Promises of the A. M. 3217. 9 u a B. C. 787. 12 That they may possess the || of my people of Israel, and they A. M. 3217. remnant of Edom, and of all the shall build the waste cities, and heathen which are called by my name, saith || inhabit them; and they shall plant vinethe LORD that doeth this. yards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that 10 soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop "sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And I will bring again the captivity LORD thy God. t Obadiah 19.- Numbers xxiv. 18. my name is called. - Lev. xxvi. 5.y Joel iii. 18. -9 Heb. upon whom 11 Or, new wine. Jeremiah xxx. 3.- Isaiah Iri. 4; 10 Heb. draweth forth. || lxv. 21; Ezek. xxxvi. 33–36.- b Isaiah lx. 21; Jer. xxxii. 41; Ezekiel xxxiv. 28; Joel iii. 20. the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This prophecy, however, must also be extended to the days of the Messiah, and to the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of the true God: and so St. James expounds it, Acts xv. 16; for this was, emphatically speaking, raising up the tabernacle of David, both in the person of Christ, who is frequently styled David, and the seed of David in the prophets, and also in respect to what peculiarly distinguished David and || Israel in God's sight, namely, their having the knowledge of the true God, and worshipping of him alone. sense as the foregoing clause: so great shall their vintage be, that before the treaders of grapes can have finished their work, the seedsman shall be sowing his seed against the next season. And the mountains shall drop sweet wine-The vineyards shall be so fruitful, and shall produce such abundance of grapes, that wine shall appear to be as plentiful as if it ran down from the mountains. And all the hills shall melt-Hebrew, shall flow. The meaning is, that they should afford such plenty of rich feeding to the cattle, that they should in consequence thereof give a large quantity of milk. The parallel expresVerse 12. That they may possess the remnant of sion to this, in the prophecy of Joel, is, The hills Edom―This the restored Jews did in the time of shall flow with milk. As these predictions were not Hyrcanus, when they made an entire conquest of fulfilled in their literal sense between the time of the Edom, as Josephus relates. And of all the heathen return of the Jews from Babylon and the coming of (or nations) which are called by my name—Or ra- Christ, it is evident they are either to be figuratively ther, which have been called by my name; for so it understood of gospel blessings, or, if taken in their is rendered in other versions. The Ishmaelites, Am| literal sense, they respect the happy state of things monites, Moabites, and other neighbouring nations, during the millennium, which may be supposed to were in the beginning worshippers of the true God, begin after the future restoration of the Jews to their as being descendants from Abraham, Lot, &c., with own country. See notes on Joel iii. 18. The prowhom the knowledge of the true God was preserved. || phets, it may be observed, frequently describe the And the Jews subdued a considerable part of these days of the Messiah in terms similar to those which nations in the times of the Maccabees. But this is the poets used in describing the golden age. also a prophecy of setting up the kingdom of the Messiah, and bringing in the Gentiles. Verse 13. Behold the days come-Here we have another promise, literally to be understood of the abundant plenty which God would bestow on the returned captives, and mystically of the abundant grace given and blessings conferred in gospel days. That the ploughman shall overtake the reaper-He who breaks up the ground, and prepares it for the seed, shall be ready to tread on the heels of the reap-| er; who shall have a harvest so large, that before he can gather it all in, it shall be time to plough the ground again. And the treader of grapes him that soweth seed-This is to be understood in the same 942 They Verses 14, 15. I will bring again the captivity of my people-I will restore them to their own country, and settle them in it. See the following verse, and notes on Isa. xi. 12; and Ezek. xxviii. 25. shall build the waste cities, &c.-Compare the texts referred to in the margin. This and the following part of the verse contains a promise that they should enjoy the fruit of their labours, in opposition to that curse denounced against them, chap. v. 11; Deut. xxviii. 