Vers. 1-16.-Part I. THE DESTRUCTION OF EDOM, AND THE CAUSE THEREOF.

Vers. 1-9.-§ 1. The heathen nations are summoned to take vengeance on Edom. In spite of her impregnable position, they shall bring her low and strip her of her wealth, being aided and encouraged by her own allies.

Ver. 1.-The vision of Obadiah. This is the title of the book, declaring from whom and through whom the revelation comes (Isa. i. 1). Under the word "vision" in prophetic language is included, not only what the seer saw, the mental picture presented to his inner senses, but also all that he is commissioned to disclose or enunciate. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom. The prophet declares that God speaks through him. One might have expected that the actual words of Jehovah would follow here instead of tidings heard from him. And this difficulty has led some to suppose these introductory words spurious or the insertion of a later hand, others to include them and the rest of the verse in a parenthesis, so as to begin the "vision" with God's words in ver. 2. But these suggestions are unnecessary. The prophet, as the mouthpiece of God, calls his own words the message of the Lord-signifies that what had been revealed to his mind he was bound to communicate to others as a direct warning from God. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, and bound by ties of blood to the Israelites; but they had always been their most bitter enemies (Amos i. 11). They are regarded as a type of the powers of the world hostile to true religion, whose end is destruction. We have heard. "We"-I myself and other prophets; or the Judæans, the prophet identifying himself with his countrymen. Septuagint, ἤκουσα, "I heard;" so Jer. xlix. 14; Arabie,

OBADIAH.

"ye have heard." A rumour; a report (Isa. liii. 1); άkony (Septuagint); auditum (Vulgate). It means here " tidings (comp. Matt. xxiv. 6, àкоаí τоλéμшv: and Rom. x. 16, 17). An ambassador; a messenger; as though the prophet saw the minister of God's wrath going forth among the heathen to rouse them to war against Edom. Perowne thinks that there is an allusion to the composite character of Nebuchadnezzar's army with which he attacked the Edomites. The Septuagint renders, Tepoxy: so the Syriac, Chaldee, and Symmachus translate message." This rendering is explained by the following clause. The heathen (goyim); the nations, as vers. 2, 15. Arise ye, and let us rise. This has been taken as if "arise ye" were the herald's message, and "let us rise" the response of the nations echoing his words; but it is more forcible to consider the whole clause as the message, the ambassador joining himself with the heathen as their leader and comrade in the war of vengeance. Vers. 1-9 are incorporated in Jer. xlix. 7-22.

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Ver. 2.-Behold, I have made thee small. Here is the effect of the summons. Jer. xlix. 15, "For, lo, I will make thee small." Jehovah is the Speaker, and he regards the future as past. What he determines is as good as accomplished. At this time the Edomites were a powerful nation, and possessed an almost impregnable seat at Petra. Small; in numbers, territory, honour.

Vers. 3, 4.-Edom had prided herself in the strength of her position; but this shall not secure her from destruction when the Lord wars against her.

Ver. 3.-Hath deceived; Septuagint, épe, "elated;" Vulgate, extulit. The pointing varies. In ver. 7 Jerome translates the word by illudere. The clefts;

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Septuagint, oraîs: Vulgate, scissuris. The word occurs in the parallel passage, Jer. xlix. 16, and in Cant. ii. 14, where it has the meaning of "refuge." Of the rock. This may be Sela, or Petra, as 2 Kings xiv. 7. The country inhabited by the Edomites lay on the eastern side of the Arabah, and extended from the south end of the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf. It was a region of mountain and valley, difficult, and in many parts inaccessible from the west. Rock-hewn dwellings are found everywhere in these hills, the Edomites, when they expelled the aboriginal Troglodytes (Deut. ii. 12, 22), having adopted their habitations and excavated new ones on the same model throughout the whole district. These were useful, not only as being secure from hostile attack, but as cool retreats in the summer of that scorching tract, and offering a warm shelter in winter when fuel was scarce. Petra, the capital, lay completely hidden at the end of a rocky defile some two miles long, and could easily be defended against an enemy by a handful of men. (For a description of this remarkable place, see the Introduction, § I.)

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Ver. 4.-Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle. The Hebrew gives "nest the subject of both clauses, thus: "Though thou exaltest . . . and settest thy nest." Job (xxxix. 27, 28) speaks of the eagle making its nest in the highest rocks. The metaphor is found in Numb. xxiv. 21; Hab. ii. 9. Will I bring thee down (Amos ix. 3). The seizure of Petra by the Nabathæans is the judgment referred to in this part of the prophecy; the complete ruin is mentioned later (vers. 18, etc.).

