Obadiah 8–9

Footnotes

1. 38 Heb “in that day” (so , ); , , “on that day.”
2. 39 Heb “Will I not destroy those who are wise from Edom?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic affirmation. For the sake of clarity this has been represented by the emphatic indicative in the translation.
3. 40 Heb “understanding”; “men of understanding.” This undoubtedly refers to members of the royal court who offered political and military advice to the Edomite kings. In the ancient Near East, such men of wisdom were often associated with divination and occultic practices (cf. Isa 3:3, 47:10, 13). The Edomites were also renown in the ancient Near East as a center of traditional sagacity and wisdom; perhaps that is referred to here (cf. Jer 49:7).
4. 41 Heb “and understanding from the mountain of Esau.” The phrase “I will remove the men of …” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Here “understanding” is a synecdoche of part for whole; the faculty of understanding is put for the wise men who possess it.
5. 42 Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.
6. 43 The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, léma’an) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.
7. 44 Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. “every one.”
8. 45 Heb “cut off” (so , , ); , “cut down”; “wiped out.”