B. C. cir. 737. I SAW the Lord standing upon Ante U. C. 34. Amulii Sylvii, R. Alban., the altar and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that cir. annum 10. the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: dhe that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them: though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them : a Or, chapiter, or knop.- _b Or, wound them.—c Psa. lxviii. 21; Hab. iii. 13. Chap. ii. 14. Psa. cxxxix. 8, &c. Job xx. 6; Jer. li. 53; Obad. 4.—5 Lev. xxvi. 33; Deut. xxviii. NOTES ON CHAP. IX. Verse 1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar] As this is a continuation of the preceding prophecy, the altar here may be one of those either at Dan or Beer-sheba. Smite the lintel] Either the piece of timber that binds the wall above the door, or the upper part of the door frame, in which the cheeks, or side posts, are inserted, and which corresponds to the threshold, or lower part of the door frame. And cut them in the head] Let all the lintels of all the doors of all those temples be thus cut, as a sign that the whole shall be thrown down and totally demolished. Or this may refer to their heads-chief men, who were principals in these transgressions. Mark their temples, their priests, their prophets, and their princes, for destruction. He that fleeth shall not flee away] He shall be caught before he can get out of the reach of danger. And he that escapeth (that makes good his flight) shall not be delivered.] Captivity, famine, or sword, shall reach him even there. Verse 2. Though they dig into hell] Though they should get into the deepest caverns; though they climb up to heaven-get to the most inaccessible heights; I will drag them up from the one, and pull them down from the other. Verse 3. Though they hide themselves] All these are metaphorical expressions, to show the impossibility of escape, Verse 4. I will set mine eyes upon them for evil] I will use that very providence against them which before worked for their good. Should they look upward, they shall see nothing but the terrible lightninglike eye of a sin-avenging God. Verse 5. The Lord God of hosts is he] So powerful is he that a touch of his hand shall melt or dissolve the land, and cause all its inhabitants to mourn. | Israel foretold. B. C. cir. 787. 4 And though they go into A. M. cir. 3217. captivity before their enemies, Ante U. C. 34. Amulii Sylvii, thence will I command the R. Alban., sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. cir. annum 10. Here is still a reference to the earthquake. See the note, chap. viii. 8, where the same images are used. Verse 6. Buildeth his stories in the heaven] There is here an allusion to large houses, where there are cellars, or places dug in the ground as repositories for corn; middle apartments, or stories, for the families to live in; and the house-top for persons to take the air upon. There may be here a reference to the various systems which God has formed in illimitable space, transcending each other as the planets do in our solar system and thus we find Solomon speaking when addressing the Most High: "The heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, 'n "DØ) B'DØT hashshamayim ushemey hashshamayim, 1 Kings viii. 27. Six heavens are necessarily implied in these three words. According to the points, the first and third are in the dual number, and the second is the contracted form of the plural. But how many more spheres may be intended who can tell? There may be millions of millions of stellar systems in unlimited space; and then what are all these to the VAST IMMENSITY of God! agud Hath founded his troop in the earth) datho, from 8 agad, to bind or gather together, possibly meaning the seas and other collections of waters which he has gathered together and bound by his perpetual decree, that they cannot pass; yet when he calleth for these very waters, as in the general deluge, he "poureth them out upon the face of the earth." The Lord is his name.] This points out his infinite essence. But what is that essence? and what is his nature? and what his immensity and eternity? What archangel can tell ? Verse 7. Children of the Ethiopians] Or Cushites. Cush was the son of Ham, Gen. x. 6; and his descendants inhabited a part of Arabia Petræa and Arabia Felix. All this stock was universally despised. See Bochart. The Philistines from Caphtor] The island of Crete, Promises of the B. C. cir. 787. R. Alban, CHAP. IX. 10 All the sinners of my peo unto me, O children of Israel? | corn is sifted in a saith the LORD. Have not I shall not the least Amulii Sylvii, brought up Israel out of the land upon the earth. cir. annum 10. of Egypt and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, "the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD. 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will w sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as Jer. xlvii. 4. Deut. ii. 23; Jer. xlvii. 4.