2<\/strong>. I have made thee thou art<\/em> ] Jehovah is now the speaker. “I have made thee small” in my purpose, which though its accomplishment is still future is as certain as though it were already executed. “Thou art,” already in inevitable destiny, “greatly despised.” There is nothing to commend the view of Calvin and others that Oba 1:2<\/span> is introduced to aggravate the pride of Edom: “Whereas I made thee small and despised, by the narrow territory which I assigned to thee, and the low place I gave thee among the nations of the earth, the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee,” &c. As a fact the Edomites had at this time acquired very considerable territory, and were a strong and formidable nation. If that had not been so, what need would there have been to summon “the nations” to chastise them?<\/p>\n Behold, I have made thee small – <\/B>God, having declared His future judgments upon Edom, assigns the first ground of those judgments. Pride was the root of Edoms sin, then envy; then followed exultation at his brothers fall, hard-heartedness and bloodshed. All this was against the disposition of Gods Providence for him. God had made him small, in numbers, in honor, in territory. Edom was a wild mountain people. It was strongly guarded in the rock-girt dwelling, which God had assigned it. Like the Swiss or the Tyrolese of old, or the inhabitants of Mount Caucasus now, it had strength for resistance through the advantages of its situation, not for aggression, unless it were that of a robber-horde. But lowness, as people use it, is the mother either of lowliness or pride. A low estate, acquiesced in by the grace of God, is the parent of lowliness; when rebelled against, it generates a greater intensity of pride than greatness, because that pride is against nature itself and Gods appointment. The pride of human greatness, sinful as it is, is allied to a natural nobility of character. Copying pervertedly the greatness of God, the soul, when it receives the Spirit of God, casts off the slough, and retains its nobility transfigured by grace. The conceit of littleness has the hideousness of those monstrous combinations, the more hideous, because unnatural, not a corruption only but a distortion of nature. Edom never attempted anything of moment by itself. Thou art greatly despised. Weakness, in itself, is neither despicable nor despised. It is despised only, when it vaunts itself to be, what it is not. God tells Edom what, amid its pride, it was in itself, despicable; what it would thereafter be, despised .<\/P><\/p>\n Verse 2<\/span>. I have made thee small among the heathen<\/B><\/I>] God ever attributes to himself<\/I> the rise and fall of nations<\/I>. If they be great<\/I> and prosperous<\/I>, it is by God’s providence<\/I>; if they be low<\/I> and depressed<\/I>, it is by his justice<\/I>. Compared with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, and other neighbouring nations, the Idumeans were a small people.<\/P> <\/p>\n Behold, <\/B>ye Edomites<\/I>, lay it to heart, and consider it well; be not secure amidst such dangers. <\/P> I have made thee small; <\/B>thou art a small people for number, thy land mountainous, rocky, and barren, and it is little that which is of it, situate very incommodiously for any trade, which makes people great and famous; a country titled for moss-troopers, or banditti; and as such outlaws and robbers, thou art proud, and promisest great things to thyself. <\/P> Among the heathen, <\/B>in comparison with other nations. <\/P> Thou art greatly despised, <\/B>by those that do hear of thee, who know thy situation, government, manner of life, and what thy forces are, and how usually employed. Whatever these Edomites had been, now they are despised, and ere long should be more despicable, when, as Jer 49:20<\/span>, the least of Nebuchadnezzars army should pull them out of their caves, houses, and strong holds. <\/P> <\/p>\n 2. I have made thee small<\/B>Thyreduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were alreadyaccomplished;<\/I> therefore the past tense is used [MAURER].Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north(Jer 49:8<\/span>; Jer 49:13<\/span>).CALVIN explains it,”Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why artthou so proud<\/I>” (Ob 3<\/span>)?But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one soinsignificant? Jer 49:15<\/span>,confirms MAURER’S view.<\/P><\/p>\n Behold, I have made thee small among the Heathen<\/strong>,…. Or “a little one”, or “thing” o; 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 rather, “I will make thee”; the past for the future, after the prophetic manner, as Kimchi; that is weak and feeble, as the Targum; reduce their numbers, destroy their towns and cities, and bring them into a low and miserable condition: or the sense is, that he would make them look little, mean, and abject, in the sight of their enemies who would conclude, upon a view of them, that they should have no trouble in subduing them, and therefore should attack them without fear, and as sure of success:<\/p>\n thou art greatly despised<\/strong>; in the eyes of the nations round about; by their enemies, who looked upon them with contempt, because of the smallness of their number, their defenceless state and want of strength to support and defend themselves; see Jer 49:15<\/span>; had so the pope of Rome is little and despicable in the eyes of the monarchs of the earth; and the antichristian Edom will be more so at the time of its general ruin.