Daniel-Malachi, Volume 8 by Tremper Longman III

Author:Tremper Longman III
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Zondervan

OBADIAH

CARL E. ARMERDING

Introduction

1. Background

2. Unity

3. Authorship

4. Date and Occasion

5. Literary Form

6. Geography

7. Special Problems

8. Theology

9. Bibliography

10. Outline

1. BACKGROUND

Edom, established in the region around Mount Seir (see “Geography”) as far back as patriarchal times (cf. Ge 36), was one of the small kingdoms that inhabited the Transjordanian highlands throughout the entire monarchical period. From the exodus and wandering narratives, as well as from Egyptian records, we know that by the thirteenth century BC Edom was well established in the area south and east of the Dead Sea. In the period of the monarchy, it was David’s lot to bring Edom under subjection; and relations were often hostile from then on.

The full history of the country may be found in a variety of sources.1 Of particular interest in the context of Obadiah’s work are two questions relating to Edom: (1) When might the hostility between Edom and Judah have produced the kind of Edomite perfidy expressed in vv.10–14? (2) When in Edom’s history were Obadiah’s words fulfilled? The first question will be dealt with in the commentary at v.14, while the latter question is addressed here.

Despite periods of subjugation to Judah, there is clear evidence that Edom still constituted an independent monarchy about 594–593 BC (cf. Jer 27:3), and it provided at least partial refuge to Judah’s fugitives then (cf. Jer 40:11). Although Ammon and Moab, like Judah, were subsequently subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar (ca. 582; Josephus, Ant. 10.180–82 [9.7]; cf. Eze 21:18–20, 28), no reference is made to Edom, which may therefore have followed Jeremiah’s counsel to submit (Jer 27:6–7).

Edom’s continued existence in the sixth century is also attested by excavations at Ezion Geber (Tell el-Kheleifeh). In particular, a seal dating from around 600–550 BC and bearing a typical Edomite name (“belonging to Qwsnl servant of the king”)2 was discovered there, and an ostracon from the latter half of the sixth century BC lists four names of similar Edomite origin.3 Edom also figures in OT writings from the exile, which bear witness to its continued existence, albeit guilty and threatened (e.g., La 4:21–22; Eze 25:12–14; 35; Da 11:41).

By 312 BC, however, it is certain that Petra was occupied by the Nabataeans (e.g., Diodorus Siculus 19. 95.2, 98.1), a nomadic Arabic tribe that had infiltrated the land. There is evidence that this transition to Arabic influence was already established in the fifth century. Ammon and Moab are cited as enemies of Judah’s interests in the time of Nehemiah (ca. 444–432; Ne 2:10, 19; 4:3, 7; 6:1–15; 13:1–2, 23); Edom, however, is not named among Judah’s traditional opponents, being replaced by the Arabs, who played a dominant role under Geshem (Ne 2:19; 4:7; 6:1–2; cf. 2Ch 17:11; 21:16; 22:1; 26:7). A similar transition is evident at Ezion Geber, where Arabic names replace Edomite names at the fifth-century site, which was controlled by the Arabs during the Persian period (late sixth to the fourth centuries).4

The destruction of Edom may therefore be located tentatively in the latter half of the sixth century, though recent scholarship suggests a gradual changeover from Edomite to Nabatean in place of the traditional view of an Arab invasion.

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