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Obadiah

1 The vision that Obadiah saw. The Sovereign Lord says this concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord. An envoy was sent among the nations,⁠ saying, “Arise! Let us make war against Edom!” 2 The Lord says, “Look! I will make you a weak nation; you will be greatly despised!⁠ 3 Your presumptuous heart has deceived you—you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs, whose home is high in the mountains. You think to yourself, ‘No one can bring me down to the ground!’ 4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle, even if you were to make your nest among the stars, I can bring you down even from there!”⁠ says the Lord. 5 “If thieves came to rob you during the night, they would steal only as much as they wanted. If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards, they would leave some behind for the poor.⁠ But you will be totally destroyed! 6 How the people of Esau will be thoroughly plundered! Their hidden valuables will be ransacked! 7 All your allies will force you from your homeland! Your treaty partners will deceive you and overpower you.⁠ Your trusted friends will set an ambush for you that will take you by surprise!⁠ 8 “At that time,” the Lord says, “I will destroy the wise sages of Edom, the advisers from Esau’s mountain. 9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau’s mountain!⁠ 10 “Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob,⁠ shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever.⁠ 11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them.⁠ 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity.⁠ You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. 13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress. 14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape.⁠ You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity. 15 “For the day of the Lord is approaching for all the nations! Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.⁠ 16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink, and they will gulp down; they will be as though they had never been.⁠ 17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, and it will be a holy place once again.⁠ The descendants of Jacob will conquer those who had conquered them.⁠ 18 The 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 survivor of the descendants of Esau!” Indeed, the Lord has spoken it. 19 The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain,⁠ and the people of the foothills will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel will take possession of what belongs to the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad⁠ will take possession of the towns of the Negev. 21 Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion in order to rule over Esau’s mountain. Then the Lord will reign as King!

Texts in conversation

Compare Amos 9:12 and Obadiah 1:19

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Obadiah and Amos 9 share the same structure and themes: possessing Edom, restoring exiles, and reclaiming lost territory. Both passages close with a promise that the kingdom will be restored.

Passages

Amos 9:12

Hebrew Bible
11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David. I will seal its gaps, repair its ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. 12 As a result they will conquer those left in Edom and all the nations subject to my rule.” The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking. 13 “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper, and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter. Juice will run down the slopes; it will flow down all the hillsides. 14 I will bring back my people, Israel; they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce. 15 I will plant them on their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

Obadiah 1:19

Hebrew Bible
17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, and it will be a holy place once again. The descendants of Jacob will conquer those who had conquered them. 18 The 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 survivor of the descendants of Esau!” Indeed, the Lord has spoken it. 19 The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain, and the people of the foothills will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel will take possession of what belongs to the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the towns of the Negev. 21 Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion in order to rule over Esau’s mountain. Then the Lord will reign as King!
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Obadiah

References

"... The cumulative effect of these parallels suggests a close affinity between Amos 9 and Obadiah. The parallels in the first portion of Obadiah reflect formal similarities by using similar text markers and linguistic formulations. By contrast, the parallels with Amos 9:11-15 tend to be thematic and formal. In places where one finds structural and linguistic similarities, they serve a larger rhetorical purpose. Namely, they document a message of incontrovertible judgment against Israel (Amos 9) and Edom (Obadiah 1-14). In so doing, the fate of the two nations is joined. Both political entities will be destroyed. However, the thematic parallels in the latter portions of these two texts shift from words of judgment against Israel and Edom to promises of restoration for Judah. ..."
James Nogalski, The Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Hosea-Jonah (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2011), 373–374.
"... First, the verb ירשׁ appears here with "the remnant of Edom" as its direct object. Although this same construction does not appear anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible, a very similar construction does occur in Obadiah 19 ("and they will possess . . . the mountain of Esau"). Second, the plethora of allusions here to Joel 3–4 pulls on an intertextual thread that we have seen leads back to Obadiah. These observations underscore the climactic remark in Obadiah 21, namely that after Israel's hegemony over the nations is established, then "kingship will belong to Yhwh." ..."
Daniel Forbes, “The Intertextual Impact of Obadiah on the Writing Prophets” (MA diss., The Master's College, 2014), 43.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Amos 9:12 and Obadiah 1:19

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