<\/p>\n o “parvium”, V. L.<\/p>\n The Lord threatens Edom with war, because He has determined to reduce and humble the nation, which now, with its proud confidence in its lofty rocky towers, regards itself as invincible. Oba 1:2<\/span>. “Behold, I have made thee small among the nations; thou art greatly despised.<\/em> Oba 1:3<\/span>. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee; thou that dwellest in rocky castles, upon its lofty seat; that saith in its heart, Who will cast me down to the ground?:<\/em> Oba 1:4<\/span>. If thou buildest high like the eagle, and if thy nest were placed among stars, thence will I cast thee down, is the saying of Jehovah.” <\/em> Oba 1:2<\/span> is correctly attached in Jeremiah (Oba 1:15<\/span>) by , inasmuch as it contains the reason for the attack upon Edom. By hinneh <\/em> (behold), which points to the fact itself, the humiliation of Edom is vividly presented to the mind. The perfect nathatt <\/em> “describes the resolution of Jehovah as one whose fulfilment is as certain as if it had already occurred” (Caspari). What Jehovah says really takes place. refers to the number of the people. The participle is perfectly appropriate, as expressing the ideal present, i.e., the present which follows the . When the Lord has made Edom small, it will be very much despised. It is only through an incorrect interpretation of the historical present that Hitzig would possibly be led to regard the participle as unsuitable, and to give the preference to Jeremiah’s .<\/p>\n Oba 1:3<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Oba 1:3<\/span> contains a consequence which follows from Oba 1:2<\/span>. Edom will be unable to avert this fate: its lofty rocky castles will not preserve it from the overthrow which has been decreed by the Lord, and which He will carry out through the medium of the nations. Edom has therefore been deceived by its proud reliance upon these rocky towers. , which the connecting sound attached to the construct state (see at Gen 31:39<\/span>), is a vocative. are rocky towers, though the primary meaning of is open to dispute. The word is derived from the root , which is not used in Hebrew (like from ), and is found not only here and in the parallel passage of Jeremiah, but also in the Son 2:14<\/span>, where it occurs in parallelism with , which points to the meaning refugium <\/em>, i.e., asylum. This meaning has also been confirmed by A. Schultens ( Anim-adv. ad Jes.<\/em> xix. 17) and by Michaelis ( Thes. s.v. Jes.<\/em>), from the Arabic hj’a <\/em>, confugit <\/em>, and mahja’u <\/em>, refugium <\/em>.<\/p>\n (Note: The renderings adopted on the authority of the ancient versions, such as clefts of the rock, scissurae <\/em>, jagged rocks, fissures ( , lxx), caves, which are derived either from the supposed connection between and , and the Arabic chjj <\/em>, fidit <\/em>, laceravit <\/em>, or from the Arabic wajah <\/em>, antrum <\/em> (with the letters transposed), have far less to sustain them. For the meanings assigned to these Arabic words are not the primary meanings, but derivative ones. The former signifies literally propulit <\/em>, the latter confugit <\/em>, iv. effecit ut ad rem confugeret <\/em>; and Arabic mawjahun <\/em> means refugium <\/em>, asylum<\/em>.)<\/p>\n In the expression the is to be considered as still retaining its force from onwards (cf. Isa 28:7<\/span>; Job 15:3<\/span>, etc.). The emphasis rests upon high<\/em>; and hence the abstract noun marom <\/em>, height, instead of the adjective. The Edomites inhabited the mountains of Seir<\/em>, which have not yet been carefully explored in detail. They are on the eastern side of the Ghor (or Arabah), stretching from the deep rocky valley of the Ahsy, which opens into the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and extending as far as Aela<\/em> on the Red Sea, and consist of mighty rocks of granite and porphyry, covered with fresh vegetation, which terminate in the west, towards the deeply intersected sand-sea of the Ghor and Arabah, in steep and lofty walls of sandstone. The mountains are hardly accessible, therefore, on the western side; whereas on the east they are gradually lost in the broad sandy desert of Arabia, without any perceptible fall (see Burckhardt in v. Raumer’s Pal<\/em>. pp. 83-4, 86; and Robinson’s Palestine<\/em>, ii. p. 551ff.). They also abound in clefts, with both natural and artificial caves; and hence its earliest inhabitants were Horites, i.e., dwellers in caves; and even the Edomites dwelt in caves, at least to some extent.<\/p>\n (Note: Jerome observes on Oba 1:6<\/span>: “And indeed … throughout the whole of the southern region of the Idumaeans, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Hala (for this is a possession of Esau), there are small dwellings in caves; and on account of the great heat of the sun, since it is a southern province, subterranean huts are used.”)