Obadja 1:15 Kommentar

Edom is the nation against which this prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the enemies of Israel, that shall be brought down first or last. The rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians they understand it of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but, if we understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages of it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's rejection, and to have had further reference to the destruction of the enemies of the gospel-church; for so shall all God's enemies perish; and we find (Isa 34:5) the sword of the Lord coming down upon Idumea, to signify the general day of God's recompences for the controversy of Zion, Oba 1:8. Some have well observed that it could not but be a great temptation to the people of Israel, when they saw themselves, who were the children of beloved Jacob, in trouble, and the Edomites, not only prospering, but triumphing over them in their troubles; and therefore God gives them a prospect of the destruction of Edom, which should be total and final, and of a happy issue of their own correction. Now we may observe here, I. A declaration of war against Edom, (Oba 1:1): "We have heard a rumour, or rather an order, from the Lord, the God of hosts; he has given the word of command; it is his counsel and decree, which can neither be reversed nor resisted, that all who do mischief to his people shall certainly bring mischief upon themselves. We have heard a report that God is raised up out of his holy habitation, and is preparing his throne for judgment; and an ambassador is sent among the heathen," a herald rather, some minister or messenger of Providence, to alarm the nations, or the Lord's prophets, who gave each nation its burden. Those whom God employs cry to each other, Arise ye, stir up yourselves and one another, and let us rise up against Edom in battle. The confederate forces under Nebuchadnezzar thus animate themselves and one another to make a descent upon that country: Gather yourselves together, and come against her; so it is in the parallel place, Jer 49:14. Note, When God has bloody work to do among the enemies of his church he will find out and fit up both hands and hearts to do it. II. A prediction of the success of that war. Edom shall certainly be subdued, and spoiled, and brought down; for all her confidences shall fail her and stand her in no stead, and in like manner shall all the enemies of God's church be disappointed in those things which they stayed themselves upon. 1. Do they depend upon their grandeur, the figure they make among the nations, their influence upon them, and interest in them? That shall dwindle (Oba 1:2): "Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen, so that none of thy neighbours will court thy friendship, or court an alliance with thee; thou art greatly despised among them, and looked upon with contempt, as an infatuated and unfaithful nation." And thus (Oba 1:3) the pride of thy heart has deceived thee. Note, (1.) Those that think well of themselves are apt to fancy that others think well of them too; but, when they come to make trial of them, they will find themselves mistaken, and thus their pride deceives them and by it slays them. (2.) God can easily lay those low that have magnified and exalted themselves, and will find out a way to do it, for he resists the proud; and we often see those small and greatly despised who once looked very big and were greatly caressed and admired. 2. Do they depend upon the fortifications of their country, both by nature and art, and glory in the advantages they have thereby? Those also shall deceive them. They dwelt in the clefts of the rock, as an eagle in her nest, and their habitation was high, not only exalted above their neighbours, which was the matter of their pride, but fortified against their enemies, which was the matter of their security, so high as to be out of the reach of danger. Now observe, (1.) What Edom says in the pride of his heart: Who shall bring me down to the ground? He speaks with a confidence of his own strength, and a contempt of God's judgments, as if almighty power itself could not overpower him. As for all his enemies, even God himself, he puffs at them (Psa 10:5), sets them all at defiance. Their father Esau had sold his birthright, and yet they lifted up themselves, as if to them had still pertained the excellency of dignity and power. Many forfeit their privileges, and yet boast of them. Because Edom is high and lifted up, he imagines none can bring him down. Note, Carnal security is a sin that most easily besets men in the day of their pomp, power, and prosperity, and does, as much as any thing, both ripen men for ruin and aggravate it when it comes. (2.) What God says to this, Oba 1:4. If men will dare to challenge Omnipotence, their challenge shall be taken up: Who shall bring me down? says Edom. "I will," says God. "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle that soars high and builds high, nay, though thou set thy nest among stars, higher than ever any eagle flew, it is but in thy own imagination, and thence will I bring thee down." This we had Jer 49:15, Jer 49:16. Note, Sinners will certainly be made ashamed of their pride and security of their pride when it has a fall and of their security when their confidences fail their expectation. 