30, that they should build houses and not dwell in them. I will plant them, &c., they shall no more be pulled up-This part of the prophecy will receive its completion on the future restoration of the Jews to their own land. 3 THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. ARGUMENT. We have no certain information in the Scriptures, or elsewhere, concerning the life or death of this prophet, of the time when he lived, or of his country or mission. It has been generally thought, indeed, that he was cotemporary with Hosea, Joel, and Amos; at least this was the opinion of St. Jerome, Grotius, Huetius, and Dr. Lightfoot. But the reason which they allege for it is only the supposition that the compilers of the Old Testament canon had a regard to the order of time in their placing of the books of the minor prophets. But this reason, as Lowth justly observes, is of little force, since we find Jonah placed the fifth in order, nay, the sixth, in the Greek copies, who was confessedly more ancient than any of those that are placed before him. The most probable opinion seems to be, that he was cotemporary with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and prophesied about the time of the taking of Jerusalem; or, as Archbishop Newcome thinks, between that time and the destruction of Idumea by Nebuchadnezzar; which latter event probably took place a very few years after the former. It is certain he foretels the destruction of Edom, and that in doing this he uses several expressions which Jeremiah had used before him, speaking upon that subject. Compare verses 1, 8, with Jeremiah xlix. 9-11. Ezekiel agrees with Jeremiah and Obadiah, in assigning the same reason for the judgments threatened against the Edomites, namely, their insulting over the Jews in the time of their distress. B. C. 587. B. C. 587. After the preface, 1, we have, (1,) Threatenings against Edom, 2-16. (2,) Gracious promises to Israel, 17–21. A. M. 3417. THE vision of Obadiah. Thus 3 The pride of thy heart hath A. M. 3417. saith the Lord GOD concerning deceived thee, thou that dwellest in Edom; We have heard a rumour from the the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the high; that saith in his heart, Who shall heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her bring me down to the ground? in battle. e 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, 2 Behold, I have made thee small among the and though thou set thy nest among the stars, heathen: thou art greatly despised. a Isaiah xxi. 11; xxxiv. 5; Ezek. xxv. 12, 13, 14; Joel iii. 19; Mal. i. 3.- b Jer. xlix. 14.- 2 Kings xiv. 7. NOTES ON OBADIAH. Verses 1-4. The vision of Obadiah-The name of this prophet signifies, a servant, or a worshipper, of the Lord. Such he undoubtedly was, and also a prophet, but what he was in other respects we are not informed. It is not improbable that he had other visions, or revelations, from God, besides this which is here recorded, but this only has been preserved for the benefit of future ages. Thus saith the Lord || -This declaration includes his commission and authority to prophesy, together with the certainty of what he declares; concerning Edom-Or, against thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. Edom; that is, both the people and the country, so named from their progenitor Esau, called Edom, Gen. xxv. 30. This country, which was a part of Arabia Petræa, is called Idumea, Isa. xxxiv. 5, 6. We-That is, other prophets, as well as I, have heard a rumour-Not an uncertain report, but a true and important revelation from God. And an ambassador is sent among the heathen-Or nations. For an explanation of this and the three following verses, see notes on Jer. xlix. 14-16, where nearly the same words occur; only what Jeremiah speaks in the singular number, is expressed here in the The prophecy B. C. 587. B. C. 587. A. M. 3417. 5 If thieves came to thee, if rob- 8 Shall I not in that day, saith A. M. 3417. bers by night, (how art thou cut off!) the LORD, even destroy the wise men would they not have stolen till they had enough? || out of Edom, and understanding out of the if the grape-gatherers came to thee, would mount of Esau ? they not leave some grapes? m 9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall 6 How are the things of Esau searched out! be dismayed, to the end that every one of the how are his hidden things sought up! 7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: 2 the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. g Jer. xlix. 9.1 Or, gleanings. 3 h Deut. xxiv. 21; Isaiah xvii. 6; xxiv. 13. Heb. the men of thy peace.Jer. xxxviii. 22. Heb. the men of thy bread.Isa. xix. 11, 12.- Or, of it.