- Chap, i. 5. "Ver. 4. Jer. xxx. 11; xxxi. 35, 36; Obad. 16, 17. See 1 Sam. the people of which were the Cherethim. Verse 8. The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom] The kingdom of Israel, peculiarly sinful; and therefore to be signally destroyed by the Assyrians. I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob] The race shall not become extinct: I will reserve them as monuments of my justice, and finally of my mercy. Verse 9. I will sift the house of Israel among all nations] I will disperse them over the face of the earth; and yet I will so order it that the good shall not be lost; for though they shall be mixed among distant nations, yet there shall be a general restoration of them to their own land. The least grain] 1 tseror, little stone, pebble, or gravel. Not one of them, howsoever little or contemptible, when the time comes, shall be left behind. All shall be collected in Christ, and brought into their own land. Verse 10. All the sinners of my people] Those who are the boldest and most incredulous; especially they who despise my warnings, and say the evil day shall not overtake nor prevent us; they shall die by the sword. It is no evidence of a man's safety that he is presumptuously fearless. There is a blessing to him who trembles at God's word. . C. 3787. Ante U. C. 34. Amulii Sylvii, R. Alban., cir. annum 10. ple shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. 11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and a close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: b -y Chap. vi. 3. b Obad. 19. 12 That they may possess the remnant of w Héb. cause to move. * Heb. stone. 2 Acts xv. 16, 17.—a Heb. hedge, or wall. of the Israelites that were left by the Assyrians became united to the kingdom of Judah; and of the others, many afterwards joined them: but this comparatively short prosperity and respite, previously to the Babylonish captivity, could not be that, as Calmet justly observes, which is mentioned here. This could not be called closing up the breaches, raising up the ruins, and building it as in the days of old; nor has any state of this kind taken place since; and, consequently, the prophecy remains to be fulfilled. It must therefore refer to their restoration under the Gospel, when they shall receive the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, and be by him restored to their own land. See these words quoted by James, Acts xv. 17. Then indeed it is likely that they shall possess the remnant of Edom, and have the whole length and breadth of Immanuel's land, ver. 12. Nor can it be supposed that the victories gained by the Asmoneans could be that intended by the prophet, and which he describes in such lofty terms. These victories procured only a short respite, and a very imperfect re-establishment of the tabernacle of David; and could not warrant the terms of the prediction in these verses. Verse 12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom] Bp. Newcome translates this clause as follows: "That the residue of men may seek Jehovah, and all the heathen who are called by my name. Here, instead of DI Edom, he reads DTN Adam, men or mankind, which is the reading of the Arabic, and some MSS. of the Syriac, and of Acts xv. 17. The. Pachomian MS. of the Septuagint adds here, опws εKпτnowo μe, that they may seek me. And the Arabic has the Lord; and instead of 10" yireshu, "they shall possess," the learned bishop seems to have read 1 yidreshu, "they may seek;" and thus the text resembles the quotation by St. James, Acts xv. 17, "That the residue of men might seek after the Lord." It is strange that not one of the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi, nor any of my own, favours or countenances any of these alterations. I am of opinion, therefore, that we must dismiss Verse 11. Will I raise up the tabernacle of David] all these conjectural emendations, and take the Hebrew It is well known that the kingdom of Israel, the most text as we find it. That it speaks of the conversion profane and idolatrous, fell first, and that the kingdom of the Jews in Gospel times, we have the authority of of Judah continued long after, and enjoyed considerable the New Testament as above to prove; and if we prosperity under Hezekiah and Josiah. The remnant cannot make the words, as they stand there, entirely Blessings of the AMOS. Gospel Cupensation AM or 2217 Edom, and of all the heathen, my people of Israel, and they AM 217. B. Ci 77 Aate U. C. 24.4 which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. B. C. c. 787. Axe C 3. Amalm Sylvii, amım 10. shall build the waste cities, and eir anna 10. 13 Behold the days come, saith the LORD, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that 'soweth seed; and the mountains shall; 15 And I will plant them upon their land, drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall and they shall no more be pulled up out of melt. their land which I have given them, saith the 14 i And I will bring again the captivity of LORD thy God. Num. xxiv. 18 Heb. upon whom my name is called. •Lev. xxvi. 5. Heb. draweth forth Joel in. 15. Or, new wine. to agree with the words here, the subject is not affected by it. The Jews shall be converted and restored, and this text in both covenants is a proof of it. › Jer. 111. 3.