åfter the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar made an expedition against Cole-syria" (a term which he extends at least as far south as Idumæa, 'Ant.' I. 11 § 5), "and when he had possessed himself of it, he made war against the Ammonites and Moabites, and when he had brought all these nations into subjection, he fell upon Egypt in order to overthrow it" ('Ant.' x. 9 § 7). Mount Seir lying between the land of Moab and the valley of the Arabah, which formed the military road to Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar could hardly have failed to crush the Edomites with the other nations which he subdued. To keep the almost impregnable fastnesses of Selah, he, in all probability, transported a colony of Chaldæans and settled them there; while the Edomites who survived his inroad, unable to recover their lost heritage, took advantage of the weakness of the Jews to establish themselves in the south of Judæa, where they are afterwards exclusively found.

Of the twofold prediction against the Edomites, therefore, we find a relation of the fulfilment of one part in the express words of the historian Josephus, and history compels us to infer the fulfilment of the other part, although, owing to a loss of records, it does not directly relate it.

Is the final prediction regarding the expansion of the Israelitish kingdom fulfilled?

The promise, that an escaped remnant (2. 17) should occupy Mount Zion, was literally fulfilled in the Restoration under Zerubbabel. But, by a law of prophetic interpretation, the words of the prophet are not to be understood as meaning literally a southward, westward, eastward and northward expansion of the Jewish power and the Jewish people. This is the form under which an idea is presented to the prophet, and by him to his countrymen. It is necessary to be very careful in distinguishing between the form and the idea. In Isai. xi. 15 we read, "the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams and make men go over dryshod." The next verse explains that by this is meant "There shall

be a highway, for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." In other words, the idea of the removal of all obstacles in the way of a return from Assyria is represented under the familiar form of smiting the Egyptian sea, and dividing the river. Similarly here the idea of universal expansion is represented under the form of overflowing the existing limits of Judæa on all sides. To require, for the fulfilment of the prophecy, that "they of the south," i.e. the Simeonites or those who succeeded to them, should literally occupy Mount Seir, and that Benjamin should literally occupy Peræa, is to misunderstand the laws of the interpretation of prophecy. If the expansion has taken place, the prophecy is satisfied.

But it may still be asked, Has the idea been accomplished, has the predicted expansion taken place? We reply that typically and partially the prediction had a fulfilment in the days of the Maccabees, but a fulfilment which was only typical and partial. The modern Jews look forward to the time of the revelation of their expected Messiah for its complete accomplishment. Then they suppose that all the exiled Jews will be gathered together from Spain (Sepharad) and elsewhere, and will form a kingdom which will rule over the "Edomites," that is, according to an accepted rule of Rabbinical interpretation, over the "Christians," and over the rest of the world. Christians believe that the prediction found an accomplishment, but still only a partial and incomplete accomplishment, when the kingdom of Jehovah, ceasing to be confined within the limits of Judæa, expanded into the Catholic or universal Church. And they look forward to a still further accomplishment of it in the future, whether at the time of the Millennium, as the Millennium was understood by the majority of the Fathers of the Church, or at that time, whenever it may be, which is described in the two final chapters of the Book of the Revelation.

Of the three predictions, then, of Obadiah (if we like to regard them, for convenience, as three instead of two), we are enabled to say that history relates the

fulfilment of one, and necessarily implies the fulfilment of another, while the third is as yet but typically and partially fulfilled, and awaits a fuller completion.

The most valuable commentaries and dissertations, specially on Obadiah, are:1. Leusden, 'Obadiah illustratus:' appended to 'Joel explicatus.' Ultraj. 1657. 2. Pfeiffer, 'Commentarius in Obadiam.' Viteb. 1666.

3. Schnurrer, 'Dissertatio philologica in Obadiam.' Tübingen, 1787.

4. Hendewerk, 'Obadia Oraculum in Idumæos.' Reg. Pruss. 1836.

jas.'

5. Jäger, 'Ueber das Zeitalter ObadTübing. 1837.

6. Caspari, 'Der Prophet Obadjah ausgelegt.' Lpsg. 1842.

7. Delitzsch, Wann weiszagte Obadjah?' in the 'Rudelbach und Guericke's Zeitschrift,' 1851.

For the Rabbinical interpretation of the book, which is, in general, of too extravagant a character to notice in a serious commentary, reference may be made to Pfeiffer, "Tract. Phil. Antirrab.,' Op. p. 1081, Ultraj. 1704; to Buxtorf's 'Synagoga Judaica;' and to the article on Obadiah in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible.'