-Job v. 12, 13; Isa. xxix. 14; Jer. xlix. 7. plural, to intimate that Obadiah had received the same commission from God which was signified to Jeremiah before. I have made thee small among the heathen-Or, nations. Thou art contemptible in the sight of the Chaldeans and their confederates, who think they can easily subdue thee. "Idumea was a country, if compared with the dominions of flourishing states, very moderate in extent, and inconveniently situated. The land of Moab occupied the eastern part of the sea of Sodom. Next to this country Idumea turned toward the south; though it did not border on all Canaan southward, but only on its eastern part. The rest lay open to Arabia Petræa, by which Idumea was situated southward, made a part of it, and went far into it."-Vitringa, on Isa. xxxiv. 6. "The country of the Idumeans was properly circumscribed by that mountainous tract which enclosed Canaan to the south near the sea of Sodom, as appears from the whole sacred history: whence mount Hor, situated there, is said to have been on the edge, border, or extremity of the land of Edom, Num. xx. 23. It is true, that about the time of Solomon, the Idumeans occupied some part of the Elanitic gulf of the Red sea, whence a tract of that coast was called the land of Edom, 1 Kings ix. 26. But all the prophets who speak of Edom about these times, restrain their lands to mount Seir, in the tract which I have marked out. Vitringa, on Isa. xxi. 1.”—Archbishop Newcome. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, &c.—Thou valuest thyself too much upon the strength of thy situation, being placed among rocks which thou thinkest inaccessible by the enemy. That saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down?--Namely, from those lofty rocks in which I dwell? Who can climb up to them but myself? Or who can find out the way into the secret caverns where I have made my habitation? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, &c. -Upon the highest mountains, that seem to reach up to heaven; thence will I bring thee down-From thy height of power and pre-eminence. Verses 5-9. If thieves come unto thee-See note on Jer. xlix. 9. How are his hidden things sought mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. 10 ¶ For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers 5 carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into m Psa. lxxvi. 5; Amos ii. 16.———————¤ Jer. xlix. 7.- Genesis xxvii. 11; Psalm cxxxvii. 7; Ezekiel xxv. 12; xxxv. 5; Amos i. 11.- Ezekiel xxxv. 9; Malachi i. 4.- - Or, carried away his substance. up!-Those treasures and riches which he took all possible care to conceal, that they might not be discovered by the enemy. All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border-Thy confederates marched out with thee, until thou wast come to the borders of thy country, and then they perfidiously joined with the enemy's forces, and thereby deceived thee. And prevailed against thee -Namely, treacherously. They that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee-Those that were maintained at thy cost, as thine allies, have given thee a secret blow. There is none understandingThou wast not aware of it. Shall I not, in that day even destroy the wise men, &c.-At that time, when these evils shall come upon them, their prudence and skill shall altogether forsake them, and the wisest among them shall not know what to do, or shall give unsatisfactory, or foolish, counsel. When God designs a people for destruction, he causes such cir cumstances to arise, such a multiplicity of dangers, and so unexpectedly, to surround them, that their greatest wisdom is confounded, and the most skilful among them are quite at a loss how to act. See note on Jer. xlix. 7. And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, &c.-Teman was one of the grandsons of Esau, after whom some city and district in Idumea was named. Here it seems to be used to signify the whole country of Idumea. Certain it is that the Idumeans were looked upon as a strong and valiant people. Josephus says, they went as unconcernedly and as cheerfully into battle as to a banquet; but here it is threatened that a panic fear should seize upon this courageous nation, so that they should be entirely discouraged, and not able to stand against their enemies, or defend themselves; the consequence of which would be, a great slaughter of them. Verses 10, 11. For thy violence against thy brother Jacob-Because of the injury thou hast done to the people of Judea, who are descended from Jacob, the brother of Esau, your progenitor: see note on Amos i. 11. Shame shall cover thee-Contempt and reproach shall be cast upon thee by all that hear of thy conduct; and thou shalt be cut off for ever-So The prophecy B. C. 587. 