Because the writer of the record is not giving his but gods point of view, it is history with divine commentary explaining not just what happened but why it happened that way. The book is attributed to a prophet named obadiah, but we have no biographical information about him. There are obadiahs in the old testament, and one of these may the obadiah who wrote this book. Obadiah does not identify the time in which he lived, therefore the date of his prophecy must be assumed from internal evidence. The author was obadiah, whose name means the servant of the eternal. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins. Obadiah s 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. Obadiah, book of isbe obadiah, book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. Unlocking the old testament part 48 obadiah and joel 1 duration.
The scriptures have that beautiful faculty of appearing to be one thing on the surface, but on a deeper level, yielding rich and mighty treasures. Obadiahs book is the shortest of all the old testament. Moses left a 23 clue with 12 answer crossword puzzle in the torah. Other individuals named obadiah in the old testament are listed as. Obadiah niv obadiahs vision the vision of bible gateway.
The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. The whole of scripture is of the unfolding of the mentality of humanity or the what thinks in you. Gods judgment on the unbelieving gentiles who opposed gods chosen people israel, and gods grace and ultimate deliverance of the believing israel. An obadiah was an officer in king ahab of israels court and hid gods prophets in a cave 1 kings 18. In the new testament, herod the great, who commanded the murder of all boys two years old and younger in bethlehem matthew 2, was an idumean. Book of obadiah of the old testament your bible quotes. Obadiah is the thirtyfirst book of the bible, the fourth book of the socalled minor or shorter prophets, the group of twelve prophetic books that close the old testament. Obadiahs prophecies against edom are similar to those found in other old testament books. There are other old testament books that are not directly quoted in the new testament, including ruth, 1 and 2 chronicles, esther, song of solomon, and ecclesiastes.
In judaism, obadiah is considered a later prophet, one of the twelve prophets in the final section of neviim, the second main division of the tanakh. According to the rabbinic tradition, the tradition of the eastern orthodox and oriental orthodox churches, this is the same individual as the prophet. This is what the sovereign lord says about edom we have heard a message from the lord. At this time it was a radical thought that the god of israel was the god of all other nations as well. The position of the book in the old testament canon argues for an early date. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of obadiah in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork.
Obadiah is only one chapter the shortest book in the old testament yet it tells of gods prophet obadiah as he announces gods powerful and authoritative judgment on the nation of 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. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. Though the book of obadiah does not contain messianic predictions that point directly to christ, the theme of divine judgment against those who persecute gods people finds its. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible in judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. John obadiah is 20 one verses shouldnt surprise you that we have no information about him.
Yet the focus of the entire book is on edoms destruction as god meted out his judgment on a historically rebellious people. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament and is not quoted in the new testament. Study guide for obadiah by david guzik blue letter bible. Its authorship is generally attributed to a person named obadiah, which means servant or worshipper of the lord. 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. Remember that many of the minor prophets are of supreme importance in understanding scripture and prophecy in particular. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. Some have guessed that he was the earliest of the minor prophets, while others have said that he lived after the babylonians destruction of jerusalem. Alexander jannaeus appointed antipater i as governor of idumea. The shortest book in the old testament and among all the writing prophets, obadiah provides an overview of the message presented in each of. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. Minor refers to the size of the book rather than their message. Obadiah synonyms, obadiah pronunciation, obadiah translation, english dictionary definition of obadiah.
The description of jerusalems fall in obadiah 1114 places the date for the books composition after 587 b. 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. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. The book is the shortest old testament book, but it is not the shortest book in the bible that would be second. The book of obadiah is only a single chapter consisting of 21 verses, which makes it the shortest entry in the jewish bible. Edom was the land southeast of the dead sea reaching down to the gulf of acaba on the dead sea.
Obadiah was one of the 12 minor prophets of the old testament. Obadiahs prophecies against edom are similar to those found in other old testament books see isaiah 34. Obadiah, book ofcommentaries, commentaries old testament. About obadiah we know only that his name means servant of the lord. See more ideas about old testament, bible and bible art. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of obadiah. 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.
