prophecy from the later years of the divided kingdoms of judah and israel, throughout the time of exile, and into the years of israels return from exile. Vital lessons from the book of the prophet obadiah for the.
Like other prophetic books, obadiah takes the name of the prophet who is its presumed author, either in spoken or written word. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. More than ten persons of the ot bear the same name but none of them is identical with the prophet. Obadiah is the fourth of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the bible. The prophet obadiah prophesied judgment upon the nation of edom for taking pleasure in the destruction of jerusalem by the babylonians, and they also attacked judah during this invasion. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. On the simplest of levels, obadiahs work is an historic condemnation of edom for its part in the fall of jerusalem. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. 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. Pastor paul leboutiller of calvary chapel ontario oregon teaches through the book of obadiah. It may have been written before the exile, though many scholars believe that it. Obadiah in redemptive history when babylon invaded judah in the sixth century b.
This is what the sovereign lord says about edom we have heard a message from the lord. At some point, someone selected these 12 short works and put them together to form a. Some prayer points from the book of obadiah aduralagba. The book of obadiah describes in more detail the future of edom. For he declared that the house of jacob would again possess their possessions obadiah 1. In this, the shortest book of the old testament, it seems the prophet obadiah considered each word a highpriced commodity. Obadiah, with only one chapter consisting of 21 verses, is the shortest of all old testament books and purports to be a record of the vision of obadiah. Either in 853 making obadiah a contemporary of elijah this is the option that would make it the same. Book of obadiah, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, in the jewish canon treated as one book, the twelve. Welcome to interzonesprophetessartwork and photographs ed by interzonesprophetess. The shortest book in the tanakh hebrew bible was written by the prophet obadiah, whose name means servant of the lord. Most of gods prophets warned gods people that they must repent and return to the one true god. In our english bible, obadiah is the fourth book of the minor prophets.
This is what the lord god says about edom we have heard a. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. Its authorship is generally attributed to a person named obadiah, which means servant or worshipper of the lord. They even took up residence in some judean villages. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. For the same reason, it seems possible that he was not from the family of the kings. Lessons from the book of obadiah although many believe the date to be later, obadiah probably wrote his prophecy about 840 bc. The author was obadiah, whose name means the servant of the eternal. Nothing is known about the prophet as a person or about his times. The form of obadiah s name used in the septuagint is obdios. 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. These messages came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. The edomites had come against the nation of israel many times. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of obadiah.
For the author to whom the book of obadiah is attributed, see obadiah. A good man in a hard place keep believing ministries. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Chapters available obadiah coffman commentaries on the.
Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. Book of obadiah, the destruction of edom, judahs misfortune. So most bible commentators believe the author of this book was a. Mar 07, 2006 3 he hid 100 prophets of the lord in a cave to keep jezebel from killing them v. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of obadiah. The prophecy is largely concerned with the condemnation of edom descendants of esau for treachery toward their brother israel descendants of jacob and the resultant punishment. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins. This may have been a popular name as with ahabs steward who met elijah cf. The book of obadiah this book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom.
This obadiah is in the time of king ahab and elijah is not the same obadiah the prophet that wrote the book named after him. I kings 18 tells of a time when obadiah met and talked with the prophet elijah. He saved more than a hundred of them, hiding them from jezebel, feeding and giving them water. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. Obadiah has been described as a palm in the desert because he stood for the lord in a time of great national apostasy. Apart from the fact that obadiah was a prophet in the southern kingdom of judah, we do not know anything about his background or ministry. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make. The book of the prophet obadiah emerged against the background of massive bitterness, malice, hatred and longstanding hostility between two brothers esau. Jan 29, 2018 in the hebrew bible, obadiah is part of the collected edition known as the twelve i. The prophet obadiah cannot be easily identified with any other.
The prophet obadiah cannot be easily identified with any other person named obadiah in the old testament. For this work though i have chosen the 845 bc date. Indeed, the prophecy of obadiah is clearly for the end time, as the reference to the day of the lord shows verse 15. Obadiah may have been the earliest of the writing prophets. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of. Obadiah, one of the twelve minor prophets, announces judgment on the nation of edom for its sins against judah and jerusalem. In judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to obadiah, a prophet who lived in the assyrian period. In the hebrew bible, the book of obadiah is listed among the latter prophets. Thus says the lord god concerning edom we have heard a report from the lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, arise.