<\/p>\n The capital, Sela<\/em> ( Petra<\/em>), in the Wady Musa, of whose glory at one time there are proofs still to be found in innumerable remains of tombs, temples, and other buildings, was shut in both upon the east and west by rocky walls, which present an endless variety of bright lively colours, from the deepest crimson to the softest pale red, and sometimes passing into orange and yellow; whilst on the north and south it was so encircled by hills and heights, that it could only be reached by climbing through very difficult mountain passes and defiles (see Burckhardt, Syr<\/em>. p. 703; Robinson, Pal<\/em>. ii. p. 573; and Ritter, Erdk<\/em>. xiv. p. 1103); and Pliny calls it oppidum circumdatum montibus inaccessis <\/em>. Compare Strabo, xvi. 779; and for the different roads to Petra, Ritter, p. 997ff.<\/p>\n Oba 1:4<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Oba 1:4<\/span> shows the worthlessness of this reliance of the Edomites. The object to , viz., , does not follow till the second clause: If thou makest thy nest high like the eagle, which builds its nest upon the loftiest jagged rocks (Job 39:27-28<\/span>). This thought is hyperbolically intensified in the second clause: if thy nest had been placed among stars. is not an infinitive, but a passive participle, as in the primary passage, Num 24:21<\/span>, which Obadiah had before his mind, and in 1Sa 9:24<\/span>; 2Sa 13:32<\/span>; but is nevertheless to be taken as an accusative of the object, after the analogy of the construction of passives c. accus. obj.<\/em> (see Ges. 143, l, a<\/em>.).<\/p>\n Jeremiah uses nearly the same words; but the sense of the expression is ambiguous, when he says, ‘Lo, little have I set thee.’ To me it appears probable, that the Prophet reproves the Idumeans, because they became arrogant, as it were, against the will of God, and in opposition to it, when, at the same time, they were confined to the narrow passes of mountains. It is said elsewhere, (Mal 1:2<\/span>,) ‘Jacob and Esau, were they not brethren?’ “But I have given to you the inheritance promised to your father Abraham; I have transferred the Idumeans to mount Seir.” Now it is less bearable, if any one be elated with pride, when his condition is not so honorable. I therefore think that the Idumeans are here condemned because they vaunted so much, and arrogated to themselves more than what was right, when they yet were contemptible, when their condition was mean and obscure, for they dwelt on mount Seir. But others think that the punishment, which was impending over them, is here denounced, Lo, little have I made thee among the nations, and Jeremiah says, ‘and contemptible among men’; he omits the two words, thou and exceedingly; he says only, ‘and contemptible among men’. But as to the substance, there is hardly any difference. If then we understand that that nation was proud without reason, the sense is evident, that is, that they, like the giants, carried on war against God, that they vaunted themselves, though confined to the narrow passes of mountains. Though I leave to others their own free opinion, I am yet inclined to the former view, while the latter has been adopted nearly by the consent of all; and that is, that God was resolved forcibly to constrain to order those ferocious men, who, for no reason, and even in opposition to nature, are become insolent. But if a different interpretation be more approved, we may say, that the Prophet begins with a threatening, and then subjoins a reason why God determined to diminish and even to destroy them: for though they dwelt on mountains, it was yet a fertile region; and further, they had gathered in course of long time much wealth, when they attained security, when no enemy disturbed them. This then is the reasoning, Lo, I have made thee small and contemptible in the mountain, — and why? because the pride of thy heart has deceived thee; and Jeremiah adds, terror, (71) although some render תפלצתך taphlatastae, image; but this seems not appropriate. Jeremiah then, I doubt not, mentions terror in the first place; for it almost ever happens, that the proud strike others with fear: such then were the Idumeans. <\/p>\n Now if we follow the first meaning I explained, the two verses may be read as connected, Lo, I have made thee small and contemptible among the nations; (72) but the pride of thy heart has deceived thee; some render it, has raised thee up, deriving it from נשא nusha: but they read ש shin, pointed on the left side; for if נשא nusha has the point in the branch of the shin, on the right hand, it means to deceive, but if on the left, it signifies to raise up. Then they give this translations “The pride of thine heart has raised thee up:” but we clearly learn from Jeremiah, that it ought, as almost all interpreters agree, to be rendered thus, “The pride of thine heart has deceived thee:” for he says not השיאך eshiac but השיא אותך eshia autea, that is, it was to thee the cause of error and of madness. Of the sense then of this verb there can be no doubt. <\/p>\n (71) Blayney, for very satisfactory reasons, transfers this word to the preceding verse, and then the passage will be almost literally the same with this of Obadiah. The 15 th, and the beginning of the 16 th in Jeremiah Jer 49:15<\/span> may be thus rendered, — <\/p>\n 15. For, behold, small have I made thee among the nations, Contemptible among the men of thy terror, (that is, such as thou didst fear.) <\/p>\n 16. Deceived thee has the pride of thy heart; etc. