14. Neither shouldest thou have stood... neither shouldest thou have delivered up] And do not stand... and do not prevent from escaping. The first spectacle presented to the seer is that of the Edomites standing outside Jerusalem and watching the enemy as they carry away their prisoners; next he sees them exhibiting signs of joy; next, making the mouth large at the sufferers; then he sees some of them advancing within the gates and taking part in plundering the city, while others stand at the point where the road divides, and "shut up" the fugitives “in the hand of the enemy" (Ps. xxi. 8).

15. For] Verses 15 and 16 contain a renewal and an expansion of the denunciation contained in vv. 2-9. Verses 10-14 are semi-parenthetical, and the For refers back to v. 9, while at the same time it introduces a reason for the warnings of vv. 12—14.

the day of the LORD] The time when Jehovah will exhibit His majesty by judging and recompensing; whether the general and final day, or a particular and shortly approaching day. "The day of the Lord," in its inferior signification, is always typical of "the day of the Lord" in its higher signification, and usually, as here, throws forward the prophet's thought to the final day. That there would be a special day of the Lord was first revealed to and by the prophet Joel. See Introduction to Joel, and notes on Joel ii. and iii.

all the heathen] The denunciation is now extended to all Gentiles, but is still directed in a special manner against the Edomites, who stand as the representatives of the enemies of Zion.

as thou hast done] Cf. Ezek. xxxv. 15. The whole chapter contains a denunciation parallel to that of Obadiah. See Introduction,

§ ii.

16. as ye have drunk upon my boly mountain, so shall all the heathen drink] As ye Edomites and Gentiles have held drinking carousals in Jerusalem, rejoicing over the defeat of the Jews, so shall ye Gentiles and a

to drink. The similarity of the denunciation of Edom contained in Lam. iv. 21 should be noticed. Cf. also Rev. xiv. 10, xvi. 19, xviii. 6.

continually] So that the turn to drink never passes from the heathen to Judah (Hitzig).

17. But] The remainder of the prophecy (vv. 17—21) declares the glories of restored and triumphant Zion, which will consist in (1) the restoration from captivity, (2) the annihilation of the Edomites and their absorption by the Jews, (3) the universal expansion of the Jewish kingdom, (4) the reign of Jehovah.

shall be deliverance] shall be that which has escaped. Some of the exiles shall be restored to Jerusalem. Cf. Joel ii. 32.

and there shall be holiness] The temple being again consecrated, though now profaned; Jehovah again "dwelling in Zion," and "strangers" no longer intruding. See note on Joel iii. 17, and cf. Rev. xxi. 27.

in the future successes of the Jews is the shall possess their possessions] The first step recovery of what was previously their own. "Their possessions" does not mean "the possessions of the heathen," as is argued by commentators who refuse to see in Obadiah any statement of, or allusion to, a general captivity of the Jews, such as took place after the Babylonish conquest of Jerusalem; but it means "their own possessions." Verse 17 promises the restoration from the captivity'; v. 18, the utter overthrow of the Edomites by the Jews; vv. 19, 20, the universal expansion of the conquerors; v. 21, Jehovah's kingdom.

18. the house of Jacob...and the house of Joseph] The united remains of the two tribes and of the ten (cf. Isai. xlvi. 3). The overthrow of Edom, hitherto spoken of, to be accomplished by other hands than those of the Jews, and to be effected before the restoration from the captivity, was probably wrought by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 583 B.C., five years after the capture of Jerusalem. Malachi refers to some such overthrow, and points to the fact that the Israelites had been able to

a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

19 And they of the south shall pos

re-establish themselves in their country, while the Edomites could not do the same in theirs, as a proof of Jehovah's love for Israel (i. 2, 3). See Introduction, § iv. The destruction threatened in this verse is to be the work of the Jews themselves, the house of Jacob and Joseph being the instruments by which Esau is finally to be annihilated. This was wrought by Judas Maccabæus and John Hyrcanus; of whom the first defeated the Edomites, B. C. 160 (1 Macc. v. 3), and the last utterly crushed them, B.C. 130, and compelled them to incorporate themselves in the Jewish nation. there shall not be any remaining] After their reduction by Hyrcanus their nationality was lost for ever. They were only allowed to remain in the country "on the condition of being circumcised and adopting the laws of the Jews" (Joseph. Antiq.' XIII. 9 § 1). Such remains of them as still existed finally perished at the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans. See Introduction, § iv.

