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| Obadiah | |
|---|---|
| Name | Obadiah |
| Other names | Abdiya, ʻObadyā |
| Period | 6th–5th century BCE (traditional) |
| Books | Book of Obadiah |
| Tradition | Judaism, Christianity |
| Language | Biblical Hebrew |
Obadiah Obadiah is the eponymous figure associated with the Book of Obadiah, a short prophetic book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. Traditionally identified as a prophet active during the late monarchic or early exilic period, Obadiah's pronouncements address the fall of Edom and the restoration of Israel; his figure intersects with traditions preserved in Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate manuscripts. Scholarly debate links Obadiah to contexts involving the Babylonian captivity, the reigns of Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, or events tied to Jerusalem's destruction, while later rabbinic and patristic writers integrate him into liturgical and artistic traditions.
The name appears in Hebrew as עֹבַדְיָה (ʻObadyā), conventionally rendered in English as Obadiah; variants include Abdiya in Akkadian-influenced texts and forms attested in Septuagint manuscripts. Comparable theophoric names occur in inscriptions from Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia, reflecting the element "-yā" referencing YHWH. Medieval Masoretes preserved vocalization traditions that inform modern editions such as the Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex, while Syriac Peshitta and Latin Vulgate traditions show transliteration differences used in Jerome's scholarship. Onomastic parallels appear in names recorded in Ezra–Nehemiah lists and in epigraphic corpora from Lachish and Arad.
The Book of Obadiah is placed among the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and among the Old Testament collections in Christian canons; its composition is a single-chapter oracle focusing on Edom and Jacob. The text addresses the nations, invoking imagery and judgment language that parallels passages in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, while echoing themes found in Amos and Joel. Manuscript witnesses include the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments, the Septuagint version used in Alexandria, and translations preserved by Origen and later Church Fathers such as Augustine. Canonical placement affects interpretation in Masoretic and Greek traditions, with textual variants considered in critical editions like the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.
Scholars have proposed various datings for the oracle: an early date linking Obadiah to the attack on Jerusalem under King Jehoram and conflicts with Philistines and Edomites; a later exilic date connecting the prophecy to the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem and the fall of the First Temple; and post-exilic readings situating composition during the Persian Empire. Comparative studies engage Assyriology, Near Eastern archaeology, and analyses of Hebrew poetry and prophetic rhetoric. Modern commentators from Julius Wellhausen to Martin Noth and contemporary scholars like Jon D. Levenson and Richard L. Schultz weigh linguistic, historical, and redactional evidence, while archaeological finds at Bozrah and surveys of the Negev inform reconstructions of Edomite society. Interdisciplinary approaches draw on epigraphy, paleo-Hebrew letter forms, and sociohistorical models developed in studies of ancient Israel and Levantine polities.
In Jewish tradition Obadiah is included in the liturgical readings associated with the Three Weeks and discussed in the Talmud and Midrashim where rabbinic authors associate him with prophetic succession and ethical admonition regarding brotherhood with Edom. Medieval commentators such as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak and Nahmanides debate historical setting and moral implications, while Kabbalistic and Hasidic writers interpret the oracle allegorically. In Christian reception, Church Fathers including Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great used Obadiah in typological readings linking Edom to sinful nations and Jacob to the Church; the book appears in Latin Vulgate lectionary cycles and in Protestant commentaries by figures such as John Calvin and Matthew Henry.
Artistic responses to Obadiah range from medieval illuminated manuscripts and Bible moralisée cycles illustrating the downfall of Edom to modern paintings and etchings depicting prophetic judgment scenes in collections influenced by Dürer and Rembrandt. Musical settings include chants in Byzantine and Gregorian repertoires, motets in the Renaissance and oratorios in the Baroque tradition, with composers referencing the text in programs alongside works by Palestrina, Monteverdi, and Handel. Obadiah’s themes have inspired theater and film treatments that engage motifs of betrayal and reconciliation, intersecting with cinematic narratives about exile and national catastrophe in works addressing Zionism and diasporic identity.
The prophetic oracle attributed to Obadiah has influenced liturgical formularies across Jewish and Christian rites, appearing in Ashkenazi and Sephardi liturgical poetry as well as in Epistle-lectionary systems and Lutheran and Anglican hymnody. Literary allusions occur in the writings of Dante Alighieri, John Milton, T. S. Eliot, and modern novelists addressing imperial collapse and restitution, where Edom functions as a literary topos alongside references to Babylon and Jerusalem. The figure’s brief canonical presence has made the book a frequent subject of exegetical anthologies, commentaries in series such as the Anchor Bible and the Word Biblical Commentary, and scholarly symposia hosted by institutions like Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Oxford.