3. Do they depend upon their wealth and treasure, the abundance of which is looked upon as the sinews of war? Is their money their defence? Is that their strong city? It is so only in their own conceit, for it shall rather expose them than protect them; it shall be made a prey to the enemy, and they for the sake of it, Oba 1:5. 6. Much to this purport we had Jer 49:9, Jer 49:10. Only here comes in, in a parenthesis, How art thou cut off! thou and all thy stores. The prophet foretels it, but laments it, that the thread of their prosperity was cut off. How art thou fallen, and how great is thy fall! How art thou stupefied! so the Chaldee words it. How senseless art thou under these desolating judgments, as if they were but common strokes! But he shows that it should be an utter ruin, not a usual calamity; for, (1.) It is indeed a usual calamity for those that have wealth to have it stolen, and to lose a little out of their great deal. Thieves come to them (for where the carcase is, there will the birds of prey be gathered together), robbers come by night, and they steal till they have enough, what they have occasion for, what they have a mind for; they steal no more than they think they can carry away, and out of a great stock it is scarcely missed. Those that rob orchards, or vineyards, carry off what they think fit; but they leave some grapes, some fruit for the owner, who easily bears his loss perhaps and soon recruits it. But, (2.) It shall not be so with Edom; his wealth shall all be taken away, and nothing shall escape the hands of the destroying army, not that which is most precious and valuable, Oba 1:6. How are the things of Esau, the things he sets his heart upon and places his happiness in, his good things, his best things, how are these things, which were so carefully treasured up and concealed, now searched out by the enemy and seized! How are the hidden things, his hidden treasures, plundered, rifled, and sought up! His hoards, that had not see the light for many years, are now a spoil to the enemy. Note, Treasures on earth, though ever so fast locked up and ever so artfully hidden, cannot be so safely laid up but that thieves may break through and steal; it is therefore our wisdom to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. 4. Do they depend upon their alliances with neighbouring states and potentates? Those also shall fail them (Oba 1:7): "The men of thy confederacy, all of them, the Ammonites and Moabites, and other thy high allies that were at peace with thee, that entered into a league offensive and defensive with thee, that solemnly engaged not only to do thee no hurt, but to do thee all the service the could, did eat thy bread, were magnificently treated and entertained by thee, lived upon thee; their soldiers had free quarter in thy country, and took pay as thy auxiliaries; they brought thee even to the border of thy land, were very respectful to thy ambassadors, and brought them on their way home, even to the utmost limits of their country; they seemed forward to serve thee with their forces when thou hadst occasion for them, and came along with thee to the border, till thou wast just ready to engage the invading enemy; but then," (1.) "They had deceived thee; they flew back and retreated when thou wast in extremity, and proved as a broken reed to the traveller that is weary, and as the brooks in summer to the traveller that is thirsty; they bear no weight, yield no relief." Nay, (2.) "They have prevailed against thee; they were too hard for thee in the treaty imposed upon thee, and by cheating thee ruined thee, brought thee into danger, and there left thee an easy prey to thy enemy." Note, Those that make flesh their arm arm it against them. Yet this was not the worst. (3.) "They have laid a wound under thee; that is, they have laid that under thee for a stay and support, for a foundation to rely on, for a pillow to repose on, which will prove a wound to thee; not as thorns only, but as swords." If God lay under us the arms of his power and love, these will be firm and easy under us; the God of our covenant will never deceive us. But if we trust to the men of our confederacy, and what they will lay under us, it may prove to us a wound and dishonour. And observe the just censure here passed upon Edom for trusting to those who thus played tricks with him: "There is no understanding in him, or else he would never have put it into their power to betray him by putting such a confidence in them." Note, Those show they have no understanding in them who, when they are encouraged to trust in the Creator, put a cheat upon themselves by reposing a confidence in the creature. 