The title of this Book, in the Hebrew copies, is usually “Sepher Obadiah”, the Book of Obadiah: the Vulgate Latin version calls it the Prophecy of Obadiah; and so the Arabic version: and in the Syriac version it is, the Prophecy of the Prophet Obadiah.

The vision of Obadiah Or the prophecy, as the Targum; which was delivered unto him by the Lord in a vision; it was not what he fancied or dreamed of, but what he saw, what he had a clear discovery and revelation of made unto his mind; hence prophets are sometimes called “seers”.

Behold, I have made thee small among the Heathen Or “a little one”, or “thing” [[13]]; their number few, and their country not large, as Aben Ezra, especially in comparison of other nations; and therefore had no reason to be so proud, insolent, and secure, as they are afterwards said to be; or…

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee The Edomites were proud of their wealth and riches, which they had by robberies amassed together; and of their military skill and courage, and of their friends and allies; and especially of their fortresses and fastnesses, both natural and artificial; and…

Though thou exaltest thyself as the eagle That soars aloft, flies on high, even out of sight, higher than any other bird does: or, “exaltest thy habitation”; and makest it as high as the eagle’s nest; see ; and though thou set thy nest among the stars; even higher than the eagle’s; an hyperbolical…

If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night Whether the one came by day, and the other by night, or both by night, the same being meant by different words, whose intent is to plunder and steal, and carry off what they can; thy condition would not be worse, nor so bad as now it is: for how art thou…

How are the things of Esau searched out! &c.] Or how are the Esauites, the posterity of Esau, sought out! though they dwelt in the clefts of the rocks, and hid themselves in caves and dens, yet their enemies searched them, and found there, and plucked them out from thence, so that none escaped: how…

All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border Or of “thy covenant” [[16]]; that are in league with thee; thine allies, even all of them, prove treacherous to thee, in whom thou trustedst; when they sent their ambassadors to them, they received them kindly, promised great…

Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom When they shall be invaded by the enemy, and treacherously dealt with by their allies; so that there shall be no wise counsellors at court to give advice what proper methods should be taken at such a season; they should…

And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed Teman was one part of the country of Edom, so called from Teman, a son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau, ; and which it seems had been famous for men of might and courage: it abounded with brave officers, and courageous soldiers, who should now be…

For thy violence against thy brother Jacob Which is aggravated: by being against Jacob, an honest plain hearted man, and whom the Lord loved; his brother, his own brother, a twin brother, yea, his only brother; yet this is to be understood, not so much of the violence of Esau against Jacob…

In the day thou stoodest on the other side Aloof off, as a spectator of the ruin of Jerusalem, and that with delight and pleasure; when they should, as brethren and neighbours, have assisted against the common enemy; but instead of this they stood at a distance; or they went over to the other side,…

But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother, &c.] The day of his calamity, distress, and destruction, as afterwards explained; that is, with delight and satisfaction, as pleased with it, and rejoicing at it; but rather should have grieved and mourned, and as fearing their turn…

Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity Or gates, as the Targum; the gates of any of their cities, and particularly those of Jerusalem; into which the Edomites entered along with the Chaldeans, exulting over the Jews, and insulting them, and joining…

Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossing In a place where two or more roads met, to stop the Jews that fled, let them take which road they would: or, “in the breach” [[23]]; that is, of the walls of the city; to cut off those of his that did escape; such of the Jews that escaped the sword…

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the Heathen That is, the time was at hand, fixed and determined by the Lord, and he had spoken of by his prophets, when he would punish all the Heathens round about for their sins; as the Egyptians, Philistines, Tyrians, Ammonites, Moabites, and others; and…

For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the Heathen drink continually Which is either spoken to the Edomites; and the sense be, according to the Targum, “as ye have rejoiced at the blow (given unto or at the subversion and destruction) of the mountain of my holiness, all people…

But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance Not only by Cyrus, at the end of the seventy years’ captivity; and by the Maccabees from the Idumeans, and other enemies; but by the Messiah; for not merely temporal deliverance is here intended, unless as a shadow, type, and figure; but spiritual…

And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame The former may denote the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the latter the ten tribes, which after the separation in Rehoboam’s time were called Ephraim, and sometimes Joseph; though they may here signify one and the same,…

And they of the south shall possess the land of Esau That is, those Jews that shall dwell in the southern part of the land of Judea shall seize upon the country of Idumea, lying contiguous to them; they shall enlarge their border, and take that into their possession: and they of the plain the…

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath That is, the host or army, the great number of the children of Israel, that have been carried captive, upon their return shall possess that part of the land of Israel which was…

And saviours shall come upon Mount Zion Which according to some, is to be understood literally, either of Zerubbabel and Joshua, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, who were the restorers of, their civil and church state; or rather of Judas Maccabeus and his brethren, who…