6

19. And] The prophet sees the enlargement of Israel on all sides after the destruction of their enemies. This enlargement takes the form of an apparent overflow of Israelitish conquerors and settlers, southwards, westwards, eastwards, and northwards.

the south] The south, or negeb, is the definite district, known by that appellation, which lies between Judah and the desert to the south of Palestine. See note on Gen. xiii. 1.

the plain] The plain, or shephelah, is, in like manner, the well-known designation of the maritime plain of Philistia, lying to the west of Judah, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Joppa to Gaza.

shall possess] We have here an individualized representation of the promise made in Gen. xxviii. 14: "Thou shalt break forth to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south." The particulars of Obadiah's vision are as follows: (1) The "southerners" drive their enemies before them to the further south, and occupy all the habitable land in the direction of the Gulf of Akabah, including Mount Seir. (2) The exiles of Judah, now scattered among the Canaanites along the coast-line up to Tyre and Sidon, and the natives of the city Jerusalem, now in exile at Sepharad, are restored to Jerusalem, and overflow from thence into the "south," left vacant by the migration of the "southerners" towards Edom. (3) To the west, the Philistines on the shores of the

sess 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.

20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that

Mediterranean disappear before the Jewish settlers in the Shephelah, who, with the rest of their countrymen, spread northwards up the plain of Sharon, and over the territories of Benjamin and Ephraim to the further borders of Samaria. (4) Benjamin, dispossessed by Judah, occupies the trans-Jordanic district, afterwards known as Peræa. With respect to the fulfilment of each of the particulars of the vision, see Introduction, § iv.

At the

they of the south...they of the plain] time that Obadiah uttered this prophecy, if we have fixed his date aright, the south was being ravaged and occupied by the Edomites, and the plain by the Philistines (Ezek. xxv. 15).

the Philistines] At the capture of Jerusa lem by the Babylonians, the Philistines appear to have indulged "the old hatred" (Ezek. XXV. 15) by acting towards the Jews much as the Edomites had acted. They must have soon afterwards been crushed, as, subsequently to the Restoration, we hear no more of them as an independent nation.

20. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south] There are three ways of rendering this verse, all of which are more or less open to objections. The first is that of the Authorized Version as given in the text. The second is that inserted in the margin of the A. V.: And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath, and the captivity of Jerusalem shall possess that which is in Sepharad. The third is: And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel that are among the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath, and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. According to the third rendering, which on the whole is to be preferred, the meaning of the verse would be, "These Israelitish exiles that are now scattered among the Canaanites up to Sarepta, and the exiles of Jerusalem, that are now in captivity in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south." Obadiah refers to two bodies of exiles, one scattered through the land of Canaan, and beyond the northern boundary of Canaan, up to the Phoenician Zarephath; the other at Sepharad: the latter consists of those who had been citizens of Jerusalem

this host of the children of Israel] The force of the word this is not clear. Why should Obadiah speak of one body of the Israelitish exiles as this host? It is probable that the pronoun indicates the body to which Obadiah himself belonged, and of which he formed one. We know nothing of Obadiah's history; he may well have been one of the many inhabitants of Judah who had to flee before the Babylonish inroad, and were afterwards spread as homeless exiles through the cities of Palestine and Phoenicia. If this be so, a touching personal interest attaches itself to the prophet's words. He comforts his brother-exiles in Canaan by telling them that they, as well as the exiles in Sepharad, should return, and take possession of the cities of the south.