5. Do they depend upon the politics of their counsellors? These shall fail them, Oba 1:8. Edom had been famous for great statesmen, men of learning and experience, that sat at the help of government, and were masters of all the arts of management, that in all treaties used to outwit their neighbours; but now the counsellors have become fools, and the wise God makes them so: Shall I not in that day destroy the wise men out of Edom? As men they shall fall by the sword in common with others (Psa 49:10), and their wisdom shall not secure them; as wise men they shall be infatuated in all their counsels; their best-laid designs shall be baffled, their measures broken, and those very projects by which they thought to establish themselves and the public interests shall be the ruin of both. Thus wisdom perishes from Teman, as it is in the parallel place, Jer 49:7. This was, (1.) The just punishment of their folly in trusting to an arm of flesh: There is no understanding in them, Oba 1:7. They have not sense to trust in a living God, and a God of truth, but put confidence in men that are frail, fickle, and false; and therefore God will destroy their understanding. Note, God will justly deny those understanding to keep out of the way of danger that will not use their understanding to keep out of the way of sin. He that will be foolish, let him be foolish still. (2.) It was the forerunner of their destruction. A nation is certainly marked for ruin when God hides the things that belong to its peace from the eyes of those that are entrusted with its counsels. Quos Deus vult perdere, eos dementat - God infatuates those whom he designs to destroy. Job 12:17. 6. Do they depend upon the strength and courage of their soldiers? They are not only able-bodied, but men of spirit and courage, that can face an enemy and stand their ground; but now (Oba 1:9), Thy mighty men, O Teman! shall be dismayed; their courage shall fail them, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter, and none escape. The weak, and feeble, and unarmed must fall of course into the hand of the destroyer when the mighty men are dismayed, and not only lose the day, but lose their lives, because they have lost their spirit. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken. Note, The death or disuniting of the mighty often proves the death and destruction of the many; and it is in vain to depend upon mighty men for our protection if we have not an almighty God for us, much less if we have an almighty God against us.

This prophecy of Obadiah is the least of the minor prophets, consisting but of one chapter; the subject of it is Edom, whose destruction is foretold, and is to be considered as a type of the enemies of Christ and his kingdom, and especially of the Roman antichrist. After the preface, the rumour of war, and preparation for it, which would issue in the ruin of Edom, are observed, Oba 1:1; because of their pride, confidence, and security, Oba 1:3; which should be complete and entire, Oba 1:5; notwithstanding their allies, who would deceive them; and the wisdom of their wise men, which should be destroyed; and the strength of their mighty men, who would be dismayed, Oba 1:7; and this should come upon them, chiefly because of their ill usage of the Jews at the time of Jerusalem's destruction, which is enlarged upon, Oba 1:10; and this would be when all the nations round about them would be destroyed, Oba 1:15; and then deliverance is promised to the Jews, who should not only enjoy their own possessions, but the land of the Edomites, wasted by them, Oba 1:17; and the book is concluded with a glorious prophecy of the kingdom of the Messiah, Oba 1:21.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the Heathen,.... That is, the time was at hand, fixed and determined by the Lord, and he had spoken of by his prophets, when he would punish all the Heathens round about for their sins; as the Egyptians, Philistines, Tyrians, Ammonites, Moabites, and others; and so the Edomites among the rest; for this is mentioned for their sakes, and to show that their punishment was inevitable, and that they could not expect to escape in the general ruin; see Jer 25:17. This destruction of Edom here prophesied of, and of all the Heathen, was accomplished about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, so that it might be truly said to be near; and some time within this space Obadiah seems to have prophesied; and the day of the Lord is not far off upon the Pagans, Mahometans, and all the "antichristian" states, When mystical Edom or Rome will be destroyed; see Rev 16:19; as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thine own head; this is particularly directed to Edom, upon whom the day of the Lord's vengeance shall come; when he punished the Heathens, then the Edomites should be retaliated in their own way; and as they had rejoiced at the destruction of the Jews, and had insulted them in their calamities, and barbarously used them, they should be treated in like manner; see Eze 35:15; and thus will mystical Babylon, or the mystical Edomites, be dealt with, even after the same manner as they have dealt with the truly godly, the faithful professors of Christ, Rev 18:6.

