H-L-T Reference Sheet on Obadiah 1
Historical Question – Can Edom and the Edomite people be accounted for prior to Obadiah’s vision in the Hebrew Bible and are there additional findings that can corroborate their existence?
Smith’s Bible Dictionary states, in Genesis 32:3, the name Edom was given to Esau, the first-born son of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob who he sold his birthright to for a meal. The country which the Lord subsequently gave to Esau was called ‘the country of Edom,’ and his descendants were called Edomites. Billy K. Smith and Frank S. Page in The New American Commentary Volume 19 B contends, Edom’s hatred of Israel begins even earlier, citing Genesis 25 where it notes the struggle of Esau and Jacob in Rebekah’s womb and
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according to them continued into the Babylonian captivity of Judah. In the 4th year of Zedekrah, King of Judah (594 B.C.), Smith and Page further record, Edom is also mentioned in Jeremiah 27:27 where they have put aside its hostility and was one of the small states allied with Judah against Babylon. There are also prophesies in the Hebrew Bible against Edom in Jeremiah 49, Psalm 137, Lamentations 4 and Ezekiel 25 and 35. In a reference to the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, 1 Esdras 4:45 in the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books mention the Edomites here saying, “You also vowed to build the temple, which the Edomites burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.” Smith and Page comment, in the Hebrew Bible, Edom denied Israel’s request for permission to pass through Edomite Territory on their way from Egypt to Canaan (Num. 20:14-21). Saul fought against Edom (1 Sam. 14:47), and King David conquered it (2 Sam. 8:13-14). W.S. McCullough in Studies on the Ancient Palestinian World states, “In the period from 520-300 B.C. little is known about the secular life of Jews in these two centuries, even with the augmentation of the meagre biblical sources by the Elephantine papyri.” Bartlett notes, “We have no extant Edomite texts to lighten our darkness, we are therefore left dependent on two important, if limited, resources. The first is archeological evidence, and the second is the existence of a few possible allusions to southern Transjordan in the Egyptian records.” Bartlett asserts, evidence from the excavations at Umm el-Biyara, Tawilan and Buseira in the 1960s and 1970s revealed that settled communities flourished in Edom from the eighth – sixth century B.C. “Ceramic evidence are other additional finding that points to utilization of copper resources around the same time as settlements were being founded in Edomite, approximately in the eighth century.” Bartlett explains, more helpful are the Egyptians sources, which speak of people called the shōsū active in this area. Particularly important is the famous text of Pap. Anastasi VI: 54-56, which is a schoolboy’s model copy of a document from a frontier official of the reign of Merneptah: We have just finished letting the Shōsū tribes of Edom pass the fortress of Merneptah-hotphima-e (life, prosperity, health), which is in Tjeku, to the pools of Pi-tum… (Caminos, 1954:293). Bartlett argues that ‘Edom’ here has the determinative ‘foreign hill country’, and is spelt out carefully with full syllabic orthography, which indicates that ‘Edom’ is known to the Egyptians as a foreign, non-Egyptian name. The time frame however is in the 13th century contrary to the Hebrew Biblical accounts. Edom and the Edomites can be accounted for, but what history has unearthed does not corroborate the civilization of antiquity of Edom and the Edomite people of the time frame that the Hebrew Bible records. Literary Question – How does the Canonical position and the brevity of Obadiah function as a narrative device?
Obadiah stands between Amos and Jonah, noted by Smith and Page is that both of whom prophesied in the eighth century B.C. and since Obadiah’s date appears to be early in the sixth century B.C., a catchword or theme may explain the canonical position of the book. The approaching day of the Lord is one such theme.
R. Mason in Micah, Nahum, Obadiah provides another reason for the canonical positioning and its length of this book. He claims citing other scholars, ‘its’ difficulty is in inverse proportion to its length'. He further shares, “One of the central questions addressed by the scholarly research is that of the book’s composition and its development. Opinions on this topic are wide-ranging. Some see the 21 verses of the book as a collection of fragments; others view it as a cohesive work, authored by one hand at one time.” Other research findings suggest and agree with one probability of Mason’s assertion that Obadiah was a construct of three different time periods and placing this book between Amos and Jonah succinctly confirmed what happened, what was happening and what would
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happen. Walter L.
