Obadiah Introduction - KJV (King James Version)
Synopsis:
Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the Old Testament probably soon after the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (586 b.c.). During this conquest, the people of Edom helped capture fleeing Israelites and turn them over to the Babylonians. They even took up residence in some Judean villages. This angered the Lord, for the Edomites, as descendants of Esau, were related to the Israelites (Gen. 25:21-26, 30) and therefore should have helped them. Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be repaid for mistreating God's people. Obadiah also asserted that God is sovereign over the nations and that the house of Jacob would be restored because of God's covenant love for his people.
Authorship: Obadiah
- Hebrew name means “Worshiper of Yahweh or Servant of Yahweh”
Date: 890 BC or 587-539 BC
There no way to pin down the date without any cross references. There seems to be a lot of references to Jeremiah 49 that would caste the composition towards the latter date.
Simple Outline:
1. Judgment of Edom (Ob 1:1-18)
A. Predictions (Ch 1:1-9)
B. Reasons (Ch 1:10-14)
C. Results (Ch 1:15-18)
3. Restoration of Israel (Ob 1:19-21)
A. Israel Posses Edom's Land (Ch 1:19-21)
Which Obadiah?:
- 1 Kings 18:3-16 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
- 1 Chronicles 3:21 And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.
- 1 Chronicles 7:3 And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men.
- 1 Chronicles 8:38 And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
- 1 Chronicles 9:16 And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.
- 1 Chronicles 9:44 And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.
- 1 Chronicles 12:9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
- 1 Chronicles 27:19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel:
- 2 Chronicles 17:7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 34:12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
- Ezra 8:9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
- Nehemiah 10:5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
- Nehemiah 12:25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates.
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