Near, O heretic, is the Day of the Lord over all the nations. Near is the time of judgment in which all the nations are to be judged. As you have acted against the church, the same pain will come back upon your head, and your iniquities will descend upon the crown of your head. For as you have rejoiced in their death and as you have celebrated with a feast on my holy mountain, which is the church, you will not drink my cup, but the cup of the devil, about whom Habakkuk said, “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, turning him upside down into confusion.” … Because you have worshiped in a way that causes ruin to my servants, therefore persecution will come against you and you will suffer for what you have done. And as you rejoiced against my people when you left them to the nations, likewise all the nations will rejoice against you, and they will eat and drink and continue the same persecution on you which you originally rejoiced in for my people.

(Verse 15, 16.) For the day of the Lord is near upon all nations: as thou hast done, so shall it be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. LXX: For the day of the Lord is near upon all nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, all the nations shall drink wine continually: they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. But you, O Idumea, will cease to do these things because the vengeance of the Lord will come upon you. For if, according to Jeremiah, they who were not deserving of judgment drank from the cup, you, though innocent, will not be left innocent, but you will drink. Furthermore, what he says, 'The day of the Lord is near against all nations,' let us read the same in Jeremiah, and we will see the cup of the Lord being passed to all nations. Where it is said in the same: The golden cup Babylon in the hand of the Lord making all nations drunk. Indeed, the Assyrians and Babylonians held all the nations as far as the Propontis, the Scythian Sea, and the Ionian or Aegean Sea. Let us read Herodotus, and Greek and barbarian histories, and we shall see how this which is said, 'The day of the Lord is near upon all nations,' was fulfilled among the Babylonians and Assyrians. But what follows, 'As you have done, it shall be done to you; your recompense shall return upon your own head,' has the same meaning as we read in the Psalm: 'Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, when they said, 'Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!' (Psalm 137:7 et seqq.)' Therefore, the prophet curses Babylon by saying: 'Daughter of Babylon, miserable one! Blessed is he who will repay you according to your deeds, which you have done to us. Blessed is he who seizes and dashes your little ones against a rock. Just as you have drunk with the Babylonians on my holy mountain, Zion, and rejoiced, so all the nations that the Babylonians had as allies will turn against you and drink, and they will rejoice.' Not only will they drink your blood, but they will suck you in so much that the Edomites will be as if they were not: or at least the same nations, when they will have sucked you in, will be sucked in by the Medes, and this revenge will proceed in a circle, so that you, Israel, the Babylonian, will consume Babylon, the Medes, and the Persians. Let us follow the order of interpretation. The day of the Lord is near, O heretic, over all nations: the time of judgment is near when all nations will be judged. Just as you have done against the church, your pain will turn against you, and your wickedness will descend upon your head. For how you have rejoiced in their death, and celebrated a feast, and on my holy mountain, that is, the Church, you have drunk not from my cup, but from the devil's: of whom it is said in Habakkuk, 'Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk' (Habakkuk 2:15): so too, all the nations, or opposing powers subjected to punishment, or every opposing virtue, will drink and consume your blood, and in the end, when torment comes upon all, they themselves will be as if they do not exist. For he who perishes, is counted as not being, and he who said to Moses: I am who am sent me to you (Exod. III, 14), according to the rule of the Scriptures, is said not to be. Hence, we also read in Esther: Do not give, O Lord, your kingdom to those who are not (Esth. XIV, 11). We can interpret this passage differently: Because you have rejoiced in the ruin of my servants, the same persecution will come against you also, and you will suffer for whatever you have done. And just as you rejoiced against my people with the rest of the nations, so all nations will rejoice against you, and they will devour and drink, and crush with a similar persecution.

