An Atheist Explores the Bible Part 178: Those Darn Edomites (Obadiah 1)

Obadiah 1
Those Darn Edomites.

Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version).
In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.

For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP

And now:

Obadiah 1
“The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.”

Obadiah prophesies against the Edomites, who live on the mount of Esau and it is implied here that they are the descendants of Esau. I get from this that they live in caves on the mountainside, but are considered haughty. Possibly also they have been raiding Israel and taking advantage of its weakness from other wars (because they “entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity”). Part of Obadiah’s issue with the Edomites seems to stem from the disputes between Jacob and Esau. Seeing as it was Jacob who conned his brother out of his birthright, it seems a bit rich to be angry at Esau. Even more stupid to continue to fight over such a matter, but of course people do this kind of idiocy all the time.

Obadiah’s prophecy ends with Israel and Judah conquering adjacent nations and “the saviours” coming to Mount Zion which becomes God’s mountain.

That’s it, and it’s a one chapter book that really doesn’t do much except stoke anger over disputes so old they may as well be mythology.

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