Zarephath] Or, Sarepta (Luke iv. 26), now called Surafend. It is about nine miles north of Tyre and eleven miles south of Sidon. Sepharad] The site of this place or district is wholly unknown. It has lately been proposed to identify it with Sardis by help of the great arrow-headed inscription of Naksh-iRustum, in which Çparda occurs in a list of Asiatic nations between Kat(a)patuka and Yauna, i. e. Cappadocia and Ionia. Kossowicz (Inscriptiones Palæo-Persicæ,' 1872) supposes that the Çparda here mentioned was situated on the Bosphorus Cimmerius. De Sacy first identified it with Sepharad, and Lassen next suggested that it might be Sardis-Sardis being supposed to be used for Lydia. The identification has been accepted by Winer and by Pusey. But, at least so far as Sardis is concerned, it is little more than an improbable conjecture. The Vulgate rendering Bosphorus" appears to have arisen from a mistake of St Jerome's Hebrew instructor, who may have regarded the prefixed preposition b as part of the name-Bispharad, instead of Sepharad. The LXX. rendering, Ephratha, is probably a copyist's error or guess. In the last century Hardt wrote a volume ('De Sipphara Babyloniæ,' Helmst. 1708) to prove that Sepharad was the same as Sippara or Sipphara on the Euphrates; but there is better reason for identifying Sippara with Sepharvaim. Ewald, after his manner, has proposed to alter the reading to Sepharam, in order

to find the place in the north of Palestine. The Rabbinical suggestion of Spain (whence to this day the Spanish Jews are called Sephardim) rests upon the curious metaphorical interpretation which the modern Jews have affixed to the Book of Obadiah. Delitzsch and Keil connect the name with Sparta, a city which it is assumed that the Hebrews had heard of from the Phoenicians, as that of a powerful nation in the west. Hengstenberg imagines an almost unknown name to have been adopted in order to designate extreme distance. There remain two suggestions, more probable than the rest. One is that of St Jerome, adopted by Maurer and Hendewerk, that the name is connected with an Assyrian word meaning "boundary;" and that it designates all the Israelites "who were scattered abroad" (James i. 1): the other and most probable suggestion is that of Schultz, that Sepharad was a town or district of Babylonia to which the Jews of Jerusalem had been carried captive, which is otherwise unknown to us. If however the identification of Sepharad with Cparda be sustained, its situation would not be in Babylonia but in Asia Minor.

21. saviours] Such as Zerubbabel who led back the Jews from their captivity; the Maccabees who executed vengeance on Edom; and all who by delivering the chosen people are types of the great Deliverer. Cf. Neh. ix. 27. The judges are designated saviours or deliverers throughout the Book of Judges. Cf. Judg. ii. 16, iii. 9, 15, 31. "Under the saviours the Saviour is concealed " (Hengstenberg, Keil).

on mount Zion] as being the throne of judg ment, whence dominion was to be exercised over the mount of Esau. "As the mountains of Esau represent the heathen world, so mount Zion, as the seat of the Old Testament kingdom of God, is the type of the kingdom of God in its fully developed form" (Keil). See note on Num. xxiv. 19, and cf. Amos ix. 12.

the kingdom shall be the LORD'S] A promise of the Messianic times, when Jehovah should be exclusively the object of worship; and when His kingdom should no longer be cooped up within the present boundaries of Judah, but should be spread throughout the world. "There is a grandeur about the promise," says Rosenmüller, "which prevents us from referring it to the times of Zerubbabel or of the Maccabees." Its truer fulfilment began when it appeared "that God was no respecter of persons, but in every nation," Israelite or Edomite, Jew or Gentile, "he that feared

The grammatical objections to the first rendering are: (1) The absence of before

whereas it is attached to all the ,אשר כנענים

objective cases in v. 19, viz. wy was,

it occurs. The LXX., the Vulgate, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Pusey, and others, translate “a snare," deriving the word from 1, in the sense of "to turn aside."

instead of a noun, such as, "the territory" of the Canaanites. (3) The fact that 750 is regarded as a nominative, and

hands on) is the cause of great perplexity to grammarians, and has not yet been satisfactorily explained. By some it is supposed that the plural form in the feminine gender is used instead of the singular. It is more probable that the is a combination of the nun epenthetic with the he paragogic, emphasizing the exhortation, "do not, pray.' Cf. the force of N. The same word, in the third pers. sing., is found with the same affix in Judg. v. 26, "She put her hand forcibly to the nail." Ewald and Olshausen escape the difficulty by changing the affix into the substantive 7, "hand."