Again the time of war is predicted [as in Joel] when the neighboring nations will join together against Edom to inflict bitter punishment. That day is truly called the Day of the Lord. For God the Lord was the one who handed them over to the Israelites in their wickedness and injustice. So that he might affirm that their divine punishment is just he says, “As you have done, so it will be done to you.” For nature is so arranged that everybody receives just treatment, and entirely equal wages are repaid to those who have undertaken similar actions.

Be mindful on that day of the sons of Edom, and change their role with ours, so that they may in disarray witness the day on which your people will dwell in Jerusalem’s ancient city. That nation turns its back on you and now threatens Jerusalem with cruel destruction, saying, “Level that hated city to the ground. Lay it bare by force until nothing stands and the walls are reduced to nothing.”

The day of the Lord is near - God will not associate thee with him in the judgments which he inflicts. Thou also art guilty and shalt have thy punishment in due course with the other sinful nations.

DOOM OF EDOM FOR CRUELTY TO JUDAH, EDOM'S BROTHER; RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. (Oba. 1:1-21) 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.

For--resumptive in connection with , wherein Edom was threatened with cutting off for ever. the day of the Lord--the day in which He will manifest Himself as the Righteous Punisher of the ungodly peoples (). The "all" shows that the fulfilment is not exhausted in the punishment inflicted on the surrounding nations by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar; but, as in , and , that the last judgment to come on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred to. as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee--the righteous principle of retribution in kind (; ; compare ; ; ). thy reward--the reward of thy deed (compare ).

Edom's Ruin, setting forth, in the first place, the purpose of God to make Edom small through the medium of hostile nations, and to hurl it down from the impregnable heights of its rocky castles (Oba 1:1-4); and then depicting, in lively colours, how it will be plundered by enemies, forsaken and deceived by allies and friends, and perish in helplessness and impotence (Oba 1:5-9). Oba 1:1 contains, in addition to the brief heading, the introduction to the prophecy, which gives in a brief form the substance of the first section: "Thus hath the Lord Jehovah spoken of Edom, A report have we heard from Jehovah, and a messenger is sent among the nations: Up, and let us arise against it in battle." The first clause, לאדום ... כּה אמר, does not harmonize with what follows, inasmuch as we should expect it to be followed with a declaration made by Jehovah Himself, instead of which there follow simply tidings heard from Jehovah. The difficulty cannot be removed by assuming that these introductory words are spurious, or were added by a later prophet (Eichhorn, Ewald, and others); for the interpolator could not fail to observe the incongruity of these words just as well as Obadiah. Moreover, לאדום could not be omitted from the opening, because it is required not only by the suffix in עליה (against her), but also by the direct addresses in Oba 1:2. Nor is the assumption that the prophet suddenly altered the construction any more satisfactory, or that the declaration of Jehovah announced in כּה אמר וגו ("thus saith the Lord") commences in Oba 1:2, and that the words from שׁמוּעה to the end of the verse form an explanatory parenthesis to כּה אמר וגו ot sisehtnera. For such an alteration of the construction at the very beginning of the address is hardly conceivable; and the parenthetical explanation of the last three clauses of Oba 1:1 is at variance with their contents, which do not form by any means a subordinate thought, but rather the main thought of the following address. No other course remains, therefore, than to take these introductory words by themselves, as Michaelis, Maurer, and Caspari have done, in which case כה אמר does not announce the actual words of Jehovah in the stricter sense, but is simply meant to affirm that the prophet uttered what follows jussu Jehovae, or divinitus monitus, so that כה אמר is really equivalent to diber זה הדּבר אשׁר דּבּר in Isa 16:13, as