Obadiah 1:10

10. Violence As already stated (see on Obadiah 1:9), “slaughter” (Obadiah 1:9) should be connected with “violence”; the one referring to personal suffering, the other to the violence done to religious customs and institutions.

Thy brother Jacob Throughout the entire Old Testament the ancestor of the Israelites, Jacob, and the ancestor of the Edomites, Esau, are regarded as brothers. The reference to this intimate relationship makes the crime appear in even more glaring colors (see on Amos 1:11). The origin of the hostility between the two is traced to the time of their birth (Genesis 25:25-26; compare Genesis 27:41). From the ancestors the hostility apparently descended upon their posterity; at any rate, the history of the two nations is marked by repeated outbreaks of hostility (for example, Numbers 20:0; Amos 1:11). The fact that the Israelites are urged repeatedly to observe a friendly and brotherly attitude toward Edom (Deuteronomy 2:4-5; Deuteronomy 23:7) may indicate that the natural tendency of Israel was not in the direction of returning good for evil.

Shame Or, disgrace.

Cover A picture of abundance. The disgrace will seem the greater because of the former boastfulness.

Shalt be cut off The punishment is described here in its ultimate completeness; it is described more fully in Obadiah 1:15 ff.

In Obadiah 1:11-14 the prophet proceeds to describe in greater detail the crimes of Edom. In the calamity that befell the people of Jehovah the Edomites proved themselves as hostile as the more active enemies. They manifested their hostility by maliciously rejoicing in the misfortune of Judah (Obadiah 1:12), by committing acts of robbery (Obadiah 1:12), and by cutting down fugitive Jews (Obadiah 1:14).

In the day that thou stoodest on the other side The next clause shows that this is the day of the calamity of Jerusalem. “Stoodest on the other side” might possibly refer to neutrality; they stood by idly when they should have rendered assistance to their brother. The context, however, favors a different interpretation; they stood on the side of the enemies, in a spirit of hostility, not neutrality (2 Samuel 18:13).

Even thou wast as one of them Though, at least in the beginning, not taking an active part in destroying and plundering the city and the people, the Edomites manifested the same hostile spirit, and therefore were as culpable as the “strangers” who did the actual work.

Strangers… foreigners The Chaldeans and their allies in the expedition against Judah in 588-586.

Carried away… his forces R.V., “his substance”; the forces or substance of Jacob. Since the verb is literally, carry into exile, and is used but rarely of the carrying away of booty, the reference may be to the carrying into exile of the military forces and of the inhabitants of the land, rather than to the carrying away of the spoil.

Entered into his gates The gates of Jacob, which cannot be limited to the gates of Jerusalem. The prophet means the gates of all the cities of Jacob; the enemies overran the whole land. The next sentence speaks of the calamity that befell Jerusalem.

Cast lots upon Jerusalem The city and its inhabitants and contents. The lots were cast for the purpose of dividing the spoil among the captors (see on Joel 3:3; compare Amos 7:17).

If A.V. could be followed in the translation of the tenses in Obadiah 1:12-14 the interpretation of these verses would be an easy task; the verses would then be an expansion of the condemnation contained in Obadiah 1:11. R.V., however, changes the translation, following more closely the Hebrew, so that Obadiah 1:12-14 are made to contain a series of warnings addressed to the Edomites. These warnings have created much difficulty for interpreters (see, for example, p. 290); however, if the verses are assigned to the proper historical situation the case becomes less complicated. Obadiah 1:11 evidently speaks of events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, probably events of the recent past. But the humiliation of Judah was not the work of a single day. Jeremiah 41:0 makes it plain that for several months there were outbreaks of hostility against the small community left behind under Gedaliah. If the delivery of the oracle is placed in the period following the sack of the city by the Chaldeans, during the months or even years in which the Ammonites and other surrounding nations continued to harass the Jews, the interpretation becomes less difficult. In deep emotion the prophet beholds the continued hostility of Edom; the reference to past crimes (Obadiah 1:11) rouses him still more; and moved by righteous indignation he warns the Edomites to abstain from further crimes, giving as one reason the fact that by persisting in wrongdoing they will only increase the severity of their judgment (Obadiah 1:15-16).

Marti, who dates the verses in the fifth century, explains the warnings by saying that the author transposed himself in thought in the midst of the calamity, though in reality it was a thing of the past; and he holds that the practical force of the warnings is similar to that implied in the rendering of the A.V. This interpretation, however, seems less natural than the one suggested above.

The comments on Obadiah 1:12-14 are based upon the translation of R.V. The warnings in these verses proceed from the lower to the higher. The prophet warns Edom “not to rejoice in Judah’s troubles (Obadiah 1:12), nor to make common cause with the conquerors (Obadiah 1:13), nor to outdo and complete the work of the enemy (Obadiah 1:14).” A climax may be noticed also within Obadiah 1:12.

Look not The Hebrew construction implies the idea of looking with pleasure and satisfaction take delight in.

Rejoice not An advance over the preceding; to give expression to the delight.

Speak proudly Literally, make thy mouth great, in contempt and derision. This marks the climax. It “may refer either to proud, boastful words, or to mocking grimaces and contortions of the mouth.”

The day of thy brother The day when the calamities mentioned in Obadiah 1:11 fell upon Jerusalem (compare Psalms 137:7, “the day of Jerusalem”). The other three clauses describe the day more definitely.

The day of his disaster The Hebrew word translated disaster occurs only here; a similar word is used in Job 31:3, in the same sense. Both come from the same root from which is derived the word foreigner (Obadiah 1:11); hence the primary meaning of the word would seem to be “treatment such as is accorded to a stranger,” which in many cases would be cruel and unjust, or “treatment which makes of a person a stranger.” The expression used here may mean either “the day on which he received cruel treatment” or “the day on which he was made a stranger by being carried into exile.”

The day of their destruction Or, undoing. A stronger term than the preceding.

Distress The deplorable condition subsequent to the fall of the city.

In Obadiah 1:13 the prophet warns Edom not to make common cause with the conquerors who are plundering the city and state. Again the prophet presents the warning in the form of a climax, to enter in, to look upon, to seize.

The gate of my people Gate city (Micah 1:9); here evidently Jerusalem.

In the day of their calamity Repeated three times for the sake of emphasis, to indicate the greatness of the calamity, and at the same time to call attention to the greater crime of Edom, “since it is precisely at the time of a brother’s calamity that such treachery and malicious joy is doubly culpable.”

Yea, look not thou Literally, look not thou, even thou. The emphasis is on the pronoun. “A brother should be the last to gloat over the misfortunes of a brother” (see on Amos 1:11).

Neither lay ye hands on their substance Do not join the foreign robbers in plundering the city (compare Obadiah 1:11, where the same noun is used).

In Obadiah 1:14 the prophet reaches the climax. He warns them against seizing Jewish fugitives to murder them or deliver them up to their enemies.

Stand thou not in the crossway The place where one or more roads meet, or where one road divides into two or more. There the greatest number of fugitives could be seized.

To cut off Not merely to cut off their escape, but to murder them after they had escaped from the general slaughter.

Deliver not up To the enemy from whom they had escaped. The allusion may be to fugitives who took refuge in Edom.