Blake notes, the book of Obadiah deserves careful study in length despite the shortness of this particular text. At first glance the span of the book of Obadiah can be misconstrued of less value and importance of other books of the Bible. What is learned by the brevity of the book of Obadiah encompassing one chapter of twenty-one verses with no chapter division has a directional approach for the reader. The briefness that is used encouragers readers to stay completely focused and engaged on what is being said. With limited information in the book, not much can be said about the author, his home, his family, his origin or how he became to be a prophet even. Only his name and that he is a prophet of God is recorded. Reader’s attention is moved away from Obadiah and navigated directly to the message from
God. Smith and Page address this brief account by pronouncing, “With this limited information, not much can be said about the author that alludes to the notion that the readers is given no other discourse but to focus on the judgment that has been passed down to the people of Edom.” The brevity is used as a narrative device of getting directly to the point as well as captivating readers to the message that is sent from God. T. Finley address the shortness of the book of Obadiah by saying this, “As a part of scripture, though this small book is both a warning to nations and individuals who do not serve the Lord and a less for those who follow Him.” The shortness of this message moves readers to the point immediately. Theological Question – When we make the correlation that all people are God’s people, can persons who are working to improve the lives of those who are disenfranchised engage with societies oppressors with this story as an example of a future of reconciliation? “For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.” (Obadiah 1:15 NRSV) From the beginning of time we see unspeakable violence thrusted upon humanity. A section of humanity defined by others are treated in fashions that are uncanny and simply stated; erroneous. There seems to be an agreement among bible scholars that God revealed this text as a judgment against those who oppress and commit unjust actions on God’s people and in time that judgment will come to pass. In Obadiah through Malachi William P. Brown says, “Obadiah’s enduring ethical message can be summed up in the terse statement in verse 15: ‘As you have done, it shall be done to you.’ This Proverbial statement serves as the rationale for and basis of God’s judgment.” This violence that the book of Obadiah speaks of according to Brown is a correlation of God’s sovereignty and judgment of the people of Edom. Brown points out that Obadiah does not speak against the strangers and foreigners who plundered Jerusalem, but directly to Edom. His silence is striking according to Brown, the focus Edom, a brother should have known better. Those that are working and creating initiatives toward change for the disenfranchised can be encouraged by this insight and hold on to the hope that God’s plan for humanity will be fulfilled and will step in on behalf of them. According to Brown, Obadiah accuses Edom of betrayal and injury on the day of Judah’s misfortune. It is from this memory Brown records that Obadiah issues God’s judgment. Brown further states that God and God alone will bring about restoration and justice to a people whose past cannot be forgotten but can be vindicated and redeemed. Smith and page calls it, “God’s punitive justice.” Brown alludes to the notion, God will judge every wrong deed humanity places on another. He notes, “Indeed, the prophet not only addresses Edom, but all the nations that have feasted upon the demise of God’s people.” In addition to God’s judgment of Edom, Smith and Page believe, “its role in the book also extends to that of representative of the nations of the world that oppose God and his people.” God’s people are all of humanity and those who have the privilege of carrying governmental roles are duty-bound. They have a critical role and responsibility in repairing local and national relationships for the betterment of policy and humanity. Just as Brown believes that God will be judge, Smith and Page argue, “God is sovereign over the nations of the earth but the day of the Lord will come and set things right.” Many Bible scholars today and yesterday would agree that pride brought Edom low. Reconciliation will be made whether or not the oppressor will cease to oppress. Humanity is responsible to each other and for each other, let us join hand and hand and stand up and do what is lovely and what is right in the eyes of God.
LaHaye, Tim, and Ed Hindson. The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy. Eugene, OR.: Harvest House Publishers, 2004.
Not only does the book relate to the movement of the Israelites, but also to the legendary man who lead them: Moses. Christians, Jews, and Muslims consider Moses a great prophet. One reference to Moses comes when Uncle John puts Rose of Sharon’s baby in the river. This is much like the life of Moses, when he is sent down the Nile River as a child.
It is the reader and his or her interpretive community who attempts to impose a unified reading on a given text. Such readers may, and probably will, claim that the unity they find is in the text, but this claim is only a mask for the creative process actually going on. Even the most carefully designed text can not be unified; only the reader's attempted taming of it. Therefore, an attempt to use seams and shifts in the biblical text to discover its textual precursors is based on a fundamentally faulty assumption that one might recover a stage of the text that lacked such fractures (Carr 23-4).