20. Of the three renderings of v. 20 (for which see note ad loc.) the first has the authority of the A. V., Jerome, Kimchi, Schnurrer, Rosenmüller, Hendewerk, Hengstenberg, Keil, Kleinert, Wordsworth; the second, of the Masorites (as shewn by the position of the athnach), the margin of the A. V., and Dathe; the third, of the Chaldee, Jarchi, Maurer, Caspari, Pusey.

The two first of these objections lie against the second rendering also.

The objection to the third rendering is the absence of the preposition, expressive of

among,

.כנענים before

Two objections of an historical and topographical character have been also urged against the third rendering by Schnurrer, Hendewerk, and Rosenmüller. They object (1) that there is no record of a large body of Jewish exiles having ever existed in Phoenicia; and (2) that it is unreasonable that the south should be selected as the spot to which those that were in the extreme north should return. To the first it may be replied that Obadiah does not represent the main body of the exiles as being in Phoenicia, but in Canaan, whence some had overflowed into Phoenicia. To the second it may be answered that it is not from the extreme north alone (Phoenicia), but from the whole of the north (Canaan north of Jerusalem and Phoenicia), and from Sepharad, that the exiles are to return to the south.

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Jonah's History and Era. LL the information which we possess concerning the prophet Jonah, besides what we learn from the present book, is gathered from the notice of him found in 2 K. xiv. 25: "He [Jeroboam II.] restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher." Gath-hepher, in Josh. xix. 13 "Gittah-hepher," lay in the district assigned to Zebulun (see note on 2 K. xiv. 25). This notice therefore shews that Jonah was a prophet of the Northern kingdom and arose out of Galilee" arose out of Galilee" (see John vii. 52). It also gives us some indication of the time of his prophesying, though nothing very definite. The particular prediction referred to we may believe to have been delivered after the loss

of those trans-Jordanic districts; this took place during the reign of Jehu, probably towards its close (2 K. x. 32, 33). But between this limit and the recovery of the lost provinces by Jeroboam there lies a considerable interval of uncertain extent. For between Jehu and Jeroboam came the two reigns of Jehoahaz and Joash, covering a space of about 30 years; while we know not at what period of Jeroboam's reign-which, according to

The Book shewn to be historical by Christ's references to it

The Book shewn to be historical from internal evidence

Jonah the probable Author of the Book

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Neteler, extended from 789 to 749 B. C.the reconquest was effected'. Some intimation of Jehovah's gracious purposes to have been given so early as in the towards Israel appears from 2 K. xiii. 4 reign of Jehoahaz, B. C. 819-802 (Neteler); and it is possible that Jonah was the prophet through whom that very intimation was conveyed. This supposition would bring the era of the prophet to about the end of the ninth century. But, on the other hand, there may have been vival of Israel's prosperity, of which that several successive prophecies of this reof Jonah, mentioned 2 K. xiv. 25, was the latest as well as the most definite. According to this view Jonah would be more probably assigned to the era of favoured by the fact, that the condition Jeroboam II. And this supposition is of the Assyrian empire at that time would be likely to predispose the Ninevites

to listen to a voice of alarm. Cf. Canon

Rawlinson's 'Anc. Mon.' Vol. 11. pp. 122-127. The language of 2 K. xiv. 26, 27 may have been borrowed more or less from that employed in Jonah's prediction, which the history had just before referred to. If Jonah flourished in the reign of Jeroboam II. he was a senior contemporary of Amos and Hosea.

1 With reference to the chronology of this period, the reader's attention is requested to Note 3 in p. 399 of this Volume.