Vers. 5, 6.-To prove the completeness of the destruction that shall befall Edom, the prophet supposes two cases of despoiling in which something would be left behind. It will be far worse than any mere raid of thieves; nothing will be spared.

Ver. 5.-Thieves... robbers. The former are ordinary thieves who pilfer secretly; the latter are robbers who act with violence, or members of a marauding expedition. How art thou cut off! An interposed ejaculation of the prophet, sympathizing with the Edomites for the utter desolation which he sees in vision. Septuagint, Пoû ἂν ἀπεῤῥίφης; “ Where wouldst thou have been cast away?" taking a different reading; Vulgate, Quomodo conticuisses? "How wouldst thou have been silent?" i.e. for fear. Till they had enough. Would they not have taken such plunder as they I wanted, and then decamped? The grapegatherers would leave some bunches untouched, which escaped their notice. There

is no reference to the charitable law in Lev. xix. 10; Deut. xxiv. 21, which would not affect, or be known unto, these grapeplunderers.

Ver. 6.-Obadiah contemplates Edom's ruin, in retribution of her plundering Jerusalem, and speaks of it as past. How are the things of Esau searched out! literally, how are thy things searched out, Esau! i.e. the people and property that belong to Esau. The enemy leave no place unexamined. So in Zeph. i. 12 the Lord says, "I will search Jerusalem with candles." (For "Esau as equivalent to "Edom," see Gen. xxv. 30.) His hidden things (matspon, äπa λeyóμevov); hidden treasures; Septuagint, τὰ κεκρυμμένα αὐτοῦ. Jeremiah (xlix. 10) gives, "secret places." Keil notes that Petra was a great emporium of the trade between Arabia and Syria, and that in it great treasures were stored (Diod. Sic., xix. 95).

Ver. 7. In this dire calamity Edom shall be deserted by her friends and allies-a punishment for her behaviour to her sister Judah. The men of thy confederacy. The LXX. and the Vulgate annex these words to the following clause. The allies intended may be Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon, who joined together to resist Nebuchadnezzar, and were smitten by him (Jer. xxvii. 3); or, as Perowne thinks, the Chaldeans themselves, who, though the Edomites had aided in the attack on Jerusalem, afterwards turned against them. Have brought thee even to the border; Septuagint, Ἕως τῶν ὁρίων ἐξαπέστειλάν σε, “ They sent thee forth unto thy borders;" Vulgate, Usque ad terminum emiserunt ii. Keil and others explain this to mean that the Edomites send ambassadors to their allies, asking help, but these messengers are conducted back to the frontier with their request not granted, because the allies are unwilling to entangle themselves in the fate of Edom. It is easier to understand the passage in this way-Thy very allies have assisted the enemy in expelling thee from thy borders, and refusing to receive fugitives who came to them. The men that were at peace with thee. Either the same as "the men of thy confederacy," or the neighbouring Arabian tribes who resorted to Petra for commercial reasons (comp. Judg. iv. 17). The phrase here, literally, the men of thy peace, is found in Ps. xli. 9 and Jer. xxxviii. 22. Have deceived thee, by not bringing the expected help; and have prevailed against thee, by actual violence. They that eat thy bread. The Hebrew is simply, "thy bread," i.e. the men of thy bread. Vulgate, qui comedunt tecum; the LXX. omits the words. The expression (comp. Ps. xli. 9)

implies the closest friendship, especially in Eastern lands, where such a tie is of general obligation. Have laid a wound under thee; rather, lay a snare under thee; Septuagint, ἔθηκαν ἔνεδρα ὑποκάτω

σου,

they set snares under thee;" Vulgate, ponent insidias subter te (comp. Ps. Ixix. 22). Another interpretation is this: "As thy bread (which they as friends were bound to offer) they lay a sling under thee," i.e. prepare an ambush for thee, like Jael did for Sisera. Pusey notes the climax in this verse-not confederates only, but friends; not friends only, but familiar friends, indebted to them. Those banded with them should expel them from their country; those at peace should prevail against them in war; those who ate their bread should requite them with treachery. There is none understanding in him; i.e. in Edom. The shock of this defection of allies and the sudden destruction that has overwhelmed them have deprived the Edomites of their wonted sagacity and prudence. They know not whither to turn or what to do. The following verse expands this thought.

