Description
What you get:
- Atlas of 10 high-definition maps that track with the prophecy of Obadiah against the nation of Edom
Sample map in the Obadiah Bible Atlas
It’s the Bible’s shortest book
And it’s almost as brief as Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, Obadiah says the country of Edom is about to go extinct.
This warning might run 500 words or more in English. But in Hebrew, it’s just 291 words in 21 verses.
The book of Obadiah preserves the message delivered on what is said to be orders from God.
Not kissing cousins
Edom’s people were related to the Jews. But that’s hard to tell, based on charges leveled against them by Obadiah and other prophets: “Those people are tagged for destruction” (Isaiah 34:5).
God, apparently through a vision to Obadiah, accuses the people of Edom with:
—Collaborating with invaders who decimated Jerusalem
—Gloating over the fall of the Israelite nation
—Arresting people of Judah as they tried to escape
—Turning them over to the enemy
—Pillaging Jerusalem’s ruins for leftover valuables
Talking about Babylon?
Obadiah never identifies the invading nation.
But Jerusalem, over the years, had been attacked by many nations, including Egypt, Syria, Israel of the north, Assyria, and Babylon—which was the attack that finally destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
And Babylon was the likely invader here, many scholars say. But Obadiah wasn’t focused on the invader. His message identifies only one enemy by name, and it’s Edom.
Obadiah said their doomsday was now on God’s calendar.
“You killed the people of your brother, Jacob.
For that, I’m shutting you down forever.” (1:10).
But there’s one difference. Obadiah said the Jewish nation would rise from the ruins. Edom, he said, would stay dead.
WRITER
“Obadiah” might not have been the writer’s name.
That Hebrew word means “servant of God,” or “worshiper of God,” or as some might say today, “a man of God.”
So, for that reason, some scholars say they wonder if Obadiah should be spelled obadiah—as though the word is a title and not a name. (Malachi raises the same question for the last book of the Old Testament.) Yet “Obadiah” was a legit name. And there were about a dozen Obadiah’s in the Bible.
In addition to the Obadiah Bible Atlas
You might consider the atlas of:
Best resource for comparing other Bible translations: Bible Gateway. This isn’t an ad. It’s a recommendation from the Casual English Bible.
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