Obd 1-3 | JFB | STEP | 1. Obadiah —that is, servant of Jehovah; same as Abdeel and Arabic Abd-allah. We —I and my people. heard — ( ). and an ambassador is sent —Yea, an ambassador is already sent, namely, an angel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans) against Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on the heathen is, they simultaneously exclaim, "Arise ye, and let us (with united strength) rise," &c. quotes this.

Obadiah 1-3

1. Obadiah—that is, servant of Jehovah; same as Abdeel and Arabic Abd-allah.

We—I and my people.

heard— (Isa 21:10).

and an ambassador is sent—Yea, an ambassador is already sent, namely, an angel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans) against Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on the heathen is, they simultaneously exclaim, "Arise ye, and let us (with united strength) rise," &c. Jer 49:14 quotes this.

2. I have made thee small—Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north (Jer 49:8, 13). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" (Ob 3)? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? Jer 49:15, confirms MAURER'S view.

3. clefts of . . . rock— (So 2:14; Jer 48:28). The cities of Edom, and among them Petra (Hebrew, sela, meaning "rock," 2Ki 14:7, Margin), the capital, in the Wady Musa, consisted of houses mostly cut in the rocks.