Series: 30 Prophets of the Bible - Dr. Randy White

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Download these notes here:

Obadiah.pdf

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I. Identity of Obadiah

Name and Known Facts

• “Obadiah” (Hebrew: עֹבַדְיָה, Ovadyah) means “servant of the LORD” or “worshiper of the LORD.”
• Scripture gives no father, hometown, tribe, occupation, king, or date.
• Obadiah 1:1 simply says, “The vision of Obadiah.”
• “Obadiah” was a common biblical name; this prophet should not automatically be identified with every other Obadiah in Scripture.

The Tradition About Ahab's Steward

• Jewish tradition identifies the prophet with Obadiah, the governor of Ahab's house, who hid one hundred prophets from Jezebel (1 Kings 18:3-4).
• That tradition is memorable: a man who lived among Ahab and Jezebel but did not learn their ways was chosen to prophesy against Edom, descended from Esau, who lived near Isaac and Rebekah but did not learn their ways.
• The identification is possible as tradition, but the book itself does not prove it.

II. Historical Setting

The Target: Edom

• Edom descended from Esau, Jacob's brother (Gen. 25:30; 36:1).
• Obadiah's burden is not against a distant pagan nation only, but against a brother-nation that acted violently toward Jacob (Obad. 10).
• Edom's mountain territory made it feel secure: “thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock” (1:3).

Timeframe

• Obadiah is difficult to date because no king is named.
• Two major options:
  • An earlier setting during the Philistine-Arabian raid in Jehoram's reign (2 Chron. 21:16-17).
  • A later setting connected with Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.