he who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile,
and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
6who builds his upper chambers in the heavens,
and founds his vault upon the earth;
who calls for the waters of the sea,
and pours them out upon the surface of
the earth—the LORD is his name.
7Are you not like the Ethiopiansc to me,
O people of Israel? says the LORD.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
8The eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
—except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,
says the LORD.
9For lo, I will command,
and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.
10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, “Evil shall not overtake or meet us.”
The Restoration of David’s Kingdom
11On that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen,
and repair itsd breaches,
and raise up itse ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
12in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name
says the LORD who does this.
13The time is surely coming, says the LORD,
when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps,
and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land that I have given them,
says the LORD your God.
* * *
a Or on
b Heb all of them
c Or Nubians; Heb Cushites
d Gk: Heb their
e Gk: Heb his
9.1–4 The fifth vision report is unlike the previous ones in form, lacking the introductory formula and dialogue between the prophet and the Lord; it is the vision of the most severe judgment.
9.1 The prophet sees the Lord himself and hears him giving orders for the total destruction of the people.
9.2–4 There is no escape from the Lord, not even in death or captivity.
9.2 Sheol, the underworld realm of the dead.
9.3 Sea-serpent, the dragon of chaos, well known in Near Eastern mythology.
9.5–6 The third hymnic passage or doxology of judgment in the book (4.13; 5.8–9). The Lord is the name of the one who created the world and whose touch can cause it to melt or toss about.
9.7–8 Against people who had come to view their election by God arrogantly, the prophet points out that the Lord had been concerned for and had brought up other nations as well.
9.8 The Israelites election has become the occasion for their self-satisfaction and therefore for their judgment (see 3.1–2). In a later addition to the book, an exception is made for Judah (house of Jacob).
9.9–10 Typically in the book of Amos judgment is announced on the people as a whole, but these verses restrict it to certain sinners.
9.9 The simile of a sieve suggests the process of separating the sinners from the others.
9.11–15 Announcements of salvation. Since the prophecies presume that the nation has been destroyed and the people exiled, they probably come from the time of the Babylonian exile (597–539 BCE).
9.11–12 The Lord promises to restore the Davidic kingdom, rebuild its cities, and restore its territory, a theme one encounters elsewhere in the prophets (see, e.g., Isa 9.1–7; 11.1–9; Jer 23.5–6; Ezek 37.24–28).
9.11 That day. Unlike other texts in Amos (5.18–21; 2.16; 8.3), here the day of the LORD is a time of salvation for God’s people.
9.13–15 In the new age, nature will be incredibly fruitful and the people will be secure in their land. Those who experienced the judgment announced by Amos now see God acting to save and restore.
OBADIAH
THE SHORTEST BOOK OF THE OT, Obadiah is associated with a prophetic figure whose name means “slave/servant of Yah (i.e., Yahweh, the LORD).” Only the name of the prophet is given; nothing is said about his time, town, profession, or even the name of his father. Some consider this laconic presentation an invitation to readers to fill the gaps. The time of composition is unknown, though internal evidence suggests an early postexilic date. The title verse characterizes the book as a “vision” (cf. Isa 1.1), a term that here carries a meaning similar to “prophecy,” since visual elements do not figure prominently (the same holds true for Isa 1.1).
Structure and Content
OBADIAH USES MUCH OF THE TERMINOLOGY of the better-known prophetic books, and its theology is on the whole similar. There is no general agreement about the structure of the book, though most scholars would agree that vv. 1b/2–7 (sometimes divided into 1b/2–4 and 5–7), vv. 8–18 (sometimes divided into 8–15 and 16–18 or 8–11, 12–15, and 16–18), and vv. 19–21 are the primary blocks. The book focuses on judgment against Edom (Mount Esau) and a utopian image of Judah (Mount Zion) that will be fulfilled in the future. It assumes the destruction of Jerusalem. There is some debate on whether “Edom” here stands only for the historical nation of Edom or is also a type for “the nations” (v. 15). The text certainly emphasizes that “Edom” is Israel’s (Jacob’s) “brother” and that this status entails obligations and expectations. If the latter are not met, then the LORD will judge and punish “Edom.” In fact, the book’s conclusion includes a reference to the contrasting future fates of Mount Zion and Mount Esau. The utopian future is imagined by Obadiah as a period of reversal in which the dispossessed will take possession of those who dispossessed them, saviors will ascend Mount Zion (and judge Mount Esau), and the kingdom (or the kingship) will be the LORD’s.
