Obadiah

Related Category: Old Testament

short prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet is otherwise unknown. The oracle which comprises this book dates from after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The prophecy calls down doom on Edom, who had gloated over the misfortune of Israel, and announces that the exiles of Israel and Judah will be re-gathered and will dominate Palestine, including Edom. Verses 1–9 are closely paralleled in the Book of Jeremiah, and verse 17 is apparently quoted in the Book of Joel.

See H. W. Wolff, Obadiah and Jonah (1986); J. Limburg, Hosea–Micah (1988).