Logos Bible Study

Obadiah 17–21

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1:17But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape,81

and it will be a holy place once again.

The descendants82 of Jacob will conquer83

those who had conquered them.84

1:18The descendants of Jacob will be a fire,

and the descendants of Joseph a flame.

The descendants of Esau will be like stubble.

They will burn them up and devour them.

There will not be a single survivor85 of the descendants of Esau!”

Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.

1:19The people of the Negev86 will take possession87 of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah88 will take

possession89 of the land of90 the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession91 of Gilead.92

1:20The exiles of this fortress93 of the people of Israel

will take possession94 of what belongs to

the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath,95

and the exiles of Jerusalem96 who are in Sepharad97

will take possession of the towns of the Negev.

1:21Those who have been delivered98 will go up on Mount Zion

in order to rule over99 Esau’s mountain.

Then the Lord will reign as King!100

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Footnotes

  1. 81 Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular. Cf. “some will escape the judgment.”
  2. 82 Heb “house” (so most English versions); , “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.
  3. 83 Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.
  4. 84 The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. , , ) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the (cf. , , and , followed by , , ).
  5. 85 Heb “will be no survivor”; “none shall survive.”
  6. 86 Heb “the Negev”; “the South”; , “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev. The Negev is a dry, hot, arid region in the southern portion of Judah.
  7. 87 The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19–20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.
  8. 88 The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region. The Shephelah as a region refers to the Palestinian foothills that rise from the coastal plain. In much of Old Testament times they served as a divide between the people of Judah and the Philistines.
  9. 89 The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
  10. 90 The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  11. 91 The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  12. 92 Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.
  13. 93 Or “army” (); , , “host”; “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so ), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 17:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).
  14. 94 The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.
  15. 95 Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.
  16. 96 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
  17. 97 The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. Lipinski, “Obadiah 20,” 23 (1973): 368–70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.
  18. 98 The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (musha’im, “those who have been delivered”; cf. , ) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshi’im,“deliverers”; cf. , , ) of the (cf. , Aquila, Theodotion, and ).
  19. 99 Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. “to rule”; “to govern”).
  20. 100 Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press