Theodoret has explained it. לאדום, not "to Edom," but with reference to, or of, Edom. On the occurrence of Yehōvâh after 'Adōnâi, see the comm. on Gen 2:4. What Obadiah saw as a word of the Lord was the tidings heard from the Lord, and the divine message sent to the nations to rise up for war against Edom. The plural שׁמענוּ (we have heard) is communicative. The prophet includes himself in the nation (Israel), which has heard the tidings in him and through him. This implies that the tidings were of the greatest interest to Israel, and would afford it consolation. Jeremiah (Jer 49:14) has removed the pregnant character of the expression, by introducing the singular שׁמעתּי (I have heard). The next clause, "and an ambassador," etc., might be taken, as it has been by Luther, as a statement of the import of the news, namely, that a messenger had been sent; inasmuch as in Hebrew a sentence is frequently co-ordinated with the preceding one by Vav cop., when it ought really to be subordinated to it so far as the sense is concerned, from a simple preference for the parallelism of the clauses. But the address gains in force, if we take the clause as a co-ordinate one, just as it reads, viz., as a declaration of the steps already taken by the Lord for carrying out the resolution which had been heard of by report. In this case the substance of the report is not given till the last clause of the verse; the summons of the ambassador sent among the nations, "to rise up for war against Edom," indicating at the same time the substance of the report which Israel has heard. The perfect shullâch with qâmets in the pause, which is changed by Jeremiah into the less appropriate passive participle kal, corresponds to שׁמענוּ, and expresses in prophetic form the certainty of the accomplishment of the purpose of God. The sending of the messenger (tsı̄r as in Isa 18:2) among the nations (ב as in Jdg 6:35) is an assurance that the nations will rise up at the instigation of Jehovah to war against Edom (compare Isa 13:17; Jer 51:1, Jer 51:11). The plural nâqūmâh (let us rise up), in the words of the messenger, may be explained on the simple ground that the messenger speaks in the name of the sender. The sender is Jehovah, who will also rise up along with the nations for war against Edom, placing Himself at their head as leader and commander (compare Joe 2:11; Isa 13:4-5). עליה, against Edom, construed as a land or kingdom, gener. faem. The fact that it is the nations generally that are here summoned to make war upon Edom, and not only one nation in particular, points at once to the fact that Edom is regarded as a type of the power of the world, and its hostility to God, the destruction of which is here foretold.

This warning is supported in Oba 1:15 by an announcement of the day of the Lord, in which Edom and all the enemies of Israel will receive just retribution for their sins against Israel. Oba 1:15. "For the day of Jehovah is near upon all nations. As thou hast done, it will be done to thee; what thou hast performed returns upon thy head. Oba 1:16. For as ye have drunken upon my holy mountain, all nations will drink continually, and drink and swallow, and will be as those that were not." כּי (for) connects what follows with the warnings in Oba 1:12-14, but not also, or exclusively, with Oba 1:10, Oba 1:11, as Rosenmller and others suppose, for Oba 1:2-14 are not inserted parenthetically. "The day of Jehovah" has been explained at Joe 1:15. The expression was first formed by Obadiah, not by Joel; and Joel, Isaiah, and the prophets that follow, adopted it from Obadiah. The primary meaning is not the day of judgment, but the day on which Jehovah reveals His majesty and omnipotence in a glorious manner, to overthrow all ungodly powers, and to complete His kingdom. It was this which gave rise to the idea of the day of judgment and retribution which predominates in the prophetic announcements, but which simply forms one side of the revelation of the glory of God, as our passage at once shows; inasmuch as it describes Jehovah as not only judging all nations and regarding them according to their deeds (cf. Oba 1:15, and Oba 1:16), but as providing deliverance upon Zion (Oba 1:17), and setting up His kingdom (Oba 1:21). The retribution will correspond to the actions of Edom and of the nations. For גּמלך וגו, compare Joe 3:4, Joe 3:7, where (Joe 