Message
EDOM f(ESAU) IS CHARACTERIZED as an enemy of the LORD. It has been proud and so will be brought “down to the ground” (v. 3). Moreover, Edom (Esau) has done “violence” to its “brother Jacob” (v. 10, the same theme found in Am 1.11), rejoicing when Judah was in distress, even looting it (v. 13). One of the leading terms in the book is “the day” (vv. 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). It closely associates images of the disaster and suffering of Judah in the past with the activities of Edom (Esau) at the very same time and with the future punishment of the nations, including Edom (Esau; vv. 8, 15). Among the main operative concepts in the book are images of reversals of fate and wrongful deeds returning to affect those who perform them. The latter are taken to be collective groups (e.g., Edom/Esau), not individuals (i.e., the particular Edomites who did violence against Israel, not even necessarily their entire generation).
The utopian future portrayed in the book does not refer to a Davidic king, but to human saviors (cf. the judges) and above all to the LORD’s kingship. Mount Zion plays a central role in that future. Significantly, the book explicitly states that Mount Zion shall be sacred at that time, but avoids referring to the remnant of Israel as sacred (v. 17). [RICHARD A. HENSHAW, revised by EHUD BEN ZVI]
Proud Edom Will Be Brought Low
1The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the LORD,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
&nbs
p; “Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!”
2I will surely make you least among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.
3Your proud heart has deceived you,
you that live in the clefts of the rock,a
whose dwelling is in the heights.
You say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
says the LORD.
Pillage and Slaughter Will Repay Edom’s Cruelty
5If thieves came to you,
if plunderers by night
—how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only what they wanted?
If grape-gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures searched out!
7All your allies have deceived you,
they have driven you to the border;
your confederates have prevailed against you;
those who ateb your bread have set a trap for you—
there is no understanding of it.
8On that day, says the LORD,
I will destroy the wise out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau.
9Your warriors shall be shattered, O Teman,
so that everyone from Mount Esau will be cut off.
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.
11On the day that you stood aside,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.
12But you should not have gloatedc overd your brother
on the day of his misfortune;
you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah
on the day of their ruin;
you should not have boasted
on the day of distress.
13You should not have entered the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity;
you should not have joined in the gloating over Judah’se disaster
on the day of his calamity;
you should not have looted his goods
on the day of his calamity.
14You should not have stood at the crossings
to cut off his fugitives;
you should not have handed over his survivors
on the day of distress.
15For 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.
16For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
all the nations around you shall drink;
they shall drink and gulp down,f
and shall be as though they had never been.
Israel’s Final Triumph
17But on Mount Zion there shall be those that escape,
and it shall be holy;
and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them.
18The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau;
for the LORD has spoken.
19Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halahg
shall possessh Phoenicia as far as Zarephath;
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the towns of the Negeb.
21Those who have been savedi shall go up to Mount Zion'
to rule Mount Esau;
and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
* * *
a Or clefts of Sela
b Cn: Heb lacks those who ate
c Heb But do not gloat (and similarly through verse 14)
d Heb on the day of
e Heb his
f Meaning of Heb uncertain
g Cn: Heb in this army
h Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
i Or Saviors
1–7 The Hebrew text shows very detailed similarities to Jer 49.7a, 14, 16, 9, 10. It is unclear whether one text was composed on the basis of the other, or both share a common source.
1 Edom, a nation directly east of the Arabah whose inhabitants were considered “brothers” by the biblical authors (see Gen 25.23–26; Am 1.1; Ob 12). Edomites eventually settled in much of what was southern Judah during the monarchical period. Their settlement area was called Idumea during the Second Temple period. Esau is Edom’s eponymous ancestor in the tale in Genesis; the name is sometimes used in this book for Edom to emphasize the (failed) brotherhood of Esau/Edom.
3–7 Confidence in one’s power, intelligence, allies, or the topographical features of one’s territory is often mentioned as an attribute of those who foolishly confront the Lord and are consequently punished.
3 The rock (Hebrew sela‘), a pun, as it refers both to the rocks in whose clefts the Edomites dwell according to the speaker and to Sela, a major Edomite city.
4 Soar aloft…bring you down. There is no escape from the Lord, a theme also found in Am 9.2–3.
5 Grape-gatherers. Another pun. The Hebrew word sounds very similar to Bozrah, another main city in Edom (cf. Isa 34.6; 63.1; Jer 49.13, 22; Am 1.12).
7 Ate your bread. Commensality (i.e., the act of eating together) was a very important social practice in the ancient Near East, including Israel. Table fellowship reflected and symbolized social fellowship, closeness, and solidarity. Edom, legendary for its wisdom (v. 8), is presented as deceived. There is no understanding of it, better “there is no understanding in it.”