Vers. 8, 9.-Their vaunted wisdom and their boasted courage shall fail, for God shall take them away. Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat."

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Ver. 8. In that day; when Edom is abandoned by its friends. Destroy the wise men out of Edom. God shall take their wisdom from them, so that they shall be no more able to offer prudent counsel or suggest plans of safety (Isa. xix. 11-16; xxix. 14; xlvii. 12, 13). The Edomites were celebrated for wisdom or practical philosophy (comp. 1 Kings iv. 30; Jer. xlix. 7; Baruch iii. 22, 23). Mount of Esau (vers. 9, 19, 21). Mount Seir-a designation of Edom from the nature of the country.

Ver. 9.-0 Teman; Septuagint, oi k Daquáv, "those from Thaman;" Vulgate, a meridic, taking the word as an appellative; so the Chaldee. The southern district of Idumea was so called (see note on Amos i. 12). One of Job's friends, and the cleverest of them, was a Temanite (Job ii. 11). To the end that. This judicial blindness is inflicted in order that all may perish. By slaughter. Murder at the hands of the enemy. The LXX., Vulgate, and Syriac connect these words with the following verse. But the Masoretic punctuation, as in the Anglican Version, is doubtless correct (see Keil).

Vers. 10-14.-§ 2. The cause of Edom's destruction. This punishment falls upon her as the result of the malico and unfriendliness which she has displayed to

wards Israel in the time of calamity, in that she rejoiced at her sister's disaster and took part with her enemies.

Ver. 10. For thy violence against thy brother Jacob. The special action to which

Obadiah alludes, and which he particu

larizes in the following verses, occurred at the time of the invasion of Judaa by Philistines and Arabians during the reign of Jehoram, when the Edomites sided with the enemy, and acted as the prophet intimates (2 Chron. xxi. 16, etc.; see Introduction, § III.). The iniquity of such conduct is aggravated by the fact that the victim was the "brother Jacob," who was commanded not to hate the Edomites (Deut. xxiii. 7). This enjoined friendship was not reciprocated by the descendants of Esau. Whether from envy at the superior privileges of Israel, or from other causes, the Edomites, from the time of Moses, had always been actively hostile to the Israelites. They had been subdued by David, but had lately rebelled and secured their independence, and were always looking for an opportunity of revenging themselves on their conquerors (comp. Amos i. 11; Ezek. XXV. 12; XXXV. 5). Shame shall cover thee. Shame for the destruction that hath overtaken thee (Micah vii. 10). Thou shalt be cut off for ever (comp. Mal. i. 4; see Introduction, § I.). Terrible retribution fell on Idumea in the time of the Maccabees (see 1 Macc. v. 3; 2 Macc. x. 15, etc.; Josephus, Ant.,' xii. 8. 1). Before that time they had been dispossessed of Petra by the Nabathæans.

Ver. 11. The injuries complained of were committed lately, and the prophet could speak of them as well known (see note on ver. 10). In the day that thou stoodest; literally, in the day of thy standing, without note of time, but implying a past event here. On the other side. The words may denote either malicious unconcern, as Ps. xxxviii. 11 (12), or hostile opposition, as 2 Sam. xviii. 13. Besides the direct application to recent events, the clause intimates the usual attitude of the Edomites toward Israel. In the day that the strangers -Philistines and Arabians (2 Chron. xxi. 16)—carried away captive his forces; rather, carried away his substance, as ver. 13; Gen. Xxxiv. 29; Deut. viii. 17; Isa. viii. 4. Foreigners. The same as "strangers." Both words are usually applied to heathen enemies. Cast lots upon Jerusalem. Divided the captives and spoil of Jerusalem by lot (2 Chron. xxi. 17; comp. Joel iii. 3; Nah. iii. 10). Nothing is said of the total destruction of Jerusalem or the wholesale deportation of the inhabitants to Babylon, so that Obadiah cannot be referring to the

Chaldean conquest. Thou wast as one of them; literally, thou, too, as one of them. In this expression the past is set before the mind as present.

