The shortest book

Before we move into the main content, let us touch on an overview of the Book of Obadiah. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. However, since the themes this book deals with are wide-ranging, it cannot be taken lightly. (1) Regarding the author Obadiah, nothing is known about him other than his name. Obadiah means “servant of the Lord (Yahweh).” As a servant of the Lord, he was shown a “vision,” and he speaks it just as it was given. Not all prophets receive the Lord’s message through visions, but in his case, through the vision he was able to see future events as though they were actually taking place. The place where he carried out his ministry was the land of Judah centered on Jerusalem. (2) There are also various opinions regarding the time of writing. Obadiah 1-4 is quoted in Jeremiah 49:14-16. Also, Obadiah 5-6 is quoted in Jeremiah 49:9-10. Therefore, it is understood that Obadiah was a prophet prior to Jeremiah. Furthermore, since Obadiah 17 is quoted in Joel 2:32, it is understood that Obadiah was a prophet prior to Joel. In verses 10-14, there is a reference to a certain tragic event that took place in Jerusalem. There are two possibilities for this. One possibility is the invasion of Jerusalem by the Philistines and the Arabs that occurred during the reign of King Jehoram (845 BC) (2 Chron. 21:16-17). The other possibility is the invasion by King Nebuchadnezzar that occurred in 605-586 BC (2 Kings 24). Considering that Obadiah was a prophet before Joel and Jeremiah, the former possibility seems more likely. It is most probable that this book was written around 845 BC. Obadiah is the first prophet to appear among the twelve prophets who wrote the Minor Prophets.

The themes of the book

The themes of this book are: (1) that God will take vengeance for Israel, and (2) that God will restore Israel once again. Those who read this book will have their arrogant attitude corrected and will learn that those who trust in God will never be put to shame. Let us also pray with David: “Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be innocent, And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing” (Ps. 19:13).