We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time
when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, _Caspari_ has
proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence
belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, _i.e._, to the time of
Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who
would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile,
there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this
prophecy occupies in the collection of the prophets which is
chronologically arranged, but there are also the following facts;--that
those who are to inflict the predicted calamity upon Judah are not at
all more definitely characterized than in the first part of Hosea, in
Joel, and Amos;--that, in like manner, the heathen power from which the
overthrow of Edom is to proceed, is neither mentioned, nor more
definitely pointed out in any other way;--that Jeremiah already made
use of Obadiah's prophecy; and if such be denied, the older foundation
would then be withdrawn from the prophecy of Jeremiah--which would be
contrary [Pg 400] to the analogy of Jeremiah's prophecies against
foreign nations;--and, finally, that, in vers. 12-14, the prophet
exhorts the Edomites neither to rejoice nor to co-operate in the
destruction of Jerusalem, because, otherwise, they would certainly
receive the well-merited reward of such wickedness committed against
the Covenant-people, to whom they were so nearly related. Such an
exhortation would have been out of place, after the wickedness had been
committed.--The view of _Hofmann_ (which was revived by _Delitzsch_ in
his treatise, "When did Obadiah prophesy?" [_Guerike's Zeitschrift_ 51,
_Hft._ 1])--according to which the capture of Jerusalem by the
Philistines and Arabians under Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi. 16 ff.) was the
occasion of the prophecy before us, and according to which Obadiah is
thus made the oldest among all the prophets in the Canon, and separated
by nearly a century from the three prophets who preceded him--overlooks
the fact that only cogent reasons could induce us to assume so isolated
a position, since it is certainly not a matter of accident that the
written prophecy began its course under the reign of Jeroboam and
Uzziah. The guilt and punishment of Edom are, in like manner, spoken of
in the Preterite; and it is inadmissible to understand the Preterites
as historical, in so far as they refer to the guilt, and as
prophetical, in so far as they refer to the punishment. The words, "Day
of their destruction," in ver. 12, are decisive against every other
catastrophe upon Judah, but that of the Chaldean. Ver. 20, when rightly
interpreted, supposes the carrying away of Israel and Judah, and hence
allows us to think only of the Assyro-Chaldean catastrophe. In ver. 21,
Mount Zion is forsaken, and "the saviours" return to it from the land
of captivity.
In strict accordance with the position of the book in the Canon, is the
fact, that Obadiah connects himself most closely with Joel, and,
excepting him, among all the prophets, with Amos only; compare
_Caspari_, S. 20 ff., 35; _Hävernick_, _Einleitung_ II. S. 318. Of
greater importance than the coincidences in particulars, is the fact
that the prophecy of Obadiah, upon the whole, connects itself most
closely and immediately with the fourth (third) chapter of Joel--that
in the prophecy of Obadiah, we have indeed a _variation_ on that
chapter. The judgment upon Judah, which Joel announces in the first
part, [Pg 401] is here supposed to have already taken place; and this
might be done so much the rather, because, even in Joel, the prophetic
_Plerophory_, with which rationalistic interpreters are so much
puzzled, has changed the Future into the Present and Past--as, even
there, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the overflowing of the whole
country by the heathen, are represented as already existing. It is only
the judgment upon the heathen, and the restoration of Israel, which
Obadiah represents in his prophetic picture.
Like Hosea (in the first three chapters), Joel, and Amos, so Obadiah
also, received the mission to point out the catastrophe threatened by
the world's power, even before the latter existed on the scene of
history. It was to the Covenant-people a source of rich consolation
that it was so clearly and distinctly foretold to them, even before it
had an existence, and the points of view from which it must be regarded
were opened up to them. He, however, distinctly points to one idea
only, just because there were already predecessors to whose prophecies
he could refer. He did not receive the mission to call to repentance,
or to represent the judgment as a well-deserved punishment--although,
_indirectly_, in him as well as in Joel, these thoughts also occur, as
certainly as the supposed destruction of Judah and Israel could only be
the punishment of their sin; he has to point out only the salvation
subsequent to the overflowing by the heathen world, the conquering
power of the kingdom of God which, in the end, will manifest itself,
and deeply to impress upon the Covenant-people the words: θαρσεῖτε, ἐγὼ
νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον. The glaring contrast betwixt the _idea_--according
to which the kingdom of God was to be all prevailing--and the
_reality_, in which it is pressed into a corner, shall in future
increase still more. Even from this corner, the people of God shall be
driven. But death is the transition to life; the uttermost degree of
sufferings, the forerunner of deliverance and salvation. Not a
restoration only is in store for the people of God--they even obtain
the dominion of the world; but to the heathen world, which is at enmity
with God, their exaltation is a forerunner of destruction.
