God's Rejection of Edom in Book of Obadiah
The Book of Obadiah opens with a stark declaration: "This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom" [3]. This single-chapter prophecy, the shortest in the Old Testament, concerns itself entirely with the judgment and "impending doom" of Edom, followed by a promise of Israel's restoration [1]. The intensity of this divine rejection stems from a specific historical grievance: Edom's betrayal of its brother nation during Jerusalem's darkest hour.
The Historical Context of Edom's Treachery
Edom descended from Esau, Jacob's twin brother, who sold his birthright for "red pottage" and thus received the name Edom, meaning "red" [4]. The Edomites occupied the mountainous region east of the Arabah, "the rough hills on the east side of the Arabah," extending from the Gulf of Akabah to the Dead Sea [4]. This kinship between Israel and Edom made the latter's hostility particularly grievous. The prophet addresses Edom's crime directly: "For the wickedness towards thy brother Jacob shame will cover thee, and thou wilt be cut off for ever" [10].
Obadiah describes a specific historical moment when Edom "stoodest opposite" while "enemies carried away his goods, and strangers came into his gates" [10]. The book references "four captures of Jerusalem" on record, including the Babylonian destruction under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., and Obadiah 1:11-14 speaks to one of these events [1]. Rather than aiding their kinsmen, the Edomites stood by—or worse, participated in—the plundering. This violation of familial obligation forms the core of God's indictment.
The Nature of Divine Judgment
The Lord announces Edom's reduction with finality: "Behold, I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised" [5]. Edom's confidence rested in its geography—dwelling "in rocky castles, upon its lofty seat," asking "Who will cast me down to the ground?" [5]. The prophet responds with divine irony: "If thou buildest high like the eagle, and if thy nest were placed among stars, thence will I cast thee down" [5]. No natural fortress, however impregnable, can withstand the Lord's decree.
The judgment would be comprehensive. Edom would be "plundered by enemies, forsaken and deceived by allies and friends, and perish in helplessness and impotence" [8]. The prophecy depicts not merely military defeat but total abandonment—even by those nations Edom counted as confederates. This isolation mirrors the isolation Edom imposed on Judah in its hour of need.
Theological Significance and Typological Reading
The rabbinic tradition saw deeper layers in Edom's judgment. One strand of interpretation understood Edom as representing Rome, with some applying this to "Rome antichristian" [6]. Matthew Henry notes that "Edom is the nation against which this prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the enemies of Israel" [6]. This typological reading treats Edom's destruction as prefiguring the ultimate defeat of all who oppose God's covenant people.
The question of why Obadiah specifically received this oracle has been pondered in Jewish tradition. The Talmud asks, "What is different, i.e., what is the reason, that specifically Obadiah prophesied concerning Edom?" [9]—suggesting that the prophet's identity or background held significance for this particular message.
The Broader Prophetic Pattern
Obadiah's oracle against Edom fits within a larger prophetic tradition. Jeremiah 49:7 also addresses Edom's coming judgment, noting that Balaam had prophesied "Edom shall become a possession" of the ruler rising from Israel [7]. Though the Edomites were "only temporarily subdued by the Israelites, then soon made themselves independent again, and made war on Israel" [7], the prophetic word anticipated a final reckoning. Even the historical record shows divine sovereignty at work: when Amaziah of Judah refused to listen to warning, "it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom" [2].
The prophecy concludes not with Edom's fate alone but with Israel's restoration, as "the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions" [1]. God's rejection of Edom serves both as judgment on betrayal and as vindication of the covenant relationship with Israel—a relationship that even fraternal kinship could not override when violated by treachery.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Obadiah, Book of — Consists of one chapter, "concerning Edom," its impending doom (1:1-16), and the restoration of Israel (1:17-21). This is the shortest book of the Old Testament. There are on record the account of four captures of Jerusalem, (1) by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25); (2) by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram (2 Chr. 21:16); (3) by Joash, the king of Israel, in the reign of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:13); and (4) by the Babylonians, when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 586). Obadiah (1:11-14) speaks”
- 2 Chronicles “But Amaziah would not listen; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom. -- 2 Chronicles 25:20”
- Obadiah “Obadiah 1:1 (BSB) — This is the vision of Obadiah: This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom— We have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent among the nations to say, “Rise up, and let us go to battle against her!”—”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Edom — (1.) The name of Esau (q.v.), Gen. 25:30, "Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [Heb. haadom, haadom, i.e., the red pottage, the red pottage'] ...Therefore was his name called Edom", i.e., Red. (2.) Idumea (Isa. 34:5, 6; Ezek. 35:15). "The field of Edom" (Gen. 32:3), "the land of Edom" (Gen. 36:16), was mountainous (Obad. 1:8, 9, 19, 21). It was called the land, or "the mountain of Seir," the rough hills on the east side of the Arabah. It extended from the head of the Gulf of Akabah, the Elanitic gulf, to the foot of the Dead Sea (1 Kings 9:26), an”
- Obadiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Obadiah 1:2: The Lord threatens Edom with war, because He has determined to reduce and humble the nation, which now, with its proud confidence in its lofty rocky towers, regards itself as invincible. Oba 1:2. "Behold, I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised. Oba 1:3. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee; thou that dwellest in rocky castles, upon its lofty seat; that saith in its heart, Who will cast me down to the ground?: Oba 1:4. If thou buildest high like the eagle, and if thy nest were placed among stars, thence will I cast thee down, is”
- Obadiah (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Obadiah 1 (introduction): Edom is the nation against which this prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the enemies of Israel, that shall be brought down first or last. The rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians they understand it of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but, if we understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages of it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's rejec”
- Jeremiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Jeremiah 49:7: Concerning Edom. - To the Edomites, whom Israel were to leave undisturbed in their possession, since they were a kindred nations (Deu 2:4), Balaam announces that "Edom shall become a possession," i.e., shall be taken possession of by the ruler rising out of Israel. We have shown, in the explanation given of Num 24:18, that up to the time of the exile this utterance had been fulfilled merely by feeble attacks being made, since the Edomites were only temporarily subdued by the Israelites, then soon made themselves independent again, and made war on Israel. On a”
- Obadiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Obadiah 1 (introduction): Edom's Ruin, setting forth, in the first place, the purpose of God to make Edom small through the medium of hostile nations, and to hurl it down from the impregnable heights of its rocky castles (Oba 1:1-4); and then depicting, in lively colours, how it will be plundered by enemies, forsaken and deceived by allies and friends, and perish in helplessness and impotence (Oba 1:5-9). Oba 1:1 contains, in addition to the brief heading, the introduction to the prophecy, which gives in a brief form the substance of the first section: "Thus hath the Lord J”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 39b.14: The verse states: “The vision of Obadiah. So says the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard a message from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: Arise, and let us rise up against her in battle” (Obadiah 1:1). The Gemara asks: What is different, i.e., what is the reason, that specifically Obadiah prophesied concerning Edom?”
- Obadiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Obadiah 1:10: The Cause of the Ruin of the Edomites is their wickedness towards the brother nation Jacob (Oba 1:10 and Oba 1:11), which is still further exhibited in Oba 1:12-14 in the form of a warning, accompanied by an announcement of righteous retribution in the day of the Lord upon all nations (Oba 1:15, Oba 1:16). Oba 1:10. "For the wickedness towards thy brother Jacob shame will cover thee, and thou wilt be cut off for ever. Oba 1:11. In the day that thou stoodest opposite, in the day when enemies carried away his goods, and strangers came into his gates, and cast th”