————* la In. 4; hrv. 21; Ezek mum. 33-3. Ixalan Ix. 21; Jeremiah xxxn 41; Excel mv. 23; Joel iii. 20. Verse 14. They shall plant vineyards, and drink the cine] When threatened with great erils, chap. v. 11, it is said, "They shall plant pleasant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them." Previously to their restoration, they shall labour for others; after their restoration, they shall labour for them selres. Verse 15. I will plant them upon their land] They shall receive a permanent establishment there. Verse 13. The ploughman shall overtake the reaper] All the seasons shall succeed in due and natural order: but the crops shall be so copious in the fields and in the vineyards, that a long time shall be employed in, gathering and disposing of them; so that the seasons of ploughing, sowing, gathering the grapes, treading the wine-press, &c., shall press on the heels of each other; so vast will be the abundance, and so long the time And they shall no more be pulled up] Most certainly necessary to gather and cure the grain and fruits. this prophecy has never yet been fulfilled. They were We are informed by travellers in the Holy Land, Bar-pulled out by the Assyrian captivity, and by that of bary, &c., that the vintage at Aleppo lasts from the fifteenth of September to the middle of November; and that the sowing season begins at the close of October, and lasts through all November. Here, then, the ploughman, sower, grape-gatherer, and operator at the wine-press, not only succeed each other, but have parts of these operations going on at the same time. But great fertility in the land, abundance in the crops, and regularity of the seasons, seem to be the things which the prophet especially predicts. These are all poetical and prophetical images, by which happy times are pointed out, 694 Babylon. Many were planted in again, and again pulled out by the Roman conquest and captivity, and were never since planted in, but are now scattered among all the nations of the earth. I conclude, as the word of God cannot fail, and this has not yet been fulfilled, it therefore follows that it will and must be fulfilled to the fulness of its spirit and intention. And this is established by the conclusion: “Saith the Lord thy God." He is JEHOVAH, and cannot fail; he is THY GOD, and will do it. He can do it, because he is JEHOVAH; and he will do it, because he is THY GOD. Amen. THE BOOK PROPHET OF THE OBADIA H. Chronological Notes relative to this book, upon the supposition that it was written about five hundred and eighty-seven years before the commencement of the Christian era. Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3417.-Year of the Jewish era of the world, 3174. -Year since the Flood, 1761.-Year from the vocation of Abram, 1335.-Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 425. Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 389.-Year of the era of Iphitus, 298.-Second year of the forty-eighth Olympiad.-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian or generally received computation, 167.-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Consulares, 166.-Year from the building of Rome, according to Polybius the historian, 165.-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 161.-Year since the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 135.-Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 2-Year of the Julian Period, 4127.-Year of the era of Nabonassar, 161.-Year before the birth of Christ, 583.-Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 587.-Cycle of the Sun, 11.-Cycle of the Moon, 4.-Thirtieth year of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the Romans.-Thirty-ninth year of Cyaraxes or Cyaxares, the fourth king of Media.Nineteenth year of Agasiclés, king of Lacedæmon, of the family of the Proclidæ.— Twenty-first year of Leon, king of Lacedæmon, of the family of the Eurysthenida-Thirty-third year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia.-Sixteenth year of Æropas, the seventh king of Macedon.-Eighth year of Apries, king of Egypt; the same with the celebrated Pharaoh-hophrah.-Ninth year of Baal, king of the Tyrians. Twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. OBADIAH. God is here represented as summoning the nations against Edom, and declaring that his strongholds should not save him, 1-4; that not a remnant, not a gleaning, should be left of him, 5; that the enemy would search out his people, and totally subdue them; and that none of their allies should stand by them, 6-9 He then enlarges on their particular offence, and threatens them with a speedy recompense, 10-16. The Babylonians accordingly subdued the Edomites, and expelled them from Arabia Petræa, of which they never afterwards recovered possession. The remaining verses contain a prophecy of the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, and of their victory over all their enemies, 17-21. Some commentators think that these last verses were fulfilled by the conquests of the Maccabees over the Edomites. See 1 Macc. v. 3-5, 65, &c. A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. THE vision of Obadiah. and an ambassador is sent Thus saith the Lord God among the heathen, Arise ye, a concerning Edom; We have and let us rise up against her in heard a rumour from the LORD, battle. b a Isa. xxi. 11; xxxiv. 5; Ezek. xxv. 12, 13, 14; A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. Joel iii. 19; Mal. i. 3.