All which Obadiah had to say in reference to the heathen, God-hating
world, and to the form which, in future, Israel's [Pg 402] relation to
it would assume, has been exemplified by him in the case of Edom. For
the fact, that it is only the heathen power individualized which we
have before us, is shown by the transition to the heathen in general in
ver. 15, according to which, Edom comes into consideration only as a
part of the whole: "For near is the day of the Lord upon _all the
heathen_." So also is it in ver. 16: "For as ye[1] have drunk upon My
holy mountain, so shall _all the heathen_ drink continually;[2] and
they drink, and sup up, and they are as though they were not." When
speaking of the guilt, he mentions Edom only; when speaking of
punishment, he introduces all the heathen at once. According to ver.
17, Israel shall occupy the possessions of _all the heathen_. And even
the last words of the whole prophecy, "And the kingdom shall be the
Lord's," show that it bears a universal character,--that in the case of
Edom, we have only a principle exemplified which applies to all the
enemies of the kingdom of God. The leading thought is: The kingdom of
God shall obtain universal dominion, which follows the deepest
abasement of the people of God, and of which the fullest and most
perfect realization must be sought in Christ.
The animating thought could be so much the better individualized in the
case of Edom, as its natural relation to Israel was one of special
nearness, and its hatred specially deep; and as, moreover, it at all
times considered itself the rival of Israel, of whose advantages it was
envious. That which Amos, the cotemporary of Obadiah, says of Edom in
chap. i. 11--"He pursues his brother with the sword, and corrupts his
compassions, and his anger tears perpetually, and he keeps his wrath
for ever"--shows how exceedingly well he was fitted to be a
representative of the enemies of the kingdom of God. It was so much the
more obvious thus to represent Edom as a particular and individualizing
exemplification of this principle, as the prophets of that period had
not as yet received any more definite disclosures as to the threatening
kingdoms of the future, while Edom, in his [Pg 403] hatred against the
people of God, stood before their eyes. The germ of this is to be found
in Joel iv. (iii.) 19, where Edom already appears as a representative
and type of the God-hating heathen world, which is to be judged by the
Lord, after the judgment upon Judah.
In Obadiah, we find a fulness of remarkable glances into the
future compressed within a narrow space. The chief events are the
following:--1. The capture of Jerusalem, the total carrying away of the
entire people, both of Judah and Israel, to a far distance, vers. 20,
21. 2. The return of Israel, the cessation of the separation of the two
kingdoms, ver. 18 (compare Hos. ii. 2 [i. 11]; Amos ix. 11, 12), and
his elevation to the dominion of the world by the "Saviours," ver. 21.
3. The judgment upon Edom by heathen nations, vers. 1-9. Jeremiah, in
xxvii. 2 ff., compared with xxv., more distinctly points out the
Chaldeans as the heathen instruments of the judgment upon Edom and all
the people round about; and Matt. i. 3, 4, shows the weight of the
sufferings which were inflicted by them upon Edom. 4. The occupation of
the land of Edom by Judah. One realization of this prophecy took place
in the time of the Maccabees; but we must not confine ourselves to
this. As, in the main, Edom is only a type of the God-hating heathen
world, the true and real fulfilment can be sought in Christ alone.
Compare the remarks, p. 98, with reference to Moab in Balaam's
prophecy.
The prophecy of Obadiah is divided into three parts:--the destruction
of Edom by heathen nations summoned by Jehovah, vers. 1-9; the cause of
it, his wickedness against Judah, vers. 10-16; Judah, on the contrary,
rises with Joseph from this humiliation, and becomes a conqueror of the
world, vers. 17-21. This last part claims our closer consideration.
Ver. 17. "_And upon Mount Zion shall be they that have escaped, and it
is holy_ (compare Joel iii. 5, iv. 17 [ii. 32, iii. 17]), _and the
house of Jacob occupies their possessions._"
The suffix in מורשיהם refers to all the heathen in ver. 16. The kingdom
shall be the Lord's, according to ver. 16, and the dominion of His
people extends as far as His own. We have here the general prophecy;
and in what immediately follows, the application to Edom. The first two
clauses serve as a foundation for the third. The holiness has, so to
speak, not only a [Pg 404] defensive, but also an offensive character.
Its consequence is the dominion of the world.
Ver. 18. "_And the house of Jacob becomes a fire, and the house of
Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble, and they kindle them,
and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining to the house of
Esau; for the Lord has spoken._"
Besides the whole of the people, that part of them (the house of
Joseph, the people of the ten tribes) is specially mentioned which one
might have expected to be excluded. That there is none remaining to the
house of Esau (and to all who are like him) agrees with the declaration
uttered by Joel in iii. 5 (ii. 32): "Amongst those who are spared, is
whomsoever the Lord calleth." They, however, whom the Lord calls, are,
according to the same verse, they who call on the name of the Lord.
But the characteristic of Edom is his hatred against the kingdom of
God,--and that excludes both the calling on the Lord, and the being
called by the Lord. The single individual, however, may come out of the
community of his people, and enter into the territory of saving grace,
as is shown by the example of Rahab. In the further description of the
conquering power, which the people of God shall, in future, exercise,
we are, in ver. 19, first met by Judah and Benjamin.