Ver. 12. The prophet complains of the malignant neutrality of the Edomites. Thou shouldest not have looked. In this and the two following verses, al with the future is wrongly translated. It should be rendered throughout, "do not look," "do not rejoice," etc. Obadiah, in view of the past behaviour of Edom, and looking forward to another and more fatal conquest of Jerusalem, warns the Edomites against repeating this malicious conduct. Septuagint, un ídns. Gaze not with pleasure, feast not thine eyes (Micah vii. 10). The day of thy brother; i.e. when some great event befell him-explained further in the next clause. Compare "the day of Jerusalem" (Ps. cxxxvii. 7). In the day that he became a stranger; Septuagint, ev uépa àλλoτpíwv, "in the day of strangers; " Vulgate, in die peregrinationis ejus. The Anglican and Vulgate Versions signify, "in the day that he was carried captive into strange lands; "but most probably the expression should be rendered, "in the day of his calamity." Rejoiced over (comp. Job xxxi. 29; Prov. xvii. 5; Micah vii. 8). Spoken proudly; literally, make thy mouth great; Septuagint, μὴ μεγαλοῤῥημονῇ, “ do not boast;" Vulgate, non magnificabis os tuum. Utter a flood of mocking words, probably accompanied with derisive grimaces. There is a climax in this verse-first the complacent look, then the malicious pleasure, then words of insult and derision.

Ver. 13. In this verse it is the making common cause with the enemy in the plundering of Jerusalem that is complained of. Thou shouldest not have entered. Do not enter; so below, "do not look," "lay not hands" (see note on ver. 12). The gate of my people; i.e. Jerusalem, the capital, as Micah i. 9. In the day of their calamity, repeated thrice with sorrowful emphasis, as making the Edomites' conduct more reproachful. Yea, thou shouldest not have looked. Hebrew, "look not thou also" -thou, as well as the alien enemies. What is natural in them is a crime in thee (comp. Ps. xxii. 17). Their affliction; Septuagint, τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτῶν, “ their gathering different reading from the Masoretic. Substance, as in ver. 11. This was a further aggravation; they helped to plunder Jerusalem. Septuagint, Μὴ συνεπιθῇ ἐπὶ τὴν dúvaμiv avтŵy, "Do not set upon their host;" Vulgate, Et non emitteris adversus exercitum ejus. This implies a warning against being instigated by the enemy to attack the Jewish forces. But the rendering in the text is doubtless correct.

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Ver. 14. The climax of injury is the cutting off of fugitives, and delivering them into captivity. Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway; and stand not thou in the crossway. The Edomites, as neighbours, would know all the passes into the wilderness by which the Judæans would seek to escape. Neither shouldest thou have delivered up; and deliver not up; Septuagint, undè σvykλelops, "shut not up; Vulgate, et non concludes. So Pusey, "shut not up," i.e. with the enemy, driving them back upon their pursuers (comp. Ps. xxxi. 8). The Hebrew word implies both meanings-" to deliver over to confinement;' and the meaning here is-do not seize on the people to give them over into captivity (comp. Amos i. 6, 9). Those of his that did remain. Those whom the invaders had spared.

Vers. 15, 16.-§ 3. The warning given in the first section (vers. 1-9) is supplemented by the announcement that in the day of the Lord, Edom and all the enemies of Israel shall be remembered, and shall suffer just retribution, meeting with the fate which they had inflicted on others.

Ver. 15.-The day of the Lord. This is not primarily the final day of judgment, but the time when "Jehovah reveals his majesty and omnipotence in a glorious manner, to overthrow all ungodly powers, and to complete his kingdom" (Keil). It is announced by Joeli. 15; ii. 1, 31; Zeph. i. 14; but the notion of a judgment to fall on Gentile nations, and to issue in the establishment of the kingdom of God, was familiar long before. Balaam had seen it in dim vision (Numb. xxiv. 17-24); Hannah had anticipated the destruction that would accompany it (1 Sam. ii. 9, 10); so had David (2 Sam. xxiii. 5-7) in his last words; it is clearly predicted in the Psalms (see Ps. ii. and cx.) (Knabenbauer). Is near. Because every such judgment upon individual nations is typical of the great day and preparative of it. As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee (comp. Judg. i. 7; Ps. cxxxvii. 8; Jer. 1. 15). This law of retribution was the ideal of heathen justice, according to the Rhadamanthian rule, "If a man should suffer what he hath done, then there would be strict justice" (Aristotle, Eth. Nic.,' v. 5.3). Thy reward (Joel iii. 7 [iv. 7, Hebrew]); better, that which thou hast performed-thy work or dealing. Upon thine own head. Like a stone cast towards heaven (comp. Ps. vii. 16; Esth. ix. 25).

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Ver. 16.-As ye have drunk. There are two interpretations of this passage. By the first, the people addressed are considered to be the Jews, and the word "drunk" is