1. The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom] Obadiah's prophecy, like Nahum's, bears two headings or titles: (1) The vision of Obadiah; (2) Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom. In the Book of Nahum the order of the headings is reversed: "The burden of Nineveh;" "The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkoshite." The first title, The vision of Obadiah, has been attributed to the compiler of the Book of the Minor Prophets: the second, Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom, to Obadiah. It is probable, however, that both were affixed by the writer himself: for (1) the reversal of the order of the headings in Nahum seems to imply that neither of them proceeded from the compiler; (2) we do not find that in other cases it was the practice of the compiler to head each book with a descriptive title; (3) we do find that it was usual with the Hebrew prophets to prefix words of similar import with Obadiah's first heading, not only to books, where the compiler's hand might be supposed to be traced, but also to their several prophecies: e.g. "The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem," Isai. i. 1: "The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, did see," Isai. xiii. 1. Some of these superscriptions could not but have emanated from the author, as Ezek. i. 1, "In the fifth day of the month...I saw visions of God," followed instead of preceded by "In the fifth day of the month...the word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest; " (4) the "her" at the end of the verse requires the "Edom" of the second heading to have preceded it.

vision] The word vision (châzon) is applied to all divine communications made to a seer, whether in the ecstatic or in the ordinary state. It is noticeable that it is used by the later as well as by the earlier prophets (cf. Zech. xiii. 4; Dan. viii. 1); which shews that it is an error to imagine, as has been

and let us rise up against her in battle.

2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habita

supposed by some, that the idea indicated by the title "seer" (chozeh and roeb) was only an early notion, exchanged after a time for that which is expressed by the more usual title "announcer" (nabi). The prophet announced God's revelations, but he saw them first, whether he lived in a later or in an earlier period.

Thus saith the Lord GOD] This is a formula claiming divine authority for the whole prophecy. The words are not to be grammatically connected with the sentence immediately following.

Edom] See Introduction, §§ ii., iii., iv.

We] The Jews, including their representative, the prophet. Jeremiah, in the parallel prophecy, uses the singular number (Jer. xlix. 14).

rumour] i.e. "tidings or message from God." See on Jer. xlix. 14. Cf. also Isai. xliv. 8, xlviii. 5, liii. 1.

an ambassador] Or, herald. See on Jer. xlix. 14. Jehovah is described as Himself giving a message to His people, the Jews, who are near Him, and sending a bearer of the same message to the heathen who are afar.

Arise ye, and let us rise up] Jehovah's command, and His herald's exhortation. Cf. Jer. xlix. 14.

2. Behold] Verses 2-9 contain the denunciation of Edom; verses 10-14, the cause sion of the denunciation; verses 17-21, a of the denunciation; verses 15, 16, an expandeclaration of the glories of Zion, following upon the fulfilment of the denunciation. I] Jehovah.

have made thee small] The future is anticipated as though already accomplished. Cf. Jer. xlix. 15.

among the heathen] among the nations.

3. thou that davellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high] The word

8. the wise men out of Edom] Edom was proverbial for its wisdom. Eliphaz was a Temanite (Job ii. 11, where see note). "The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran and Theman, the authors of fables and the seekers out of understanding, none of these have known the way of wisdom, or remember her paths," Baruch iii. 23. on Gen. xxxvi. 11 and Job ii. 11.

See

mount of Esau] Originally, Mount Seir. After its occupation by the Edomites it was called indifferently by either name. See on Gen. xxxii. 3.

10. For] Verses 10-14 declare the cause of the previous denunciation of Edom to be the violence and outrage of which the Edomites had been guilty in Judah's calamity and distress.

thy brother Jacob] "Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother," Deut. xxiii. 7. See on Amos i. 11. Judah is designated by the name of Jacob, in order to recall the relationship. Edom is a type of those who ought to be brotherly and are not.

thou shalt be cut off for ever] See Introduction, §§ iii., iv.

11. In the day that thou stoodest...in the day that the strangers carried away...even thou wast as one of them] In the day of thy standing...in the day of the strangers carrying away. In the original no time is expressed by these words, nor in the last clause of the verse, even thou as one of

them.

strangers...and foreigners] These words prove that the prophet does not refer to the capture of Jerusalem by Joash (2 K. xiv. 13). See Introduction, § ii.

carried away captive his forces] These words, as well as those that follow, cast lots upon Jerusalem, create a difficulty to commentators who deny that Obadiah refers to the

Babylonish conquest; they are so strong as to be hardly applicable to the Arabian conquest in the days of Jehoram. It has been proposed to translate the first clause, “carried away his goods:" but it more naturally and properly denotes "carried away captive his forces;" while "casting lots upon Jerusalem" certainly means more than dividing the spoil taken in it.

12. thou shouldest not have looked...neither shouldest thou have rejoiced...neither shouldest thou have spoken] do not look... and do not rejoice... and do not speak. All the renderings "thou shouldest not" should be corrected, as in the margin of the A. V., into "do not." The picture of Edom's violence and cruelty is presented to the prophet, and, as his eye traverses the canvas, he exclaims, "Do not look"..."do not rejoice"... "do not enter"..."do not deliver," as he sees each group so engaged. The words are addressed to Edomites by way of apostrophe on what he sees them doing before his face, not as a warning against their so doing in the future. The representations of the prophetic vision are necessarily exempt from the relations of time, those relations not being recognized by the intuitive faculty in the ecstatic state. No argument can be drawn as to the prophet's date from one expression or the other. See Introduction, § ii.

in the day that he became a stranger] Lit. in the day of his treatment as a stranger, i.e. in the day of his cruel treatment. A kindred word is used in Job xxxi. 3.

i.e. mocked at them. spoken proudly] made thy mouth wide,

13. Thou shouldest not have entered...thou shouldest not have looked...nor have laid bands on their substance] Do not enter... do not look... and do not lay hands on their