Ver. 19. "_And they of the south possess the Mount of Esau, and they
from the low region, the Philistines; and they_ (_i.e._, they of Judah,
the whole, of whom they of the South and of the low region are parts
only) _possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria, and
Benjamin--Gilead._"
It is obvious that we have here before us only an individualized
representation of the thought already expressed in Gen. xxviii. 14:
"And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break
forth to the East and to the West, to the North and to the South; and
in thee, and in thy seed, all the families of the earth are blessed;"
compare also Is. liv. 3: "Thou shalt break forth on the right hand and
on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles."--נגב is the
south part of Judea, at the borders of Edom; שפלה the low region on the
West, at the borders of the Philistines. As, according to the vision of
the prophet, the exaltation of Judah is preceded by his total overthrow
and captivity (compare vers. 11-14, 20, 21), the tribe of Judah, which,
before the catastrophe, was settled in [Pg 405] the South and low
region, is here meant. That את can be taken only as the sign of the
Accus., and "Mount of Esau," accordingly, as the object only, appears
from ver. 20, according to which the South is vacant. Judah thus
extends in the South, over Edom, in the West, over Philistia, in the
North, over the former territory of the ten tribes, and hence also over
the territory of Benjamin, which formerly lay betwixt Judah and Joseph.
Benjamin is indemnified by Gilead. The whole of Canaan comes thus to
Judah and Benjamin. Joseph, to whose damage, according to ver. 18, this
enlargement of Judah's territory must lead, must be transferred
altogether to heathenish territory. We expect to find, in ver. 20, how
he is indemnified.
Ver. 20. "_And the exiles of this host of the children of Israel (shall
possess) what are Canaanites unto Zarephath, and the exiles of
Jerusalem that are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South._"
The circumstance that the Athnach stands below ספרד indicates that ירשו
implies the common property of the exiles of this host, and of the
exiles of Jerusalem. The "Sons of Israel," in this context, can only be
the ten tribes; for they are here indemnified for their former
territory, which, according to ver. 19, has become the possession of
Judah. "The exiles of this host" is equivalent to: "This whole host of
exiles,"--the whole mass of the ten tribes, carried away according to
prophetic foresight (compare Amos v. 27: "And I carry you away beyond
Damascus, saith the Lord, the God of hosts"), as opposed to a piecemeal
carrying away, such as had once already taken place before the time of
the prophet in respect to Judah, but not in respect to the children of
Israel; compare Joel iv. (iii.) 6. That the "Canaanites unto
Zarephath"--_i.e._, the Phœnicians, whose territory formed part
of the promised land, but had never, in former times, come into
the real possession of Israel--are the objects of conquest, and
that, hence, we cannot explain as _Caspari_ does, "Who are among
the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath," is evident from the circumstance,
that all the neighbouring nations appear as objects of the conquering
activity;--that the great mass of the Israelitish exiles were not among
the Canaanites;--that the ב could, in that case, not have been
omitted;--and that the South country is too small [Pg 406] a space for
the children of Israel, and of Jerusalem together. Sepharad, the very
name of which is scarcely known, is mentioned as a particularizing
designation of the utmost distance. The description becomes complete by
its returning to the South country, from which it had proceeded. The
South country penetrates to Edom; the inhabitants of Jerusalem extend
beyond the South country.
Ver. 21. "_And saviours go up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord's._"
עלו is to be accounted for from the consideration, that the deliverance
and salvation imply the entire overthrow--the total carrying away of
the people. The Saviour κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν is hidden beneath the "saviours;"
compare Judges iii. 9, 15; Neh. ix. 27. But even here, everything is
connected with human individuals; and the more glorious the salvation
which the prophet beholds in the future, viz., the absolute dominion of
the Lord, and His people, over the world, the less can it be conceived
that the prophet should have expected the realization of it by a
collective body of mortal men without a leader. But the plural
intimates that the antitype is not without types,--that the head cannot
be conceived of without members. In Jer. xxiii. 4, we read: "And I
raise up shepherds over them which shall feed them;" and immediately
afterwards the one good shepherd--Christ--forms the subject of
discourse.--"And the kingdom shall be the Lord's."--His dominion, till
_then_ concealed, shall now be publicly manifested, and the people of
the earth shall acknowledge it, either spontaneously, or by constraint.
The coming of this kingdom has begun with Christ, and, in Him, waits
for its consummation. The opinion of _Caspari_, that the contents of
vers. 19 and 20, as well as the close of this prophecy, belong
altogether to the future, rests on a false, literal explanation, the
inadmissibility of which is sufficiently evident from the circumstance
that the Edomites, Philistines, and Canaanites have long since
disappeared from the scene of history; so that there exists no longer
the possibility of a literal fulfilment.
Footnote 1: The fact that, _everywhere_, the discourse is addressed to
the Edomites, proves that here also Edom is addressed. The כי and the
כאשר sin this verse, compared with those in the preceding verse,
likewise suggest this. Compare, moreover, Joel iv. (iii.) 3, to which
passage there is already an allusion in ver. 11.
Footnote 2: Namely, the cup of punishment, of divine wrath.
[Pg 407]