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Introduction
to Obadiah
INTRODUCTION TO OBADIAH
The
title of this Book, in the Hebrew copies, is usually "Sepher Obadiah",
the Book of Obadiah: the Vulgate Latin version calls it the Prophecy of
Obadiah; and so the Arabic version: and in the Syriac version it is, the
Prophecy of the Prophet Obadiah. His name signifies a "servant" or
"worshipper of the Lord". Who he was, what his parentage, and in what
age he lived, are things uncertain. The Seder Olam ZutaF1P. 103.
places him in the reign of Jehoshaphat: and he is thought by some to be that
Obadiah that was one of the princes he sent to teach the people, 2 Chronicles 17:7.
The ancient Jewish Rabbins take him to be the same with him that lived in the
times of Ahab, and in his court, who hid the prophets by fifty in a cave, and
fed them, 1 Kings 18:3; to
which Aben Ezra objects, because he is not called a prophet, only one that
feared the Lord; whereas to be a prophet is something greater. They also say he
was an Edomite by birth, but was proselyted to the Jewish religion, and so a
fit person to be employed in prophesying against Edom; and it is a tradition
with them that his widow is the woman whose cruse of oil Elisha multiplied, 2 Kings 4:1. Some
have been of opinion that he was the captain of the third fifty, whose life
Elijah spared in the times of Ahaziah; and who upon that left the king's
service, and followed the prophet, and became a disciple of his; so
Pseudo-EpiphaniusF2De Prophet. Vid. c. 15. , and Isidorus
HispalensisF3De Vita & Mort. Sanct. c, 44. , who say that he was
of Sychem, a city of Samaria, and of the field of Bethachamar, or Bethaccaron.
Others would have him to be one of the overseers of the workmen in the house of
the Lord, in the times of Josiah, 2 Chronicles 34:12;
to which Mr. LivelyF4In loc. inclines; though others, going
according to the order of the books in the canon of Scripture, which is not to
be depended on, place him earlier, and make him contemporary with Hosea, Joel,
and Amos, as GrotiusF5In loc. , HuetiusF6Demonstrat.
Evangel. Prop. 4. p. 290. , and LightfootF7Works, vol. 1. p. 96. :
but he seems rather to be contemporary with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, with whose
prophecies this agrees, as may be observed by comparing it with Jeremiah 49:1; and
to have lived and prophesied after the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans; in which the Edomites, against whom he prophesies, had a concern;
see Obadiah 1:11;
though Dr. Lightfoot thinks these prophecies refer either to the sacking of
Jerusalem by Shishak king of Egypt, 1 Kings 14:25; or
by the Philistines and Arabians, 2 Chronicles 21:16;
or by Joash king of Israel, 2 Chronicles 25:21;
so that, upon the whole, it is not certain; and, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi own,
it is not known in what age this prophet lived: Bishop UsherF8Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 3417 or 587 B.C. places his prophecy in the twelfth year of
Jeconiah's captivity. However, there is no doubt to be made of the authenticity
of the prophecy; as may be concluded, not only from the title of it, and the
solemn manner in which it begins; but from the matter of it, and the
accomplishment of what is contained in it; as well as from the testimony borne
to it in the New Testament, in which not only the book of the minor prophets,
in which this stands, is quoted, Acts 7:42; but a
passage in it, Obadiah 1:8; is
referred to in 1 Corinthians 1:19;
as is thought by some learned men. I have only to observe, that, according to
Pseudo-EpiphaniusF9Ut supra. (De Prophet. Vid. c. 15.) , he died in
Bethachamar, where he is said to be born, and was buried in the sepulchre of
his ancestors; but, according to JeromF11Comment. in loc. & in
Epitaph. Paulae, fol. 59. M. and IsidoreF12Ut supra. (De Vita &
Mort. Sanct. c, 44.) , his sepulchre is in Sebaste or Samaria; which remained
to the times of Jerom, near those of the Prophet Elisha and John the Baptist.
Monsieur ThevenotF13Travels, par. 1. B. 1. ch. 56. p. 216. says that
John Baptist here lies buried between the Prophets Elisha and Abdias.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23, 1697-October 14,
1771) was an English Baptist, a biblical scholar, and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
In his youth, he attended Kettering Grammar School, mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve, Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor, William Wallis, on the text, "And the Lord called
unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel,
Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719. In 1757, his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane, St. Olave's Street, Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748, Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist, which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself, which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible, NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version, while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order,
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou",
"thee", "ye," "thy," and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example, "speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young, who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.