Obadiah: Pride Goes Before Destruction
This piece first appeared in Rabbi Natasha's commentary on the 929 Tanakh Project here . The tiny book of Obadiah is a harsh condemnation of the nation of Edom, a neighbouring nation descended from Jacob’s brother, Esau. Edom has failed to act as a brother to Israel in Israel’s time of distress, and this will be revisited upon the nation. It is interesting that Edom’s role draws so much focus; they are not the mega-powers of the era, such as Assyria and Babylonia, who are denounced for their overwhelming misuse of power. Rather, they are a small neighbouring state who has betrayed us. One of the charming elements of this most minor of prophetic books is Obadiah’s puns. Two of the major cities of Edom turn up as puns: in verse three, ‘you who dwell in clefts of the rock [ sela ]’ is a reference to the city Sela; in verse five, ‘if vintagers came to you’ [ botzrim ] is a reference to the Edomite city Botzrah. Alongside these puns, we see a play on Edom as a mountainous land w...