9 Teman, another important city in Edom (cf. Jer 49.7, 20; Ezek 25.13; Am 1.12), here a synecdoche standing for the whole country.
10–13 The day refers to the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6 BCE. 2 Kings 24.20–25.21 and 2 Chr 36.11–21 give accounts of the event, its causes, and aftermath. Edomites are not mentioned in either, but cf. Ps 137.7; Lam 4.21–22; Ezek 35.12–14. Notice the association of Edom with Babylon in Ps 137.7–8.
15–16 The day of the LORD, a common term in the prophets indicating not a twenty-four-hour period but a promised time when the Lord will finally display an awesome power, whether for punishment or reward. Here the day is characterized by requital against the nations, as their wrongful deeds will be turned back on them. The day is close and its coming certain, but the time of its fulfillment is not stipulated.
16–17 The motif of reversal is emphasized and culminates with the house of Jacob taking possession of those who dispossessed them.
17 Mount Zion…holy. The mount shall be holy. The term Mount Zion is picked up again in v. 21, where it is explicitly contrasted with Mount Esau. Those that escape (cf. Joel 2.32; Ezra 9.8, 13, 15). The Hebrew word may be translated “remnant,” as it is by the NRSV in Ezra. The notion of a remnant looms large in prophetic texts; cf. Am 3.12; 5.3; 6.9; 9.1; Isa 7.3;10.20–22; Zeph 3.12–13.
20 Halah, an emendation of the Hebrew text (see text note e), refers to a place of uncertain location in northern Mesopotamia to which Israelites had been exiled by the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 17.6; 18.11). Phoenicia, lit. “the Canaanites.” Zarephath, a coastal town in southern Phoenicia. Sepharad, not the medieval word for Spain or for the Sephardic branch of Judaism, but a place where, according to the text but not fou
nd elsewhere, the people from Jerusalem were exiled. Some identify it with the city of Sardis in Asia Minor.
21 Those who have been saved, a proposed emendation of the Hebrew text (see text note a). The Hebrew reads, “Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to judge (rule?) Mount Esau.” The kingdom (or “kingship”) shall be the LORD’s, an emphatic statement of hope for a community that, through its reading of or listening to the text, vicariously experiences the suffering of its ancestors at the time of the fall of Jerusalem.
JONAH
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
THE JONAH STORY is quite different from all the other prophetic books, whose primary focus is on Israel and Judah. Although those prophets had only minimal success, their books are filled with oracles passionately urging the people to observe Israel’s covenant obligations to God. Jonah, on the other hand, is the story of a prophet sent to the Assyrians in Nineveh—a people whose brutal actions had made their name a byword among the people of Israel (cf. Nahum). Unable to resist God’s commission, Jonah delivered a one-verse oracle (3.4) and succeeded marvelously, despite his best efforts to run away and fail. The story is a satire, giving us a hero who says the right things in a context in which his actions belie his words (1.9; 2.2–9; 4.2). The result is a unique piece of prophetic literature with universal appeal.
Setting and Purpose
SATIRE ENTERTAINS, but it also has a polemical purpose, addressing major issues faced by the writer’s contemporaries. Because of its language and allusive style, most scholars date this work to the postexilic period (after 539 BCE). This was a time of great trauma but also of regeneration within the Jewish community. Diaspora Jews, scattered among gentile populations throughout the Middle East and beyond, faced a new array of pressures as they were forced to rethink earlier traditions within vastly different historical and cultural contexts. If we keep in mind the book’s likely postexilic background, several different interpretations of Jonah present themselves. Since during the fifth century BCE many Jews felt they could remain holy only by strict separation from gentile culture, some scholars interpret the story’s appeal for a universal God as a satire. Jonah is a xenophobic Jew who understands the Lord as a supreme national god, a god who should stand with his people against his and their gentile enemies. He should save Israel by bringing judgment on Nineveh. Another view points to the earlier prophets, who had envisioned a new age of peace and justice in which the Lord would rule over the nations from Zion through the line of David, and the fact that their oracles had not been realized. This view says the issue is the failure of the prophetic word, both in postexilic times and in this story. Jonah’s anger that the word God had given him to speak did not come to pass made the prophet feel foolish and inconsequential. A third interpretation considers the justice of God. To Jews living in the Diaspora the gentile lifestyle was more abhorrent than theirs had ever been, yet Nineveh, the ultimate sinful city, was spared and Israel was destroyed. More than a century later proud Babylon would destroy Jerusalem. Why did God not bring judgment on Gentiles as well? Is the Lord really a just god?
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 331