6 OBADIAH. against Edom. A. M. 3417. his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusa- || laid hands on their substance in A. M. 3417. lem, even thou wast as one of them. the day of their calamity; 12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. great a slaughter shall be made of thy inhabitants, that thou shalt never recover it; and at last thou shalt be quite dispossessed of thy country: see note on Ezek. xxxv. 7-9. In the day that thou stoodest|| on the other side—Or, in the day that thou stoodest against him. That strangers carried away captive his forces-This may refer to the time when the Syrians spoiled Judea, overcame the Jewish forces, and made many captives of them. And foreigners entered into his gates-That is, into his cities. This seems to be spoken of the cities of Judea, which the Syrians took when they had spoiled the country, and laid siege to Jerusalem, as recorded in 2 Kings xvi. 5. And cast lots upon Jerusalem-Either this means that the Syrians and Israelites, whose armies were joined together, cast lots which of them should make the first assault on that city: or else, they cast lots about the spoils of Jerusalem, before they had taken it, making themselves quite sure of it, though the event proved they were mistaken. Or, as many learned men think, the taking of Jerusalem by Ne- || buchadnezzar is here referred to; an event at which, as we learn from Psa. cxxxvii., the Edomites rejoiced and then probably lots were cast what captives should fall to the share of each of the commanders. Thou wast as one of them—Thou, that wast a brother by birth, wast as cruel and injurious in thy actions as these strangers, and joined with them in every thing against thy brother. B. C. 587. 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the cross-way, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. 15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon B. C. 585. my holy mountain, so shall all the were in calamity, boasting of thy own felicity, while they were groaning under misery. Verses 13, 14. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people, &c.—Thou shouldest not have entered into the cities of my people by way of spoiling them, or of feasting thy eyes with the slaughter, when their enemies made themselves masters of them. Neither shouldest thou have stood in the cross-way-Or, in the goings forth; to cut off those that did escape-Thou shouldest not have posted thyself in the passages that were left unguarded by the enemy, in order to cut off those who endeavoured to escape by such ways. Neither have delivered up those-Or shut up those, as the margin reads it, that did remain-The word 20, here used, signifies to shut up all the ways of escaping to the conquered, in order to deliver them up to the enemy. Verses 15, 16. For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen-The sacred writers call that the day of any persons, in which they do or suffer any thing very remarkable. Thus, verse 13, the day of thy brother, signifies that time in which he was remarkably afflicted. So the day of the Lord signifies that time in which he does something extraordinary; and here it means the time in which God would inflict a remarkable vengeance upon the enemies of Judah. By all the heathen, is meant all those nations who, together with the Idumeans, insulted over the calamities of the Jews, or had waged war Verse 12. But thou shouldest not have looked against them without any just cause. As thou hast upon the day of thy brother-On his evil day. Thou done, it shall be done unto thee-As thou hast reoughtest not to have taken pleasure at the sight of joiced at the calamities of others, so shall others rethy brother's calamity. So the expression of looking|| joice at thine: and as thou hast spoiled and plunupon an enemy signifies, in many passages of Scrip- dered thy neighbours, so shalt thou be served thyture, the beholding his fall with satisfaction: see the self: see the margin. For as ye have drunk upon margin. In the day that he became a stranger—|| my holy mountain, &c.—Here is a sudden apostrophe When he was driven from his own inheritance, and to the Jewish people, who are here addressed. The went captive into a strange land. Neither shouldest sense is, As ye, who dwell on the mount which is thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah, &c.- sacred to me, have drunk of the cup of my indignaIn the day when many of them were slain; nor have tion, or have suffered grievous calamities from my spoken proudly in the day of distress-Neither just displeasure, so also shall the nations among shouldest thou have insulted over them when they whom I am not known. They shall drink and VOL. III. ( 60 ) 945 3 Gracious promises B. C. 587. OBADIAH. с to the Israelites. B. C. 587. A. M. 3417. heathen drink continually, yea, they || them and devour them; and there A. M. 3417. shall drink, and they shall 10 swallow shall not be any remaining of the down, and they shall be as though they had house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. not been. 19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria : and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. Z a 11 17 But upon mount Zion shall be 11 deliverance, and 12 there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their pos sessions. b Isaiah x. 17; Zech. xii. 6.