Ezekiel is a crazy man that makes no sense, but like Ivar, he has wisdom beyond most people’s Sensor 2 comprehension and his suffering easily makes him more knowledgeable. Ivar’s suffering comes because of other people’s distrust and misunderstanding of the kind man that is Ivar. The Bible is one of the most famous pieces of literature, arguably the most beautifully written, and the best story told in literature. Cather’s use of Biblical motifs gives the reader a sense of grandeur and is a definite story of faith.
Later around 792 BCE, the writing prophets come about with the powerful speaker Amos. Amos says a bunch of things that no one wants to hear such as the downfall of Israel’s Northern Kingdom and the death of the King. Then he really upsets everyone by saying that Israel will be sent into exile.
Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal died. Right after the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and they established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this Judea allied with the Babylonians and with this Judea kept her independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed it was ruled by four rulers and of those rulers, all but Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. All the others did not heed the warnings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to rebel against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar’s army to crush the nation of Judea and flatten the city of Jerusalem.
Calloway, Mary. Sing O Barren One: A Study in Comparative Midrash. New York: Society of Biblical Literature. 1986.
...istory/faith-history of Israel” occurred (Fries 66). God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and sent him to save the Israelites from their suffering. God plagued the Egyptians with a series of ten plagues of increasing severity. The Israelites were then led to the Red Sea where Moses, by God’s grace, parted the waters allowing them to cross on dry land. The Egyptian army was drowned behind them. The Israelites had escaped.
Contained in the many intricate and poetic Surahs of the Qur’an are retellings of a number of famous stories of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. However, the Qur’an’s account of the lives of certain biblical characters often differs in significant ways from the Jewish version. While a believer in the divine nature of the Qur’an may claim that differences in facts stem from distortions of G-d’s message as recorded in Jewish holy books, both Muslims and non-Muslims might agree that the differences in emphasis are intentional. A more cynical observer might claim that the Qur’an changed the known Bible stories to suit its purposes. By choosing to include certain parts of a famous story and leaving out others, the story itself takes on a very different significance. Occasionally, the Qur’an will also discuss parts of the story which are entirely left out of the Torah, in which case a Muslim may claim the Torah did not deem those facts important for its own reasons. A cynical observer would claim the Qur’an made these additions to make its own message clearer.
As Esau matured, married, and had children, he made critical alliances with other people in the regions. In (Genesis 36) NIV), Moses took the effort to include an entire chapter on the Edomite’s alone, and he carefully incorporate details about each child's genealogical line along with who ruled which area; we are told this on many occasions. (Deuteronomy 2:12 NIV) shows us how the Edomites drove the Horites out of Seir, took the land just as the Israelites had done in the land the Lord gave them (Aharoni, 1967). All this demonstrates to us how to close the ties were between the Edomite, the Hittites, the Hivites, and the Ishmaelites, as they were all related by marriage and blood (p. 186).
The book of Jonah is an adventurous story of a prophet chosen by God to go preach denouncement to a heathen nation. With the exception of stating that Jonah is the son of Amittai, the book itself fails to reveal any background information. Nevertheless, a plorthea of scholars have attempted to provide us with some insight to the, who, when, where, and what of the book. This paper will utilize four scholarly commentaries in a quest to determine the author or authors of the book, the time when it was written, the original audience it spoke to, the occasion, the historical, social and cultural context in which it was written. It will also address the historical, social and cultural context of the book and that of the pericope of 3:1 – 10.
Works Cited Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. Interpreting The Minor Prophets. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. Brown, William P. Westminster Bible Companion: Obadiah Through Malachi. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Holy Bible New Living Translation. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1996. Meyers, Carol L., and Eric M. Meyers. The Anchor Bible: Zechariah 9-14.New York: Doubleday. 1993.
Judisch, Douglas. "The Historicity of Jonah." Concordia Theological Quarterly 63.2 (1999): 144-157. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
LaHaye, Tim F., and Edward E. Hindson. The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2004.
Isaiah is thought to be one of the greatest poets of the Bible, and his book a classic of the Hebrew language. His writing has a very concise style, effective imagery, and an equilibrium between form and content which classify the type of poetry as classical. From the theological aspect, Isaiah moves in the religious tradition influenced by David's dynasty and the election of Sion, and also contributed to the shape and expression of the messianic hopes (Obstat, p.278).