Due to the nature of the prophesies in obadiah, they must be connected so to speak to an event when judah was pillaged leaving the 300 year period with two major options for dating the book. Obadiah nkjv the coming judgment on edom the bible. The book of obadiah, king james bible, by alexander scourby is being aired with permission of, all rights reserved. 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 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah. Israel has been split into two kingdoms after the death in 925 b. Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the old testament probably soon after 586 b. 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. Since the edomites were descendants of jacobs brother, esau, this betrayal by edom was especially painful to gods people. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring to many other old testament individuals. However, obadiah was a prophet who prophesied to an outside nationedom. The prophet obadiah doesnt end his book with this gloomy theme of hostility. This article discusses the resemblances between the text of the prophet obadiah and nigeria within the political, economic, ethnic, and religious contexts of. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. Since his fathers name was not given, it seems reasonable to suggest that obadiah was not a priest.
We have completed reading through these southern prophets. Obadiah is not only the shortest prophecy, but also the shortest book of the old testament. The book of obadiah, the fourth book of the twelve minor prophets, contains only 21 verses. He announces a divine promise of restoration for israel after the return from exile. When god had a message for the people, he gave his message through the prophets. Before you attempt to answer the questions below you should read these chapters in the bible and answer the questions at the end of each chapter found at the website answer the questions below and then click ok to send your answers.
The book of obadiah is found in both the hebrew bible and the old testament of the christian bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. A small, antizionist intellectual circle established in 1940 by poet yonathan ratosh. For his devotion to the lords prophets and his kindness to them, he was made a prophet. Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book.
The book is named after the prophet who received the vision 1. This fact makes it difficult to date the time of writing. What every catholic should know about obadiah national. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom. An envoy was sent to the nations to say, rise, let us go against her for battle see, i will make you small among the nations. The book of obadiah 1 the minor prophetsthe book of obadiah. Obadiah king ahabs servant hid one hundred prophets in caves. Obadiah nkjv the coming judgment on edom the bible gateway. We do not know anything of the book s author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. Thus says the lord god concerning edom we have heard a report from the lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, arise, and let us rise up against her for battle. Therefore, while twelve other men named obadiah appear in scripture, old testament scholars cannot identify with certainty any of them as the author of this book. During this conquest, the people of edom helped capture fleeing israelites and turn them over to the babylonians. The book of obadiah is a brief prophetic word regarding the nearby nation. His book, the shortest of the old testament with only twentyone verses, reveals that obadiah probably lived in the harsh and bitter era after the capture and destruction of jerusalem by the babylonians.
Either way, it has no significant influence on the message given by the prophet obadiah. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. Furthermore, since many other writing prophets recorded several oracles, it is reasonable to assume that one prophet named obadiah did the same in this book. Nov 08, 2019 an introduction to the book of obadiah. The global message of obadiah obadiah in redemptive history. Simply, the book is a prophecy against the nation of. Apparently, he was unable to afford any words describing himself or his family in any way. Book of obadiah, also spelled abdias, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, in the jewish canon treated as one book, the twelve. The predictions of obadiah will impact the middle east in the years ahead. The name obadiah was a very common name among the hebrews though, and it is very likely this is not the same prophet, for in this book obadiah mentions the day when jerusalem was destroyed, captured by the alien armies, and that occurs long after the time of elijah and elisha. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament. 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.
Obadiah is classified as a minor prophet in the christian bible due to the brevity of the writing only 21 verses and. It derives from abad meaning servant and yah meaning the lord. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. Obadiah niv obadiahs vision the vision of bible gateway.
Aug, 2019 the book of the prophet obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. Although many believe the date to be later, obadiah probably wrote his prophecy about 840 bc. The book of the prophet obadiah is the shortest book of the ot with 21 verses only. Obadiah is supposed to have received the gift of prophecy for having hidden the hundred prophets 1 kings 18. Other than what is disclosed through the book of obadiah, nothing more is known about obadiah the prophet.
77 85 1781 140 704 326 820 489 931 926 711 138 1045 333 671 921 742 1789 64 67 1431 1550 1699 77 820 284 727 1104 1502