3:2-7) the evil deeds of the nations, what they have done against the people of God, are described. In Oba 1:16 Obadiah simply mentions as the greatest crime the desecration of the holy mountain by drinking carousals, for which all nations are to drink the intoxicating cup of the wrath of God till they are utterly destroyed. In shethı̄them (ye have drunk) it is not the Judaeans who are addressed, as many commentators, from Ab. Ezra to Ewald and Meier, suppose, but the Edomites. This is required not only by the parallelism of כּאשׁר שׁתיתם (as ye have drunk) and בּאשׁר שׁתיתם על הת (as thou hast done), but also by the actual wording and context. בּאשׁר שׁתיתם על הר cannot mean "as ye who are upon my holy mountain have drunk;" and in the announcement of the retribution which all nations will receive for the evil they have done to Judah, it is impossible that either the Judaeans should be addressed, or a parallel drawn between their conduct and that of the nations. Moreover, throughout the whole of the prophecy Edom only is addressed, and never Judah. Mount Zion is called "my holy mountain," because Jehovah was there enthroned in His sanctuary. The verb shâthâh is used in the two clauses in different senses: viz., shethı̄them, of the drinking carousals which the Edomites held upon Zion, like yishtū in Joe 3:3; and shâthū, in the apodosis, of the drinking of the intoxicating goblet (cf. Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15; Jer 49:12, etc.), as the expression "they shall be as though they had not been" clearly shows. At the same time, we cannot infer from the words "all nations will drink," that all nations would succeed in taking Zion and abusing it, but that they would have to taste all the bitterness of their crime; for it is not stated that they are to drink upon Mount Zion. The fact that the antithesis to שׁתיתם is not תּשׁתּוּ ("ye will drink") but ישׁתּוּ כּל־הגּוים, does not compel us to generalize shethı̄them, and regard all nations as addressed implicite in the Edomites. The difficulty arising from this antithesis cannot be satisfactorily removed by the remark of Caspari, that in consequence of the allusion to the day of the Lord upon all nations in Oba 1:15, the judgment upon all nations and that upon the Edomites were thought of as inseparably connected, or that this induced Obadiah to place opposite to the sins of the Edomites, not their own punishment, but the punishment of all nations, more especially as, according to Oba 1:11, it must necessarily be assumed that the foreign nations participated in the sin of Edom. For this leaves the question unanswered, how Obadiah came to speak at all (Oba 1:15) of the day of the Lord upon all nations. The circumstance that, according to Oba 1:11, heathen nations had plundered Jerusalem, and committed crimes like those for which Edom is condemned in Oba 1:12-14, does not lead directly to the day of judgment upon all nations, but simply to a judgment upon Edom and the nations which had committed like sins. The difficulty is only removed by the assumption that Obadiah regarded Edom as a type of the nations that had risen up in hostility to the Lord and His people, and were judged by the Lord in consequence, so that what he says of Edom applies to all nations which assume the same or a similar attitude towards the people of God. From this point of view he could, without reserve, extend to all nations the retribution which would fall upon Edom for its sins. They should drink tâmı̄d, i.e., not at once, as Ewald has rendered it in opposition to the usage of the language, but "continually." This does not mean, however, that "there will be no time in which there will not be one of the nations drinking the intoxicating cup, and being destroyed by drinking thereof; or that the nations will come in turn, and therefore in a long immeasurable series, one after the other, to drink the cup of intoxication," as Caspari supposes, but "continually, so that the turn never passes from the heathen to Judah, Isa 51:22-23" (Hitzig). This drinking is more precisely defined as drinking and swallowing (לוּע, in Syriac, to devour or swallow, hence לע, a throat, so called from the act of swallowing, Pro 23:2), i.e., drinking in full draughts; and the effect, "they will be like such as have not been, have never existed" (cf. Job 10:19), i.e., they will be utterly destroyed as nations.