The book is named after the prophet who received the vision 1. Obadiah definition of obadiah by the free dictionary. Obadiah is a particularly useful book of prophecy, since it summarizes the basic outline of most old testament prophets. Obadiah the lords message about edom and what edom represents in the end times the book has only this one chapter. By using this website, i acknowledge that i am 16 years of age or older, and i agree to the terms and conditions and. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring. Obadiah, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Book of obadiah an old testament book telling obadiah s prophecies. Obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament but it covers such a significant portion of that historical period. Thanks to good natural resources and busy trade routes, edom was wealthy and powerful. There are on record the account of four captures of jerusalem, 1 by shishak in the reign of rehoboam 1 kings 14.
Obadiahs name, meaning worshipper of yahweh, offers an interesting counterpoint to the message of judgment he pronounced on edom, judahs neighbor to. Obadiah synonyms, obadiah pronunciation, obadiah translation, english dictionary definition of obadiah. If the book is dated in the reign of jehoram, the author may be the obadiah of 2 chronicles 17. Identify three key themes from the book of obadiah. Amid great spiritual degeneracy he maintained his fidelity to god, and interposed to protect the lords prophets, an hundred of whom he hid at great personal risk in a cave 4. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament.
Like a number of prophetic books, it is both a book of judgment and a book of hope. This is what the sovereign lord says about edomwe have heard a message from the lord. An obadiah was an officer in king ahab of israels court and. The animosity between edom and the israelites, and edoms punishment because of that, is the literal theme of the book of obadiah. Meaning servant of yahweh, it reflects his parents faith and spiritual ambitions for. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Book of obadiah definition of book of obadiah by the. Obadiah s name, meaning worshipper of yahweh, offers an interesting counterpoint to the message of judgment he pronounced on edom, judahs neighbor to the southeast. The first part of the name obadiah comes from the root abad, meaning servant or to serve. Because the writer of the record is not giving his but gods point of view, it is history with divine commentary explaining not just what happened but why it happened that way. The scriptures have that beautiful faculty of appearing to be one thing on the surface, but on a deeper level, yielding rich and mighty treasures.
The form of obadiah s name used in the septuagint is obdios. There are obadiahs in the old testament, and one of these may the obadiah who wrote this book. The meaning of obadiah, book of in the bible from international standard bible encyclopedia obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. Book of obadiah synonyms, book of obadiah pronunciation, book of obadiah translation, english dictionary definition of book of obadiah.
In their concluding comments on the book of obadiah, authors william lasor, david hubbard and frederic bush state. The book of obadiah contains prophecies about gods punishment of which nation. Edom should have been judahs ally, instead they encouraged the babylonians. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. The name obadiah is ranked on the 23,655th position of the most used names. Book of obadiah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Obadiah, book ofconsists of one chapter, concerning e. Obadiah means servant of the lord and occurs 20 times in the old testament, referring to many other old testament individuals. Book of obadiah, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of. Obadiah, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. Information about book of obadiah in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. Obadiah, book of holman bible dictionary bible dictionary. The book of obadiah is a favorite study of modern jews.
The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word book of obadiah. In this case, as in other scriptures, edom is just one example of gods wrath on nations who rebel against god isaiah 34. Book of obadiah, the destruction of edom, judahs misfortune.
Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. In latin it is translated as abdias while in arabic it is. In what way is the book of obadiah rela the strongest evidence is the tradition of obadiah s position the ultimate doom for edom and subsequent comfort for israel. We have heard a rumour from the lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah. Obadiah definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
The hebrew name obadiah means worshipper of yahweh or servant of yahweh. Your chance to have a onetoone lesson with bestselling language expert paul noble, try a free audio sample of his brand new mandarin chinese. An israelite who was chief in the household of king ahab 1 kings 18. Information and translations of obadiah in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on. Definition of obadiah from the collins english dictionary. Obadiah was a common ot name, meaning worshiper of yahweh. The book is written at a time when edom helped an enemy attack jerusalem and edom took the opportunity to take over control of part of the negev. The book of obadiah may be small, but it packs a powerful punch against the arrogance of edom and other ungodly nations. Nothing is known of the prophet except for his name, which means servant of. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
The global message of obadiah obadiah in redemptive history. Obadiah is writing to show that god is going to judge edom for what she has done. We estimate that there are at least 8600 persons in the world having this name which is around 0. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. The first known use of obadiah was in the 14th century. Since the edomites were descendants of jacobs brother, esau, this betrayal by edom was especially painful to gods people. Nelsons compact illustrated bible dictionary, thomas nelson publishers, 1978, p. Obadiah is a biblical theophorical name, meaning servant or slave of god or worshiper of. The prophet no source outside his book mentions obadiah. The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of. An envoy was sent to the nations to say,rise, let us go. In it they read the future of their own people and of christendom.
Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. The animosity between the edomites and the israelites is one of the oldest examples of a discord in human relationships. People still chafe under injustices in this world, and yearn for a day when things will be as they should be. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible in judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. Obadiah, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. Because of what this book says of edom and jerusalem, we can gather a date for obadiahs ministry. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and longforgotten nation, the land of edom. Consequent upon the overthrow of edom is the enlargement of the borders of judah and the establishment of the kingship of yahweh. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. He is also call edom, meaning red, owing to the sale of his birthright in exchange for some. In judaism, obadiah is considered a later prophet, one of the twelve prophets in the final section of neviim, the. The book of obadiah meaning servant of the lord, a minor prophet in the old testament, is a prophecy written to the southern kingdom of judah and alternates to the nation of edom.
Since the date of the book is disputed, it is impossible to fix its authorship. Information and translations of book of obadiah in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. The book begins by calling itself a vision which is an indication also shared by isaiah 1. With so many traders passing through their welldefended territory, edomites saw themselves as big shots in the region. Obadiah, the shortest old testament book with only twentyone verses, was probably written shortly after the fall of judah and jerusalem to the babylonians in 587. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long. Book of obadiah, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the. The final bit is, which is the abbreviated form of. Obadiah free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. Obadiah 1, new international version niv the bible app.