- Jer. xlix. 14, &c. Who was this prophet? where born? of what coun- of recording. There is a multitude of opinions contry? at what time did he prophesy who were his cerning these points; and their multitude and discreparents? when and where did he die? are questions pancy are the strongest proofs of their uncertainty. which have been asked from the remotest antiquity; All that seems probable is, that, as he prophesied and which, to this day, have received no answer worthy concerning the destruction of Edom, he flourished a The prophecy A. M. cir. 3417. O. XLVIII. 2. B. C. cir. 587. 2 Behold, I have made thee | have stolen till they had enough? A. M. cir. 3417. d 3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? e OL-XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman, cir. annum 30. 6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! 7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, that were at peace with thee have deceived and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thee, and prevailed against thee; they thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. that eat thy bread have laid a wound under 5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by thee: n there is none understanding in night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not him. little before, or a little after, the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened about five hundred and eighty-eight years before Christ; and the destruction of Idumea by the same monarch, which took place a short time after; probably between 588 B. C. and 575 B. C., in the interval of the thirteen years which Nebuchadnezzar employed in the siege of Tyre, which he undertook immediately after the capture of Jerusalem. Obadiah foretells the subduction of the Idumeans by the Chaldeans, and finally by the Jews, whom they had used most cruelly when brought low by other enemies. These prophecies have been literally fulfilled; for the Idumeans, as a nation, are totally extinct. Whoever will be at the trouble to collate this short prophecy with the forty-ninth chapter of Jeremiah, will find a remarkable similarity, not only in the sentiments and words, but also in whole verses. In the above chapter Jeremiah predicts the destruction of the Idumeans. Whether he copied Obadiah, or Obadiah copied him, cannot be determined; but it would be very strange if two prophets, unacquainted with each other, should speak of the same event precisely in the same terms. See the parallel texts in the margin, and the notes on Jer. xlix. 1, &c. NOTES ON THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. Verse 1. We have heard a rumour] See Jer. xlix. 14, where the same expressions are found. The prophet shows that the enemies of Idumea had confederated against it, and that Jehovah is now summoning them to march directly against it. Verse 2. I have made thee small among the heathen] God ever attributes to himself the rise and fall of nations. If they be great and prosperous, it is by God's providence; if they be low and depressed, it is by his justice. Compared with the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, and other neighbouring nations, the Idumeans were a small people. Verse 3. The pride of thine heart] St. Jerome observes that all the southern part of Palestine, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Aialath, was full of caverns hewn out of the rocks, and that the people had subter to dwell in the clefts of the rock, in reference to the caverns above mentioned. In these they conceived themselves to be safe, and thought that no power brought against them could dislodge them from those fastnesses. Some think that by yɔ sela, rock, Petra, the capital of Idumea, is intended. Verse 4. Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle] Though like this bird thou get into the highest cliff of the highest rock, it will not avail thee. To defend thee, when Jehovah has determined thy destruction, thy deepest caves and highest rocks will be equally useless. See Jer. xlix. 16. Verse 5. If thieves came to thee]. That is, if thieves entered thy dwellings, they would not have taken every thing; they would have laid hold on thy wealth; and carried off as much as they could escape with conveniently; if grape-gatherers entered thy vineyards, they would not have taken every bunch; some gleanings would have been left. But the Chaldeans have stripped thee bare; they have searched out all thy hidden things, ver. 6, they have left thee nothing. How art thou cut off! Thou art totally and irretrievably ruined! The prophet speaks of this desolation as if it had already taken place. Verse 7. All the men of thy confederacy] The Chaldeans are here intended, to whom the Idumeans were attached, and whose agents they became in exercising cruelties upon the Jews. Have brought thee even to the border] Have hemmed thee in on every side, and reduced thee to distress. Or, they have driven thee to thy border; cast thee out of thy own land into the hands of thine enemies. The men that were at peace with thee] The men of thy covenant, with whom thou hadst made a league. That eat thy bread] That professed to be thy firmest friends, have all joined together to destroy thee. Have laid a wound] Placed a snare or trap under thee. See Newcome. There is none understanding in him.] Private counsels and public plans are all in operation against thee; and yet thou art so foolish and infatuated as not to discern thy own danger, |