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Ed. <\/p>\n (72) It is evidently of the past, and not of the future, that this verse speaks. The corresponding passage in Jeremiah is, in our version, rendered in the future tense, but Blayney renders it, as it is, in the past tense. Our version here adopts the past tense in the first line, “I have made,” etc., and the present in the second, “Thou art, ” etc., contrary to the rule, that when the auxiliary verb is not expressed in the original, the tense of the verbs expressed is to be observed. The two lines should therefore be thus translated, — <\/p>\n Behold, small have I made thee among the nations; Despised wert thou exceedingly. <\/p>\n The reference is, no doubt, as Calvin says, to the poor inheritance assigned to the Edomites, and to the low station they occupied among other nations; and hence their pride and insolence appeared more evident and unreasonable. — Ed. <\/p>\n YHWH’s Sentence On Edom ( Oba 1:2-4<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n YHWH’s message to Edom was simple and straightforward. They had exalted themselves to the heavens, confident of their safety in their mountain strongholds, but they would be brought from their eminence and humiliated.<\/p>\n Oba 1:2-3<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Behold, I have made you small among the nations.<\/p>\n You are greatly despised.<\/p>\n The pride of your heart has deceived you,<\/p>\n O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,<\/p>\n Whose habitation is high, who says in his heart,<\/p>\n ‘Who shall bring me down to the ground?’ ”<\/p>\n Although Edom prided itself on its security in its mountain fastnesses, YHWH warned that He would bring them down, and make them greatly despised. Indeed in His mind He had already made them small among the nations and humbled them in spite of the security of their dwellingplaces. Their dwelling ‘in the clefts of the rock’ may refer to their capital city of Sela, or to nearby Petra where the houses were literally built into the rocky formations on a mountain plateau, or both. Alternately it may simply indicate the fact that they lived safely in the mountains in their strongholds. If the prophecy came before the time of Amaziah of Judah we know that he would very shortly demonstrate their vulnerability (2Ki 14:7<\/span>). If it came after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem it was accomplished by an Arabian invasion.<\/p>\n Oba 1:4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Though you mount on high as the eagle,<\/p>\n And though your nest be set among the stars,<\/p>\n I will bring you down from there,”<\/p>\n Oracle of YHWH.’<\/p>\n In fact their mountainous hideouts would do them no good. For even were they to mount like an eagle and make their nest on the highest peaks ‘among the stars’, He would bring them down from there. This was the oracle of YHWH, against which there was no answer.<\/p>\n Oba 1:2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.<\/p>\n Ver. 2. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen<\/strong> ] That is, vile, despicable, and abject, as Psa 119:141<\/span> , “I am small and despised.” Nothing is more ordinary than to “despise the day of small things,” Zec 4:10<\/span> . And whereas God is said to be magnus in magnis, nec parvus in minimis,<\/em> much in the greater neither little in the least, he had always kept down these profane Edomites, shutting them up in Mount Seir, a craggy barren country (not unlike Ascre, Hesiod’s country, A , ’ , or Llandaff in Wales, which is said to be a place neither pleasant, fertile, nor safe), and not suffering them to attain to any fame or almost name among other nations. Were it not that they are mentioned in the Bible (and never there for any goodness either) it would hardly have been known that there ever had been such a people. Wherefore, then, should Edom be so intolerably insolent, as Oba 1:3 ? swell to such a height of pride, play such bloody, pranks, as he is here accused of? espesially since God is taking a course to make him yet lesser and lower than yet he is, by those armies of his that are coming upon him, to stain the pride of all his glory, Isa 23:9<\/span> .<\/p>\n Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6. Calling attention to the words of Jehovah. <\/p>\n Nineveh <\/p>\n (See Scofield “Nah 1:1”) <\/p>\n Num 24:18, 1Sa 2:7, 1Sa 2:8, Job 34:25-29, Psa 107:39, Psa 107:40, Isa 23:9, Eze 29:15, Mic 7:10, Luk 1:51, Luk 1:52 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Jer 49:15 – General Eze 32:29 – Edom<\/p>\n Oba 1:2. Among the heathen might imply that Edom was not one of the heathen as he is said to be among them. However, the word is also rendered nation” in many places and It is so used In this one. The original word means any group or nation of people regardless of what religion they profess. This verse means that the Edomites were doomed by the Lord to become one of the smaller nations and to be looked down upon.<\/p>\n Yahweh called Obadiah’s hearers to see that He would make Edom, which was already despised because of her character, small among the nations. He would humble her further.<\/p>\n Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 2. I have made thee thou art ] Jehovah is now the speaker. “I have made thee small” in my purpose, which though its accomplishment is still future is as certain as though it were already executed. “Thou art,” already in inevitable … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Obadiah 1:2”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22523\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"