—— Amos ix. 11.- Zeph. ii. 7. 1 Kings xvii. 9, 10. Verse 19. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau-The Jews that dwell in the southern parts of Judea, next Idumea, shall, after their return and victories over the Edomites, possess the mountainous part of their country, elsewhere called mount Seir: see Mal. i. 3. And they of the plain-The Jews who dwell in the plain country, lying toward that of the Philistines, shall possess their territories together with their own ancient inheritance. The Philistines were likewise ill neighbours to the Jews, who, it is here foretold, should at last conquer them and possess their land. The former part of this prediction was fully accomplished by Hyrcanus. And if this were the time of fulfilling the one, doubtless it was the time of fulfilling the other also. And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, &c.—All the land which belonged to the ten tribes shall be pos sessed by the Jews after their restoration to their own country. And Benjamin shall possess Gilead -Benjamin, although one of the smallest tribes, shall enlarge his borders as far as the land of Gilead beyond Jordan. Here a larger possession is pro Ver. 17, 18. But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance-Literally taken, this refers to the Jews; mystically, to the gospel church. By deliverance here may be first meant an asylum, or place of refuge, to|| escape the evil; and it may be spoken with a refer- || ence to the invasion of Judea by Sennacherib, and his being prevented by God from taking Jerusalem, (though he took all the other fenced cities of Judah,) so that all persons of the neighbouring places found a deliverance, or an asylum, there; and so escaped falling into the enemies' hands. It may also, perhaps, chiefly refer to the restoration of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon. But yet this promise was more remarkably verified in the time of the first preaching of the gospel, when God's law went forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, Psa. c. 2; Isa. ii. 3; and when, through believ-mised than ever they had before the captivity. But ing in Christ, and embracing the gospel, the Christians escaped the destruction that came upon the Jewish nation, concerning which see note on Joel ii. 32. And there shall be another and more glorious completion of it at the restoration of the Jewish nation, which is foretold in this and the following verses, as it is in many other places. And there shall be holiness-So far as this refers to the Jews Verses 20, 21. And the captivity of this host, &c. returned from captivity, it signifies that the temple, Those of the ten tribes that were carried away the city, and the people should be holy to the Lord. captive by Shalmaneser; shall possess that of the But the words more especially refer to gospel days; Canaanites-That is, all the countries they anciently and are intended to express the holiness of the Chris-possessed, with this addition, that what the Canaantian Church, particularly after the conversion of the Jews, and during the millennium. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions-Shall remain in possession of their own land or territories. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, &c.-This was fulfilled in part by the Jews under Hyrcanus and the Maccabees, who made great slaughter of the Idumeans; here expressed by the strong image of their being the fire and flame, and the Idumeans stubble. But the passage will be more fully accomplished when the Lord shall make his church as a fire to all its enemies. 946 if Judah be considered as united with Benjamin, which perhaps it is, as those two tribes made but one people, all this was completely fulfilled in the time of Hyrcanus, as appears from Josephus, lib. xii.; xxii. But no doubt the great enlargement of the church of Christ, in the times of the gospel, is mystically pointed out in this passage. ites held by force, and the Israelites could not take from them, shall now be possessed by these returned captives. Even unto Zarephath-Or Sarepta, a city near Sidon, in the northern borders of Judea, 1 Kings xvii. 9. The Canaanites, properly so called, were the ancient inhabitants of that district: see Judg. i. 32; Matt. xv. 21, 22. And the captivity of Jerusalem-The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, carried captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; which is in Sepharad-That is, as some suppose, a province of Babylon, in which the Jews resided during their captivity. Shall possess the cities of (60*) 3 |