Introduce the book of obadiah by explaining that we do not know much about the prophet obadiah except that he may have prophesied after the capture of jerusalem by the babylonians in 586 b. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. Obadiah king james bible, old testament audio book. Jesus symbolized in the old testament sacrificial system. Book of obadiah christianity knowledge base fandom. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and longforgotten nation, the land of edom. His name obadiah literally denotes the meaning servant of yahweh and he served as a prophet. The shortest book in the old testament and among all the writing prophets, obadiah provides an overview of the message presented in each of the writing prophets.
The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. 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. This small book has, amazingly and providentially, survived more than 2500 years, and while it contains a message of judgment for an ancient neighbor of israel, it has many relevant messages for us today. If position in the canon argues for chronology, why not place. 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. The old testament also known as the jewish tanakh is the first 39 books in most christian bibles. The student can buy parts or the whole of this series. Obadiah, chapter 1 united states conference of catholic bishops. Unlocking the old testament part 48 obadiah and joel 1 david pawson official. Obadiah king james bible, old testament audio book youtube. Obadiah is classified as a minor prophet in the christian bible due to the brevity of the writing only 21 verses and.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single. The name stands for the original promise with god to the descendants of abraham in particular prior to the coming of jesus christ in the new testament or the new promise. Consequent upon the overthrow of edom is the enlargement of the borders of judah and the establishment of the kingship of yahweh. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new international commentary on the old testament allen, leslie c. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b.
Original bible history online visit the original site 19992016. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament, the 4th book of the twelve minor prophets. In christianity, the book of obadiah is classified as a minor prophet of the old testament, due to its short length. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of obadiah. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament but it covers such a significant portion of that historical period. Obadiah definition of obadiah by the free dictionary. The name obadiah seems to have been fairly common, as eleven other people by that name are mentioned in the old testament. In favor are the many similarities between the book of obadiah and jeremiah 49. References in his book to the southern kingdom of judah indicate that he belonged to that nation. Visit to download mp3s and listen on the go in your car, on your ipod, etc. Old testament overview general survey of the old testament. Obadiah verse by verse bible commentary matthew henry.
New testament overview general survey of the new testament. They had been in conflict with israel since ancient times, in reality edom is the descendants of esau. Obadiah means servant of jehovah and worshiper of yahweh. In the video below, charles dyer discusses specific old testament prophecies and symbols that point to jesus. None of them can easily be identified with the writer of this exilic book. A professionally recorded audio version of the king.
Apparently, he was unable to afford any words describing himself or his family in any way. 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. In joel and obadiah, john barton furnishes a fresh translation of the ancient manuscripts and discusses questions of historical background and literary architecture before providing a theologically sensitive and critically informed interpretation of the text the old testament library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of old testament study through commentaries. Jan 12, 2015 obadiah actually didnt speak to gods people but to one of israels neighbours, edom. Rosscup this is the best older, overall treatment of a critical nature on the old testament hebrew text verse by verse and is a good standard work to buy. Sandwiched between the prophetic utterances of amos, a farmer, and jonah, who was sent by god to speak to the ninevites but refused and ended up spending a few nights in the belly of a fish before obeying, obadiah speaks of a. 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.
The system of sacrificing, often a spotless lamb, symbolized the coming christ. Gods judgment on the unbelieving gentiles who opposed gods chosen people israel, and gods. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring to many other old testament individuals. The kingship belongs to yhwh hearing the message of. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how god will bring down all arrogant and violent nations. A harmony of the life of jesus four gospel accounts in harmony. The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles.
Obadiah is not only the shortest prophecy, but also the shortest book of the old testament. Should the book of obadiah be a part of the old testament. Apr 22, 2020 in the new testament, herod the great, who commanded the murder of all boys two years old and younger in bethlehem matthew 2, was an idumean. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new international commentary on the old testament. Obadiahs book is the shortest of all the old testament books. In this, the shortest book of the old testament, it seems the prophet obadiah considered each word a highpriced commodity. The author of the book of obadiah, obadiah himself, is a man who lived during the times of assyrian period. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new. Edom was another name for esau, the brother of jacob.
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