‏ Obadiah 10-12

Edom’s Treachery Against Judah


10 “Because
tn Heb “from.” The preposition is used here with a causal sense.
you violently slaughtered
tn Heb “because of the slaughter and because of the violence.” These two expressions form a hendiadys meaning “because of the violent slaughter.” Traditional understanding connects the first phrase “because of the slaughter” with the end of v. 9 (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). It is preferable, however, to regard it as parallel to the reference to violence at the beginning of v. 11. Both the parallel linguistic structure of the two phrases and the metrical structure of the verse favor connecting this phrase with the beginning of v. 10 (cf. NRSV, TEV).
your relatives,
tn Heb “the violence of your brother.” The genitive construction is to be understood as an objective genitive. The meaning is not that Jacob has perpetrated violence (= subjective genitive) but that violence has been committed against him (= objective genitive).
the people of Jacob,
tn Heb “your brother Jacob” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your relatives, the Israelites.”

shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed
tn Heb “be cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
forever.

11 You stood aloof
tn Heb “in the day of your standing”; cf. NAB “On the day when you stood by.”
while strangers took his army
tn Or perhaps, “wealth” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The Hebrew word is somewhat ambiguous here. This word also appears in v. 13, where it clearly refers to wealth.
captive
and foreigners advanced to his gates.
tc The present translation follows the Qere, which reads the plural (“gates”) rather than the singular.

When they cast lots
sn Casting lots seems to be a way of deciding who would gain control over material possessions and enslaved peoples following a military victory.
over Jerusalem,
you behaved as though you were in league
tn Heb “like one from them”; cf. NASB “You too were as one of them.”
with them.

12 You should not
tn In vv. 12-14 there are eight prohibitions that summarize the nature of the Lord’s complaint against Edom. Each prohibition alludes to something Edom did to Judah that should not have been done by one “brother” to another. It is because of these violations that the Lord has initiated judgment against Edom. In the Hebrew text these prohibitions are expressed by אַל (ʾal, “not”) plus the jussive form of the verb, which is common in negative commands of immediate urgency. Such constructions would normally have the sense of prohibiting something either not yet begun (i.e., “do not start to…”) or something already in process at the time of speaking (i.e., “stop…”). Here, however, it seems more likely that the prohibitions refer to a situation in past rather than future time (i.e., “you should not have…”). If so, the verbs are being used in a rhetorical fashion, as though the prophet were vividly projecting himself back into the events that he is describing and urging the Edomites not to do what in fact they have already done.
have gloated
tn The Hebrew expression “to look upon” often has the sense of “to feast the eyes upon” or “to gloat over” (cf. v. 13).
when your relatives
tn Heb “your brother” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your brother Israel.”
suffered calamity.
tn Heb “in the day of your brother, in the day of his calamity.” This expression is probably a hendiadys meaning, “in the day of your brother’s calamity.” The Hebrew word נָכְרוֹ (nokhro, “his calamity”)_is probably a word-play on נָכְרִים (nokhrim, “foreigners”) in v. 11.

You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed.
tn Heb “in the day of their destruction” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB, NRSV “on the day of their ruin.”

You should not have boasted
tn Or “boasted with your mouth.” The Hebrew text includes the phrase “with your mouth,” which is redundant in English and has been left untranslated.
when they suffered adversity.
tn Heb “in the day of adversity”; cf. NASB “in the day of their distress.”
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